Imad al-Din Zengi
Imad al-Din Zengi (Arabic: عماد الدین زنكي; c. 1085 – 14 September 1146), also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkoman atabeg of the Seljuk Empire,[3] who ruled Mosul, Aleppo, Hama, and, later, Edessa. He was the namesake and founder of the Zengid dynasty of atabegs.
Imad al-Din Zengi
1127, Mosul
Nur ad-Din Zengi (in Aleppo)
Sayf al-Din Ghazi I (in Mosul)
1085
September 14, 1146 (aged 61)
Qal'at Ja'bar, Syria
Zumurrud Khatun[2]
Sukmana Khatun[2]
Safiya Khatun[2]
Early life[edit]
Zengi's father, Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, governor of Aleppo under Malik-Shah I, was beheaded by Tutush I for treason in 1094. At the time, Zengi was about 10 years old and was brought up by Kerbogha, the governor of Mosul. Zengi then served in the military of the Governors of Mosul, first under Jawali Saqawa (1106-1109), then Mawdud (1109-1113), and from 1114, under Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi.[4]
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, Zengid remained loyal to Mahmūd, who became ruler of the Iraqi Seljuk Sultānate (1119-1131).[5]
Seljuk Governor of Iraq[edit]
The region of Mesopotamia was under the control of the Seljuk Empire from 1055 to 1135, since the Oghuz Turk Tughril Beg had expelled the Shiite Buyid dynasty. Tughril Beg was the first Seljuk ruler to style himself Sultan and Protector of the Abbasid Caliphate.[6][7] Mesopotamia remained under the control of the Great Seljuks during the reign of Muhammad I Tapar (1082–1118 CE), but from 1119, his 14 years old son Mahmud II (1118-1131) was restricted to the only rule of Iraq, while Sanjar took control of the rest of the Empire.[5]
Wishing to contain the Arab Banu Mazyad leader Dubays ibn Sadaqa, in 1122 Mahmūd II ordered a military expedition from Mosul to southern Iraq, commanded by Zengi and Altun-Tash al-Aburi under the orders of Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi.[8] 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.[8] In alliance with the troops of the Caliphate, they defeated Dubays at the Battle of Mubarraqiyya in 1123.[8] Zengi then received in addition to his previous responsibilities the Military Governorship of Basra in 1124.[8][5]
In order to counter the ambitions of Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid (1118-1135), who wanted to acquire world dominance, the Seljuks led by Mahmud II now waged a campaign against him.[8] With some decisive leadership from Zengi, the Seljuks managed to take control of Baghdad and the Caliphate, pillaging the Caliph's palace.[8] The Caliph sued for peace and had to pay a huge ramson.[8] In addition to his possessions in Wasit and Basra, Zengi was promoted and received the Governorship for Baghdad in April 1126, receiveing the title of shihna effectively putting him in control of the whole of Seljuk Iraq.[8][5] In 1227, following the murder of Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi, Zengi was named Governor of Mosul, where the Atabegdom of Mosul was formed.[5]