Abu Ali Salih ibn Mirdas also known by his laqab (honorific epithet) Asad al-Dawla (), was the founder of the Mirdasid dynasty and emir of Aleppo from 1025 until his death in May 1029. At its peak, his emirate (principality) encompassed much of the western Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), northern Syria and several central Syrian towns. With occasional interruption, Salih's descendants ruled Aleppo for the next five decades.
Salih launched his career in 1008, when he seized the Euphrates river fortress of al-Rahba. In 1012, he was imprisoned and tortured by the emir of Aleppo, Mansur ibn Lu'lu'. Two years later he escaped, capturing Mansur in battle and releasing him for numerous concessions, including half of Aleppo's revenues. This cemented Salih as the paramount emir of his tribe, the Banu Kilab, many of whose chieftains had died in Mansur's dungeons. With his Bedouin warriors, Salih captured a string of fortresses along the Euphrates, including Manbij and Raqqa, by 1022. He later formed an alliance with the Banu Kalb and Banu Tayy tribes and supported their struggle against the Fatimids of Egypt. During this tribal rebellion, Salih annexed the central Syrian towns of Homs, Baalbek and Sidon, before conquering Fatimid-held Aleppo in 1025, bringing "to success the plan which guided his [Banu Kilab] forebears for a century", according to historian Thierry Bianquis.
Salih established a well-organized administration over his Aleppo-based domains. Militarily, he relied on the Banu Kilab, while entrusting fiscal administration to his local Christian vizier, policing to the aḥdāth (urban militia) under Salim ibn Mustafad, and judicial matters to a Shia Muslim qāḍī (head judge). His rule was officially tolerated by the Fatimids, to whom he paid formal allegiance. His alliance with the Banu Tayy ultimately drew him into conflict with the Fatimid general, Anushtakin al-Dizbari, whose forces killed Salih in the Battle of al-Uqhuwana near Lake Tiberias. Salih was succeeded by his sons Nasr and Thimal.
Early life and career
Family and tribe
The year of Salih ibn Mirdas' birth is not known. Both of Salih's parents belonged to noble households of the Bedouin (nomadic Arab) tribe of Banu Kilab. His father was Mirdas ibn Idris, from a princely clan of the Kilab, specifically from the Rabi'a ibn Ka'b line of the Abd Allah ibn Abu Bakr branch. Nothing else is known about Mirdas ibn Idris. Salih's mother, Rabab al-Zawqaliyya, belonged to the princely Kilabi clan of Zawqal, which inhabited the environs of Aleppo. Salih had at least three brothers, only one of whom, Kamil, is named in sources, and at least four sons, Nasr (d. 1038), Thimal (d. 1062), Atiyya (d. 1071/72) and the youngest whose name is not known (d. 1029). Salih's family inhabited and controlled the town of Qinnasrin (ancient Chalcis), to the southwest of Aleppo. Like most Aleppine Muslims in the 10th–11th centuries, the Kilab embraced Twelver Shia Islam. Although it is not clear how strongly the tribesmen identified with their faith, Salih's kunya (paedonymic), "Abū ʿAlī" (father of Ali), honored Ali ibn Abi Talib, a central figure in Shia tradition.
The Kilab were a major sub-tribe of the Banu Amir and first migrated to Syria from central Arabia during the 7th-century Muslim conquest. They soon became a pillar of the Qaysi tribal faction and established their strongholds in the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) and the steppes around Aleppo, which thenceforth became their diyār (tribal territory). Through their military strength and consistent ambition to govern and keep order in the territories they inhabited, the Kilab persisted as a powerful force in northern Syria throughout the following centuries. In 932–933, another wave of Kilabi tribesmen moved to the environs of Aleppo as soldiers of an invading Qarmatian army; according to the historian Suhayl Zakkar, the new arrivals "paved the way to the rise and establishment of the Mirdasid dynasty". By then, the Kilab had established itself as the dominant tribal force in northern Syria and played a significant role in all of the uprisings and internecine fighting involving the Hamdanid rulers of Aleppo, between 945 and 1002.
Emir of al-Rahba
Salih is first mentioned in 1008 in relation to the power struggle over the Euphrates fortress town of al-Rahba. The town was strategically situated at the crossroads between Syria and Iraq and frequently contested by local and regional powers. In 1008, Ibn Mihkan, a native of al-Rahba, expelled its Fatimid governor and sought Salih's military backing to uphold his rule. Salih continued to dwell in his tribe's desert encampment, and it is not known what he received in exchange for protecting Ibn Mihkan. A dispute soon arose between Salih and Ibn Mihkan, leading the former to besiege al-Rahba.
The hostilities came to an end following an agreement that stipulated Salih's marriage to Ibn Mihkan's daughter and Ibn Mihkan's relocation to Anah, which he would rule in addition to al-Rahba. When Anah's inhabitants revolted against Ibn Mihkan, Salih intervened to reassert his father-in-law's rule. Amid these developments, Ibn Mihkan was assassinated; contemporary chroniclers assume that Salih ordered his death. Salih proceeded to capture al-Rahba and proclaim his allegiance to the Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim. This marked "the first step in Salih's career and from which his ambition probably evolved", according to Zakkar. His capture of al-Rahba most likely boosted his prestige among the Kilab.
Supreme emir of the Banu Kilab Between 1009 and 1012, the Kilab participated in the struggle for control of Aleppo between the emirate's ruler Mansur ibn Lu'lu' and its former rulers, the Hamdanids, and their regional backers. Twice the Kilab betrayed the Hamdanids and their allies, and in return, demanded from Mansur numerous pastures to breed their flocks and war horses. Instead, Mansur, who viewed the Kilab as a hindrance to his rule, strove to eliminate them by luring the tribesmen into a trap. To that end, on 27 May 1012, he invited them to a feast. Once the tribesmen entered his palace, the gates were locked and Mansur and his ghilmān (slave soldiers or pages; sing. ghulām) attacked them. Several were killed and the rest, including Salih, were imprisoned in the citadel of Aleppo. Afterward, the Kilabi emir Muqallid ibn Za'ida besieged the town of Kafartab to gain leverage with Mansur. This prompted the latter to move the Kilabi prisoners to facilities with better conditions in case of future peace negotiations with Muqallid. Upon hearing of Muqallid's death and his failed siege, Mansur returned the prisoners to the citadel's dungeons, where many among them, including some chieftains, were executed or died from torture or poor conditions. Salih was among those tortured, and was also forced to divorce his wife and cousin Tarud, who was famed for her beauty, so that Mansur could wed her. Zakkar writes that it is not known whether this was meant to humiliate Salih, "an energetic and bold" emir, or to establish marital ties with other elements of the Kilab. Mansur frequently threatened to execute Salih, who upon being informed of these threats, escaped the citadel. According to the reports of medieval chroniclers, Salih managed to cut one of his shackles and make a hole in his cell wall. Then, on the night of 3 July 1014, he jumped from the wall of the citadel with one shackle still attached to his leg, and hid in a drain pipe for the remainder of the night until joining his tribesmen at their encampment in Marj Dabiq. Zakkar questions the truth of this story, and asserts that it is likelier that Salih escaped through bribery or a friendly arrangement with a guard.
Salih's escape boosted Kilabi morale, and they assembled to offer him their allegiance. In the following days, the Kilab under Salih besieged Aleppo, but Mansur's forces were able to plunder their camp and capture fifty tribesmen. Buoyed by his victory, Mansur collected his army of ghilmān in Aleppo, along with local ruffians, Christians and Jews, and confronted Salih's forces on the outskirts of Aleppo. The Kilab routed their opponents, killing some 2,000 Aleppines in the process, and captured Mansur. Negotiations between Salih and Mansur's representatives ensued, concluding with an agreement that freed Mansur in return for the release of Salih's brothers, a ransom of 50,000 gold dinars, and the allotment of half of the Emirate of Aleppo's revenues to the Kilab. Salih was able to remarry Tarud and was also given Mansur's daughter to wed. Furthermore, Mansur recognized Salih as the supreme emir of the Kilab, formally investing him with authority and control over his tribesmen.
Establishment of Mirdasid emirate
Mesopotamian conquests and struggle for Aleppo
Using his new-found power, Salih captured the Euphrates towns of Manbij and Balis, located east and southeast of Aleppo, respectively. With these conquests and his control of al-Rahba, Salih established what would become the Jaziran portion of the Mirdasid emirate. This crossroads region was agriculturally, commercially and strategically valuable, and put Salih in contact with the Byzantines, the Fatimids and the rulers of Iraq. Meanwhile, the agreement between Salih and Mansur collapsed as the latter abandoned most of his promises, including giving his daughter's hand in marriage and according the Kilab their share of Aleppo's revenues. Salih retaliated by besieging Aleppo, while the Kilab and their Bedouin allies plundered the countryside. Mansur appealed for Byzantine intervention and warned the Byzantine emperor, Basil II (), that if left unchecked, the Bedouin uprising could spread to his territory. Basil dispatched 1,000 Armenian relief troops in response, but withdrew them after Salih informed him of Mansur's treachery and pledged his goodwill to the Byzantines. Basil may have also acquiesced to Salih's activities to avoid provoking Bedouin raids against his territory, which bordered the emirates of both the Kilab and their Numayri kinsmen. The withdrawal of Byzantine troops weakened Mansur's position further and strengthened Salih, who dispatched one of his sons to Constantinople to pay allegiance to Basil.
In January 1016, Mansur fled Aleppo after the citadel commander, Fath al-Qal'i, revolted and recognized Salih's emirate and Caliph al-Hakim's suzerainty over Aleppo. According to Aleppine chroniclers, the revolt was coordinated with Salih, who was restored his share of Aleppo's revenues and given custody of the mother, wives and daughters of Mansur; Salih immediately sent the women to join their patriarch, but kept one of the latter's daughters to marry, per their earlier arrangement. Mansur's ouster and the subsequent disorder in northern Syria drove Basil to halt all travel and trade with Syria and Egypt, but Salih persuaded him to exempt Aleppo and the Kilab from these sanctions. To secure his hold over Aleppo, Fath invited Fatimid troops from Afamiyah led by Ali al-Dayf. Al-Hakim bestowed on Salih the laqab of Asad al-Dawla ('Lion of the State') and requested that he cooperate with al-Dayf. Salih opposed the Fatimid presence in Aleppo and proposed an arrangement to Fath giving the latter control of the citadel and the Kilab control of the city. Fath responded favorably, but Aleppo's inhabitants protested the rumored deal, demanding the establishment of Fatimid rule; they enjoyed al-Hakim's tax exemptions and opposed Bedouin governance. Fath was compelled to relocate to Tyre by al-Hakim, who also sent reinforcements to Aleppo. Salih was thus prevented from seizing the city. Nonetheless, Mansur's flight and the instability of Fatimid rule enabled him to strengthen his Jaziran emirate. He established his own administration and tribal court, which as early as 1019, was visited by the Arab poet Ibn Abi Hasina, who became a prominent panegyrist of the Mirdasid dynasty.