[3] It formed a Turkoman dynasty of Sunni Muslim faith,[4] which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia, and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169.

In 1149, he defeated Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch, at the battle of Inab, and the next year conquered the remnants of the County of Edessa west of the Euphrates.

[18] In 1164, Latin Patriarch of Antioch Aimery of Limoges sent a letter to King Louis VII of France, in which he described the events in the Crusader States: "[Shirkuh] having gotten possession of Damascus, the latter entered Egypt with a great force of Turks, in order to conquer the country.

"[19] In 1163, the vizier to the Fatimid caliph al-Adid, Shawar, had been driven out of Egypt by his rival Dirgham, a member of the powerful Banu Ruzzaik tribe.

They sacked Bilbais, and the Crusader-Egyptian force and Shirkuh's army were to engage in the Battle of al-Babein on the desert border of the Nile, just west of Giza.

The Crusader force enjoyed early success against Shirkuh's troops, but the terrain was too steep and sandy for their horses, and commander Hugh of Caesarea was captured while attacking Saladin's unit.

Upon seizing power, he switched Egypt's allegiance to the Baghdad-based Abbasid Caliphate which adhered to Sunni Islam, rather than traditional Fatimid Shia practice.

In the early summer of 1174, Nur ad-Din was mustering an army, sending summons to Mosul, Diyar Bakr, and the Jazira in an apparent preparation of an attack against Saladin's Egypt.

[27] In the wake of Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin was tempted to annex Syria before it could possibly fall into the hands of a rival, but he feared that attacking a land that formerly belonged to his master —forbidden in the Islamic principles in which he believed— could portray him as hypocritical, thus making him unsuitable for leading the war against the Crusaders.

In this emergency, the emir of Damascus appealed to Saif ad-Din of Mosul (a cousin of Gumushtigin) for assistance against Aleppo, but he refused, forcing the Syrians to request the aid of Saladin, who complied.

[32] Leaving his brother Tughtakin ibn Ayyub as Governor of Damascus, Saladin proceeded to reduce other cities that had belonged to Nur ad-Din, but were now practically independent.

[35] Meanwhile, Saladin's rivals in Syria and Jazira waged a propaganda war against him, claiming he had "forgotten his own condition [servant of Nur ad-Din]" and showed no gratitude for his old master by besieging his son, rising "in rebellion against his Lord".

Heavily outnumbered, Saladin initially attempted to make terms with the Zengids by abandoning all conquests north of the Damascus province, but they refused, insisting he return to Egypt.

His assaults were again resisted, but he managed to secure not only a truce, but a mutual alliance with Aleppo, in which Gumushtigin and as-Salih were allowed to continue their hold on the city, and in return, they recognized Saladin as the sovereign over all of the dominions he conquered.

When the treaty was concluded, the younger sister of as-Salih came to Saladin and requested the return of the Fortress of A'zaz; he complied and escorted her back to the gates of Aleppo with numerous presents.

Prior to his death, he had his chief officers swear an oath of loyalty to Izz ad-Din, as he was the only Zengid ruler strong enough to oppose Saladin.

[45] Once Saladin reached Bira, near the river, he was joined by Kukbary and Nur ad-Din of Hisn Kayfa and the combined forces captured the cities of Jazira, one after the other.

Izz ad-Din would not accept his terms because he considered them disingenuous and extensive, and Saladin immediately laid siege to the heavily fortified city.

[55] After several minor skirmishes and a stalemate in the siege that was initiated by the caliph, Saladin intended to find a way to withdraw without damage to his reputation while still keeping up some military pressure.

[62] Saladin attempted to gain the Caliph an-Nasir's support against Izz ad-Din by sending him a letter requesting a document that would give him legal justification for taking over Mosul and its territories.

He also promised that if Mosul was given to him, it would lead to the capture of Jerusalem, Constantinople, Georgia, and the lands of the Almohads in the Maghreb, "until the word of God is supreme and the Abbasid caliphate has wiped the world clean, turning the churches into mosques".

According to Imad ad-Din, after Tell Khalid, Saladin took a detour northwards to Aintab, but he gained possession of it when his army turned towards it, allowing him to quickly move backward another c. 100 km towards Aleppo.

On 21 May, he camped outside the city, positioning himself east of the Citadel of Aleppo, while his forces encircled the suburb of Banaqusa to the northeast and Bab Janan to the west.

In spite of his earlier hesitation to go through with the exchange, he had no doubts about his success, stating that Aleppo was "the key to the lands" and "this city is the eye of Syria and the citadel is its pupil".

Upon Abbasid encouragement, Saladin and Mas'ud negotiated a treaty in March 1186 that left the Zengids in control of Mosul, but under the obligation to supply the Ayyubids with military support when requested.

In April 1204 the Ayyubid coalition swiftly defeated Nur ad-Din's forces at Nusaybin, chasing them back to Mosul where they attacked several of the surrounding villages.

[77][78][79] The best description of these troops appears in the mid-13th century Warqa wa Gulshah, where numerous weapons are depicted, such as javelins, spears, swords, bows, maces and lassos.

[77] Nur al-Din's army mainly consisted in Turcoman horse archers and Kurd spear-armed horsemen, in addition to professional ghulams, and Bedouin auxiliary cavalry, as well as large infantry elements.

[81]: 53–4 The body of Mosul metalwork significantly expands in the 1220s - several signed and dated items are known from this decade, which according to Julian Raby "probably reflects the craft's growing status and production.

Arab sources report that he also made several other improvements, such as a high, brick-walled entrance ramp, a palace, and a racecourse likely covered with grass.