Ghazi Belek | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Belek inElazığ | |
| Governor ofSuruç | |
| In office 1095 (?) – 1098 | |
| Bey ofArtukids | |
| In office 1112–1124 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | unknown |
| Died | 6 May 1124 Manbij |
| Nationality | Turk |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Seljuq Empire |
| Battles/wars | Conquest ofHarput Battle againstMengüceks Battle againstcountship of Edessa |
Belek Ghazi (Nuruddevle Belek orBalak) was aTurkishbey in the early12th century.
His father was Behram and his grandfather wasArtuk Bey, an important figure of theSeljuk Empire in the 11th century. He was a short-term governor ofSuruç (now a district center inŞanlıurfa Province ofTurkey). The city was captured during theFirst Crusade in 1098. He took part in theSeljuk expedition to Antioch which was recently lost to Crusaders, but the campaign ended in failure. He was also present during theCrusade of 1101 which resulted in Seljuk victory.[1]
In 1112, Belek capturedHarput (an ancient city near to present dayElazığ in Turkey) fromMengüceks.[a] He founded abeylik.[2] This beylik is now known as the Harput branch of theArtukids (the other two being theHasankeyf branch ofSökmen and Mardin branch ofIlghazi). Next year he married Ayşe Hatun, widow ofAnatolian Seljuk sultanKilij Arslan. By this prestigious marriage, he formed family ties with the Seljuk family.[3]
In 1120, Belek together withDanishmends defeated a coalition of Mengüceks andConstantine Gabras of theByzantine Empire.[4] Two years later, after the death of Ilghazi, Belek became the leader of the Artukids.[5] In 1122, he defeated the forces of theCounty of Edessa and tookJoscelin I as captive. The next year,Baldwin II of Jerusalem too was captured by Belek. These two victories gained Belek fame both in Muslim countries and in Europe.[3] From 1123 to 1124, Belek served asemir of Aleppo.
In 1124, he was invited to defendTyre, the only port the Muslims used inSyria against theattacking Crusaders. In the meantime, Belek was besiegingManbij, after he imprisoned its emir Hassan al-Ba'labakki ibn Gümüshtigin who pledged allegiance to Joscelin I,[6] in which he managed to capture the city but the castle was still controlled by the defenders led by Hassan's brother Isa.[7] A Crusader force led by Joscelin I tried to help the defenders, but Belek forced them to retreat toTurbessel (nowTilbaşar),[6] and maintained the siege until he was hit and killed by an arrow on 6 May 1124.[8][6] His cousinHusam al-Din Timurtash ibn Ilghazi took his dead body back to Aleppo on the next day.[8][3] Shortly after his death Harput was annexed by the Artukids of Hasankeyf. Nevertheless, in 1185 another beylik was founded by Artukids in Harput.