Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi (al-Malik al-Mansur) (also Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, or Zanki; in Turkish İmadeddin Zengi, in Arabic: عماد الدین زنكي) (c. 1085–September 14, 1146) was the son of Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, governor of Aleppo under Malik Shah I. His father was beheaded for treason in 1094, and Zengi was brought up by Karbuqa, the governor of Mosul. Arabic redirects here. ... April 2 - Emperor Zhezong became emperor of Song Dynasty. ... is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Saint Bernard of Clairvaux preaches the Second Crusade at Vezelay, Burgundy First written mention of Bryansk. ... Qasim ad-Dawla Abu Said Aq Sunqur al-Hajib (also Aksunkur el-Hacib or Aksungur al-Hajib) was the Seljuk governor of Aleppo under Sultan Malik Shah I. He probably enjoyed some independence from his lord and was from 1087 the de-facto ruler of most of Syria. ... Location of the governorate of Aleppo within Syria Aleppo (Arabic: [ḥalab], ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... Jalal ad-Dawlah Malik Shah was the Seljuk sultan from 1072 to 1092. ... Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head), or beheading, is the removal of a living organisms head. ... Kerbogha was Atabeg of Mosul during the First Crusade and was renowned as a soldier. ... Mosul (Arabic: , Kurdish: موصل Mûsil, Syriac: NînÄ›wâ, Turkish: Musul) is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate. ...

Zengi against Damascus

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 Sultan Mahmud II of Great Seljuk. Zengi had supported the young sultan against his rival, the caliph Al-Mustarshid. Atabeg is a title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a king or Emperor but senior to a Khan. ... Mahmud II (died in 1131) proclaimed himself the Seljuk sultan of Baghdad in 1118 following the death of Mehmed I (probably Mahmuds father). ... Al-Mustarshid (d. ...

In 1130 he allied with Taj al-Mulk Buri of Damascus 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. He also besieged Hims, 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 dinars. In 1131 Zengi agreed to return the 50 000 dinars if Buri would deliver to him Dubais, 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. For other uses, see Damascus (disambiguation). ... The Orontes River and norias in Hama Location of the governorate of Hama Hama (Arabic: حماه, meaning fortress) is a city on the banks of the Orontes river in central Syria. ... Homs (also Himş, Arabic, حمص, population 700,000) is an ancient city in Syria, dating back to 2300 B.C.. In Roman times it was known as Emesa. ... A 25,000 Iraqi dinar note printed after the fall of Saddam Hussein. ... Al Hillah (Arabic: الحلة) is a city in central Iraq on the river Euphrates, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, with an estimated population of 364,700 in 1998. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ...

In 1134 Zengi became involved in Ortoqid affairs, allying with the emir Timurtash (son of Ilghazi) against Timurtash's cousin Da'ud. Zengi's real desires, however, lay to the south, in Damascus. In 1135 Zengi received an appeal for help from Ismail, 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 Ismail's family or advisors wanted this, however, and Ismail was murdered by his own mother, Zumurrud, to prevent him from turning over the city to Zengi's control. Ismail was succeeded by his brother Shihab ad-Din Mahmud. The Ortoqid dynasty was an Oghuz Turk dynasty that ruled in the Jezirah (northern Iraq) in the 11th and 12th centuries. ... Ilghazi (died 1122) was the Ortoqid ruler of Mardin from 1107 to 1122. ... This is a list of characters within the medieval Persian literary epic One Thousand and One Nights. ...

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 ad-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 Shahib ad-Din. On the way back to Aleppo, Zengi besieged Hims, whose governor had angered him, and Shahib ad-Din responded to the city's call for help by sending Mu'in ad-Din Unur to govern it. Muin ad-Din Unur al-Atabeki (died August 28, 1149) was the ruler of Damascus in the mid-12th century. ...

