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- Al-Zahir Baybars· Series · About · historical drama
Al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari was the Mamluk sultan. He led the vanguard of Qutuz's army at Ayn Jalut and chased the Tatars to Aleppo; he became sultan in 658 AH, set up the caliphate in Egypt in 659 AH where al-Mustansir was acclaimed, took forty fortresses from the Franks and died at Damascus in 676 AH.
Sultan al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari was at the vanguard of Qutuz's army at Ayn Jalut and chased the Tatars to Aleppo; Ibn al-Imad says Qutuz promised him Aleppo then went back on it, starting the estrangement. Al-Suyuti records that he agreed with a group of emirs on removing Qutuz and they did away with him on the road in 658 AH — Baybars then took the sultanate as al-Malik al-Zahir. He set up the caliphate in Egypt in Rajab 659 AH where al-Mustansir was acclaimed, and in 674 AH sent an army into Nubia that captured its king. Ibn al-Imad dates his accession 17 Dhu al-Qa'da 658 AH and his death at Damascus on 28 Muharram 676 AH, with forty fortresses taken from the Franks — adding that but for his bouts of harshness he would count among the just kings.
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Sultan al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari was at the vanguard of al-Muzaffar Qutuz's army at Ayn Jalut and chased the Tatars to Aleppo; Ibn al-Imad says Qutuz promised him Aleppo then went back on his promise, starting the estrangement between them. Al-Suyuti records that he agreed with a group of emirs on Qutuz's death and they killed him on the road in 658 AH — Baybars then took the sultanate as al-Malik al-Zahir — and Ibn al-Imad dates his accession 17 Dhu al-Qa'da 658 AH. He set up the caliphate in Egypt in Rajab 659 AH where al-Mustansir was acclaimed, and in 674 AH sent an army into Nubia that captured its king and imposed jizya on the people of Dongola. He witnessed the battle of al-Mansura, died at Damascus on 28 Muharram 676 AH, and took forty fortresses from the Franks; Ibn al-Imad judges that but for his occasional injustice and harshness he would count among the just kings. Al-Maqrizi places his Zahiriyya madrasa at the Golden Gate and mihrab site of the Fatimids' great eastern palace, and lists him among the emirs who left Cairo for Syria after Aqtay's killing, received by al-Malik al-Nasir Yusuf ibn al-Aziz, lord of Syria.
Overview
Sultan al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari. On the day of Ayn Jalut he was at the head of the army of al-Muzaffar Qutuz, and he pursued the Tatars as far as Aleppo. Ibn al-Imad says that Qutuz promised him Aleppo and then went back on his promise, and estrangement began between them. 2
Al-Suyuti says that he agreed with a group of the amirs to kill Qutuz, and they killed him on the road in 658 AH, and he took the sultanate and was titled al-Malik al-Zahir. 3
He established the caliphate in Egypt in Rajab 659 AH, and al-Mustansir was given the allegiance. In 674 AH he sent an army to Nubia, which took its king captive, and the jizya was imposed on the people of Dongola. 4
Ibn al-Imad says he was given the sultanate on the seventeenth of Dhu al-Qa'da 658 AH, witnessed the battle of al-Mansura, and died in Damascus on the twenty-eighth of Muharram 676 AH, having taken forty fortresses from the Franks. He says that if it were not for his oppression and tyranny at times he would be counted among the just kings; this is Ibn al-Imad's judgement. 5
According to al-Maqrizi
Al-Maqrizi says that the al-Zahiriyya madrasa, founded by al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari, stands at Bab al-Dhahab in the eastern great palace of the Fatimids, on the site of its mihrab. 6
He also says that Baybars was among the amirs who left Cairo for Syria after Aqtay's killing, and that they went to al-Malik al-Nasir Yusuf ibn al-Aziz, lord of Syria, who received them. 7
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Connections
- Parent of
- al-Malik al-Adil Salamish· al-Malik al-Sa'id Baraka Khan
- Predecessor of
- al-Malik al-Sa'id Baraka Khan
- Participated in
- Baybars takes the sultanate, 658 AH· Siege of Antioch· Fall of Krak des Chevaliers· The battle of Ayn Jalut and the defeat of the Tatars· Baybars takes Jaffa, Beaufort and Antioch, 666· Baybars takes Caesarea and Arsuf, 663· Baybars raids Cilicia, 673· Death of al-Zahir Baybars, 676· Baybars takes Hisn al-Akrad and Akkar, 669· Baybars takes Safed, 664· The Euphrates crossing to relieve al-Bira, 671· Establishment of the Abbasid caliphate in Cairo· Al-Mustansir's departure for Iraq and his disappearance· The Conquest of Nubia and the Capture of the King of Dunqula· Qutuz murdered near Qatya, 658· The murder of al-Muzaffar Qutuz and the sultanate of Baybars
- Subject of
- Al-Zahir Baybars
People and things also explored
السلطان المظفر سيف الدين قطز المعزي· al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Ahmad al-Qabi· al-Mustansir bi'llah II Ahmad ibn al-Zahir· Cairo· al-Malik al-Adil Salamish· al-Malik al-Sa'id Baraka Khan· The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks· al-Malik al-Sa'id Hasan
Sources
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 720-721
- Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p.299
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.720
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.723
- Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p.358
- Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa-l-i'tibar bi-dhikr al-khitat wa-l-athar (al-Khitat al-Maqriziyya), ed. Muhammad Zaynhum and Madiha al-Sharqawi (Cairo: Maktabat Madbuli, 1998) , p.1032
- Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa-l-i'tibar bi-dhikr al-khitat wa-l-athar (al-Khitat al-Maqriziyya), ed. Muhammad Zaynhum and Madiha al-Sharqawi (Cairo: Maktabat Madbuli, 1998) , p.1081
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/baybars/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-29.