Draft:Izz al-Din al-Afram

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Al-Amir ʿIzz al-Din Aybak al-Afram al-Salihi Al-Najmi ( in Arabic: الأَمِيرُ عِزُّ الدِّينِ أَيْبَكُ الأَفْرَمُ الصَّالِحِيُّ النَّجْمِيُّ) (in Berber: ⵉⵣⵣ ⴰⵍⴷⵉⵏ ⴰⵢⴱⴰⴽ ⴰⵍⴰⴼⵔⵎ ⴰⵍⵙⴰⵍⵉⵃ) (in Coptic: Ⲁⲛⲓⲣ Ⲓⲍⲍ Ⲁⲗⲇⲓⲛ Ⲁⲓⲃⲁⲕ ⲀⲗⲀⲃⲁⲣⲙ ⲀⲗⲤⲀⲗⲓⲏ) was a prominent military commander among the Bahri Mamluks. He held a high rank in the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and is considered one of the most notable emirs during the reigns of al-Zahir Baybars and al-Mansur Sayf al-Din Qalawun

ʿIzz al-Din al-Afram
عز الدين الأفرم
The name of Izz al-Din al-Afram in Thuluth script
Personal details
Born13th century
Possibly Barqa, Ayyubid Sultanate
Died695 AH
ResidenceEgypt
Military service
Allegiance Egyptian mamluk Sultanate
Branch/service Egyptian army
RankEmir, Royal Jandar
Battles/warsBattle of al-Jassora, Campaigns in Nubia

Origin

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It is said that he was a man of free origin from the people of Barqa, and his father’s name was Mustafa. He later became part of the Mamluks of al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub among the Bahri Mamluks and served as one of his attendants.[1]

However, some sources mention him as 'Izz al-Din Aybak ibn Abdullah.[2][3] Which indicates that his origins may be different or unknown from non-Muslim parents.[note 1]

His biography

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Rebellion in Upper Egypt

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In 1255 CE, Izz al-Din Aybak al-Afram rebelled against Sultan al-Mu'izz Izz al-Din Aybak and marched to Upper Egypt, gathering the Arabs. Aybak then sent the army under the command of his minister al-As'ad Sharaf al-Din al-Fayzi, who managed to suppress the rebellion.[5][6]

The era of the Zahiri dynasty

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Izz al-Din al-Afram held a practical and strategic position in the siege artillery system under Sultan Baybars. He was responsible for preparing siege engines and transporting them in advance to operational sites, managing the crews during sieges, and coordinating maintenance and repairs of forts after their capture. He played a key logistical role in Baybars’ campaigns against coastal and inland fortresses.[7]

After the reign of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars in 1260, he was appointed (Amir Jandar). In 1279, Izz al-Din al-Afram was one of the deputies Citadel of the Mountain and sought to prevent the emirs from deposing al-Malik al-Saʿid Muhammad by closing the gates of the citadel against the besiegers. Nevertheless, Emir Sayf al-Din Qalawun succeeded in capturing him, deposing al-Sa`id, and installing his brother Badr al-Din Solamish[8][9]


The era of the Qalawun dynasty

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When al-Mansur Qalawun assumed the sultanate, he released him and appointed him as deputy of the sultanate in Egypt. However, he was later dismissed and replaced by Emir Husam al-Din Tarantay, and he was reinstated as Amir Jandar, his customary post. He was then dispatched with an army to fight al-Malik al-Mas'ud Najm al-Din Khidr, son of al-Zahir Baybars, at al-Karak. He departed from Cairo on 7 Dhu al-Hijjah of that year and laid siege to al-Karak, until Sunqur al-Ashqar, the deputy of Damascus, rose in revolt there, calling for allegiance to himself and seizing the city of Gaza. He then marched to Gaza along with Emir Badr al-Din Baylik al-Aydamri, who had been besieging al-Shawbak. Together, they expelled Sunqur al-Ashqar’s followers from Gaza and captured several of his emirs who were there.[1][10][11][12][13]after that In 1280 (679AH), Emir ʿIzz al-Dīn Aybak al-Afram and Badr al-Din Baylik al-Aydamri joined the forces that came from Cairo to Gaza on the orders of the Sultan, along with other princes, before marching north under the overall command of ʿAlam al-Dīn Sanjar al-Ḥalabī. Their army confronted the rebel amir Sunqur al-Ashqar at al-Jassora outside Damascus. During the battle many of Sunqur’s troops defected to the Egyptian side, leading to his defeat and flight. Afterwards, al-Afram was dispatched from Damascus with another contingent towards Shayzar, helping to force Sunqur into negotiations that ended with the surrender of several fortresses and the redistribution of lands in northern Syria.[1][10][11][12][13]

