Imad al-Din Zengi (; – 14 September 1146), also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkoman

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...

of the

Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...

, who ruled

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

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 ...

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

, and, later,

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

. He was the namesake and founder of the

Zengid dynasty The Zengid or Zangid dynasty, also referred to as the Atabegate of Mosul, Aleppo and Damascus (Arabic: أتابكة الموصل وحلب ودمشق), or the Zengid State (Old Anatolian Turkish: , Modern Turkish: ; ) was initially an '' Atabegat ...

Early life

Zengi's father, Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, governor of

under

Malik-Shah I Malik-Shah I (, ) was the third sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1072 to 1092, under whom the sultanate reached the zenith of its power and influence. During his youth, he spent his time participating in the campaigns of his father Alp Arslan, ...

, was beheaded by

Tutush I Abu Sa'id Taj al-Dawla Tutush (; died 25 February 1095) or Tutush I, was the Seljuk emir of Damascus from 1078 to 1092, and sultan of Damascus from 1092 to 1094. Years under Malik Shah Tutush was a brother of the Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I. In ...

for treason in 1094. At the time, Zengi was about 10 years old and was brought up by

Kerbogha Qiwam al-Dawla Kerbogha (), known as Kerbogha or Karbughā, was the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman List of rulers of Mosul#Seljuk Atabegs, atabeg of Mosul during the First Crusade and was renowned as a soldier. Early life Kerbogha was a Selju ...

, the governor of

. Zengi then served in the military of the Governors of Mosul, first under

Jawali Saqawa Jawali Saqawa (d. 1109), also known as Chavli Saqaveh, was a Turkoman adventurer who was atabeg of Mosul from 1106–1109. In 1104, Jawali held Baldwin II as prisoner until he was ransomed in 1108. He had purloined Baldwin from Jikirmish of Mo ...

(1106–1109), then Mawdud (1109–1113), and from 1114, under

Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi Qasīm al-Dawla Sayf al-Dīn Abū Saʿīd Āqsunqur al-Bursuqī (), also known as Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi, Aqsonqor il-Bursuqi, Aksunkur al-Bursuki, Aksungur or al-Borsoki, was the Seljuk Turkoman atabeg of Mosul from 1113–1114 and again from 112 ...

. Zengi remained in Mosul until 1118, when he entered into the service of the new Seljuk ruler Mahmūd (1118–1119). Upon Sanjar's accession in 1119, Zengi remained loyal to Mahmūd, who became ruler of the Iraqi Seljuk Sultānate (1119–1131).

Seljuk Governor of Iraq

The region of Mesopotamia was under the control of the

from 1055 to 1135, since

Tughril Beg Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il (), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril / Tughrul), was a Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turkomans at the battle of Mala ...

had expelled the

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Buyid dynasty The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyn ...

. Tughril Beg was the first Seljuk ruler to style himself Sultan and Protector of the Abbasid Caliphate. Mesopotamia remained under the control of the Great Seljuks during the reign of Muhammad I Tapar (1082–1118), but from 1119, his 14 years old son

Mahmud II Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...

(1118–1131) was restricted to the only rule of Iraq, while Sanjar took control of the rest of the Empire. Wishing to contain the Banu Mazyad leader Dubays ibn Sadaqa, in 1122 Mahmūd II ordered a military expedition from

to southern

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, commanded by Zengi and Altun-Tash al-Aburi under the orders of

. Zengi, for whom this was the first major military command, garrisoned his troops around Wasit, and was granted Governorship of the region of Wasit as an '' ıqta''. In alliance with the troops of the Caliphate, they defeated Dubays at the Battle of Mubarraqiyya in 1123. Zengi then received in addition to his previous responsibilities the Military Governorship of

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

in 1124. In order to counter the ambitions of Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid (1118–1135), who wanted to acquire world dominance, the Seljuks led by

now waged a campaign against him. With some decisive leadership from Zengi, the Seljuks managed to take control of Baghdad and the Caliphate, pillaging the Caliph's palace. The Caliph sued for peace and had to pay a huge ransom. In addition to his possessions in Wasit and Basra, Zengi was promoted and received the Governorship for Baghdad in April 1126, receiving the title of '' shihna'' effectively putting him in control of the whole of Seljuk Iraq. In 1227, following the murder of

, Zengi was named Governor of Mosul, where the Atabegdom of Mosul was formed.

Atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo

Following the death in 1128 of

Toghtekin Zahir al-Din Toghtekin or Tughtekin (Modern ; Arabicised epithet: ''Zahir ad-Din Tughtikin''; died February 12, 1128), also spelled Tughtegin, was a Turkoman military leader, who was ''emir'' of Damascus from 1104 to 1128. He was the founder ...

, ''atabeg'' 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 ...

, a power vacuum threatened to open

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

to renewed Crusader aggression. Zengi became ''atabeg'' of Mosul in 1127 and of Aleppo in 1128, uniting the two cities under his personal rule, and was formally invested as their ruler by the Seljuk Sultan

. Zengi had supported the young sultan against his rival, the caliph al-Mustarshid.

Zengi against Damascus

In 1130 Zengi allied with Taj al-Mulk Buri of

against the Crusaders, but this was only a ruse to extend his power; he had Buri's son taken prisoner and seized Hama from him. Zengi also besieged

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

, the governor of which was accompanying him at the time, but could not capture it, so he returned to Mosul, where Buri's son and the other prisoners from Damascus were ransomed for 50,000

dinar The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...

s. The next year, Zengi agreed to return the 50,000 dinars if Buri would deliver to him Dubais ibn Sadaqa, emir of al-Hilla in Iraq, who had fled to Damascus to escape al-Mustarshid. When an ambassador from the caliph arrived to bring Dubais back, Zengi attacked him and killed some of his retinue; the ambassador returned to Baghdad without Dubais. Mahmud II died in 1131, setting off a war for the succession. As the Seljuk princes were occupied fighting one another in Persia, Zengi marched on Baghdad to add it to his dominions. He was defeated by the caliph's troops, however, and only escaped thanks to the help of the governor of

Tikrit Tikrit ( ) is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. In 2012, it had a population of approximately 160,000. Originally created as a f ...

, Najm ad-Din Ayyub. Several years later, Zengi would reward the governor with a position in his army, paving the way for Saladin's brilliant career. Citadel of Aleppo

In 1134 Zengi became involved in

Artuqid The Artuqid dynasty (alternatively Artukid, Ortoqid, or Ortokid; Old Anatolian Turkish: , , pl. ; ; ) was established in 1102 as a Turkish Anatolian Beylik (Principality) of the Seljuk Empire. It formed a Turkoman dynasty rooted in the Oghuz ...

affairs, allying with the emir Timurtash (son of

Ilghazi Najm al-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq (; died November 8, 1122) was the Turkoman Artukid ruler of Mardin from 1107 to 1122. He was born into the Oghuz tribe of Döğer. Biography His father Artuk Bey was the founder of the Artukid dynasty, and had ...

) against Timurtash's cousin Rukn al-Dawla Da'ud. Zengi's real desires, however, lay to the south, in Damascus. In 1135 Zengi received an appeal for help from Shams ul-Mulk Isma'il, who had succeeded his father Buri as emir of Damascus, and who was in fear for his life from his own citizenry, who considered him a cruel tyrant. Ismail was willing to surrender the city to Zengi in order to restore peace. None of Isma'il's family or advisors wanted this, however, and Isma'il was murdered by his own mother, Zumurrud, to prevent him from turning over the city to Zengi's control. Isma'il was succeeded by his brother Shihab al-Din Mahmud. Zengi was not discouraged by this turn of events and arrived at Damascus anyway, still intending to seize it. The siege lasted for some time with no success on Zengi's part, so a truce was made and Shahib al-Din's brother Bahram-Shah was given as a hostage. At the same time, news of the siege had reached the caliph and Baghdad, and a messenger was sent with orders for Zengi to leave Damascus and take control of the governance of Iraq. The messenger was ignored, but Zengi gave up the siege, as per the terms of the truce with Shihab al-Din. On the way back to Aleppo, Zengi besieged Homs, whose governor had angered him, and Shihab al-Din responded to the city's call for help by sending Mu'in al-Din Unur to govern it.

