Aleppo Citadel was the center of the Aleppan monarchs in the Middle AgesAleppo Citadel Throne Hall, Built by the Mamluk Sultan of Aleppo Sayf al-Din Jakam
The monarchs of Aleppo reigned as kings, emirs and sultans of the city and its surrounding region since the later half of the 3rd millennium BC,[1] starting with the kings of Armi,[2] followed by the Amorite dynasty of Yamhad.[3] Muslim rule of the city ended with the Ayyubid dynasty which was ousted by the Mongol conquest in 1260.
The rulers of Yamhad used the titles of king and Great King, while the Hittite dynasty monarchs used the titles of king and viceroy.
The Emirate of Halab was established in 945 by the Hamdanid dynasty and lasted until 1086, when it became a sultanate under the Seljuq dynasty. The sultanate was sometimes ruled together with Damascus under the same sultan.
The Artuqids rulers used the titles of Malik and emir, as did the Zengid rulers which added the title atabeg. The Ayyubid monarchs used the titles of sultan and malik.
The dates for Yamhad and the Hittite Dynasties are proximate and calculated by the Middle chronology.
Yamhad was the name of the Amorite kingdom centered at Ḥalab (modern day Aleppo),[4] its dynasty ruled for more than two centuries, Aleppo became a major power and dominated Northern Syria with the monarch holding the title of Great King.[5][6]
During these centuries, Aleppo had to deal with the rising power of both the Mitanni (Hurrian), and the Hittite kingdoms.
The Hurrians's influence seems clear already during the reign of Abba-El I (Abban) (1750-1720 BC); he recalls the help given to him by the Hurrian Goddess Hebat.[7]
Then Aleppo and its allies were attacked by the Hittite king Hattusili I starting c. 1650 BC (Middle chronology). After many campaigns, Hattusili I finally attacked Aleppo directly during the reign of Hammurabi III. The attack ended in a defeat, the wounding of the Hittite king and his later death c. 1620 BC.[8]
Yet later Aleppo was conquered by Hattusili's son Mursili I, who captured Hammurabi III.
The native dynasty regained Halab after the assassination of Mursili but the "Yamhad" name fell out of use.[9]
Under Hattusili’s successor, Mursili I, the Hittites conquered much of Syria, including Halab, and invaded Mesopotamia where they sacked Babylon. These incursions probably weakened the kingdom of Yamhad considerably but did not lead to full Hittite control of the region. Instead, Hittite advances into northern Syria were countered by the Hurrian kingdom of Mittani to the east, as well as by the Egyptians to the south. During the period between the writing of the Alalakh Level VII [1780-1680 BC] and Level IV texts, Halab seems to have become subservient to Mittani while still exerting control over the Amuq region.
Parshatatar (Baratarna) of Mitanni (1510-1490 BC) conquered Aleppo and surrounding areas, and the city became part of that kingdom.
Information about this period is found in the biography of Idrimi of Alalakh, who also became the ruler of Aleppo.[11] Idrimi became a vassal of Barattarna. At that time, this was known as the kingdom of Mukish.[12]
The city was conquered by Suppiluliuma I of the Hittites in the 14th century BC. Suppiluliuma installed his son Telipinus as king of Aleppo. Not all the kings of this dynasty are known. The Hittite dynasty remained in power until the Late Bronze Age collapse.[13][14][15]
The Hamdanids were an Arab dynasty, established in 945 by Sayf al-Dawla, third of the dynasty.[31] They ruled most of Syria under the titular authority of the Abbasid Caliph with Aleppo as their capital, displacing the Ikhshids.[32][33]
Qarghuyah, the chamberlain of Sayf al-Dawla, ousted Sa'd al-Dawla and assumed control over the city. Sa'd al-Dawla was able to regain Aleppo in 977.[33][34]
Lu'lu' al-Kabir was a slave and then chamberlain of Sa'd al-Dawla. He married his daughter to Sa'id al-Dawla, and after the latter's death, he assumed direct power over Aleppo. At first, he served as guardians to Sa'id al-Dawla's sons Abu'l-Hasan Ali and Abu'l-Ma'ali Sharif. In 1004, he had them exiled to Egypt and assumed full control of the city.[35]
In 1016, a rebellion broke out in the city and Fath al-Qal'i, custodian of the Citadel of Aleppo, opened the doors for the rebels causing Mansur to flee. Fath al-Qal'i accepted the authority of the FatimidCaliph and, after a brief rule, ceded Aleppo to the caliph in return for the treasury and the rule of Tyre.[36]
