Abu Nasr Shams al-Muluk Duqaq (died 8 June 1104) was the

Seljuq Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

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 ...

from 1095 to 1104.

Reign

Duqaq was a son of the Seljuq ruler of

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 ...

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 ...

, and Safwat al-Mulk Khatun. He was the brother of Ridwan. When their father died in 1095, Ridwan claimed Syria for himself, and Duqaq initially inherited territory in the Jezirah and lived with his brother in

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 ...

. However, he soon rebelled and seized control of

, throwing Syria into near anarchy and civil war. Duqaq had the support of Yaghi-Siyan of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

, who had no quarrel with Ridwan but disliked his

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 ...

Janah ad-Dawla; joining Yaghi-Siyan and Duqaq was

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 ...

, governor of

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 ...

. Ridwan allied with Ilghazi's brother

Sökmen of Artukids Sökmen is a Turkish surname. Notable persons with that name include: Given name * Sökmen (Artuqid) (died 1104), Turkish bey * Sökmen el-Kutbî (died 1111), Turkish bey * Sökmen II Nāṣir al-Dīn Sökmen II (died 1185) was the '' Shāh-i Arm ...

.El-Azhari, Taef. (2006). "Duqaq (d. 1104)". In ''The Crusades – An Encyclopedia''. pp. 367-368. Radwan attacked Yaghi-Siyan, and when Duqaq and Ilghazi came to assist him, Ridwan besieged Damascus as well. However, Ridwan soon quarrelled with Janah ad-Dawla, who captured

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 ...

from him, and with his atabeg out of the alliance, Yaghi-Siyan was much more willing to assist him. This new alliance was sealed with a marriage between Ridwan and Yaghi-Siyan's daughter. The two were about to attack

Shaizar Shaizar or Shayzar (; in modern Arabic Saijar; Hellenistic name: Larissa in Syria, Λάρισσα εν Συρία in Greek language, Greek) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama. Near ...

when they heard of the arrival of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

; all the various alliances were disbanded and everyone returned to their own cities, though if any of the alliances had remained intact, or they had all worked together, they would likely have been able to prevent the success of the

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

. Over the winter of 1097–1098, during the

siege of Antioch The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria (region), Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Sel ...

by the Crusaders, Yaghi-Siyan and his son Shams ad-Dawla sought help from Duqaq. On December 30, 1097, reinforcements from Duqaq were defeated by the foraging party of

Bohemund of Taranto Bohemond I of Antioch ( 1054 – 5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto or Bohemond of Hauteville, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, lead ...

, and Duqaq retreated to

. Duqaq later joined

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 ...

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 ...

to attack the crusaders after they had occupied Antioch in June 1098, but during the battle, Duqaq's line deserted and Kerbogha was defeated. While occupied in Syria, Duqaq's possessions in the Jezirah were seized by some rebellious vassals; in 1099 he recaptured Diyarbakr. In 1100, Duqaq ambushed

Baldwin I of Edessa Baldwin I (1060s – 2 April 1118) was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100 and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorraine and married a Norman noblewoman ...

Nahr al-Kalb The Nahr al-Kalb (, meaning ''Dog River'') is a river in Lebanon. It runs for from a spring in Jeita near the Jeita Grotto to the Mediterranean Sea. Historical significance The Nahr al-Kalb is the ancient Lycus River. The river mouth is reno ...

, outside

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, while the latter was on his way to Jerusalem to succeed his brother

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (; ; ; ; 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a preeminent leader of the First Crusade, and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. Although initially reluctant to take the title of king, he agreed to rule as pri ...

as king. Baldwin's men held a narrow pass and Duqaq's troops were not able to break through. Baldwin was victorious and continued on to Jerusalem. In 1103, Duqaq captured

when Janah ad-Dawla, Ridwan's former atabeg, was

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

. Duqaq fell sick in 1104, and on the advice of his mother, appointed his own atabeg

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 ...

as atabeg to his young son

Tutush II Tutush Ibn Duqaq Ibn Tutush Seljuki (), commonly known as Tutush II, was an infant Emir of Damascus. Overview Tutush II was son of Duqaq, who reigned Damascus during first crusade. After the death of Daqqaq in 6 June 1104, Toghtekin carried ou ...

. Duqaq died on June 8 of that year. Toghtegin soon overthrew Duqaq's dynasty to establish the

Burid dynasty The Burid dynasty (Arabic: الدولة البورية Romanized: ad-Dawlā al-Būriyā) or the Emirate of Damascus (Arabic: إمارة دمشق Romanized: Imarat Dimashq) was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin which ruled over the Emi ...

, which would rule Damascus for the next half-century.

References

Sources

* *''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, London, 1932. {{Authority control Seljuk rulers 11th-century births Year of birth unknown 1104 deaths Muslims of the First Crusade Emirs of Damascus 11th-century monarchs in Asia