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. 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.