emirate · Anatolia and the Levant

Ayyubid Emirate of Baalbek

1179 CE – 1260 CE (approx.) · capital Baalbek

An Ayyubid principality in the Beqaa Valley, held for half a century by the poet-prince al-Amjad Bahramshah.

Origins

Saladin took Baalbek in 1174 and granted it in 1179 to his nephew Farrukh Shah. On Farrukh Shah's death in 1182 the town passed to his son al-Amjad Bahramshah.

Rule and society

Baalbek's rulers lived within the great Roman temple complex, which had been turned into a citadel. Bahramshah ruled for nearly fifty years as a minor member of the Ayyubid family, depending on the stronger princes of Damascus, and was known as a poet. The district produced grain and fruit in the Beqaa and controlled the road from Damascus to Homs.

Decline and legacy

Al-Ashraf Musa took Baalbek from Bahramshah in 1230, and it passed to al-Salih Ismail. The Mongols occupied the town in 1260 and damaged the citadel, and after Ain Jalut it came under the Mamluks.

Connections (1)

  • Ayyubid Emirate of Baalbek was part of Ayyubid Empire1179 CE – 1260 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ayyubid Emirate of Baalbek. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ayyubid-emirate-of-baalbek
MLA
“Ayyubid Emirate of Baalbek.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ayyubid-emirate-of-baalbek. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ayyubid Emirate of Baalbek.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ayyubid-emirate-of-baalbek.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ayyubid Emirate of Baalbek’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ayyubid-emirate-of-baalbek (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