Nur ad-Din Arslan Shah I
| Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emir of Mosul | |||||
 Coin of Arslan Shah, mint of Mossul, depicting a classical portrait, 1197. | |||||
| Reign | 1193-1211 | ||||
| Predecessor | Izz al-Din Mas'ud | ||||
| Successor | Izz al-Din Mas'ud II | ||||
| Died | 1211 | ||||
| |||||
| House | Zengid Dynasty | ||||
| Father | Izz al-Din Mas'ud | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I (or Arslan Shah) was the Zengid Emir of Mosul 1193–1211. He was successor of Izz al-Din Mas'ud. He was appointed by the Ayyubids to this position in 1193.[1] One of his slaves was Badr ad-Din Lu'lu', who became a famous ruler of Mosul, and a prominent patron of the arts.[1]
The manuscript Sirr al-asrār ("Secret of secrets", LJS 459) was decicated in the name of Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I.[1] It is a text purpoted to be by Aristotle for his pupil Alexander the Great.[1] The cartouche of the frontispiece reads:
The noble king Nur al-Din atabeg Arslan Shah bin Mas'ud bin Mawdud. His victory is our Lord's. Ibn Zangi, may God prolong his reign.[1]
The Sirr al-asrār is said to have been translated from Greek to Arabic by Youhanna (Yahya) ibn al-Batriq at the court of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun in the 9th century, but it may also have been directly written in Arabic. The manuscript contains ten discourses about kingship, government and the military.[1]
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Sirr al-asrār LJS 459. Frontispiece cartouche -
Sirr al-asrār LJS 459. Drawing of a catapult-like contraption. 108v -
Sirr al-asrār LJS 459. Geometrical motif. 80v
References
Sources
Canby, Sheila R.; Beyazit, Deniz; Rugiadi, Martina; Peacock, A. C. S. (27 April 2016). Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 60, item 10. ISBN 978-1-58839-589-4.