Nūr ad-Dīn and the Sunni ʿUlamāʾ of Damascus

The dissertation deals with Nūr ad-Dīn Maḥmūd b. Zankī (died 1174) and his relationship with the Sunni scholars in his capital city of Damascus. Especially in the later years of his reign, the ruler was known as a benefactor of religious foundations. An example for this practice is the ḥadīṯ scholar Ibn ʿAsākir who was financially supported by Nūr ad-Dīn while writing his principal work "Tārīḫ Dimašq". The text mostly deals with the deeds of noted inhabitants of Damascus. The work shall be used to identify ʿUlamāʾ supported by Nūr ad-Dīn; subsequently the type of patronage will be determined. By combining the information derived from this analysis with research based on other contemporary works, such as Ibn al-Aṯīrs "al-Kāmil fī at-Tārīḫ", a sociogram will be devised, showing to what extent Nūr ad-Dīn’s support of individual scholars was linked to social or ethnic origin, schools of jurisprudence or theological orientation. In a final step Nūr al-Din’s patronage of Sunni scholars will be analysed within the context of his policy against both Shiites and Crusaders. I will ask whether and to what extent increasing religious intolerance of Shiites and emphasis on ǧihād can be detected with scholars supported by Nūr ad-Dīn.