Arrest

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He was arrested by Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil ibn Qalawun in 692 AH , and all his wealth was confiscated. From it, one hundred and sixty thousand Egyptian dinars were transferred to the treasury, along with ninety-six thousand irdabbs of grain. He remained in detention until the assassination of al-Ashraf Salah al-Din Khalil. Afterwards, Emir Kitbugha al-Mansuri, the viceroy, arranged the enthronement of al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, whereupon he was released in 693.[14][15][16] he was used as a pretext to justify the assassination of al-Ashraf Khalil ibn Qalawun.[note 2]

Campaigns on Nubia

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He participated in the campaign to invade Nubia during the reign of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars in 1276 CE.[20][21] He also led the campaign to invade Nubia alongside Prince Batkamur al-Jukandar and Aydamr, the governor of Qus. This campaign took place on 8 Shawwal 688 AH, that is, two years after Izz al-Din al-Kurani’s campaign.[1][22][14]


Death

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He died in Cairo in 695 AH during the reign of Sultan Al-Adil Kitbugha. It said that Before his death, Izz al-Din Aybak al-Afram ordered that his procession should go forth as was his custom, with his horses adorned and his standards unfurled, and with his mamluks bearing the instruments of war, in the manner of the days when he set out to fight in the cause of God. They carried this out without the beating of drums. The Sultan’s deputy, Emir Husam al-Din Lajin, attended his funeral, along with all the emirs, judges, Sheikhs , and the poor.[14][23][3]

Al-Maqrazi said about him:

He was very charitable and generous. He built many schools and mosques in Esna, Qus, and the city of Egypt. He still has a ribat in Al-Rasad that overlooks the Abyssinian lake. His world was vast and prosperous. He was a mediator of goodness, a man of virtue, a man of chivalry, and a man of religion. His wealth came from agriculture, as he would track down the lands of the guards and buy or rent them and then develop them. He was also fortunate in this, so he had several lands in his hand. In every land he took, he had to make an impact on it: either building a mosque, a congregational mosque, or a minaret from which to call the adhan. When he heard of a ruined mosque, he would restore it. He built about 300. His crops amounted to more than 200,000 ardebs, excluding seeds. He performed virtuous deeds during times of famine, such as feeding the poor, orphans, and householders bread and food.[14][23]

Al-Afram Mosque and Al-Afram Ribat

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Ibn al-Mutawaj said:

This mosque is at the foot of the watchtower. It was built by Prince Izz al-Din Aybak ibn Abdullah, known as al-Afram, the prince of the royal salihi Najmi , in the months of the year 663 AH, when he built the manzar there (i.e Belvedere "structure" ), and next to it he built a ribat for the poor, and he appointed them to hold Friday prayers there, and he appointed them to reside there day and night, and he appointed them to be provided for and assisted in their residency, and he built this mosque for them so that they would not have to go to any other place. It was mentioned that al-Afram also built a mosque at the bridge of al-Shuaibiyah in Sha’ban of the year 693 AH, a mosque in which he demolished several mosques.[24][25]