War against Crusaders and Byzantine Empire

In 1137 Imad-ud-din Zengi besieged Homs again, but Mu'in al-Din unur successfully defended it. In response, Damascus allied with the Crusader

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

against him. In the Battle of Ba'rin (also known as Battle of Montferrand) in 1137, a Crusader force commanded by King

Fulk of Jerusalem Fulk of Anjou (, or ''Foulques''; – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the king of Jerusalem from 1131 until 1143 as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Melisende. Previously, he was the count of Anjou as Fulk V from 1109 ...

was scattered and defeated by Zengi, by that time

and

. This setback resulted in the permanent loss of the Crusader castle of Montferrand in

Baarin Baarin (, ''Baʿrīn'' or ''Biʿrīn'') is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located in Homs Gap roughly southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Taunah and Awj to the south, Aqrab and Houla to th ...

. Crusader King

agreed to surrender and was allowed to flee with his surviving troops.

War against the Byzantine–Crusader alliance

Zengi, realizing that this new expedition against Damascus was bound to fail, made peace with Shahib al-Din, just in time to be confronted at Aleppo by an army sent by the

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

John II Comnenus John II Komnenos or Comnenus (; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Iren ...

. The Emperor had recently brought the Crusader

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch (; ) was one of the Crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and History of Syria#Medieval era, Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of ...

under Byzantine control, and had allied himself with

Joscelin II of Edessa Joscelin II (died 1159) was the fourth and last ruling count of Edessa. He was son of his predecessor, Joscelin I, and Beatrice, daughter of Constantine I of Armenia. Biography Youth In 1122, Joscelin I was captured by Belek Ghazi. The next ...

and Raymond of Antioch. Facing a combined

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

/ Crusader threat, Zengi mobilized his forces and recruited assistance from other Muslim leaders. In April 1138 the armies of the

emperor and the Crusader princes laid siege to Shaizar, but they were turned back by Zengi's forces a month later.

Siege of Baalbek

In May 1138 Zengi came to an agreement with Damascus. He married Zumurrud Khatun, the same woman who had murdered her son Ismail, and received Homs as her dowry. In July 1139 Zumurrud's surviving son, Shihab al-Din, was assassinated, and Zengi marched on

to take possession of the city. The Damascenes, united under Mu'in al-Din Unur, acting as regent for Shihab al-Din's successor Jamal al-Din, once again allied with Jerusalem to repel Zengi. Zengi also besieged Jamal al-Din's former possession of

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

, and Mu'in al-Din was in charge of its defenses as well. Zengi obtained its surrender in response to a promise of safe passage; he did not honor it, ordering that the defenders be crucified. Unlike

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in 1187, Zengi did not keep his word to protect his captives at

in 1139. According to Ibn al-‘Adim, Zengi "had sworn to the people of the citadel with strong oaths and on the Qur’an and divorcing (his wives). When they came down from the citadel he betrayed them, flayed its governor and hanged the rest." He granted the territory to his lieutenant

Najm al-Din Ayyub al-Malik al-Afdal Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb ibn Shādhi ibn Marwān (, ; died August 9, 1173), or simply Najmadin, was a Kurds, Kurdish mercenary and politician from Dvin (ancient city), Dvin, and the father of Saladin. He is the eponymous ancestor of t ...

