To move forward, one must take a few steps backwards.
Chinese folk wisdom.
Maurice Davidovich Simashko, People’s Writer of Kazakhstan, was the first to tell about Beibars in our country in his lyrical story «Emshan». M.Simashko said that, perhaps, it is with Sultan Beibars that one should start the history of formation of military spirit of a steppe man. Then, this story was the basis of the film — historical drama «Sultan Baybars», shot in 1989 by director Bulat Mansurov. On one of the Internet sites, the work of the Kazakhfilm and Yaltafilm studios is called «the world’s best historical film». Yermek Tursunov, a contemporary and one of the most prolific domestic playwrights and film directors, who made the film «Kelin» — a film version of the novel «Mamluk» — where he again turned to the image of Beibars.
So the legend that the boy, sold into slavery by Mongols, became the sultan of Egypt, and the white bitter grass, the smell of which could not forget that man… is still alive.
Let us open a biographical directory, and easily find and read that Sultan Beibars (Arab. — Al-Malik al-Zahir Ruki al-Din Beybaris al-Bundukdari al-Salih: 1223 — 1 July 1277) was a Sultan of Egypt of Kipchak origin. Mamluk. Yes, he lived seven centuries ago and it was a bright personality, a fierce warrior and the smartest ruler who left a trace on the tablets of world history, whose life drama played out in the XIII century. Let’s say that it was also a tragic figure in the history of steppe people — Kipchaks, and later — Kazakhs.
He was born in 1225 in a family of rich parents. His father Zhamak and mother Ainek gave their son the name Mahmuddin, who would be appointed by fate to become Sultan Beibars in his mature years.
About the place of origin of Beibars there are several versions. According to one of them he is a descendant of the Kipchak family Yelbarly or Bersh that roamed between Itil (Volga) and Zhaiyk (Ural). Some say that Beibars is from the subgenus Zhaiyk, in Russian pronunciation Yaik. Descendants of this sort live till now in the West-Kazakh, Atyrau areas of Kazakhstan and Astrakhan area of the Russian Federation. As in Kazakhstan it is accepted to consider Sultan Beibars that he was born from the Caspian steppes, on the central square of Atyrau there is a beautiful monument to him.
However, another point of view has arisen in Crimea: the Sultan’s homeland was just the Crimean steppes. The adherents of this idea have an «iron» argument: it is known that becoming the Sultan of Egypt Beibars regularly sent rich gifts to the Crimean city of Solkhat (now Old Crimea). It was on his donations here was built a mosque, whose ruins are blown by the winds of our days.
The Arab historian Makrizi was the first to write about a Kipchak slave who became the Sultan of Egypt.
Ibn Khaldui, a famous Arab historian of the Middle Ages, referring to the legend, points to the discord among the Kipchak tribes, comparable to a many-headed snake that died under the wheels of a harness. So he figuratively expressed about the lack of agreement among the Kipchaks. And there was another disaster — the Kipchaks became victims of the Mongol invasion.
Together with congeners Mahmuddin goes with caravan through Crimea to Rum sultan. Bulgarian governor Anarkhan promises to transport refugees through Sudak (Black) sea and to promote reception by them of the ground at foot of two mountains. But in fact Bulgarian khan has appeared the sworn apostate, it has betrayed trustful steppe people. His knights have killed a part of people, and others have made prisoners.
Sources testify, that Bulgarian have sold fourteen-year-old captive Mahmuddin in 1239 to slave traders on the slave market in Sudak, that in Asia Minor, for the price equal to cost of a rooster. The little boy was weak and stunted, and it was thought that he would not survive. Besides, he had a small blemish — a barely visible white spot on his eye — an eyesore. And then Mahmuddin found himself in the slave market in Aleppo, Sham (Syria).
Beibars, who had become by this time a tall and broad-shouldered young man, was bought for 800 pieces of silver (800 dirhams) by the merchant al-Imad al-Daigu, but noticing the eyesore on the slave’s eye, he hurriedly cancelled the deal. And then Mahmuddin saw Emir of the Mamelukes Ala al-Din Aytegin al-Bundukdar. He bought the rejected slave, believing that the eyesore would not harm him in any way to become a warrior of the guard.
- Henceforth your name is Beibars al-Bundukdari, my Mameluke!
- I obey, my lord,» Mahmuddin replied obediently, deciding that obedience was necessary to survive.
After many years of clashes between the heirs of the Prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima and son-in-law Gali-Aristan created the foundation of the Mamluk state. And for the defence of the state from external enemies they relied not so much on the local population as on strong and steadfast Kipchak warriors. Since 1271, due to the emergence of Sufism in Ilami, Turkic youths were selected for the army — all this was done to prevent military coups. The Sultan of Egypt regularly bought dzhigits from Italian merchants for protection.
