Born: Unknown, Syria
Died: 26 January 1186
Country most active: Syria
Also known as: عصمت الدين خاتون, Asimat
ʿIṣmat ad-Dīn Khātūn was the daughter of a regent of Damascus, and wife of two of the 12th century’s greatest Muslim generals, Nur ad-Din and Saladin.
Ismat ad-Din means “purity of the faith” while Khatun is an honorific for noblewomen; her given name is unknown. In the mid-1100s, Aleppo and Mosul were united under the rule of the Zengid dynasty and in 1147, her father negotiated an alliance with Nur ad-Din, the Zengid emir of Aleppo, who married Ismat ad-Din as part of the agreement. The next year, soldiers of Second Crusade unsuccessfully besieged Damascus, and Ismat’s father was forced to recognize Nur ad-Din, who had come to his rescue against the crusaders, as lord of the city. Her father died in 1149 and her husband gained complete control over Damascus by 1154.
When Nur ad-Din died in 1174, King Amalric I of Jerusalem took the opportunity to lay siege to the city of Banias. Ismat offered him money to lift the siege, but, hoping for a bigger offer, he continued the siege for two weeks before finally accepting the money along with the release of 20 Christian prisoners. Medieval chronicler William of Tyre describes Ismat as having “courage beyond that of most women” in the situation. During this time, Nur ad-Din’s former general Saladin had gained control over Egypt. He claimed Damascus as Nur ad-Din’s successor, marrying Ismat at-Din in 1176 to strengthen his claim. She was apparently not his only wife.
She was the benefactor of several religious buildings in Damascus, including a madrasa and a mausoleum for her father. In 1186, she died of a plague that had broken out in Damascus. At the time, Saladin was writing letters to her every day; news of her death was kept from him for three months because he was recovering from his own lengthy illness. She was buried in the Jamaa’ al-Jadid in Damascus.