Shajar al-Durr (?-1257) was a woman who led Egypt during the mid-1200’s. She came to power after a military group called the Mamluks overthrew Egypt’s Ayyubid dynasty (family of rulers). The Mamluks were mostly formerly enslaved men who had received special training under the sultans (rulers). Shajar al-Durr was the widow of the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub, and she had much political experience. Both the Mamluks and Ayyubids followed the religion of Islam, and Islamic law denied women any role in government. Nonetheless, the Mamluks supported Shajar al-Durr and brought her to power.
Details of Shajar al-Durr’s birth and early life are unclear. She was enslaved by as-Salih Ayyub, who became the ruler of Egypt in 1240. She eventually gave birth to Ayyub’s son, Khalil, and married Ayyub. While Ayyub was away on military campaigns, Shajar al-Durr managed the affairs of state.
Ayyub died in 1249. However, his death was kept secret while the Egyptian army repelled a Christian military expedition called the Seventh Crusade (see Crusades). One of Ayyub’s sons, Al-Muazzam Turanshah, rose to power, but the Mamluks assassinated him in May 1250. Shajar al-Durr then began ruling as sultana (wife of a sultan). Izz al-Din Aybak, an emir (leader) who had served under Ayyub, became commander-in-chief of the army.
The caliph (religious leader) of Baghdad, a central authority of the Muslim world, disapproved of Shajar al-Durr’s rise to power. When nearby Islamic kingdoms then refused to recognize her rule, she married Aybak and passed the throne to him. Aybak became sultan in July 1250. However, Shajar al-Durr retained much of her power.
In 1257, Aybak arranged to marry the daughter of a foreign Mamluk ruler, but Shajar al-Durr had Aybak killed. Soon after, on April 28, Shajar al-Durr herself was murdered. Aybak’s 15-year-old son, al-Mansur Ali, then became sultan. Shajar al-Durr’s tomb lies in Cairo near the famous Mosque of Ahmed ibn Tulun.
