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Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 Zengi and the Muslim Response to the Crusades Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 Zengi and the Muslim Response to the Crusades Zengi gained his legacy as the precursor to Saladin. While Zengi captured Edessa, Saladin would capture Jerusalem, and both leaders fought to establish their own realms. However, Zengi cannot be fully understood without an exami- nation of his other policies and warfare and an appreciation of his Turkmen background, all of which influenced his fight against the Crusades. Zengi and the Muslim Response to the Crusades: The Politics of Jihad pro- vides a full and rich picture of Zengi’s career: his personality and motives; his power and ambition; his background and his foundation of a dynasty and its con- tribution, along with other dynasties, to a wider, deeper Turkification of the Middle East; his tools and methods; his vision, calamities and achievements; and how he was perceived by his contemporaries and modern scholars. Examining primary Muslim and non- Muslim sources, this book’s extensive translations of original source material provide new insight into the complexities of Zengi’s rule, and the politics of jihad that he led and orchestrated during the Crusades. Providing deeper understanding of Islamic history through a close examina- tion of one of its key figures, this book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in Muslim history and the Crusades in general. Taef El- Azhari is Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern History at Qatar University. Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 Routledge Studies in the History of Iran and Turkey Edited by Carole Hillenbrand University of Edinburgh This series publishes important studies dealing with the history of Iran and Turkey in the period 1000–1700 AD. This period is significant because it heralds the advent of large numbers of nomadic Turks from Central Asia into the Islamic world. Their influence was felt particularly strongly in Iran and Turkey, territ- ories which they permanently transformed. The series presents translations of medieval Arabic and Persian texts which chronicle the history of the medieval Turks and Persians, and also publishes scholarly monographs which handle themes of medieval Turkish and Iranian history such as historiography, nomadisation and folk Islam. The Annals of the Saljuq Turks The History of the Seljuq State Selections from al-Kamil fi’l-Ta’rikh A translation with commentary of the of Ibn al- Athir Akhbar al- dawla al- saljuqiyya D.S. Richards Clifford Edmund Bosworth Early Mongol Rule in Thirteenth The Rum Seljuqs Century Iran Evolution of a Dynasty A Persian Renaissance Songül Mecit George Lane The Ghaznavid and Seljuk Turks Turkic Peoples in Medieval Arabic Poetry as a Source for Iranian History Writings G.E. Tetley Yehoshua Frenkel Iranian Elites and Turkish Rulers Turkish Language, Literature and A History of Isfahan in the Saljuq History Period Travellers’ Tales, Sultans and Scholars Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 David Durand- Guédy Since the Eighth Century Edited by Bill Hickman and Early Seljuq History A New Interpretation Gary Leiser A.C.S. Peacock Zengi and the Muslim Response to The Great Seljuqs the Crusades A History The politics of Jihad Aziz Basan Taef El- Azhari Zengi and the Muslim Response to the Crusades The politics of Jihad Taef El- Azhari Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 First published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Taef El-Azhari The right of Taef El-Azhari to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-82101-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-74352-3 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 To the memories of David Roberts, Professor K. A. Cresswell and my late professor, Clifford Edmund Bosworth. Their great works have inspired and guided generations to love and study the history of the Muslim Middle East. Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 Contents List of illustrations ix Acknowledgements x Series editor note xi Introduction 1 1 The early career of Zengi, 1084 to 1127: the Turkmen influence 10 2 Zengi and his hostile policy towards the Seljuq sultanate and the ‘Abbasid caliphate in Iran and Iraq: the art of pragmatism, 1127 to 1146 24 3 Fragmented pacts: wars in the Jazira and Anatolia to dominate the Turkmen, the Kurds and the Arab tribes 40 4 Confronting the Crusaders and the Seljuqs in Syria: holy and unholy war, 1127 to 1140 61 5 The fall of Edessa: jihad at the end of a career 91 6 Zengid administration and institutions: ‘Turkification’ Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 continued 112 Appendix 1: selected medieval Muslim texts in translation 149 Appendix 2: list of contemporary Muslim rulers of the age 175 Bibliography 178 Index 182 Zanki Saljuqid Sultanate Caliphate ‘Iran and Iraq’ Crusaders Byzantines Artuqid, Saljuqs of Turkmen Syira Kurds Arabs Figure 0.1 Zengi: an anatomy of power relations. Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 Illustrations Figures 0.1 Zengi: an anatomy of power relations viii 1.1 Aleppo Citadel: headquarters of Zengi’s rule in Syria 19 3.1 The walls of Diyar Bakr and its countryside 41 5.1 Edessa Citadel 99 5.2 General view of the city of Edessa and the citadel 100 6.1 Obverse of Zengid dirham, minted in 1160 under his son Mawdud 132 6.2 Reverse of Zengid dirham 132 6.3 Minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo 139 6.4 Minaret of Nur al-Din b. Zengi inside Aleppo Citadel 140 Maps 1 Northern Iraq, Syria and the Jazira 147 2 Southern Syria, Lebanon and Jordan 148 Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 Acknowledgements I am very grateful to a large number of colleagues and friends for their kind advice and discussions on matters of history, and publication, during the long period of research and writing of this book, which began in 2008, but which was interrupted on a number of occasions, mainly due to political events in the Middle East, including in my own country, Egypt, since 2011. I am particularly indebted to Professor Alan Murray, and also to Professor Mazhar al- Zoby, with whom I had long, fruitful discussions while unravelling the materials for this work. I was honoured to have my friend, Professor Jonathan Phillips, read one chapter, giving me his illuminating opinion. I sincerely thank Professor Tom Asbridge, Professor Abd al- Rahman Azzam, Professor Paul Cobb, Professor Iman Mostafawi and Dr Amira Fahmy. I thank my Qatar University research assistants, Hind Alshlash, Buthaina and Shiakha Rajih, for helping me with some of the typing and preparation of maps and photos for the book. I am sincerely honoured that Professor Carole Hillenbrand had good faith in me and welcomed this project. As for my mentor, Professor C. E. Bosworth, a world authority on medieval Islamic and Middle Eastern history who passed away in February 2015, I will always be deeply grateful for his kindness to me, and for the unparalleled works that teach and inspire many of us. Finally, my thanks go to my family, who were always very supportive while I was working on this book, and who sacrificed family time and holidays in order to allow me to focus on this work. Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 Series editor note I am glad to welcome Dr El-Azhari’s monograph on Zengi into my series. It is a most useful addition to the somewhat meagre tally of monographs on the Turkish warlords of the twelfth century who opposed the Crusaders. I am also most grateful to Lel Gillingwater for her excellent and compre- hensive copy- editing of the main text of the book. Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:41 29 November 2016 Introduction The victory of Edessa had outshone all victories By the deeds of Zengi, Islam is awakened If justice is done, he should be called the caliph Tomorrow he will invade Jerusalem.1 These lines were written by the poet Ibn Munir al-Tarabulsi (d. 1153), who was living in Zengid Aleppo when Crusader Edessa was invaded by the Seljuq Turkmen lord ‘Imad al-Din Zengi I in 1144. It clearly reflects how pleased he was about the Muslim victory and wished that Crusader Jerusalem would be invaded afterwards.
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