Кутуз: Египетский султан и победитель монголов

Sultan of Egypt from 1259 to 1260

Sayf al Din Qutuz (سيف الدين قطز; died 24 October 1260), also romanized as Kutuz or Kotuz and fully al Malik al Muẓaffar Sayf ad Dīn Quṭuz (الملك المظفر سيف الدين قطز ), was the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He reigned as Sultan for less than a year, from 1259 until his assassination in 1260, but served as the de facto ruler for two decades. Sold into slavery in Egypt, he rose to become vice sultan for more than 20 years, becoming the power behind the throne. He was prominent in defeating the Seventh Crusade, which invaded Egypt in 1249–1250. When Egypt was threatened by the Mongols in 1259, he took control of the military and deposed the reigning sultan, 15 year old Sultan Al Mansur Ali. The centers of Islamic power in Syria and Baghdad were conquered by the Mongols, and the center of the Islamic Empire moved to Egypt, which became their next target. Qutuz led an Egyptian Mamluk army north to confront the Mongols who had made a pact with Egypt's long time enemy the Crusaders. The Battle of Ain Jalut was fought on 3 September 1260 in southeastern Galilee, between the Egyptian Mamluk army and the Mongols. The Mongols were crushingly defeated by Qutuz's forces, in what has been considered a historical turning point. Qutuz was assassinated by a fellow Mamluk leader, Baibars, on the triumphant return journey to Cairo. Although Qutuz's reign was short, he is known as one of the most popular Mamluk sultans in the Islamic world and holds a high position in Islamic history. His name Qutuz means 'Vicious beast'. He received this name because he fought like a vicious beast against other slave children.

Qutuz was a Turkic prince from Persia, captured by the Mongols during the fall of the Khwarazmian dynasty c. 1231, he was taken to Damascus where he was sold to an Egyptian slave merchant who then sold him to Aybak, the Mamluk sultan in Cairo. According to some sources, Qutuz claimed that he was descended from Ala ad Din Muhammad II, a ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire. He became the most prominent Mu'izi Mamluk of Sultan Aybak, and then became his vice sultan in 1253. Aybak was assassinated in 1257 and Qutuz remained as vice sultan for Aybak's son al Mansur Ali. Qutuz led the Mu'izi Mamluks who had arrested Aybak's widow Shajar al Durr and installed al Mansur Ali as the new sultan of Egypt. Vice Sultan Qutuz and the Egyptian Emirs were alarmed by a message from an Nasir Yusuf in which he appealed for immediate help from Egypt. The emirs assembled at the court of the 15 year old Sultan Al Mansur Ali and Qutuz told them that because of the seriousness of the situation, Egypt should have a strong and capable sultan who could fight the Mongols. On 12 November 1259, Al Mansur Ali was deposed by Qutuz. When Qutuz became the new sultan, he promised the emirs that they could install any other sultan after he defeated the Mongols.

Hulagu and his forces were proceeding towards Damascus. Some of the Syrian emirs suggested to an Nasir Yusuf to surrender and submit to Hulagu as the best solution was to save themselves and Syria. Baibars, who was present at the meeting, was upset by the suggestion, The Levant region from the border of Egypt to the river Euphrates was freed from the Mongols' control. After this victory the Mamluks stretched their sovereignty to the Levant and were recognized by the Ayyubids and the others as legitimate rulers. When Hulagu heard about the defeat of the Mongol Army he executed an Nasir Yusuf near Tabriz. Hulagu kept threatening the Mamluk Sultanate, but soon he was struck hard by conflicts with the Mongols of the Golden Horde, in the western half of the Eurasian Steppe during the Berke–Hulagu war. Hulagu died in 1265 and would never avenge the defeat of the Mongols at Ain Jalut. The battle is also notable for being the earliest known battle where explosive hand cannons (midfa in Arabic) were used. These explosives were employed by the Mamluk Egyptians in order to frighten the Mongol horses and cavalry and cause disorder in their ranks. The explosive gunpowder compositions of these cannons were later described in Arabic chemical and military manuals in the early 14th century. the Mamluks under Qutuz then went on to take back all of Iraq and Syria. The last City that the Mamluks retook before his assassination was the grand city of Baghdad.

On his way back to Cairo, Qutuz was assassinated while on a hunting expedition in Salihiyah. According to both modern and medieval Muslim historians such as al Maqrizi, Baibars was involved in the assassination. Al Maqrizi further explains that the emirs who struck down Qutuz were Emir Badr ad Din Baktut, Emir Ons, and Emir Bahadir al Mu'izzi. While Western historians mentions that Baibars was in on the conspiracy and assigned him direct responsibility. Muslim chroniclers from the Mamluk era stated that Baibars' motivation was either to avenge the killing of his friend, the leader of the Bahariyya Faris ad Din Aktai during Sultan Aybak's reign; or due to Qutuz's decision to grant Aleppo to al Malik al Said Ala'a ad Din the Emir of Mosul, instead of to Baibars as had promised to him before the Battle of Ain Jalut. Baibars returned to a Cairo which were undergoing celebrations on the victory over the Mongols,

The coins during the reign of Qutuz are unique in the history of Mamluk coinages as no other names except his names and titles were inscribed on it: al Malik al Muzafar Saif al Donya wa al Din ("The victorious king, sword of the temporal world and of the faith") and al Muzafar Saif al Din ("The victorious sword of faith").