v11_0576 - ARTUQIDS OF MARDIN - NAJM AL-DIN ALPI Follis

ARTUQIDS OF MARDIN - NAJM AL-DIN ALPI

(1152-1176/ AH 547-572)

Like the Seljucides, of whom they were vassals, the Artukides (or Urtukides) are a tribe of Uighurs, a Turkish people from Turkestan. They bear the name of the eponymous founder of the dynasty and settled in Dyarbakir, on the Tigris, and in Mardin, strategic points on a silk road. The dynasty began to decline in importance with the arrival of Saladin (1185) and were eventually absorbed into the Turkmen confederation of the "Black Sheep" (named after their banner) in 1408. The first ruler of Artukides of Mardin was Nejm ed -Din il Ghazi (1108-1122).