Asad al-Din Shirkuh led Nur al-Din’s Egyptian campaigns in 1164, 1167 and 1168–1169. Saladin’s uncle became Fatimid vizier shortly before his death in March 1169.
A Kurdish family in Zengid service
Asad al-Din Shirkuh ibn Shadi was Najm al-Din Ayyub’s brother and Saladin’s uncle. R. Stephen Humphreys traces their Kurdish family from the Dvin region through service under Bihruz at Tikrit and then under the Zengids. This family history does not establish a precise birth date for Shirkuh. [1] Under Nur al-Din Mahmud, he became an important commander. Mustafa Kılıç highlights his role in negotiations and the capture of Damascus in 1154. [2]
1164: restoring Shawar, then fighting him
The displaced Egyptian vizier Shawar requested Nur al-Din’s help against his rival Dirgham. Shirkuh’s expedition restored Shawar in 1164, but their alliance collapsed when Shawar sought his withdrawal. Shawar then obtained support from Amalric I of Jerusalem. Shirkuh was besieged at Bilbeis; an agreement eventually brought the withdrawal of both Syrian and Frankish forces. [2] The campaign began a repeated struggle over Egypt rather than a lasting conquest.
1167: al-Babayn and the siege of Alexandria
Shirkuh returned in 1167 with Saladin among his officers. Ibn Khallikan records the battle of al-Babayn near Ushmunayn and Saladin’s defence of Alexandria against Shawar’s forces. Shirkuh operated in Upper Egypt before returning to Bilbeis, where negotiations arranged withdrawal. Saladin rejoined him under escort, and the expedition returned to Syria. [3] These movements distinguish Shirkuh’s command of the campaign from his nephew’s responsibility for the besieged city.
1168–1169: a third intervention and the vizierate
After Frankish forces seized Bilbeis and killed inhabitants, Egypt again sought Shirkuh’s assistance. Ibn Khallikan places his return in December 1168. Shawar was killed during the struggle that followed; the chronicler presents competing rulers’ actions as pre-emptive plots, a reminder that this narrative is also an interpretation of responsibility. [3] Kılıç dates Shirkuh’s appointment as vizier under the Fatimid caliph al-Adid to 18 January 1169. [2] The Fatimid caliphate continued until 1171: becoming its vizier was different from abolishing it. [4]
Death in Cairo and Saladin’s succession
Shirkuh died in Cairo in March 1169, after approximately two months as vizier. Ibn Khallikan transmits differing day dates and a report, attributed to Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad, of fatal illness. It is not a modern medical diagnosis. Saladin succeeded his uncle as vizier. Ibn Khallikan also records Shirkuh’s initial burial in Cairo and later transfer to Medina. [3] Shirkuh therefore helped create the conditions for Saladin’s rise without ruling the later Ayyubid empire himself.
The Homs branch and religious foundations
Shirkuh’s son was Nasir al-Din Muhammad, titled al-Malik al-Qahir. Ibn Khallikan describes how the family lost Homs after Shirkuh’s death and how Saladin later restored it to Muhammad. Muhammad’s son, also named Asad al-Din Shirkuh, belonged to the next generation of Homs rulers. [3] Kılıç additionally records madrasas in Aleppo and Damascus, other religious foundations in Damascus, and the continuing importance of Shirkuh’s Asadiyya military household. [2]
Sources and further reading
- R. Stephen Humphreys, “Ayyubids,” Encyclopaedia Iranica III/2 (1987), pp. 164–167: Kurdish family origins and Zengid service.
- Mustafa Kılıç, “Şîrkûh el-Mansûr,” TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 39 (2010), pp. 203–204.
- Ibn Khallikan, Biographical Dictionary, translated by Mac Guckin de Slane, vol. I (1843), “Shirkuh ibn Shadi,” pp. 626–629; public-domain primary text.
- William of Tyre selections, Fordham Medieval Sourcebook, “Revolution in Egypt,” with editorial chronology and correction of the account of al-Adid’s death.
- Djehouty, Bab al-Futuh, Cairo, 2 November 2019; own photograph, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.