Atiyya ibn Salih
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Asad al-Dawla Abū Dhūʿaba ʿAṭiyya ibn Ṣāliḥ () (died July 1073) was the
Mirdasid The Mirdasid dynasty ( ar, المرداسيون, al-Mirdāsiyyīn), also called the Banu Mirdas, was an Arab dynasty which ruled an Aleppo-based emirate in northern Syria and the western Jazira ( Upper Mesopotamia) more or less continuously f ...
emir of
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
in 1062–1065. Prior to his assumption of the emirate in Aleppo, he had been the Mirdasid emir of
al-Rahba Al-Rahba (/ALA-LC: ''al-Raḥba'', sometimes spelled ''Raḥabah''), also known as Qal'at al-Rahba, which translates as the "Citadel of al-Rahba", is a medieval Arab fortress on the west bank of the Euphrates River, adjacent to the city of Maya ...
from 1060. He continued as the emir of al-Rahba and the eastern portion of the Mirdasid realm after losing Aleppo to his nephew
Mahmud ibn Nasr Abu Salama Mahmud ibn Nasr ibn Salih ar, محمود بن نصر بن صالح المرداسي, Abū Salama Maḥmūd ibn Naṣr ibn Ṣāliḥ, also known by his ''laqab'' (honorific epithet) Rashid al-Dawla, was the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo from ...
. He lost al-Rahba in 1070. He entered Byzantine protection afterward and launched a failed assault against Mahmud's territories before his death in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
.


Family

Atiyya was the son of
Salih ibn Mirdas Abu Ali Salih ibn Mirdas ( ar, ابو علي صالح بن مرداس, Abū ʿAlī Ṣāliḥ ibn Mirdās), also known by his ''laqab'' (honorific epithet) Asad al-Dawla ('Lion of the State'), was the founder of the Mirdasid dynasty and emir of ...
, who established Mirdasid rule in
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
in 1024, and his wife Tarud.Bianquis 1993, p. 119.Zakkar 1971, p. 51. The latter was noted in contemporary sources for her beauty. Both Salih and Tarud belonged to the
Banu Kilab The Banu Kilab ( ar, بنو كِلاب, Banū Kilāb) was an Arab tribe in the western Najd (central Arabia) where they controlled the horse-breeding pastures of Dariyya from the mid-6th century until at least the mid-9th century. The tribe was di ...
, a large
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribe that dominated northern
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and the western
Jazira Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre * Al-Jazira (c ...
in the 11th century. In 1014, Salih had been forced to divorce Tarud during his incarceration by the emir of Aleppo,
Mansur ibn Lu'lu' Manṣūr ibn Luʾluʾ ( ar, منصور بن لؤلؤ), also known by his ''laqab'' (honorific epithet) of Murtaḍā ad-Dawla (, 'Approved of the State'), was the ruler of the Emirate of Aleppo between 1008 and 1016. He succeeded his father Lu' ...
so that the latter could wed her. Salih later defeated Mansur and remarried Tarud. It is not known if Atiyya was born before or after these events.Zakkar 1971, p. 166. However, his name ''ʿAṭiyya'' ("the Gift"), suggests he was born after Salih and Tarud remarried, according to historian Suhayl Zakkar. Atiyya's older brothers Nasr and Thimal were born to a different mother.


