Baybars: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 20232024}}

| title = Sultan Misr wa al-SuriaSham <br/>Al-Malik al-Zahir <br/>Rukn al-Din

<!-- | othertitles = [[Sultan of Egypt]] -->| full name = al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari Abu al-Futuh

| birth_date = 19 July 1223 or 1228

| birth_place = [[Dasht-i Kipchak]]<ref name="auto">Adventuring in the Englishes: Language and Literature in a Postcolonial Globalized World, Ikram Ahmed Elsherif, Piers Michael Smith. 2014. Part I; Chapter 2, pgp 18.</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Baybars-I |title=Baybars I |website=Britannica |date=15 February 2024 }}</ref>

| death_date = 1 July 1277 (aged 50/55)

| death_place = [[Damascus]], [[Bahri dynasty|Mamluk Sultanate]]

| religion = [[Islam]]|

'''Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari''' ({{lang-langx|ar|الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري}};{{efn|''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī}} 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as '''Baibars''' or '''Baybars''' and nicknamed '''Abu al-Futuh''' ({{lang|ar|أبو الفتوح}}, {{lit|Father of Conquests}}), was the fourth [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] [[List of rulers of Islamic Egypt#Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517)|sultan of Egypt and Syria]], of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] [[Kipchaks|Kipchak]] origin, in the [[Bahri dynasty]], succeeding [[Qutuz]]. He was one of the commanders of the Egyptian forces that inflicted a defeat on the [[Seventh Crusade]] of King [[Louis IX of France]]. He also led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] in 1260,<ref>The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Macropædia, H.H. Berton Publisher, 1973–1974, p. 773/vol. 2</ref> which marked the first substantial defeat of the [[Mongol Empire|Mongol]] army and is considered a turning point in history.<ref>''The history of the Mongol conquests'', By J. J. Saunders, pgp. 115</ref>

Baybars was described as a tall Asian man ofwith [[Kipchackolive Turkicskin]] origin withand [[oliveblue skineyes]] and had cataracts in one eye.<ref>https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/afterpharaohs2010/13950.html#:~:text=He%20was%20of%20Kipchak%20Turkic,shine%20a%20light%2C%20glossy%20blue.</ref> He had broad shoulders, slim legs, and a powerful voice.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bartlett |first1=W. B. |title=The Fall of Christendom: The Road to Acre 1291 |dateyear=15 October 2021 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-8418-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UvtZEAAAQBAJ&dq=baybars+swarthy&pg=PT48 |language=en}} "He was described as being a tall man with a powerful voice, swarthy skin, and blue eyes.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREEThree —– Brill |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/browse/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/alpha/b?s.rows=20&s.start=220&lang=de |website=referenceworks.brillonline.com |language=en}} "Baybars is described as a tall man with broad chest and shoulders, slim legs, a powerful voice, swarthy skin, and blue eyes."</ref> It was observed that he had [[cataract]] in one eye.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thorau |first1=Peter |title=Sultan Baybars der Erste von Ägypten |date=1992 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-582-06823-0 |page=28 |language=en}}</ref>

