Zengid dynasty

The Zengid dynasty (Arabic: الدولة الزنكية romanized: al-Dawla al-Zinkia) was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkoman origin,[2] which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia on behalf of the Seljuk Empire and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169.[3][4] In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas.[5][6] The dynasty was founded by Imad ad-Din Zengi.

Zengid State
الدولة الزنكية
1127–1250
The Zengid state in the mid 12th century
The Zengid state in the mid 12th century
StatusAtabegate (vassal of the Seljuk Empire), Emirate
CapitalDamascus
Common languagesOghuz Turkic
Arabic (numismatics)[1]
Religion
Sunni Islam
Shia Islam
GovernmentEmirate
Emir 
• 1127–1146
Imad ad-Din Zengi (first)
• 1241–1250
Mahmud Al-Malik Al-Zahir (last reported)
History 
• Established
1127
• Disestablished
1250
CurrencyDinar
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Great Seljuq Empire
County of Edessa
Ilkhanate
Ayyubids

History

Zengi, son of Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, became the Seljuk atabeg of Mosul in 1127.[7] He quickly became the chief Turkic potentate in Northern Syria and Iraq, taking Aleppo from the squabbling Artuqids in 1128 and capturing the County of Edessa from the Crusaders after the siege of Edessa in 1144. This latter feat made Zengi a hero in the Muslim world, but he was assassinated by a slave two years later, in 1146.[8]

On Zengi's death, his territories were divided, with Mosul and his lands in Iraq going to his eldest son Saif ad-Din Ghazi I, and Aleppo and Edessa falling to his second son, Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo. Nur ad-Din proved to be as competent as his father. In 1149, he defeated Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch, at the battle of Inab, and the next year conquered the remnants of the County of Edessa west of the Euphrates.[9] In 1154, he capped off these successes by his capture of Damascus from the Burid dynasty that ruled it.[10]

Scenes of the royal court. Probably northern Iraq (Mosul). Mid 13th century. Book of Antidotes of Pseudo-Gallen.[11] "In the paintings the facial cast of these [ruling] Turks is obviously reflected, and so are the special fashions and accoutrements they favored".[12]

Now ruling from Damascus, Nur ad-Din's success continued. Another Prince of Antioch, Raynald of Châtillon was captured, and the territories of the Principality of Antioch were greatly reduced. In the 1160s, Nur ad-Din's attention was mostly held by a competition with the King of Jerusalem, Amalric of Jerusalem, for control of the Fatimid Caliphate. From 1163 to 1169 Shirkuh took part in a series of campaigns against Fatimid Egypt, in 1169 he lured the vizier into an ambush and killed him after which he seized Egypt in the name of his master Nur ad-Din therefore bringing Egypt under formal Zengid dominion.[4][3]

Shirkuh's nephew Saladin was appointed vizier by the Fatimid caliph al-Adid and Governor of Egypt, in 1169. Al-Adid died in 1171, and Saladin took advantage of this power vacuum, effectively taking control of the country. Upon seizing power, he switched Egypt's allegiance to the Baghdad-based Abbasid Caliphate which adhered to Sunni Islam, rather than traditional Fatimid Shia practice. Tripoli, Yemen and the Hejaz were added to the state of Nur ad-Din.[5] Nur ad-Din had taken Anatolian lands up to Sivas, his state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas.[6]

Nur ad-Din was preparing to invade Jerusalem when he unexpectedly died in 1174. His son and successor As-Salih Ismail al-Malik was only a child, and was forced to flee to Aleppo, which he ruled until 1181, when he died of illness and was replaced by his cousin Imad al-Din Zengi II. Saladin conquered Aleppo two years later, ending Zengid rule in Syria.

Zengid princes continued to rule in Northern Iraq as Emirs of Mosul well into the 13th century, ruling Mosul and Sinjar until 1234; their rule did not finally come to an end until 1250.

Zengid rulers
Coin of Nur ad-Din Arslan Shah I, mint of Mosul, depicting a classical portrait, 1197. British Museum.
Turkoman soldiers (detail). Book of Antidotes of Pseudo-Gallen. Probably northern Iraq (Mosul). Mid 13th century.[13]

Zengid Atabegs and Emirs of Mosul
Further information: List of rulers of Mosul § Zengid emirs, and Rulers of Mosul

Mosul was taken over by Badr al-Din Lu'lu', atabeg to Nasir ad-Din Mahmud, whom he murdered in 1234.

