Shajar al-Durr
Shajar al-Durr is one of the characters of Sirat al-Zahir Baibars (Life of al-Zahir Baibars), a folkloric epic of thousands of pages that was composed in Egypt during the early Mamluk era and took its final form at the early Ottoman era. The tale, which is a mix of fiction and facts, reflects the fascination of Egyptian common people for both Baibars and Shajar al-Durr. Fatma Shajarat al-Durr, as the tale names Shajar al-Durr, was the daughter of Caliph al-Muqtadir whose kingdom in Baghdad was attacked by the Mongols. She was called Shajarat al-Durr (tree of pearls) because her father dressed her in a dress that was made of pearls. Her father granted her Egypt as she wished to be the Queen of Egypt and as-Salih Ayyub married her in order to stay in power as Egypt was hers. When Baibars was brought to the Citadel in Cairo, she loved him and treated him like a son and he called her his mother. Aybak al-Turkumani, a wicked man, came from al-Mousil to steal Egypt from Shajarat al-Durr and her husband al-Salih Ayyub. Shajarat al-Durr killed Aybak with a sword but, while fleeing from his son, she fell from the roof of the citadel and died. In addition, Shajar al-Durr's name actually means Tree of Pearls, which is why, in poetry, her mention shows a fruit tree that is formed by pieces of mother-of-pearl.