Atsiz ibn Uwaq
Atsiz ibn Uwaq al-Khwarizmi, also known as al-Aqsis, Atsiz ibn Uvaq, Atsiz ibn Oq and Atsiz ibn Abaq (died October 1079), was a Turkoman mercenary commander who established a principality in Palestine and southern Syria after seizing these from the Fatimid Caliphate in 1071.
Biography
Around 1069,
Atsiz, commander of the Turcoman Nawaki tribe[2] or group also known as Nawakiyya, arrived in Syria after that and seems to have fought for some time with the Fatimids against the Bedouins. In 1070, with the civil war in the Caliphate still raging, disputes about the financial compensation seem to have led some Turkoman to side with the Bedouin and seek to establish their own principality.[1] The beginnings of the new principality are uncertain, but in 1073, Atsiz was in control of Jerusalem as well as Ramla, the provincial capital of the region. He captured Damascus in 1076, becoming the first Turkoman emir of Damascus, where he began construction of the Citadel of Damascus.
Having established his position in Palestine, Atsiz attempted to invade Egypt in October 1076. Here he had to face Al-Jamali, who in 1074 had become vezir to the caliph Al-Mustansir and stopped the bloody infights between the Caliphate's military.[1] Atsiz advanced to Cairo where he started negotiations with Al-Jamali who, in the meantime, gathered his troops. Al-Jamali also bribed some of Atsiz' troops and in a battle in February 1077 he was so successful that Atsiz had to flee while one of his brothers was dead and another one had lost one of his arms.[3]
Atsiz's defeat led to rebellions in his domain, such as in Jerusalem, which he crushed brutally.
Legacy
Atsiz's principality represents one of the many Turkmen state foundations on the periphery of the Seljuk empire, such as the emirates of Rum, of Izmir or of the Danishmendids that sprung up during the same period. Atsiz by his conquest of Jerusalem from the weakened Fatimids, along with the 1071 Byzantine defeat against the Seljuk Turks at Manzikert, is quoted as a major cause for the Crusades, as these events created a sense of threat to the Christian holy places, Europe and Christianity as a whole.[7][8]
References
- ^ ISBN 9781412848879. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9780521599849. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- S2CID 170839031. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-472-03120-7. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ Gil (1997), p. 412
- ISBN 9780700715763. Retrieved 29 July 2020.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 9780748698073. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ISBN 9781838598921. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
Bibliography
- Başan, Aziz (2010). The Great Seljuqs: A History. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 85, 88–89. ISBN 978-0-203-84923-1.
- Burns, Ross (2005). Damascus: A History. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 144. ISBN 0-415-27105-3.
- ISBN 90-04-08114-3.
- Greenstone, Julius H. (January 1906). "The Turkoman Defeat at Cairo, by Solomon ben Joseph Ha-Kohen". The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures. 22 (2): 144–175. S2CID 170839031.
- ISBN 0-521-42068-7.
- Richards, D. S. (Trans.) (2002). The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh of 'Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 172, 190, 192–193, 197–198. ISBN 0-700-71576-2.
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