Artuqid State Artuklu Beyliği | |||||||||||
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1102–1409 | |||||||||||
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Capital | Hasankeyf,Diyarbakır,Harput,Mardin, in chronological order | ||||||||||
Common languages | Turkish,Arabic,Syriac | ||||||||||
Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||
Government | Beylik | ||||||||||
Bey | |||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
• Establishment | 1102 | ||||||||||
• Takeover byZengid Dynasty (Aleppo) | 1127 | ||||||||||
• Vassal of theAyyubid Sultanate (Hasenkeyf) | 1232 | ||||||||||
• Takeover bySultanate of Rum (Harput) | 1234 | ||||||||||
• Annexation byKara Koyunlu (Mardin) | 1409 | ||||||||||
Currency | dinar | ||||||||||
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Today part of | Syria Turkey |
TheArtuqid dynasty (alternativelyArtukid,Ortoqid, orOrtokid;Turkish:Artuklu Beyliği, Artuklular,pl.Artukoğulları;Turkmen:Artykly begligi, Artykogullary;Azerbaijani:Artuklu bəyliyi, Artıqlılar) was established in 1102 as anAnatolian Beylik (Principality) of theSeljuk Empire. It formed aTurkoman dynasty rooted in theOghuzDöğer tribe, and followed theSunni Muslim faith.[1][2][3] It ruled in easternAnatolia, NorthernSyria and NorthernIraq in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The Artuqid dynasty took its name from its founder,Artuk Bey, who was of the Döger branch of theOghuz Turks and ruled one of the Turkmenbeyliks of theSeljuk Empire. Artuk's sons and descendants ruled the three branches in the region:Sökmen's descendants ruled the region aroundHasankeyf between 1102 and 1231;Ilghazi's branch ruled fromMardin andMayyafariqin between 1106 and 1186 (until 1409 as vassals) andAleppo from 1117–1128; and theHarput line starting in 1112 under the Sökmen branch, and was independent between 1185 and 1233.
The dynasty was founded byArtuk, son of Eksük, a general originally underMalik-Shah I and then under theSeljuk emir of Damascus,Tutush I. Tutush appointed Artuk governor ofJerusalem in 1086. Artuk died in 1091, and was succeeded by his sonsSökmen andIlghazi who were expelled from Jerusalem by theFatimid vizieral-Afdal Shahanshah in 1098; the Fatimids lost the city to theCrusaders the following year after thesiege of Jerusalem of 1099.[4]
Sökmen and Ilghazi established themselves inDiyarbakır,Mardin, andHasankeyf inal-Jazira where they came into conflict with theSeljuk sultanate. Sökmen,bey of Mardin, defeated the Crusaders at theBattle of Harran in 1104. Ilghazi succeeded Sökmen in Mardin and imposed his control overAleppo at the request of theqadiIbn al-Khashshab in 1118. The next year,Ilghazi defeated the Crusader statePrincipality of Antioch at theBattle of Ager Sanguinis of 1119.[4]
After pillaging theCounty of Edessa, Ilghazi made peace with the Crusaders. In 1121, he went north towardsArmenia with his son-in-lawMazyad Dubais II ibn Sadaqah and Sultan Malik ofGanja. Ilghazi invaded Georgia and was defeated byDavid IV of Georgia at theBattle of Didgori of 1121. Ilghazi died in 1122, and although his nephewBelek Ghazi nominally controlled Aleppo, the city was really controlled by ibn al-Khashshab. Ibn al-Kashshab was murdered byAssassins in 1125, and Aleppo fell under the control ofZengi,atabeg of Mosul, in 1128. After the death of Belek Ghazi, the Artuqids were split between Harput, Hasankeyf and Mardin. Sokman's sonRukn al-Dawla Dāʾūd, bey of Hasankeyf, died in 1144, and was succeeded by his sonKara Aslan. Kara Aslan allied withJoscelin II of Edessa against theZengids, and while Joscelin was away in 1144, Zengi recapturedEdessa, the first of theCrusader states to fall (seeSiege of Edessa). The Artuqids became vassals of the Zengids during the reign ofNur al-Din Zengi (r. 1146–1174).[9]
Kara Aslan's sonNūr al-Dīn Muḥammad allied with theAyyubid sultanSaladin againstKilij Arslan II,Seljuk sultan of Rûm, whose daughter had married Nur ad-Din Muhammad. In the peace settlement with Kilij Arslan II, Saladin gained control of the Artuqid territory, even though the Artuqids were still technically vassals ofMosul, which Saladin did not control.[9] The Seljuk Empire completely disintegrated soon after that in 1194.[4]
The Artuqid dynasty remained in nominal command of al-Jazira, but their power declined underAyyubid rule. TheHasankeyf branch conqueredDiyarbakır in 1198 and its center was moved here, but was demolished by the Ayyubids in 1231 when it attempted to form an alliance with theSeljuks. The Harput branch was destroyed by theSultanate of Rum due to following a slippery policy between theAyyubids andSeljuks. The Mardin branch survived for longer, but as a vassal of theAyyubids,Sultanate of Rûm,Il-Khanate,Timurids and theQara Qoyunlu.[9]Qara Arslan (r.1260–1292), ruler of Mardin, submitted to the MongolHulegu.[9]Qara Qoyunlu rulerQara Mahammad invadedMardin in 1384 and received the submission of its Artuqid ruler Majd al-Din Isa Al-Zahir (1376-1407). From this point onwards, the Artuqids operated as a vassal state of the Qara Qoyunlu. TheKara Koyunlu captured Mardin and finally put an end to Artuqid rule in 1409.[4]
Despite their constant preoccupation with war, members of the Artuqid dynasty left many architectural monuments. Artuqid rulers commissioned many public buildings, such as mosques, bazaars, bridges, hospitals and baths for the benefit of their subjects. They left an important cultural heritage by contributing to literature and the art of metalworking.The door and door handles of the great Mosque of Cizre are unique examples of Artuqid metal working craftsmanship, which can be seen in theTurkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.
