Shajarat al-Durr: Biography of a Female Ruler and the Legitimacy Crisis in the Ayyubid-Mamluk Transition Period

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 12 Sayı: 1, 11 - 21, 21.03.2026

Bedrettin Basuğuy

https://doi.org/10.21600/ijoks.1799113

https://izlik.org/JA75SK93CH

Öz

This study analyzes the biography, political strategies, and unique reign in Islamic history of Shajarat al-Durr, who rose from slavery to sultanate in 13th-century Egypt. Entering the palace of the Ayyubid sultan al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb as a slave concubine, Shajarat al-Durr gained the sultan's trust through her intelligence and strategic abilities and rose to the position of political advisor. Her true political genius manifested during her husband's sudden death in 647/1249. By concealing the sultan's death during the critical phase of the Seventh Crusade, maintaining the state apparatus without interruption, arranging for her stepson Tūrānshāh to be brought from Ḥiṣn Kayfā, and delaying the Crusaders' awareness of this situation, she demonstrated her extraordinary crisis management skills. After the Ayyubid sultan Tūrānshāh was killed by the Baḥrī Mamluks, Shajarat al-Durr ascended to the throne in 648/1250, becoming the first female sultan in Islamic history to have the khuṭba read in her name. However, her reign conflicted with the religious-legal norms of the period and faced harsh criticism from the Abbasid caliph al-Mustaʿṣim, based on the hadith of the Prophet. Due to opposition from the Ayyubid maliks in Syria and internal pressures, Shajarat al-Durr was forced to marry ʿIzz al-Dīn Aybak and transfer her sultanate to him, though she continued to intervene in state affairs in subsequent years. Having Aybak killed following his attempt at a second marriage, Shajarat al-Durr ultimately lost her life tragically in 655/1257 as a result of Aybak's former wife's revenge. Based on comparative analysis of period sources, particularly al-Maqrīzī, Ibn Iyās, Ibn Wāṣil, and al-Nuwayrī, this study reveals the tension between Shajarat al-Durr's actual power and legal legitimacy, the structural obstacles to female rule, and her role in the Ayyubid-Mamluk transition process.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Shajarat al-Durr , Ayyubids , Mamluks , al-Malik al-Ṣaliḥ , Legitimacy , Seventh Crusade , Turanshah

Etik Beyan

As this research is a historical study and does not involve human subjects, it does not directly require ethics committee approval. However, principles of academic integrity and research ethics have been rigorously applied. All primary and secondary sources used in the study have been properly cited. Objectivity has been maintained in the translation of source texts, and personal interpretations have been clearly indicated. There is no conflict of interest in the research process, and all findings have been presented within the framework of the principle of transparency.

