Aleppo submits to Saladin

Background

When Nur al-Din's son al-Salih Isma'il died in 1181, Aleppo passed to his Zengid relatives in Mosul and was then handed to Imad al-Din Zengi II, ruler of Sinjar. In 1182 Saladin crossed east of the Euphrates, took the cities of the Jazira and besieged Mosul, while squeezing Aleppo from outside.

Course of events

In May 1183 Saladin besieged Aleppo. Rather than defend the city, Imad al-Din opened negotiations with Saladin. Under the agreement Aleppo would go to Saladin, and Imad al-Din would rule cities such as Sinjar, Nusaybin and Raqqa as his vassal.

The agreement was carried out on 12 June 1183, and Saladin entered the city a few days later. During the siege Saladin's brother Taj al-Muluk Buri had been wounded and died. The people of Aleppo reacted against Imad al-Din's handing over the city without a fight.

Outcome and significance

With Aleppo, Saladin brought a vast region stretching from Egypt to northern Syria under one government. Antioch and Tripoli now faced the same power from the east and the south. Saladin's attention turned thereafter both to the question of Mosul and to the Kingdom of Jerusalem; Mosul recognised his suzerainty in 1186.

This unity made it possible to assemble the great army that would face the army of Jerusalem at Hattin in 1187.

Sources and debates

Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad and Imad al-Din al-Isfahani present the agreement as Saladin's diplomatic success; Ibn al-Athir, close to the Zengid dynasty, criticises Imad al-Din's conduct. The date of Saladin's entry into Aleppo varies by a few days in the sources.