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ll. Uluslararasi Selçuklu Kültür ve Medaniyeti Sempozyumu

SELÇUKLULARDA BiLiM ve DÜŞÜNCE Bildiriler/Proceedings 19-21 Ekim 2011 KONYA

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ll. Uluslararası Selçuklu Kültür ve Medeniyeti Sempozyumu

SELÇUKLULARDA BiLiM ve DÜŞÜNCE Bildiriler/Proceedings

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SUNNİ ULAMA AND FUQAHA İN BİLAD AL-SHAM (1055-1099)

Dr.Yehoshua Frenkel*

Abs ra ct

The successful military offensive headed by the Saljuqs tribes against the Fatimids is often presented as of Turkic reviva/ of Islam. The aim of the present contribution is to analyze the religious establishment that operated in Syria during the short period that this territory was governed by the Saljuq su/tans.

By a c/os e scrutiny of the col/ective biography of scholars, jurists and judges that operated within the frames of the Sa/juqid state apparatus and their institutions of learning, 1 endeavor to il/uminate the complex situation that prevailed in Syria durinh the second half of the e/eventh century.

• Haifa Üniversitesi, Haifa!İSRAİL. frenkely@research.haifa.ac.il

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Sıumi Ulama And Fuqaha in Bilad Al-Sham ( 1055-1099)

At the Kaysari conference I ventured to reconstruct a phase in the early stage of the Saljuqid history, from the years from their crossing of the Abode of Islam's frontiers in Central Asia, via their victory at Dandanqan (431/May 1040) {ı} and till their invasion of the Iranian Plateau. In the present colloquium my intention is to concentrate 9n a side-show in the grand-drama of the Turlde migratian to Westem Asia .

. I will ponder developments that took place during the second half of the fifth/eleventh century in Bilad al-Sham. I will dwell upon a peripheral zone outside the main domains of the Great Saljuqs. Both these contributions are parts in a wider research project of the coming of the Saljuqs. {z}

Following the first conquest·- of Baghdad by Tughril Beg (in 447/1 055) a new phase opened in the history of the Saljuqs. From tribal pastaral nomads they became heads of a bureaucratic-sedentary state. During the post-1055 years the Saljuqs managed to establish a military state (sultanate) and organized its administration and taxation in accordance. This change obliged them to pay attention to issues of urban and agrarian managements, to operate systems of administi"ation and govemment. Cooperating with the Iranian administrators. (viziers) the Saljuqs turned to reorganize a new political and administrative order in Iraq and Iı:an. This forced them to look also into questions of their reception by the local population, legitimacy and id~ology. The Abbasid caliph (amir al-mu 'min) played merely a figurative role, although recognized by the jurists (fuqaha) and the Saljuqis by as the nominal head of Sunni Islamdom. Their ties with the Commander of the Faithful were an important element in the family enterprise to gain legitimacy in line with the Islamic principles of polity and govemment.

The Saljuqs and their Turkmen followers demonstrated a history of complicated relations among themselves. The first Turkic bands that penetrated the arena west to the Euphrates River were, as we see, bands that fell out with the Saljuqs. Following their success to seize control over several Syrian cities, including Damascus, Jerusalem, Ramla a Tibrias, the role of Turlde bands changed from freebooters to govemors and this led them to transform their policy in this land. In

1 Bosworth (trans.), Tlıe Omament of Historians _Gardizi (2011), 110; Bosworth (trans.), Tlıe History oftlıe Seljuq State_(Akhbar) (2011), 15-16. Michael Chamberlain analyzes the state of the art of the middle Islami c period in Iran and western Asia argues that the question how the Saljuqs transformed theınselves from pastoral-nomadic chieftains to conquering warlords who ruled over a vast agrarian !and has not studied in detail, though its outlines are lmown. Michel Chamberlain, ''Military Patrenage States and the Political Economy of the Frontier, 1000-1250", in Y. M. Choueiri (ed.), A Companion to tlıe History oftlıe Middle East (Blackwell, 2005), 138.

Suımi Ulama And Fuqaha in Bilad Al.:_Shaın ( 1055-1099)

hope to gain a new public image they ventured to adopt their self­representation.

The authors who teli about the Saljuqid chapter in the history of Iran were mostly Iranian clerks in the service of the Saljuqs. They were familiar with the Persian version of monarchial authority and with the conventional mode of histerical narrative that was agreed as the right style by contemporary Persian and Arab composers. Due to this they knitted in their chronicles episodes that accorded this vision.

