Shams al-Mulk Isma'il (1113 – February 1, 1135) was the Burid

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...

(or

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

ruler) of the Emirate of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

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 his wife Zumurrud. Two

Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. The origin of the term is the medieval Order of Assassins, a sect of Shia Islam 1090–1275 CE. Assassin, or variants, may also refer to: Fictional characters * Assassin, in the Japanese adult ...

wounded Buri in the stomach in May 1132 in revenge for the massacre of their fellows in Damascus. Buri suffered for 13 months before he died in June 1133. Ismail succeeded his father and decided to seize

Banias Banias (; ; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: , etc.; ), also spelled Banyas, is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek god Pan. It had been inhabited for 2,000 years, until its Syrian population fle ...

, which had previously been taken by

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

with the Assassins' assistance. Ismail attacked Banias and captured it on 11 December 1132. Ailba, a female slave of Ismail's grandfather,

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

, made an attempt on Ismail's life in 1134. After being captured, she listed the names of many peoples who desired Ismail's death because of his tyrannical acts. He ordered the arrest of the alleged conspirators, including his half-brother, Sawinj, who starved to death in the prison. Fearing for his life, Ismail left Damascus and settled in the fortress of

Salkhad Salkhad () is a Syrian city in the As-Suwayda Governorate, southern Syria. It is the capital of Salkhad District, one of the governorate's three districts. It has a population of 15,000 inhabitants. It is located at 1350 metres above sea level ...

. He also sent envoys to his father's old enemy,

Imad ad-Din Zengi Imad al-Din Zengi (; – 14 September 1146), also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman atabeg of the Seljuk Empire, who ruled Emir of Mosul, Mosul, Emirate of Aleppo, Aleppo, Hama, and, later, Ede ...

, the atabeg of Aleppo and Mosul, seeking his protection in exchange for Damascus. Ismail was murdered on February 1, 1135. The author of the contemporaneous ''Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades'' accused Ismail's mother of ordering his servants to kill him, because Ismail also wanted to kill her lover. She appointed her younger son Shihab al-Din Mahmud to rule Damascus.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Shams al-Mulk Atabegs Burid emirs 1113 births 1135 deaths