View source for Zengid dynasty

{{short description|Historical dynasty of Turkoman origin (12–13th centuries AD)}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = الدولة الزنكية
| conventional_long_name = Zengid State
| common_name            = Zengids
| status                 = [[Atabeg]]ate of the [[Seljuk Empire]] (1127–1194)<br/>[[Emirate]] (1194–1250)<br/>{{bulletedlist|Nominal vassal of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=El-Azhari |first=Taef |url=https://www.google.com.sa/books/edition/Zengi_and_the_Muslim_Response_to_the_Cru/ESreCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=were+zengids+under+abbasid+caliphate&pg=PT185&printsec=frontcover |title=Zengi and the Muslim Response to the Crusades: The politics of Jihad |date=2016-03-31 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-58938-9 |language=en}}</ref>}}
| year_start             = 1127
| year_end               = 1250
| p1                     = Great Seljuq Empire
| flag_p1                = 
| border_p1              = no
| p2                     = County of Edessa
| flag_p2                = 
| border_p2              = no
| p3                     = Fatimid Caliphate
| p4                     = Burid dynasty
| s3                     = Ilkhanate
| s2                     = Ayyubids
| flag_s1                = 
| s1                     = Luluids
| flag_s2                = 
| image_flag             = 
| flag_type              = 
| image_map              = Zengid territory.png
| image_map_caption      = The Zengid state under [[Imad al-Din Zengi|Imad al-Din]] in 1145, and expansion under [[Nur al-Din Zengi|Nur al-Din]] in 1174 CE.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Riley-Smith |editor-first1=Jonathan Simon Christopher |editor-link1=Jonathan Riley-Smith |title=The atlas of the Crusades |date=1991 |publisher=Facts on File, Swanston Publishing Limited |location=New York, Oxford |isbn=978-0-8160-2186-4 |pages=58, [https://archive.org/details/atlasofcrusadesc00jona/page/59/mode/1up p.59 map] |url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofcrusadesc00jona/page/59/mode/1up |quote=Nur al-Din invaded the country and gained control of Egypt, and in 1169 one of his generals, Saladin, was appointed to administer it. Two years later, the Fatimids were deposed and orthodox Sunni Islam reinstated. Nur al-Din died in 1174. Saladin, a Kurd from northern Iraq, was by no means his undisputed successor, but he used his Egyptian power base to wrest control of Syria from his Zangid rivals.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Haldon |first1=John |author-link=John Haldon |title=The Palgrave Atlas of Byzantine History |date=14 October 2005 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-230-27395-5 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=xjAWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 156, Map 11.8(b)] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xjAWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 |language=en}}</ref>
| capital                = [[Mosul]] (until 1154)<br/>[[Damascus]] (from 1154)
| common_languages       = [[Oghuz languages|Oghuz Turkic]] (nomads, military elite, rulers).<ref name="SC30"/><br/>[[Arabic]] (administrative, literary, numismatics)<ref name="SC30">{{harvnb|Canby|Beyazit|Rugiadi|Peacock|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BPrjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 29-30]}} "Society, language and culture in the age of the Seljuqs and their successors (...) The Turkish language did not spread beyond the nomads, the military elite, and the rulers. Instead, the Turkish elite increasingly came to be at home in Arabic and/or Persian. (...) In the Jazira and Syria, the Zangids and Artuqids used Arabic as their administrative and literary language, whereas Syriac (an Aramaic dialect) was favored among the Christian population and was also important as a medium for the transmission of scholarship books into Arabic."</ref>{{sfn|Canby|Beyazit|Rugiadi|Peacock|2016|pp=69-70}}<br/>[[Syriac language|Syriac]] (Christian populations)<ref name="SC30"/>
| official_languages     = [[Arabic]]<ref name="SC30"/>
| religion               = [[Sunni Islam]] (majority)<br />[[Shia Islam]] (minority)
| currency               = [[Dinar]]
| deputy1                = [[Imad ad-Din Zengi]] (first)
| year_deputy1           = 1127–1146
| deputy2                = Mahmud Al-Malik Al-Zahir (last reported)
| year_deputy2           = 1241–1250
| title_deputy           = [[Zengid dynasty#Zengid rulers|Emir]]
| stat_area1             = 
| title_leader           = [[List of sultans of the Seljuk Empire|Sultan]]
| leader1                = [[Ahmad Sanjar]]
| year_leader1           = 1118–1157
| leader2                = [[Toghrul III]]
| year_leader2           = 1176–1194
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 
| footnotes              = 
}}

The '''Zengid dynasty'''{{efn|Sometimes transliterated as '''Zangid dynasty''', also referred to as the '''Atabegate of Mosul, Aleppo and Damascus''' ({{langx|ar|أتابكة الموصل وحلب ودمشق}}), or the '''Zengid State'''; {{Langx|ar|الدولة الزنكية|translit=al-Dawla al-Zinkiyya}})}} was a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]] dynasty of [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkoman]] origin.<ref>{{harvnb|Bosworth|1996|p=191}} "Zangi was the son of Aq Sunqur, who was a Turkish slave commander of the Great Seljuq Sultan Malik Shah and governor of Aleppo from 479/1086 to 487/1094"</ref> Initially an ''[[Atabegate]]'' of the [[Seljuk Empire]] created in 1127,{{sfn|El-Azhari|2019|p=311}} it ruled parts of the [[Levant]] and [[Upper Mesopotamia]], and eventually seized control of [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid Egypt]] in 1169.<ref name=Bohme /><ref name=Souad /> [[Imad ad-Din Zengi]] was the first ruler of the dynasty. In 1174, the Zengid state extended from [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] to [[Hamadan]] and from [[Yemen (region)|Yemen]] to [[Sivas]], as it also included the Egyptian territories held by [[Saladin]] as governor in the name of [[Nur al-Din Zengi]].<ref name=Gencturk /><ref name=Sesen /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mayall |first1=Simon |title=The House of War: The Struggle between Christendom and the Caliphate |date=12 September 2024 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-6435-2 |pages=92-93 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgfxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT88 |language=en |quote=In a very short space of time, this had enabled him to consolidate his power swiftly and effectively enough to overthrow and dissolve the Fatimid Shia caliphate just two years later, in 1171. As a result, the Sunnis now, once again after 200 years, controlled the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Thus, Saladin founded the Ayyubid dynasty, and he could now concentrate on strengthening Egypt as a renewed bastion of Sunni Muslim power, with himself as governor, all in the name of [[Nur al-Din Zengi|Nur ed Din]].}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |title=Saladin |date=20 December 2011 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-84908-318-8 |pages=11-14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ija3CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |language=en |quote=By the time the ailing al-'Adid, last caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, died during the early hours of Monday September 13, 1171, he had neither real power nor even religious authority within Egypt. Saladin could now concentrate upon strengthening Egypt as a bastion of Sunni Muslim power with himself as governor in the name of [[Nur al-Din Zengi|Nur ed Din]] of Syria. However, tension between Saladin and Nur al-Din soon emerged and had almost resulted in conflict when Nur al-Din also suddenly died in May 1174.}}</ref>

The Zengid ''Atabegate'' became famous in the Islamic world for its successes against the [[Crusaders]], and for being the ''Atabegate'' from which [[Saladin]] originated.{{sfn|El-Azhari|2019|p=316}} Following the demise of the Seljuk dynasty in 1194, the Zengids persisted for several decades as one of the "Seljuk successor-states" until 1250.{{sfn|El-Azhari|2019|p=312}}

==History==
[[File:BattleOfInab.jpg|thumb|left|[[Nur ad-Din (died 1174)|Nūr-ad-Din's]] victory at the [[Battle of Inab]], 1149. Illustration from the ''[[Passages d'outremer]]'', {{circa|1490}}.]]
In 1127, following the murder of [[Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi]], ''[[atabeg]]'' of [[Mosul]], the Seljuk Empire decided to name [[Imad ad-Din Zengi|Zengi]], son of [[Aq Sunqur al-Hajib]], [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]] Governor of [[Aleppo]], as the new Seljuk [[List of rulers of Mosul#Zengid emirs|atabeg of Mosul]].{{sfn|Ayalon|1999|p=166}}{{sfn|El-Azhari|2019|p=311}} Before this nomination, Zengi had been a successful Seljuk general in [[Iraq]], where he had become ''[[shihna]]'', or Governor for the whole region.<ref name="AC">{{cite book |last1=ALPTEKIN |first1=COJKUN |title=The Reign of Zangi |date=1972 |publisher=University of London |pages=38–44 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/28653/1/10672813.pdf}}</ref><ref name="BK">{{cite journal |last1=Küçüksipahioğlu |first1=Birsel |title=Musul ve Halep Valisi İmâdeddin Zengi'nin Haçlılarla Mücadelesi |journal=Journal of Oriental Studies |date=30 June 2020 |issue=36 |page=104 |doi=10.26650/jos.2020.005 |url=https://iupress.istanbul.edu.tr/en/journal/jos/article/musul-ve-halep-valisi-imadeddin-zenginin-haclilarla-mucadelesi |quote=Staying in Mosul until the death of Sultān [[Muhammad I Tapar|Muhammad Tapar]] in 1118, Zangi then entered the service of the Sultān’s son and the new Seljuk ruler [[Mahmud II (Seljuk sultan)|Mahmūd]] (1118-1119), remaining loyal to him to the end. With the new era introduced with the defeat of Sultān Mahmūd in the Sāveh battle he engaged his uncle [[Ahmad Sanjar|Sanjar]] in 1119, which opened the way for Sanjar (1119-1157) to accede to the throne of Great Seljuk Empire, Mahmūd was assigned to the Iraqi Seljuk Sultānate (1119-1131), continuing his rule there. In 1124, Sultān Mahmūd granted the city of Wasit to Imad al-Din Zangi as a ıqta, and conferred him the Military Governorship of Basra together with Baghdad and Iraq in 1127. The reason behind such assignments was to attempt to impede Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid (1118-1135) who then wished to build a worldwide dominance. Indeed, the efforts of Zangi in the fight of Mahmūd, whom Sanjar urgently sent to Baghdad, against the Caliph ensured the Sultān became victorious, and he contributed to the efforts in damaging the sole authority and dominance claims of the Caliph. Following the deaths of Mosul Governor Aq-Sunqur el-Porsuqi and his successor and son Mas’ud in the same year in 1127, Zangi was appointed Governor of Mosul. He was also in charge of al-Jazeera and Northern Syria, and Sultān Mahmūd approved him being assigned as the Atabeg of his two sons, Farrukh shah and Alparsalan. Thus the Atabegdom of Mosul was formed.|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Zengi quickly became the chief Turkic potentate in Northern Syria and Iraq, taking [[Aleppo]] from the squabbling [[Artuqids]] in 1128 and capturing the [[County of Edessa]] from the Crusaders after the [[Siege of Edessa (1144)|siege of Edessa]] in 1144. This latter feat made Zengi a hero in the Muslim world, but he was assassinated by a slave two years later, in 1146.{{sfn|Irwin|1999|p=227}} On Zengi's death, his territories were divided, with Mosul and his lands in Iraq going to his eldest son [[Saif ad-Din Ghazi I]], and Aleppo and Edessa falling to his second son, [[Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo]].

