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Nur ad-Din Mahmud bin Zengi (also Nur ed-Din, Nur al-Din, or Nureddin) was the second son of Zengi, the atabeg of Aleppo and Mosul. He succeeded his father in Aleppo in 1146 while his brother Saif ad-Din Ghazi came to power in Mosul. Almost as soon as he began his rule, he defeated an attempt by the Crusaders to retake the County of Edessa, which had been conquered by Zengi in 1144. In 1147 the leaders of the Second Crusade, called after the fall of Edessa, decided to attack Damascus, the city that had allied with the Kingdom of Jerusalem when Zengi had attempted to conquer it. Damascus requested help from Nur ad-Din this time, however, and the Crusader siege was a failure.
After relieving the siege, Nur ad-Din attacked the Principality of Antioch in June, 1149. Raymond of Antioch was killed in the ensuing Battle of Inab, and Nur ad-Din symbolically bathed in the Mediterranean Sea.
Nur ad-Din finally gained possession of Damascus after besieging the city in 1154Events King Stephen of England dies at Dover, and is succeeded by his adopted son Henry Plantagenet who becomes King Henry II of England, aged 21. Sweden's King Eric introduces Christianity to Finland (see History of Finland). December 14 Nicholas Breaksp; SyriaThe Syrian Arab Republic is a country in Southwest Asia, bordering (from south to north) on Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. The border with Israel is subject to dispute, pending the resolution of outstanding conflicts over possession of the Gola was now politically unified as one family was in control of the three most important cities.
However, Ascalon had fallen to the Crusaders in 1153Events January 6 Henry of Anjou arrives in England. May 24 Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland. July 9 Anastasius IV becomes pope. Theobald of Bec reconciles Stephen of England and Matilda, ending " The Anarchy" and allowing Matilda's son Henry of Anjou t, leaving EgyptJumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah ( In Detail) Official language Arabic Capital Cairo Largest City Cairo President Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Area Total % water Ranked 29th 1,001,450 kmē 0. 6% Population Total (2003) Density Ranked 15th 74,718,797 isolated from Syria. In 1163Events Owain Gwynedd is recognized as ruler of Wales. Silesian duchies accept suzerainty of Holy Roman Empire. Law of Succession is introduced in Norway. Council of Tours is held, names and condemns Albigensians. Abbey of Lokkum in Hanover is founded as a, the Crusaders attacked Egypt, which had been politically weakened by a series of very young FatimidThe Fatimid Empire or Fatimid Caliphate ruled North Africa from A. 909 to 1171. The term "Fatimite" is sometimes used to refer to citizens of the Empire/Caliphate. The name Fatimid is derived from the name of daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, Fatima az-Za caliphCaliph is the term for the Islamic leader of the Ummah or community of Islam. Selected by committee, the holder of this title claims rulership over all Muslims. The Sunnis and Shiites differ as to whom was the first Caliph of Islam. According to Sunni thos. Nur ad-Din did not want to spare his own army for a defense of Egypt, but his commander Shirkuh convinced him to invade in 1164. This succeeded in driving out the Crusaders, although further Crusader invasions did not end until Egypt was taken over by Nur ad-Din in 1169. Shirkuh's nephew Saladin became sultan of the newly conquered territory.
Nur ad-Din felt Egypt and Syria should be politically and military united, although Saladin began to ignore Nur ad-Din's authority. Both were gathering armies for what seemed to be the inevitable battle, when Nur ad-Din died in 1174. Saladin would eventually come to power in both Syria and Egypt and almost completely conquer the Crusader states.
Crusades
