The importance of religiosity and religious behavior in the political rivalry between Nureddin Mahmud Zengi and II. Kiliçarslan

Turkish Seljuks and Zangids are the two great Turkish dynasties of the Middle Ages. Especially at a time when Anatolia, Syria and Palestine were under the attack of the Crusaders, the dynamics of the relations between the two dynasties were decisive in the fate of the region. In this study, the politics of the famous Zengi ruler Nūr al-Dīn Mahmūd Zangī and the Sultan of Turkey Seljuk Kilidj Arslan II and the religious and intellectual background that were influential in the determination of this policy were discussed. In this context, the understanding of religion and life of both rulers, their tendencies in Sufism and science, their relations with the active actors of their periods such as non-Muslims, Shiites and Abbasid Caliphate were examined comparatively. In this comparison, the Arabic, Syriac and Latin works of the authors of the period were examined and interpreted in the light of the modern research works.