emirate · Anatolia and the Levant

Artuqids of Mardin

1106 CE – 1409 CE (approx.) · capital Mardin

The longest-lived branch of the Artuqid dynasty, ruling the hilltop city of Mardin for three centuries under Seljuk, Ayyubid and Mongol overlords.

Origins

Ilghazi, son of the Turkmen commander Artuq, took Mardin in the early 12th century and made it the base of his branch of the family. In 1118 he also gained Aleppo, and in 1119 he destroyed the army of the Principality of Antioch at the Field of Blood.

Rule and society

His son Timurtash and later rulers held Mardin and Mayyafariqin, survived by accepting Zengid, Ayyubid and then Ilkhanid overlordship, and kept their dynasty intact through repeated invasions. Mardin, terraced on a steep hill, gained mosques and madrasas, notably the Sultan Isa or Zinciriye Madrasa of 1385. The region was home to many Syriac Christians, including the patriarchal monastery of Deyrulzafaran.

Decline and legacy

Timur took Mardin's lower city in 1394 and 1401. The last Artuqids were displaced by the Qara Qoyunlu leader Qara Yusuf in 1409, and Mardin later passed to the Aq Qoyunlu and the Ottomans.

Connections (5)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Artuqids of Mardin. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/artuqids-of-mardin
MLA
“Artuqids of Mardin.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/artuqids-of-mardin. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Artuqids of Mardin.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/artuqids-of-mardin.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Artuqids of Mardin’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/artuqids-of-mardin (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