The First Semi-Independent Turkish Islamic States
Vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate
The Tulunid Dynasty
The Tulunids 868-905
General information on the Tulunids
• Capital: al-Qatta'i
• Languages: Arabic (predominant), Turkish (palace, army)
• Religion: Islam (predominant), Coptic Christians
• Government: Emirate
• Emirs: 868–884 Aḥmad b. Ṭūlūn - 884–896 Ḵh̲umārawayh, Jaysh, Harun
• Currency: Dinar
• Area: 900 est. 1,500,000 km²
The place of Tulunids in history
• The Tulunids / Tūlūnids were the first Muslim Turkish independent dynasty to rule Muslim Egypt.
• They ruled the country, as well as much of Syria, from 868, when they broke away from the central authority of the Abbasid
dynasty that ruled the Caliphate during that
time, until 905, when the Abbasids restored
the Tulunid domains to their control.
Ahmad bin Tulun
• In the late 9th century, internal conflict amongst the Abbasids meant that control of the outlying areas of the empire was increasingly tenuous/faragile.
• 868: the Turkish officer Ahmad ibn Tulun established himself as an independent governor/wali of Egypt.
• He subsequently achieved nominal autonomy from the central government.
• During his reign (868–884) and those of his successors, the Tulunid domains were expanded to include Jordan Rift Valley, as well as Hijaz, Cyprus and Crete.
Post-Ahmad Period
• His son Khumarawayh’s, military and diplomatic
achievements made him a major player in the Middle Eastern political stage.
• The Abbasids affirmed their recognition of the Tulunids as legitimate rulers, and the dynasty's status as vassals to the caliphate.
• After Khumarawayh's death, his successor Jaysh and Harun were ineffectual rulers, allowing their Turkish and black slave-soldiers to run the affairs of the state.
• In 905, the Tulunids were unable to resist an invasion by the Abbasid troops under the Commender of
Sulaiman al-Katibi, who restored direct caliphal rule in Syria and Egypt.
Legacy of Tulunids
• The Tulunid period was marked by reforms of
– economic,
– administrative – cultural.
• Ahmad ibn Tulun
– changed the taxation system,
– allied himself with the merchants, – established the Tulunid army.
– The capital was moved from Fustat to al-Qatta'i, where the celebrated mosque of ibn Tulun was constructed.
