Baha al-Din Qaraqush facts for kids
Baha al-Din Qaraqush (whose full name was Baha al-Din Qaraqush al-Asadi al-Rumi al-Maliki al-Nasiri) was a trusted military commander and palace official who worked for the famous leader Saladin. He was in charge of the palace and even guarded the members of the old ruling family, the Fatimid dynasty, after they were removed from power. Qaraqush was also a skilled builder. He oversaw the construction of the Citadel of Cairo and helped make the city of Acre stronger with new defenses.
After Saladin died, Qaraqush continued to serve the Ayyubid sultans, acting as a temporary ruler (called a regent) for al-Aziz Uthman and later for al-Mansur. He eventually retired and passed away in 1201. Even though people at the time thought highly of him, he is now mostly remembered because of a funny, critical book written by a political rival. This book made him seem like a foolish and unfair ruler.
Contents
Qaraqush's Life Story
We don't know much about where Qaraqush came from or when he was born. His father's name isn't known, and he was often called "ibn Abdallah," which means "son of a servant of God." People thought he was very old by 1189, and some even said he knew Godfrey of Bouillon, a leader from the First Crusade who died way back in 1100!
Qaraqush was set free by Asad al-Din Shirkuh, another important military leader, who then promoted him to a commander. When Shirkuh invaded Egypt in 1168, Qaraqush led a group of 3,000 Oghuz horsemen.
Working for Saladin
When Shirkuh, who had just become the top minister (called a vizier) for the Fatimid Caliphate, died in 1169, Qaraqush supported Saladin, Shirkuh's nephew, to become the next vizier.
After some trouble in the palace, Qaraqush was made the palace chamberlain, a very important role. The Fatimid ruler, al-Adid, was now completely under Saladin's control, and Qaraqush kept a close eye on him in his palace. When al-Adid died in 1171, Saladin ended the Fatimid rule. Qaraqush was then put in charge of about 250 members of the Fatimid family, keeping them under house arrest in different palaces. He was very strict, even separating the men and women to prevent the family from growing.
In 1171, Saladin asked Qaraqush to fix the city walls of Cairo. Later, in 1176, Qaraqush began building the famous Citadel of Cairo on the Muqattam Hills. He also made the city walls bigger to include the new citadel and the area called Fustat. In 1187, Saladin called Qaraqush to strengthen the defenses of Acre, a port city Saladin wanted to use as a main base against the Crusaders. Qaraqush stayed in Acre during its long siege and was captured when the city fell in 1191. Saladin quickly paid a large sum of 20,000 gold dinars to get him back.
Later Years and Retirement
After Saladin passed away in 1193, Qaraqush worked for Saladin's second son, al-Aziz Uthman, who became the new sultan of Egypt. Al-Aziz made Qaraqush his deputy when he was away from Egypt. Later, Qaraqush became the temporary ruler (regent) for al-Aziz's young son, al-Mansur.
When al-Mansur became sultan, Qaraqush received the high title of atabeg, which meant he was a guardian or tutor to the young ruler. However, because he was very old, other commanders and the chief secretary, Ibn Mammati, soon forced him to retire. Another of Saladin's sons, al-Afdal, took his place as regent.
We don't hear much about Qaraqush after that, except that he died on April 7, 1201. He was buried in a special tomb at the cemetery near the Muqattam Hills.
Qaraqush's Legacy
How Historians Saw Him
Historians from Qaraqush's time generally wrote good things about him. They often highlighted his skills, especially as a builder. For example, a scholar named Ibn Khallikan wrote in his famous book that Qaraqush was "a man of lofty spirit and singularly favoured by fortune." Besides the Cairo Citadel and the defenses of Acre, Qaraqush also built his own house, a place for horse races (a hippodrome), and a bridge to Giza. He even reused stones from the ancient pyramids for some of his projects! He also built a resting place for travelers (a caravenserai) outside the Bab al-Futuh gate and a religious building (a ribat) at al-Maqs.
Another historian from his time, Imad al-Din al-Isfahani, once said Qaraqush was "a Turk who had neither knowledge of books nor familiarity with literature." But this probably shows Imad al-Din's own opinions. He was a writer and scholar, and he might have looked down on military leaders, especially those of Turkish or Kurdish background, compared to the Arab and Iranian scholars.
The Funny Stories About Him
Even though many people respected Qaraqush, he became very well-known later on because of a collection of funny, critical stories. This book was called 'Book on the Stupidity in the Judgements of Qaraqush'. It contained many made-up stories about Qaraqush making silly or unfair decisions, sometimes even showing him as a sultan.
The book was started by Ibn Mammati, who was Qaraqush's political rival. These stories became very popular in Egypt. Later, other writers collected and rewrote them. It's not clear why Ibn Mammati chose Qaraqush for these stories, as they don't seem to be about the real person at all. Even Ibn Khallikan, the historian, had to comment on these tales, saying:
Many strange decisions are said to have been made by Qarâqûsh. In fact, al-Asaad Ibn Mammati even wrote a small book called 'Stupidity, or the Decisions of Qarâqûsh,' which contains things that it's very unlikely a man like Qarâqûsh would have said or done. These stories are clearly made up, because [Saladin] would not have trusted him with important matters of the empire unless he had complete faith in his knowledge and skills.
Today, historians think there might have been a political disagreement between Qaraqush and Ibn Mammati. The only known clash was when Ibn Mammati didn't want Qaraqush to be regent for al-Mansur because of his old age. Anyway, the exaggerated stories that Ibn Mammati spread to make Qaraqush look bad really worked! The book became so popular that the real historical person has been overshadowed by these funny tales. Now, the name 'Qaraqush' is sometimes used to mean someone who is "stupid" or "a crazy tyrant."