So the new master assigned Beibars to a group of Mamluks, warriors who from childhood were brought up in the strictest discipline. The best warriors of the East were considered nomads, hardened by the harsh life in the steppe and constant intertribal strife. Sent, like many acquired slaves, for training on the Nile island of Roda, Beibars quickly got along with his tribesmen and began to show outstanding military ability. He soon embraced a new Faith, a new God, became a warrior of Allah and a defender of the country that had made him a slave. Nevertheless, Beibars was not a Kazakh, because there were no Kazakhs as an ethnos in the XIII century, he was a Kipchak. Yes, the Mamluks were predominantly Turks and predominantly Kipchaks, i.e. natives of our steppes. They spoke in Turkic language, combat commands were given in Turkic language, they played on kobyzas, beat dabyly and drank kumys.
The epoch of XIII century was alarming, the years of life of a slave, mamluk, sultan Beibars were full of complicated events.
The armies of successors of Genghis Khan were coming from Asia. To the East from Europe, one after another, crusades of chivalry, illuminated by the Popes of Rome, were rolling in. In 500 years the historian David Hume will write about the crusades of the West, calling them «the most outstanding and durable monument of human stupidity of all times and peoples». Seven centuries later, modern Arab historians not only condemn the Crusades, but also try to see them as a precursor and hardly the root cause of the current events in the Middle East.
But let us return to Beibars.
In 1246 Aitegin al-Bundukdar fell into disgrace and was deprived of the right to command the Mamluks. Sultan of Egypt as-Salih Ayubi noticed Beibars and entrusted him to lead one of the parts of his personal guard. And four years later, Beibars achieved his first military successes as commander of the Ayyubi army in the battles of Mansur and Fariskur, where he fought the Crusader knights. The leader of the crusade, French King Louis IX, was captured and later released, but for a huge ransom.
The new Sultan of Egypt, Turanshah, turned the Mamluks against themselves with his disdainful attitude. Feeling its military power, a group of Mamluk emirs led by Beibars made an attempt on Turanshah on 2 May 1250. They enthroned the widow of Sultan as-Salih Ayubi Shajar al-Durr and Mamluk Aybek, who became her husband.
But the unity in the camp of emirs did not last long. In autumn 1255 Sultan Aybek and emir Kutuz, fearing the increased influence of emir Aktay, killed him. Emirs Beibars, Kalaun and other Mamluks close to Aktay, fearing that the same fate awaited them, fled to Syria. Here Beibars was taken into the service of the local ruler al-Nasir Yusuf, great-grandson of the famous Salah al-Din.
With the accession of Qutuz to the Egyptian throne on 12 November 1259, Beibars returned to Egypt, fitting in with his former confederate. Sultan Qutuz allocated to the possession of Beibars the city of Kaliub with its surroundings, as well as oases in the Libyan desert.
And on 3 September 1260, Beibars distinguished himself in the historic battle of Ain Jalut. It was one of the significant battles in the history of mankind, a battle between the Mamluks and the warriors of the Mongol Empire. The modern historian Lev Gumilev called the Mongol campaign the «Yellow Crusade» and not without reason, because the Mongols marched on Jerusalem to capture the Holy Sepulchre. Whoever owned Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre owned souls and brains. Ain Jalut is about two kilometres from the font where John the Baptist baptised Jesus. Here, where the borders of Jordan, Syria and Israel converge, the two armies met on the banks of the Jordan. It is noteworthy that the Mongol corps was 80 per cent Turkic, while the Mamluk army was about 90 per cent Turkic. The paradox is surprising in its tragedy: two armies of Turks fought in a historically sacred place, shedding blood under alien banners, defending alien values.
And what is also significant is that if it had not been for Beibars, the Mongols would certainly have taken Jerusalem. Before this battle the Mongol army had not known defeat, Beibars won it and thus stopped the Mongol aggression. The victory caused universal jubilation and strengthened the opinion of contemporaries that it was to the military talent of Beibars that the Islamic world owed its salvation from catastrophe.
Sultan Qutuz returned to Cairo in triumph, but his days were numbered. Offended Beibars, who hoped to receive for the victory over the Mongols the power over one of the Syrian Emirates, organised a conspiracy. On 24 October 1260, Qutuz, who had been on the throne for only 11 months, was killed by Beibars’ associates while hunting in the desert. After that, Beibars was proclaimed sultan with the support of the Bahrit Mamluks. His main support was the 2salihiya Guard Corps, which he favoured throughout his reign. At the same time he created his own corps of «zahiriyya».
In all affairs, he was overly cautious, so that no one ever knew his intentions. Of course, a web of plots was woven against him, but all of them ended in failure. He rewarded loyal people with generous rewards — estates, titles, palaces, gold… In times of famine he ordered to distribute grain to thousands of Egyptians.