Emir of al-Rahba

Nasr and Thimal jointly succeeded Salih as emir of Aleppo after Salih's death in 1029, but Nasr ultimately took sole control of the city in 1030, while Thimal was relegated to the fortress of
al-Rahba Al-Rahba (/ALA-LC: ''al-Raḥba'', sometimes spelled ''Raḥabah''), also known as Qal'at al-Rahba, which translates as the "Citadel of al-Rahba", is a medieval Arab fortress on the west bank of the Euphrates River, adjacent to the city of Maya ...
on the
Euphrates River The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
in the western Jazira. After Nasr's death in 1038, the
Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...
's governor in Syria,
Anushtakin al-Dizbari Sharaf al-Maʿālī Abu Manṣūr Anūshtakīn al-Dizbarī (died January 1042) was a Fatimid statesman and general who became the most powerful Fatimid governor of Syria. Under his Damascus-based administration, all of Syria was united under a sing ...
, conquered Aleppo and proceeded to take over the entire Mirdasid emirate, seizing Balis and
Manbij Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cent ...
but failing to capture al-Rahba. Al-Dizbari died in Aleppo in 1042, after which Thimal retook Aleppo. He allied with the Fatimids and handed over control of al-Rahba to the pro-Fatimid general Arslan al-Basasiri so that the latter could use it as a launching point to invade
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
Iraq. When al-Basasiri was defeated and killed in 1060, Fatimid influence in the western Jazira took a blow and Atiyya was able to seize al-Rahba, where he found the treasures and arsenal stored by al-Basasiri in preparation of the war on the Abbasids. At some point prior to his conquest of al-Rahba, Atiyya had taken control of Balis. At the time of Atiyya's capture of al-Rahba, Thimal had given up control of Aleppo to the Fatimids in exchange for the governorship of the coastal districts of
Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...
,
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
and
Jubayl Jubail ( ar, الجبيل, ''Al Jubayl'') is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, with a total population of 684,531 as of 2021. It is home to the largest industrial city in the world. It is also home to th ...
. The Banu Kilab insisted on the Mirdasids’ return to Aleppo and entrusted Atiyya's nephew
Mahmud ibn Nasr Abu Salama Mahmud ibn Nasr ibn Salih ar, محمود بن نصر بن صالح المرداسي, Abū Salama Maḥmūd ibn Naṣr ibn Ṣāliḥ, also known by his ''laqab'' (honorific epithet) Rashid al-Dawla, was the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo from ...
with taking back the city. The ''
ahdath The ''ahdath'' ( ar, الأحداث, al-aḥdāth) were local militias or irregular police found in Syria in the 10th to 12th centuries. The ''ahdath'' maintained order and protected cities from outside domination. Though some later writers ascri ...
'' (urban militia) of Aleppo allowed the Banu Kilab to enter the city in July 1060, but the Fatimid army held onto the citadel and Fatimid troops were sent to evict the Banu Kilab. The troops were defeated in August 1060 and Atiyya took control of the citadel.Bianquis 1993, p. 120. Two days later control passed to Mahmud. As a consequence of the Fatimids’ loss of Aleppo, Thimal was stripped of his coastal districts and sought to take over Aleppo from his nephew Mahmud. Thimal reached an agreement with Mahmud brokered by the latter's mother al-Sayyid al-Alawiyya and the
sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
s (chieftains) of the Banu Kilab that restored Thimal's rule in 1061. Atiyya, meanwhile, became independent in his emirate of al-Rahba.


