Nasarar da aka yi wa mayaƙan Crusades na Latin a karni na 12 ta haifar da sake kafa mulkin Musulunci a Falasdinu, kuma kasar ta sake komawa kan tafarkinta na baya. Wannan ya ci gaba tsawon karni bakwai, kuma ya kunshi zamani uku mabambanta: zamanin Ayyubiyawa (1187‒1260), zamanin Mamluk (1260‒1517) da zamanin Ottoman (1517‒1917). Sauyin tattalin arziki da siyasa da Falasdinu ta yi zuwa Turai karkashin mulkin Dhaher al-ʿUmar a karni na 18, da kuma sauye-sauyen Ottoman a rabin na biyu na karni na 19, duk sun taimaka wajen kai Falasdinu zuwa zamanin zamani.

The defeat of the Latin Crusaders in the 12th century brought about the re-establishment of Muslim rule in Palestine and once again the reorientation of the country. This lasted for seven centuries and consisted of three distinct periods: the Ayyubid (1187‒1260), Mamluk (1260‒1517) and Ottoman (1517‒1917) eras. The economic and political reorientation of Palestine towards Europe under the rule of Dhaher al-ʿUmar in the 18th century, as well as during the Ottoman reforms of the second half of the 19th century, all contributed to bringing Palestine into the modern era.

Sauyin dabarun siyasa da yanki na Filastin a zamanin bayan Yaƙe-yaƙen Salibiyya, daga yankin gaɓar tekun Bahar Rum da kuma wurinta mai muhimmanci a ƙarƙashin daulolin Ayyubiyawa da Mamluk, tsakanin yankin al-Sham da Masar, ya bar tasiri mai ɗorewa a kan tarihinta, al'adunta da fasahohinta, da kuma asalinta a matsayinta na yanki mai siyasa a fannin ƙasa. A cikin ilimin ƙasa na Musulunci na zamani, yankin al-Sham ya ƙunshi yankunan ƙasashen Siriya ta yau, Filastin (har da Isra'ila), Jordan ta zamani, Lebanon da kudancin Turkiyya. Daga cikin ƙasashen Masar da Siriya na yau, dangantakar Filastin ta tarihi da yankin al-Sham ita ce mafi ɗorewa a tarihi kuma mafi tushe a cikin ƙwaƙwalwar al'ummar Filastinawa ta zamani.

The geo-political and strategic reorientation of Palestine in the post-Crusader period away from the Mediterranean coastal region and its strategic location under both the Ayyubids and Mamluks between the al-Sham region and Egypt had a lasting impact on its history, culture and arts as well as identity as a geo-political polity. In medieval Muslim geography, the al-Sham region consisted of the territories of present-day Syria, Filastin (Israel included), modern Jordan, Lebanon and south Turkey. Of the two present-day countries of Egypt and Syria, Palestine’s close historic links with the al-Sham region were the most enduring historically and most rooted in modern Palestinian social memory.

Lokacin Ayyubiyyah mai muhimmanci a Falasdinu ya fara ne da nasara mai ban mamaki da Salah al-Din ya samu a kan Faranjawa a Yakin Hittin a shekarar 1187, wanda ya zama sauyi mai muhimmanci a tarihin Falasdinu. Salah al-Din ya kasance mataimakin sarki (wazirin) na daular Fatimiyyah ta Shi'a a Masar kafin ya kawo karshen mulkin Fatimiyyah a kasar. Jim kadan bayan haka, Salah al-Din ya kwace garin Acre, mafakar Crusaders, a shekara guda kuma sojojin Ayyubiyyah suka kwace Nazareth, Saffuriyah, Haifa, Arsuf, Caesarea, Sabastiyah (Sebastia), Jaffa, al-Ramla, Gaza, Beit Jibrin, 'Asqalan da Jerusalem. Yawancin Masarautar Latin ta Jerusalem ta fada hannun Ayyubiyyah a cikin 1187 ko kuma jim kadan bayan haka.

The important Ayyubid period in Palestine began with Salah al-Din’s spectacular victory over the Frankish at the Battle of Hittin in 1187, a turning point in the history of Palestine. Salah al-Din had been the vizier of the (Shiite) Fatimid state in Egypt before he brought an end to Fatimid rule in the country. Shortly afterwards the Crusader stronghold of Acre was captured by Salah al-Din and in the same year the Ayyubid forces took Nazareth, Saffuriyah, Haifa, Arsuf, Caesarea, Sabastiyah (Sebastia), Jaffa, al-Ramla, Gaza, Beit Jibrin, ‘Asqalan and Jerusalem. Most of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem fell to the Ayyubids in or shortly after 1187.

