As-Salih Ismail al-Malik

For other people with similar names, see As-Salih Ismail.

As-Salih Ismail al-Malik
Emir
Coinage of Al-Salih Isma`il, Halab, dated 571 H (1175-1176 CE)
Emir of Aleppo and Damascus of Zengid
Reign	1174 (few months)
Predecessor	Nur ad-Din
Successor	Salah ad-Din (as Ayyubid sultan)
Born	1163 (1163)
Died	1181 (aged 17–18)
Arabic	الصالح إسماعيل
House	Zengid
Father	Nur ad-Din
Religion	Sunni Islam

Abu al-Fath Ismail bin Nur al-Din Mahmud bin Imad al-Din bin Aq Sunqur al-Zangi (Arabic: أبو الفتوح إسماعيل بن نور الدين محمود بن عماد الدين بن آق سنقر الزنكي) commonly known as As-Salih Ismaʿil al-Malik (Arabic: الصالح إسماعيل) (Full name: (1163–1181) was the Zengid emir of Damascus and emir of Aleppo in 1174, the son of Nur ad-Din.

Biography

He was only eleven years old when his father died in 1174. As-Salih came under the protection of the eunuch Gümüshtekin and was taken to Aleppo, while Nur ad-Din's officers competed for supremacy. In Egypt, Saladin recognized as-Salih as his lord, although he in fact was eager to unite Egypt and Syria under his own personal rule. In 1174, Saladin took Baalbek after a four-month siege and then entered Damascus, proclaiming himself to be Ismail's true regent. In 1176, Saladin defeated the Zengids outside the city, married Ismat ad-Din Khatun, and was recognized as ruler of Syria. As-Salih died in 1181 of illness. Following his death, Saladin took control of Aleppo and added it to his rule under the expanding Ayyubid Sultanate. According to crusader legend, his mother was the sister of Bertrand of Toulouse, Razi Khatun, who had been captured by Nur ad-Din in the aftermath of the Second Crusade; a similar legend existed concerning the mother of Zengi, as-Salih's grandfather.

Bibliography

• "Baalbek", Encyclopaedia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography, and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples, 1st ed., Vol. I, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1913, pp. 543–544, ISBN 9004082654.