Badr al-Din Lu'lu'

Badr al-Din Lu'lu', manuscript illustration from the Kitāb al-Aghānī of Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (Feyzullah Library No. 1566, Istanbul)

Badr al-Din Lu'lu' (Arabic: بدر الدين لولو) (d. 1259) was successor to the Zangid rulers of Mosul, where he governed in variety of capacities for half a century. He was the first mamluk to transcend servitude and become sultan in his own right, anticipating the rise of the Bahri Mamluks in Egypt by twenty years. He preserved control of the Jazira through a series of tactical submissions to larger neighboring powers, at various times recognizing Ayyubid, Rûm Seljuqs, and the Mongol overlords. His prescient surrender to the Mongols spared Mosul the destruction experienced by other settlements in Mesopotamia.

Badr al-Din Lu'lu' is perhaps best remembered as the patron of the influential historian Ali ibn al-Athir and for a collection of minor arts which demonstrate the high level of cultural and artistic attainment in 13th century Mosul.

Rise to power

Lu'lu' was a mamluk, or slave probably of Armenian origin, in the household of the Zangid ruler Nur al-Din Arslanshah I. Recognized for his abilities as an administrator, he rose to the rank of atabeg and, after 1211, served as regent until the death of the last Zengid, Nasir al-Din Mahmud in 1233. From this time on, he ruled independently, careful to preserve his sovereignty through a series of tactical submissions to larger neighboring powers.

son, Rukn al-Din Isma'il

Coinage

His coinage is important for establishing the diplomatic history of the Jazira during the mid-13th century, a time when the region was contested by the Ayyubids, the Seljuqs of Rûm, and the Mongols.

Minor arts

Coin of Badr al Din Lu'lu', Mosul, 1210-1259. British Museum.