Rukn al-Din Baibars (1223-1 July 1277), sometimes known as Baibars al-Bunduqdari, Baybars, or simply Baibars was the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt and Syria from 1260 to 1277, succeeding Saif ad-Din Qutuz and preceding Al-Said Barakah.
Biography[]
The life of Baibars al Bunduqdari was a triumph of talent and ruthless ambition over lowly origins. A Kipchak Turk enslaved at an early age, he became a Mameluke slave soldier in the service of the Ayyubid caliph of Egypt. After first attracting attention for his role in a victory over the crusaders outside Gaza in 1244, Baibars led the crushing defeat of the French King Louis IX's invading crusader army at al-Mansurah in February 1250.
The crisis of the crusader invasion led the Mamelukes to take power in Cairo, but Baibars was still no more than a trusted general. When the all-conquering Mongols threatened Syria and Egypt a decade later, Mameluke Sultan Qutuz ordered Baibars to lead the counteroffensive. At Ain Jalut, north of Jerusalem, in September 1260 the Mongols suffered their first defeat, sometimes seen as a devisive turning point in history. Baibars headed the Mameluke army, with Qutuz in overall command. The sultan did not live long to savor his triumph; on his way back to Cairo he was assassinated, probably on the orders of Baibars, who succeeded him.
Merciless Oppressor[]
As sultan, Baibars imposed his rule effectively on Syria. He fought more campaigns against the Mongols and ground down the crusader states, reducing major strongholds one by one. He showed none of Saladin's chivalry towards those he defeated, indulging in pitiless massacre, despite promises of safety to those who surrendered. The capture of Antioch in 1268 was followed by a particularly shocking carnage, in which the entire Christian population was killed or enslaved. The crusader castle of the Krak des Chevaliers fell in 1271, but Baibars did not live to see the Christian presence in Palestine completely extinguished. He died either from poison or a fatal wound.