Al-Hakim appointed Aziz al-Dawla as the first Fatimid governor of Aleppo, but in 1020, Aziz declared his independence, and ruled for two years before being assassinated by a Fatimid agent.[36]
The Mirdasids conquered Aleppo in 1024 and kept their autonomy through political maneuvers, allying themselves with the Byzantines at times and the Fatimid at others.[36]
After the death of Salih, his sons Nasr and Thimal ruled together. In 1030, Nasr deposed Thimal and ruled solely until killed by Anushtakin al-Dizbari, the Fatimid governor of Damascus. Thimal regained Aleppo briefly in 1038 when the Fatimid army retook the city, returning it to Fatimid rule.[36]
Non-dynastic
In December 1041 Anushtakin al-Dizbari fell out of favor with Cairo and declared his independence in Aleppo. He died of illness in 1042 and Thimal returned to power.[36]
In 1057, fearing family intrigues, Thimal handed over Aleppo to the Fatimids in return for Acre, Byblos and Beirut, thus returning Aleppo to direct Fatimid control.[36]
About three weeks later on 30 August 1060 Asad al-Dawla 'Atiyya son of Salih the founder of the dynasty occupied Aleppo for a day and a half then fled as Mu'izz al-Dawla Mahmud advanced on the city after defeating the Fatimid army.[36]
The pressure of Tutush I led the people of Aleppo along with the Mirdasid Emir to offer the city keys to Sharaf al-Dawla Muslim the ruler of Mosul, the Mirdasid family members were compensated by various towns in Syria.[37]
Hassan ibn Hibat Allah Al-Hutayti promised to surrender the city to Tutush but then refused and wrote to Sultan Malik-Shah I offering to surrender the city to him, Tutush attacked and occupied the city except for the citadel in May 1086, he stayed until October and left for Damascus due to the advance of Malik-Shah armies, the Sultan himself arrived in December 1086.[36]
After the death of Malik-Shah I, his governor Aq Sunqur al-Hajib enjoyed much autonomy. He pledged allegiance to Malik-Shah's son Mahmud I, and then to Tutush only to switch back to Mahmud's brother Barkiyaruq. In 1094, Tutush defeated and beheaded Aq Sunqur thus assuming full control over Aleppo.[36]
Sultan Shah was only six when he came to the throne, the threats of the Crusader Count Joscelin led Sultan Shah Guardian Ibn al-Khashshab to offer the city to Ilghazi of Mardin who came to Aleppo thus starting the Artuqid dynasty in Aleppo.[36]
Timurtash was occupied with taking over the cities of his recently deceased brother Suleiman I (who usurped the emir of Aleppo briefly in 1120), the crusaders attacked Aleppo but Timurtash refused to come back, this led the people of Aleppo to seek the help of Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi the Seljuq atabeg of Mosul, Aqsunqur broke the crusader siege adding Aleppo to the domains of Seljuq sultan Mahmud II.[36]
In 1127 The city rebelled against the Seljuq governor Khatlagh Abah and restored Suleiman II.
Imad ad-Din Zengi, the new atabeg of Mosul, sent his army to end the troubles. He ruled in the name of Seljuq Sultan Mahmud II whose death had led to civil war. Zengi didn't declare his independence and stood by Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud. the Seljuq Sultan of Iraq, ruling in his name. However, the sultan decided to eliminate Zengi and called upon him to show in his presence. Zengi was warned and declined to show thus establishing his independence.[36]
Zengi reconciled with the sultan and recognized his authority, but in practice he was independent in all but name.[36]
When Nur ad-Din inherited Aleppo after father's murder, he took the title of King (Malik) and used the title of Emir.[38] Formally, the Zengids were subordinate to the Seljuq Sultans of Iraq, firstly Mas'ud then Malik-Shah III followed by Muhammad II. Nur al-Din retained the title of atabeg although he was completely independent as the Seljuq empire disintegrated after 1156,[39] and the sultans had to fight in Iraq to keep whats left of their authority. Muhammad II was the last Sultan to hold any real authority, and he attacked Baghdad aided by Nur al-Din's brother Qutb ad-Din Mawdud. Muhammad II death in 1159 and the fact that his successor Suleiman-Shah was a captive of Mawdud ended any real authority of the Seljuq Sultans,[40] Nur al-Din Held the Khutbah in the name of the Abbasid Caliph,[41] an enemy of the Seljuqs thus cutting any links with them.