===Conflict with the Crusaders===
Nur ad-Din proved to be as competent as his father. In 1146 he defeated the Crusaders at the [[Siege of Edessa (1146)|Siege of Edessa]]. In 1149, he defeated [[Raymond of Poitiers]], [[Principality of Antioch|Prince of Antioch]], at the [[battle of Inab]], and the next year conquered the remnants of the [[County of Edessa]] west of the [[Euphrates]].{{sfn|Hunyadi|Laszlovszky|2001|p=28}} In 1154, he capped off these successes by his capture of [[Damascus]] from the Turkic [[Burid dynasty]] that ruled it.{{sfn|Asbridge|2012|p=1153}}

Now ruling from Damascus, Nur ad-Din's success continued. Another Prince of Antioch, [[Raynald of Châtillon]] was captured, and the territories of the [[Principality of Antioch]] were greatly reduced.

===Conquests===
[[File:Blacas ewer, hunting scene.jpg|thumb|Hunting scene on the [[Blacas ewer]], 1232, [[Mosul]], Zengid dynasty.<ref name="Blacas ewer British Museum">{{cite web |title=Blacas ewer British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1866-1229-61 |website=www.britishmuseum.org |language=en}}</ref>]]
After the defeats of the [[Seljuk Empire]] in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] and the death of the Seljuk ruler [[Ahmad Sanjar]] in 1157, the Zengids remained nominally under Seljuk suzerainty, but in practice became essentially independent.{{sfn|El-Azhari|2019|p=311}}

In the 1160s, Nur ad-Din's attention was mostly held by a competition with the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|King of Jerusalem]], [[Amalric of Jerusalem]], for control of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] in Egypt. From 1163 to 1169, [[Shirkuh]], a military commander in the service of the Zengid dynasty, took part in a series of campaigns in Fatimid Egypt, on the pretext to help the Fatimid vizier [[Shawar]] regain his throne from his rival [[Dirgham]], and in opposition to the [[Crusader invasions of Egypt, 1163–1169|Crusader invasions of Egypt]].<ref name="SJ">{{cite book |last1=Jiwa |first1=Shainool |title=The Fatimids 2: The Rule from Egypt |date=26 January 2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-7556-4675-3 |pages=198–199 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_6mEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA198 |language=en}}</ref> In 1164, [[Latin Patriarch of Antioch]] [[Aimery of Limoges]] sent a letter to King [[Louis VII of France]], in which he described the events in the Crusader States: "[Shirkuh] having gotten possession of Damascus, the latter entered Egypt with a great force of Turks, in order to conquer the country."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deremilitari.org/2013/03/letter-from-aymeric-patriarch-of-antioch-to-louis-vii-king-of-france-1164/ |title=Letter from Aymeric, Patriarch of Antioch, to Louis VII, King of France (1164) |website=De Re Militari |date=4 March 2013 }}</ref>

In 1163, the [[Vizier (Fatimid Caliphate)|vizier]] to the [[Fatimid]] caliph [[al-Adid]], [[Shawar]], had been driven out of Egypt by his rival [[Dirgham]], a member of the powerful Banu Ruzzaik tribe. He asked for military backing from Nur ad-Din, who complied and, in 1164, sent Shirkuh to aid Shawar in his expedition against Dirgham. Shirkuh's nephew [[Saladin]], at age 26, went along with them.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|pp=6–7}} After Shawar was successfully reinstated as vizier, he demanded that Shirkuh withdraw his army from Egypt for a sum of 30,000 [[gold dinar]]s, but Shirkuh refused, insisting it was Nur ad-Din's will that he remain.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=8}}

[[File:Al-Nasir I Salah al-Din Yusuf (Saladin). AH 564-589 (1169-1193 CE) Æ Dirham (30.1mm, 13.28 g, 6h). Without mint-name. Dated AH 586 (AD 1190-91). Sultan sitting facing, cross-legged, on high-backed throne (obverse).jpg|thumb|left|[[Saladin]] began his military career in the army of [[Nur al-Din Zengi|Nur ad-Din]], during the Zengid conquest of Egypt in 1163–1169.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|pp=6–7}}]]
In 1167, the Zengids engaged in a new campaign in Egypt. They sacked [[Bilbais]], and the [[Crusader invasions of Egypt|Crusader-Egyptian force]] and Shirkuh's army were to engage in the [[Battle of al-Babein]] on the desert border of the [[River Nile|Nile]], just west of [[Giza]]. The Crusader force enjoyed early success against Shirkuh's troops, but the terrain was too steep and sandy for their horses, and commander [[Hugh of Caesarea]] was captured while attacking Saladin's unit.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=14}} The battle ended in a Zengid victory, one of the "most remarkable victories in recorded history", according to [[Ibn al-Athir]]. Saladin and Shirkuh moved towards [[Alexandria]] where they were welcomed, given money and arms, and provided a base.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=15}} Faced by a superior Crusader–Egyptian force attempting to besiege the city, Shirkuh split his army. He and the bulk of his force withdrew from Alexandria, while Saladin was left with the task of guarding the city.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=16}}
 
In 1168, the Zengid army was called for a third time in Egypt, as the [[Crusaders]] were besieging [[Cairo]].<ref name="SJ"/> The Crusaders lifted the siege and left.<ref name="SJ"/> In 1169, Shirkuh lured the vizier into an ambush and killed him after which he seized Egypt in the name of his master Nur ad-Din, becoming the new Fatimid vizier and ''amir al-juyush'' with the approval of Caliph [[al-Adid]], and therefore bringing Egypt under formal Zengid dominion. Shirkuh died the same year and was replaced by his nephew [[Saladin]] as [[vizier]].<ref name="SJ"/><ref name=Souad>Souad, Merah, and Tahraoui Ramdane. 2018. “[https://journals.iium.edu.my/shajarah/index.php/shaj/article/view/571 INSTITUTIONALIZING EDUCATION AND THE CULTURE OF LEARNING IN MEDIEVAL ISLAM: THE AYYŪBIDS (569/966 AH) (1174/1263 AD) LEARNING PRACTICES IN EGYPT AS A CASE STUDY]”. Al-Shajarah: Journal of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), January, 245-75.</ref><ref name=Bohme>[https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/pdf/10.1484/M.OUTREMER-EB.5.127526 Legitimising the Conquest of Egypt: The Frankish Campaign of 1163 Revisited]. Eric Böhme. The Expansion of the Faith. Volume 14. January 1, 2022. Pages 269 - 280.</ref>

During the reign of [[Nur ad-Din (died 1174)|Nur al-Din]] (1146–1174), [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], [[Yemen]] and the [[Hejaz]] were added to the state of the Zengids.<ref name=Gencturk>Gençtürk, Ç. "[https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/usdad/issue/42045/471379 SELAHADDİN EYYUBİ VE NUREDDİN MAHMUD ARASINDAKİ MÜNASEBETLER]". Ankara Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 1 (2018 ): 51-61</ref> The [[Artuqids]] became vassals of the Zengids.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bosworth |first1=C. E. |title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual |date=1 June 2019 |pages=195–196 |doi=10.1515/9781474464628| publisher= Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-1-4744-6462-8 |quote=The rise of the Zangids halted the Artuqids' expansionist plans, and they had to become vassals of Nur al-Din. Then the Ayyubids whittled their power down further, and they lost Hisn Kayfa, Amid and Mayyafariqin to them. In the early thirteenth century, they were for a time vassals of the Rum Seljuqs and of the Khwarazm Shah Jalal al-Dln Mengiibirti. Eventually, only the Mardln line survived, with Qara Arslan submitting to the Mongol II Khan Hulegu.}}</ref> Nur ad-Din also took control of Anatolian lands up to Sivas. His state extended from Tripoli to [[Hamadan]] and from Yemen to [[Sivas]].<ref name=Sesen>[https://www.altayli.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/EYYÛBÎLER.pdf EYYÛBÎLER]. İçindekiler Tablosu. Prof. Dr. Ramazan ŞEŞEN. Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi.</ref>

Shirkuh's nephew [[Saladin]] was appointed vizier by the last [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid]] caliph [[al-Adid]] and Governor of Egypt, in 1169. Al-Adid died in 1171, and Saladin took advantage of this power vacuum, effectively taking control of the country. Upon seizing power, he switched Egypt's allegiance to the [[Baghdad]]-based Abbasid Caliphate which adhered to Sunni Islam, rather than traditional Fatimid [[Shia Islam|Shia]] practice.

===Loss of Egypt and Syria to Saladin (1175–1176)===
[[File:Badr al-Din Lulu frontispiece (guards).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Zengid soldiers armed with long swords and wearing the ''[[Qaba|aqbiya turkiyya]]'' coat, ''[[tiraz]]'' armbands, boots and ''[[sharbush]]'' hat, at the time of the ''[[atabegate]]'' of [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']] in 1218–1219. ''[[Kitab al-Aghani]]'', Mosul.<ref name="DSR">{{cite journal |last1=Rice |first1=D. S. |title=The Aghānī Miniatures and Religious Painting in Islam |journal=The Burlington Magazine |date=1953 |volume=95 |issue=601 |page=130 |jstor=871101 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/871101 |issn=0007-6287}}</ref>]]
In the early summer of 1174, Nur ad-Din was mustering an army, sending summons to Mosul, [[Diyar Bakr]], and the [[al-Jazira, Mesopotamia|Jazira]] in an apparent preparation of an attack against Saladin's Egypt. The Ayyubids held a council upon the revelation of these preparations to discuss the possible threat and Saladin collected his own troops outside Cairo.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|pp=73–74}}

On 15 May 1174, Nur ad-Din died after falling ill the previous week and his power was handed to his eleven-year-old son [[as-Salih Ismail al-Malik]]. His death left Saladin with political independence and in a letter to as-Salih, he promised to "act as a sword" against his enemies and referred to the death of his father as an "earthquake shock".{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|pp=73–74}} In the wake of Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin was tempted to annex Syria before it could possibly fall into the hands of a rival, but he feared that attacking a land that formerly belonged to his master —forbidden in the Islamic principles in which he believed— could portray him as hypocritical, thus making him unsuitable for leading the war against the Crusaders.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|pp=74–75}}

As-Salih took refuge in [[Aleppo]] in August 1174, which he ruled until 1181, when he died of illness and was replaced by his cousin [[Imad al-Din Zengi II]]. [[Gumushtigin]], the emir of the city and a captain of Nur ad-Din's veterans assumed guardianship over him. The emir Gumushtigin prepared to unseat all his rivals in Syria and the Jazira, beginning with Damascus. In this emergency, the emir of Damascus appealed to [[Ghazi II Saif ud-Din|Saif ad-Din]] of Mosul (a cousin of Gumushtigin) for assistance against Aleppo, but he refused, forcing the Syrians to request the aid of Saladin, who complied.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=136}} Saladin rode across the desert with 700 picked horsemen, passing through al-Kerak then reaching [[Bosra]]. According to his own account, he was joined by "emirs, soldiers, and Bedouins—the emotions of their hearts to be seen on their faces."{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=81}} On 23 November, he arrived in Damascus amid general acclamation and rested at his father's old home there, until the gates of the [[Citadel of Damascus]],{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=136}} whose commander Raihan initially refused to surrender, were opened to Saladin four days later, after a brief siege by his brother [[Tughtakin ibn Ayyub]].{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=83}} He installed himself in the castle and received the homage and salutations of the inhabitants.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906}}

Leaving his brother [[Tughtakin ibn Ayyub]] as Governor of Damascus, Saladin proceeded to reduce other cities that had belonged to Nur ad-Din, but were now practically independent. His army conquered [[Hamah|Hama]] with relative ease, but avoided attacking [[Homs]] because of the strength of its citadel.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=13}} Saladin moved north towards Aleppo, besieging it on 30 December after Gumushtigin refused to abdicate his throne.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=137}} As-Salih, fearing capture by Saladin, came out of his palace and appealed to the inhabitants not to surrender him and the city to the invading force. One of Saladin's chroniclers claimed "the people came under his spell".{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=87}}

