Assault on Tyre and Balac's severed head

Belek Ghazi (''Nuruddevle Belek'' or ''Balak'') was a Turkish bey in the early 12th century.

Early life

His father was Behram and his grandfather was

Artuk Bey Zaheer-ul-Daulah Artuk Beg, known as Artuk Bey, was a Turkmen commander of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century, chief of the Oghuz tribe of Döğer, and eponymous founder of the Artuqid dynasty. His father's name was Eksük. He was the Se ...

, an important figure of the

Seljuk Empire The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turko-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to ...

in the 11th century. He was a short-term governor of

Suruç Suruç (, ku, Pirsûs, script=Latn, ''Sruḡ'') is a rural district and city of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey, on a plain near the Syrian border southwest of the city of Urfa. History In antiquity the Sumerians built a settlement in the area. ...

(now a district center in

Şanlıurfa Province Şanlıurfa Province ( tr, Şanlıurfa ili; ku, Parêzgeha Rihayê) or simply Urfa Province is a province in southeastern Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which bears its name. The population is 1,845,667 (2014). The ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

). The city was captured during the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...

in 1098. He took part in the Seljuk expedition to

Antakya Antakya (), historically known as Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια; hy, Անտիոք, Andiok), is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes River, ...

which was recently lost to Crusaders. But the campaign ended in failure.

Beylik in Harput

In 1112, Belek captured Harput (an ancient city near to present day

Elazığ Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. It is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plain on which the city extends has an altitude of . ...

in Turkey) from Mengüceks. He founded a beylik. This beylik is now known as the Harput branch of the

Artukids The Artuqid dynasty (alternatively Artukid, Ortoqid, or Ortokid; , pl. ; ; ) was a Turkoman dynasty originated from tribe that ruled in eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The Artuqi ...

(the other two being the

Hasankeyf Hasankeyf ( ar, حصن كيفا, translit=Ḥiṣn Kayfa‘, ku, Heskîf, hy, Հասանքեյֆ, translit=, el, Κιφας, translit=Kifas, lat, Cepha, syr, ܚܣܢܐ ܕܟܐܦܐ, Ḥesno d-Kifo) is a town and district located along the Ti ...

branch of Sökmen and Mardin branch of

Ilghazi Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq (died November 8, 1122) was the Turkmen Artukid ruler of Mardin from 1107 to 1122. He was born into the Oghuz tribe of Döğer. Biography His father Artuk Bey was the founder of the Artukid dynasty, and had bee ...

). Next year he married Ayşe Hatun, widow of Anatolian Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan. By this prestigious marriage, he formed family ties with the Seljuk family.Belek Gazi In 1120, Belek together with

Danishmends The Danishmendids or Danishmends ( fa, دودمان دانشمند; tr, Dânişmendliler) was a Turkish beylik that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia from 1071/1075 to 1178. The dynasty centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and N ...

defeated a coalition of Mengüceks and

Constantine Gabras Constantine Gabras or Gavras ( el, ) was the governor or ''doux'' (duke) of the Byzantine province of Chaldia, centred on the Black Sea port of Trebizond and its mountainous hinterland, the Pontic Alps, in northeast Anatolia, now part of Turkey. ...

of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. Two years later, after the death of Ilghazi, Belek became the leader of the Artukids.Yücel Yaşar, p168 In 1122, he defeated the forces of the

County of Edessa The County of Edessa (Latin: ''Comitatus Edessanus'') was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century. Ferdinandi, Sergio (2017). La Contea Franca di Edessa. Fondazione e Profilo Storico del Primo Principato Crociato nel Levante (1098-115 ...

and took Joscelin I as captive. The next year,

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 th ...

too was captured by Belek. These two victories gained Belek fame both in Muslim countries and in Europe. From 1123 to 1124, Belek served as

emir of Aleppo The rulers of Aleppo ruled as kings, emirs and sultans of the city and its surrounding region since the later half of the 3rd millennium BC, starting with the kings of Armi, followed by the Amorite dynasty of Yamhad. Muslim rule of the city end ...

Death and aftermath

In 1124, he was invited to defend Tyre, the only port the Muslims used in

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 ...

against the attacking Crusaders. In the meantime, Belek was besieging

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 Cen ...

, after he imprisoned its emir Hassan al-Ba'labakki ibn Gümüshtigin who pledged allegiance to Joscelin I, in which he managed to capture the city but the castle was still controlled by the defenders led by Hassan's brother Isa. A Crusader force led by Joscelin I tried to help the defenders, but Belek forced them to retreat to

Turbessel Turbessel ( syr, Tel Bshir, ar, Tell Bāshir or , hy, Թլպաշար, translit=Tʿlpašar, tr, Tilbeşar or ) is a fortress and Bronze Age tumulus in south-eastern Turkey, near the village of Gündoğan in the district of Oğuzeli, within Gaz ...

(now''Tilbaşar''), and maintained the siege until he was hit and killed by an arrow on 6 May 1124. His cousin

Husam al-Din Timurtash Husam al-Din Timurtash ( – 1154) was an Artuqid emir of Mardin (1122–1154) and ruler of Aleppo (1124–1125). Biography Early career The main sources of his reign were the chronicle of Ibn al-Azraq al-Fariqi and Ibn al-Athir, in addition to ...

ibn Ilghazi took his dead body back to Aleppo on the next day. Shortly after his death Harput was annexed by the Artukids of Hasankeyf. Nevertheless, in 1185 another beylik was founded by Artukids in Harput.

Notes

References

Sources

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Bibliography

* * * {{Anatolian Beys Government officials of the Seljuk Empire Turkic rulers 11th-century births 1124 deaths History of Elazığ Province Artuqids People of the Nizari–Seljuk wars