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Jalil
S Cyprus coat(PM4)
Sultan of Cyprus
Reign July 19, 1743 - February 22, 1748
Coronation May 16, 1745
Predecessor Farid
Successor Hasim
Reign April 23, 1706 - May 20, 1741
Coronation May 16, 1706
Predecessor Farhan
Successor Farid
Born September 23, 1674
Nicosia, Cyprus
Died February 22, 1748
Nicosia, Cyprus
Burial Abbasid Crypt, Nicosia, Cyprus
Full name
Jalil ibn Sabaah abn al-Aziz
Dynasty Abbasid Dynasty
Father Sultan Sabaah of Cyprus
Religion Islam

Jalil (Araric: الجليل) ibn Sabaah abn al-Aziz was the 4th Sultan of Cyprus, as well as its first independent ruler, reigning from 1706 to 1741, when he was overthrow by his own son Farid, who suceeded to him as Sultan of Cyprus. He would however be restored in 1743 by a reactionnary coup, launching the country into a 2 years civil war.

Early Life[]

Jalil was born in 1674 as the fourth son of the Sabaah ibn Ahmad abn al-Qadir, son of Emir Ahmad of Cyprus. At the time, the Emirate of Cyprus was a vassal of the Rashidun Caliphate, and was only made a vassal Sultanate in 1675.

Jalil education mainly felt into the hands of Abul-Fazl Ala al-Din, who was Grand Vizier of Cyprus between 1679-1686. Abul-Fazl had a vision of a strong naval and economical Cyprus, ideas he passed to his protege. Jalil was also raised as a proud muslim and as a servant of the Caliphate, living a year in the Caliphate's capital in 1790.

When his father became Sultan, Jalil was concidered as a potential heir, like all of his brothers. In the end, it was the second son Farhan who as chosen to be the heir, and who succeeded their father in 1699. Slowly but surely, jalousy and hatred began to grow between the two brothers, Jalil believing that he would make a better ruler than Farhan.

Second Arab-Ethiopian War and Independence[]

When the Second Arab-Ethiopian War started, Farhan decided to be neutral in the whole conflict, even if the Caliphate was participating. This enraged Jalil, who was loyal to the Caliphate. Angry after his brother politics, and seeing dissatisfaction from the population, Jalil murdered Farhan and his family and then assumed the throne, becoming Sultan in 1706.

After taking control of the Sultanate, he joined the war on the side of the Caliphate, sending ships to help fight the Ethiopians. However, as the war went on, Jalil's goals slowly shifted toward full independence from the Caliphate. The decision of independence was sealed during the late part of the war, when the Belkan Empire proposed to support and protect the independence of Cyprus, an offer that was accepted. When the war ended in 1718 with the end of the Caliphate, Jalil ruled an independent Sultanate.

The Man of Reform[]

After the independence of Cyprus, Jalil worked tirelessly to turn his island into a working and functional country. His efforts were mainly focused on building a navy for the island, developing the trade on the island and building a local economy to sustain the island if it was needed.

In 1728, he opened the door to the foreign traders in hope of turning the island into a trade hub. Due to the complains of local merchants, he later created the Mujtamae system in 1730. He then named a Grand Vizier, Mu'Tamid al-Satter, to help him implement the reforms, with al-Satter working tirelessly to improve the 8 Mujtamae. 

Later Reign and Overthrow[]

As the Italian League was in a civil war, Jalil ordered his admiral Mufeed el-Galla to lead a blocus of the Venice. The following year (1733), el-Galla launched an invasion of Venice without orders. Although his actions were backed by the Jalil in the end, it lead to the defeat of the Cypriots in Venice, and although the Italians were unable to invade Cyprus due to Cypriot fleet, they still had to sign a weirdly punitive treaty, the Treaty of Damietta, in 1735.

Following this, Jalil began to turn away from the reforms, fired his Grand Vizier and became closer with the ultra-conservatives and anti-foreigners of the court. This put him at odds with his third son and heir, Farid, who was more liberal and in favor of enlighted reforms. By late 1730's, Jalil was openly thinking of replacing as the heir by his older brother Hasim, who was more conservative. However, the Caliph in Cairo supported Farid as the heir, which stopped the tensions for a while.

All this resentment for his heir finally blew up in 1741. While Farid was in Cairo to see his son Saif (who was under the care of the Caliph), a friend of the prince was implicated into a corruption scandal, Jalil used this as a pretext to arrest the allies and friends of Farid, which included the former Grand Vizier Mu'Tamid al-Satter. He also disinherited Farid on the charges of corruption and being a traitor, chosing Hasim as the heir instead.

This was not taken well by the population however, as most of them supported Farid. But Jalil was able to both repress the population (for a while) and to block Farid from returning in any major port of Cyprus. But Farid was finally able to slip in Lamissol thanks to Mghrebi sailors. Rapidly, the population rallied around Farid and marched on Nicosia, deposing Jalil May the 20th in favor of Farid.

Restoration[]

From 1741 to 1743, Jalil lived into a cell as a prisoner of the new regime of his son Farid. During his incarceration, Jalil grew rapidly sick, and by 1743 was barely able to get out of bed.

In 1743, the new Rashidun Caliph declared Farid an usurper. This change of policies from the Caliphate lead to a reactionary coup by many of Jalil's old supporters, including the general Rafeed Mu'sad Sarraf and his son Prince Hasim. However, due to his decreasing health, the power was put in the hands of the Regency Council, Jalil only being able to sign documents and letters. This coup lead to the Cypriot Abbasid Civil War, which ended in 1745 with the victory of Jalil's supporters.

However, he would pass most of his reign ill and in bed, unable to effectively rule the state. Instead, the power would be held by the Regency Council, and slowly but surely First Regent Mu'saf Sarraf became the most influencial person in the court.

Jalil finaly died in 1748 after years of suffering and illness. He was buried in the Abbasid Crypt, a resting place for the Sultans of Cyprus built on orders of Mu'Tamid al-Satter, the former Grand Vizier, back in the early 1730's.

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