| the Saif Revolution | |||||||
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| Part of the Great Cypriot Struggle | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Government of Cyprus
| Faridic Supporters
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| Rafeed Mu'sad Sarraf Sultan Yasser | Prince Saif Ikraam al-Husni |
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The Saif Revolution was an event during the Great Cypriot Struggle caused by the unpopularity of the conservative regime established after the Cypriot Abbasid Civil War. It lead to the overthrow of the Hasimic branch of the Abbasid Dynasty and the return of the Faridic branch to power, with Farid's son Saif being crowned Sultan of Cyprus.
Background[]
Following the end of the Cypriot Abbasid Civil War in 1745, Sultan Farid was executed and his father Jalil was offically put once again on the throne. However, due to his deteriorating health, the power was really into the hands of the Regency Council, especially First Regent (and Grand Vizier) Rafeed Mu'sad Sarraf.
Following the death of Jalil in 1748, his son Hasim (who give his name to the Hasimic branch of the Abbasid Dynasty) became Sultan, and quickly clashed with Grand Vizier Mu'sad Sarraf for control of the government. Hasim implemented harsh religious laws following his interpretation of the Quran, while Mu'sad Sarraf began to grow closer to the regime in Maghreb, at the time under the military rule of a Lord Regent.
The tensions between the two men ended with the assassination of Hasim in 1753 (probably by Mu'sad Sarraf). Mu'sad Sarraf followed this by puting Hasim's 6th son Yasser on the throne as his child puppet. However, his arrogance as the power behind the throne and his support for the harsh laws made him highly impopular, both within the Hasimic supporters and the population in general.
Saif, the son of Farid, had been raised by the Calip in Cairo since the age of 2, when his grandfather Jalil gave him to the Caliph to be raised "as a man of Islam". Because of this, he didn't go with the rest of his family in exile to Jaffarid Arabia after the Abbasid Cypriot Civil War. In 1749, Saif was secretly brought out of Cairo by former Cypriot admiral Mufeed el-Galla (who was seen as a Faridic supporter by the current regime and also in exile) and was unseen for the next 6 years.
During all those years, the old Faridi supporters (the supporters of Farid and his children) were able to build an underground network in Cyprus. When the former Grand Vizier of Farid Mu'Tamid al-Satter published a book named Al'Iislahiat Waltantir (English: Reformism and Enlightenment) during his exile in Jaffarid Arabia, it boosted the ranks of the undeground liberals and Faridic supporters.