Conflict with the crusaders and Byzantines

In 1137 Zengi besieged Hims again but Mu'in ad-Din successfully defended it; in response to Zengi's renewed attack, Damascus allied with the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem against him. Zengi laid siege to the Crusader fortress of Barin and quickly crushed the army of Jerusalem. King Fulk of Jerusalem agreed to surrender and was allowed to flee with his surviving troops. Zengi, realizing that this new expedition against Damascus was bound to fail, made peace with Shahib ad-Din, just in time to be confronted at Aleppo by an army sent by the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus. The Emperor had recently brought the Crusader Principality of Antioch under Byzantine control, and allied himself with Joscelin II of Edessa and Raymond of Antioch. Facing a combined Byzantine/crusader threat, Zengi mobilized his forces and recruited assistance from other Muslim leaders. In April 1138 the armies of the Byzantine emperor and the crusader princes laid siege to Shaizar, but were turned back by Zengi's forces a month later. The kingdom of Jerusalem and the other Crusader states (in shades of green) in the context of the Near East in 1135. ... Prince Barin from The New Adventures of Flash Gordon Prince Barin is a fictional character who appears in the Flash Gordon stories. ... Fulk of Anjou (1092 – November 10, 1143), king of Jerusalem from 1131, was the son of Fulk IV, count of Anjou, and his wife Bertrada (who ultimately deserted her husband and became the mistress of Philip I of France). ... This is a list of the Emperors of the late Eastern Roman Empire, called Byzantine by modern historians. ... Mosaic of John II John II Comnenus (September 13, 1087 - April 8, 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. ... The Principality of Antioch in the context of the other states of the Near East in 1135 AD. The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade. ... Joscelin II of Edessa (died 1159) was the fourth and last ruling count of Edessa. ... Raymond of Poitiers (c. ... Shaizar or Shayzar was a medieval town and fortress in Syria, ruled by the Banu Munqidh dynasty, which played an important part in the Christian and Muslim politics of the crusades. ...

In May 1138 Zengi came to an agreement with Damascus. He married Zumurrud, the same woman who had murdered her son Ismail, and received Hims as her dowry. In July 1139 Zumurrud's surviving son, Shihab ad-Din, was assassinated and Zengi marched on Damascus to take possession of the city. The Damascenes, united under Mu'in ad-Din Unur, acting as regent for Shihab ad-Din's successor Jamal ad-Din, once again allied with Jerusalem to repel Zengi. Zengi also besieged Jamal ad-Din's former possession of Baalbek, and Mu'in ad-Din was in charge of its defenses as well. After Zengi abandoned his siege of Damascus, Jamal ad-Din died of a disease, and was succeeded by his son Mujir ad-Din, with Mu'in ad-Din remaining as regent. Temple of Bacchus Details inside Temple of Bacchus Baalbek (Arabic: ) is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 3,850 ft (1,170 m), situated east of the Litani River. ...

Mu'in ad-Din signed a new peace treaty with Jerusalem for their mutual protection against Zengi. While Mu'in ad-Din and the crusaders joined together to besiege Banias, 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 Armenian fortress of Hizan. For the city in northwestern Syria, see Baniyas For information on the processor formerly codenamed Banias, please see Pentium M The Banias Waterfall The remains of the city of Banias (Arabic pronunciation of Panias) are located at the foot of Mt. ...

In 1144 Zengi besieged the crusader County of Edessa (see Siege of Edessa). Edessa was the weakest and least Latinized crusader state, and Zengi captured it on December 24, 1144. This event led to the Second Crusade, and later Muslim chroniclers noted it as the start of the jihad against the Crusader states. The County of Edessa was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century, based around a city with an ancient history and an early tradition of Christianity (see Edessa). ... The Siege of Edessa took place from November 28 to December 24, 1144, resulting in the fall of the majority of the crusader County of Edessa to Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul. ... The Crusader states, c. ... is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Louis VII capitulates to Pope Celestine II and so earns the popes absolution Pope Celestine II is succeeded by Pope Lucius II December 24 - Edessa falls to Zengi Montauban, France, is founded First recorded example of an anti-Semitic blood libel in England Normandy comes under Angevin control... The fall of Edessa, seen here on the right of this map (c. ... For other uses, see Jihad (disambiguation). ...

Death

Though he continued his attempts to take Damascus in 1145, Zengi was assassinated by a Frankish slave named Yarankash in 1146. The Christian chronicler William of Tyre said that he was killed by a number of his retinue while he lay drunk in his bed. William reports that the news of his death was welcomed with the remarks "What a happy coincidence! A guilty murderer, which the bloody name Sanguinus, has become ensanguined with his own blood", playing on the similarity between the Latin word for blood (sanguis) and the Latin rendering of Zengi's name. Yarankash was a Frankish slave of Zengi, the ruler of Aleppo in Syria. ... William of Tyre (c. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...

Zengi's sudden death threw his forces into a panic. His army disintegrated, the treasury was looted, and the crusader princes, made bold by Zengi's demise, plotted to attack Aleppo and Edessa. Mu'in ad-Din immediately recaptured Baalbek, Hims, and other territories lost to Zengi over the years. Temple of Bacchus Details inside Temple of Bacchus Baalbek (Arabic: ) is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 3,850 ft (1,170 m), situated east of the Litani River. ... Homs (also Himş, Arabic, حمص, population 700,000) is an ancient city in Syria, dating back to 2300 B.C.. In Roman times it was known as Emesa. ...

