As-Salih Ismail al-Malik

As-Salih Ismaʿil al-Malik (1163–1181) was the Zengid emir of Damascus and emir of Aleppo in 1174, the son of Nur ad-Din.

As-Salih Ismail al-Malik
Emir of the Zengid dynasty
Coinage of Al-Salih Isma`il, Halab, dated 571 H (1175-1176 CE)
Reign1174 (few months)
PredecessorNur ad-Din
SuccessorSalah ad-Din (as Ayyubid sultan)
Born1163 (1163)
Died1181 (aged 17–18)
HouseZengid
FatherNur ad-Din
MotherRazi Khatun
ReligionSunni Islam

Biography edit

He was only eleven years old when his father died in 1174. As-Salih came under the protection of the eunuch Gümüshtekin and was taken to Aleppo, while Nur ad-Din's officers competed for supremacy. In Egypt, Saladin recognized as-Salih as his lord, although he in fact was eager to unite Egypt and Syria under his own personal rule.[citation needed] In 1174, Saladin took Baalbek after a four-month siege[1] and then entered Damascus, proclaiming himself to be Ismail's true regent. In 1176, Saladin defeated the Zengids outside the city, married Ismat ad-Din Khatun, and was recognized as ruler of Syria. As-Salih died in 1181 of illness.[2][3] According to crusader legend, his mother was the sister of Bertrand of Toulouse, Razi Khatun, who had been captured by Nur ad-Din in the aftermath of the Second Crusade; a similar legend existed concerning the mother of Zengi, as-Salih's grandfather.[2][3][4]

References edit

  1. ^ EI (1913), p. 543.
  2. ^ a b "Zangids". islamiccoins.ancients.info (in Arabic).
  3. ^ a b 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)
  4. ^ The Crusades, The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land, Thomas Asbridge, 2010

Bibliography edit



Regnal titles
Preceded by Emir of Damascus
1174
Succeeded by