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Asad al-Din Shirkuh's first expedition to Egypt

بعثة أسد الدين شيركوه الأولى إلى مصر

c. 1167 CE · 562 AH

In 562 Nur al-Din sent Asad al-Din Shirkuh with two thousand horse to Egypt; camped at Giza, besieging two months, till its lord called the Franks who came through Damietta. Shirkuh withdrew to the Sa'id, beat a larger army killing Frankish thousands, levied the Sa'id's kharaj — while the Franks besieged Alexandria, taken by his nephew Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, four months till Shirkuh came and they withdrew to Syria 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
Region
Egypt & Nile
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

1150116011701180 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

Overview

In 562 AH the sultan Nur al-Din equipped the amir Asad al-Din Shirkuh with two thousand horsemen for Egypt. 1

The siege and the Franks

Shirkuh camped at Giza and besieged Cairo for about two months. Its ruler appealed to the Franks for help, and they entered by Damietta to relieve him. Shirkuh then withdrew to Upper Egypt. 1

The battle and Alexandria

A battle took place between him and the Egyptians, in which al-Suyuti says he was victorious despite the smallness of his army, and killed thousands of the Franks. He then collected the land tax of Upper Egypt. The Franks made for Alexandria, which his nephew Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub had taken, and besieged it for four months. Shirkuh marched against them, and they withdrew, and he returned to Syria. 1

The Gregorian date is derived, and the report rests on a single source and needs an additional source.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
أسد الدين شيركوه· Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Zangi· Saladin (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub)

People and things also explored

Shirkuh enters Egypt, Shawar is killed, and Shirkuh takes the vizierate· Ending the Ubaydid Khutba and Restoring the Abbasid Khutba in Egypt· death of Asad al-Dīn Shīrkūh — Saladin chosen vizier in his place· The Frankish siege of Damietta (564 AH)· The Burning of al-Fustat, the Vizierate of Shirkuh, then Salah al-Din· the hidden estrangement between Nūr al-Dīn and Saladin· Ismat al-Din Khatun· the great battle at Acre — the sieges fiercest day

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 679-680
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Asad al-Din Shirkuh's first expedition to Egypt”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/shirkuh-egypt-expedition-562/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Shirkuh enters Egypt, Shawar is killed, and Shirkuh takes the vizierate

In Rabīʿ I Shirkuh entered Egypt with the Nūrid armies and took it. The Franks had stormed Bilbays — killing and enslaving — then besieged Cairo while Shawar burned Fusṭāṭ (the fire ran fifty-four days) and bought their withdrawal for a promised million dinars; al-ʿĀḍid had sent his womenfolk's hair to Nūr al-Dīn begging rescue. When Shirkuh arrived Shawar was killed — as commonly told, Saladin's hand at his uncle's order — and Shirkuh took the vizierate, dealt justly with the people, then died days later, choked, it was said, on a feast of rich food.