Part 87

b) Subjugating Asad ad-Deen Shirkuh's Mamelukes to his authority, and taking full control of the troops after treating them well. c) Strengthening his position by means of the military help supplied to him by Noor ad-Deen Mahmood. His brother Shams ad-Dawlah Turanshah ibn Ayub arrived with some of these military reinforcements.612 The arrangements that Salah ad-Deen made led to him tightening his grip on the affairs of the state, and further weakened al-'Adid's authority, thus undermining the position of the caliph and disappointing Kabeer atTawashiyah (the chief eunuch), the caliph's confidant, who was a Nubian and commander of the Sudanese troops. He realized that Salah ad-Deen's policy in ruling, if it continued, was going to destroy the Fatimid state sooner or later, and it seems that he was one of those who had hoped to take over Shawar's position. When he did not succeed in doing so, he started plotting to topple Salah ad-Deen. He tried to make contact with Amalric I, King of Jerusalem, to incite him to attack Egypt in the hope that if he responded, Salah ad-Deen would go out to confront him, and he would be able to capture those of his companions whom he left behind in Cairo, gain the position of vizier and share the country with the Crusaders. But Salah ad-Deen learned of the conspiracy when one of his followers became suspicious about the shape of the shoes worn by the messenger of the caliph's confidant to Amalric I. He took the shoes, undid their stitching, and found a letter inside. So Salah ad-Deen arrested the caliph's confidant and took this opportunity to get rid of him. But the news that Salah ad-Deen's position in Egypt had been shaken encouraged the Christians to try again to attack the country.613 Salah ad-Deen fired all the Sudanese servants from the caliph's palace and appointed Baha' ad-Deen Qaraqoosh in charge of everyone in the palace, so that nothing happened in the palace, major or minor, without his command.614 The battle with the Sudanese troops When at-Tawashi,615 the caliph's confidant and Abyssinian servant, was killed and the other servants were dismissed, their Sudanese compatriots became angry, and nearly fifty thousand of them gathered and fought with the army of Salah ad-Deen, in between the two palaces. Large numbers on both sides were killed. Al-'Adid watched the battle from the palace, and the Syrian army was struck with stones and arrows coming from the direction of his palace. It was said that this happened on al-'Adid's orders, and it was said that this was not the case. Then Salah ad-Deen's brother, Shams al-Dawlah Turanshah — who had come to fight and had been sent by Noor ad-Deen to help and support his brother — ordered that al-'Adid's balcony be burned. Then the door was opened and a voice called out: Ameer al-Mu'mineen commands you to expel these Sudanese people from among you, and from your land. The morale of the Syrians was strengthened whilst the resolve of the Sudanese troops grew very weak. Salah ad-Deen sent troops to their place, which was known as al-Mansoorah, where they had their houses and families, near Bab Zuwaylah, and burned it. At that point they turned and fled, with swords hitting them from all directions, and many of them were killed. Then they asked Salah ad-Deen for protection and he granted it to them, and banished them to Giza. Then Shams al-Dawlah Turanshah, the brother of Salah ad-Deen, went out to them and killed most of them, and only a few of them were left. Those are their houses, desolate because of the wrong they had done (Quran 27: 52) It seems that the Fatimid ruler of Egypt at that time, al-'Adid, was aware of the conspiracy of the caliph's confidant, because it is impossible to imagine all of that happening in his palace without his knowledge. This is supported by the fact that as they were trying to eliminate the conspirators, Salah ad-Deen's troops were exposed to attacks with stones and arrows coming from the direction of the ruler's palace and, indeed, al-'Adid watched the battle from the palace.616 Discovery of the conspiracy was the responsibility of the intelligence department, and specifically of al-Qadi al-Fadil, who was the brains behind the demise of Fatimid influence in Egypt and the establishment of the Sunni madh-hab. We will discuss him in detail insha' Allah when we discuss the Ayubid state. Al-Qadi al-Fadil was watching the scribes of the intelligence department, especially those among them who had been laid off. Spies were everywhere, in the palaces, among the troops, along the border, at every stage along the roads, watching communications between Egypt and the Franks. These spies were in direct contact with al-Qadi alFadil, sending him reports via messengers and carrier pigeons.617 Dealing with the Armenians But Salah ad-Deen's victory did not stop with his putting an end to the Sudanese troops' influence; rather he followed that by putting an end to the Armenians' influence too. They were second to the Sudanese in strength and numbers. He burned the Armenian houses between the two palaces, where there was a large number of Armenian troops, most of whom were archers who had salaries from the government. They had tried to block Salah adDeen's forces during the battle with the Sudanese by shooting arrows, so they now got their just desserts.