The history of the. early Turkmens and Saljuqs in Bilad al-Sham was narrated Iate urban historians and chronographers. These authors operated in a region that witnessed bitter conflicts. The Sunnis felt besieged by "non-Orthodox" Islam and from ı 099 they feared that their very political survival is threatened by the Latin Kingdem of Jerusalem. Under these circumstances the representation of the Turk (atrak) in medieval Syrian historiography changed. From riıenace to the

: sed~ntary population of Bilad al-Sham the Saljuqs were awarded the : image of protectors of Islam.

The Nawakiyya in Bilad al-Sham

The story of Alp Arslan crossing of the Euphrates River on his way from Edessa (Ruha; presently Orfa or Urfa in southem Turkey) to Syria is a nice episode, {3} yet it they narraters aimed not to depict an accurate picture of the developments on the ground. Even from the very partial and inadequate information at our disposal it seems that the first Turkic tribes to reach Westem Asia were those grope that fled from Khura.san to the vicinity of the Byzantine frontiers in Armenia after the defeat of the Ghuzz (al-atrak al-ghaziyya) followers of Isra'il Arslan the son of Saljuq by Mahmud of Ghazna (c. 420/1029). {4} A decade later Ghuzz Turks appeared in the region of Urmia Lake in Azerbaijan (c. 1038). From that date onwards they put pressure on Armenia and on the eastem border lands of Byzantium. This did not step with the death on Tughril Beg (in 1063), furthermore it intensified after Alp­Arslan secured his position as sultan (1063-73).

3 Ajudge from Aleppo who him told the Saljuq sultan Alp Arslan: "O our lord. Thank: God. Til! now no free Turk has ever crossed this river, only Turk slaves (mamluk) have done it so far. You crossed it asa king (malik). He [Alp Arslan] ordered the army commander and the soldiers to come forward and instructed them to repeat the saying". Karnal al-Din 'Umar ibn .Ahmad Ibn Abi Jarada Ibn al-'Adim (588-660/1192-1262), Zubdat al-flalab min ta'rikh flalab ed. S. Dalıhan (Damascus, 1954), 2: 20 (ll. 1-6). idem, Buglıyat al-talab ji ta 'riklı flalab (Facsimile edition; Frankfurt, 1989), 4: 543.

4 Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi al-ta 'riklı, 8:174-75 (AH 429) [Richards (trans.), Tlıe Annals oftlıe Saljuq Turks, 13].

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There no need to dwell here meticulously on the history of the land between the Euphrates and the Desert of Sinai during the second half of the fifth/eleventh century. {S} It is sufficient to say that it was a complicated arena that witnessed several competing players: Byzantium in the North, the Fatirnid-Ismailiyya in the south (Egypt ~nd Palestine), urban forces and Bedouin tribes. The first Turkic bands,

.Turkmen and others, (al-Turkmen al-Nawakiyya) {6} that arrived at this

land were nomads who fell out with the royal Saljuqid house and because of this fled (haribu min) from Alp-Arslan's realm, seeking refuge in disputed territories.

Essentially these complicated relations between the Saljuqis and the Nawakiyya was in line with the history of the complex relations between the ruling family and the Turkmen tribesmen. The battle of Manzikert certainly should be seen as a watershed moment in the history of Anatolia. m The defeat of the Byzantine emperor Romanos N Diogenes opened a new chapter in the history of Asia Minor,. {s} yet in regard to Bilad al-Sham it hardly had a direct affect. In these lands the waves of Turkmen bands, including the Nawakiyya, raided towns and villages. Being pastaral nomads they also clashed with the Arab Bedouin tribes. Soo n they were recruited too by local forces in Syria to serve as freebooters. ·

The sources mention succinctly the bands of Nawakiyyah Turkmen and other Ghuzz Turks in Bilad al-Sham. {9} Among their leaders are mentioned [Harun] ibn Khan, { 1oı Shakli, {ıı} Qurlu/Qarla and Atsiz (Atsız= the man without wife) b. Uvak. { 12ı As it was said above they

On the details see Moshe Gil, A lıist01y of Palestine, 634-1099 trans. Ethel Broido (Cambridge University Press, 1992), 409-420.

