sura:
chapter of the Qur’an.
tiraz:
inscribed fabrics made in a state workshop.
‘ulama’:
those who possess knowledge, scholars of Islamic theology and law; the learned class.
umma:
the Islamic community.
vizier:
minister.
Glossary of Arabic Military Terms
amir:
army commander.
‘amud:
mace, club.
‘arrada:
ballista, that is a type of mangonel used for throwing stones over long distances.
‘ayn:
spy.
bahriyya:
navy.
burj:
siege tower.
dabbaba:
wooden tower used in siege warfare for the protection of soldiers.
dar al-sina‘a:
arsenal.
daraqa:
wooden shield, covered with leather.
dir‘:
coat of mail.
faris:
horseman, cavalryman.
farr:
withdraw or run.
ghazw:
raid.
hasak:
caltrop.
hisar:
siege.
hisn:
fortress.
jawshan:
coat of mail, protecting the front part of the warrior’s body only.
kabsh:
ram.
kamin:
ambush.
karr:
attack or hit, return to attack.
khanjar:
dagger.
khayl:
cavalry.
liwa‘:
banner.
manjaniq:
mangonel.
maymana:
the right flank of the army.
maysara:
the left flank of the army.
mighfar:
a helmet covering the head and the whole of the face except the eyes.
mutatawwi‘a:
volunteers.
naft:
Greek fire.
naqb:
mine.
qalb:
the centre column of the army.
qaws:
bow.
raya:
flag, standard.
sabigha:
a long-sleeved coat of mail.
sayf:
sword.
tabar:
axe.
tariqa:
cuirass.
turs:
shield.
Chronological List of Major Medieval Islamic Authors Mentioned in the Text
Al-Sulami (d. early 6th/12th century)
Al-‘Azimi (d. c. 555/1160)
Ibn al-Qalanisi (d. 555/1160)
Usama b. Munqidh (d. 584/1188)
Al-Qadi al-Fadil (d. 596/1200)
Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597/1200)
‘Imad al-Din al-Isfahani (d. 597/1201)
Ibn Jubayr(d. 614/1217)
Ibn Zafir (d. 613/1216 or 623/1226)
Ibn Abi Tayyi’ (d. 630/1233)
Ibn al-Athir (d. 630/1233)
Baha’ al-Din Ibn Shaddad (d. 632/1234)
Sibt b. al-Jawzi (d. 654/1257)
Ibn al-‘Adim (d. 660/1262)
Abu Shama (d. 665/1267)
Ibn Muyassar (d. 677/1278)
Ibn Khallikan (d. 681/1282)
‘Izz al-Din Ibn Shaddad (d. 684/1285)
Ibn ‘Abd al-Zahir (d. 692/1292)
Ibn Wasil (d. 697/1298)
Al-Yunini (d. 726/1326)
Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328)
Al-Nuwayri (d. 732/1332)
Shafi’ b. ‘Ali (d. 750/1349)
Ibn al-Furat (d. 807/1405)
Ibn Khaldun (d. 808/1406)
Al-Qalqashandi (d. 821/1418)
Al-Maqrizi (d. 845/1441)
Ibn Taghribirdi (d. 874/1470)
Chronological Table of Important Events until the Fall of Acre in 690/1291
1092
Deaths of Malikshah, Nizam al-Mulk
1094
Death of Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir and ‘Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadi
1095
(Mar.) Council of Piacenza
1096
(27 Nov.) Proclamation of First Crusade by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont
1096–1102
The First Crusade
1096–7
Arrival of the armies of the Crusade at Constantinople
1097
(1 July) Battle of Dorylaeum
(21 Oct.–3 June 1098) Siege of Antioch
1098
(10 Mar.) Baldwin of Boulogne seized Edessa
(28 June) Battle of Antioch
1099
(15 July) Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders
(22 July) Godfrey of Bouillon elected first Frankish ruler of Jerusalem
1101
(Aug.–Sept.) Final wave of armies of the First Crusade defeated by the Turks in Asia Minor
1109
(12 July) Tripoli captured by the Franks
1119
(27 June) Battle of the Field of Blood
1124
(7 July) Tyre captured by the Franks
1129
(Nov.) Crusaders attacked Damascus
1144
(24 Dec.) Zengi took Edessa
1146
Death of Zengi
1147–9
The Second Crusade
1148
(24–8 July) The Franks withdrew from the siege of Damascus
1154
(25 Apr.) Nur al-Din occupied Damascus
1163–9
King Amalric of Jerusalem made expeditions to Egypt
1169
(23 Mar.) Saladin, acting on behalf of Nur al-Din, took control in Egypt
1172
(10 Sept.) Saladin abolished the Fatimid caliphate and restored Egypt to Sunni Islam
1174
(15 May) Death of Nur al-Din
(28 Oct.) Saladin took Damascus
1183
(11 June) Saladin took Aleppo
1186
(3 Mar.) Saladin took Mosul
1187
(4 July) Battle of Hattin
(2 Oct.) Saladin regained Jerusalem
(29 Oct.) Pope Gregory VIII proclaimed the Third Crusade
1189–92
The Third Crusade
1190
(10 June) Drowning of the Emperor Frederick I in Cilicia
1191
(12 July) Richard I of England and Philip II of France received capitulation of Acre
