Zumurrud Khatun () (died ''after'' 1139), was the regent 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 ...

between 1135 and 1138. She was the daughter of Safwat al-Mulk and the half-sister of Duqaq. She married Buri b. Tughtekin. In 1132, her son

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, an ...

became king of Damascus. She was not on good terms with her eldest son. It is clear from the events described about her life, that she did not live in gender segregation secluded in a

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

.El-Azhari, Taef. ''Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History, 661–1257''. Edinburgh University Press, 2019 Her son allegedly invited

Imad al-Din Zengi Imad al-Din Zengi (; – 14 September 1146), also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkoman atabeg of the Seljuk Empire, who ruled Mosul, Aleppo, Hama, and, later, Edessa. He was the namesake and founder of the Zengid dyn ...

to take power in Damascus. The army commanders came to her and asked her to intervene against her son's rule. Zumurrud Khatun commissioned her own

mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

soldiers to assassinate her son in her presence in the citadel of Damascus on 14 February 1135. She had his body thrown out the window, and her action was greeted with blessings. After the assassination of her eldest son, she had her second son Shihab al-Din Mahmud placed on the throne. She sat side by side with Mahmud, and they received the oath of loyalty from the elite of Damascus together. The elite explicitly greeted them both as rulers: :"''Emirs, soldiers and nobles were forced to recognize him and give the oath of allegiance to both of them, that they would sincerely serve both, and support their supporters and sight their enemies''." To receive the oath of loyalty in this manner was almost unique for a woman in a Muslim state, but the Caliph did not contest her position and she was allowed to continue as formal regent of her son. She appointed Fayruz as deputy of Hims in 1136, and as one of the regents of her son. This act caused the commander Baswaj and other elites to protest directly to her, which demonstrates that she was the acknowledged ruler of the state. Her rule continued until May 1138, when she was suggested marriage by

. Unable to turn down this political match, she married him and abandoned her regency and moved to Aleppo. When her son was killed in 1139, she asked her new spouse to invade Damascus to avenge her son's murder.

References

{{reflist 12th-century women regents Burid emirs 12th-century regents