Kaynakça

• Abū al-Fidāʾ, ʿI. al-D. I. (1119/1963). Al-mukhtaṣar fī akhbār al-bashar (M. Z. ʿAzb, Ed.) (Vol. 3). Kahire, Egypt: Dār al-Maʿārif. (Original work published 1119)
• Ağır, A. M. (2010). Memlûlarda bir kadın sultan: Şecer ed-Dürr İsmet ed-Dîn Ümm-i Halîl (1250). Uluslararası Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, *3*(13), 9–15.
• Amman, L. (1997). Shadjar al-Durr. In Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed., Vol. 9, p. 176). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
• ʿĀshūr, S. ʿA. al-F. (1976). Al-ʿaṣr al-mamālīkī fī Miṣr wa'l-Shām (2nd ed.). Kahire, Egypt: Dār al-Nahḍa.
• Ayalon, D. (1989). Memluk devletinde kölelik sistemi (S. Kortantamer, Trans.). Tarih İncelemeleri Dergisi, *4*, 211–247.
• Ayaz, F. Y. (2012). Üstâdüddâr. In Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm ansiklopedisi (Vol. 42, pp. 393–395). İstanbul, Turkey: TDV Yayınları.
• Ayaz, F. Y. (2015). *Memlükler (1250-1517)*. İstanbul, Turkey: İSAM Yayınları.
• al-ʿAynī, B. al-D. (2010). ʿIqd al-jumān fī tārīkh ahl al-zamān: ʿAṣr salāṭīn al-mamālīk (M. M. Amīn, Ed.) (Vol. 1). Kahire, Egypt: Dār al-Kutub wa'l-Wathāʾiq al-Qawmiyya.
• al-Bukhārī, A. ʿA. M. ibn I. (1400 AH/1980). Al-jāmiʿ al-ṣaḥīḥ. Kahire, Egypt: al-Maṭbaʿa al-Salafiyya. (Original work published 1400 AH)
• Can, H. (2023). Abdüllatîf el-Bağdâdî'nin gözüyle Orta Çağ'da Mısır: Coğrafya, sosyo-kültürel yapı, sanat. İstanbul, Turkey: İlâhiyât Yayınları.
• al-Dawādārī, A. B. ibn ʿA. ibn A. (1972). Kanz al-durar wa-jāmiʿ al-ghurar (S. ʿA. al-F. ʿĀshūr, Ed.) (Vols. 7–8). Kahire, Egypt: Markaz Wujūd li'l-Makhṭūṭāt.
• al-Ḥanbalī, A. ibn I. (1978). Shifāʾ al-qulūb fī manāqib banī Ayyūb (N. Rashīd, Ed.). Irak: Wizārat al-Thaqāfa wa'l-Funūn.
• Ḥalabī, M. R. (1988). Iʿlām al-nubalāʾ bi-tārīkh Ḥalab al-shahbāʾ (Vol. 2). Haleb, Syria: Dār al-Qalam al-ʿArabī.
• Ḥasan, Ḥ. I. (1996). Tārīkh al-Islām: Al-siyāsī wa'l-dīnī wa'l-thaqāfī wa'l-ijtimāʿī (Vol. 4). Kahire, Egypt: Maktabat al-Nahḍa al-Miṣriyya.
• Hirschler, K. (2007). Under-age rule and the quest for political stability in the Ayyubid period. Al-Masaq, *19*(1), 29–46.
• Humphreys, S. (1977). *From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193-1260*. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
• Ibn al-ʿIbrī, A. al-F. Y. M. G. (1994). Tārīkh mukhtaṣar al-duwal. Beyrut, Lebanon: Dār al-Rāʾid.
• Ibn Iyās, A. al-B. M. ibn A. (1960). Badāʾiʿ al-zuhūr fī waqāʾiʿ al-duhūr. Kahire, Egypt: Maṭābiʿ al-Shaʿb.
• Ibn Kathīr, I. ibn ʿU. (2010). Al-bidāya wa'l-nihāya (R. ʿA. al-Ḥ. & M. Ḥ. ʿUbayd, Eds.) (Vol. 15). Beyrut, Lebanon-Dımaşk, Syria: Dār Ibn Kathīr.
• Ibn Khaldūn, W. al-D. ʿA. al-R. (2000). Tārīkh Ibn Khaldūn (dīwān al-mubtadaʾ wa'l-khabar) (Kh. Shahāda, Ed.) (Vol. 5). Beyrut, Lebanon: Dār al-Fikr.
• Ibn Taghrībirdī, J. al-D. A. al-M. Y. (1992). Al-nujūm al-zāhira fī mulūk Miṣr wa'l-Qāhira (M. Ḥ. Shams al-Dīn, Ed.) (Vols. 6–7). Beyrut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya.
• Ibn al-Wardī, Z. al-D. ʿU. (1285 AH/1868). Tatimmat al-mukhtaṣar fī akhbār al-bashar (tārīkh Ibn al-Wardī) (Vol. 2). Kahire, Egypt: al-Maṭbaʿa al-Wahbiyya. (Original work published 1285 AH)
• Ibn Wāṣil, J. al-D. M. (1977). Mufarrij al-kurūb fī akhbār banī Ayyūb (Ḥ. M. Rabīʿ, Ed.). Kahire, Egypt: Dār al-Kutub.
• Ibn Wāṣil, J. al-D. M. (2004). Mufarrij al-kurūb fī akhbār banī Ayyūb (ʿU. ʿA. al-S. Tadmurī, Ed.). Beyrut, Lebanon: al-Maktaba al-ʿAṣriyya.
• Joinville, J. de. (2002). Bir Haçlının hatıraları (C. Kanat, Trans.). Ankara, Turkey: Vadi Yayınları. (Original work published ca. 1309)
• Kaḥḥāla, ʿU. R. (1959). Aʿlām al-nisāʾ fī ʿālam al-ʿArab wa'l-Islām (Vol. 2). Dımaşk, Syria: Muʾassasat al-Risāla.
