Imad al-Din Zengi (Arabic: عماد الدین زنكي; c. 1084/88 – 14 September 1146), also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkoman atabeg of the Seljuk Empire, who ruled Mosul, Aleppo, Hama, and, later, Edessa. He was the namesake and founder of the Zengid dynasty of atabegs.
The Zengid dynasty was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkoman origin. Initially an Atabegate of the Seljuk Empire created in 1127, it ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia, and eventually seized control of Fatimid Egypt in 1169. Imad ad-Din Zengi was the first ruler of the dynasty. In 1174, the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas, as it also included the Egyptian territories held by Saladin as governor in the name of Nur al-Din Zengi.
The Zengid Atabegate became famous in the Islamic world for its successes against the Crusaders, and for being the Atabegate from which Saladin originated. Following the demise of the Seljuk dynasty in 1194, the Zengids persisted for several decades as one of the "Seljuk successor-states" until 1250.
The Zengid or Zangid dynasty, also referred to as the Atabegate of Mosul, Aleppo and Damascus (Arabic: أتابكة الموصل وحلب ودمشق), or the Zengid State (Old Anatolian Turkish: ظانغى دولتی, Modern Turkish: Zengî Devleti; Arabic: الدولة الزنكية, romanized: al-Dawla al-Zinkia) was initially an Atabegate of the Seljuk Empire created in 1127. It formed a Turkoman dynasty of Sunni Muslim faith, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia, and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. Imad ad-Din Zengi was the first ruler of the dynasty. In 1174, the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas, as it also included the Egyptian territories held by Saladin as governor in the name of Nur al-Din Zengi.
The Zengid Atabegate became famous in the Islamic world for its successes against the Crusaders, and for being the Atabegate from which Saladin originated. Following the demise of the Seljuk dynasty in 1194, the Zengids persisted for several decades as one of the "Seljuk successor-states" until 1250.