Muhammad ibn Ali al-Khalanji

Did You Know?

• He was an Egyptian officer born in the Bay of Fustat, which gave him the name 'ibn al-Khalij'.
• He was a junior officer in a section of the Tulunid army headed by Commander Safi al-Rumi.
• There is not sufficient information about his upbringing or early activity.

Restoration of Independence

After the Abbasid conquest of Egypt, the occupying forces committed widespread atrocities against Egyptians, including looting homes, seizing money, violating women, and taking virgins. The Abbasids disbanded the Egyptian army and sent captured officers and soldiers in batches to Baghdad. Among those captured was Muhammad ibn al-Khalij. On the journey to Baghdad, he conspired with fellow Egyptian officer Shafi’ al-Lulu’i, and together they liberated thousands of Egyptian soldiers, who then attacked and defeated the Abbasid guards.

The freed force returned toward Egypt, first entering Ramla in Palestine, where they defeated the Abbasid army under Wasif bin Sawartkin the Younger. There, Ibn al-Khalij ordered the proclamation from the pulpits that Egypt was independent again and the Tulunid state had returned. The Egyptian army then won a landslide victory at Gaza against the Abbasid force stationed in Egypt, defeated the garrison at Arish, and then the Abbasids at Farma. The Abbasid governor of Egypt, Isa al-Nushari, assembled a large army but was decisively beaten at Bilbeis in Sharqia, opening the road to Fustat.

Al-Nushari fled with his remaining commanders, and Ibn al-Khalij’s army entered Fustat to a jubilant reception; the people prayed for him from the pulpits after the Abbasid Caliph and the captured Tulunid prince Ibrahim bin Khumarawayh.

Ruling Egypt

Ibn al-Khalij worked to restore order and end chaos in Egypt. His entry into Fustat revived hope that the Tulunid state would return, and Egyptians celebrated by decorating themselves and the streets with saffron; barbers washed and shaved the hair of his horse. After securing his rule in Fustat and the Delta, he ordered the official reestablishment of the Egyptian army and opened volunteering to all Egyptians. Volunteers came from across Egypt, swelling the army to fifty thousand, a large number for the time.

To eliminate remaining Abbasid presence, he sent a commander named Khafif al-Nubi against them. The Abbasids fled at the first news of the Egyptian advance, retreating to Alexandria and then to the village of Turuja in Beheira, where they set a trap for Khafif. He fell into it and withdrew to Fustat. The Abbasid remnants, led by former governor Isa al-Nushari, escaped to Upper Egypt.

Fall

The Abbasid Caliphate dispatched land and sea forces to support al-Nushari: a land army under Abu al-Az Khalifa bin Mubarak al-Sulami and a fleet under Damian of Tarsus. Ibn al-Khalanji faced threats from the north and from al-Nushari’s army in Upper Egypt. He remained determined to fight and marched to meet the northern army at Arish, winning the Battle of al-Arish and capturing many Abbasid soldiers. Another Abbasid land force under Fatik al-Mu'tadidi arrived, along with Damian’s fleet.

Ibn al-Khalanji defeated Fatik multiple times but was eventually defeated at Beni Suef after valiant resistance. He withdrew to Fustat as the Abbasid fleet under Damian entered. His position worsened due to prolonged warfare and rising prices in Egypt. The Abbasids finally entered Fustat by land and sea.

Ibn al-Khalanji was forced to hide in the house of a foreign man named Trik, who reported him to the Abbasids. He was arrested and sent to Baghdad with his closest followers after ruling Egypt for seven months and twenty-two days. There, he and his companions were tortured; the Abbasid Caliph ordered them to be slandered over camels and then killed, ending the attempt to restore the Tulunid state.