Part 53

In Rabee' II 521 AH/1127 CE, Sultan Mahmoud appointed 'Imad ad-Deen Zangi Emir of Mosul, and his emergence on the stage marked the opening of a new chapter in the balance of power between the Muslims and the Crusaders.330 Imad ad-Deen began to form a united Islamic front against the Crusaders, taking over the citadels located near him such as Jazeerat Ibn 'Umar, Nusaybin, Sinjar, Bilad al-Khaboor and Harran. After that he began to think about capturing Aleppo, the greatest Islamic centre in northern Syria. His opportunity came when he found out about the turmoil that was gripping that city, which was threatened by Joscelin II, Count of Edessa, and Bohemond II, Count of Antioch. So Imad ad-Deen Zangi hastened to Aleppo, where he was warmly welcomed by the people and entered the city on Monday 13 Jumada II 522 AH/ 1128 CE.331He took over the city, organized its affairs and appointed officials. Ibn al-Atheer confirms the importance of this conquest when he says, "Had Allah not blessed the Muslims with the governorship of this martyr (that is, Zangi), the Franks would have taken over all of Syria."332 The conquest of Edessa: The most important deed of Imad ad-Deen Zangi 'Imad ad-Deen Zangi was able to achieve a great deal of what he had planned and to acquire for himself a special position in Islamic history as a brilliant politician, a capable military man and an aware Muslim who understood the danger that surrounded the Muslim world due to the Crusaders. Thus he was able to make the best use of the historical circumstances in the Muslims' favour by bringing together the Muslim forces — after dealing with the factors that caused division — and uniting the various cities and emirates within the framework of a single state. He made brilliant use of all his abilities and the resources he had to offer in order to achieve his twin aims of forming an Islamic front and striking the Crusaders. I have discussed this in detail when speaking of Imad ad-Deen Zangi in my book on the Zangid state. The conquest of Edessa is regarded as one of the most important achievements of Imad ad-Deen Zangi, because the County of Edessa was the first Crusader principality to be established in the East. It was founded in 491 AH/1097 CE, under the leadership of Baldwin I, who continued to rule this principality until 494 AH/ 1100 CE when he left to rule Jerusalem following the death of Geoffrey, King of Jerusalem.333 Edessa differed from the other Crusader principalities in that it was located in the Euphrates basin, where it carried the burden of defending all the other Crusader principalities in Syria because it was situated close to the 'Abbasid caliphate, and thus stood in the face of the Turkmens who had crowded into Mesopotamia following the disintegration of the Seljuk state in Syria and Iraq after the death of the sultan Malikshah in 485 AH/1092 CE.334 The importance of Edessa was not limited to its strategic location and its being the first line of defence for the other Crusader principalities in Syria: it posed a fundamental danger to the Muslim transportation routes between Syria, Asia Minor, Iraq and Mesopotamia.335 Despite the fact that Edessa did not fall within the limits of the holy lands in Palestine, the Crusaders regarded it as one of the noblest of cities after Jerusalem, Antioch and Constantinople. It had abundant wealth which helped the rulers of Edessa to expand their territory, so the principality of Edessa, located on the two banks of the Euphrates, expanded from Ravendan and 'Ayn Thaniyah in the west to Mashariq in the east and from Behesni and Kesoun in the north to Manbij in the south.336 Edessa attained special importance because of the strength and courage of its rulers, who managed to withstand the Islamic resistance despite the fact that it suffered two clear weak points: (i) its lack of natural borders to offer it protection or fortification; (ii) the lack of harmony among its inhabitants, who were a mixture of Eastern Christians (Syriacs and Jacobite Armenians) and Western Crusaders, in addition to the Muslims who were concentrated in entire cities such as Suruj and Bira which were under Crusader control.337 Edessa was not important only to the Crusaders, however, as in the view of the Muslims it was one of the most vital positions where they needed to gain control. Ibn alAtheer mentioned its importance to Mesopotamia because of its location between Mosul and Aleppo, and he described it as being of the utmost importance to Mesopotamia itself and to the Muslim lands because of its fortifications, which made the Islamic forces in both Iraq and Syria eager to gain control of it.338 The internal situation in Edessa The internal situation in Edessa was very favourable to Imad ad-Deen Zangi, as its ruler Joscelin II was a weak character who was swayed by emotions, whims and desires, and lacking in political ability and farsightedness. In fact, Joscelin II's inclination towards the Armenians was influenced by his upbringing, because his mother was Armenian, so he grew up with a fondness for the Armenians and other original inhabitants who were Eastern Christians, and he preferred them to the Western Christians, a fact which annoyed the Crusader knights and created a kind of instability in the principality.