Sai dai, Crusaders sun ci gaba da zama babbar barazana ta hanyar sake karɓar wasu sassan gabar tekun Falasdinu a shekarun 1190, kuma yankin Franks a birnin bakin teku na Acre ya ci gaba har zuwa 1291.

However, the Crusaders continued to pose a major threat by regaining control of parts of Palestine’s coastline in the 1190s and the Frankish enclave in the coastal city of Acre lasted until 1291.

A cikin ƙasa da karni guda, a lokacin mulkinsu da bai daɗe ba, Ayyubawa sun kawo wani zamani mai cike da ci gaba na al'adu da ilimi (na makarantu da kwalejoji) da kuma ci gaban fasaha na asali, iri-iri kuma na musamman, a cikin ƙasar da ko'ina a yankin (Rosen-Ayalon 1998: 512, 520). Ci gaban da aka samu a fannonin kimiyya, aikin injiniya da magani, ilimi da gine-gine, waɗanda musulmi da larabawa suka fara a ko'ina, tun daga Andalus zuwa Masar, da daga Falasɗinu zuwa Asiya ta Tsakiya, daga bisani Crusaders na Latin sun kwafe su, sun kuma fassara su a Turai, ko kuma sun zama abin da ya ƙarfafa ci gaba a lokacin Renaissance na baya. Abu mafi muhimmanci shi ne kawar da mulkin mallaka na Turai da na Faransawa a Birnin Kudus da mayar da mulkin Musulunci a birnin mai tsarki. Musulmi da Yahudawan birnin an kashe su ko kuma an kore su daga Crusaders na Latin, kuma wuraren ibada na Musulmi a kan Haram al-Sharif an lalata su ko kuma aka mayar da su majami'un Kiristoci da ofisoshi. Bambanci tsakanin halayen sarakunan Ayyubawa da na Faransawa ba zai yiwu a ƙara girmama shi ba. Sake kafa Birnin Kudus na Musulunci ya bai wa Yahudawa da Musulmi damar komawa birnin, kuma ya ba Kiristoci damar zuwa wuraren ibadarsu masu tsarki su yi ibada a cikinsu. Haka kuma, abu mafi muhimmanci, a ƙarƙashin Ayyubawa al-Quds ta maye gurbin al-Ramla har abada a matsayin babban birnin siyasa, na mulki da na al'adu na Falasɗinu, da kuma babban birnin addini na dukan jihar Ayyubawa. A baya a cikin wannan aiki na gabatar da ra'ayin manyan birane biyu, na sakulari-mulki da na addini ('manyan birane biyu'), da suka samo asali a Falasɗinu a ƙarƙashin Romawa, Bayzantine da Larabawan Musulmi. An kwatanta wannan da misalan Caesarea-Palaestina da Aelia Capitolina a ƙarƙashin Romawa da Bayzantine, da kuma al-Ramla da Iliya-al-Quds a cikin ƙarni uku na farko na Musulunci a Falasɗinu.

Within less than a century during their relatively short tenure, the Ayyubids ushered in a dynamic period of great cultural flowering of learning (of schools and colleges) and highly original, multi-faceted and marked technological developments in the country and throughout the region (Rosen-Ayalon 1998: 512, 520); developments in science, engineering and medicine, education and architecture pioneered in the Arab and Muslim world, from the Andalus to Egypt and from Palestine and Central Asia, were later either copied by the Latin Crusaders and translated in Europe or inspired further developments during the later Renaissance. The most crucial development was the removal of the European colonial and Frankish domination of Jerusalem and the restoration of Muslim rule in the holy city. The Muslims and Jews of the city had been slaughtered or driven out by the Latin Crusaders and the Muslim holy places on the Haram al-Sharif had been desecrated or converted into Christian temples and offices. The contrast between the behaviour of the Ayyubid and Frankish rulers can hardly be overstated. The re-establishment of Islamic Jerusalem allowed Jews and Muslims to return to the city and permitted Christian access to and worship at their holy places. Also, crucially, under the Ayyubids al-Quds permanently replaced al-Ramla as the political, administrative and cultural capital of Palestine as well as the religious capital of the whole Ayyubid state. Earlier in this work I suggested the theory of a secular-administrative versus religious capital (‘double capitals’) evolving in Palestine under the Romans, Byzantines and Muslim Arabs. This was illustrated in the cases of Caesarea-Palaestina versus Aelia Capitolina under the Romans and Byzantines and al-Ramla versus Iliya-al-Quds during the first three centuries of Islam in Palestine.