Meanwhile, Saladin's rivals in Syria and Jazira waged a propaganda war against him, claiming he had "forgotten his own condition [servant of Nur ad-Din]" and showed no gratitude for his old master by besieging his son, rising "in rebellion against his Lord". Soon, Saladin entered Homs and captured its citadel in March 1175, after stubborn resistance from its defenders.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=140}}

====Battle of the Horns of Hama (1175)====
[[File:Sayf al-Din Ghazi II ibn Mawdud, al-Mawsil, 569 H (1173-1174 CE).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Coinage of [[Sayf al-Din Ghazi II|Saif ad-Din]] (r.1170–1180), Zengid ruler of Mosul. Dated 569 H (1173–1174 CE).<ref>{{cite web |title=Copper alloy fals of Sayf al-Din Ghazi II ibn Mawdud, al-Mawsil, 569 H. 1949.163.169 |url=https://numismatics.org/collection/1949.163.169 |website=numismatics.org |publisher=[[American Numismatic Society]] |language=en}}</ref> Legend in Arabic: ''"The Wise and Just King/ the King of the Amirs/ of East and West/ Tughriltakin Atabeg/ Ghazi b./ Mawdud/ b. Zangi"''.{{sfn|Canby|Beyazit|Rugiadi|Peacock|2016|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BPrjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 69-70]}}]]
Saladin's successes alarmed [[Sayf al-Din Ghazi II|Saif ad-Din]], Zengid ruler of Mosul. As head of the [[Zengid]]s, he regarded Syria and [[Mesopotamia]] as his family estate and was angered when Saladin attempted to usurp his dynasty's holdings. Saif ad-Din mustered a large army and dispatched it to Aleppo, whose defenders anxiously had awaited them. The combined forces of Mosul and Aleppo marched against Saladin in Hama. Heavily outnumbered, Saladin initially attempted to make terms with the Zengids by abandoning all conquests north of the [[Jund Dimashq|Damascus province]], but they refused, insisting he return to Egypt. Seeing that confrontation was unavoidable, Saladin prepared for battle, taking up a superior position at the [[Battle of the Horns of Hama|Horns of Hama]], hills by the gorge of the [[Orontes River]]. On 13 April 1175, the Zengid troops marched to attack his forces, but soon found themselves surrounded by Saladin's Ayyubid veterans, who crushed them. The battle ended in a decisive victory for Saladin, who pursued the Zengid fugitives to the gates of Aleppo, forcing as-Salih's advisers to recognize Saladin's control of the provinces of Damascus, Homs, and Hama, as well as a number of towns outside Aleppo such as [[Ma'arat al-Numan]].{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=141}}

[[File:Citadel_of_Aleppo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Citadel of Aleppo]].]]
After his victory against the Zengids, Saladin proclaimed himself king and suppressed the name of [[as-Salih Ismail al-Malik|as-Salih]] in Friday prayers and Islamic coinage. From then on, he ordered prayers in all the mosques of Syria and Egypt as the sovereign king and he issued at the Cairo mint gold coins bearing his official title —''al-Malik an-Nasir Yusuf Ayyub, ala ghaya'' "the King Strong to Aid, Joseph son of Job; exalted be the standard." The Abbasid caliph in Baghdad graciously welcomed Saladin's assumption of power and declared him "Sultan of Egypt and Syria". The Battle of Hama did not end the contest for power between the Ayyubids and the Zengids, with the final confrontation occurring in the spring of 1176. Saladin had gathered massive reinforcements from Egypt while [[Sayf al-Din Ghazi II|Saif ad-Din]] was levying troops among the minor states of [[Diyarbakir]] and al-Jazira.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=141–143}} When Saladin crossed the Orontes, leaving Hama, the sun was eclipsed. He viewed this as an omen, but he continued his march north. He reached the [[Tell Sultan|Sultan's Mound]], roughly {{cvt|25|km|mi}} from Aleppo, where his forces encountered Saif ad-Din's army. A hand-to-hand fight ensued and the Zengids managed to plough Saladin's left-wing, driving it before him when Saladin himself charged at the head of the Zengid guard. The Zengid forces panicked and most of Saif ad-Din's officers ended up being killed or captured—Saif ad-Din narrowly escaped. The Zengid army's camp, horses, baggage, tents, and stores were seized by the Ayyubids. The Zengid [[prisoners of war]], however, were given gifts and freed. All of the booty from the Ayyubid victory was accorded to the army, Saladin not keeping anything himself.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=144}}

Saladin continued towards Aleppo, which still closed its gates to him, halting before the city. On the way, his army took Buza'a and then captured [[Manbij]]. From there, they headed west to besiege the fortress of [[A'zaz]] on 15 May.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=144–146}} A'zaz capitulated on 21 June 1176, and Saladin then hurried his forces to Aleppo to punish Gumushtigin. His assaults were again resisted, but he managed to secure not only a truce, but a mutual alliance with Aleppo, in which Gumushtigin and as-Salih were allowed to continue their hold on the city, and in return, they recognized Saladin as the sovereign over all of the dominions he conquered. The [[Artuqid]] ''emirs'' of [[Mardin]] and [[Hasankeyf|Keyfa]], the Muslim allies of Aleppo, also recognised Saladin as the King of Syria. When the treaty was concluded, the younger sister of as-Salih came to Saladin and requested the return of the Fortress of A'zaz; he complied and escorted her back to the gates of Aleppo with numerous presents.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=144–146}}

The Zengis ruler [[As-Salih Ismail al-Malik]] continued to rule Aleppo as a vassal of Saladin until 1181, when he died of illness and was replaced by his cousin [[Imad al-Din Zengi II]].

===Loss of Jazira to Saladin (1182)===
[[File:Zangids (al-Mawsil). 'Izz al-Din Mas'ud I. AD 1180-1193. Mosull mint. Dated AD 1189-90.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Coinage of [[Izz ad-Din Mas'ud]], Zengid ruler of Mosul, with crowned Turkic figure holding a moon symbol. [[Mosul]] mint, dated 1189-90. The reverse mentions in Arabic the name and titles of the [[Abbasid]] caliph and Abbasid heir presumptive in five lines, and the name and titles of the [[Ayyubid]] overlord [[Saladin]], and 'Izz al-Din Mas'ud.<ref>Whelan Type II, 181-2; S&S Type 63.1; Album 1863.2</ref>{{sfn|Canby|Beyazit|Rugiadi|Peacock|2016|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BPrjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 69-70]}}]]
The Zengid ruler [[Sayf al-Din Ghazi II]] died in June 1181 and his brother [[Izz ad-Din Mas'ud|Izz ad-Din]] inherited the leadership of Mosul.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=149}} On 4 December, the crown prince of the Zengids, [[As-Salih Ismail al-Malik|as-Salih]], died in Aleppo. Prior to his death, he had his chief officers swear an oath of loyalty to Izz ad-Din, as he was the only Zengid ruler strong enough to oppose Saladin. Izz ad-Din was welcomed in Aleppo, but possessing it and Mosul put too great of a strain on his abilities. He thus, handed Aleppo to his brother [[Imad ad-Din Zengi II|Imad ad-Din Zangi]], in exchange for [[Sinjar]]. Saladin offered no opposition to these transactions in order to respect the treaty he previously made with the Zengids.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=164–165}}

Following the Zengid defeat at Hama, and the continuing lack any unifying figure in the mould of Nur ad-Din, Kukbary ([[Gökböri|Muzaffar ad-Din Gökböri]]), the Zengid ruler of [[Harran]], realised that Zengid power was on the wane in Syria and the Jazira and he made the momentous decision to defect to Saladin in 1182. He invited Saladin to occupy the Jazira region, making up northern Mesopotamia. Saladin complied and the truce between him and the Zengids officially ended in September 1182.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=169–170}} Prior to his march to Jazira, tensions had grown between the Zengid rulers of the region, primarily concerning their unwillingness to pay deference to Mosul.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=164}} Before he crossed the [[Euphrates]], Saladin besieged Aleppo for three days, signaling that the truce was over.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=169–170}}

Once Saladin reached Bira, near the river, he was joined by Kukbary and [[Nur al-Din Muhammad|Nur ad-Din of Hisn Kayfa]] and the combined forces captured the cities of Jazira, one after the other. First, [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]] fell, followed by [[Saruj]], then [[Raqqa]], [[Circesium|Qirqesiya]] and [[Nusaybin]].{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=169–70}} Raqqa was an important crossing point and held by Qutb ad-Din Inal, who had lost Manbij to Saladin in 1176. Upon seeing the large size of Saladin's army, he made little effort to resist and surrendered on the condition that he would retain his property. From Raqqa, Saladin moved to conquer al-Fudain, al-Husain, Maksim, Durain, 'Araban, and Khabur—all of which swore allegiance to him.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=176}}

Saladin proceeded to take Nusaybin which offered no resistance. A medium-sized town, Nusaybin was not of great importance, but it was located in a strategic position between Mardin and Mosul and within easy reach of [[Diyarbakir]].{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=177}} Meanwhile, in Aleppo, the ''emir'' of the city [[Imad ad-Din Zengi II|Zangi]] raided Saladin's cities to the north and east, such as Balis, Manbij, Saruj, Buza'a, al-Karzain. He also destroyed his own citadel at A'zaz to prevent it from being used by the Ayyubids if they were to conquer it.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=177}}

===Battle for Mosul (1182–1183)===
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=350|caption_align=center
| align    = right
| direction =horizontal
| image1   = Palmer Cup ruler (British Museum).jpg
| image2   = Palmer cup right attendants (British Museum).jpg
| footer=Northern Mesopotamian illustrative art at the time of the rivalry between Ayyubids and Zengids: the ''[[Palmer Cup]]'' (1200-1215).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Contadini |first1=Anna |title=Arab Painting: Text and Image in Illustrated Arabic Manuscripts |date=2010 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-18630-9 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HA55sqqsaoQC&pg=PA11 |language=en |quote=A case in point is the Ayyubid enamelled beaker known as the Palmer Cup}}</ref> The ruler and attendants are similar to those found in the manuscript ''[[Kitab al-Dariyaq]]'' or metalworks from the [[Mosul]] or North [[Jazira region|Jazira]] area. They wear [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]]-type clothes,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Behrens-Abouseif |first1=Doris |title=Dress and Dress Code in Medieval Cairo: A Mamluk Obsession |chapter=Chapter 12: Mamluk Dress between Text and Image |isbn=9789004684980 |date=1 January 2024 |pages=172–173 |doi=10.1163/9789004684980_013}}</ref> together with the typical ''[[sharbush]]'' headgear.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Contadini |first1=Anna |title=Poetry on Enamelled Glass: The Palmer Cup in the British Museum.' In: Ward, R, (ed.), Gilded and Enamelled Glass from the Middle East |publisher=British Museum Press |date=1998 |pages=58–59 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299579571}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Contadini |first1=Anna |title=Text and Image on Middle Eastern Objects: The Palmer Cup in Context (in A Rothschild Renaissance: A New Look at the Waddesdon Bequest in the British Museum) |date=2017 |publisher=British Museum Research Publications |page=130 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317006955 |quote=The iconography of its figures is very similar to that on the Palmer Cup, in the design of their robes, in the headgear (sharbūsh) and in the way that walking figures are rendered, with one leg straight and the other slightly bent, with a slim foot slightly raised from the ground. Although the candlestick does not have a date, it is securely datable to the early 13th century, as it clearly belongs to a group of metalwork that has now been established as of that period and coming from the Mosul or North Jaziran area. These elements also confirm the early 13th-century date of the Palmer Cup and further support the region of provenance.}}</ref>
}}
As Saladin approached Mosul, he faced the issue of taking over a large city and justifying the action.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=178}} The Zengids of Mosul appealed to [[an-Nasir]], the Abbasid caliph at Baghdad whose vizier favored them. An-Nasir sent Badr al-Badr (a high-ranking religious figure) to mediate between the two sides. Saladin arrived at the city on 10 November 1182. [[Izz ad-Din Mas'ud|Izz ad-Din]] would not accept his terms because he considered them disingenuous and extensive, and Saladin immediately laid siege to the heavily fortified city.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=179}}

