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Battle of Tawahin
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Battle of Tawahin
The Battle of Tawahin (Arabic: وقعة الطواحين, romanized: Waqʿat al-Ṭawāhīn, lit. 'Battle of the Mills') was fought in 885 between the forces of the Abbasid Caliphate under Abu'l-Abbas ibn Talha (the future Caliph al-Mu'tadid) and the autonomous forces of the Tulunid Emirate of Egypt under Khumarawayh, Emir of Egypt. The battle took place near Ramlah (modern Israel) and ended with a Tulunid victory.
Following Khumarawayh's ascension to power in 884, the Abbasid central government decided to reassert its control over the provinces ruled by him and invaded northern Syria that year. By early 885 the conflict was proceeding favorably for the Abbasids, forcing Khumarawayh to personally take the field and try to stop their advance toward Egypt. In the battle that followed, the Abbasid troops initially defeated the Tulunids and plundered Khumarawayh's camp, but were then ambushed by an Egyptian reserve force and routed in turn.
As a result of the battle, the Abbasid forces were forced to withdraw from Syria, and Egyptian control over the province was reaffirmed. In the following year the Abbasid government agreed to a treaty which formally recognized Khumarawayh's rule over both Egypt and Syria.
Ahmad ibn Tulun, a Turkish soldier, had managed to become governor of Egypt in 868. By using the country's immense wealth to raise an army of his own, and exploiting the instability of the central Abbasid government, over the next years he became de facto autonomous, although he continued to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Abbasid caliph—for most of his reign the powerless al-Mu'tamid—and to forward some tax revenue to the central government. Ibn Tulun's power made him a major rival to the real power behind the Abbasid throne, al-Mu'tamid's brother and regent al-Muwaffaq. The latter tried in 877 to wrest Egypt from Ibn Tulun, but the attempt failed spectacularly, and in the following year Ibn Tulun extended his area of control over Syria up to the border zone with the Byzantine Empire in the north and up to Raqqa in the western Jazira in the east, immediately adjacent to the Abbasid metropolitan province of Iraq.
Relations between Ibn Tulun and al-Muwaffaq were further strained when al-Mu'tamid tried to play off the two men against each other to regain his own authority and independence. In 882 the caliph attempted to escape from his brother's control by fleeing to Ibn Tulun's domain, but he was apprehended en route by Ishaq ibn Kundaj, the governor of the Jazira and Mosul, and was sent back to Iraq. This led to a formal breach in relations; al-Muwaffaq ordered that Ibn Tulun be publicly cursed in mosques throughout the empire and stripped of his governorships in favour of Ishaq ibn Kundaj, while Ibn Tulun similarly had al-Muwaffaq publicly cursed, declared him deposed from his position as al-Mu'tamid's second heir, and proclaimed a "holy war" against him.
When Ibn Tulun died in May 884, he was succeeded by his second son, Khumarawayh, with the approval of the Tulunid grandees but not the Abbasid court. Immediately al-Muwaffaq ended the ongoing negotiations that he had been conducting with Ibn Tulun, and refused to recognize Khumarawayh's rule over Egypt and Syria. A prominent Tulunid general, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Wasiti, then defected to al-Muwaffaq, and urged him to make war on the "young and inexperienced" Khumarawayh and recover the latter's provinces for the central government.
The initial Abbasid invasion was led by Ishaq ibn Kundaj, appointed as the nominal governor of Syria and Egypt, and another general, Muhammad ibn Diwdad Abu'l-Saj. After receiving encouragement from al-Muwaffaq, who promised to send them reinforcements, the two commanders marched into Syria in mid-884. The Tulunid governor of Damascus soon defected to their side, and they were able to take control of Antioch, Hims, and Aleppo. Upon learning of the Abbasid advance, Khumarawayh sent troops to Syria. The Tulunid army first proceeded to Damascus, where they succeeded in forcing its rebel governor to flee, and then advanced to Shayzar on the Orontes. The onset of winter, however, resulted in a lull in hostilities, and both sides remained in their camps to wait out the season.
Eventually the reinforcements that al-Muwaffaq had promised arrived from Iraq under the command of his own son, Abu'l-Abbas. The combined Abbasid forces advanced to Shayzar, where the Tulunid army was still encamped. The latter was caught completely by surprise and was defeated; many of the Egyptians were killed in the fighting. The survivors fled to Damascus, but upon learning that the Abbasid army was headed for them they abandoned the city, allowing the Abbasids to retake it in February 885. The Tulunid forces continued south to Ramlah in the district of Palestine, where they wrote to Khumarawayh of what had transpired. Khumarawayh now decided to personally lead his troops against the Abbasids, and departed from Egypt for Syria.
