'Al-Malik al-Kamil Muhammad ibn al-Muzaffar Ghazi ibn al-Adil Abu Bakr was the son of

al-Muzaffar Ghazi Al-Malik al-Muzaffar Shihab ad-Din Ghazi ibn al-Adil Abu Bakr ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub was the Ayyubid dynasty, Ayyubid ruler of Silvan, Diyarbakır, Mayyafariqin (1220–1247). Al Muzaffar Ghazi was one of the sons of the Sultan Al-Adil I, Al-Adil, ...

and the last

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

emir (prince) of Mayyafariqin (1247–1260). He is also known as Al Kamil Muhammad II to distinguish from his uncle Al Kamil Muhammad I. Al Kamil inherited his throne at a time when the Ayyubid Emirate of Mayyafariqin was in great danger from the Mongols. Because of its location, it was doubly at risk. To the north, the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

under

Batu Khan Batu Khan (–1255) was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire established after Genghis Khan's demise. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His '' ulus'' ruled over the Kievan ...

had expanded through the Caucasus and might thrust south; to the south and east,

Hulagu Khan Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of ...

threatened to overrun Iraq and push north. Much of Al Kamil's reign was therefore occupied with diplomatic efforts to preserve his autonomy and he sent various embassies to the Mongols to try to negotiate this. In 1252 (650) Bayju Khan, governor of Azerbaijan and Armenia for the Golden Horde, suddenly appeared before Mayafariqin and demanded its surrender. Al Kamil Muhammad had managed to get out of the city with his family to the safety of

Hasankeyf Hasankeyf is a town located along the Tigris, in the Hasankeyf District, Batman Province, Turkey. It was declared a natural conservation area by Turkey in 1981. Despite local and international objections, the city and its archaeological sites ...

and from there he sent his brother al Ashraf Musa This brother was neither the Emir of Homs nor the

Sultan of Egypt Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally ...

, both of whom had the same name to petition Batu Khan for Mayyafariqin’s autonomy. Batu agreed to hold off invading Mayyafariqin if Al Kamil Muhammad would go in person to the Great Khan Möngke in

Karakorum Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, ''Kharkhorum''; Mongolian script:, ''Qaraqorum'') was the capital city, capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan, Northern Yuan dynasty in the late 14th and 1 ...

to present his submission. Al Kamil agreed and in February 1253 (650) he set off bearing rich gifts. When he arrived in Karakorum he found a number of other Emirs paying their respects to the Great Khan and offering submission. The Mongols had no intention of allowing these domains to remain even nominally independent, but their strategy involved taking Baghdad first, before moving on to other centres in due course. There was thus a few years’ respite for Mayyafariqin. Ultimately though Al Kamil’s efforts were in vain. He even attempted to send troops in the

Siege of Baghdad The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258. A large army commanded by Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate after a series of provocations from its ruler, caliph al-Musta'sim. Within ...

(1258) in support of the Caliph against

Hulagu Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ar ...

, but his army did not arrive in time for the siege, and had to turn back when Baghdad fell. The Mongol armies returned in force, and started the Siege of Mayyāfāriqīn (1259-1260). There was a harsh and bitter siege with vigorous resistance to the attackers, which lasted two years. Finally Al Kamil was killed when Mayyafariqin fell to the Mongols on 7 April 1260 (23 Rabia II 658). Of the remaining Ayyubid states in Syria, Aleppo was brutally conquered, while Homs, Hama and Damascus submitted peacefully.Humphreys, R. S. From Saladin to the Mongols, The Ayyubids of Damascus, SUNY Press 1977, pp.348-351

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamil Muhammad 13th-century Ayyubid rulers 1260 deaths 13th-century Kurdish people