Sharaf al-Din Qaraqush
شرف الدين قراقوش
Qaraqush, mamluk of Taqi al-Din Umar ibn Ayyub (Saladin's nephew) — led a Turkish corps out of Egypt to the Nafusa mountains, allied with the rebel amir Mas'ud ibn Zammam, took Tripoli in 568 and ruled most of Ifriqiya except Mahdiyya, Sfax, Gafsa and Tunis, banking his treasure at Gabes and aspiring to the whole country 1.
At a glance
- Roles
- military · Ruler
- Era
- The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
- Region
- Maghreb · Egypt & Nile
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Qaraqush, mamluk of Taqi al-Din Umar and nephew of Salah al-Din. Ibn al-Athir reports that he marched with a band of Turks from Egypt to the Nafusa mountains 2.
Tripoli and Ifriqiya
He agreed with Mas'ud ibn Zammam al-Balat, who had revolted against Abd al-Mu'min, and the two of them conquered Tripoli of the West in the year 568 AH (the conquest of Tripoli). He settled his family in its palace, and he ruled much of the land of Ifriqiya except al-Mahdiyya, Sfax, Gafsa, Tunis and their surroundings 2.
He ruled those lands with the help of the Arabs, and collected great wealth at Gabes. He aspired to seize all of Ifriqiya, because its ruler, Abu Ya'qub Yusuf ibn Abd al-Mu'min, was far away from it 2.
Connections
- Allied with
- Mas'ud ibn Zammam al-Balat
- Participated in
- Qaraqush's conquest of Tripoli (568 AH)
People and things also explored
Qaraqush's conquest of Tripoli (568 AH)· Mas'ud ibn Zammam al-Balat· Tripoli (Libya)
Sources
- al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir, p. 47
- al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir, p.47
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Sharaf al-Din Qaraqush”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/sharaf-al-din-qaraqush/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.