, father of

. After Zengi abandoned his siege of Damascus, Jamal al-Din died of a disease and was succeeded by his son Mujir al-Din, with Mu'in al-Din remaining as regent.

Expansion and conflict with Armenia

Mu'in al-Din signed a new peace treaty with Jerusalem for their mutual protection against Zengi. While Mu'in al-Din and the crusaders joined together to besiege

Banias Banias (; ; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: , etc.; ), also spelled Banyas, is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek god Pan. It had been inhabited for 2,000 years, until its Syrian population fle ...

in 1140, Zengi once more laid siege to Damascus, but quickly abandoned it again. There were no major engagements between the crusaders, Damascus, and Zengi for the next few years, but Zengi in the meantime campaigned in the north and captured Ashib and the

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n fortress of Hizan.

Conquest of Edessa

In 1144, Zengi began the siege of Edessa against the crusader

County of Edessa The County of Edessa (Latin: ''Comitatus Edessanus'') was a 12th-century Crusader state in Upper Mesopotamia. Its seat was the city of Edessa (modern Şanlıurfa, Turkey). In the late Byzantine period, Edessa became the centre of intellec ...

, one of the four original crusader states established after the First Crusade, and captured it on December 24, 1144, after a siege of four months. County of Edessa was the first crusader state to be created and was also the first to fall. This event led to the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crus ...

, and later Muslim chroniclers noted it as the start of the ''

jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

'' against the Crusader states.

Death and legacy

Zengi continued his attempts to take Damascus in 1145, but he was assassinated by a Frankish slave named Yarankash in September 1146, after the atabeg drunkenly threatened him with punishment for drinking from his goblet. According to Ibn 'al-Adim: Zengi was the founder of the eponymous

. In Mosul he was succeeded by his eldest son Sayf al-Din Ghazi I, and in Aleppo he was succeeded by his second son Nur al-Din. When Sayf died in 1149, he was succeeded in Mosul by a third son Qutb al-Din Mawdud..

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

Amin Maalouf Amin Maalouf (; ; born 25 February 1949) is a Lebanese people in France, Lebanese-born French"A ...

, ''The Crusades Through Arab Eyes'', 1985 *

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popula ...

, ''A History of the Crusades, vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1952. *''The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades, Extracted and Translated from the Chronicle of

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 ...

''. H. A. R. Gibb, 1932 (reprint, Dover Publications, 2002). * *

William of Tyre William of Tyre (; 29 September 1186) was a Middle Ages, medieval prelate and chronicler. As Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tyre, archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I of Tyr ...

, ''A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea'', trans. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey.

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, 1943. *''An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades; Memoirs of

Usamah ibn-Munqidh Majd ad-Dīn Usāma ibn Murshid ibn ʿAlī ibn Munqidh al-Kināni al-Kalbī (also Usamah, Ousama, etc.; ) (4 July 1095 – 17 November 1188) or Ibn Munqidh was a Islamic Golden Age, medieval Arab Muslim poet, author, ''furusiyya, faris'' (knight ...

'' ('' Kitab al i'tibar''), trans.

Philip K. Hitti Philip Khuri Hitti (; 22 June 1886 – 24 December 1978) was a Lebanese-American professor and scholar at Princeton and Harvard University, and authority on Arab and Middle Eastern history, Islam, and Semitic languages. He almost single-handedly ...

. New York, 1929. *''The Second Crusade Scope and Consequences'' Edited by Jonathan Phillips & Martin Hoch, 2001. *The Chronicle of Michael the Syrian (Khtobo D-Makethbonuth Zabne) (finished 1193–1195) {{DEFAULTSORT:Imad ad Din Zengi Zengid rulers 1080s births 1146 deaths 12th-century Syrian people Syrian people of Turkish descent Iraqi people of Turkish descent Muslims of the Second Crusade Atabegs People from the Seljuk Empire 12th-century monarchs in the Middle East Zengid emirs of Mosul