As-Salih Ismail al-Malik

Abu al-Fath Ismail bin Nur al-Din Mahmud bin Imad al-Din bin Aq Sunqur al-Zangi commonly known as As-Salih Ismaʿil al-Malik (Full name: (1163–1181) was the Zengid emir of Damascus and emir of Aleppo in 1174, the son of Nur ad-Din.

Biography He was only eleven years old when his father died in 1174. As-Salih came under the protection of the eunuch Gümüshtekin and was taken to Aleppo, while Nur ad-Din's officers competed for supremacy. In Egypt, Saladin recognized as-Salih as his lord, although he in fact was eager to unite Egypt and Syria under his own personal rule. In 1174, Saladin took Baalbek after a four-month siege and then entered Damascus, proclaiming himself to be Ismail's true regent. In 1176, Saladin defeated the Zengids outside the city, married Ismat ad-Din Khatun, and was recognized as ruler of Syria. As-Salih died in 1181 of illness. Following his death, Saladin took control of Aleppo and added it to his rule under the expanding Ayyubid Sultanate. According to crusader legend, his mother was the sister of Bertrand of Toulouse, Razi Khatun, who had been captured by Nur ad-Din in the aftermath of the Second Crusade; a similar legend existed concerning the mother of Zengi, as-Salih's grandfather.