Baybars was a [[Kipchaks|Kipchak]] thought to be born in the [[steppe]] region north of the [[Black Sea]], or [[Desht-i Kipchak|Dasht-i Kipchak]] at the time<!-- The cited sources don't specify "Dasht-i Kipchak", they simply say from the Kipchaks north of the Black Sea, but linking to this article is probably reasonable; if not, this detail can be removed. -->.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holt |first=P. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TqasAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90 |title=The Age of the Crusades: The Near East from the Eleventh Century to 1517 |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-87152-1 |pagespage=90 |language=en |quote=By origin he was a Kipchak Turk from the territory lying to the north of the Black Sea. When the Mongols conquered this region in about 1241, Baybars's people fled across the Black Sea and sought refuge with a Turcoman chieftain in Anatolia, who proved treacherous, and turned on the fugitives with fire and sword. Baybars was among the captives. He was then about fourteen years of age, and his journey southwards can be traced through the slave-markets of Sivas, Aleppo, Damascus and Hamah. |orig-date=1986}}</ref><ref name=":0522">{{Cite book |last=Thorau |first=Peter |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/baybars-i-al-malik-al-zahir-rukn-al-din-COM_23709 |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2010 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |language=en |chapter=Baybars I, al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn |quote=Baybars is described as a tall man with broad chest and shoulders, slim legs, a powerful voice, swarthy skin, and blue eyes. He was probably born about 625/1227–8 in the southern Russian steppes as a member of a Qipçāq-Turkish group. At the age of fourteen he became a slave. The amīr Aydakīn al-Bunduqdār bought him in Ḥamāt (Hama) a short while later. |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fry |first=C. George |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CurSh3Sh_KMC&pg=PA124 |title=Dictionary of World Biography: The Middle Ages |publisher=Routledge |year=1998 |isbn=978-1-57958-041-4 |editor-last=Magill |editor-first=Frank Northen |pages=124 |language=en |chapter=Baybars I |quote=Baybars I, al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn ak-Din Baybars al-Salihi, was born around the year 1223 in what is now southern Russia. A member of the tribe of Kipchak Turks living on the north shores of the Black Sea, Barbars was a victim of the Mongol invasion of his native region in the late 1230's. By the time he was fourteen, Baybars had become a prisoner of war; he was sold in the slave market in Sivas, Anatolia. |editor-last2=Aves |editor-first2=Alison}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Amitai |first=Reuven |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC&pg=PA101 |title=Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-96690-0 |editor-last=Meri |editor-first=Josef W. |pagespage=101 |language=en |chapter=Baybars I, Mamluk Sultan |quote=Baybars was born around 1220 CE among the Qipchaq Turks, who lived in the steppe region north of the Black Sea. Fleeing from the Mongol invasions in the area in 1241–1242, Baybars and his family moved to Anatolia. There, Baybars was captured and ended up in the slave market of Damascus.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rabie |first=Hassanein Muhammad |title=Baybars I {{!}} Mamlūk Sultan of Egypt & Syria |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Baybars-I |access-date=16 June 2023 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref> There is a discrepancy in [[Ibn Taghrībirdī]]'s dating of his birth, since he says it took place in 625 AH (12 December 1227 – 29 November 1228) and also that Baybars was about 24 years old in 1247, which would put his birth closer to 1223. He belonged to the Barli tribe. According to a fellow Cuman and eyewitness, Badr al-Din Baysari, the Barli fled the armies of the [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]], arrangingintending to settle in the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]] (named in the sources [[White Wallachia|Wallachia]]). They crossed the [[Black Sea]] from either [[Crimea]] or [[Alania]], where they had arrived toin Bulgaria in about 1242. In the meantime, the [[Mongol invasion of Bulgaria and Serbia|Mongols invaded Bulgaria]], including the regions where the Cuman refugees had recently settled.<ref name="Fiennes">{{cite book |author=Ranulph Fiennes |title=The Elite: The Story of Special Forces – From Ancient Sparta to the War on Terror |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=2019 |page=64 |isbn=978-1-4711-5664-9 }}</ref> Both Baybars, who witnessed his parents being massacred,<ref name="Fiennes"/> and Baysari were among the captives during the invasion and were sold into slavery in the [[Sultanate of Rum]] at the slave market in [[Sivas]]. Afterwards, he was sold in [[Hama]] to {{ill|'Alā' al-Dīn Īdīkīn al-Bunduqārī|de|Ala' ad-Din Aydekin}}, an Egyptian of high rank, who brought him to [[Cairo]]. In 1247, al-Bunduqārī was arrested and the sultan of Egypt, [[As-Salih Ayyub]], confiscated his slaves, including Baybars.<ref name=Korobeinikov>{{citation |author=Dimitri Korobeinikov |chapter=A Broken Mirror: The Kıpçak World in the Thirteenth Century |pages=379–412 |title=The Other Europe in the Middle Ages: Avars, Bulgars, Khazars, and Cumans |editor1=Florin Curta |editor2=Roman Kovalev |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill |year=2008}}.</ref>