(7 Sept.) Battle of Arsuf
1192
(2 Sept.) Treaty of Jaffa
1193
Death of Saladin
1198
(Aug.) Pope Innocent III proclaimed the Fourth Crusade
1202–4
The Fourth Crusade
1204
(12–15 Apr.) Constantinople sacked by the Franks
1213
(Apr) Pope Innocent III proclaimed the Fifth Crusade
1217–29
The Fifth Crusade
1218
(27 May-5 Nov. 1219) Siege of Damietta
1221
(30 Aug.) Franks in Egypt defeated at al-Mansura
1228–9
Crusade of the Emperor Frederick II of Sicily (last part of the Fifth Crusade)
1229
(18 Feb.) Jerusalem restored to Franks by treaty with the Ayyubids
1244
(11 July-23 Aug.) Khwarazmians sacked Jerusalem
(17 Oct.) Battle of La Forbie
1250
(8 Feb.) Franks in Egypt defeated at al-Mansura
1250–4
St Louis in the Holy Land
1258
(19 Feb.) Mongols sacked Baghdad and killed the ‘Abbasid caliph
1260
(3 Sept.) Battle
of ‘Ayn Jalut – Mamluks defeated depleted Mongol army
(23 Oct.) Baybars became sultan of Egypt
1268
(18 May) Baybars took Jaffa, Belfort and Antioch
1270
Death of St Louis
1271
Baybars took Krak des Chevaliers and Montfort
1277
Death of Baybars
1289
(26 Apr.) Qalawun took Tripoli
1291
(18 May) Mamluks under al-Ashraf Khalil took Acre
(July) Sidon and Beirut fell to Mamluks
Dynastic Tables
The Fatimids (Egypt and Syria)
365/975
Al-‘Aziz
386/996
Al-Hakim
411/1021
Al-Zahir
427/1036
Al-Mustansir
487/1094
Al-Musta‘li
495/1101
Al-Amir
525/1131
Al-Hafiz
544/1149
Al-Zafir
549/1154
Al-Fa’iz
555–67/1160–71
Al-‘Adid
The Seljuqs
Great Seljuqs, 431–590/1040–1194 (Iraq and Persia)
431/1040
Tughril
455/1063
Alp Arslan
465/1072
Malikshah
485/1092
Mahmud
487/1094
Barkyaruq
498/1105
Muhammad
511–22/1118–57
Sanjar (ruler in eastern Persia)
after 511/1118
supreme Sultan of the Seljuq family
The Seljuqs in Iraq and western Persia only
511/1118
Mahmud
525/1131
Da’ud
526/1132
Tughril II
529/1134
Mas’ud
547/1152
Malik-Shah III
548/1153
Muhammad II
555/1160
Sulayman Shah
556/1161
Arslan
571–90/1176–94
Tughril III
The Seljuqs in Syria
471/1078
Tutush
488–507/1095–1113
Ridwan (in Aleppo)
488–97/1095–1104
Duqaq (in Damascus)
The Zengids (Jazira and Syria)
521/1127
Zengi
541/1146
Nur al-Din
(Some branches of the dynasty lasted until the middle of the thirteenth century)
The Ayyubids (Egypt, Syria, Diyarbakr, Yemen)
The Ayyubids in Egypt
564/1169
al-Malik al-Nasir I Salah al-Din (Saladin)
589/1193
al-Malik al-‘Aziz ‘Imad al-Din
595/1198
al-Malik al-Mansur Nasir al-Din
596/1200
al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din
615/1218
al-Malik al-Kamil I Nasir al-Din
635/1238
al-Malik al-‘Adil II Sayf al-Din
637/1240
al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub
647/1249
al-Malik al-Mu’azzam Turan-Shah
648–50/1250–2
al-Malik al-Ashraf II Muzaffar al-Din
The Ayyubids in Damascus
582/1186
al-Malik al-Afdal Nur al-Din ‘Ali
592/1196
al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din
615/1218
al-Malik al-Mu’azzam Sharaf al-Din
624/1227
al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Da‘ud
626/1229
al-Malik al-Ashraf I Muzaffar al-Din
634/1237
al-Malik al-Salih ‘Imad al-Din (first reign)
635/1238
al-Malik al-Kamil I Nasir al-Din
636/1239
al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (first reign)
637/1239
al-Malik al-Salih ‘Imad al-Din (second reign)
643/1245
al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (second reign)
647/1249
al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam Turan-Shah (with Egypt)
648–58/1250–60
al-Malik al-Nasir II Salah al-Din
The Mamluks, 648–922/1250–1517 (Egypt and Syria) – up to the fall of Acre
648/1250
Shajarat al-Durr
648/1250
al-Mu’izz ‘Izz al-Din Aybak
655/1257
al-Mansur Nur al-Din ‘Ali
657/1259
al-Muzaffar Sayf al-Din Qutuz
658/1260
al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars I al-Bunduqdari
676/1277
al-Sa‘id Nasir al-Din Baraka (or Berke) Khan
678/1279
al-‘Adil Badr al-Din Salamish
678/1279
al-Mansur Sayf al-Din Qalawun al-Alfi
689/1290
al-Ashraf Salah al-Din Khalil
693/1294
al-Nasir Nasir al-Din Muhammad (first reign)
Note: These tables have been simplified. They do not include all the short-lived rulers in the period covered by this book. For full details, cf. C. E. Bosworth, The new Islamic dynasties, Edinburgh, 1996.
