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Imad ad-Din Zengi

Type Figure Region Mesopotamia Time 1085–1146 Also known as Imad ad-Din Zengi、Zengi、赞吉

Founder of the Zengid dynasty, atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo, who recaptured Edessa (1144), shattered the eastern flank of the Crusader states, and laid…

Timeline

  1. c. 1110–1127Mosul · MosulZengi, of Turkic military nobility, accumulated military merit and political capital in northern Iraq, gradually gaining control of fortresses and tax revenues around Mosul, laying the foundation for his later role as atabeg.
  2. 1127–1144Aleppo · AleppoAppointed atabeg of Mosul in 1127, he later annexed Aleppo, forming a power spanning Mesopotamia and northern Syria. He promoted the call to jihad, suppressed local separatism, and faced the Crusader states in long confrontation.
  3. 1144Edessa · EdessaIn 1144 he besieged and captured the capital of the County of Edessa, ending the first major Crusader state in the East, shocking Europe and directly triggering the Second Crusade. This act is regarded as an important Islamic counterstroke against Crusader expansion.
  4. 1145–1146Jabal Ruha · SyriaFrom 1145 to 1146 he continued to consolidate northern Syria, preparing for a Crusader counterattack. In 1146 he was assassinated by a bodyguard at the fortress of Jabal Ruha; his sons divided the territories, with his eldest son Nur al-Din taking Aleppo.

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