Taj al-Muluk Buri ( ar, تاج الملوك بوري; died 6 June 1132) was an atabeg of Damascus from 1128 to 1132. He was initially an officer in the army of Duqaq, the Seljuk ruler of Damascus, together with his father

Toghtekin Toghtekin or Tughtekin (Modern tr, Tuğtekin; Arabicised epithet: ''Zahir ad-Din Tughtikin''; died February 12, 1128), also spelled Tughtegin, was a Turkic military leader, who was ''atabeg'' of Damascus from 1104 to 1128. He was the founder of ...

. When the latter took power after Duqaq's death, Buri acted as regent and later became atabeg himself. Damascus's

Burid dynasty The Burid dynasty was a dynasty of Turkish origin ''Burids'', R. LeTourneau, The Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. I, ed. H.A.R. Gibb, J.H. Kramers, É. Lévi-Provençal and J. Schacht, (Brill, 1986), 1332. which ruled over the Emirate of Damascus ...

was named for him.

Biography

Buri is mentioned for the first time in 1099, when Duqaq sent him to take possession of

Jableh ) , settlement_type = City , motto = , image_skyline = Jableh Collage.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = General view of city and port • Roman Amphitheater• A ...

, a town between

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

and

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 t ...

which had rebelled against Fakhr al-Mulk ibn 'Ammar, ''qādī'' of Tripoli. Buri however acted as a despotic governor and the population appealed to Fakhr al-Mulk ibn 'Ammar, who captured him. Buri was however treated well and send back to Damascus. In 1102, Raymond of Saint-Gilles besieged

. Fakhr al-Mulk sued for help to Damascus, but in vain. In 1104 Duqaq died and the power went to his vizier Toghtekin. In 1108 Fakhr al-Mulk went to Baghdad to obtain help from caliph al-Mustazhir, accompanied by Buri. When the two returned in Damascus, they were informed that Tripoli had fallen into Crusaders' hands. In 1110, the eunuch al-Taj Gümüshtegin was deposed for intriguing against Buri's father; his domain around

Baalbek Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...

was given to Buri. In 1119, Buri led an army against king

Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq or Bourg (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied his cousins Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to the ...

, who had raided Adra'āt and halted him on a hill, where the Crusaders entrenched and stood against Buri's assault until he was crushed. On 25 January 1126, Buri fought with his father against the Crusaders at the battle of Marj al-Saffar, but they were defeated by Baldwin II. The Franks suffered heavy losses, and could not march against Damascus, which was then largely undefended. Buri succeeded Toghtekin, uncontested, in February 1128. The following year, his vizier discovered an alleged plot set by the

Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviid ...

to deliver Damascus to the Crusaders. Baldwin II, who ignored that the plot had been brought to light, arrived with his army near Damascus and besieged it. The siege lasted until 5 December 1129, when the western troops were forced to retreat after heavy rains had turned the surroundings of the city into a marsh. In 1129, Buri assassinated the pro-Nizari vizier

Abu Ali Tahir ibn Sa'id al-Mazadaqani Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

. A general attack on the Assassins of Damascus occurred during the subsequent chaotic disorders and 6,000 or 10,000 of them were slain by the militia and the mob. In 7 May 1131, two

of Buri's personal guard, probably sent from

Alamut Alamut ( fa, الموت) is a region in Iran including western and eastern parts in the western edge of the Alborz (Elburz) range, between the dry and barren plain of Qazvin in the south and the densely forested slopes of the Mazandaran provin ...

for that purpose, tried to kill him, and he was severely wounded. Despite the care of Damascus' best physicians, he accelerated his convalescence. After riding a horse, his wound opened back, causing his death in 9 June 1132. He was married to Zumurrud Khatun. He succeeded by his three sons

Shams al-Mulk Isma'il Shams al-Mulk Isma'il (1113 – February 1, 1135) was the Burid atabeg (or Seljuk ruler) of the Emirate of Damascus from 1132 to 1135. Early life Shams al-Mulk Isma'il, born in 1113, was the son of Taj al-Muluk Buri, the atabeg of Damascus, and ...

, Shihab ed-Din Mahmud, and Jamal ad-Din Muhammad who fought one another over the inheritance.

References

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Bibliography

* . * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taj Al-Muluk Buri 11th-century births 1132 deaths Muslims of the Crusades Turkic rulers 11th-century Turkic people Atabegs Rulers of Damascus Burid rulers People of the Nizari–Seljuk wars Victims of the Order of Assassins