Firmly taking the reins of power in his hands, Beibars strengthened the cities, in each of which he kept a permanent army, strengthened discipline in the state, fundamentally suppressing internal strife. The Mamluk state flourished, merchants started to come here from all over the world. Bridges were built on the rivers and mosques were built in the cities. Beibars reached the title of the ruler of the eastern Arab emirates, completely subjugated the Seljuks of Central Asia, small Armenia, Berbers, one after another destroyed the huge fortresses of the Franks. Now neighbouring countries began to reckon with the Mamluk state.
By the time Beibars reached power and became a sultan, the Kipchak lands were still part of the Golden Horde, ruled by the Mongol Khan Berke-Kulagu. Beibars at first wrote him a friendly message, and in 1262, in order to strengthen friendly relations, the Sultan of Egypt sent his ambassador, after which military, commercial, religious and cultural relations with the Golden Horde were established.
With the advent of the Mamluk dynasty and in connection with the strengthening of ties with the Golden Horde, historical literature began to develop rapidly in Egypt. An encyclopaedia was created, fully covering historical and geographical information about Turkic dynasties and peoples. The work of Abd-az-Zahir, the secretary of Sultan Beibars, which contains various information about his life in Egypt, was published. This work also contains information about relations with the Golden Horde, a brief guide from the Crimea to the Volga, religious and ethnographic materials about the indigenous population of the Crimea.
Once heard from the Emir of the island Mamluks words: «Sultan can be without heart, but can not be without a mind», Beibars will follow this postulate for the rest of his life. A preacher of high humanistic values of the Middle Ages, Beibars remained a patriot of his fatherland, and remained faithful to the Kipchak language and traditions. During the campaigns, the Mamluks always collected a Kipchak yurt at the place of settlements. And contemporaries had an opportunity to see a 12-canat yurt of the sultan on the top of the pyramid of Cheops. On the personal seal of the sultan — depicts a proud leopard.
The fortress of al-Qarak, which controlled the road from Damascus to Egypt and Hijas, was of great importance for the establishment of Egyptian rule in Syria, and it was owned by the Ayyubit emir al-Mughis Umar. In 1263, Beibars lured al-Mughis to his headquarters, accused him of having links with the Mongols, and deposed him.
Later, Beibars and his Mamluks would defeat the Crusaders and knock them out of the stronghold of Christians in the East — Antioch. This happened in 1268. One hundred thousand people of the richest city experienced all the horrors of massacre and pogrom. The captured booty was so huge that the Mamluks measured money in cups, and slaves were given almost for nothing (a young man cost 12 dirhams, and a girl — five).
Beibars made his last campaign in 1277 in Anatolia. The Mongols were defeated at Elbistan. Beibars proclaimed himself sultan of Rum. However, he received no support from the local Turkic tribes and was forced to retreat to Damascus.
. Perhaps, if Beibars had not appeared on the historical scene, the Arabs might not have been Muslims, but, for example, Buddhists or Christians. That is why Arabs honour Sultan Beibars very much. For them he is a holy warrior of Allah. They call him Rukhn-ud-Din, which means «Saviour of the Faith».
Historians have testified, «As Sultan, he was cruel to rivals and enemies, but in all other respects he performed his governmental task not only with due wisdom but also with great nobility. Just to his subjects, of whatever tribe and whatever faith they might be, he gave the masses of the people a sense of security and contentment in spite of the most terrible austerity.»
In 1277, on the 1st of June the vizier Kipchak Kalauyn poisoned Beibars by putting poison in koumiss. There is another version, according to which death occurred as a result of a drama, the author of which he himself was. Sources say that intending to get rid of the head of the Syrian Ayyubids, Emir al-Malik al-Kahir, Beibars gave him a bowl of poisoned koumiss during the feast. The emir, sensing a trick, discreetly changed the bowl when the sultan turned away. Beibars drank the poisoned drink and died 13 days later in terrible agony.
According to the sultan’s last will, he is buried in the city of Darius (now part of Damascus), in the cemetery of Bab al-Barid. His mausoleum is two metres higher than Salah al-Din’s mausoleum.
With his life he demonstrated the marvellous metamorphosis of becoming a slave into a king. This Kipchak, buried in Syria, managed to do more in a foreign land than the Arabs themselves. He turned the Mamluk state into a major power during his 17-year reign, defended Egypt and Syria from the Crusades and Mongol conquests.
Sultan Beibars is one of the few people who influenced the destiny of mankind and changed the course of history. He proved by his works that the memory of his homeland, the smell of bitter grass yemshan and just one word «koke» — in Kipchak «father» — are more valuable than palaces filled with treasures, concubines and power itself. And the one who managed to preserve and protect his people is remembered for centuries.