Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi
Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi, also known as Aqsonqor il-Bursuqi, Aksunkur al-Bursuki, Aksungur or al-Borsoki, was the atabeg of Mosul from 1113–1114 and again from 1124–1126.
Accession
A Turkish officer in the Seljuk army, al-Bursuqi was appointed as the representative of Mawdud, the atabeg of Mosul, to the court of the Seljuk sultan Muhammad I Tapar. An unidentified Assassin murdered Mawdud at a mosque in Damascus on 2 October 1113 [1]and shortly thereafter the sultan appointed al-Bursuqi as Mawdud's successor at Mosul.[2][1] The sultan also ordered his emirs to continue jihad (or holy war) against the Crusader states.[3] Al-Bursuqi launched a devastating raid against the County of Edessa in April and May 1115.[1] As the Artuqid ruler of Mardin, Ilghazi, had declined to participate in the campaign, al-Bursuqi invaded his territory, but Ilghazi defeated his troops.[3] Because of the failure of his campaign, al-Bursuqi stayed in al-Rahba, and Juyûsh-beg was appointed atabeg of Mosul by the sultan.
Muslim leader
Al-Bursuqi was reappointed as atabeg of Mosul in 1124 due to insubordination of Juyûsh-beg. Baldwin II of Jerusalem, Joscelin I of Edessa and a Bedouin leader, Dubais ibn Sadaqa laid siege to Aleppo in October 1124.[3] The qadi of Aleppo, Ibn al-Khashshab, approached al-Bursuqi, seeking his assistance.[2] In 1125, he reclaimed Aleppo for the Seljuk sultan Mahmud II. Al-Bursuqi invaded the Principality of Antioch and forced the allied enemy forces to abandon the siege in January 1125.[2][4] He also supported Toghtekin in the battle of Azaz in 1125, but a Crusader force relieved it.[4][5]. Using the spoils he gained his victory at Azaz, Baldwin II was able to ransom his daughter Ioveta and Joscelin II of Edessa, then held at Aleppo by al-Bursuqi, that had been used to secure Baldwin's own release.
On November 26, 1126, al-Bursuqi was murdered by Assassins while at a mosque in Mosul, presumably by orders of Mahmud II. His son Mas’ûd ibn Bursuqî replaced him in Mosul, but his reign was short-lived because of the rise of the Zengid dynasty.
References
- ^ a b c Barber 2012, p. 102.
- ^ a b c Maalouf 1984, p. 98.
- ^ a b c Barber 2012, p. 103.
- ^ a b Murray 2000, p. 147.
- ^ Asbridge 2000, p. 84.
Sources
- Asbridge, Thomas (2000). The Creation of the Principality of Antioch, 1098–1130. The Boydell Press. ISBN 978-0-85115-661-3.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Barber, Malcolm (2012). The Crusader States. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11312-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Maalouf, Amin (1984). The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. SAQI. ISBN 978-0-86356-023-1.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Murray, Alan V. (2000). The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Dynastic History, 1099–1125. Prosopographica et Geneologica. ISBN 978-1-9009-3403-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)