Going by the adage “that has a beginning has an end”, the mighty Mongol Empire was finally defeated by a confederation of slaves who were historically known as the Mamluks–from Arabic meaning “property.” The Mamluks rose to prominence in Egypt and Syria in 1250.[i] Recruited at young age, Mamluk soldiers who were Muslims and followers of the Sunni sect, tremendously altered the power of the Mongols and even that of the Abbasid Caliphate rule. By then, there was another vengeful force in the Levant–a force that was entirely Christendom in concept and carried the banner historically known as the Crusades. For the sake of differentiation, Christianity is a religion while Christendom implies a Christian empire. At the Battle of Ain Jalut, under the command of the much-celebrated Kurdish Governor of Egypt who was known as Saladin, the Crusaders felt the most difficult times in their battle endeavors. With the collective security of Muslim lands at risk, Saladin had no other option but to take his sword and hit his targets where it hurt most.
Known to Muslims as Salahuddin, he was the
first to establish the Ayyubid Dynasty and the first Muslim to hold the Title
of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques–implying the mosques in Makkah
and Madinah in Saudi Arabia. To this day, perhaps a copious mentality borrowed
from Saladin, whoever becomes the King of Saudi Arabia is given the same
designation and that is The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Known to
the French as Saladin le Magnifique, meaning the Magnificent, he
mobilized a strong and large invasion force against the Crusaders. In total
there were almost seven crusader invasions in the Middle East whose main
intentions were to take over the Levant especially the Mosque at Jerusalem that
is regarded a religiously important site to Muslims, Jews and Christians. To
the Jews, the Muslim Mosque Bait al-Quds sits on the Temple of David whose
sacred book the Psalms that is known to Muslims as Zaboor was revealed to David
who is the most revered and likewise, they were after the Holy Land while the
Crusaders who were mainly Frankish, felt it was their divine duty to free the
land of Jesus Christ from the hands of Muslims.
The
seventh Crusade was led by France’s King Louis XI even though his invasion of
Egypt in 1259-60 ended in total failure.[ii]
Despite retiring to Palestine and then retaliating second time, his attempts
ended in fiasco for it never materialized due to Muslim forces ferocity in
warfare. After nine decades of occupation by the Franks, it was on October 2, 1187
when Saladin finally defeated the invading forces of Christendom. Saladin is
remembered by historians for his historical achievements while he was a ruler
over Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and Yemen. Known as Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yusuf ibn Ayyub to
Muslims and the bearer of “Righteousness of the Faith”, Joseph was the
son of Job to the invaders and their followers, Saladin grew up in Baalbek and
Aleppo.
Between 1100 to 1150, the Middle
East was besieged by two formidable non-Muslim forces and they were the Mongols
from northeastern Asia and the Frankish Crusaders from Europe. The man who died
penniless for distributing his wealth to the poor in the regions he traversed
during his leadership, Salahuddin was born to Kurdish parents. In modern times,
the Kurdish people are considered the largest community without a nation of
their own. Roughly with a population of twenty million, they live in Iran,
Iraq, Syria and Turkey even though many have migrated to the West and other
countries globally.
The Mamluks did not disappear in
1517 as many historians speculate. To put it right, it was Muhammad Ali of
Egypt who repulsed them and finally defeated them, even though, struggles
against these forces were aggressively handled by the French earlier. In a
nutshell, the Mamluks remained to exist until the 19th century. From
the Arabic word ‘Abd’, the Mamluks were experts in filigreed decorations since
they mastered the art of Qur’anic calligraphy and dazzling illuminations of
other tools that were given away as charitable donations to their leaders,
nobles, and the needy. They mastered the arts of textiles and rugs that were in
great demand in the Western countries. Likewise, geometrically and meticulously
wool-designed carpets, goblets, bottles, and bowls plus remarkable mosque
lamps, rejuvenated their dedication to artistry.[iii]
There were two strategies Muslim
scholars use as references to the defeat of the Tatars. One is through Da’wah
which is Islamic propagation of the Tatars or Mongols while the second tactic
was the application of Jihad that implied the use of warfare to bring their
savagery to a complete end. Muslim leaders of the last vestiges of the wars
against the Tatars suffered from lack of unity. The main battlefront at that
time was Egypt.
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