6 According to D. A. Korobeinikov, "How Asia Minor was lost: Byzantioum and the Turks 1071-1081 ", in P. Haarer and Elisabeth Jeffi:yes (eds.), Proceedings of the 2lst International Congress of Byzantine (London, 2006), 1: 8 naıvak means a smail arrow. Cf. also his ''Raiders and neighboıırs: the Tıırks (1040-1304)", 706-07.

7 Carole Hillenbrand, 8 D. A. Korobeinikov, "Raiders and neighbours: the Turks (1040-1304)", in Jonathan

Shepherd (ed.), The Cambrige Hist01y oftlıe Byzantine Empire c. 500-1492 (2008): 701-03.

9 Sibt lbn al-Jawzi calls Atsiz in one occasion: "the co=ander of the Ghuzz Tıırks (muqadam al-an·ak al-glıuziyya)" and on anather "Atsiz al-Tıırkmani muqaddam al­nawakiyya". Mirat al-zaman ed. Sevim 152 (AH. 463), 169 (AH. 469), 172 (AH 467 muqaddam'm alajami' al-turkwal-naıvakiyya)

10 Sibt lbn al-Jawzi, Mırat al-Zaman, Sevim, 122, 124 (AH 452), 143 (AH 462). 11 Sibt lbn al-Jawzi, Mırat al-Zaman, Sevim, 182(AH. 469) 12 Taqi al-Din Al).nıad b. 'Ali al-Maqnzi (766-845/1364-1441), Kitiib al-Muqaffa al-kabfr ed.

M. al-Ya'lawi (Beirut, 141111991), 2: 220-23 (the biography of Atsiz); 395 (in the biography of Badr al-Jamali); Sibt lbn al-Jawzi, Mirat al-Zaman, Sevim, 157-58, 171 (467).

Sunni Ulama And Fuqaha İn Bilad Al-Sham (1055-1099)

served as freebooters who offered their services to whoever was ready to pay (462-468/1070-1076). {!3} On their position and complicated inner relations among the Turkic ttibesmen we can ded'uce from the fallawing narrative. Shakli approached Qutlumush, a nephew of the . sultan Alb Arslan. In this assumed letter he is supposed to write: "You are from the Saljuqs and the royal house. Atsiz is not an offspring of the regal family". {14}

Atsiz b. Uvaq (after c. 470/1077-78 al-Malik al-Mu'a~~am)

Observing the vacuum in Bilad al-Sham Atsiz set out eventually to conquer cities in Southem Syria and Palestine. After his occupation of Damascus (in 468/June 1076) Atsiz tried, in vain, to occupy Egypt (469/January 1077). {1s} It seems that at this stage Atsiz decided to establish a firm regime paid efforts to legitimize his position. It was · a transitional stage in his short lived political career. He acquired the royal title al-Malik al-Mu'a??am (the elevated king). This step was :acccmpanied by measures to calm the fears of the civil population in :the territories that his men acquired. {16} He even invited soldier (ghilman) who served in the army of Malik Shah to join him in Syria, {17} presumably in effort to recruit a standing army in place the nomad Nawakiyay. Presumably at this junction Atsiz also decided to erect a fort in Damascus, {18

} a decision that might be influenced by events in Jerusalem where the citadel of the city saved his family from annihilation.

The counter offensive by Badr al-Jamali, the de-facto ruler of Egypt enforced Atsiz to call for help. Due to this political threat Atsiz represents hhnself as a loyal subject of the sultanate: "I am standing

13 Abu Ya'la I;Iaınza Ibn al-Qallinisi (470-555/1077-1160), Dlıayl ta'rfklı dimaslıq, ed. H.F. Amedroz (Leiden, 1908), 98-99; ed. S. Zakkar entitled Ta 'rfklı dimaslıq, (Damascus, 1983), 165, 166-67.

14 See Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Mirat al-zaman ed. Sevim 174 (467)} It also elucidates their dashes with the local Bedouin tribes (Arab). {Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Mirat al-Zaman, Sevim, 153, 157-58 (Ah. 464).

15 Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi al-ta 'riklı, 8: 390 (AH463), 410 (AH 468), 412-13 (AH 460) [Richards (trans.), The Annals oftlıe Saljuq Turks, 172, 190, 192-93]; al-Maqrizi, Kitiib al­Muqaffa al-kabfr, 2: 222-23, 399, 587.

