Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

Fifteen Queens 91
schools, from which they emerged well trained in the martial arts
and invincible on the field of battle. In the thirteenth century, in
both Delhi and Cairo, the power of Islam and its renown were tied
to the Turkish military caste. 5 In Asia Iltutmish, Radiyya's father,
who began his career as a military slave serving generals in the
employ of the sultans of Ghaznah, conquered new territories for
Islam. In Africa the Bahri Mamluks (sea-going Mamluks), who
worked for the sultans of the Ayyubid dynasty, were the bane of
the Crusaders. 6 They thought of taking power only after the death
of Sultan al-Salih Ayyub, the husband of Shajarat al-Durr. She was
Turkish like them, and was no stranger to power. During the lifetime
of her husband she took a lively interest in what went on in high
circles, especially within the army. The army was impressed by the
first decisions she made in the hours following the sultan's death,
decisions which guaranteed the Mamluk army yet another victory.
Firstly Shajarat al-Durr negotiated with the army commanders to
keep the death of her husband secret, a necessary condition, according
to her, to avoid all danger of political unrest. Then she planned
with them how to confront the most urgent problem: defeating the
French. Under their king St Louis, the French were conducting a
siege of Egypt that lasted from 647/1259 to 649/1260. Once victory
was achieved, the Crusaders defeated, and their king imprisoned,
Shajarat al-Durr turned to the problems of the succession. Her
husband had a son, Turan Shah, who was absent from Cairo at the
time of his father's death. She began by sending emissaries to him
to advise him of what was happening in the palace and on the
battlefield and to request his return to Cairo. Once he had returned,
she entrusted power to him. But Turan Shah showed himself
incapable of leading the troops. He alienated the officers and, unlike
his father, was unable to earn their respect. The conflict between
the Ayyub prince, Turan Shah, and the Turkish officers grew worse,
and they plotted and carried out his assassination (648/1250). It was
after this that the Mamluks decided to put Shajarat al-Durr on the
throne.
However, once enthroned, she had to face the opposition of the
Abbasid caliph, who refused to recognize her, and this compelled
the army to reconsider its decision and to withdraw support from
the queen. The Bahri Mamluks of Egypt, who had finally decided
to take power and create their own dynasty rather than continue to
serve others, needed more than anything the blessing of the caliph
of Baghdad. And so, despite their admiration for Shajarat al-Durr,
they deposed her after a few months. But one should not underesti-