After several minor skirmishes and a stalemate in the siege that was initiated by the caliph, Saladin intended to find a way to withdraw without damage to his reputation while still keeping up some military pressure. He decided to attack [[Sinjar]], which was held by Izz ad-Din's brother Sharaf ad-Din. It fell after a 15-day siege on 30 December.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|pp=180–181}} Saladin's soldiers broke their discipline, plundering the city; Saladin managed to protect the governor and his officers only by sending them to Mosul. After establishing a garrison at Sinjar, he awaited a coalition assembled by Izz ad-Din consisting of his forces, those from Aleppo, Mardin, and [[Armenia]].{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=171}} Saladin and his army met the coalition at Harran in February 1183, but on hearing of his approach, the latter sent messengers to Saladin asking for peace. Each force returned to their cities and al-Fadil wrote: "They [Izz ad-Din's coalition] advanced like men, like women they vanished."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lane-Poole |first1=Stanley |title=Saladin and the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem |date=1903 |publisher=Рипол Классик |isbn=978-5-87674-321-3 |page=172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmcPAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Inlaid brass writing box showing 'Scorpio' wearing a mail hauberk, from Mosul AD 1200-1250. (Franks Bequest, British Mus., London).jpg|thumb|left|Detail of inlaid brass writing box, showing soldier wearing a mail [[hauberk]]. [[Mosul]], 1230–1250 CE, British Museum.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pen-box British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1884-0704-85 |website=www.britishmuseum.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |title=Men-at-arms series 171 - Saladin and the saracens |date=1997 |publisher=Osprey publishing |url=https://www.ghazali.org/saladin/maas-171.pdf |page=14}}</ref>]]
From the point of view of Saladin, in terms of territory, the war against Mosul was going well, but he still failed to achieve his objectives and his army was shrinking; Taqi ad-Din took his men back to Hama, while Nasir ad-Din Muhammad and his forces had left. This encouraged Izz ad-Din and his allies to take the offensive. The previous coalition regrouped at Harzam some 140&nbsp;km from Harran. In early April, without waiting for Nasir ad-Din, Saladin and Taqi ad-Din commenced their advance against the coalition, marching eastward to Ras al-Ein unhindered.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=188}} By late April, after three days of "actual fighting", according to Saladin, the Ayyubids had captured [[Amid]]. He handed the city to Nur ad-Din Muhammad together with its stores, which consisted of 80,000 candles, a tower full of arrowheads, and 1,040,000 books. In return for a diploma—granting him the city, Nur ad-Din swore allegiance to Saladin, promising to follow him in every expedition in the war against the Crusaders, and repairing the damage done to the city. The fall of Amid, in addition to territory, convinced Il-Ghazi of Mardin to enter the service of Saladin, weakening Izz ad-Din's coalition.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=191}}

Saladin attempted to gain the Caliph an-Nasir's support against Izz ad-Din by sending him a letter requesting a document that would give him legal justification for taking over Mosul and its territories. Saladin aimed to persuade the caliph claiming that while he conquered Egypt and Yemen under the flag of the Abbasids, the Zengids of Mosul openly supported the [[Seljuks of Rum|Seljuks]] (rivals of the caliphate) and only came to the Caliph when in need. He also accused Izz ad-Din's forces of disrupting the Muslim "Holy War" against the [[Crusaders]], stating "they are not content not to fight, but they prevent those who can". Saladin defended his own conduct claiming that he had come to Syria to fight the Crusaders, end the heresy of the [[Order of Assassins|Assassins]], and stop the wrong-doing of the Muslims. He also promised that if Mosul was given to him, it would lead to the capture of Jerusalem, [[Constantinople]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], and the lands of the [[Almohad]]s in the [[Maghreb]], "until the word of God is supreme and the Abbasid caliphate has wiped the world clean, turning the churches into mosques". Saladin stressed that all this would happen by the will of God, and instead of asking for financial or military support from the Caliph, he would capture and give the Caliph the territories of [[Tikrit]], [[Daquq]], [[Khuzestan]], [[Kish Island]], and [[Oman]].{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|pp=192–194}}

===Fall of Zengid Aleppo (1183)===
[[File:Imad al Din Zengi II. Dated AH 583 (1187-88 AD).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Coinage of "Zangi", emir of Aleppo ([[Imad ad-Din Zengi II]]). Dated AH 583 (1187-88 CE). Double headed eagle with the name and titles of the Abbasid caliph [[al-Nasir|al Nasir]] on breast; mint and date around / Four line legend citing Zengi; tamghas at sides.<ref>S/S 79.3; Edhem -; Album 1879.2.</ref>]]
Saladin turned his attention from Mosul to Aleppo, sending his brother Taj al-Muluk Buri to capture [[Tell Khalid]], 130&nbsp;km northeast of Aleppo. A siege was set, but the governor of Tell Khalid surrendered upon the arrival of Saladin himself on 17 May before a siege could take place. According to Imad ad-Din, after Tell Khalid, Saladin took a detour northwards to [[Aintab]], but he gained possession of it when his army turned towards it, allowing him to quickly move backward another c. 100&nbsp;km towards Aleppo. On 21 May, he camped outside the city, positioning himself east of the [[Citadel of Aleppo]], while his forces encircled the suburb of Banaqusa to the northeast and [[Bab al-Jinan|Bab Janan]] to the west. He stationed his men dangerously close to the city, hoping for an early success.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=195}}

[[Imad ad-Din Zengi II|Zangi]] did not offer long resistance. He was unpopular with his subjects and wished to return to his [[Sinjar]], the city he governed previously. An exchange was negotiated where Zangi would hand over Aleppo to Saladin in return for the restoration of his control of [[Sinjar]], [[Nusaybin]], and [[Raqqa]]. Zangi would hold these territories as Saladin's vassals in terms of military service. On 12 June, Aleppo was formally placed in Ayyubid hands.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=172–173}} The people of Aleppo had not known about these negotiations and were taken by surprise when Saladin's standard was hoisted over the citadel. Two ''emir''s, including an old friend of Saladin, Izz ad-Din Jurduk, welcomed and pledged their service to him. Saladin replaced the [[Hanafi]] courts with Shafi'i administration, despite a promise that he would not interfere in the religious leadership of the city. Although he was short of money, Saladin also allowed the departing Zangi to take all the stores of the citadel that he could travel with and to sell the remainder—which Saladin purchased himself. In spite of his earlier hesitation to go through with the exchange, he had no doubts about his success, stating that Aleppo was "the key to the lands" and "this city is the eye of Syria and the citadel is its pupil".{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=199}} For Saladin, the capture of the city marked the end of over eight years of waiting since he told Farrukh-Shah that "we have only to do the milking and Aleppo will be ours".{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|pp=198–201}}

===Final decline (1183–1250)===
[[File:Kitab al-Dariyaq, folio 24 (royal court detail).jpg|thumb|Royal court detail, ruler in Turkic dress, wearing the ''[[sharbush]]'' hat. 1198–1199, probably Mosul. ''[[Kitâb al-Diryâq]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Contadini |first1=Anna |title=A World of Beasts: A Thirteenth-Century Illustrated Arabic Book on Animals (the Kitab Na't Al-Hayawan) in the Ibn Bakhtishu Tradition |date=11 November 2011 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-20100-2 |page=150, note 23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vBbnD83hTugC&pg=PA150 |language=en |quote=23 Paris, BnF, Arabe 2964, dated 595/1199, probably made in Mosul.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Shahbazi |first1=Shapur |title=CLOTHING |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/clothing-COM_7759?lang=en |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica Online |publisher=Brill |language=en |date=30 August 2020 |quote=That these patterns do not merely represent ceramic conventions is clear from the rendering of garments in fragmentary wall paintings and in illustrations from the copy of Varqa wa Golšāh already mentioned, as well as in frontispieces to the volumes of Abu’l-Faraj Eṣfahānī’s Ketāb al-aḡānī dated 614-16/1217-19 and to two copies of Ketāb al-deryāq (Book of antidotes) by Pseudo-Galen, dated 596/1199 and ascribed to the second quarter of the 7th/13th century respectively (Survey of Persian Art V, pl. 554A-B; Ateş, pls. 1/3, 6/16, 18; D. S. Rice, 1953, figs. 14-19; Ettinghausen, 1962, pp. 65, 85, 91). The last three manuscripts, all of them attributed to northern Mesopotamia, show that the stiff coat with diagonal closing and arm bands was also worn in that region from the end of the 6th/12th century.}}</ref>]]
[[File:Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan. AH 580-597 (AD 1184-1200) Dated AH 596 (AD 1199-1200). Turk seated facing with legs crossed, holding sword and severed head, name of Nur al-Din to left (Obverse).jpg|thumb|Turk seated facing with legs crossed, holding sword and crowned severed head, with legend to left "Nur al-Din Atabeg" ({{lang|ar|نور الدين اتا / بك}}), probably [[Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I]]. Coinage of [[Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan]], dated AH 596 (1199–1200 CE).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Spengler |first1=William F. |last2=Sayles |first2=Wayne G. |title=Turkoman Figural Bronze Coins and Their Iconography: The Artuquids |date=1992 |publisher=Clio's Cabinet |isbn=978-1-879080-02-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R1tmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA113 |page=113 |language=en |quote=But who was the "Nur al - Din Atabeg” featured on the obverse side of most coins of this type, and why was he also recognized? He is not further identified on the coins, but the most logical candidate would appear to be Nur al - Din Arslan Shah I, the Zengid Atabeg of Mosul (589-607 / 1193-1210), the only atabeg with the laqab Nur al - Din known to have been active at that time . This identification was first advanced by Mitchiner in 1977 and was repeated by Hennequin in the Paris catalog.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Künker |first1=Fritz Rudolf |title=Künker Auktion 137 - The De Wit Collection of Medieval Coins, 1000 Years of European Coinage, Part III: England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Balkan, the Middle East, Crusader States, Jetons und Weights |publisher=Numismatischer Verlag Künker |page=391 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iWd0mimd-dMC&pg=PA391 |language=en| quote=But who was the "Nur al-Din Atabeg” featured on the obverse side of most coins of this type, and why was he also recognized?  He is Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I, the Zengid Atabeg of Mosul (1193-1210), which was discovered by Mitchiner in 1977. Why the Artuqid Yuluq Arslan of Mardin should put his rival's name on his coins is not altogether clear}}</ref>]]
[[Saladin]] conquered [[Aleppo]] in 1183, ending Zengid rule in Syria. Saladin launched his last offensive against [[Mosul]] in late 1185, hoping for an easy victory over the presumably demoralized Zengid Emir of Mosul [[Izz al-Din Mas'ud|Mas'ud]], but failed due to the city's unexpectedly stiff resistance and a serious illness which caused Saladin to withdraw to [[Harran]]. Upon Abbasid encouragement, Saladin and Mas'ud negotiated a treaty in March 1186 that left the Zengids in control of Mosul, but under the obligation to supply the Ayyubids with military support when requested.<ref name="BosworthDonzelHeinrichsPellat781">{{harvnb|Humphreys|1991|p=781}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= Humphreys |first1= Stephen |editor-first1= David |editor-first2= Jonathan |editor-last1= Luscombe |editor-last2= Riley-Smith |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=744 |date=14 October 2004 |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521414111 |isbn= 978-1-139-05403-4 |quote=Two sieges of Mosul (1182, 1185) failed, and Saladin had to be content with Izz al-Din’s promise to send troops for the war against the infidels upon demand. Though reduced almost to a client-state, Mosul remained a Zengid city, due both to Izz al-Din Masud’s stubborn resistance and to a near fatal illness in autumn 1185 which forced Saladin to break off his campaign. However, after twelve years of unremitting struggle, Saladin had fulfilled his ambition to reconstitute Nur al-Din’s empire.}}</ref>

