Shirkuh of Homs

Who he is

Name

Asad al-Din Shirkuh ibn Nasir al-Din Muhammad ibn Shirkuh, al-Malik al-Mujahid

Title

al-Malik al-Mujahid Asad al-Din, lord of Homs, al-Rahba and Tadmur

Since

1186, succeeding his father Nasir al-Din Muhammad ibn Shirkuh; confirmed in Homs, al-Rahba and Tadmur in the share-out of 1193 (Abu'l-Fida). He rules until his death in 1240.

Born

not pinned (a boy at his accession in 1186)

Family

Ayyubid, of the line of Saladin's uncle Shirkuh; grandson of the conqueror of Egypt. His son al-Mansur Ibrahim succeeds him in 1240 (birth not pinned for 1200).

Confidence

high

Abu'l-Fida pp. 152, 158, 160; Homs article.

Overlord

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

What it holds

• Homs with its citadel and district (Homs).
• Palmyra (Tadmur) and its oasis (Palmyra).
• Al-Rahba (Rahbat Malik ibn Tawq) on the Euphrates and its district (al-Rahba).

How it was acquired

Inherited (his grandfather received Homs and al-Rahba from Nur al-Din; the family's tenure was restored by Saladin in 1179).

Allies and rivals

Rival and neighbour of the Hospitallers of Krak (Krak) and of the county of Tripoli (tri); neighbour of Hama (ale) and Baalbek; protector of al-Afdal's family in 1201.

How things stand that morning

Holds his lands; al-Zahir's army passed home by al-Qaryatayn, on the desert edge of Homs, in December 1199 or January 1200.

Wealth

The Orontes plain and its irrigated fields, the caravan trade of Palmyra and al-Rahba between Syria and Iraq, Bedouin dealings; no figures.

Military

The citadel of Homs on its southern hill (Yaqut, about 1225: a large walled town with a strong castle), the castle of al-Rahba, the fortified enclosure at Palmyra; no numbers.

Threats

• The Hospitallers of Krak.
• Choosing wrong between al-Adil and Saladin's sons.

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. 1201Shelters al-Afdal's mother and family during the second siege of Damascus (Abu'l-Fida).Depends on: The renewed war. Stopped by: A settlement in 1200.
2. 1203Sends troops on al-Adil's orders to help Hama against the Hospitallers at Barin (Abu'l-Fida, 599 AH).Depends on: Al-Adil's sultanate. Stopped by: None likely.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: His possession is certain from Abu'l-Fida; his actions in 1199 are not recorded in the sources read; his birth date and mother are not pinned here.

On the map: Homs's district is drawn round the towns; the steppe between Homs, Palmyra and al-Rahba is Bedouin range (Al Fadl), not farmed land.

Primary sources for Homs

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 Complete History, Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir (about 1200 to 1231, at Mosul). The widest Muslim narrative for the years 596 to 597 AH (1199 to 1201): al-Adil's entry into Cairo and his taking of the sultanate from his nephew al-Mansur Muhammad early in 1200, the quarrels of the Ayyubid princes at Damascus, Aleppo and Hama, the Nile failure and the great famine of Egypt, Mosul under Nur al-Din Arslan Shah and the Jazira under Gokbori and the Artuqids, Baghdad under the caliph al-Nasir, the Khwarazmshah Tekish's death in 1200 and Muhammad's accession, the Ghurid wars in Khurasan, the Eldiguzids and Georgia, the Almohads in the west, and the Seljuks of Rum in passing. 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
• The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, Baha al-Din Ibn Shaddad (after 1193, probably between about 1198 and 1228, at Aleppo). Ends with Saladin's death in March 1193 and so gives no event of 1200, but it is the formative portrait of the Ayyubid house of 1200: al-Adil, al-Afdal, al-Aziz and al-Zahir Ghazi as Saladin's lieutenants, the Mosul and Jazira campaigns, the war of Acre and the treaty of Jaffa of 1192. Read online