Notes

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  1. ^ The name Abdullah, a masculine given name, was a frequent patronymic for Mamluks, recruits under the Ottomans, and for converts and renegades generally, whose fathers’ names were not Muslim.[4]
  2. ^ Before the arrest of Baydara he was asked by Baibars, Emir of Jandar, whether other Emirs knew about his plan to kill Al-Ashraf. He answered: "Yes, I killed him according to their advice and under their eyes" then he added the reasons for killing him which included: "He did not respect the Emirs and the Mamluks of his father. He made Ibn Al-Salus a Vizier. He arrested Izz ad-Din al-Afram and executed Sunqur al-Ashqar and others.[17][18][19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d al-Maqrizi. Muqaffi al-Kabir ،المقفي الكبير. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, Beirut, Lebanon. p. 187.
  2. ^ Ibn Taghribirdi. Kitab al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-Mustawfa ba'd al-Wafi ، كتاب المنهل الصافي والمستوفى بعد الوافي. Vol. 3. p. 130.
  3. ^ a b Tārīkh al-Barzālī al-Muqtafi li-Tārīkh Abī Shāmah ، تاريخ البرزالي المقتفي لتاريخ أبي شامة - ت تدمري. Vol. 2. p. 429.
  4. ^ Wansbrough, John (1963). "A Mamluk ambassador to Venice in 913/1507". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 26 (3): 507. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00070282. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  5. ^ al-Nuwayri. Nihayat al-Arab fi Funun al-Adab ، كتاب نهاية الأرب في فنون الأدب. Vol. 29 (1st ed.). p. 439.
  6. ^ Al-Mawsu'ah al-Tarikhiyah ، كتاب الموسوعة التاريخية (in Arabic). Vol. 5. Al-dorar Al-Sunniyah ، الدرر السنيه. 2012. p. 465.
  7. ^ Fulton, Michael S. Artillery in the Era of the Crusades: Siege Warfare and the Development of Trebuchet Technology. pp. 246, 248, 250, 255, 272, 293. ISBN 9789004349452.
  8. ^ Mawsu'ah al-Tarikhiyah ، كتاب الموسوعة التاريخية (in Arabic). Vol. 6. Al-dorar Al-Sunniyah , الدرر السنيه. 2012. p. 70.
  9. ^ al-Maqrizi. al-Suluk li-Maʿrifat Duwal al-Muluk (in Arabic). Vol. 2. p. 118.
  10. ^ a b Northrup, Linda (1998). From Slave to Sultan. Franz Steiner Verlag. p. 92-93-94-95. ISBN 3515068619.
  11. ^ a b Balog, Paul (1969). "A dirhem of Al-Kāmil Shams al-Dīn Sunqur, rebel sultan of Syria, hitherto unrecorded in numismatics (679 H.=1280 A.D.)". Revue Numismatique. 6 (11): 296–299. doi:10.3406/numi.1969.991.
  12. ^ a b Mawsu'ah al-Tarikhiyah ، كتاب الموسوعة التاريخية (in Arabic). Vol. 6. Al-dorar Al-Sunniyah, الدرر السنيه. 2012. p. 74.
  13. ^ a b Winslow Williams Clifford (19 February 2013). State formation and the structure of politics in Mamluk Syro-Egypt, 648–741 A.H./1250–1340 C.E. V&R Unipress. pp. 133, 134. ISBN 9783847000914.
  14. ^ a b c d al-Maqrizi. al-Muqaffa al-Kabir (in Arabic). Vol. 2. p. 188.
  15. ^ book Ibn Khaldun, vol. 5, pp. 466–467
  16. ^ al-Dhahabi. Tadmuri (ed.). Tarikh al-Islam , تاريخ الإسلام. Vol. 52. pp. 26, 30.
  17. ^ Ibn Taghri, p. 18/ vol.8.
  18. ^ Al-Maqrizi, p.247/ vol2.
  19. ^ Mawsu'ah al-Tarikhiyah. Vol. 6. p. 137.
  20. ^ Kitab al-Mawa'iz wa al-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khutat wa al-Athar ، كتاب المواعظ والاعتبار بذكر الخطط والآثار. Vol. 1. p. 372.
  21. ^ Obłuski, Artur (2024). "The Kingdom of Dongola: Social and Religious Metamorphosis of a Pre-Colonial African Capital City". Journal of African History. 13th century: Page 7.
  22. ^ Al-Mawsu'ah al-Tarikhiyah ،كتاب الموسوعة التاريخية (in Arabic). Vol. 6. Al-dorar Al-Sunniyah، الدرر السنيه. 2012. p. 115.
  23. ^ a b Al-Muqaffi al-Kabir ،كتاب المقفى الكبير (in Arabic). Vol. 2. p. 189.
  24. ^ Mansour, Ahmed Sobhi. "Chapter 1: The Influence of Sufism on the Flourishing of Religious Architecture and Urban Development". The Architectural, Cultural, and Social Impact of Sufism in Mamluk Egypt.
  25. ^ al-Maqrizi. المواعظ والاعتبار بذكر الخطط والآثار. Vol. 4. Da al-‘Ilmiya. p. 92.