In order to retain power, Lu'lu' placed Alp Arslan's younger brother, Sultan Shah, on the throne.
[1] However, the situation with the crusaders was dire, as Roger of Salerno, regent of Antioch, demanded a tax from Aleppo on each Muslim pilgrim going to Mecca, which pushed the Alepine population to the limit, in addition Lu'lu' was assassinated by the soldiers of his escort in April 1117.
The qadi of the city, Ibn al-Khashshab, aware that Aleppo was under constant threat from the Franks, explained to the notables that the security of Aleppo was permanently compromised, hence he proposed that they entrust the city to a capable Turcoman leader, Ilghazi.
The latter advanced to take possession of the city during the summer of 1118 and married a daughter of Ridwan, meanwhile Sultan Shah went into exile.
However, the natives rejected Timurtash, who lost interest in the fight against the Franks and settled in Mardin, abandoning Aleppo, as he found that there were too many wars against the Franks, according to Ibn al-Athir, and offered the city to the atabeg of Mosul, Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi.