Taj al-Muluk Buri

Taj al-Muluk Buri (Arabic: ﺗﺎﺝ ﺍﻟﻤﻠﻮﻙ ﺑﻮﺭﻱ‎‎; died 6 June 1132) was an atabeg of Damascus from 1128 to 1132. He was initially an officer in the army of Duqaq, the Seljuq ruler of Damascus, together with his father Toghtekin. When the latter took power after Duqaq's death, Buri acted as regent and later became atabeg himself. Damascus's Burid dynasty was named for him.

Biography

Buri is mentioned for the first time in 1099, when Duqaq sent him to take possession of Jableh, a town between Antioch and Tripoli which had rebelled against Fakhr al-Mulk ibn 'Ammar, qādī of Tripoli. Buri however acted as a despotic governor and the population appealed to Fakhr al-Mulk ibn 'Ammar, who captured him. Buri was however treated well and send back to Damascus.^[1]

In 1102, count Raymond IV of Toulouse besieged Tripoli. Fakhr al-Mulk sued for help to Damascus, but in vain. In 1104 Duqaq died and the power went to his vizier Toghtekin. In 1108 Fakhr al-Mulk went to Baghdad to obtain help from the caliph, accompanied by Buri. When the two returned in Damascus, they were informed that Tripoli had fell in Crusaders' hands.^[2] In 1110, the eunuch Gümüshtegin was deposed for intriguing against Buri's father; his domain around Baalbek was given to Buri.^[3]

In 1119, Buri led an army against king Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who had raided Adra'āt and halted him on a hill, where the Crusaders entrenched and stood against Buri's assault until he was crushed.^[4] On 25 January 1126, Buri fought with his father against the Crusaders at Shaqhab, but they were both defeated by Baldwin II. The winners had however suffered heavy losses, and could not march against Damascus, which was then largely undefended.^[5]

Buri succeeded Toghtekin, uncontested, in February 1128. The following year, his vizier discovered a plot set by the Assassins to deliver Damascus to the Crusaders. Baldwin, who ignored that the plot had been brought to light, arrived with his army near Damascus and besieged it. The siege lasted until 5 December 1129, when the western troops were forced to retreat after heavy rains had turned the surroundings of the city into a marsh.^[6]

In May 1131, two Ismailites of Buri's personal guard tried to kill him, and he was severely wounded. Despite the cares of Damascus' best physicians, he accelerated his convalescence: after riding a horse, his wound opened back, causing his death in June 1132.^[7]

He was succeeded by his three sons Ismail, Mahmud, and Muhammad, who fought one another over the inheritance and were eventually assassinated.

References

Citations

1. Grousset, René (1936). Histoire des croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem. pp. 257–268.
2. Grousset, René (1936). Histoire des croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem. p. 397.
3. EI (1913), p. 543.
4. Grousset, René (1936). Histoire des croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem. pp. 581–582.
5. Grousset, René (1936). Histoire des croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem. pp. 669–672.
6. Grousset, René (1936). Histoire des croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem. pp. 690–692.
7. Maalouf, Amin (1983). Les croisades vues par les arabes. J'ai lu. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-2-290-11916-7.

Bibliography

• "Baalbek", Encyclopaedia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography, and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples, 1st ed., Vol. I, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1913, pp. 543–544.
• Grousset, René (1936). Histoire des croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem.
• Maalouf, Amin (1983). Les croisades vues par les arabes. J'ai lu. ISBN 978-2-290-11916-7.
• Runciman, Steven. History of the Crusades.