with the aid of Zengi, the
prince of Mosul. But the sultan Mas'ud beat the army of the allies, took
Bagdad and had Rashid deposed (August 1136). Rashid escaped, but was
murdered two years later.

31. _Reign of Moqtafi._--His successor _Al-Moqtafi li-amri'llah_ ("he
who follows the orders of God"), son of Mostazhir, had better success.
He was real ruler not only of the district of Bagdad, but also of the
rest of Irak, which he subdued by force. He died in the month of Rabia
II. 555 (March 1160). Under his reign the central power of the Seljuks
was rapidly sinking. In the west of Atabeg (prince's guardian) Zengi,
the prince of Mosul, had extended his dominion over Mesopotamia and the
north of Syria, where he had been the greatest defender of Islam against
the Franks. At his death in the year 541 (A.D. 1146), his noble son, the
well-known Nureddin, who was called "the just king," continued his
father's glorious career. Transoxiana was conquered by the heathen
hordes of Khata, who towards the end of 535 (A.D. 1141) under the king
Ghurkhan defeated the great army of the Seljuk prince and compelled the
Turkish tribes of the Ghuzz to cross the Oxus and to occupy Khorasan.

32. _Reign of Mostanjid._--_Al-Mostanjid billah_ ("he who invokes help
from God"), the son of Moqtafi, enlarged the dominion of the Caliphate
by making an end to the state of the Mazyadites in Hillah. His allies
were the Arabic tribe of the Montafiq, who thenceforth were powerful in
southern Irak. The greatest event towards the end of his Caliphate was
the conquest of Egypt by the army of Nureddin, the overthrow of the
Fatimite dynasty, and the rise of Saladin. He was killed by his
majordomo in Rabia II. 566 (December 1170).

33. _Reign of Mostadi._--His son and successor _al-Mostadi'
bi-amri'llah_ ("he who seeks enlightenment by the orders of God "),
though in Egypt his name was now substituted in public prayers for that
of the Fatimite caliph, was unable to obtain any real authority. By the
death of Nureddin in 569 (A.D. 1174) Saladin's power became firmly
rooted. The dynasty founded by him is called that of the Ayyubites,
after the name of his father Ayyub. Mostadi died in the month of
Dhu'l-qa'da 575 (March 1180).

34. _Reign of Nasir._--Quite a different man from his father was his
successor _al-Nasir li-dini'llah_ ("he who helps the religion of God").
During his reign Jerusalem was reconquered by Saladin, 27 Rajab 583
(October 2nd, 1187). Not long