The death of Nur al-Din caused chaos as al-Salih Ismail al-Malik, his son and successor was only eleven. The Zengid governors fought for power, each one of them trying to be the atabeg of al-Salih. One of them, Gümüshtekin, became the guardian of the young king and tried to eliminate the others causing the governor of Damascus to ask Saladin, the Zengid governor of Egypt, for help. Saladin, formally a subordinate to Al-Salih but practically independent, marched on Syria entering Damascus in November 1174. He besieged Aleppo, causing Al-Salih's cousin Ghazi II the Emir of Mosul to send his army which Saladin defeated at the battle of Tell al-Sultan, Saladin was proclaimed King of Egypt and Syria, the Caliph al-Mustadi conferred the Title of Sultan upon him.[42]
Saladin met al-Salih and concluded a peace with the 13-year old king in 1176 leaving him to rule Aleppo independently for life while he (Saladin) ruled the rest of Syria.[36]
After the death of al-Salih, Saladin expelled al-Salih's relative Zengi II and entered Aleppo on 20 June 1183 thus ending the Zengid Dynasty.
The Mamluk Sultan Qutuz defeated the Mongols at Ain Jalut on 3 September 1260,[44] the whole of Syria became part of the Mamluk Sultanate, Aleppo was the capital of its own province ruled by a Na'ib (Naib), some of these governors revolted and declared their independence in Aleppo like Shams al-Din Aqosh al-Borli who installed al-Hakim I as Abbasid Caliph in order to legitimize his reign while the Sultan Baibars I installed al-Mustansir II,[45] other governors revolted with the aim of ruling the whole sultanate such as Yalbogha al-Nasiri who had Sultan Barquq dethroned in 1389.[46]
Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, he spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant. At the height of his power, the Ayyubid realm spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, and Nubia.
The Zengid or Zangid dynasty, also referred to as the Atabegate of Mosul, Aleppo and Damascus, or the Zengid State was initially an Atabegate of the Seljuk Empire created in 1127. It formed a Turkoman dynasty of Sunni Muslim faith, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia, and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas. Imad ad-Din Zengi was the first ruler of the dynasty.
Imad al-Din Zengi, also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkoman atabeg of the Seljuk Empire, who ruled Mosul, Aleppo, Hama, and, later, Edessa. He was the namesake and founder of the Zengid dynasty of atabegs.
Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd Zengī, commonly known as Nur ad-Din, was a Turkoman member of the Zengid dynasty, who ruled the Syrian province of the Seljuk Empire. He reigned from 1146 to 1174. He is regarded as an important figure of the Second Crusade.
Abu Sa'id Taj al-Dawla Tutush or Tutush I, was the Seljuk emir of Damascus from 1078 to 1092, and sultan of Damascus from 1092 to 1094.
Abu Said Aq Sunqur al-Hajib was the Seljuk governor of Aleppo under Sultan Malik Shah I. He was beheaded in 1094 following accusations of treason by Tutush I, the ruler of Damascus.
Ridwan was a Seljuk emir of Aleppo from 1095 until his death.
The Artuqid dynasty was established in 1102 as an Anatolian Beylik (Principality) of the Seljuk Empire. It formed a Turkoman dynasty rooted in the Oghuz Döğer tribe, and followed the Sunni Muslim faith. It ruled in eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The Artuqid dynasty took its name from its founder, Artuk Bey, who was of the Döger branch of the Oghuz Turks and ruled one of the Turkmen beyliks of the Seljuk Empire. Artuk's sons and descendants ruled the three branches in the region: Sökmen's descendants ruled the region around Hasankeyf between 1102 and 1231; Ilghazi's branch ruled from Mardin and Mayyafariqin between 1106 and 1186 and Aleppo from 1117–1128; and the Harput line starting in 1112 under the Sökmen branch, and was independent between 1185 and 1233.
The Uqaylid dynasty was a Shia Arab dynasty with several lines that ruled in various parts of Al-Jazira, northern Syria and Iraq in the late tenth and eleventh centuries. The main line, centered in Mosul, ruled from 990 to 1096.
Qutb al-Din Mawdud was the Zengid Emir of Mosul from 1149 to 1169. He was the son of Imad al-Din Zengi and brother and successor of Sayf al-Din Ghazi I.
Abu Kamil Nasr ibn Salih ibn Mirdas, also known by his laqab of Shibl al-Dawla, was the second Mirdasid emir of Aleppo, ruling between May 1029 until his death. He was the eldest son of Salih ibn Mirdas, founder of the Mirdasid dynasty. Nasr fought alongside his father in the Battle of al-Uqhuwana near Tiberias in 1029, where Salih was killed by a Fatimid army led by Anushtakin al-Dizbari. Afterward, Nasr ruled the emirate jointly with his brother Thimal. The young emirs soon after faced a large-scale Byzantine offensive led by Emperor Romanos III. Commanding a much smaller force of Bedouin horsemen, Nasr routed the Byzantines at the Battle of Azaz in 1030.
