Nasr ibn Mahmud ibn Nasr ibn Salih ibn Mirdas ( ar, نصر بن محمود بن نصر المرداسي, Naṣr ibn Maḥmūd ibn Naṣr ibn Ṣaliḥ ibn Mirdās) (died 1076) 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 fro ...

emir of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

in 1075–1076.

Family

Nasr was the eldest son of

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 ...

, the

emir of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

(). Nasr's mother was a daughter of the

Buyid The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupl ...

emir al-Malik al-Aziz ibn Jalal al-Dawla. His brothers, from a different mother(s), were Sabiq, Waththab and Shabib and sister Mani'a.

Rule

Mahmud designated his youngest son Shabib as his successor, but upon Mahmud's death in early 1075, Nasr was recognized as Aleppo's emir. Shabib was still young and the leading officials of the emirate, as well as its troops, favored Nasr. As soon as he took office he executed his father's vizier, the commander Ali ibn Abi al-Thurayya, having accused him of influencing Mahmud's nomination of Shabib. In his place, Nasr appointed Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tamimi, known as Ibn al-Nahhas. Nasr entrusted his foster-uncle, the

Banu Munqidh The Banu Munqidh ( ar, بنو منقذ, Banū Munqidh), also referred to as the Munqidhites, were an Arab family that ruled an emirate in the Orontes Valley in northern Syria from the mid-11th century until the family's demise in an earthqua ...

emir Sadid al-Mulk Ali ibn Muqallid, to oversee most of his leadership duties. Sadid al-Mulk and Ibn al-Nahhas shared an interest in literature and developed a strong working relationship. According to the historian

Thierry Bianquis Thierry Bianquis (3 August 1935 – 2 September 2014) was a French Orientalist and Arabist. His main interest was the medieval Islamic Middle East, most notably the Fatimid era of Egypt and Syria, which was the subject of his dissertation. Born i ...

, Nasr "showed himself to be more peaceful and more generous than his father". He enjoyed the support of the

Turkmen Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...

forces based in Aleppo, who were commanded by a certain Ahmad Shah. The latter besieged and captured

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 ...

from the Byzantines in September/October 1075. Not long after, Aleppo's southern countryside was raided by the Seljuk ruler of Damascus,

Atsiz Ala al-Din wa-l-Dawla Abu'l-Muzaffar Atsiz ibn Muhammad ibn Anushtegin ( fa, علاء الدين والدولة أبو المظفر عتسيز بن محمد بن أنشتكين; 1098 – 1156), better known as Atsiz () was the second Khwarazmshah ...

, and his brother Jawli. During the assault, they captured Rafaniyya. After Nasr's attempt to pay Atsiz to withdraw was rebuffed, he dispatched Ahmad Shah against him. Ahmad Shah fought the Seljuks in two engagements and drove them out, restoring Mirdasid control over Rafaniyya.

Death and aftermath

On 8 May 1075, the day of

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

, Nasr became intoxicated and imprisoned Ahmad Shah for an unclear reason. He proceeded to attack Ahmad's Turkmen troops in their base at al-Hadir, on the outskirts of Aleppo. During the fighting, Nasr was killed by a Turkmen archer's arrow. The Aleppines subsequently closed the city's gates to prevent the advancing Turkmens from attempting to free their chief, while Sadid al-Mulk and Ibn al-Nahhas maintained order in the city and its

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

. Sadid al-Mulk arranged for Sabiq to succeed Nasr. Sabiq released Ahmad Shah, who thereafter wielded significant influence over him and together with the Turkmens dominated the emirate at the expense of the Mirdasids' tribe, 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 ...

. The tribe nominated Waththab as their emir and helped drive out Sadid al-Mulk from Aleppo to his family's base in

Kafartab Kafartab ( ar, كفرطاب, also spelled ''Kafr Tab'' or ''Kafar Tab'', known as Capharda by the Crusaders) was a town and fortress in northwestern Syria that existed during the medieval period between the fortress cities of Maarat al-Numan in th ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{S-end 1076 deaths 11th-century Arab people Mirdasid emirs of Aleppo Monarchs killed in action