Atsiz ibn Uwaq

Atsiz Ibn Uwaq al-Khwarizmi, also known as al-Aqsis, Atsiz ibn Uvaq, Atsiz ibn Oq and Atsiz ibn Abaq (died 1078 or 1079), was a Khwarezmian Turkish mercenary commander who established a principality in Palestine and southern Syria after seizing these from the Fatimid Caliphate in 1071. In 1076 he captured Damascus, becoming the first Seljuk emir of Damascus, where he began construction of the Citadel of Damascus. An attempt to attack Cairo in the following year resulted in defeat and he was in turn forced to deal with a Fatimid advance into Syria. After appealing to the Seljuks he received assistance from Tutush I, brother of the Great Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I, but was shortly afterwards imprisoned and strangled on the orders of Tutush, who proceeded to take control of his former territories.

References

• Başan, Aziz (2010). The Great Seljuqs: A History. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 85, 88–89. ISBN 0-203-84923-X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Burns, Ross (2005). Damascus: A History. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 144. ISBN 0-415-27105-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Cahen, Cl. (1960). "Atsiz b. Uvak". The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume I: A-B. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill. pp. 750–751. ISBN 90-04-08114-3. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Greenstone, Julius H. (January 1906). "The Turkoman Defeat at Cairo, by Solomon ben Joseph Ha-Kohen". The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures. 22 (2): 144–175. JSTOR 527656. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kennedy, Hugh (1994). Crusader Castles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 182. ISBN 0-521-42068-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Richards, D. S. (Trans.) (2002). The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh of 'Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 172, 190, 192–193, 197–198. ISBN 0-700-71576-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)