In 1204, Saladin's brother and successor, the Ayyubid ruler [[Al-Adil I]], dispatched an army under the leadership of his own son [[Al-Ashraf Musa, Emir of Damascus|al-Ashraf]] of [[Harran]], accompanied by his brother [[Al-Awhad Ayyub]], to relieve the Zengid ''emir'' of [[Sinjar]], [[Qutb ad-Din Muhammad|Qutb al-Din]], from an assault by his cousin [[Nur ad-Din Arslan Shah I]] of [[Mosul]], the chief Zengid ''emir''. In April 1204 the Ayyubid coalition swiftly defeated Nur ad-Din's forces at [[Nusaybin]], chasing them back to Mosul where they attacked several of the surrounding villages. By September the Ayyubids had established a peace with Nur ad-Din.<ref>Humphreys, 1977, p. 128.</ref>

In 1207, the Ayyubids under [[Al-Awhad Ayyub]], starting from their base in [[Mayyafariqin]], captured [[Akhlat]] in [[Anatolia]], putting an end to the [[Ahlatshahs]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eastmond |first1=Antony |title=Tamta's World |date=20 April 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-16756-8 |page=82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |language=en}}</ref>

{{Continental Asia in 1200 CE|left|The Zengids [[File:Orange dot (semi-transparent).png|11px]] and main contemporary polities in continental Asia {{c.|1205}}|{{location map~ |Continental Asia |lat=37|N |long=42|E |label=|position=|label_size=|mark=Orange dot (semi-transparent).png|marksize=14}}}}
[[Al-Adil I]] again attempted to annex the Zengid states in 1209, and besieged [[Sinjar]]. The Zengid ruler of Mosul [[Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I]] allied with [[Gökböri|Muzzafar al-Din Kukburi]], ruler of [[Erbil]], and resisted the Ayyubid offensive. They reached a truce, according to which al-Adid could retain the lands he conquered in Sinjar (thereafter ruled by the "Ayyubids of [[Mayyafariqin]] & [[Jabal Sinjar]]", the sons of al-Adid [[Al-Ashraf Musa, Emir of Damascus|al-Ashraf]] and [[Al-Awhad Ayyub]]), and Arslan Shah would recognize Ayyubid suzerainty on his coinage.<ref name="DP81">{{cite journal |last1=Patton |first1=Douglas |title=Badr al-Dīn Lu'lu' and the Establishment of a mamluk Government in Mosul |journal=Studia Islamica |date=1991 |issue=74 |page=81 |doi=10.2307/1595898 |jstor=1595898 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1595898 |issn=0585-5292|url-access=subscription }}</ref> As Arslan Shah's health was declining, and his sons were still young, he chose his Commander of the Army Badr al-Din Lu'lu' as protector of his sons and promoted him to ''[[atabeg]]'' upon his death in 1211.<ref name="DP81"/> The son and two grandsons of Arslan Shah continued to rule as children in Northern Iraq as Emirs of Mosul and Sinjar until 1234, when [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']] formally took over, possibly after assassinating the last Zengid Emir of Mosul [[Nasir ad-Din Mahmud]].<ref name="DP81"/> He ruled in his own name from 1234 until his death in 1259, accepting Mongol suzerainty after 1243.<ref name="DP81"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pubblici |first1=Lorenzo |title=Mongol Caucasia. Invasions, conquest, and government of a frontier region in thirteenth-century Eurasia (1204-1295) |date=2021 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-50355-7 |page=145 |quote=1243 (...) With much astuteness, [[Hethum I]], who did not wait for the Mongols’ arrival, immediately declared himself to be the subject and vassal of the noyons of Ögedei. He entered under Mongol protection and managed to exercise his sovereignty precisely as he had done until then and paid tribute to the Mongols. A similar strategy was followed by the atabeg of Mosul, who willingly accepted Mongol protection and spared the lives of its people.}}</ref>

Northern Iraq ([[Al-Jazira (caliphal province)|al-Jazira]] region), continued to be under Zengid rule until 1250, with its last Emir Mahmud al-Malik al-Zahir (1241–1250, son of [[Mu'izz al-Din Mahmud]]). In 1250, al-Jazira fell under the domination of [[An-Nasir Yusuf]], the [[Ayyubid]] emir of Aleppo, marking the end of Zengid rule.

The next period would be marked by the arrival of the Mongols: in 1262 Mosul was sacked by the Mongols of [[Hulagu]], following a siege of almost a year, which put an end to the short rule of the sons of Badr al-Din Lu'lu'.

==Military==
<!--[[File:Book of Antidotes of Pseudo-Gallen. Scenes of the royal court. Probably northern Iraq (Mosul). Mid 13th century (huntsmen).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Horsemen, frontispiece of ''[[Kitāb al-Diryāq]]'', [[Mosul]], 1225-1250.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |title=Men-at-arms series 171 - Saladin and the saracens |date=1997 |publisher=Osprey publishing |url=https://www.ghazali.org/saladin/maas-171.pdf |page=11}}</ref>]]-->
[[File:Varka and Golshah. Battle scene 1. Mid 13th century Seljuk Anatolia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|Battle scene, in ''[[Varka and Golshah]]'', mid-13th century Seljuk Anatolia.<ref name="DN9"/>]]
The military of the Zengids, like that of the other ''[[Atabegate]]s'', continued the traditions of the [[Seljuk Empire]].<ref name="DN9">{{cite book |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |author-link=David Nicolle |title=Men-at-arms series 171 - Saladin and the saracens |date=1997 |publisher=Osprey publishing |url=https://www.ghazali.org/saladin/maas-171.pdf |pages=9–12}}</ref> Professional ''Askar'' and ''[[Ghulam]]'' troops were combined with mercenaries and auxiliary Turcoman & Kurdish tribal elements.<ref name="DN9"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tyerman |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GIOVDwAAQBAJ&dq=Kurdish+mercenary&pg=PA136 |title=The World of the Crusades |date=2019 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-24545-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Morton |first=Nicholas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5MnhDwAAQBAJ&dq=Ayyubid+Kurdish+tribes&pg=PA166 |title=The Crusader States and Their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 |date=2020-04-15 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-882454-1 |language=en}}</ref> The best description of these troops appears in the mid-13th century ''[[Varka and Golshah|Warqa wa Gulshah]]'', where numerous weapons are depicted, such as javelins, spears, swords, bows, maces and lassos.<ref name="DN9"/> The protective equipment can be quite heavy, including helmets and [[hauberk]].<ref name="DN9"/> Bows and arrows were used extensively, and dense volleys could pierce armour or even stop a [[Crusades|Crusader]] charge on occasion.<ref name="DN9"/> Against regular armies, Turcoman harassment techniques were extensively used.<ref name="DN9"/>

The Zengids in particular played a major military role against Crusaders, led by such major military figures as [[Imad al-Din Zengi]] or [[Nur al-Din Zengi]].<ref name="DN9"/> Nur al-Din's army mainly consisted in Turcoman horse archers and [[Kurd people|Kurd]] spear-armed horsemen, in addition to professional ''[[ghulams]]'', and [[Bedouin]] auxiliary cavalry, as well as large infantry elements.<ref name="DN9"/> They were also skilled in siege warfare.<ref name="DN9"/> Numbers were not very large, the ruler's ''askar'' troops numbering from 1,000 to 3,000, to which were added auxiliary troops numbering from 10,000 to 15,000.<ref name="DN9"/> The Zengid model was also used by [[Saladin]] and his successors.<ref name="DN9"/>

==Metalwork==
{{see also|History of metallurgy in Mosul}}
[[File:Blacas Ewer, Mosul, 1232, British Museum.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Blacas ewer]], made by Shuja' ibn Man'a in Mosul in 1232, is one of the most famous brass pieces from Mosul.]]
In the 13th century, Mosul had a flourishing industry making luxury brass items that were ornately [[inlay|inlaid]] with silver.<ref name="Rice 1957">{{cite journal |last1=Rice |first1=D.S. |title=Inlaid Brasses from the Workshop of Aḥmad al-Dhakī al-Mawṣilī |journal=Ars Orientalis |date=1957 |volume=2 |pages=283–326 |jstor=4629040 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4629040 |access-date=17 November 2022}}</ref>{{rp|283–6}} Many of these items survive today; in fact, of all medieval Islamic artifacts, Mosul brasswork has the most [[epigraphy|epigraphic]] inscriptions.<ref name="Raby 2012">{{cite book |last1=Raby |first1=Julian |editor1-last=Porter |editor1-first=Venetia |editor2-last=Rosser-Owen |editor2-first=Mariam |title=Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World |date=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85773-343-6 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/19550/fsg_Julian%20Raby_%202012%20Mosul_watermarked.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=18 November 2022 |chapter=The Principle of Parsimony and the Problem of the 'Mosul School of Metalwork' |pages=11–85}}</ref>{{rp|12}} However, the only reference to this industry in contemporary sources is the account of [[Ibn Sa'id]], an Andalusian geographer who traveled through the region around 1250.<ref name="Rice 1957"/>{{rp|283–4}} He wrote that "there are many crafts in the city, especially inlaid brass vessels which are exported (and presented) to rulers".<ref name="Rice 1957"/>{{rp|284}} These were expensive items that only the wealthiest could afford, and it wasn't until the early 1200s that Mosul had the demand for large-scale production of them.<ref name="Rice 1957"/>{{rp|285}} Mosul was then a wealthy, prosperous capital city, first for the Zengids and then for Badr al-Din Lu'lu'.<ref name="Rice 1957"/>{{rp|285}}

The origins of Mosul's inlaid brasswork industry are uncertain.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|52}} The city had an iron industry in the late 10th century, when [[al-Muqaddasi]] recorded that it exported iron and iron goods like buckets, knives and chains.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|52}} However, no surviving metal objects from Mosul are known before the early 13th century.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|52}} Inlaid metalworking in the Islamic world was first developed in [[Khurasan]] in the 12th century by silversmiths facing a shortage of silver.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|52–3}} By the mid-12th century, [[Herat]] in particular had gained a reputation for its high-quality inlaid metalwork.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|53}} The practice of inlaying "required relatively few tools" and the technique spread westward, perhaps by Khurasani artisans moving to other cities.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|53}}

[[File:Blacas ewer, regnal scene.jpg|thumb|left|Regnal scene on the Blacas ewer, 1232, [[Mosul]], Zengid dynasty.<ref name="Blacas ewer British Museum"/>]]
By the turn of the 13th century, the silver-inlaid-brass technique had reached Mosul.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|53}} A pair of engraved brass ''[[flabella]]'' found in Egypt and possibly made in Mosul are dated by a Syriac inscription to the year 1202, which would make them the earliest known Mosul brasses with a definite date (although they are not inlaid with anything).<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|49–50}} One extant item may be even older: an inlaid ewer by the master craftsman [[Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya]] is of an unknown date, but D.S. Rice estimated that it was made around 1200.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|53}} Production of inlaid brasswork in Mosul may have already begun before the turn of the century.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|53–4}}

