Al-Mujahid Shirkuh

Al Malik Al-Mujahid Asad ad-Din Shirkuh II was the Kurdish Ayyubid emir of Homs from 1186–1240. He was the son of An-Nasir Muhammad ibn Shirkuh, grandson of Shirkuh and second cousin of Saladin. His domains also included Palmyra and ar-Rahba. Al Mujahid became emir at the age of thirteen when his father died unexpectedly in Homs on 4 March 1186 (10 Dhu’l Hijja 581). External threats Within the Ayyubid confederacy Hama was a marcher realm, bordering on the Crusader County of Tripoli and close to the great Hospitaller fortress of Krak des Chevaliers. The role of the emir of Hama was to prevent the Crusaders from raiding into northern Syria, despoiling the land, and threatening Aleppo or Damascus. Frequently Al-Mujahid worked together with his second cousins, the emir Bahramshah of Baalbek and Al-Mansur Muhammad of Hama, to repel Crusader raids and, on occasion, to make forays into Crusader territory. Thus in November 1197 (Muharram 594) Al Mujahid, together with Bahramshah of Baalbek and other emirs, sent forces to relieve the fortress of Toron, which was under siege from Crusader forces from the County of Tripoli. They were unable to drive the Franks off and the siege was not lifted until February 1198 (Rabi’ I 594) when an Egyptian army sent by the Sultan Al-Aziz Uthman drew near. In May 1203 (Ramadan 599) Al Mujahid was directed by the Sultan Al-Adil to support a campaign by Al Mansur of Hama to attack Krak des Chevalliers and in the spring of 1207 (603) he took part in a campaign led by Al-Adil I to punish the Hospitallers for their constant raiding. The Ayyubid force laid siege to Tripoli, but eventually agreed to withdraw in return for the payment of tribute. In 1214-15 (611) both Al Mujahid of Homs and Al Mansur of Hama were threatened by a major incursion led by the Hospitallers, until Az-Zahir Ghazi put pressure on Hospitallers to leave them alone. In 1229 or 1230 (627) al Mujahid was victorious over the Hospitallers of Krak des Chevalliers at the battle of Afnun, a village between Bar’in and Hama, and many Franks were taken captive. Major campaigns Al Mujahid appears to have been an energetic military leader and he is recorded as having taken part in six major campaigns in which the various Ayyubid rulers combined their forces to attack external enemies. In a seventh major campaign the forces of Homs were led by his son, Al-Mansur Ibrahim.