Nasir al-Din Muhammad, son of Shirkuh and cousin of Saladin, governed Homs and married Sitt al-Sham. Written accounts, funerary inscriptions and archaeology distinguish his career from the much longer rule of his son.
His name and place in the family
Muhammad ibn Shirkuh was the son of Asad al-Din Shirkuh, Saladin’s uncle. Ibn Khallikan’s biographical dictionary calls Muhammad Nasir al-Din and al-Malik al-Qahir. Its account distinguishes him from his son Asad al-Din Shirkuh, who was named after his grandfather. It also states that Nur al-Din recovered Homs from the family after the elder Shirkuh’s death in 1169, and that Saladin later restored it to Muhammad after gaining power in Syria. [1]
Military service and provincial government
A specialist study by Abdul-Moez Bani Issa and Thabet Anzi al-Omari examines Muhammad’s military and political career within Saladin’s dominions. Its published abstract identifies his role in military leadership and advice as well as the administration of Homs and associated territories, including al-Rahba and Salamiyah. It also explains that the authors compare differing narratives of his life and death. [2] His position joined service to the sultan with control of provincial resources. Describing him only as a founder leaves out this relationship between a regional lord and the wider Ayyubid ruling family.
Marriage and Sitt al-Sham’s foundation
Muhammad married Sitt al-Sham bint Ayyub, Saladin’s sister and his own first cousin. The Museum With No Frontiers study of her Damascus madrasa identifies him as her second husband. It places the foundation outside the old city in Suq Saruja and describes a courtyard, prayer hall and a cross-vaulted funerary chamber with painted and pierced stucco decoration. The central inscribed tomb belongs to Muhammad; the other family tombs include Sitt al-Sham and her son, and her brother Turan Shah. [3] The foundation records her educational patronage alongside the family’s burial arrangements.
Death and the material evidence
Ibn Khallikan dates Muhammad’s death to Dhu’l-Hijja 581, in March 1186, and reports that Sitt al-Sham carried his body to Damascus for burial at her foundation. [1] The Syrie médiévale monument record discusses the burial and transcribes the central epitaph identifying Nasir al-Din Muhammad ibn Shirkuh. Its survey combines funerary inscriptions, earlier scholarship and a site visit in 2002. [4] This gives the biography a material anchor in a named monument, alongside the narrative account of his death.
His son’s rule and the citadel of Homs
His son Shirkuh succeeded him and died in 1240; the next ruler was Shirkuh’s son al-Mansur Ibrahim. [1] Their later careers should be kept distinct from Muhammad’s. Geoffrey R. D. King’s report on the Syrian-British excavations at Homs Citadel records earlier observations of inscriptions dated 1198 and 1202 in Shirkuh II’s name. By the excavation report those inscriptions had disappeared. King describes the difficulties caused by nineteenth-century demolition and twentieth-century military rebuilding. [5] The citadel therefore preserves a complicated archaeological history, with important evidence belonging to Muhammad’s successors.
Sources and further reading
- Ibn Khallikan, Biographical Dictionary, translated by William Mac Guckin de Slane, vol. 1, “Shirkuh ibn Shadi,” pp. 626–629, especially p. 627; public-domain scan.
- Abdul-Moez Bani Issa and Thabet Anzi al-Omari, study of Nasir al-Din Muhammad ibn Shirkuh’s political and military role, Mutah Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 38/6 (2023 issue; online 14 January 2024), DOI 10.35682/mjhss.v38i6.884; English abstract.
- Abd al-Razzaq Moaz and Zena Takieddine, “Madrasa al-Shamiyya,” Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers: patronage, architecture and inscribed tombs.
- Syrie médiévale, “Madrasa Shamîya al-Barranîya extra-muros”: monument history, 2002 visit and funerary inscriptions, including RCEA 3408.
- Geoffrey R. D. King, “The Excavations at Homs Citadel, 1997–2001,” Fondation Max van Berchem (2001): archaeological report.