The body of Mosul metalwork significantly expands in the 1220s - several signed and dated items are known from this decade, which according to Julian Raby "probably reflects the craft's growing status and production."<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|54}} In the two decades from roughly 1220 to 1240, the Mosul brass industry saw "rapid innovations in technique, decoration, and composition".<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|54}} Artisans were inspired by miniature paintings produced in the Mosul area.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|54}}

Mosul seems to have become predominant among Muslim centers of metalwork in the early 13th century.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|53}} Evidence is partial and indirect - relatively few objects which directly state where they were made exist, and in the rest of cases it depends on ''[[nisba (onomastics)|nisbah]]''s.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|53}} However, al-Mawsili is by far the most common ''nisbah''; only two others are attested: al-Is'irdi (referring to someone from [[Siirt]]) and al-Baghdadi.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|53}} There are, however, some scientific instruments inlaid with silver that were made in Syria during this period, with the earliest being 1222/3 (619 AH).<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|53}}

Instability after the death of [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']] in 1259, and especially the Mongol siege and capture of Mosul in July 1262, probably caused a decline in Mosul's metalworking industry.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|54}} There is a relative lack of known metalwork from the Jazira in the late 1200s; meanwhile, an abundance of metalwork from [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] Syria and Egypt is attested from this same period.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|54}} This doesn't necessarily mean that production in Mosul ended, though, and some extant objects from this period may have been made in Mosul.<ref name="Raby 2012"/>{{rp|54–5}}

==Literature==
{{see also|Illuminated manuscript|Arabic miniature}}
[[File:Kitāb al-aghānī (“The Book of Songs”) by Abū al-Faraj al-Iṣbahānī.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']] in 1218–1219, as Zengid Governor of [[Mosul]], under Emir [[Nasir ad-Din Mahmud]]. ''[[Kitāb al-aghānī]]''.<ref name="DSR"/>]]
The area including Syria, [[Jazira region|Jazira]] and Iraq saw an "explosion of figural art" from the 12th to 13th centuries, particularly in the areas of decorative art and illustrated manuscripts.<ref name="AG"/>{{sfn|Snelders|2010|p=3}} This occurred despite religious condemnations against the depiction of living creatures, on the grounds that "it implies a likeness to the creative activity of God".<ref name="AG">{{cite journal |last1=George |first1=Alain |title=Orality, Writing and the Image in the Maqamat : Arabic Illustrated Books in Context |journal=Art History |date=February 2012 |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=10–37 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8365.2011.00881.x |quote=The Islamic world witnessed, in the twelfth to thirteenth centuries, an explosion of figural art. (...) The making of it is forbidden under every circumstance, because it implies a likeness to the creative activity of God}}</ref>

The origins of this new pictorial tradition are uncertain, but Arabic illustrated manuscripts such as the ''[[Maqamat al-Hariri]]'' shared many characteristics with Christian [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac]] illustrated manuscripts, such as [[Syriac Gospels, British Library, Add. 7170|Syriac Gospels (British Library, Add. 7170)]].<ref name=MET/> This synthesis seems to point to a common pictorial tradition that existed since circa 1180 CE in the region, which was highly influenced by [[Byzantine art]].<ref name=MET>{{cite book |title=The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843-1261 |date=1997 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=978-0-87099-777-8 |pages=384–385 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Caqa12aj55wC&pg=PA384 |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Snelders|2010|pp=1-2}}

The manuscript ''[[Kitâb al-Diryâq]]''  ({{langx|ar|كتاب الدرياق|translit=Kitāb al-diryāq}}, "The Book of [[Theriac]]"), or ''Book of anditodes of pseudo-Galen'', is a medieval manuscript allegedly based on the writings of [[Galen]] ("pseudo-Galen"). It describes the use of [[Theriac]], an ancient medicinal compound initially used as a cure for the bites of poisonous snakes. Two editions are extant, adorned with beautiful miniatures revealing of the social context at the time of their publication.<ref name="OP">{{cite journal |last1=Pancaroǧlu |first1=Oya |title=Socializing Medicine: Illustrations of the Kitāb al-diryāq |journal=Muqarnas |date=2001 |volume=18 |pages=155–172 |doi=10.2307/1523306 |jstor=1523306 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1523306 |issn=0732-2992|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The earliest manuscript was published in 1198–1199 CE in [[Mosul]] or the [[Upper Mesopotamia|Jazira region]], and is now in the [[Bibliothèque Nationale de France]] (MS. Arabe 2964).<ref name="OP"/><ref name="BS">{{cite book |last1=Snelders |first1=Bas |title=Identity and Christian-Muslim Interaction: Medieval Art of the Syrian Orthodox from the Mosul Area |date=2010b |pages= [https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2930048/view Extract] |publisher=Peeters |isbn=978-90-429-2386-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5vyscQAACAAJ |language=en |quote=Mosul appears to have been one of the main centres of illustrated manuscript production in the Middle East during the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries,252 alongside other major cities such as Baghdad, Damascus, and Cairo. A volume of al-Sufi's Kitab Suwar al-Kawakib alThabita ('Treatise on the Constellations'), copied by a certain Farah ibn cAbd Allah alHabashi, was produced in Mosul in 1233. Manuscripts ascribed to the city, or to the Jazira more broadly, include two copies of the Kitab al-Diryaq ('Book of the Theriac', usually called 'Book of Antidotes'), a medical treatise on antidotes used as a remedy against snake venom. [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']], who is known to have commissioned several literary texts, may also have been actively engaged in sponsoring manuscript illuminations. It is commonly assumed that an originally 20-volume set of the Kitab al-Aghani ('Book of Songs') was made for Lu'lu' in the period between 1217 and 1219. Some of the frontispieces depict a ruler wearing an armband that is inscribed with his name.}}</ref>

The ''[[Kitab al-Aghani]]'' was created in 1218–1219 in Mosul at the time of the Zengid ''[[atabegate]]'' of [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']] (40 years old at the time), and has several frontispieces richly illustrated with court scenes.<ref name="DSR"/>

<gallery widths="160px" heights="200px" perrow="5">
File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art qur 0497 fol 1b-2a.jpg|A [[Qur'an]] in the name of Zengid ruler [[Qutb ad-Din Muhammad]] (1197–1219). ([[:Commons:Category:Zengid Qur'an (Khalili QUR 497)|Khalili QUR 497]]){{sfn|Canby|Beyazit|Rugiadi|Peacock |2016|p=59}}
File:Kitab al-Diryaq BNF View 11 (detail).jpg|Figures in Turkic dress, with ''[[Qaba|aqbiya turkiyya]]'' coat, ''[[tiraz]]'' armbands, boots and ''[[sharbush]]'' hat. ''[[Kitāb al-Diryāq]]'', [[Jazira region|Jazira]], 1198–1199 CE.<ref name="CLOTHING">{{cite web |last1=Shahbazi |first1=Shapur |title=CLOTHING |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/clothing-COM_7759?lang=en |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica Online |publisher=Brill |language=en |date=30 August 2020 |quote=Nevertheless, the most distinctive feature of late Saljuq and post-Saljuq male dress was the popularity of patterned textiles for these garments. (...) That these patterns do not merely represent ceramic conventions is clear from the rendering of garments in fragmentary wall paintings and in illustrations from the copy of Varqa wa Golšāh already mentioned, as well as in frontispieces to the volumes of Abu’l-Faraj Eṣfahānī’s Ketāb al-aḡānī dated 614-16/1217-19 and to two copies of Ketāb al-deryāq (Book of antidotes) by Pseudo-Galen, dated 596/1199 and ascribed to the second quarter of the 7th/13th century respectively (Survey of Persian Art V, pl. 554A-B; Ateş, pls. 1/3, 6/16, 18; D. S. Rice, 1953, figs. 14-19; Ettinghausen, 1962, pp. 65, 85, 91). The last three manuscripts, all of them attributed to northern Mesopotamia, show that the stiff coat with diagonal closing and arm bands was also worn in that region from the end of the 6th/12th century.}}</ref>
File:Warrior with the Plant Kestron, De Materia Medica of Dioscorides, Iraq 1224. Harvard Art Museums.jpg|Warrior wearing the ''[[sharbush]]'', a three-quarters length robe, and boots. ''[[De Materia Medica]]'' of [[Dioscorides]], Iraq, 1224. Harvard Art Museums.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Contadini |first1=Anna |title=A world of beasts: a thirteenth-century illustrated Arabic book on animals (the Kitāb Na't al-Ḥayawān) in the Ibn Bakhtīshū' tradition |date=2012 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden Boston |isbn=978-90-04-20100-2 |page=127, Fig.65 b |quote=P.126: “Official” Turkish figures wear a standard combination of a sharbūsh, a three-quarters length robe, and boots. Arab figures, in contrast, have different headgear (usually a turban), a robe that is either full-length or, if three-quarters length, has baggy trousers below, and they usually wear flat shoes or (...) go barefoot (...) P.127: Reference has already been made to the combination of boots and ''[[sharbūsh]]'' as markers of official status (...) the combination is standard, even being reflected in thirteenth-century Coptic paintings, and serves to distinguish, in Grabar’s formulation, the world of the Turkish ruler and that of the Arab. (...) The type worn by the official figures in the 1237 Maqāmāt, depicted, for example, on fol. 59r,67 consists of a gold cap surmounted by a little round top and with fur trimming creating a triangular area at the front which either shows the gold cap or is a separate plaque. A particular imposing example in this manuscript is the massive ''sharbūsh'' with much more fur than usual that is worn by the princely official on the right frontispiece on fol. 1v. (...) These are of yet another type and are identical to those on the official on the left holding a spear in the painting of the “Purple Betony” in the 1224 Dioscorides (Fig. 65b)}}</ref>
</gallery>

==Architecture==
The Zengids are known for numerous constructions from Syria to northern Iraq. The [[Citadel of Aleppo]] was fortified by the Zengids during the [[Crusades]]. [[Imad ad-Din Zengi]], followed by his son [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur ad-Din]] (ruled 1147–1174), unified Aleppo and Damascus and held back the Crusaders from their repeated assaults on the cities. In addition to his many works in both Aleppo and Damascus, Nur ad-Din rebuilt the Aleppo city walls and fortified the citadel. Arab sources report that he also made several other improvements, such as a high, brick-walled entrance ramp, a palace, and a racecourse likely covered with grass. Nur ad-Din additionally restored or rebuilt the two mosques and donated an elaborate wooden [[mihrab]] (prayer niche) to the Mosque of Abraham. Several famous crusaders were imprisoned in the citadel, among them [[Count of Edessa]], [[Joscelin II of Edessa|Joscelin II]], who died there, [[Raynald of Châtillon]], and the King of Jerusalem, [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem|Baldwin II]], who was held for two years.{{sfn|Gonella|2005|pages=14–19}}

The [[Nur al-Din Madrasa]] is a funerary [[madrasa]] in [[Damascus]], [[Syria]]. It was built in 1167 by [[Nūr ad-Dīn Zangī]], [[atabeg]] of Syria, who is buried there. The complex includes a [[mosque]], a madrasa, and the [[mausoleum]] of the founder. It was the first such complex to be built in Damascus.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Madrasa al-Nuriyya al-Kubra (Damascus)|url=https://archnet.org/sites/1840|access-date=2020-11-19|website=Archnet|archive-date=2020-07-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729011551/https://archnet.org/sites/1840|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Madrasa Nuriya al-Kubra |url=https://madainproject.com/madrasa_nuriyya_kubra |website=Madain Project |access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref> The [[Nur al-Din Bimaristan]] is a large Muslim medieval ''[[bimaristan]]'' ("hospital") in [[Damascus]], [[Syria]]. It was built and named after the Nur ad-Din Zangi in 1154.<ref>{{cite book |last = Allen |first = Terry |title = Classical Revival |page=57ff}}</ref>

