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as-Salih Ayyub

Type Figure Region Egypt Time 1205–1249 Also known as Salih Ayyub ibn al-Kamil、Salih Ayyub ibn Muhammad

A key late Ayyubid sultan, born in Cairo in 1205, son of Sultan al-Kamil. In the 1230s he based himself at Hasankeyf and controlled the Jazira, expan…

Timeline

  1. 1205–1223Cairo · EgyptGrowing up in Cairo as a son of Sultan al-Kamil, he received Islamic and military training and was regarded from youth by his father as an important heir to Egyptian and Syrian interests.
  2. 1231–1239Hasankeyf · JaziraIn the 1230s he based himself at the Tigris fortress of Hasankeyf, controlling the Jazira, dealing with Khwarazmian remnants and local powers, while recruiting Kipchak and other Turkic slave soldiers, gradually building military forces independent of his uncles' Damascus regime.
  3. 1240–1249Cairo · EgyptIn 1240, after defeating the faction of his uncle Salih Ismail, he took Cairo, unified Egypt, and continued contesting Syria, greatly expanding the Mamluk corps in preparation for resisting the Mongols and Louis IX's crusade.

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