Mansur ibn Lu'lu'

Manṣūr ibn Luʾluʾ , also known by his laqab (honorific epithet) of Murtaḍā ad-Dawla (, 'Approved of the State'), was the ruler of the Emirate of Aleppo between 1008 and 1016. He succeeded his father Lu'lu' al-Kabir, with whom he had shared power. Unlike Lu'lu', however, Mansur's rule was opposed by Aleppo's notables, who chafed at his oppression and monopolization of power. Both Mansur and his father harassed the remaining members of the Hamdanid dynasty, in whose name they ostensibly ruled. On the diplomatic front, Mansur balanced ties with both the Byzantine Empire and the Fatimid Caliphate, and maintained the emirate's Shia Muslim orientation.

Mansur fought off two attempts to reinstall Hamdanid rule in the city, critically aided each time by the powerful Banu Kilab tribe. In return, Mansur promised the Kilab half of the emirate's revenues, but reneged on the agreement. To rid himself of the Kilab, he set a trap for them by inviting hundreds of their tribesmen to a feast only to ambush them. The tribesmen were either killed or imprisoned in the Citadel of Aleppo between 1012 and 1014. By the latter year, one of the Kilabi chieftains, Salih ibn Mirdas, escaped and went to war with Mansur, who was captured. To gain his freedom, he agreed to release all Kilabi prisoners and accord Salih half of the emirate's revenues. He reneged on the latter stipulation, prompting a renewal of conflict with the Kilab, who effectively besieged Aleppo. In 1016, Mansur's citadel commander, Fath al-Qal'i, rebelled in collaboration with Salih and forced Mansur to flee Aleppo. The Byzantine emperor Basil II gave Mansur asylum in Antioch and a fief near the Byzantine–Arab frontier. Afterward, Mansur became a commander of a Byzantine army unit and was in the entourage of Emperor Romanos III during the Battle of Azaz against Salih's son and successor, Shibl al-Dawla Nasr, in 1030.

Early life and career Mansur was the son of Lu'lu' al-Kabir, a former ghulām (slave soldier; pl. ghilmān) of the Hamdanid emirs of Aleppo who became ḥājib (chamberlain) under Emir Sa'd al-Dawla (r. 967–991). Though Sa'd was officially succeeded by his son Sa'id al-Dawla, power was effectively held by Lu'lu' al-Kabir. Both Mansur and Lu'lu' harassed the remaining members of the Hamdanid dynasty in Aleppo, prompting one of them, Abu al-Hayja', to flee the city for Byzantine territory where he received official protection. At one point Mansur was made governor of Raqqa, which was taken from him by the Numayrid emir Waththab ibn Sabiq in 1007.

Emir of Aleppo

Conflict with the Hamdanids Lu'lu' al-Kabir died in 1008 and was succeeded by Mansur. On the diplomatic front, he maintained the Byzantines' virtual protectorate over Aleppo, though he also developed contacts with the Cairo-based Fatimid Caliphate.

With Mansur's rule lacking any strong foundation, his opponents among Aleppine factions or individuals, unnamed in sources, resolved to move against him and install Abu'l-Hayja' to the emirate. Mumahhid al-Dawla secured Byzantine Emperor Basil II's permission for Abu'l-Hayja' to leave Byzantine territory and depose Mansur, provided that Mumahhid bear the financial expense of such an endeavor. Indeed, Mumahhid supplied Abu'l-Hayja' with money and 200 horsemen, and the Hamdanid was further promised the critical support of the Kilabi chieftains, whom he met on his way to Aleppo. The Fatimid troops marched toward Abu'l-Hayja's camp, after which the Kilab, having secretly agreed to Mansur's offer, abandoned Abu'l-Hayja'. This army made it to Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, in Aleppo's countryside, in 1011, but retreated after encountering resistance by the Kilab, who attempted to kidnap Abu al-Ma'ali Sharif and sell him to Mansur. According to Zakkar, the Kilab "neither understood nor trusted diplomacy. When Mansur paid nothing to the Kilabis they began to take." He pretended to accept Kilabi demands and enter a permanent settlement with the tribe. However, Mansur shortly after rescinded these good faith measures following Muqallid's death at Kafartab and the dispersal of his tribesmen. Mansur executed several Kilabi chieftains in captivity, and tortured others, while many died from the poor conditions they were kept in. Moreover, al-Hakim bestowed on Mansur the title of murtaḍā ad-dawla ('approved of the Dynasty' or 'content of the State'). Though relations deteriorated in 1011, by 1014 Mansur resumed friendly ties with al-Hakim.

Struggle with Salih ibn Mirdas Among Mansur's Kilabi prisoners was Salih ibn Mirdas, the emir of al-Rahba. On 3 July 1014, Salih managed to escape the citadel and rejoin his tribesmen at Marj Dabiq, north of Aleppo. While contemporary Aleppine chronicles hold that Salih escaped through acrobatic means, On 13 August, Salih routed the Aleppine force, killing some 2,000 of Mansur's soldiers, and capturing Mansur and his senior commanders.

Two of Mansur's brothers escaped the Kilabi onslaught and returned to Aleppo, where they maintained order in the city with assistance from their mother.

In retaliation against Mansur's reneging on their deal, Salih attacked Aleppo and prevented movement into and out of the city. This caused severe hardship for its inhabitants and Mansur was unable to challenge the Kilab alone. He thus appealed for support from Basil II, warning him that the Bedouin uprising was bound to harm the Byzantine Empire. Mansur pinned the blame for his troubles with the Kilab on Fath, whom he accused of conniving with Salih. Mansur did not have the power to forcibly remove Fath; instead, he attempted to set a trap against Fath, inviting the latter to meet him outside the citadel. Fath caught wind of Mansur's intrigues, locked the gates of the citadel and opened a rebellion against Mansur. providing refuge to former rulers of Aleppo was a common Byzantine practice because such ex-rulers could be used to pressure or threaten their successors. Salih then had Mansur's womenfolk safely returned to him in Antioch, with the exception of one of Mansur's daughters, whom Salih wed per his previous agreement with Mansur. Mansur later built a fortress in his fief. Mansur received a salary and he and his men served in the Byzantine army of Antioch, where he commanded a tagma (professional regiment) of 700 men. Mansur's presence likely indicates Romanos's intention to restore Mansur to Aleppo, according to Zakkar, though the attempt ended in a decisive Byzantine defeat.