They made the most significant additions toDiyarbakır City Walls. Urfa Gate was rebuilt by Muhammad, son of Kara Arslan. In the same area of the western wall, south of Urfa Gate, two imposing towers,Ulu Beden andYedi Kardeş were commissioned in 1208 by the Artuqid ruler Nāṣir al-Dīn Maḥmūd who designed the Yedi Kardeş tower himself and apposed the Artuqid double-headed eagle on its walls.
A largecaravanserai in Mardin as well as thecivil engineering feat ofMalabadi Bridge are still in regular use in our day. The partially standingOld Bridge, Hasankeyf, was built in 1116 by Kara Arslan.
The Great Mosques ofMardin andSilvan were possibly but in any case considerably developed over the 12th century by several Artuqid rulers on the basis of existing Seljuk edifices. The congregational mosque of Dunaysir (nowKızıltepe) was commissioned by Yülük Arslan (1184–1203) and completed after his death in 1204 by his brother Artuk Arslan (1203–1239).
The Artuqids are known for their sponsoring of literary works in Arabic.[13] A copy ofal-Sufi's book on astronomyThe Book of Fixed Stars, a synthesis ofPtolemy'sAlmagest and Arabic astronomical traditions, was made in 1131 in ArtuqidMardin.[14]Kara Arslan (1148–1174 CE) commissioned a new Arabic translation ofDe Materia Medica by anArab Christian author named Abu Salim al-Malti, probably fromMalatya.[13]
The Artuqid rulerNasr al-Din Mahmud (r. 1201–1222) is known to have commissioned an edition of theAl-Jāmi‘ fī ṣinā‘at al-ḥiyal ofIbn al-Razzaz al-Jazari, devoted to the depiction of mechanical devices, in April 1206 at the Artuqid court (Ahmet III 3472,Topkapı Sarayı Library).[15][16] The miniatures are thought to reflect various aspects of the Artuqid court at the time.[15]Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari was employed at the Artuqid court during the last quarter of the 12th century, and this is the earliest known manuscript of his opus.[16] Many of the figures in the manuscript wear the characteristic Turkic dress, with long coat and boots, and thesharbush headgear (of a special type seen only in Artuqid manuscripts, with a very tall cap behind the headplate and the limited usage of fur around the rim).[17]
An early edition of theMaqamat al-Hariri (Bibliothèque Nationale de France,Arabe 3929) is also considered as probably belonging to the same Artuqid school of painting.[18]
The major branches of the Artuqid dynasty were those based in Hasankeyf, Harput, Mardin and Aleppo.[21]
This branch was initially based atHasankeyf (Ḥiṣn Kaifā). The capital moved toDiyarbakır (Amid) in 1183.
Following the rule of Rukn al-Dīn Mawdūd, the territories of the Hasankeyf branch of the Artuqids were taken over by theAyyubids.
TheHarput branch was initially part of the Hasankeyf branch until 1185, gaining independence from Kara Arslan.
Harput was conquered byKayqubad I, Seljuk sultan of Rûm, in 1234, as part of his conquering of Anatolia.
The Mardin branch of the Artuqids ruled inMardin andMayyafariqin from 1101–1409 and were primarily descendants of Ilghazi and his brother Alp-Yaruq.
Mardin was conquered by theKara Koyunlu, aTurkoman tribe, in 1409.[4]
The Artuqid branch that ruled Aleppo was an offshoot of the Mardin branch and included descendants of Ilghazi and his brothers Abd al-Jabar and Bahram ibn Artuk. See alsoRulers of Aleppo.
Aleppo was taken byZengi in 1128 and ruled by theZengid dynasty until 1183.
Artuqids coinage was very figural, "with its apparent classical and Byzantine motifs and representations".[4]
The rise of the Zangids halted the Artuqids' expansionist plans, and they had to become vassals of Nur al-Din. Then the Ayyubids whittled their power down further, and they lost Hisn Kayfa, Amid and Mayyafariqin to them. In the early thirteenth century, they were for a time vassals of the Rum Seljuqs and of the Khwarazm Shah Jalal al-Dln Mengiibirti. Eventually, only the Mardln line survived, with Qara Arslan submitting to the Mongol II Khan Hulegu.
But who was the "Nur al-Din Atabeg" featured on the obverse side of most coins of this type , and why was he also recognized? He is not further identified on the coins, but the most logical candidate would appear to be Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I, the Zengid Atabeg of Mosul (589—607 / 1193—1210), the only atabeg with thelaqab Nur al-Din known to have been active at that time. This identification was first advanced by Mitchiner in 1977 and was repeated by Hennequin in the Paris catalog.
But who was the "Nur al-Din Atabeg" featured on the obverse side of most coins of this type, and why was he also recognized? He is Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I, the Zengid Atabeg of Mosul (1193–1210), which was discovered by Mitchiner in 1977. Why the Artuqid Yuluq Arslan of Mardin should put his rival's name on his coins is not altogether clear.
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