Janbirdi al-Ghazali
Encyclopedia
Janbirdi al-Ghazali was the first governor of Damascus Province
under the Ottoman Empire
from February 1518 until his death in February 1521.
under the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt
in the early 16th century. When the Ottomans invaded Mamluk Syria
, Janbirdi fought alongside the latter at the Battle of Marj Dabiq
in 1517, leading the assault on Ottoman sultan Selim I
's army in Gaza
. Al-Ghazali was wounded during that confrontation. After the Mamluk defeat, he retreated to Cairo
with his army where he took part in the defense of the city from incoming Ottoman forces. The Ottomans again defeated the Mamluks and conquered Egypt and Syria.
Al-Ghazali then joined the Mamluk governor of Aleppo in defecting to the Ottomans and severed allegiance with Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri
. Selim I was reportedly impressed by al-Ghazali's loyalty to his superiors and in a bid to have him serve under the Ottomans, Selim appointed him as governor of Damascus
in February 1518. At the time, Damascus Province encompassed much of the Levant
, including much of central and southern Syria, the Syrian coastline, Palestine
, Transjordan
, and Lebanon
. He paid an annual tribute of 230,000 dinar
s to the Ottoman sultan.
As governor, he was in charge of safeguarding the pilgrim caravan destined to make hajj
in the Hejaz
for the pilgrim route from Damascus to Aqaba
in southern Transjordan. In order to do this successfully, he subjugated the Turkmen
nomads in the area. After two years, he managed to have those same Turkmen tribes protecting the pilgrims. By 1520, hajj caravans were traveling without incident. In line with Ottoman state policy at the time, al-Ghazali embarked on major development projects in Damascus. Having been appointed the nazir or "supervisor" of Damascus's main waqf
, he had the Umayyad Mosque
repaired and redecorated. He also had a number of other mosques, schools and canals rebuilt and repaired. Supervisors of madrasas ("religious schools") who were deemed negligent were stripped of their position and their school buildings restored.
s from upholding the Ottoman sultan's name in Friday prayers, purged Ottoman officials and soldiers from Syria, and banned Ottoman dress by the provinces's citizens. After he declared himself sultan, the cities of Tripoli
, Hama, and Hims joined his rebellion. After failed attempts to enlist the support of Shah Ismail of the Safavid Empire and Kha'ir Bey, the Ottoman governor of Egypt
, he nonetheless raised an army and set out to conquer Aleppo
. The residents of Aleppo supported the Ottoman sultanate, however, and resisted al-Ghazali's efforts. His army besieged the city for 15 days, during which over 200 residents and Ottoman soldiers were killed, but to no avail. He withdrew to Damascus soon after to rally his forces.
In February 1521, the Ottoman Army arrived at the outskirts of Damascus where al-Ghazali's troops confronted them. His army was swiftly defeated and he was executed. The Ottoman army sent al-Ghazali's severed head to Sulaiman as a trophy. The Ottomans also proceeded to sack Damascus, killing 3,000 residents, and destroying the town quarters as well as nearby villages. With the deposition of al-Ghazali's revolt, Mamluk influence in Syria came to an end.
Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria is a European reference to the area that during European Renaissance from the late 15th to early 18th century was called the Levant within the early period of the Ottoman Empire, the Orient until the early 19th century, and Greater Syria until 1918...
under the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
from February 1518 until his death in February 1521.
Viceroy of Hama and Governor of Damascus
Al-Ghazali was originally the na'ib or "viceroy" of HamaHama
Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria—behind Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs—with a population of 696,863...
under the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
in the early 16th century. When the Ottomans invaded Mamluk Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Janbirdi fought alongside the latter at the Battle of Marj Dabiq
Battle of Marj Dabiq
The battle of Marj Dābiq was a decisive military clash in Middle Eastern history, fought on 24 August 1516, 44 km north of Halab , Syria.- Battle preparations :...
in 1517, leading the assault on Ottoman sultan Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
's army in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
. Al-Ghazali was wounded during that confrontation. After the Mamluk defeat, he retreated to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
with his army where he took part in the defense of the city from incoming Ottoman forces. The Ottomans again defeated the Mamluks and conquered Egypt and Syria.