Zengid Emirs of Aleppo
Further information: List of rulers of Aleppo § Zengid Dynasty, and Rulers of Aleppo

Aleppo was conquered by Saladin in 1183 and ruled by Ayyubids until 1260.

Zengid Emirs of Damascus
Further information: List of rulers of Damascus § Zengid atabegs, and Rulers of Damascus

Damascus was conquered by Saladin in 1174 and ruled by Ayyubids until 1260.

Zengid Emirs of Sinjar
Further information: Sinjar § Islamic era
  • Imad al-Din Zengi II, son of Qutb al-Din Mawdud, 1171–1197
  • Qutb ad-Din Muhammad, son of Zengi II, 1197–1219
  • Imad al-Din Shahanshah, son of Qutb ad-Din Muhammad, 1219–1220
  • Jalal al-Din Mahmud (co-ruler), son of Qutb ad-Din Muhammad, 1219–1220
  • Fath al-Din Umar (co-ruler), son of Qutb ad-Din Muhammad, 1219–1220.

Sinjar was taken by the Ayyubids in 1220 and ruled by al-Ashraf Musa, Ayyubid emir of Diyar Bakr. It later came under the control of Badr al-Din Lu'lu', ruler of Mosul beginning in 1234.

Zengid Emirs of al-Jazira (in Northern Iraq)
Further information: Upper Mesopotamia § Islamic empires
  • Mu'izz al-Din Sanjar Shah, son of Sayf al-Din Ghazi II, 1180–1208
  • Mu'izz al-Din Mahmud, son of Mu'izz al-Din Sanjar Shah, 1208–1241
  • Mahmud al-Malik al-Zahir, son of Mu'izz al-Din Mahmud, 1241–1250.

In 1250, al-Jazira fell under the domination of an-Nasir Yusuf, Ayyubid emir of Aleppo.

See also

References
  1. Canby et al. 2016, p. 69.
  2. Bosworth 1996, p. 191.
  3. Legitimising the Conquest of Egypt: The Frankish Campaign of 1163 Revisited. Eric Böhme. The Expansion of the Faith. Volume 14. January 1, 2022. Pages 269 - 280.
  4. Souad, Merah, and Tahraoui Ramdane. 2018. “INSTITUTIONALIZING EDUCATION AND THE CULTURE OF LEARNING IN MEDIEVAL ISLAM: THE AYYŪBIDS (569/966 AH) (1174/1263 AD) LEARNING PRACTICES IN EGYPT AS A CASE STUDY”. Al-Shajarah: Journal of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), January, 245-75.
  5. Gençtürk, Ç. "SELAHADDİN EYYUBİ VE NUREDDİN MAHMUD ARASINDAKİ MÜNASEBETLER". Ankara Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 1 (2018 ): 51-61
  6. EYYÛBÎLER. İçindekiler Tablosu. Prof. Dr. Ramazan ŞEŞEN. Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi.
  7. Ayalon 1999, p. 166.
  8. Irwin 1999, p. 227.
  9. Hunyadi & Laszlovszky 2001, p. 28.
  10. Asbridge 2012, p. 1153.
  11. Ettinghausen, Richard (1977). Arab painting. New York : Rizzoli. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-8478-0081-0.
  12. Ettinghausen, Richard (1977). Arab painting. New York : Rizzoli. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-8478-0081-0.
  13. Ettinghausen, Richard (1977). Arab painting. New York : Rizzoli. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-8478-0081-0.

Sources
  • Asbridge, Thomas (2012). The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land. Simon & Schuster.
  • Ayalon, David (1999). Eunuchs, Caliphs and Sultans: A Study in Power Relationships. Hebrew University Magnes Press.
  • Bosworth, C.E. (1996). The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Canby, Sheila R.; Beyazit, Deniz; Rugiadi, Martina; Peacock, Andrew C. S. (2016). Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  • Hunyadi, Zsolt; Laszlovszky, József (2001). The Crusades and the Military Orders. Central European University.
  • Irwin, Robert (1999). "Islam and the Crusades 1096-1699". In Riley-Smith, Jonathan (ed.). The Oxford History of the Crusades. Oxford University Press.
  • Stevenson, William Barron (1907). The Crusaders in the East. Cambridge University Press.
  • Taef El-Azharii (2006). Zengi and the Muslim Response to the Crusades, Routledge, Abington, UK.
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