Shawar

Arab de facto ruler of Fatimid Egypt

For the administrative unit in Pakistan, see Shawar, Swat. For the Indian actor and model, see Shawar Ali.

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"Shavar" redirects here. For places in Iran, see Shavar, Iran. For people with the given name, see Shavar (given name).

Shawar receives messengers from King Amalric

Shawar ibn Mujir al-Sa'di (Arabic: شاور بن مجير السعدي, romanized: Shāwar ibn Mujīr al-Saʿdī; died 18 January 1169) was the de facto ruler of Fatimid Egypt, as its vizier, from December 1162 until his assassination in 1169[1] by the general Shirkuh, the uncle of the future Ayyubid leader Saladin, with whom he was engaged in a three-way power struggle against the Crusader Amalric I of Jerusalem.[2] Shawar was notorious for continually switching alliances, allying first with one side, and then the other,[3] and even ordering the burning of his own capital city, Fustat, just so that the enemy could not have it.[4]

## Biography

[edit]

Descendant from the Banu Sa'd, Shawar was born in Egypt and became the vizier at the end of the Fatimid caliphate, while al-Adid was caliph. In the mid-12th century, the Fatimid caliphate was crumbling, and Egypt had descended into a condition of near anarchy. The official head of state was the Caliph, but the true power was the Egyptian vizier, and various Egyptian governors competed with each other for the position, often with great violence. During the 1150s, Shawar was the Fatimid governor of Upper Egypt for five years, but he made a deal with the Sultan of Damascus, Nur ad-Din Zangi, deserted the Fatimids and joined the Seljuks in Syria. Shawar initially used the Sultan's aid,[5] took control of Cairo, and quickly killed his predecessor and his predecessor's entire family.[6] But nine months later, Shawar himself was overthrown by one of his lieutenants, Dirgham. He again sought assistance from Sultan Nur ad-Din, who sent one of his generals, Shirkuh, to settle the dispute. Dirgham was killed, and Shawar was restored to power. However, Shawar then argued with Shirkuh, and allied with the Crusader king, Amalric I of Jerusalem, who attacked Shirkuh at Bilbeis[7] in August–October 1164 (see Crusader invasion of Egypt). The siege ended with a stalemate, and both Shirkuh and Amalric agreed to withdraw from Egypt.

In 1166, Shirkuh attempted another attack, but Shawar called for reinforcements from Amalric, who arrived at the same time in January 1167. Fighting continued into Egypt, as far as al Babayn, just south of Cairo. There, Shirkuh's army achieved a major victory over Amalric in March. This resulted in another stalemate, and both Shirkuh and Amalric again simultaneously withdrew their respective forces in August 1167, leaving Shawar in power, though Amalric left a garrison in Cairo, and Egypt was required to pay increased tribute to Amalric's government in Jerusalem.

In the winter of 1168, Amalric again attacked Egypt, and Shawar switched alliances again, this time going back to Shirkuh, whom he had betrayed in 1164. Shirkuh and Shawar attempted to force the Crusader garrison out of Egypt, but Amalric pressed on, until his army was camped south of Fustat (the remnants of which are today in what is known as Old Cairo). Seeing that Amalric's invasion was imminent, Shawar ordered the burning of his own capital city, to keep it from falling into Amalric's hands. According to the Egyptian historian Al-Maqrizi (1346–1442):

> Shawar ordered that Fustat be evacuated. He forced [the citizens] to leave their money and property behind and flee for their lives with their children. In the panic and chaos of the exodus, the fleeing crowd looked like a massive army of ghosts.... Some took refuge in the mosques and bathhouses...awaiting a Christian onslaught similar to the one in Bilbeis. Shawar sent 20,000 naphtha pots and 10,000 lighting bombs [mish'al] and distributed them throughout the city. Flames and smoke engulfed the city and rose to the sky in a terrifying scene. The blaze raged for 54 days....[4]

But Shirkuh forced Amalric to withdraw, and then conquered Egypt with his own forces. In January 1169, Cairo fell, and Shirkuh had Shawar executed. Shirkuh was named the new vizier, but his reign lasted only two months. Already an obese man, he died of "indigestion", and was succeeded in the viziership by his nephew, Saladin.[8]

## Cultural impact

[edit]

* The power struggle between Shawar, Amalric, and Shirkuh was the setting for one of the stories by Robert E. Howard (1906–1936), "Gates of Empire".
* The character of Shawer appeared in the historical series, Salah Al-deen Al-Ayyobi, and was played by the actor Hassan Awiti.

## See also

[edit]

* Middle Ages portal
* Fatimid Caliphate portal

* Crusader invasions of Egypt

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Amin Maalouf (1984). The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. Al Saqi Books. pp. 159–161. ISBN 0-8052-0898-4.
2. ^ Beeson, Irene (September–October 1969). "Cairo, a Millennial". Saudi Aramco World: 24, 26–30. Retrieved 9 August 2007.
3. ^ Ismail Abaza. "Saladin and his Cairo". touregypt.net. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
4. ^ a b Dr. Zayn Bilkadi (January–February 1995). "The Oil Weapons". Saudi Aramco World. pp. 20–27.
5. ^ "Ayyubid Period". touregypt.net. Retrieved 9 August 2007.
6. ^ Stanley Lane-Poole (1901). A History of Egypt in the Middle Ages. Methuen & Co. p. 176. OCLC 602503339.
7. ^ Gibb, Sir Hamilton (2006). The Life of Saladin. Oxford University Press. p. 8\. ISBN 978-0-86356-928-9.
8. ^ Christopher Tyerman (2006). God's War: A New History of the Crusades. Belknap. pp. 347–349. ISBN 978-0-674-02387-1.