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Battle of Tawahin
The Battle of Tawahin (Arabic: وقعة الطواحين, romanized: Waqʿat al-Ṭawāhīn, lit. 'Battle of the Mills') was fought in 885 between the forces of the Abbasid Caliphate under Abu'l-Abbas ibn Talha (the future Caliph al-Mu'tadid) and the autonomous forces of the Tulunid Emirate of Egypt under Khumarawayh, Emir of Egypt. The battle took place near Ramlah (modern Israel) and ended with a Tulunid victory.
Following Khumarawayh's ascension to power in 884, the Abbasid central government decided to reassert its control over the provinces ruled by him and invaded northern Syria that year. By early 885 the conflict was proceeding favorably for the Abbasids, forcing Khumarawayh to personally take the field and try to stop their advance toward Egypt. In the battle that followed, the Abbasid troops initially defeated the Tulunids and plundered Khumarawayh's camp, but were then ambushed by an Egyptian reserve force and routed in turn.
As a result of the battle, the Abbasid forces were forced to withdraw from Syria, and Egyptian control over the province was reaffirmed. In the following year the Abbasid government agreed to a treaty which formally recognized Khumarawayh's rule over both Egypt and Syria.
Ahmad ibn Tulun, a Turkish soldier, had managed to become governor of Egypt in 868. By using the country's immense wealth to raise an army of his own, and exploiting the instability of the central Abbasid government, over the next years he became de facto autonomous, although he continued to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Abbasid caliph—for most of his reign the powerless al-Mu'tamid—and to forward some tax revenue to the central government. Ibn Tulun's power made him a major rival to the real power behind the Abbasid throne, al-Mu'tamid's brother and regent al-Muwaffaq. The latter tried in 877 to wrest Egypt from Ibn Tulun, but the attempt failed spectacularly, and in the following year Ibn Tulun extended his area of control over Syria up to the border zone with the Byzantine Empire in the north and up to Raqqa in the western Jazira in the east, immediately adjacent to the Abbasid metropolitan province of Iraq.
Relations between Ibn Tulun and al-Muwaffaq were further strained when al-Mu'tamid tried to play off the two men against each other to regain his own authority and independence. In 882 the caliph attempted to escape from his brother's control by fleeing to Ibn Tulun's domain, but he was apprehended en route by Ishaq ibn Kundaj, the governor of the Jazira and Mosul, and was sent back to Iraq. This led to a formal breach in relations; al-Muwaffaq ordered that Ibn Tulun be publicly cursed in mosques throughout the empire and stripped of his governorships in favour of Ishaq ibn Kundaj, while Ibn Tulun similarly had al-Muwaffaq publicly cursed, declared him deposed from his position as al-Mu'tamid's second heir, and proclaimed a "holy war" against him.
When Ibn Tulun died in May 884, he was succeeded by his second son, Khumarawayh, with the approval of the Tulunid grandees but not the Abbasid court. Immediately al-Muwaffaq ended the ongoing negotiations that he had been conducting with Ibn Tulun, and refused to recognize Khumarawayh's rule over Egypt and Syria. A prominent Tulunid general, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Wasiti, then defected to al-Muwaffaq, and urged him to make war on the "young and inexperienced" Khumarawayh and recover the latter's provinces for the central government.
The initial Abbasid invasion was led by Ishaq ibn Kundaj, appointed as the nominal governor of Syria and Egypt, and another general, Muhammad ibn Diwdad Abu'l-Saj. After receiving encouragement from al-Muwaffaq, who promised to send them reinforcements, the two commanders marched into Syria in mid-884. The Tulunid governor of Damascus soon defected to their side, and they were able to take control of Antioch, Hims, and Aleppo. Upon learning of the Abbasid advance, Khumarawayh sent troops to Syria. The Tulunid army first proceeded to Damascus, where they succeeded in forcing its rebel governor to flee, and then advanced to Shayzar on the Orontes. The onset of winter, however, resulted in a lull in hostilities, and both sides remained in their camps to wait out the season.
Eventually the reinforcements that al-Muwaffaq had promised arrived from Iraq under the command of his own son, Abu'l-Abbas. The combined Abbasid forces advanced to Shayzar, where the Tulunid army was still encamped. The latter was caught completely by surprise and was defeated; many of the Egyptians were killed in the fighting. The survivors fled to Damascus, but upon learning that the Abbasid army was headed for them they abandoned the city, allowing the Abbasids to retake it in February 885. The Tulunid forces continued south to Ramlah in the district of Palestine, where they wrote to Khumarawayh of what had transpired. Khumarawayh now decided to personally lead his troops against the Abbasids, and departed from Egypt for Syria.
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