Wannan rarrabuwa tsakanin babban birnin gudanarwa da babban birnin addini na Falasɗinu an daina ta ne a zamanin daular Ayyubid. Mamluks, Ottomans da Birtaniya kuma sun bi al'adar Ayyubid. Matsayin Birnin Kudus a matsayin babban birni kuma birni mafi muhimmanci na Falasɗinu ya ci gaba har tsawon ƙarni bakwai masu zuwa.

This separation between administrative and religious capitals of Palestine was discontinued under the Ayyubids. And the Mamluks, Ottomans and British followed the Ayyubid tradition. The status of Jerusalem as the foremost and capital city of Palestine was to last for the next seven centuries.

Haka kuma, daular Ayyubawa ta buɗe sabon zamani na aikin ilimi da wadata ta tattalin arziki a Falasdinu da a dukkan ƙasashen da suka yi mulki.

The Ayyubids, furthermore, ushered in a new era of intellectual activity and economic prosperity in Palestine and in all the countries they ruled.

Madrasah (makarantun addini) sun kasance a Urushalima tun farkon zamanin Musulunci (Gil, M. 1997). Duk da haka, madrasahs na farko bayan zamanin Franks an gina su ne a zamanin Ayyubiyawa (Galor and Bloedhorn 2013: 216). Madrasahs da tallafin da Ayyubiyawa suka bayar sun haifar da farfado da ayyukan ilimi, kasuwanci, gine-gine da fasaha ba a Urushalima kaɗai ba, har ma a sauran manyan birane na Falasdinu (Hillenbrand and Auld 2009). An gina adadi mai yawa na ribats (matsugunan baƙi ga mahajjatan Musulmi) a zamanin Ayyubiyawa da Mamluk (Galor and Bloedhorn 2013: 213). Zamanin Crusader ya fi shafar manyan birane na Falasdinu; ya kasance "kawai wani lokaci ne a rayuwar yawancin yankunan karkara" wanda ya koma yanayin al'ada da sauri tare da ƙarshen mulkin Kiristoci da zuwan Ayyubiyawa (Rosen-Ayalon 1998: 514). Haka kuma, wannan zamani ya nuna tsarin Ayyubiyawa na ƙarfafa mulkin Musulmi Sunni a ƙarƙashin mulkinsu ta hanyar kafa madrasahs da yawa, gidajen ibadar sufaye (zawiyas), ribats, wuraren wanka na jama'a, kasuwanni da caravanserais (khans) a manyan birane, musamman a Urushalima.

Islamic madrasahs (schools) had existed in Jerusalem since the early Islamic period (Gil, M. 1997). However, the earliest madrasahs in Jerusalem after the Frankish period were built by the Ayyubids (Galor and Bloedhorn 2013: 216). The madrasahs and patronage provided by the Ayyubids led to resurgence in educational, commercial, architectural and artistic activity not only in Jerusalem but in other urban centres of Palestine (Hillenbrand and Auld 2009). A substantial number of ribats (hospices for Muslim pilgrims) were built during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (Galor and Bloedhorn 2013: 213). The Crusader period had affected mainly the urban centres of Palestine; it was ‘merely an episode in the life of much of the [rural] hinterland which quickly returned to normal conditions with the end of Christian domination’ and the advent of the Ayyubids (Rosen- Ayalon 1998: 514). The period was also marked by an Ayyubid process of reinforcing Sunni Muslim domination under their rule by setting up numerous madrasahs, sufi lodges (zawiyas), ribats, public baths, markets and caravanserais (khans) in the main cities, especially in Jerusalem.

Bayan lokaci, kusan kashi ɗaya bisa huɗu na dukkan cibiyoyi da dukiyoyin kasuwanci a Ƙudus sun kasance na wakafin Musulunci, kuma takardun rajistar Daular Usmaniyya sun nuna cewa wannan yanayi har yanzu yana bayyana a zamanin ƙarshen Daular Usmaniyya.2 Gine-ginen tarihi da suka rage a Ƙudus da sauran sassan Falasɗinu suna shaida ƙarfi da wadatar zamanin Ayyubiyawa a Falasɗinu.

Over time, nearly a quarter of all institutions and commercial properties in Jerusalem belonged to Islamic waqf endowments and Ottoman deed records show this situation was still evident in the late Ottoman period.2 The surviving monuments in Jerusalem and other parts of Palestine bear witness to the dynamism and prosperity of the Ayyubid period in Palestine.