Al-Ghazali then joined the Mamluk governor of Aleppo in defecting to the Ottomans and severed allegiance with Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri
Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri was the second last of the Mamluk Sultans. One of the last of the Burji dynasty, he reigned from 1501 to 1516.On the disappearance of Sultan Al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Tuman bay I, it was not till after some days that the choice of the Emirs and Mamluks fell upon Al-Ashraf...
. Selim I was reportedly impressed by al-Ghazali's loyalty to his superiors and in a bid to have him serve under the Ottomans, Selim appointed him as governor of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
in February 1518. At the time, Damascus Province encompassed much of the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
, including much of central and southern Syria, the Syrian coastline, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, Transjordan
Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...
, and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. He paid an annual tribute of 230,000 dinar
Dinar
The dinar is the official currency of several countries.The history of the dinar dates to the gold dinar, an early Islamic coin corresponding to the Byzantine denarius auri...
s to the Ottoman sultan.
As governor, he was in charge of safeguarding the pilgrim caravan destined to make hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
in the Hejaz
Hejaz
al-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
for the pilgrim route from Damascus to Aqaba
Aqaba
Aqaba is a coastal city in the far south of Jordan, the capital of Aqaba Governorate at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport. Aqaba is best known today as a diving and beach resort, but industrial activity remains important...
in southern Transjordan. In order to do this successfully, he subjugated the Turkmen
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
nomads in the area. After two years, he managed to have those same Turkmen tribes protecting the pilgrims. By 1520, hajj caravans were traveling without incident. In line with Ottoman state policy at the time, al-Ghazali embarked on major development projects in Damascus. Having been appointed the nazir or "supervisor" of Damascus's main waqf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
, he had the Umayyad Mosque
Umayyad Mosque
The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus or formerly the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist , is located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world...
repaired and redecorated. He also had a number of other mosques, schools and canals rebuilt and repaired. Supervisors of madrasas ("religious schools") who were deemed negligent were stripped of their position and their school buildings restored.
Revolt against Ottomans
Following the succession of Sulayman the Magnificent to the sultanate after Selim's death in 1520, al-Ghazali revolted against the Ottoman state. He sought to restore Mamluk suzerainty, declaring himself "sultan" or al-Malik al-Ashraf ("the most noble king"). He banned preachers in mosqueMosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s from upholding the Ottoman sultan's name in Friday prayers, purged Ottoman officials and soldiers from Syria, and banned Ottoman dress by the provinces's citizens. After he declared himself sultan, the cities of Tripoli
Tripoli, Lebanon
Tripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in Lebanon. Situated 85 km north of the capital Beirut, Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Geographically located on the east of the Mediterranean, the city's history dates back...
, Hama, and Hims joined his rebellion. After failed attempts to enlist the support of Shah Ismail of the Safavid Empire and Kha'ir Bey, the Ottoman governor of Egypt
Ottoman Egypt
Ottoman Egypt covers two main periods:* Egypt Eyalet 1517–1867 under direct rule of the Ottoman Empire.* Khedivate of Egypt 1867–1914 as autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire....
, he nonetheless raised an army and set out to conquer Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
. The residents of Aleppo supported the Ottoman sultanate, however, and resisted al-Ghazali's efforts. His army besieged the city for 15 days, during which over 200 residents and Ottoman soldiers were killed, but to no avail. He withdrew to Damascus soon after to rally his forces.
In February 1521, the Ottoman Army arrived at the outskirts of Damascus where al-Ghazali's troops confronted them. His army was swiftly defeated and he was executed. The Ottoman army sent al-Ghazali's severed head to Sulaiman as a trophy. The Ottomans also proceeded to sack Damascus, killing 3,000 residents, and destroying the town quarters as well as nearby villages. With the deposition of al-Ghazali's revolt, Mamluk influence in Syria came to an end.