Artuqid Dynasty

There was also a third branch that acquired Harput in 1112 and was independent between 1185-1233.

The dynasty was founded by Artuq, son of Eksük, a general originally

under Malik Shah I and then under the Seljuk emir of Damascus, Tutush

I. Tutush appointed Artuq governor of Jerusalem in 1086. Artuq died in

1091, and his sons Sokman and Ilghazi were expelled from Jerusalem by

the Fatimid vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah in 1098; the Fatimids lost the

city to the crusaders the following year.

Sokman and Ilghazi set themselves up in Diyarbakır, Mardin, and

Hasankeyf in the Jezirah, where they came into conflict with the

sultanate of Great Seljuk. Sokman, bey of Mardin, defeated the

crusaders at the Battle of Harran in 1104. Ilghazi succeeded Sokman in

Mardin and imposed his control over Aleppo at the request of the qadi

Ibn al-Khashshab in 1118. In 1119 Ilgazi defeated the crusader

Principality of Antioch at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis.

In 1121 a Seljuk-Artuqid alliance, commanded by Mehmed I of Great

Seljuk and Ilghazi, was defeated by Georgia at the Battle of Didgori.

Ilghazi died in 1122, and although his nephew Balak nominally

controlled Aleppo, the city was really controlled by Ibn al-Khashshab.

Al-Kashshab was assassinated in 1125, and Aleppo fell under the control

of Zengi of Mosul. After the death of Balak, the Artuqids were split

between Diyarbakır, Hasankeyf and Mardin. Sokman’s son Davud, bey of

Hasankeyf, died in 1144, and was succeeded by his son Kara Aslan. Kara

Aslan allied with Joscelin II of Edessa against the Zengids, and while

Joscelin was away in 1144, Zengi recaptured Edessa, the first of the

Crusader states to fall. Hasankeyf became a vassal of Zengi as well.

Kara Aslan’s son Nur ad-Din Muhammad allied with the Ayyubid sultan

Saladin against the Sultan of Rum Kilij Arslan II, whose daughter had

married Nur ad-Din Muhammad. In a peace settlement with Kilij Arslan,

Saladin gained control of Artuqid territory, although the Artuqids were

still technically vassals of Mosul, which Saladin did not yet control.

With Artuqid support Saladin eventually took control of Mosul as well.

The Artuklu dynasty still nominally controlled the upper Mesopotamia but their power declined under Ayyubid rule.

Art

Despite their constant preoccupation with war, members of the Artuklu dynasty left brilliant architectural monuments.

They made the most significant additions to Diyarbakır 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

and Yedi Kardeş were commissioned in 1208 by the Artuklu ruler Salih

Mahmud who designed the Yedi Kardeş tower himself and apposed the

Artukid double-headed eagle on its walls.

A large caravanserai in Mardin as well as the civil engineering feat of

Malabadi Bridge are still in regular use in our day. The partially

standing Hasankeyf Bridge was built in 1116 by Kara Arslan.

The Great Mosques of Mardin and Silvan were possibly but in any case

considerably developed over the 12th century by several Artuklu rulers

on the basis of existing Seljuk edifices. The congregational mosque of

Dunaysir (now Kızıltepe) was commissioned by Artuklu Bey Yülük Arslan

(1184-1203) and completed after his death in 1204 by his brother Artuk

Arslan (1203-1239).

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