Ci gaba da barazanar da Crusaders suka yi wa yankin bakin teku na Falasdinu ta hanyar Tekun Bahar Rum. Abin da ya fi muhimmanci shi ne, iyawar Crusaders na amfani da dabarun kewaye birane da hana shigar da kayayyaki wajen kama manyan katangun Falasdinu da Siriya ta yadda ‘yan zamaninsu suka dauke su a matsayin jarumai masu nasara kuma masu firgitarwa a yakin kewayewa’ (Rogers 2002: 39). Domin hana hare-hare daga teku da kuma hana dawowar Crusaders da kuma yanayin kewayewa nan gaba, Ayyubids sun yi niyyar sauya dabarar kasar daga yankin bakin teku zuwa cikin kasar Falasdinu, saboda haka suka rushe katangun wasu daga cikin garuruwan bakin teku (da yawancin ababen more rayuwarsu) daga Tyre a arewa zuwa Gaza a kudu, suka zubar da baraguzan cikin ruwa da niyyar toshe duk wata hanyar saukar sojoji a tashoshin jiragen ruwa na wadannan garuruwa:

The Crusaders continued to threaten coastal Palestine via the Mediterranean Sea. Crucially, the Crusaders’ abilities to utilise siege techniques and blockade methods to capture Palestine’s and Syria’s greatest fortifications ‘confirmed the crusaders to contemporaries as successful and terrifying siege warriors’ (Rogers 2002: 39). To prevent attacks from the sea and pre-empt the eventual return of the Crusaders and siege situations, the Ayyubids sought to reorient the country strategically from the coastal region to the hinterland of Palestine and consequently destroyed the walls of a number of coastal cities (and much of their infrastructure) from Tyre in the north to Gaza in the south and dumped the rubble in the water in an effort to block any possible landing in the ports of these cities:

A bayyana a fili cewa manufar ita ce hana duk wani sauka daga teku.

Obviously, the objective was to prevent any landing from the sea.

Domin haka, an jefa kayayyaki iri-iri cikin ruwa, lamarin da ya toshe hanyoyin shiga tashoshin jiragen ruwa. Tashar jiragen ruwa ta Kaisariya tana toshe da wannan tarkace har zuwa yau. Asqalon [sic] ce birni na farko da ya fuskanci wannan kaddara, kuma Salah al-Din da kansa ne ya bada umarnin a rushe shi.

To that end, material of every sort was dumped into the water, obstructing access to the ports. The port of Caesarea is blocked by the debris until today. Asqalon [sic] was the first city to suffer this fate, the order for its destruction being given by Salah al-Din himself.

Ragowar ganuwarta sun yi tabo ba nisa da inda suke a asali. Wadannan ganuwa, wadanda – bisa ga dukkan shaidun da ake da su – Fatimiyawa ne suka gina su, sun ci gaba da yi wa Crusaders hidima amma sun fada cikin manufar lalatawa ta Ayyubiyawa. (Mujir al-Din 1973:

The remains of its walls are scarred not far from where they originally stood. These walls, which – according to all existing evidence – were constructed by the Fatimids, had continued to serve the Crusaders but fell victim to the Ayyubid policy of destruction. (Mujir al-Din 1973:

(422; Rosen-Ayalon 1998: 515)

422; Rosen-Ayalon 1998: 515)

Duk da haka, ba gaskiya ba ne a ce an hallaka biranen gabar tekun Falasdinu gaba ɗaya ta hannun Ayyubiyawa. A zahiri, shaidun tarihi sun saɓa wa wannan da'awar game da kasancewar wata manufa ta lalata komai.

However, it is not entirely true to suggest that Palestine’s coastal cities were completely destroyed by the Ayyubids. In fact, the evidence contradicts this claim about the existence of a wholesale policy of destruction.

Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229), wani marubuci kuma masanin ƙasa na Larabawa, wanda ya rayu a farkon karni na 13 a lokacin mulkin Ayyubid, kuma tsohon bawa ne mai ilimi sosai, ya yi ciniki sosai kuma ya yi tafiye-tafiye masu yawa a Filastin, Masar, Siriya, Farisa da Asiya ta Tsakiya, kuma ya shahara da rubuce-rubucensa masu fadin ilimi game da duniyar Musulunci, wanda aka buga a cikin Kitab Mu'jam al-Buldan (al-Hamawi 1861), ya bayyana lardin Filastin, kuma ya lissafa garuruwan bakin teku na 'Asqalan, Gaza, Arsuf da Kaisariya a cikin manyan garuruwan Filastin, wanda babban birninsa Ƙudus ya maye gurbin al-Ramla. Yaqut ya rubuta:

Writing in the early 13th century during Ayyubid rule the Arab biographer and geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229) – a highly educated former slave who traded widely and travelled extensively in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Persia and Central Asia and became renowned for his encyclopaedic writings on the Muslim world, published in Kitab Mu’jam al-Buldan (al-Hamawi 1861) – describes the province of Filastin and lists the coastal cities of ‘Asqalan, Gaza, Arsuf and Caesarea among the premier cities of Filastin, whose capital Jerusalem had replaced al-Ramla. Yaqut writes:

