Egypt, Syria

In AH 254 / AD 868, Ahmad ibn Tulun (r. 254–70 / 868–84) arrived in Egypt as the deputy of Bakbak, the Abbasid governor of Egypt. He remained deputy after the death of Bakbak and the installation of the prince Jarquq as the new ruler of Egypt. Ibn Tulun eventually became the governor of Egypt in his own right, enjoying almost complete independence not just in Egypt but throughout the region from Alexandria to Syria and Palestine, at a time when the Abbasids were busy suppressing revolts in southern Iraq.
Ibn Tulun consolidated his state by organising an efficient army of some 100,000 men and a special guard made up of Turkish soldiers and black slaves. His extensive military experience and organisational skills enabled him to govern Egypt skilfully. His reign was a time of great prosperity and social harmony.
For the convenience of his court, government and army, Ibn Tulun founded a new capital, al-Qata’i, next to Fustat, whose design was inspired by Samarra, the capital of the Abbasids in Iraq.
Like many other Turkish states in the Abbasid empire, the Tulunid state was relatively short lived. This can be explained for the most part by the absence of regional and ethnic roots in the places they settled and because their rulers depended on contingents of foreign mercenaries to keep them in power. Consequently in 292 / 904, during the reign of the fourth Tulunid ruler, the Abbasid Caliph al-Muktafi Billah sent Muhammad bin Sulayman at the head of an army to eliminate the Tulunids and recapture Egypt for the Abbasid throne.