16 Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Mirat al-Zaman, Sevim, 169 (AH. 466). 17 Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Mirat al-Zaman, Sevim, 175 (AH. 467) 18 H, Sauvaire, "Description de Damas: Oyoun et-Tawarikf (!es sources des chroniques) par

Mohammad ebn Chaker)", Jounıal Asiatique (Mai-Juin 1896), 374 (quotes Ibn Asakir and gives the irnpression that Nur al-Din renovated earliest (Saljuqids?) walls); Jean Sauvaget, "La citadelle de Damas", Syria 11/1 (1930): 63.

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alone against the [heretical Fatimi-Ismaili] regime of Egypt. 09ı He even asks the caliph to authorize his legitimate position as ruler of Damascus. ı2oı A Saljuqid army commanded by the royal prince Taj al-Dawla Tutush the son of Alp-Arslan, which was operating at that time in northern Syria seized the opportunity and rushed southwa~ds.

Damascus officially joined the realm of the great Saljuq sultan . (471/September 1078). ı2o

The Coming of the Royal Saljuqs to Bilad al-Sham

Since our main interest focuses on Bilad al-Sham, we should skip the developments in Anatolia, where Suliman b. Qutlumush and other Turkic bands, including the Nawalsiyya, operated. {22ı They becarne players in a complicated mosaic of peoples, rebels and rulers. Sizing towns and grounds in the formally Byzantium Emperor, only to lose them to counter offensives and to regain them.

Malik Shah was the first Saljuq sultan who invested efforts in order to incorporate Bilad al-Sham within the boundaries of the sultanate. He crossed the Euphrates and advanced westward (479/). These movements alarmed the sons of Artuq. Worried by the progress of Malik Shah they fled to Palestine (Jerusalem Ramla), where they established a short .'lived principality. A Fatimid count-attack forced Artuq to take refuge in Mardin. l 23l

Malik Shah set out to organize the Saljuqid Sultanate and conquered Aleppo and neighboring cities. The victorious sultan reorganized the administration of northern Syria and the Jazira and allotted fief (iqta) in the districts occupied by him. {Z4l Y et his measures did not calm the region that suffered from continuing unrest, instability wars and sieges that ravaged farms and cities. ı2sı Among the step§ that Malik-Shah took while he was in Northern Syria was the namination of

19 Also his attempts to conquest Cairo failed. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Mirat al-Zaman, Sevim, 178 (AH. 468), 182-84 (AH. 469).

20 Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Mırat al-Zaman, Sevim, 179, 180 (AH. 468), 197 (AH 471) 21 Ibn al-Qalarusi, Dlıayl ta 'rfklı dimaslıq, ed. Aınedroz, 108, 112 and the appendix on pages

110-112; Zakkar, 174, 176, 178 (note), 182-183; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi al-ta 'riklı, 8: 418 (AH 471) [Ricbards (trans.), TheAnnals oftlıe Saljuq Turks, 197.

22 Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Mırat al-zaman, ed. Sevim, 234 (AH 479 al-turkuman al-nawakiyya). 23 Sibn ibn al-Jawzi, Mirat al-zaman, ed. Sevim 240 (AH 479) 24 'Izz al-Din Abu 'Abd Allah Mul:ıaınınad b. 'Ali b. Ibrahim Ibn Shaddiid al-Halabi (613-

684/1217-1285), al-A 'laq al-klıatiralıfi dlıikr umara' al-sham wal-jazfra ed. Y. Z. Abbada (Damascus, 1991), 112: 102.

25 Ibn Shaddad, al-A 'laq al-klıatiralı,l/2: 18 (Balis), 43, 83-84 (Azzaz).

Sunni UlamaAnd Fuqaha in BiladAI-Sham (1055-1099)

Qasim al-Dawla Aq Sunqur, one his mamluks and a commander in royal Saljuqid army to serve as govemor of Aleppo (479/10.86). {26

}

The sources offer a detailed desetiption of the sultan endeavors in Northem Syria and his symbolic deeds. They reflect his visian of the sultanate. The im portance of the story does not lays in the actual fa ct if it happened or not, but that it was received by the Muslim subjects of the sultanate as mirroring the power and aim of Malik Shah. This reception reflects the chariging image of the Saljuqs and the adıniration that the population felt. It is told that:

