Bahramshah

Who he is

Name

Majd al-Din Bahramshah ibn Farrukhshah, al-Malik al-Amjad

Title

al-Malik al-Amjad Majd al-Din, lord of Baalbek

Since

1182, succeeding as a child his father Farrukhshah, Saladin's nephew, who had received Baalbek in 1179; confirmed in 1193 (Abu'l-Fida). Rules until 1230.

Born

not pinned (a child in 1182)

Family

Ayyubid; son of Farrukhshah ibn Shahanshah ibn Ayyub, so great-grandson of Ayyub and great-nephew of Saladin and al-Adil.

Confidence

high

Abu'l-Fida p. 152; Baalbek article.

Overlord

None formally; answers the senior Ayyubid's summons (troops to Hama on al-Adil's orders in 1203: Abu'l-Fida).

What it holds

• Baalbek and its citadel (Baalbek).
• The northern and central Bekaa from the Orontes springs to about Zahle and Riyaq.

How it was acquired

Inherited from his father (Saladin's grant of 1179).

Allies and rivals

Neighbour of Damascus, Homs and the county of Tripoli across the Lebanon.

How things stand that morning

Holds Baalbek.

Wealth

Bekaa grain and vineyards; the Damascus to Homs road; no figures.

Military

The temple citadel (walls repaired by Nur al-Din after the earthquake of 1170); no numbers.

Threats

• Being swallowed by Damascus (al-Ashraf takes Baalbek from him in 1229-1230).

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1203Sends troops on al-Adil's orders to help Hama against the Hospitallers at Barin (Abu'l-Fida).Depends on: Al-Adil's sultanate. Stopped by: None likely.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Possession certain; little dated for 1199-1200.

On the map: The split of the Bekaa between Baalbek and Damascus in 1200 is not recorded; the southern Bekaa is given to Damascus.

Primary sources for Baalbek

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Book of the Two Gardens, on the Reigns of Nur al-Din and Saladin, and its Sequel, Abu Shama (Shihab al-Din Abd al-Rahman al-Maqdisi) (about 1240 to 1267, at Damascus). The Rawdatayn ends with Saladin's death in 1193 and matters for 1200 as the store of Imad al-Din al-Isfahani's lost al-Barq al-Shami and of al-Qadi al-Fadil's letters, quoted at length, which describe the Ayyubid princes, the Jazira and the frontier a few years earlier. Read online
• The Dispeller of Anxieties, on the History of the Ayyubids, Jamal al-Din Ibn Wasil (about 1272 to 1285, at Hama). The fullest Ayyubid dynastic history, written at Hama with access to the family's own tradition and to Ibn al-Athir, Ibn Abi Tayy and Sibt ibn al-Jawzi. Read online