ZANGI

born 1084 died 1146, Mosul, Iraq in full 'imad Ad-din Zangi Ibn Aq Sonqur, Zangi also spelled Zengi Iraqi ruler who founded the Zangid dynasty and led the first important counterattacks against the crusader kingdoms in the Middle East. When Zangi's father, the governor of Aleppo, was killed in 1094, Zangi fled to Mosul. He served the Seljuq dynasty, and in 1126 the Seljuq sultan, Mahmud II, appointed Zangi governor of Basra. When the 'Abbasid dynasty caliph al-Mustarshid rebelled in 1127, Zangi supported the sultan, and the victorious Mahmud II rewarded Zangi by giving him the governorship of Mosul. Next, the key city of Aleppo submitted to Zangi's authority to secure military protection against a possible Frankish crusader conquest. Zangi thus came to exercise authority over a considerable geographic area, but he wanted to create a kingdom that would also include Syria and Palestine. He was charged by the sultan with the duty of defeating the Christian crusaders, and he saw himself as the champion of Islam. He was opposed, however, by Muslim princes who refused to accept his authority as well as by the crusaders. To both, Zangi reacted with equal harshness. By diplomacy, treachery, and warfare he steadily extended his authority, with the immediate goal of securing control of Damascusa goal he never achieved. He did, however, capture Edessa, an important focal point of Frankish authority, in 1144the crusaders' first serious setback. Zangi could not press his advantage. Returning to Iraq to repress a revolt there, he was killed by a servant who bore him a personal grudge.