The [[Great Mosque of al-Nuri, Mosul]] was also built by Nur ad-Din Zangi in 1172–1173, shortly before his death.<ref name="AJ_destroy">{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/iconic-grand-al-nuri-mosque-iraq-mosul-blown-170621193402284.html|title=Iconic Grand al-Nuri mosque in Iraq's Mosul 'blown up'|access-date=21 June 2017|work=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|date=21 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="BBC_destruction">{{cite news|title=Battle for Mosul: IS 'blows up' al-Nuri mosque|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40361857|access-date=21 June 2017|work=BBC|date=21 June 2017}}</ref>

<gallery widths="160px" heights="200px" perrow="5">
File:Kuppel_Nur_ad-Din_Madrasa.JPG|Domes of the [[Nur al-Din Madrasa]] in Damascus
File:Bimaristan_of_nur_al-din,_damascus,_syria,_easter_2004_(1524490934).jpg|Front of the [[Nur al-Din Bimaristan]], 1154
File:منارة_الحدباء.jpg|The [[Great Mosque of al-Nuri, Mosul|Great Mosque of al-Nuri]] before its destruction in 2017
File:Niche from the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraq, 12th century CE, Iraq Museum.jpg|[[Mihrab]] from al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, Iraq, built by Nur al-Din Zengi, Iraq Museum
File:Remains_of_the_Tigris_bridge_near_Ayn_Dīwār_viewed_from_downriver_a_few_years_before_the_outbreak_of_the_First_World_War,_at_a_time_when_the_Tigris_was_in_flood_(The_Gertrude_Bell_Archive,_Newcastle_University).jpg|Zengid [[Ain Diwar Bridge]]. Built under [[Qutb al-Din Mawdud]], from 1146 to 1163 CE. [[Cizre]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |title=The Zangid bridge of Ǧazīrat ibn ʿUmar (ʿAyn Dīwār/Cizre): a New Look at the carved panel of an armoured horseman |journal=Bulletin d'études orientales |date=30 April 2014 |issue=62 |pages=223–264 |doi=10.4000/beo.1404 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/beo/1404?lang=en |language=fr |issn=0253-1623 |quote=Contrary to information still found in some non-academic publications, the bridge which either spanned or was intended to span the river Tigris a few kilometers downstream from what is now the Turkish frontier town of Cizre is not a Roman construction. Nor is there real evidence that any pre-Islamic bridge was ever built at this location. Arabic historical sources make clear that the existing, largely ruined or perhaps never completed bridge dates from between 541 AH (1146/7 AD) and 559 AH (1163/4 AD) 1163 AD. It was constructed on the orders of, or sponsored by Ǧamāl al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Iṣfahānī Ibn ʿAlī Ibn Abī Manṣūr, the wazīr or chief minister of Quṭb al-Dīn Mawdūd Ibn Zangī, the Zangid ruler of Mosul.}}</ref>
</gallery>

==Christianity under the Zengids==
Christianity  in the Middle East continued to suffer a general decline within a context of Arabization and Islamization, as well as the conflict of the [[Crusades]].<ref name="SNT">{{cite book |last1=Snelder |first1=B. |title=Identity and Christian-Muslim interaction : medieval art of the Syrian Orthodox from the Mosul area |date=2010 |publisher=Leiden University |page=Chapter 2 |url=https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/handle/1887/15917 |quote="5 A change for the better came with the death of Nur al-Din Zangi in 1174. In the case of Mosul, the conservative regime established there by Nur al-Din quickly collapsed and was eventually replaced by a more liberal and tolerant administration, which revoked the discriminatory measures against Christians." (...) "Despite the progressing Arabization and Islamization of all levels of Middle Eastern society, and the internal struggles for ecclesiastical power outlined above, the Syrian Orthodox Church, as an ecclesiastical organization, continued to grow under Muslim rule" (...) "Under Badr al-Din Lu'lu' (1211-1259), who was a remarkably tolerant and even-handed ruler, the local Christians regained much of their confidence and were even able to partake fully in what in hindsight proved to be Mosul's golden age. The same holds true for the Eastern Christian communities living in Syria under either Frankish or Ayyubid rule, especially during the relatively peaceful period which started around 1204, when a truce was signed between the Franks and the Ayyubids, and which lasted to the Mongol invasion of 1260".}}</ref> Still, [[Syriac Christianity]] remained active under the Zengids, and even went through a phase of "Syriac Renaissance" in which discriminatory rules against Christians were lifted, especially after the death of the conservative [[Nur al-Din Zengi]] in 1174.<ref name="SNT"/> Several important Christian manuscripts were created in [[Mosul]] during the late Zengid period, especially under the atabagate of [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']] (1211–1234), and later during his independent reign (1234–1259).<ref name="BSN"/> One of them, the [[:Commons:Category:Vatican Library, Ms. Syr. 559|Jacobite-Syrian Lectionary of the Gospels]], was created at the [[Mar Mattai Monastery]] 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Mosul, c.1220 (Vatican Library, Ms. Syr. 559).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eastmond |first1=Antony |title=Tamta's World: The Life and Encounters of a Medieval Noblewoman from the Middle East to Mongolia |date=2017 |doi=10.1017/9781316711774 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn= 9781316711774}}</ref> This Gospel, with its depiction of many military figures in armour, is considered as a useful reference of the military technologies of classical Islam during the period.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |title=Military technology of classical Islam |date=2008 |publisher=Edinbourg University Press |page=Vol.3, Figures 306 (A-F) |url=https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/7432}}</ref> Another such gospel is [[:Commons:Category:Ms. Additional 7170, British Library|Ms. Additional 7170, British Library]], also created circa 1220 in the Mosul region.<ref name="BSN"/>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Ms. Additional 7170, British Library 156v Christ resurrected (fine).jpg|Miniature of a [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac]] gospel from around [[Mosul]], c. 1220 ([[Syriac Gospels, British Library, Add. 7170|BL Ms. 7170]]). [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']] was tolerant of Christian religion.<ref name="BSN">{{cite book |last1=Snelders |first1=Bas |title=Identity and Christian-Muslim Interaction: Medieval Art of the Syrian Orthodox from the Mosul Area |date=2010 |pages= [https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2930048/view Extract] |publisher=Peeters |isbn=978-90-429-2386-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5vyscQAACAAJ |language=en |quote=Patton argues that in addition to Badr al-Din Lu’lu’{{'s}} ordering and sponsoring the foundation of numerous social and religious institutions in Mosul, his energetic patronage of the arts was probably part of a conscious policy aimed at securing the loyalty of the city’s population and ensuring that they would not turn their backs on him in favour of one of his opponents. This egalitarian treatment of the Muslim Sunnis and Shiis should certainly beseen in this light, but also his comparatively tolerant attitude towards Mosul’s large Christian community. As Patton argues, ‘Lu’lu’{{'s}} skill at maintaining the support of all groups while especially favouring none is a remarkable achievement which explains not only the duration of his reign, but probably the great efflorescence of the arts in his reign as well. After the death of Badr al-Din Lu’lu’ in 1259, however, the prosperous period and cultural bloom in the Mosul area soon came to an end.}}</ref>
File:Vatican Library, Ms. Syr. 559 Detail of f.139r, Crucifixion.jpg|Detail of f.139r, Crucifixion. Vatican Library, Ms. Syr. 559.
File:Vatican Library, Ms. Syr. 559 Detail of f.18r, Massacre of the Innocents.jpg|Detail of f.18r, Massacre of the Innocents. Vatican Library, Ms. Syr. 559. 
File:Vatican Library, Ms. Syr. 559 Detail of f.29v, Beheading of John the Baptist.jpg|Detail of f.29v, Beheading of John the Baptist. Vatican Library, Ms. Syr. 559. 
</gallery>

==Zengid rulers==
The Zengids branched out in several regions between Syria and Iraq.<ref>{{harvnb|Bosworth|1996|p=190|loc=(Excerpt:)}}<br>
"1. The main line in Mosul and Aleppo:<br>
*521/1127 Zangi I b. Qasim al-Dawla Aq Sunqur, 'Imad al-Din
*541/1146 Ghazi I b. Zangi I, Sayf al-Din
*544/1149 Mawdud b. Zangi I, Qutb al-Din (...)
2. The line in Damascus and then Aleppo<br>
*541/1147 Mahmud b. Zangi, Abu ’1-Qasim al-Malik al-'Adil Nur al-Din, in Aleppo and then Damascus (...)
3. The line in Sinjar<br>
*566/1171 Zangi II b. Mawdud, 577-9/1181-3 lord of Aleppo also
*594/1197 Muhammad b. Zangi II, Qutb al-Din
*616/1219 Shahanshah b. Muhammad, 'Imad al-Din
Mahmud b. Muhammad, Jalal al-Din (...)<br>
4. The line in Jazira<br>
*576/1180 Sanjar Shah b. Ghazi II b. Mawdud, Mu'izz al-Din
*605/1208 Mahmud b. Sanjar Shah, al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Mu'izz al-Din
*639-48/1241-50 Mas'ud b. Mahmud, al-Malik al-Zahir
*648/1250 Ayyubid domination
5. The line in Shahrazur<br>
*-630?-1233? Zangi III b. Arslan Shah II, 'Imad al-Din
*630-49/1233-51 11 Arslan b. Zangi III, Nur al-Din"</ref>

===Zengid Atabegs and Emirs of Mosul===
{{further|List of rulers of Mosul#Zengid emirs|Rulers of Mosul}}
[[File:Qutb al-Din Mawdud ibn Zengi, al-Mawsil, 556 H (Obverse).jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Qutb al-Din Mawdud]] (r. 1149–1170), son of the founder of the dynasty [[Imad al-Din Zengi|Zengi]]. Dated AH 556 (1160–1161 CE).<ref>{{cite web |title=Copper alloy dirham of Qutb al-Din Mawdud ibn Zengi, al-Mawsil, 556 H. 1917.215.1000 |url=https://numismatics.org/collection/1917.215.1000 |website=numismatics.org |publisher=[[American Numismatic Society]] |language=en}}</ref>]]
[[File:Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I ibn Mas'ud, Nisbin, 594 H (Obverse).jpg|thumb|[[Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I]], [[Nisibin]], 594 H (1197–1198 CE)]]
* [[Imad al-Din Zengi|Zengi]], 1127–1146
* [[Sayf al-Din Ghazi I]], son of Zengi, 1146–1149
* [[Qutb al-Din Mawdud]], son of Zengi, 1149–1170
* [[Sayf al-Din Ghazi II]], son of Qutb al-Din Mawdud, 1170–1180
* [[Izz al-Din Mas'ud]], son of Qutb al-Din Mawdud, 1180–1193
* [[Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I]], son of Izz al-Din Mas'ud, 1193–1211
* [[Izz al-Din Mas'ud II]], son of Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I, 1211–1218 (regency by [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']])
* [[Nur al-Din Arslan Shah II]], son of Izz al-Din Mas'ud II, 1218–1219 (regency by Badr al-Din Lu'lu')
* [[Nasir ad-Din Mahmud]], son of Izz al-Din Mas'ud II, 1219–1234 (regency by Badr al-Din Lu'lu')

Mosul was taken over by [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']], atabeg to Nasir ad-Din Mahmud, whom he murdered in 1234.