## External links

[edit]

* "Al-Qahira (Cairo)". Retrieved 28 July 2007.
* Robert E. Howard. "Gates of Empire - Robert E. Howard" (e-book). Gutenberg.net.

Preceded by

Ruzzik ibn Tala'i

|  Vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate
1162–1163  | Succeeded by

Dirgham

|
|

Preceded by

Dirgham

|  Vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate
1164–1169  | Succeeded by

Shirkuh

* v
* t
* e

Fatimid Caliphate topics

Imam-Caliphs|

* al-Mahdi Billah
* al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah
* al-Mansur Billah
* al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah
* al-Aziz Billah
* al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
* al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah
* al-Mustansir Billah
* al-Musta'li Billah
* al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah
* al-Hafiz li-Din Allah
* al-Zafir bi-Amr Allah
* al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah
* al-Adid li-Din Allah
* Dynasty

History|

| Foundation and rise (909–973)|

* Conquest of Aghlabid Ifriqiya
* Establishment
* 1st Sicilian revolt
* 1st invasion of Egypt
* 2nd invasion of Egypt
* 2nd Sicilian revolt
* Rebellion of Abu Yazid (943–947)
* Campaigns in the western Maghreb
* Conquest of Egypt

|

Apogee and crisis (973–1073)|

* Expansion into Syria
* Alexandretta
* 1st and 2nd Qarmatian invasions
* Struggle with Alptakin
* Aleppo
* Apamea
* Uprisings of Muffarij b. Daghfal
* Bedouin alliance uprising
* Revolt of Abu Rakwa
* Hilalian invasion of Ifriqiya
* al-Basasiri's conquest of Baghdad
* Loss of Aleppo
* Mustansirite Hardship

Recovery and downfall (1073–1171)|

* Dictatorship of Badr al-Jamali
* Revolt of Nizar
* Musta'li–Nizari schism
* First Crusade
* Siege of Ascalon
* Regime of Kutayfat and accession of al-Hafiz
* Hafizi–Tayyibi schism
* Crusader invasions of Egypt
* End of the Fatimid Caliphate
* Battle of the Blacks
* Conspiracy against Saladin

Government|

| Viziers
and regents|

* Jawdhar
* Ya'qub ibn Killis
* Ibn Ammar
* Barjawan
* Sitt al-Mulk
* Ali ibn Ahmad al-Jarjara'i
* Abu Muhammad al-Yazuri
* Rasad
* Nasir al-Dawla Ibn Hamdan
* Badr al-Jamali
* al-Afdal Shahanshah
* Kutayfat
* Hasan ibn al-Hafiz
* Bahram al-Armani
* Ridwan ibn Walakhshi
* al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi
* al-Adil ibn al-Sallar
* Abbas ibn Abi al-Futuh
* Tala'i ibn Ruzzik
* Ruzzik ibn Tala'i
* Shawar
* Dirgham
* Shirkuh
* Saladin

|

Vassal dynasties|

* Kalbids (Sicily)
* Zirids and Hammadids (Ifriqiya)
* Sharifs of Mecca
* Sharifs of Medina
* Jarrahids (Palestine)
* Mirdasids (Aleppo)
* Sulayhids, Hamdanids, and Zurayids (Yemen)
* Banu Kanz (Nubia)
* Lodi (Multan)

Officials, governors
and generals|

* Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Baghdadi
* Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Tamimi
* Jawhar
* Bakjur
* Manjutakin
* Anushtakin al-Dizbari
* al-Basasiri
* Qadi al-Fadil

Military|

* Fatimid army
* Kutama
* Ghilman
* Fatimid navy

Economy|

* Coinage

Isma'ilism|

| Doctrines|

* Imamate
* Hujja
* Esotericism
* Batin and Zahir

|

Branches and offshoots|

* Qarmatians
* Druze
* Hamza ibn Ali
* Nizari
* Assassins
* Musta'li
* Tayyibi
* Hafizi

Missionaries
and theologians|

* Hamdan Qarmat
* Ibn Hawshab
* Ali ibn al-Fadl al-Jayshani
* Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i
* Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Nasafi
* Abu Hatim al-Razi
* Abu Tammam
* Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman
* al-Qadi al-Nu'man
* Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani
* Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi
* Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad ibn Ya'qub
* Abdallah
* al-Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi
* Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani

Anti-Fatimid
movement|

* Akhu Muhsin
* Baghdad Manifesto

Culture|

| Art and architecture|

* Mahdiya
* Great Mosque of Mahdiya
* Skifa Kahla
* Mansuriya
* Cairo
* Al-Hakim Mosque
* Aqmar Mosque
* Bab al-Futuh
* Bab al-Nasr
* Bab Zuweila
* Fatimid Great Palaces
* Juyushi Mosque
* Mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya
* Portable mihrab
* Al-Salih Tala'i Mosque
* Minbar of the Ibrahimi Mosque
* Shrine of Husayn's Head

|

Literature and learning|

* Ali ibn Muhammad al-Iyadi
* al-Qadi al-Nu'man
* Muhammad ibn Hani al-Andalusi al-Azdi
* al-Musabbihi
* al-Azhar University
* House of Knowledge

Media
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*[e]: Edit this template