NURUDEEN MAHMUD AL-ZENGHI

THE BEGINNING

Nur al-Din Mahmud Zengi, often spelled as Nuruddin Zangi, was from the Oghuz Turkic Zengid dynasty. His father, Imaduddin Zenghi was the ruler of the Zenghid dynasty which was based mainly in Syria and Iraq. After his death, his sons,Nur ad-Din and Saif ad-Din divided the kingdom among themselves — the former stationed himself at Aleppo whereas the latter chose to be in Mosul. This was in stark contrast to what many Muslim sultanates, emirates and kingdoms would often see — there was no war of succession or mutual rivalry between the brothers.

NURUDEEN AS A SULTAN

As soon as Nur ad-Din came to power, his primary motive was to ensure no further lands are lost or cities are destroyed at the hands of the Crusaders. He made multiple attempts to reach out to other Muslim states of the region, seeking alliances against the Crusading invaders but they was prevailing lack of trust among most rulers the.By the time the Second Crusade led by Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France got to Asia minor,Nur ad-Din successes had ensured that there was very little they could do to reclaim lost territories.

The Crusaders attempted a failed siege of Damascus, following which Nur ad-Din Zengi decided to push further towards the West.Things came to a face-off in the Battle of Inab, when Nur ad-Din Zengi destroyed the combined forces of Prince Raymond of Poitiers and the Nizari Assassins of Ali ibn-Wafa. Following the Battle, Nur ad-Din marched all the way to the coast, symbolically bathing in the Mediterranean Sea, to assert his dominance of Syria.

The crusaders found out that they could do little in the area controlled by Nurudeen, they then turned their attention towards Egypt which was then under the Fatimid caliphate. Fatimids, being weak and leaderless, were no match when the Crusaders led by King Amalric I of Jerusalem attacked. Egypt fell quickly, and the Fatimid Grand vizier,Shawar approached Nur ad-Din Zengi for assistance. Nur ad-Din was unsure about sending his troops to Egypt and leaving Damascus defenceless, but was persuaded otherwise by his general Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, the uncle of Saladin Ayyubi.

The crusaders were routed by the Zenghid forces but were later betrayed by the same Grand vizier who allied with the Crusaders. He became a mere puppet of the Crusaders and later on, the Grand vizier’s son sought for nurudeen’s help again and this time, Shirkuh, took over Egypt completely and became the Grand vizier of Egypt. He was eventually succeeded by Salahudeen Al Ayyubi.

NURUDEEN AS AN INDIVIDUAL

Nur ad-Din Zengi died in 1174 CE at the age of 56. While he had seen Egypt and Syria accept his authority, it was only when Sultan Salaudeen effectively brought the lands under one crown in 1185 that Nur ad-Din Zengi’s dream was fully realized.

Nur ad-Din was an epitome of religious tolerance. When Baldwin III, the king of Jerusalem died, it was expected that the Zengids would lead an attack on Jerusalem, taking advantage of the weakened situation. However, Nur ad-Din Zengi decided otherwise, claiming:

‘We should sympathize with their grief and in pity spare them, because they have lost a prince such as the rest of the world does not possess today’.

After Nurudeen’s death, the crusaders were nota s kind as that because Amalric I of Jerusalem immediately launched an offensive, and extorted vast amounts of money from Nur ad-Din’s widow.Nur ad-Din constructed over twenty Madrassahs from his personal funds. He held a Diploma in Hadith Narration, and scholars such as Sir Steven Runciman have described him as a ruler who prioritized justice over everything else.

With that said, Nur ad-Din Zengi was a great figure and a person of exemplary courage, modesty and piety. May Allah be pleased with him!