"Malik Shah went to Antioch for the last time in the year 481/1088-89, and from there he went to Latakiya on the seacoast. They gave the horses water from the sea, and the sultan prayed (sajjada khwast) two indinations (rak 'at namaz) [and put his face on the ground], giving thanks that his dominions (mamalik) reached from the extreme East to the shores of the Westem Sea, and had become immortalized on the fa ce of time". {27} A similar account of Malik Shah's riding into the Mediterranean waters is provided by Ibn al-'Adım, the histarian of Aleppo. {28}

Taj al-Dawla Tutush in Damascus

Earlier I mentioned that Taj al-Daulah Tutush the son of Alp-Arslan conquered Damascus (in 471/September 1078) and annexed southem Syria to the Great Saljuq sultanate, at least officially. Tutush's family ruled Damascus as viceroys until 497/1104. Fallawing the death of Malik-Shah Aleppo was contested between several aspirants. Tutush, the ruler of D?mascus defeated and killed Aq-Sunqur (1094). After Tutush's death (488/1095) the city passed to his son Ridwan (d. 507/1113).

It was argued that the incursion of the Ghuzz into Syria, followed by the annexation of this land to the sultanate of the Great Saljuqs is incompletely recorded in the sources. One way to broaden our knowledge of this development and the results it had upon the local

26 Sibt lbn al-Jawzi, Mira! al-Zaman, Sevim, 244 (AH. 480); lbn al-Qalanisi, ed. Zakkar, 196; Nishapuri says that this happerred in 481/1088-89; Morton, 29/Luther, 59.

27 Zahir al-Din Nishapuri, Saljuq Nama ed. A.H. Morton (ed.), The Saljuqnama of Zahir al­Din Nislıapuri: a critica/ text making use oj the ımique manuscript in tlıe library of the Royal Asiatic Society (London, 2004), 28-29 [Kenneth Allin Luther (trans.), The history of tlıe Seljuq Turks From tlıe Jami al-Tawariklı: An Ilklıanid adaption oftlıe Saljuq Nama of :?ahir al-Din Nislıapuri ed. C. Edmund Bosworth (Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 2001), 59].

28 lbn al- 'Adim (588-660/1192-1262), Zubdat al-~ıalab min ta 'rfklı balab ed. Dahhan,l: 324.

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society and the landscape is by studying the building activity that the newcomers were involved with during the years c.441-492/1050-1099.

On Tutush aspirations we leam from several archeological objects that have been discovered in Syria. An inscription on a pillar supporting the cupola in the great Mosque of Damascus (dated 475/1082-83), anather inscription on the great minaret at Aleppo (undated presumably c. 487) and a third one on the walls of Diyarbakir (Amid; dated 487/1094) shed light on Tutush's investments in public constructions in Bilad al-Sham and beyand its borders. ı29ı

A gold coin (dinar) elucidates the image that Tutush struggled to radiate. It contains the motto justices (' adO, the first part of the shahada, the name of the caliph al:Mustazhir bi-Allah (tl. 487-512/1094-1118), two verses from the Qur'an {Surat al-Rum, 30: 3-4} the mint' city name (Rayy) and date (487/1094). The reverse side contains the motto li-Allah, the second half of the shahada, and Tutush's honorifics: al­sultan al-mu 'CI?;am (the elevated sultan), 'Izz al-Dunya (the glory of the world), 'Açlud al-din (support of religion) and his filionymic Abu Sa'id and his own name Tutush b. Mul).ammad anda verse from the Qur'an {al-Tawba, 9: 33}. {301'

The selection ·Of these Quranic verses is not an unintentional choice. Both reflect the visian that the political order of the day is in anticipation of Allah's arrangements: "3- With Allah is the Decision, in the past and in the Future: on that Day shall the Believers rejoice. 4-With the help of Allah. He helps whom He will, and He is exalted in might, most merciful". ı3 ıı The verse on the opposite contains an anti­heresy (Fatimid) tane: "It is He Who hath sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest it". ı32ı

It is worth to mention that in the narrative sources Tutush is named Taj al-Dawla (the crown of the Abbasid dynasty). The inscriptions add the hanariftes Siraj al-Ummah (lantem of the community) and Sharaf al-Millah (glory of the congregation). This information adds to our effort to reconstruct Tutush's self-presentation, which emphasized his valuable role in the service of Islamdom.