Legacy

He was the founder of the eponymous Zengid dynasty. In Mosul he was succeeded by his eldest son Saif ad-Din Ghazi I and in Aleppo he was succeeded by his second son Nur ad-Din. The Muslim chronicler Ibn al-Qalanisi gives his full name and title as: The Zengid Dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Seljuk Turkish origin, which ruled parts of Northern Iraq and Syria during the 12th and 13th centuries. ... Saif ad-Din Ghazi I was the eldest son of Zengi of Mosul, and the elder brother of Nur ad-Din. ... al-Malik al-Adil Nur ad-Din Abu al-Qasim Mahmud Ibn Imad ad-Din Zangi (1118 – May 15, 1174), also known as Nur ed-Din, Nur al-Din, etc. ... Hamza ibn Asad abu Yala ibn al-Qalanisi (c. ...

The emir, the general, the great, the just, the aid of God, the triumphant, the unique, the pillar of religion, the cornerstone of Islam, ornament of Islam, protector of God's creatures, associate of the dynasty, auxiliary of doctrine, grandeur of the nation, honour of kings, supporter of sultans, victor over the infidels, rebels, and atheists, commander of the Muslim armies, the victorious king, the king of princes, the sun of the deserving, emir of the two Iraqs and Syria, conqueror of Iran, Bahlawan, Jihan Alp Inassaj Kotlogh Toghrulbeg atabeg Abu Sa'id Zangi Ibn Aq Sunqur, protector of the prince of the faithful.

According to Crusader legend, Zengi's mother was Ida of Austria (mother of Leopold III of Austria), who had supposedly been captured during the Crusade of 1101 and placed in a harem. She was 46 in 1101, Zengi was born in 1085, and his father died in 1094 so this is not feasible. Ida of Austria (c. ... Leopold III (1073 – November 15, 1136), Margrave of Austria 1095-1136, also known as Saint Leopold (his feast day being November 15), patron saint of Austria in general and of Vienna, Lower Austria and jointly with Saint Florian of Upper Austria in particular. ... // The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade of three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. ... In traditional Arab culture, the harîm حريم (cf. ...

Zengi was courageous, strong in leadership and a very skilled warrior according to all of the Islam chroniclers of his day. The conquest of Edessa being his greatest achievement. These same chroniclers however, also relate Zengi as being a very violent, cruel, and brutal man. Muslims, Byzantines, and Franks all suffered at his hands.

Unlike Saladin at Jerusalem in 1187, Zengi did not keep his word to protect his captives at Baalbek in 1139. According to Ibn al-‘Adim, “He (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.” (Source: Ibid. Also, Ibn Wasil, Mufarrij al-Kurub, p. 86)

“The atebeg was violent, powerful, awe-inspiring and liable to attack suddenly… When he rode, the troops use to walk behind him as if they were between two threads, out of fear they would trample over crops, and nobody out of fear dared to trample on a single stem (of them) nor march his horse on them… If anyone transgressed, he was crucified. He (Zengi) used to say: ‘It does not happen that there is more than one tyrant (meaning himself) at one time.’” By Ibn al-‘Adim (Source: Ibn al-‘Adim, Zubda, vol. 2, p. 471)

“He (Zengi) was tyrannical and he would strike with indiscriminate recklessness. He was like a leopard in character, like a lion in fury, not renouncing any severity, not knowing any kindness… He was feared for his sudden attacking; shunned for his roughness; aggressive, insolent, death to enemies and citizens.” By Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani (Source: Al-Bundari, Zubdat al-nusra, ed. M.Y. Houtsma (Leiden, 1889), p. 205)

“When he (Zengi) was unhappy with an emir, he would kill him or banish him and leave that individual’s children alive but castrate them. Whenever one of his pages pleased him by his beauty he would treat him in the same way so that the characteristics of youth would last longer in him.” By Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani (Source: The Second Crusade – Scope & Consequences Edited by Jonathan Phillips & Martin Hoch)

Sources

• Amin Maalouf, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, 1985
• Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press, 1952.
• The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades, Extracted and Translated from the Chronicle of Ibn al-Qalanisi. H.A.R. Gibb, 1932 (reprint, Dover Publications, 2002).
• William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, trans. E.A. Babcock and A.C. Krey. Columbia University Press, 1943.
• An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades; Memoirs of Usamah ibn-Munqidh (Kitab al i'tibar), trans. Philip K. Hitti. New York, 1929.
• The Second Crusade Scope and Consequences Edited by Jonathan Phillips & Martin Hoch, 2001.