Abu Said Aq Sunqur al-Hajib (full name: ''Qasim ad-Dawla Aksungur al-Hajib'') was the Seljuk governor of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

under

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Malik Shah I. He was beheaded in 1094 following accusations of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

by Tutush I, the Seljuk Turkish ruler of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Aq-Sunqur was the father of Imad ad-Din Zengi, the founder of the Zengid dynasty.

Biography

Governor of Aleppo

Aq Sunqur was one of the Turcoman beys that were assigned in 1084 by Sultan Malik-Shah I to aid Fakhr ad-Dawla ibn Jahir in the capture of the Uqaylid realm. Malik-Shah then made Aq-Sunqur the governor of

in 1086. Aq Sunqur subsequently ruled for eight years. Because of the many conflicts between the rulers and princes of the regions, conditions within the city were difficult. A combination of high taxes and goods prices led to an increase in crime. Aq-Sunqur began reforming by fixing the security situation in Aleppo and its environs. He activated the Hudud in Islam, repelling thieves and bandits and stamping out corruption. He increased the use of the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

to secure civilian rights. He used the police authority to protect people rather than to control them. Aq-Sunqur created the "principle of collective responsibility" for every village or sector, which meant that if a village was raided by thieves, the whole village shared the responsibility of defending it. Because of his policy to make order in the city, it became a suitable place for trading and farming, the economy recovered and inflation went down. He asked the people to not remove their goods from the road should they travel, stating that he would guarantee that their goods would not be stolen.

Conflict with Tutush and death

In 1089, Aq Sunqur was sent together with Bozan and Yağısıyan by Malik Shah to aid his brother Tutush to capture cities that the Fatimids had reconquered under Badr al-Jamali. However, the coalition fell apart when Aq Sunqur refused to continue the siege of Tripoli after he had been bribed and claimed the city had proclaimed allegiance. After the death of Malik Shah, Tutush tried to become Sultan himself and Aq Sunqur first supported his bid until he and Bozan defected again, forcing Tutush to withdraw. In return, Tutush marched on Aq Sunqur in March/April together with Yağısıyan. Aq Sunqur was defeated and captured in battle on 27 May 1094 after a part of his Türkmen defected. Aq Sunqur was then decapitated together with fourteen others by Tutush. He died when his son Zengi was 10 years old.

Legacy

Ibn al-Qalanisi Abū Yaʿlā Ḥamzah ibn al-Asad ibn al-Qalānisī (; c. 1071 – 18 March 1160) was an Arab politician and chronicler in 12th-century Damascus. Biography Abu Ya'la ('father of Ya'la'), whose surname was al-Qalanisi ('the Hatter'), descended fro ...

said in his book ''The history of Damascus'': that he was just with the people, he protected the roads, guaranteed order, treated religion properly, attacked corruption and removed the bad people.

Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...

and Ali ibn al-Athir wrote about him and found that he had a good reputation.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aq Sunqur Al-Hajib 11th-century government officials Year of birth unknown 1094 deaths People from Aleppo Government officials of the Seljuk Empire Generals of the Seljuk Empire