===Zengid Emirs of Aleppo===
{{further|List of rulers of Aleppo#Zengid Dynasty|Rulers of Aleppo}}

*[[Imad al-Din Zengi|Zengi]], 1128–1146
*[[Nur al-Din Mahmud|Nur al-Din]], son of Zengi, 1146–1174
*[[As-Salih Ismail al-Malik]], son of Nur al-Din, 1174–1182
*[[Imad al-Din Zengi II]], 1182

Aleppo was conquered by [[Saladin]] in 1183 and ruled by [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubids]] until 1260.

===Zengid Emirs of Damascus===
{{further|List of rulers of Damascus#Zengid atabegs|Rulers of Damascus}}

*[[Nur al-Din Mahmud|Nur al-Din]], son of Zengi, 1154–1174
*[[As-Salih Ismail al-Malik]], son of Nur al-Din, 1174.

Damascus was conquered by [[Saladin]] in 1174 and ruled by [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubids]] until 1260.

===Zengid Emirs of Sinjar===
{{further|Sinjar#Islamic era}}
*[[Imad al-Din Zengi II]], son of [[Qutb al-Din Mawdud]], 1171–1197
*[[Qutb ad-Din Muhammad]], son of Zengi II, 1197–1219
*[[Imad al-Din Shahanshah]], son of Qutb ad-Din Muhammad, 1219–1220
* Jalal al-Din Mahmud (co-ruler), son of Qutb ad-Din Muhammad, 1219–1220
*[[Fath al-Din Umar]] (co-ruler), son of Qutb ad-Din Muhammad, 1219–1220.

Sinjar was taken by the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubids]] in 1182,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lyons |first1=Malcolm Cameron |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGR5M0druJIC&pg=PP7 |title=Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War |last2=Jackson |first2=D. E. P. |date=1984 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-31739-9 |pages=181 |language=en}}</ref> and ruled by [[Al-Ashraf Musa, Emir of Damascus|al-Ashraf Musa]] in 1220, Ayyubid emir of Diyar Bakr.  It later came under the control of [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']], ruler of Mosul beginning in 1234.

===Zengid Emirs of al-Jazira (in Northern Iraq)===
{{further|Upper Mesopotamia#Islamic empires}}

*[[Mu'izz al-Din Sanjar Shah]], son of [[Sayf al-Din Ghazi II]], 1180–1208
*[[Mu'izz al-Din Mahmud]], son of Mu'izz al-Din Sanjar Shah, 1208–1241
*[[Mahmud al-Malik al-Zahir]], son of Mu'izz al-Din Mahmud, 1241–1250.

In 1250, al-Jazira fell under the domination of [[an-Nasir Yusuf]], Ayyubid emir of Aleppo.

===Zengid Emirs of Shahrazur===
Emirs of [[Shahrizor]] in [[Kurdistan]]:

[[Saladin]] conquers all lands of [[Shahrizor|Shahrazur]] and beyond [[Little Zab|lesser Zab]] in 1185. Thus the Ayyubids became the rulers of most of [[Iraqi Kurdistan|Southern Kurdistan]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Minorsky |first=V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pzg8AAAAIAAJ&q=prehistory+of+Saladin |title=Studies in Caucasian History: I. New Light on the Shaddadids of Ganja II. The Shaddadids of Ani III. Prehistory of Saladin |date=1953 |publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=978-0-521-05735-6 |pages=147 |language=en}}</ref>

==Genealogy of House of Zangi==
{{Chart top|width=100%|collapsed=no|House of Zangi}}
{|- valign=top
| colspan=100% style="text-align:left" |
{{Color sample|border=#00756b|#white; border-width:2px}} Zengid Emirate <br>
{{Color sample|border=#00756b|#ffbaf8; border-width:2px}} Zengid Emirate of Mosul <br>
{{Color sample|border=#00756b|#f9c9b8; border-width:2px}} Zengid Emirate of Aleppo <br>
{{Color sample|border=#00756b|#e0f484; border-width:2px}} Zengid Emirate of Damascus<br>
{{Color sample|border=#00756b|#92f4ef; border-width:2px}} Zengid Emirate of Sinjar<br>
{{Color sample|border=#00756b|#7ca8ea; border-width:2px}} Zengid Emirate of Jazirah<br>
|}
{{Tree chart/start|align=center|style=font-size:90%}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | A01 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|A01='''[[Imad al-Din Zengi|Zangi]]''' <br>{{r.|1127|1146}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#00756b
}}
{{Tree chart| | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|(| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | A01 | | A02 | | | | | | A03 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|A01='''[[Sayf al-Din Ghazi I|Ghazi I]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1146|1149}}|#ffbaf8}}
|A02='''[[Nur al-Din Zengi|Mahmud]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1146|1174}}|#f9c9b8}} <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1154|1174}}|#e0f484}}
|A03='''[[Qutb al-Din Mawdud|Maw'dud]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1149|1170}}|#ffbaf8}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A02 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A03 =border-color:#00756b
}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | |!| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | A01 | | A02 | | A03 | | | | | | A04 | | | | | |
|A01='''[[As-Salih Ismail al-Malik|Isma'il]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1174|1182}}|#f9c9b8}} <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1174|1174}}|#e0f484}}
|A02='''[[Sayf al-Din Ghazi II|Ghazi II]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1170|1180}}|#ffbaf8}}
|A03='''[[Izz al-Din Mas'ud|Mas'ud I]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1180|1193}}|#ffbaf8}}
|A04='''[[Imad ad-Din Zengi II|Zangi]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1171|1197}}|#92f4ef}} <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1182|1182}}|#f9c9b8}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A02 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A03 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A04 =border-color:#00756b
}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | A01 | | A02 | | | | | | A03 | | | | | |
|A01='''Sanjar-Shah''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1180|1208}}|#7ca8ea}}
|A02='''[[Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I|Arslan-Shah I]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1193|1211}}|#ffbaf8}}
|A03='''[[Qutb ad-Din Muhammad|Muhammad]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1197|1219}}|#92f4ef}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A02 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A03 =border-color:#00756b
}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | A01 | | A02 | | A03 | | A04 | | A05 | |
|A01='''[[Mu'izz al-Din Mahmud|Mahmud I]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1208|1241}}|#7ca8ea}}
|A02='''[[Izz al-Din Mas'ud II|Mas'ud II]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1211|1218}}|#ffbaf8}}
|A03='''Shahanshah''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1219|1220}}|#92f4ef}}
|A04='''Mahmud''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1219|1220}}|#92f4ef}}
|A05='''Umar''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1219|1220}}|#92f4ef}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A02 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A03 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A04 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A05 =border-color:#00756b
}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |)|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | A01 | | A02 | | A03 | | | | | | | | | |
|A01='''Mahmud II''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1241|1250}}|#7ca8ea}}
|A02='''[[Nur al-Din Arslan Shah II|Arslan-Shah II]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1218|1219}}|#ffbaf8}}
|A03='''[[Nasir ad-Din Mahmud|Mahmud]]''' <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1219|1234}}|#ffbaf8}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A02 =border-color:#00756b
|boxstyle_ A03 =border-color:#00756b
}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Chart bottom}}

==Flag==
[[File:Flag of Saladin.svg|thumb|Supposed flag of [[Saladin]], inherited from the Zengids.<ref name="JH"/>]]
The flag of [[Saladin]] (yellow, emblazed with an eagle) was apparently inherited from the Zengids.<ref name="JH">{{cite book |last1=Hathaway |first1=Jane |title=A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen |date=1 February 2012 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-8610-8 |page=97 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-lPC7DgepEC&pg=PA97 |language=en |quote=The Ayyubids and Mamluks, who succeeded the Fatimids in Egypt and Syria, retained the association of yellow with the ruler. Salah al-Din (Saladin), the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, carried a yellow flag emblazoned with an eagle, supposedly inherited from the Zangid dynasty, whose protégé he had been. Yellow was likewise the Mamluk sultan’s official color, and Mamluk sultanic banners were yellow.}}</ref> The color yellow especially, remained a symbolical color for the rulers of the Ayyubids and the Mamluks.<ref name="JH"/>

==See also==
*[[List of Emirs of Mosul]]
*[[List of Sunni Muslim dynasties]]
*[[Palmer Cup]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{notelist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Asbridge |title=The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2012 }}
*{{cite book |first=David |last=Ayalon |title=Eunuchs, Caliphs and Sultans: A Study in Power Relationships |publisher=Hebrew University Magnes Press |year=1999 }}
*{{cite book|first=C.E.|last=Bosworth|title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1996|location=New York}}
* {{cite book |last1=Canby |first1=Sheila R. |last2=Beyazit |first2=Deniz |last3=Rugiadi |first3=Martina |last4=Peacock |first4=A. C. S. |title=Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs |date=27 April 2016 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=978-1-58839-589-4  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPrjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=El-Azhari |first1=Taef |chapter=The Seljuqs from Syria to Iran: The Age of Khatuns and Atabegs |title=Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History, 661-1257 |date=1 August 2019 |pages=285–348 |publisher= Edinburg University Press |doi=10.3366/edinburgh/9781474423182.003.0007|isbn=978-1-4744-2318-2 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Gonella|first1=Julia |title=Die Zitadelle von Aleppo und der Tempel des Wettergottes |publisher= Rhema-Verlag, Münster |date= 2005 |isbn=978-3-930454-44-0}}
* {{Cite book|title=From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193-1260|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JfXl5kvabhoC&dq=From+Saladin+to+the+Mongols&pg=PP1|first1=Stephen|last1=Humphreys|publisher=SUNY Press|year=1977|isbn=978-0-87395-263-7}}
* {{EI2 | volume=6 | title=Masūd b. Mawdūd b. Zangī | last=Humphreys|first=R.S.|pages=780–782|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_5028}}
*{{cite book |first1=Zsolt |last1=Hunyadi |first2=József |last2=Laszlovszky |title=The Crusades and the Military Orders |publisher=Central European University |year=2001 }}
*{{cite book |chapter=Islam and the Crusades 1096-1699 |first=Robert |last=Irwin |title=The Oxford History of the Crusades |editor-first=Jonathan |editor-last=Riley-Smith |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 }}
* {{cite book|last=Lane-Poole|first=Stanley|author-link=Stanley Lane-Poole |title= Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem|publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]]|location=London|year=1906|series= Heroes of the Nations |url= https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_M7pIVpjuyw0C|access-date=26 March 2014 }}
* {{cite book | last1 = Lyons | first1 = Malcolm Cameron | last2 = Jackson | first2 = D. E. P. | year = 1982 | title = Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge | url = {{Gbooks|hGR5M0druJIC|plainurl=yes}} | isbn = 0521317398}}
*{{cite book |first=William Barron |last=Stevenson |title=The Crusaders in the East |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1907 }}
*Taef El-Azharii (2006).  ''Zengi and the Muslim Response to the Crusades'', Routledge, Abington, UK.

{{Muslim dynasties in Mashriq region}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zengid Dynasty}}
[[Category:Zengid dynasty| ]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Syria]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Jordan]]
[[Category:History of the Seljuk Empire]]
[[Category:Atabegs]]
[[Category:Muslims of the Second Crusade]]
[[Category:Former vassal states]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1127]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1250]]
[[Category:Syrian people of Turkish descent]]
[[Category:Iraqi people of Turkish descent]]
[[Category:12th-century establishments in the Seljuk Empire]]
[[Category:12th-century establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1250 disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern dynasties]]