Filastin ita ce lardi na ƙarshe daga cikin larduna na [al-Sham] zuwa ga Masar. Babban birninta shi ne Baitul Maƙdis (Jerusalem). Daga cikin manyan garuruwanta akwai ‘Askalan, Ar Ramlah, Gazzah, Arsuf, Kaisariyyah [Qaysariah; Caesarea Maritima], Nabulus, Ariha (Jericho), ‘Amman, Yafah [Jaffa] da Beit Jibrin. (Le Strange 2014: 29)

Filastin is the last of the provinces of [al-Sham] towards Egypt. Its capital is Jerusalem. Of the principal towns are ‘Askalan, Ar Ramlah, Gazzah, Arsuf, Kaisariyyah [Qaysariah; Caesarea Maritima], Nabulus, Ariha (Jericho), ‘Amman, Yafah [Jaffa] and Beit Jibrin. (Le Strange 2014: 29)

Haka kuma, yawancin kalmomin ƙasa na larduna na yankin Filastin kafin zuwan Crusaders sun ci gaba da kasancewa cikin amfani ga masana ƙasa na Larabawa a lokacin Crusaders da bayansa. Misali, kalmar ‘lardin Filastin’ Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229), masanin ƙasa Balarabe, ya yi amfani da ita akai-akai, inda ya sanya garin Sabastiyah (Sebastia) a gundumar Nablus, a cikin lardin Filastin, wanda babban birninsa shi ne Urushalima (Le Strange 1890: 523; duba kuma 441).

Also, crucially, much of the pre-Crusader Arab geographical terminology of the province of Palestine continued to be used by Arab geographers during and after the Crusader period. For instance, the term ‘the province of Filastin’ was repeatedly used by Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229), who situates the town of the town of Sabastiyah (Sebastia) in the district of Nablus, in the province of Filastin, whose capital is Jerusalem (Le Strange 1890: 523; also see 441).

Duk da haka, yaƙe-yaƙen Crusaders da rashin tsaro gabaɗaya a gabar tekun Falasɗin sun haifar da raguwar biranen gabar teku a hankali da kuma tashin ƙauyukan cikin ƙasar Falasɗin. Wannan zamani kuma ya nuna raguwar birnin al-Ramla a hankali, wanda ya kasance babban birnin siyasa da gudanarwa na lardin Filastin fiye da shekara ɗari uku da hamsin; yawan mutanen al-Ramla ya ragu, kuma babban birnin Jund Filastin ya lalace a zamanin Fatimiyya sakamakon manyan girgizar ƙasa biyu a ƙarni na 11 (Mujir al-Din 1866: 416; Lev 2006: 592). Amma biranen gabar tekun Falasɗin sun fuskanci raguwa mafi tsanani. Hakika, biranen gabar teku kamar Akka da Yaffa sun fara murmurewa da farfaɗowa ta fuskar tattalin arziki da zamantakewa ne kawai a tsakiyar karni na 18. Sabanin haka, birnin cikin ƙasa al-Quds/Urushalima ya sake zama birni mafi bunƙasa a Falasɗin a zamanin Mamluk a tsawon ƙarni na 13 zuwa na 15. A karni na 18, cinikayyar yankin da ta duniya a auduga, alkama da yadi ta sa Akka da Nablus su zama manyan biranen Falasɗin mafi wadata, kuma daga cikin manyan biranen yankin al-Sham (Doumani 1995; Philipp 2001).

However, the Crusader wars and overall insecurities of coastal Palestine brought about the slow decline of the coastal cities and the rise of Palestine’s urban hinterland. This period was also marked by the slow decline of the city of al-Ramla, which had been the political and administrative capital of the province of Filastin for over three and a half centuries; the population of al-Ramla decreased and the capital city of Jund Filastin was devastated during the Fatimid period by two major earthquakes in the 11th century (Mujir al-Din 1866: 416; Lev 2006: 592). But the coastal cities of Palestine experienced a more dramatic decline. In fact, coastal cities such as Acre and Jaffa began to recover and experience a socio-economic revival only in the middle of the 18th century. By contrast, the inland city of al-Quds/Jerusalem became once again the most developed metropolitan city of Palestine under the Mamluks throughout the 13th‒15th centuries. In the 18th century regional and global trade in cotton, wheat and textiles made Acre and Nablus the biggest and most prosperous cities in Palestine and among the largest cities in the al-Sham region (Doumani 1995; Philipp 2001).