29 Van Berchem, Inscription Arabes de Syrie: Epigraphie des Atabeks de Damas

30 Published by G. Miles, "Tutush, Ephemeral Sultan", in Studies in the histmy of culture: the disciplines of the hımıanities (1942)

31 Surat al-Rum, 30: 3-4. 32 al-Tawba, 9: 33.

Suımi Ulama And Fuqaha in Bilad Al-Sham (1055-1099)

The Reaction of the Syrian Population

Certainly the first waves of the advancing Nawakiyy.a and other Turkmen bands instigated great fear among the sedentary population of Bilad al-Sham. {33} Their attacks on villages and town caused damage. lt is argued that this led to forced replacements. Y et the sources report also on pea ce, reconstruction and revival of commerce and farming. {34} We may assume that key to consolidate these conflicting accounts lays in a chronological interpretation of the events, namely we should differentiate between the first assaults and the stage of institutionalization. Thus for example the Turkmens appointed Muhammad b. Hasan b. Musa b. 'Abdallah al-Balasha 'üni, also known by the name al-Ashqali al-Hanafi (d. 506/1112) as chief kadi of J erusalem. {35}

Abu Bakr ibn al-'Arabi, a Spanish writer and scholar (of Seville), visited Jerusalem in 1093-1095, that is during the rule of Ilghazi. and Sukman, the sons of Artuq. During his years in Jerusalem he stayed mainly in the neighborhood of the Haram al-Sharif. The account by [).im supports the suggested interpretation. He speaks of lively spiritual activities in the Shafi'ite madrasa near Bab al-Asbat and mentions discussions with the Hanafites. {36}

Another example to conflicts between these legal schools can be extracted from other works by lbn al-Arabi. In his exegesis on Malik's Kitiib al-Muwatta' {37} and also in his book "Exegesis of al-Ghazali (kitab qanun al-ta'wil [lil-ghazali])"the kadi Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Arabi narrates that during his visit in Palestine the Artukid govemor of southem Palestin.e attempted to snatch the property of Tamim al-Dari family in Hebron. The govemor's decision was endorsed by the judge I;Iamid al-Harawi al-I;Ianafi. The well-known savant Abu I;Iamid al-

33 Abu a!-Qasim 'Ali Ibn 'Asakir, (499-571/1106-1176), Ta'riklı madfnat dimaslıq wa-dlıikr façllulıa wa-tasmiyat man /:ıallalıa min al-amatlıil au ijtaza bi-nmvalıilıa min waridilıa au alıalilıaed. M. al-'Amrawi (Damascus 1415/1995), 7: 348.

34 Ibn 'Asakir, Ta 'ri/dı madfnat dimaslıq, ll: 35 (quoting Ibn Zuraiq of Maarat Nurnan (bom 1051) and lost source for the coming of the Franks. On him see Steven Runcirnan, A History of tlıe Crusades: Tlıe Fil·st Crusade and tlıe Foundation of tlıe (Penguin Books 1952/1971), 1:334.

35 Mujir al-Din a!-'Ulaymi, al-U/lS ai-Jalil bi-Ta~·iklı ai-Quds wa-ai-Klıalil, 1:299. 36 Mujir al-Din Abu al-Yaman 'Abd a!-Ralpnan b. Mul;ıammad al-'Ulaymi (1456-ca.l521), al­

U/ıs ai-Jalil bi-ta 'ri/dı al-quds wal-klıalfl (Amman: Maktabat Muhtasib, 1973), 1: 297-98 37 Abu Balcr Mul;ıammad b. 'Abd Allah Ibn al-'Arabi al-Ma'afiri a!-Maliki (468-543/1076-

1148), ai-Qabas fi slıar~ımuıva!(' malik ibn anas ed. M. Ab Alla! W ald Karim (Beirut: Dar a!-Gharb al-Islami, 1992), 2: 796; ibid, ai-Masiilik fi slıar~ı Mırwatfa' Millik tahqiq Mul;ıammad ibn al-I:Iusayn al-Sulaymani (Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Isliimi, 2007), 6: 37; ibid, al- 'Awilşim min al-qmvilşim ed. Tatibi (Cairo, 1974), 33.

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Ghazali al-Tusi, who stayed during these daysin Jerusalem, supported the al-Dari family. These account shed light on tension between local families and the Atrak as well as on opposition voiced by Muslim scholars to their policy.

