Ibn al-Najjar narrated from him, saying, “He was incessant in prayer and fasting, abundant in acts of worship, ever striving for people’s welfare; no eye has seen his like.” He passed away in Ṣafar (1), in the year 637 AH.

32 – The ruler of Mardin, Nāṣir al-Dīn Artuq ibn Arslān ibn Alpy the Turkmen

He was al-Malik al-Manṣūr, Nāṣir al-Dīn Artuq, son of al-Malik Arslān ibn Alpy ibn Timurtāsh, of the Turkmen Artuqid line. He assumed power after his brother Ḥusām al-Dīn Īlghāzī while still a youth, so for a time their mamlūk—who was also his mother’s husband—served as regent. Once Artuq gained full control, he executed that regent in 600 AH. His days were long; he was just, of commendable conduct, fasted often, and would abstain from wine for three months at a stretch.

His own pages eventually assassinated him in collusion with his grandson Alpy ibn Ghāzī ibn Artuq, for whom he had shown deep affection. At one stage he became apprehensive and sent his son Ghāzī away, had his head shaved, and obliged him to live in deliberate poverty (2); later his father, Artuq, put him in prison. When they killed Artuq, they brought Ghāzī out, enthroned him, and granted him the title al-Malik al-Saʿīd. Ghāzī soon grew afraid of his son Alpy and imprisoned him in turn.

Artuq was killed in Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah, 636 AH. His reign had lasted fifty-six years, and the rule of his descendants endured comparably long.