Nur ad-Din

Born into the Zengid Dynasty, Al-Malik al-Adil Abu al-Qasim Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd bin Imad al-Dīn Zengī, known as Nur ad-Din, became Emir of Aleppo in 1146 when he was 28 years old.

He set out to eliminate the Frankish kingdoms that had been created by Crusaders. He attacked Antioch and rebuffed attempts to recover the County of Edessa, which had fallen to the Zengid Dynasty in 1144. An attempt to recapture Edessa by the Franks led to Nur ad-Din executing the male population of Armenian Christians and enslaving the women and children.

(The illustrations shows the dark orange Zengid territory when Nur ad-Din became Emir. The lighter orange shows how the territory expanded by 1174 when Nur ad-Din died.)

The Second Crusade in 1148 was an attempt to recover Edessa. They were unable to do so, and looked for another suitable goal. Aleppo was too far, so attacking Nur ad-Din directly was not feasible. They considered Damascus, but a siege there lasted only four days before the Crusade gave up.

After the departure of the Crusade, Nur ad-Din prepared another attack on Antioch. This led to the Battle of Inab in 1149, during which Prince Raymond of Antioch was killed, along with the husband (at the time) of Agnes of Courtenay, and many Franks. He conquered so much of the territory around Antioch that he was content to leave the city itself alone. (Antioch soon after became part of the Byzantine Empire, which Nur ad-Din was not prepared to go against.) He was able to march all the way to the Mediterranean, a symbolic goal.

In 1163, the new King of Jerusalem, Amalric I, began an offensive against Egypt. Egypt at the time was weakened by a series of very young Fatimid caliphs who were undermined and overruled by their viziers and other powerful nobles. Amalric failed, but it motivated Nur ad-Din to attack the Crusaders in Syria to draw their attention and forces away from Egypt.

What followed was a dance of shifting alliances between Turks and Franks. I'll explain soon.