S yınbois of Power - Constructions

It was already mentioned before that several relics explore Seljuqs' architectural patranage in Damascus {38} and Aleppo. These epigraphic and architectural evidences prop the thesis of a tum in the Atrak's modus operati in Syria. Starting with Atsiz in Damascus and Aq Sunqur in Aleppo they constructed public buildings. This policy was continued under the directian of other Saljuq govemors and their succeeding Atabegs dynasties: the Burid of Damascus (1104-1154) and in Riçlwan's progeny in Aleppo (488-523/1095-1129). The constructions included including tombs, khiinaqiihs (hospices), madrasas (religious colleges), and a' hospital.

Tutush's renovations at the Great Mosque, which has been badly damaged in riots, included the building of a maqşura in the Great Mosque of Damascus (in 475/1802-82). {39} Tutush alsa invested repairs at the mosque of Aleppo (in 487/1095). Although the earliest dated madrasa in Syria is said to be the one built by Gi:imüshtigin in Busra (c. 530/1136), from narrative sources we leam the under the Saljuqs a madrasa was constructed in Jerusalem prior the first Crusade. {4o}

The inscription at al-Aqsa Mosque recently published by Mehmet Tütüncü and Khader Salameh illuminates the theoretical structure of the Seljuq Sultanate, their ideology and the very fact that they invested in what they considered to be the holiest sacred Islamic space in the Fertile Crescent. Tutush, at that date the ruler of Damascus, presents himself: "The illustrators, supported [by Allah], victorious, triumphant, the Crown of the [Abbasid] Dynasty, the honor of the [Muslim] congregation, the son of the King of Islam and the supporter of the Commander of the Faithful". What Tutush had renovated is not stated in the inscription as is no indication of the exact location of the construction. {4 ı}

38 Finbarr B. Flood, "A Group of Reused Byzantine Tables as Evidence for Seljuq Architectural Patrenage in Damascus", Iran39 (2001): 145-154.

39 Henry Cassels, "A Seljukite Inscription at Damascus", JRAS (1897): 337. 40 Abu Bakr Mul;ıammad b. Abd Allah Ibn al-'Arabi, (d. 543/1148). Qiiniin al-ta'wfl ed. al­

Sulimani (Beirut, 1986), 433-434. 41 "Mescid-i Aksa'da saklı Selçuklu kitabesi", Yedikila (Turkish Histerical Journal)

(September 2011): 15.

Sunni Ulama And Fuqaha in Bilad Al-Sham ( 1055-1099)

An inscription on a well in Aleppo says: "Ordered to construct ·it the grant sultan the king of kings the lord of the Arabs and the Persian the sultan of the Earth the King of the nations (malik riqab al-umam) Abu al-Fatl) Malik Shah the right hand of the Commander of the Faithful. The construction was accomplished under the supervision of (fi wilayat) of Qasim al-Dawla Abi (Ab u) Shuja' Alb (Alp) Aq Sunqur in the year 480/1087-88". {42J

Qasim al-Dawla Aci Sunqur (1086-1094) also renovated and added new components at the great mosque of Aleppo (in 483/1091). {43} The inscription sa:Ys: "This minaret was constructed (juddida) {44}

during the term in office (dawla) of our lord (mawla) the great sultan the king of the kings Malik Shah at the time when [the govemor of Aleppo] was Alp Abu Sa'id Aq Sunqur. The work was commissioned by Ibn Khashshab and . executed by Basan al-Sarmani. {45} A second inscription declares: "The construction of this building was finished jn. accordance to orders given during the reigning days (dawla) of the ;eıevated sultan the king of kings Tutush". {46}

Taj al-Mulk Abu al-Ghana'im al-Marzuban b. Khusrau Firuz supervised (c. 485/1092) the rebuilding of Maqam Ibrahim shrine, as can be deduced from an inscription on its door. {47} The first khanqah in Aleppo was built by Shams al-Khawass Lulu (509/1115-16). {48} The history of its construction illuminates the history of Aleppo, the tense between Sunnis and Shiites and the function of madrasas as a Sunni bastion. The first madrasa in Aleppo, the Zajjajiyya, was built a decade latter by Abu Rabi b. Artuq (in 519/1125). He was able to complete his

42 Ernst Herzfeld, Materiaux pour un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum, pt. 2, Syrie du N ord. Inscriptions et monuments d'Alep (Cairo: Memoires de f!Institut Français d'Arc!ıeologie Orientale, 1954--56), lll: 112 (no. 57).