Emir of Aleppo

In a surprise move, Thimal chose Atiyya as his successor rather than Mahmud, who had the backing of the sheikhs of Banu Kilab and his maternal kinsmen, the
Banu Numayr The Numayrids () were an Arab dynasty based in Diyar Mudar (western Upper Mesopotamia). They were emirs (princes) of their namesake tribe, the Banu Numayr. The senior branch of the dynasty, founded by Waththab ibn Sabiq in 990, ruled the Euph ...
. Mahmud contested Atiyya's succession after Thimal's death in late 1062. The two sides fought each other in July 1063 but neither gained the decisive edge. Instead, a truce was arbitrated giving Atiyya control of Aleppo and the eastern half of the emirate stretching from al-Rahba in the southeast to
Qinnasrin Qinnasrin ( ar, قنسرين; syr, ܩܢܫܪܝܢ, ''Qinnašrīn'', lit=Nest of Eagles), also known by numerous other romanizations and originally known as ( la, Chalcis ad Belum; grc-gre, Χαλκὶς, ''Khalkìs''), was a historical town in ...
in the northwest and northward to
Azaz Azaz ( ar, أَعْزَاز, ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 in the 2004 census.
. Mahmud was given the western portion of the emirate. Atiyya rejected the division of the Mirdasid emirate and brought in 1,000 Turkmen archers led by their prince,
Ibn Khan Hārūn ibn Malik al-Turk, better known as Ibn Khān (died 1070), was the leader of the first recorded group of free Turkmen troops to enter Syria. Previous groups of Turks that had been present in Syria were slave soldiers and pages and their des ...
, to assist him against Mahmud and his supporters and extract more concessions from them. This marked the first recorded entry of free Turkmen troops into northern Syria, as opposed to Turkish slave-soldiers. The Turkmens proved unruly and Atiyya subsequently had the ''ahdath'' of Aleppo pillage Ibn Khan's camp in al-Hadir.Amabe 2016, p. 69. Many of the Turkmens were killed and Ibn Khan defected to Mahmud. Together they defeated Atiyya at Marj Dabiq in 1065. They proceeded to besiege Atiyya in Aleppo for three months before Atiyya surrendered in August. Mahmud entered Aleppo and a new arrangement was reached that gave Atiyya control of the eastern emirate, i.e. the western Jazira including al-Rahba, while Mahmud controlled the western emirate including Aleppo,
Jund Qinnasrin ''Jund Qinnasrīn'' ( ar, جُـنْـد قِـنَّـسْـرِيْـن, "military district of Qinnasrin") was one of five sub-provinces of Syria under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of Syria in t ...
(Chalcis District) and a significant portion of
Jund Hims ''Jund Ḥimṣ'' ( ar, جند حمص, " military district of Homs") was one of the military districts of the caliphal province of Syria. Geography The capital of Jund Hims was Homs, from which the district received its name. Its principal urb ...
(Homs District).


Later campaigns and death

The Fatimids apparently encouraged Atiyya to assault Mahmud, prompting the latter and Ibn Khan to attack Homs and Hama in 1067 in preparation for an assault on al-Rahba. Direct hostilities were avoided after the ''
qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...
'' (chief Islamic judge) of
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
, Ibn Ammar, mediated between Atiyya and Mahmud. The Fatimids formally recognized the division of the Mirdasid emirate reached in 1065. However, Atiyya still laid claim on Homs, a town held by Mahmud. During his attempt to capture the city, in 1068, his al-Rahba headquarters was seized by the
Uqaylid The Uqaylid dynasty () was a Shia Arab dynasty with several lines that ruled in various parts of Al-Jazira, northern Syria and Iraq in the late tenth and eleventh centuries. The main line, centered in Mosul, ruled from 990 to 1096. History Rise ...
emir
Muslim ibn Quraysh Abu'l-Makarim Muslim ibn Qirwash ( ar, أبو المكارم مسلم بن قرواش) also known by the honorific title Sharaf al-Dawla (), was the Uqaylid emir of Mosul and Aleppo. He died in June 1085. History Muslim's father Qirwash i ...
. Atiyya took up residence in Fatimid-controlled Damascus and lost his last possession, al-Raqqa, to Ibn Quraysh in 1070/71.Zakkar 1971, p. 180. After Atiyya's requests for military assistance from the Fatimids to restore his emirate were rebuffed, he sought the aid of the Byzantines.Bianquis 1993, p. 121. With support of their troops in Antioch, he launched a raid on
Ma'arrat Misrin Ma'arrat Misrin ( ar, مَعَرَّةُ مِصْرِينَ, Maʿarrat Miṣrīn, also spelled Ma'arrat Masrin or Ma'aret Masreen) is a small city in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. Ma'arrat Misrin lies an elevation ...
in Mahmud's emirate in 1071. The raid was apparently of little consequence. The Byzantines supported Atiyya's activities in the aftermath of their defeat at the
Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and th ...
and their aim was to weaken or expel the Turkmen troops of the emirate. Afterward, he took refuge in the Byzantine capital at
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
where he died in July 1073.


References


Bibliography

* * * {{S-end 1073 deaths Mirdasid emirs of Aleppo Arab people of the Arab–Byzantine wars 11th-century Arabs