The Mirdasid dynasty, also called the Banu Mirdas, was an Arab Shia Muslim dynasty which ruled an Aleppo-based emirate in northern Syria and the western Jazira more or less continuously from 1024 until 1080.
Izz al-Din Mas'ud (I) ibn Mawdud was a Zengid emir of Mosul.
Shams ad-Din Turanshah ibn Ayyub al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Shams ad-Dawla Fakhr ad-Din known simply as Turanshah was the Ayyubid emir (prince) of Yemen (1174–1176), Damascus (1176–1179), Baalbek (1178–1179) and finally Alexandria where he died in 1180. He is noted for strengthening the position of his younger brother, Sultan Saladin, in Egypt and playing the leading role in the Ayyubid conquests of both Nubia and Yemen.
Kafartab was a town and fortress in northwestern Syria that existed during the medieval period between the fortress cities of Maarat al-Numan in the north and Shaizar to the south. It was situated along the southeastern slopes of Jabal al-Zawiya. According to French geographer Robert Boulanger, writing in the early 1940s, Kafartab was "an abandoned ancient site" located 2.5 mi (4.0 km) northwest of Khan Shaykhun.
Abu Salama Mahmud ibn Nasr ibn Salih Arabic: محمود بن نصر بن صالح المرداسي, romanized: Abū Salama Maḥmūd ibn Naṣr ibn Ṣāliḥ, also known by his laqabRashid al-Dawla, was the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo from 1060 to 1061 and again from 1065 until his death. He was the son of Shibl al-Dawla Nasr and the Numayrid princess, Mani'a al-Sayyida al-Alawiyya.
Al-Rahba, also known as Qal'at al-Rahba, which translates as the "Citadel of al-Rahba", is a medieval Arab fortress on the west bank of the Euphrates River, adjacent to the city of Mayadin in Syria. Situated atop a mound with an elevation of 244 meters (801 ft), al-Rahba oversees the Syrian Desert steppe. It has been described as "a fortress within a fortress"; it consists of an inner keep measuring 60 by 30 meters, protected by an enclosure measuring 270 by 95 meters. Al-Rahba is largely in ruins today as a result of wind erosion.
The Numayrids were an Arab dynasty based in Diyar Mudar. They were emirs (princes) of their namesake tribe, the Banu Numayr. The senior branch of the dynasty, founded by Waththab ibn Sabiq in 990, ruled the Euphrates cities of Harran, Saruj and Raqqa more or less continuously until the late 11th century. In the early part of Waththab's reign, the Numayrids also controlled Edessa until the Byzantines conquered it in the early 1030s. In 1062, the Numayrids lost Raqqa to their distant kinsmen and erstwhile allies, the Mirdasids, while by 1081, their capital Harran and nearby Saruj were conquered by the Turkish Seljuks and their Arab Uqaylid allies. Numayrid emirs continued to hold isolated fortresses in Upper Mesopotamia, such as Qal'at an-Najm and Sinn Ibn Utayr near Samosata until the early 12th century, but nothing is heard of them after 1120.
The Banu Munqidh, also referred to as the Munqidhites, were an Arab family that ruled an emirate in the Orontes Valley in northern Syria from the mid-11th century until the family's demise in an earthquake in 1157. The emirate was initially based in Kafartab before the Banu Munqidh took over the fortress of Shayzar in 1081 and made it their headquarters for the remainder of their rule. The capture of Shayzar was the culmination of a long, drawn-out process beginning with the Banu Munqidh's nominal assignment to the land by the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo in 1025, and accelerating with the weakened grip of Byzantine rule in northern Syria in the 1070s.
References
Bryce, Trevor (2014). Ancient Syria: A Three Thousand Year History. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-100292-2.
Citations
↑ Pettinato, Giovanni (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991) Ebla, a new look at history p.135
↑ According to Stephen Humphreys, From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260 (State University of New York Press, 1977), p. 229, the council consisted of the emirs Shams al-Dīn Luʾluʾ al-Amīnī and ʿIzz al-Dīn ʿUmar ibn Mujallī, the vizierIbn al-Qifṭī and Dayfa Khatun's representative, Jamāl al-Dawla Iqbāl al-Khātūnī.
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