43 Ibn al-Qalanisi, ed. Zakkar, 197; Shamsal-Din Yusuf b. Qizughlu Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi (582-654/1186-1257), Mirat al-zamanfi tarik/ı al-a 'yan 481-517/1088-1123 ed. M. al-Ghamidi (Mecca, 1987), 1: 129 (umİITat).

44 Ernst Herzfeld, Materiaux pour wı C01pus Inscriptionum Arabicarum, Alep, 162. 45 Herzfeld, Materiaux, Alep, III: 150-151. On the minaret see Barbara Brend, Islamic art

(London, 1991),99. 46 Herzfeld, Materiaux pour un Coıpus Inscriptionum Arabicannn, Alep, III: 153 (no. 77 et pl. 58). 47 Herzfeld, Materiaux pour un Coıpus Inscriptionwn Arabicanım, Alep, III: 177; Ibn al­

adim, Buglıyat 4555. 48 'Izz al-Din Abu 'Abd Allah Mul;ıarnmad ibn 'Ali b. Ihrahim Ibn Shaddad al-I:Ialabi (613-

684/1217-1285), al-A 'laq al-klıatfra fi dlıikr umara' al-sham wal-jazfra ed. Y. z. Abbada (Damascus, 1991), 223/Sourdel 93.

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Sunni Ulama And Fuqaha İn Bilad Al-Sham (1055-1099)

project, which was populated by the Shafiites, only with the help of the localleader of the ashraf. {49ı

The Zangids, who are outside the domain of the present research, continued this construction policy. Aq-Sunqur al-Bursuqi al-Ghazi (d. 1125) { 5oı built al-Mashad al-I:Iusayni in Aleppo. {5 ıı His son Imad al-Din Zangi, who seized Aleppo in 522/1128 enlarged local building and · institutions of leaming. Shams al-Din Abu Bakr Al;ımad ibn al-Ajami (d. 531/1136) established in his house a sufi center (khanaka). His brother Sharf al-Din Abu Talib Abd al-RaQ.man contributed the house to the sufies. {5zı The name al-Ajami might indicate that the family originated in Iran on in Transoxania.

The protocols of the inscripti~ms presented here, which can be compared to other contemporary inscriptions and thus better comprehended, illustrate the self-image of the Saljuqid ruler of Syria and his self-presentation. It is a mixture of titles: Iranian (Shiih-in-Shiih), Islamic (Sayyid al-umma), Abbasi (Tiij al-dawla al-qahira; Niişir amzr al­mu 'minzn) and Saljuqid (al-Sultan al-mu 'O+?am). The assumption ofthese royal titles demonstrates integration of the Saljuqs and other Turkic people in the prevailing Islamic discourse of the La te Middle Period.

In Conclusion

This paper is a report on a work in progress. In addition to narrative sources archeological objects were used. The data accumulated from coins and inscriptions modifies the general negative picture of Medieval Atrak. In relatively short period they were acculturated in the Islamic civilization of Iran and Westem Asia. They established strong ties with the local religious establishment, introduced new institutions and acquired a new image.

In the oral presentation I will build upon these introductory outlines to talk on the political dictionary of Saljuqis of Syria and on the relations be)Ween them and the Islamic religious establishment in the territories that they controlled. I will analyze their contribution to the spread of madaris and khawanik in this part of the Islarnic World, as well as, their changing image.

49 Izz al-Din Abu 'Abd Allah Mııl).anırnad ibn 'Ali b. Ihrahim Ibn Shaddad al-I;Ialabi (613-684/1217-1285), al-A 'laq al-khatfra fi dhikr umara' al-sham waljazfra ed. Y. z. Abbada (Damascus, 1991), 1: 241/ed. Sourdel, 96.

50 On him see Alex Mallett, "The life of Aq-Sunqur al-Bursuqi: some notes on twelfth­century Islamic history and thirteenth-century Muslim historiography", Turkish Histarical Review 2 (2011): 39-56.

51 Ibn Shaddad, al-A 'laq al-khatfra, 1: 144, 150/ Sourdel, 46, 49. 52 Ibn Shaddad, al-A 'laq al-khatfra, 1: 234/Sourdel, 94.