Khattan ibn Munqidh

حطان بن منقذ

c. 578 AH

Khattan ibn Munqidh, the Yemeni strongman who overshadowed Aden's governor — won down from his fort by Tughrakin's feigned generosity, granted leave to go to Syria, then seized on his farewell visit and stripped of everything including seventy mail-bags of gold; he ended in a citadel prison, killed it was said 1.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
military · Ruler
Era
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
Region
Arabia
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Overview

Khattan ibn Munqidh, from the people of Yemen. He grew strong in the land against Izz al-Din Uthman al-Zanjabili, the governor of Aden, until al-Zanjabili feared him and wrote to Salah al-Din suggesting that his family be sent there. 1

With Tughtakin

When Sayf al-Islam Tughtakin came in 578 AH, Khattan took refuge in some of the fortresses. Tughtakin kept giving him safe conduct, sent him gifts and treated him kindly until he came down to him. Then Khattan asked for permission to travel to Syria, and Tughtakin let him take out his baggage, money and family, and sent them ahead of him. When he came to bid farewell, Tughtakin seized him and took back his money, among which was gold in seventy sacks. 1

His last days

He was imprisoned in one of the fortresses, and that was the last sight of him. It is said that he killed him, but the source says this in the form of a report, so the date of his death is not verified. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Persecuted by
Sayf al-Islam Tughrakin

People and things also explored

Saladin (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub)· Sayf al-Islam Tughrakin

Sources

  1. al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 111-112
  2. al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 112
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Khattan ibn Munqidh”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/khattan-ibn-munqidh/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story.
Related

Saladin (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub)

Sultan of Egypt and Syria and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, born at Tikrit in 1137 or 1138 and died at Damascus on 4 March 1193. He became vizier of Egypt in 1169, ended the Fatimid caliphate in 1171, united Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt between 1174 and 1186, and recovered Jerusalem on 2 October 1187.