• Kanat, C., & Burçak, D. (2013). Sorularla Haçlı Seferleri (A. Can, Ed.). İstanbul, Turkey: Yeditepe Yayınları.
• Kılıç, M. (2019). Halep Eyyûbîleri: Al-Malik al-Nāṣir II. Saladin Yūsuf devrinde Eyyûbîler devleti. Ankara, Turkey: Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları.
• Kızıltoprak, S. (2004). Mamlūk. In Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm ansiklopedisi (Vol. 29, pp. 88–89). Ankara, Turkey: TDV Yayınları.
• Konukçu, E. (1992). Begüm. In Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm ansiklopedisi (Vol. 5). İstanbul, Turkey: TDV Yayınları.
• Kopraman, K. Y. (1989). Mamlūks. In Doğuştan günümüze büyük İslâm tarihi (Vol. 6, pp. 442–444). İstanbul, Turkey: Çağ Yayınları.
• Kuşçu, A. D. (2018). Ayyūbids. In İslâm tarihi ve medeniyeti (Vol. 7, p. 295). İstanbul, Turkey: Siyer Yayınları.
• al-Manṣūrī, B. (1993). Mukhtār al-akhbār: Tārīkh dawlat al-ayyūbiyya wa-dawlat al-mamālīk al-baḥriyya (ʿA. al-Ḥ. Ṣ. Ḥamdān, Ed.). Kahire, Egypt: al-Dār al-Miṣriyya al-Lubnāniyya.
• al-Maqrīzī, T. al-D. A. al-ʿA. A. (1997). Al-sulūk li-maʿrifat duwal al-mulūk (ʿA. al-Q. ʿAṭā, Ed.) (Vols. 1–8). Beyrut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya.
• al-Nasāʾī, A. ʿA. al-R. A. ibn S. (1421 AH/2000). Al-sunan al-kubrā. Beyrut, Lebanon: Muʾassasat al-Risāla. (Original work published 1421 AH)
• al-Nuwayrī, S. al-D. A. (2004). Nihāyat al-arab fī funūn al-adab (N. M. Fawwāz & Ḥ. Fawwāz, Eds.) (Vol. 29). Beyrut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya.
• Runciman, S. (2008). Haçlı Seferleri tarihi (F. Işıltan, Trans.) (3rd ed., Vol. 3). Ankara, Turkey: Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları. (Original work published 1954)
• al-Ṣafadī, Ṣ. al-D. ibn A. (2000). Al-wāfī bi'l-wafayāt (A. Arnawūṭ & T. Muṣṭafā, Eds.) (Vol. 16). Beyrut, Lebanon: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī. (Original work published 1420 AH)
• Saydem, F. W. (2010). Jihād al-sulṭān Ṣāliḥ Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb wa-juhūduhu fī tawḥīd Miṣr wa'l-Shām (Unpublished master's thesis). al-Jāmiʿa al-Islāmiyya, Gazze, Palestine.
• Sibṭ Ibn al-Jawzī, A. al-M. (2013). Mirʾāt al-zamān fī tawārīkh al-aʿyān (I. al-Zaybaq, Ed.) (Vol. 22). Dımaşk, Syria: Dār al-Risāla al-ʿĀlamiyya.
• Strayer, J. R. (1969). The Crusades of Louis IX. In R. L. Wolff & H. W. Hazard (Eds.), A history of the Crusades (Vol. 2, pp. 501–502). Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.
• Şeker, D. A. (2003). Mama Hatun. In Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm ansiklopedisi (Vol. 27). Ankara, Turkey: TDV Yayınları.
• Şeşen, R. (1989). Eyyubîler. In Doğuştan günümüze büyük İslam tarihi (Vols. 1–15). İstanbul, Turkey: Çağ Yayınları.
• Şeşen, R. (1995). Eyyûbîler. In Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm ansiklopedisi (Vol. 12, p. 23). İstanbul, Turkey: TDV Yayınları.
• al-Tirmidhī, A. ʿĪ. M. ibn ʿĪ. (1998). Al-jāmiʿ al-kabīr (B. ʿA. Maʿrūf, Ed.). Beyrut, Lebanon: Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī.
• Tomar, C. (2010). Şecerüddür. In Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm ansiklopedisi (Vol. 38, pp. 404–405). İstanbul, Turkey: TDV Yayınları.
• Üçok, B. (1981). İslâm devletlerinde Türk nâibeler ve kadın hükümdarlar. Ankara, Turkey: Kültür Bakanlığı.
• Üçok, B. (2001). Şecer-üd-dürr. In İslâm ansiklopedisi (Vol. 11, p. 376). Eskişehir, Turkey: MEB Yayınları.
• Uzunçarşılı, İ. H. (1988). Osmanlı devleti teşkilâtına medhal. Ankara, Turkey: Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları.
• al-Yāfiʿī, ʿA. (1997). Mirʾāt al-jinān wa-ʿibrat al-yaqẓān (Kh. al-Manṣūr, Ed.) (Vol. 4). Beyrut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya.