Muslim Armies of Egypt and North Africa

Fatamids

Ayyubids

Mamluks

Aghlabids & Zirids

Almohads & Hafsids
 
 

 
    FATAMIDS
     
    1030 AD
    1060 AD
    1167 AD
    The Fatamid Caliphs of Egypt claimed their descent from the Fatima, the daughter of the prophet and her husband (the fourth Caliph).  As followers of the murdered fourth Caliph, the Fatamids were Shi'tes.  Their religious rivals were the orthodox Sunni and Abbasid Caliphs.
    The Fatamids under al-Mo'izz conquered Egypt from North Africa in 969 AD and remained there in varying states of rule to 1171 AD.  At the peak of their power, the Fatamids ruled much of North Africa and Syria as far north as Mosul 

    The Fatamids recruited widely in Africa and the Levant for their army.  This mix proved volatile and violence often occurred between the different factions.  The army depended largely on black troops ('abid al-shira) from the south, Berbers from North Africa (often Kitama) and Levantine troops (Armenians or Syrians).  Increasing numbers of Turkish troops were recruited in the 11th Century but this ceased in the aftermath of civil war of the 1060s. 


    AYYUBIDS
    After the death of the Fatamid Caliph al-'Adid, Saladin began forming an autonomous state in Egypt. Saladin unified the Syrian and Jeziran territories of Nur ed-Din after the latter died.  This formed the basis of a family federation of states stretching from Egypt to Jezira.  A lack of unity saw the Latin states in the Outremer recover.  The Ayyubids survived in Egypt until the murder of Turan-Shah by his Mamluks in 1250 AD.  The Ayyubids in Syria survived until the murder of al-Nasir by the Mongols in 1260.  The Ayyubids in Syria are covered by the Syrian list.

    The army was built around a core of professional cavalry supplemented by various auxilaries.  Turcomens and Bedouins were the common auxiliaries.  The list lacks the Negro maceman described at Acre by historians of the Third Crusade. 

    Professional cavalry included the Halqa (al-Halqa al-Sultaniyya), an elite regiment drawn from free-born men, the Salahiyya (created by Saladin), the Asadiyya (created by Shirkuh), the Mihraniyya (Kurds), the 'Aziziyya (created by al-'Aziz Muhammad), the Nasiriyya (created by al-Nasir Yusuf), the Bahriyya (river Mamluks), the Shahrazuriyya and Qaymariyya (Kurds), Ashrafiyya and Jamdariyya.



    MAMLUKS

    This list covers the army of the Mamluks from the murder of the Ayyubid Sultan Turan Shah in 1250 AD.  As such it is suitable for fighting the final conflicts of the late 13th Century.  These basically involve the Mamluk-Mongol wars and the destruction of the last Latin outposts along the coast.  The loss of the Latin settlements however was not associated with any field battles.

    Mamluk armies had one merit not enjoyed by the earlier Ayyubid armies.  They were larger in comparison. The Mamluk state was much more militarised and organised than its predecessors.  Mamluk regiments were initially based on the Ayyubid army and included Baybar's Bahriyya Mamluks. 



    AGHLABID & ZIRID

    This list covers the Muslim armies in Sicily, Tunis and Libya during the 11-13th Centuries.  The Sicilian Normans conquered Sicily off the Aghlabids (in fact Kalbite-successors) in the late 11th Century.  The Zirids ruled Tunisia until the conquest by the Berber Almohads in 1145 AD.  The Zirids were also attacked by the Sicilians in the early 12th Century.



    ALMOHAD & HAFSIDS

    The Almohads replaced the Zirids in Tunisia from 1145 AD and were subject to attacks from the Sicilians and Ayyubids.  They were eventually replaced by the Hafsids who provided the target for the 8th Crusade by Louis IX in 1270 AD.