Zengid dynasty

Zengid dynasty زنكيون
1127–1250
Zengid Dynasty at its greatest extent
Status	Atabegate (Vassal of the Seljuk Empire)
Capital	Damascus
Common languages	Oghuz Turkic Arabic
Religion	Sunni Islam Shia Islam
Government	Emirate
Emir
• 1127–1146	Imad ad-Din Zengi (first)
• 1241–1250	Mahmud Al-Malik Al-Zahir (last reported)
History
• Established	1127
• Disestablished	1250
Currency	Dinar
Preceded by Succeeded by Great Seljuq Empire County of Edessa Ilkhanate Ayyubids

The Zengid or Zangid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia on behalf of the Seljuk Empire. The dynasty was founded by Imad ad-Din Zengi.

History

Zengi, son of Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, became the Seljuk atabeg of Mosul in 1127. 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.

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. In 1154 he capped off these successes by his capture of Damascus from the Burid dynasty that ruled it.

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. Ultimately, Nur ad-Din's Kurdish general Shirkuh was successful in conquering Fatimid Egypt in 1169 in conquering from king of Jerusalem to lead an expeditionary force to prevent the Crusaders from establishing a strong presence in an increasingly anarchic Egypt. ,Shirkuh's reached at time at defeated the Crusaders army and take control as governor of Egypt but unexpectedly the death in Egypt . In order of the Fatimid Caliphate ,the nephew and successor of Shirkuh as Saladin was appointed vizier by the Fatimid caliph al-Adid and Governor of Egypt, in 1169, before abolishing the Fatimid Caliphate, in 1171 al-Adid died 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 in order from Nur ad-Din's. Three years later, he was proclaimed sultan following the death of his former master, the Nur al-Din of Zengid dynasty and established himself as the first custodian of the two holy mosques.

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 was died and 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 Emirs of Mosul well into the 13th century, ruling Mosul and Sinjar until 1234; their rule did not come finally 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.

Coin of Nasir ad-Din Mahmud, mint of Mosul, depicting a female with two winged victories, 1223. British Museum.

Zengid Atabegs and Emirs of Mosul

See Rulers of Mosul.

• Zengi, 1127–1146
• Sayf al-Din Ghazi I, son of Zengi, 1146–1149
• Qutb al-Din Mawdud, son of Zengi, 1149–1170
• Sayf al-Din Ghazi II, son of Qutb al-Din Mawdud, 1170–1180
• Izz al-Din Mas'ud, son of Qutb al-Din Mawdud, 1180–1193
• Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I, son of Izz al-Din Mas'ud, 1193–1211
• Izz al-Din Mas'ud II, son of Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I, 1211–1218
• Nur al-Din Arslan Shah II, son of Izz al-Din Mas'ud II, 1218–1219
• Nasir ad-Din Mahmud, son of Izz al-Din Mas'ud, 1219–1234.

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

See Rulers of Aleppo.

• Zengi, 1128–1146
• Nur al-Din, son of Zengi, 1146–1174
• As-Salih Ismail al-Malik, son of Nur al-Din, 1174–1182
• Imad al-Din Zengi II,1182

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

Zengid Emirs of Damascus

See Rulers of Damascus.

• Nur al-Din, son of Zengi, 1154–1174
• As-Salih Ismail al-Malik, son of Nur al-Din, 1174.

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

Zengid Emirs of Sinjar

See Sinjar, Islamic Era.

• Imad al-Din Zengi II, son of Nur al-Din, 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)

See 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

• List of Emirs of Mosul
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties

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.
• 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.