Key to Abbreviations Used in the Text
Abu Shama = Abu Shama, Kitab al-rawdatayn, ed. M. H. M. Ahmad, Cairo, 1954.
Abu Shama, RHC = Abu Shama, Kitab al-rawdatayn, RHC, IV.
Al-Ansari, trans. Scanlon = Al-Ansari, Tafrij al-kurub fi tadbir al-hurub, trans. G. T. Scanlon as A Muslim Manual of War, Cairo, 1961.
Al-‘Azimi = Al-‘Azimi, ‘La chronique abrégée d’al-‘Azimi’, ed. C. Cahen, JA, 230 (1938), 353–448.
Al-Harawi, ed. Sourdel-Thomine = Al-Harawi, Al-tadhkira al-harawiyya fi‘l-hiyal al-harbiyya, trans. J. Sourdel-Thomine, BEO, 17 (1962), 105–268.
Al-Harawi, trans. Sourdel-Thomine, Guide = Al-Harawi, Kitab al-ziyarat, trans. J. Sourdel-Thomine as Guide des lieux de pèlerinage, Damascus, 1957.
Al-Maqrizi, Itti’az = Al-Maqrizi, Itti‘az al-hunafa’, II, ed. M. H. M. Ahmad, Cairo, 1971.
Al-Maqrizi, trans. Broadhurst = Al-Maqrizi, Kitab al-suluk, trans. R. J. C. Broadhurst as History of Ayyubids and Mamluks, Boston, 1980.
Al-Nuwayri = Al-Nuwayri, Nihayat al-arab fi funun al-adab, XXVIII, ed. S. A. al-Nuri, Cairo, 1992.
Al-’Umari, Lundquist = Al-’Umari, Masalik al-absar, partial trans. E. R. Lundquist as Saladin and Richard the Lionhearted, Lund, 1996.
Al-Yunini = Al-Yunini, Dhayl mir’at al-zaman, 4 vols, Hyderabad, 1954–61.
Atabegs = Ibn al-Athir, Al-tarikh al-bahir fi ’I-dawlat al-atabakiyya, ed. A. A. Tulaymat, Cairo, 1963.
BEO = Bulletin des Études Orientales
BIFAO = Bulletin de l’lnstitut Français d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire
BSOAS = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
Bughya = Ibn al-‘Adim, Bughyat al-talab, partial ed. A. Sevim, Ankara, 1976.
Bughya, Zakkar = Ibn al-‘Adim, Bughyat al-talab, ed. S. Zakkar, Damascus, 1988.
EI1 = Encyclopaedia of Islam, first edition.
EI2 = Encyclopaedia of Islam, second edition.
Gabrieli = F. Gabrieli, Arab Historians of the Crusades, London, 1969.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Zahir, Rawd = Ibn ‘Abd al-Zahir, Al-rawd al-zahir, ed. A. A. al-Khuwaytir, Riyadh, 1976.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Zahir, Tashrif = Ibn ‘Abd al-Zahir, Tashrif al-ayyam wa‘l-’usur, ed. M. Kamil and M. A. al-Najjar, Cairo, 1961.
Ibn al-‘ Adim, Zubda = Ibn al-‘Adim, Zubdat al-halab min tarikh Halab, ed. S. Zakkar, Damascus, 1997.
Ibn al-‘Adim, Zubda, Dahan = Ibn al-‘Adim, Zubdat al-halab, ed. S. Dahan, Damascus, 1954.
Ibn al-‘Adim, Zubda, RHC, III = Ibn al-‘A
dim, Zubdat al-halab min tarikh Halab, RHC, III.
Ibn al-Athir, Atabegs, RHC = Ibn al-Athir, Al-tarikh al-bahir fi ‘l-dawlat al-atabakiyya, RHC, III.
Ibn al-Athir, Kamil = Ibn al-Athir, Al-Kamil fi’l-tarikh, ed. C. J. Tornberg, Leiden and Uppsala, 1851–76.
Ibn al-Athir, RHC, Kamil = Ibn al-Athir, Kamil in Recueil des historiens des Croisades, I.
Ibn al-Dawadari = Ibn al-Dawadari, Kanz al-durar, VI, ed. S. al-Munajjid, Cairo, 1961.
Ibn al-Furat, Lyons = Ibn al-Furat, Tarikh al-duwal wa’l-muluk, ed. and trans. U. and M. C. Lyons as Ayyubids, Mamlukes and Crusaders, Cambridge, 1971.
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