In 1250, he supported the defeat of the [[Seventh Crusade]] of [[Louis IX of France]] in two major battles. The first was the [[Battle of Mansurah (1250)|Battle of Al Mansurah]], where he employed an ingenious strategy in ordering the opening of a gate to let the crusader knights enter the town; the crusaders rushed into the town that they thought was deserted to find themselves trapped inside. They were besieged from all directions by the Egyptian forces and the town population, and suffered heavy losses. [[Robert I, Count of Artois|Robert of Artois]], who took refuge in a house,<ref>Lord of Joinville, 110, part II.</ref><ref>Asly, p. 49.<br>Skip Knox, ''Egyptian Counter-attack, The Seventh Crusade''.</ref> and [[William Longespée the Younger]] were both killed, along with most of the [[Knights Templar]]. Only five Templar Knights escaped alive.<ref>According to Matthew Paris, only 2 Templars, 1 Hospitaller and one 'contemptible person' escaped. Matthew Paris, ''Louis IX's Crusade'', p. 14/ Vol. 5.</ref> The second was the [[Battle of Fariskur (1250)|Battle of Fariskur]] which essentially ended the Seventh Crusade and led to the capture of Louis IX. Egyptian forces in that battle were led by Sultan [[Al-Muazzam Turanshah|Turanshah]], the young son of recently deceased [[as-Salih Ayyub]]. Shortly after the victory over the Crusaders, Baybars and a group of Mamluk soldiers assassinated Turanshah, leading to as-Salih Ayyub's widow [[Shajar al-Durr]] being named ''[[Sultana (title)|sultana]]''.<ref>Runciman, Steven, ''A History of the Crusades, Volume Three:&nbsp; The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades'', Cambridge University Press, London, 1951, pp. 272–273</ref>

Baybars then sent 'Ala al-Din Taybars al-Waziri to discuss with [[Qutuz]] his return to Egypt, which was eagerly accepted.{{sfn|Humphreys|1977|p=348}} He was still a commander under sultan Qutuz at the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] in 1260, when he decisively defeated the Mongols. After the battle, Sultan Qutuz (aka Koetoez) was assassinated while on a hunting expedition. It was said that Baybars was involved in the assassination because he expected to be rewarded with the governorship of [[Aleppo]] for his military success, but Qutuz, fearing his ambition, refused to give him the post.<ref>The story of the involvement of Baybars in the assassination was told by different historians in different ways. In one account the assassins killed Qutuz while he was giving a hand to Baybars (Al-Maqrizi and Ibn-Taghri). In another, from an Ayyubid source, Qutuz was giving a hand to someone when Baybars struck his back with a sword (Abu-Al-Fida). A third account mentioned that Baybars tried to help Qutuz against the assassins (O. Hassan). According to Al-Maqrizi, the Emirs who struck Qutuz were Badr ad-Din Baktut, Emir Ons, and Emir Bahadir al-Mu'izzi. (Al-Maqrizi, p.519/vol.1)</ref> Baybars succeeded Qutuz as Sultan of Egypt.<ref>MacHenry, Robert. ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 1993. [https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia07ency <!-- quote=baybars qutuz aleppo. --> ''Baybars'']</ref>

After suppressing the revolt of Sinjar, Baybars then managed to deal with the [[Ayyubid]]s, while quietly eliminating the prince of Kerak. Ayyubids such as [[Al-Ashraf Musa, Emir of Homs]] and the Ayyubid Emir Dynasty of Hama [[Al-Mansur Muhammad II]], who had earlier staved off the Mongol threat, were permitted to continue their rule in exchange for their recognizing Baybars' authority as Sultan.<ref name="mrw8AAAAIAAJ">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrw8AAAAIAAJ&q=baibars+homs&pg=PA315 | last = Runciman | first = Steven | year=1987 |title = '''A History of the Crusades: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades''' quoting Magrisi Sultans, I, i, p. 116; Abu al Fida pp. 145–50; Bar Hebraeus p. 439 |page = 316 | publisher = CUP Archive | isbn = 9780521347723 }}</ref>

As sultan, Baybars engaged in a lifelong struggle against the Crusader kingdoms in [[Syria]], in part because the Christians had aided the Mongols. He started with the [[Principality of Antioch]], which had become a vassal state of the Mongols and had participated in attacks against Islamic targets in Damascus and Syria. In 1263, Baybars laid siege to [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], the capital of the remnant of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]], although the siege was abandoned when he sacked [[Nazareth]] instead.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=taJZ433OqJIC&pg=PA7|title=In Xanadu|first=William|last=Dalrymple|author-link=William Dalrymple (historian)|date=3 April 1989|publisher=Penguin Books India|access-date=3 April 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9780143031079}}</ref> He used siege engines to defeat the Crusaders in battles such as the [[Fall of Arsuf]] from 21 March to 30 April. After breaking into the town he offered free passage to the defending Knights Hospitallers if they surrendered their formidable citadel. The Knights accepted Baybars' offer but were enslaved anyway.<ref>Rodney Stark, 'God's Battalions', 2009, p. 230</ref> Baybars razed the castle to the ground.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sH0YqXERz1wC&dq=baibars+arsuf&pg=PT96|title=The Routledge Companion to the Crusades|first=Peter|last=Lock|date=15 April 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135131449 |via=Google Books}}</ref> He next attacked [[Château Pèlerin|Atlit]] and [[Haifa]], where he captured both towns after destroying the crusaders' resistance, and razed the citadels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATo9AAAAIAAJ&dq=baibars+athlith&pg=PA338|title=The Crusaders in the East|date=11 November 1907|publisher=CUP Archive|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In the same year, Baybars laid siege to the fortress of [[Safed]], held by the [[Templar]] knights, which had [[Siege of Safed (1188)|been conquered]] by [[Saladin]] in 1188 but returned to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1240. Baybars promised the knights safe passage to the Christian town of Acre if they surrendered their fortress. Badly outnumbered, the knights agreed. Upon surrender, Baybars broke his promise and massacred the entire Templar garrison{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}. On capturing Safed, Baybars did not raze the fortress to the ground but fortified and repaired it instead, as it was strategically situated and well constructed. He installed a new governor in Safed, with the rank of ''Wali''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NBBMJJTEoKMC&q=baibars+safed&pg=PA165|title=The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society|first1=Michael|last1=Winter|first2=Amalia|last2=Levanoni|date=3 April 2018|publisher=BRILLBrill|access-date=3 April 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=978-9004132863}}</ref>

Later, in 1266, Baybars invaded the Christian country of [[Cilician Armenia]] which, under King [[Hethum I]], had submitted to the Mongol Empire. After defeating the forces of Hethum I in the [[Battle of Mari]], Baybars managed to ravage the three great cities of [[Mamistra]], [[Adana]] and [[Tarsus, Mersin|Tarsus]], so that when Hetoum arrived with Mongol troops, the country was already devastated. Hetoum had to negotiate the return of his son [[Leo II, King of Armenia|Leo]] by giving control of Armenia's border fortresses to the Mamluks. In 1269, Hetoum abdicated in favour of his son and became a monk, but he died a year later.<ref>[[Claude Mutafian]], p. 60</ref> Leo was left in the awkward situation of keeping Cilicia as a subject of the Mongol Empire, while at the same time paying tribute to the Mamluks.<ref>Bournotian, ''A Concise History of the Armenian People'', p. 101</ref>

Baybars actively pursued a close relationship with [[Berke]], the Khan of Golden Horde.<ref name="The Preaching of Islam A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith">{{cite book |author1=Thomas Walker Arnold |author-link= Thomas Walker Arnold |title=The Preaching of Islam A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith |date=1896 |publisher=A. Constable and Company; Harvard University |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qxsVAAAAYAAJ |access-date=26 November 2023 |language=En |chapter=8 |page=192 |quote=A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith Sir Thomas Walker Arnold. men , observing the growing enmity between ... Baybars , who persuaded them to embrace Islam.1 Baybars himself was at war with Hūlāgū , whom he had recently ...}}</ref> He particularly was recorded to receive the first two hundred soldiers from Golden Horde to visit warmly, where Baybars persuade them to convert to Islam while also observing the growing enmity between the Golden Horde Khan with Hulagu.<ref name="The Preaching of Islam A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith" /> Baybars, who at that time has just defeated Hulagu, immediately sent envoy to Berke to inform the latter about this. Then, As soon as Berke converted to Islam, he sent envoy to Egypt to give news about this matter, and later, Baybars brought more peoples from Golden Horde to be sent into Egypt, where they also converted intoto Islam.<ref name="The Preaching of Islam A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith" />

In some time around October to November 1267, or about 666 Safar of [[Hijra year]], Baybars wrote condolences and congratulations to the new Khan of the [[Golden Horde]], [[Mengu-Timur]], to urge him to fight [[Abaqa Khan|Abaqa]]. Baybars continued to conduct warm correspondence with the Golden Horde, particularly with Mengu Timur's general [[Nogai Khan|Noqai]], who unlike Mengu Timur was very cooperative with Baybars. It is theorized that this intimacy was not only due to the religious connection (as Noqai was a Muslim, unlike his Khan), but also because Noqai was not really fond of Mengu-Timur. However, Baybars was pragmatic in his approach and did not want to become involved in complicated intrigue inside the Golden Horde, so instead he stayed close to both Mengu Timur and Noqai.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VxOcXC85tnQC&q=baybars+golden+horde&pg=PA59 | last = F. Broadbridge | first = Anne | year= 2008 |title = Kingship and Ideology in the Islamic and Mongol Worlds Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization |page = 59 | publisher = Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521852654}}</ref>

Baybars then turned his attention to Tripoli, but he interrupted his siege there to call a truce in May 1271. The fall of Antioch had led to the brief [[Ninth Crusade]], led by [[Edward I of England|Prince Edward of England]], who arrived in Acre in May 1271 and attempted to ally himself with the Mongols against Baybars. So Baybars declared a truce with Tripoli, as well as with Edward, who was never able to capture any territory from Baybars anyway. According to some reports, Baybars tried to have Edward assassinated with poison, but Edward survived the attempt and returned home in 1272.

Baybars then completed his conquest of Nubia, including the [[Al-Maris (region)|Medieval lower Nubia]] which was ruled by [[Banu Kanz]]. Under the terms of the settlement, the Nubians were now subjected to paying [[jizya]] tribute, and in return they were allowed to keep their religion, being protected under Islamic law as '[[People of the Book]]'; they were also allowed to continue being governed by a king from the native royal family, although this king was chosen personally by Baybars, namely a Makurian noble named Shakanda.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVYT4Kraym0C&q=baibars+makuria&pg=PA300 | last = El Hareir, Mbaye | first = Idris, Ravane | year=2011 |title = The Spread of Islam Throughout the World |page = 300 | publisher = UNESCO | isbn = 9789231041532 }}</ref> In practice this was reducing Makuria to a vassal kingdom,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a4q3AwAAQBAJ&q=Baybars+makuria&pg=PA205|title=Kenana Handbook of Sudan|last=Hopkins.Peter|date=3 June 2014|publisher=Routledge|access-date=3 April 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9781136775260}}</ref> effectively ending Makuria's status as an independent kingdom.

Baybars died in [[Damascus]] on 1 July 1277, when he was 53 years old. His demise has been the subject of some academic speculation. Many sources agree that he died from drinking poisoned [[kumis]] that was intended for someone else. Other accounts suggest that he may have died from a wound while campaigning, or from illness.<ref name="Young">{{cite book

Sultan Baybars married a noble lady from Tripoli (modern-day Lebanon) named Aisha al Bushnatiya, a prominent Arab family. Aisha was a warrior who fought the Crusader oppressionCrusaders along with her brother lieutenant Hassan. She met Sultan Baybars after he camped in Tripoli during his siege.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} They had a short relationship and after that they got married. There are conflicting stories of whether Aisha returned with Baybars to Egypt or was martyred in Tripoli. Her tomb was an important religious and historical spot in Tripoli until it was destroyed by the French colonizers in the 20th century.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

As the first Sultan of the [[Bahri dynasty|Bahri]] Mamluk [[dynasty]], Baybars made the meritocratic ascent up the ranks of Mamluk society, where he commanded Mamluk forces in the decisive [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] in 1260, repelling Mongol forces from Syria.<ref>''100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present''. Paul K. Davis, pgp. 141</ref> Although in the Muslim world he has been considered a national hero for centuries, and in the [[Near East]] and [[Kazakhstan]] is still regarded as such, Baybars was reviled in the Christian world of the time for his successful campaigns against the [[Crusader States]]. A [[Templar knight]] who fought in the [[Seventh Crusade]] lamented:

{{blockquoteBlockquote|text=Rage and sorrow are seated in my heart...so firmly that I scarce dare to stay alive. It seems that God wishes to support the Turks to our loss...ah, lord God...alas, the realm of the East has lost so much that it will never be able to rise up again. They will make a [[Mosque]] of Holy Mary's convent, and since the theft pleases her Son, who should weep at this, we are forced to comply as well...Anyone who wishes to fight the Turks is mad, for [[Jesus Christ]] does not fight them any more. They have conquered, they will conquer. For every day they drive us down, knowing that God, who was awake, sleeps now, and [[Muhammad]] waxes powerful.|source={{sfn|Howarth|1982|p=223}}}}

Baybars also played an important role in bringing the Mongols to [[Islam]].<ref name="The Preaching of Islam A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith" /> He developed strong ties with the Mongols of the [[Golden Horde]] and took steps for the Golden Horde Mongols to travel to [[Egypt]]. The arrival of the Mongol's Golden Horde to Egypt resulted in a significant number of Mongols accepting Islam.<ref>The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith, By Thomas Walker Arnold, p. 192</ref>

Baybars was a popular ruler in the Muslim world who had defeated the crusaders in three campaigns, and the [[Mongols]] in the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] which many scholars deem of great [[macro-historical]] importance. In order to support his military campaigns, Baybars commissioned arsenals, warships and cargo vessels. He was also arguably the first to employ explosive [[hand cannon]]s in war, at the Battle of Ain Jalut.<ref>[[Ahmad Y Hassan]], [http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%202.htm Gunpowder Composition for Rockets and Cannon in Arabic Military Treatises In Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226105129/http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%202.htm |date=26 February 2008 }}</ref><ref name=History-Channel>{{citation|title=Ancient Discoveries, Episode 12: Machines of the East|publisher=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]]|year=2007}} ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwGfw1YW9Js Part 4] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3ZbzhRp_k Part 5])</ref> His military campaign also extended into [[Libya]] and [[Nubia]].

He was also an efficient administrator who took interest in building various infrastructure projects, such as a mounted message relay system capable of delivery from [[Cairo]] to [[Damascus]] in four days. He built bridges, irrigation and shipping canals, improved the harbours, and built mosques. He was a patron of [[Science in medieval Islam|Islamic science]], such as his support for the medical research of his [[Medicine in medieval Islam|Arab physician]], [[Ibn al-Nafis]].<ref name="Iskandar-Selin">Albert Z. Iskandar, "Ibn al-Nafis", in [[Helaine Selin]] (1997), ''Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures'', [[Kluwer Academic Publishers]], {{ISBN|0-7923-4066-3}}.</ref> As a testament of a special relationship between [[Islam and cats]], Baybars left a cat garden in Cairo as a [[waqf]], providing the cats of Cairo with food and shelter.<ref name="Campo">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Islam|last=Campo|first=Juan Eduardo|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2009|isbn=978-1438126968}}</ref>

*{{cite journal |last=Seignobos |first=Robin |title=La frontière entre le bilād al-islām et le bilād al-Nūba : enjeux et ambiguïtés d'une frontière immobile (VIIe-XIIeVIIe–XIIe siècle) |language=fr |year=2010 |journal=Afriques |doi=10.4000/afriques.800 |doi-access=free}}

*{{cite book |last=Seignobos |first=Robin |language=fr |chapter=La liste des conquêtes nubiennes de Baybars selon Ibn Šadd ād (1217 – 12851217–1285) |year=2016 |title=Aegyptus et Nubia Christiana. The Włodzimierz Godlewski Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of his 70 th70th Birthday |pages=553–577 |editor=A. Łajtar |editor2=A. Obłuski |editor3=I. Zych |publisher=Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology |chapter-url=https://f-origin.hypotheses.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/4313/files/2018/03/Aegyptus-et-Nubia-christiana-Seignobos-Offprint.pdf |isbn=9788394228835}}

*{{cite book |last=Welsby |first=Derek |year=2002 |title=The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the Middle Nile. |publisher=The British Museum. |isbn=0714119474}}

[[Category:Medieval history of Palestine]]