az-Zahir Ghazi

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Coin az-Zahir Ghazis from the year 1204, on which the Abbasid caliph (al-Imam) an-Nasir Ahmad and the Ayyubid chief al-Malik al-Adil Abu Bakr are named (the Shahada is written around the star )

Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghazi ibn Salah ad-Din ( Arabic الملك الظاهر غازي بن صلاح الدين, DMG al-Malik aẓ-Ẓāhir Ġāzī b. Salāḥ ad-Dīn ; * 1172 ; † October 8, 1216 ) from the Ayyubid dynasty was the governor from 1186 and later, from 1193 to 1216, the independent ruler of Aleppo . He was the third son of Saladin .

In 1186, at the age of 15, az-Zahir was appointed governor of Aleppo and the surrounding areas by his father Saladin. This area was not taken from the Zengids until 1183 . At the same time his two brothers were installed as governors in Damascus ( al-Afdal ) and Cairo ( al-Aziz ). Saladin's brother al-Adil , who was az-Zahir's predecessor as governor of Aleppo, was installed in Upper Mesopotamia .

After the death of his father in 1193, az-Zahir had to swear allegiance to his eldest brother al-Afdal in Damascus as the younger brother. But he refused and pursued an independent policy. In the same year he was involved in an uprising by the Zengid Izz ad-Din Mas'ud I from Mosul , which az-Zahir and his uncle al-Adil quickly put down.

In 1194 al-Afdal had to cede the cities of Latakia and Jabla to his brother az-Zahir and cede Judea to al-Aziz. In 1196 al-Afdal was overthrown by al-Adil and sent into exile. In October 1197 the Crusaders threatened to take the ports of the cities of Latakia and Jabla. Shortly before the crusade of Henry VI. Beirut taken for King Amalrich II of Jerusalem . Az-Zahir then had the ports of the cities destroyed. As Bohemond III. Conquered by Antioch Latakia, the city was no longer of any advantage to him and he withdrew. Az-Zahir then returned to Latakia and had the fortress rebuilt.

During his reign in Aleppo he retained many of his father's counselors. He appointed Baha ad-Din ibn Schaddad the Qadi of Aleppo and brought the unorthodox mystics Shahab al-Din Yahya Suhrawardi to his court, but was then by the orthodox Ulama forced to incarcerate Suhrawardi 1,191th

When al-Aziz died in Egypt in 1198, his twelve-year-old son Malik al-Mansur succeeded him to the throne. However, for fear of al-Adil's intervention, the ministers of the late ruler brought the exiled al-Afdal back and let him rule on behalf of his nephew. In early 1199, the brothers az-Zahir and al-Afdal and several other Ayyubid princes allied against their uncle al-Adil, who had just moved to the north against the Artuqids . Together they besieged Damascus. But as the siege dragged on for months, az-Zahir and others lost interest and withdrew their troops. Al-Adil retaliated and usurped Egypt and most of az-Zahir's territory. Az-Zahir was left with only Aleppo and the surrounding area and he had to bow to the suzerainty of his uncle. In his final years az-Zahir had several skirmishes with the Crusaders and supported other Ayyubid princes with his troops. In 1206 he was defeated by King Leo I of Lesser Armenia in the Battle of Amq , from which he could not draw any lasting advantage. In 1207 crusaders attacked and besieged the city of Homs . The Ayyubid emir of Homs named Mujadid Shirkuh II called on az-Zahir and together they broke the siege.

When az-Zahir died in 1216, he left at least two sons, both of whom were minors. The younger, al-Aziz Muhammad (* 1213; † 1236), he had appointed as his successor shortly before his death. While he was a minor, the eunuch Toghril reigned for him. Toghril enfeoffed the older son, as-Salih Salah ad-Din Ahmad (* 1203), with the castles of Soghr and Becas in 1222.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Charles Cawley: "Rulers of Aleppo, Damascus, Hamah, Homs, Khelat (Ayubids)" Medieval Lands Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (2007)
  2. ↑ See Runciman, p. 854
  3. ^ Francesco Gabrieli : Arab Historians of the Crusades , Routledge & Kegan Paul Verlag 1984, ISBN 978-0-710-20235-2
  4. ^ "Islamic Personalities: Muslim Scientists and Thinkers: Shihabuddin Yahya Suhrawardi" Tebyan Institute
predecessor Office successor
Saladin Emir of Aleppo
1193-1216 		al-Aziz Muhammad
personal data
SURNAME Az-Zahir Ghazi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES al-Malik az-Zahir Ghazi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ayyubid governor and ruler of Aleppo
DATE OF BIRTH 1172
DATE OF DEATH October 8, 1216