Aladdin (name)

Aladdin (Arabic: علاء الدين‎, ʻAlāʼ ad-Dīn) (various spellings and transliterations) is a male given name which means "nobility of faith" or "nobility of religion". It is one of a large class of names ending with ad-Din. The name may refer to:

Given name

Ala al-Din Atsiz

Ala al-Din Atsiz (Persian: علاء الدین دراست‎‎), was Sultan of the Ghurid dynasty from 1213 to 1214. He was the relative and successor of Baha al-Din Sam III.

Biography

Ala al-Din Atsiz was the son Ala al-Din Husayn, who died in 1161. At the death of Ala al-Din Husayn, Atsiz was very young and the succession passed to his brother Sayf al-Din Muhammad, who shortly died in 1163, and was succeeded by his cousin Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad. When Atsiz became an adult, he began serving Ghiyath and the latter's brother Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad. After the death of Ghiyath in 1202, the Ghurid chieftains supported Atsiz to become the new ruler of the Ghurid dynasty. However, Mu'izz al-Din managed keep him away from the Ghurid chieftains and send him to the court of his relatives in Bamiyan, where Atsiz's daughter married the eldest son of the Bamiyan ruler Baha al-Din Sam II.

After the death of Mu'izz al-Din in 1206, his nephew Ghiyath al-Din Mahmud succeeded him as the ruler of the Ghurid dynasty. Atsiz, however, challenged the rule of Ghiyath al-Din Mahmud and demanded the throne for himself, and requested aid from the Khwarazmian dynasty, who declined his request. Ghiyath al-Din Mahmud later died in 1212, and was succeeded by his son Baha al-Din Sam III, who was one year later carried by the Khwarazmians to Khwarezm, who finally agreed to help Atsiz, and made him ascend the Ghurid throne.

Atsiz

Atsïz (Persian: علاء الدين أتسز; full name: Ala ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Abul-Muzaffar Atsiz Qizil Arslan ibn Muhammad) was the second Shah of Khwarezm from 1127 to 1156. He was the son of Qutb ad-Din Muhammad.

Atsïz gained his position following his father's death in 1127. During the early part of his reign he focused on securing Khwarazm against nomad attacks. In 1138 he rebelled against his suzerain, the Seljuk sultan Ahmed Sanjar, but was defeated in Hezarasp and forced to flee. Sanjar installed his nephew Suleiman Shah as ruler of Khwarazm and returned to Merv. Atsïz returned, however, and Suleiman Shah was unable to hold on to the province. Atsïz then attacked Bukhara, but by 1141 he again submitted to Sanjar, who pardoned him and formally returned control of Khwarazm over to him.

The same year that Sanjar pardoned Atsïz, the Kara Khitai under Yelü Dashi defeated the Seljuks at Qatwan, near Samarkand. Atsïz took advantage of the defeat to invade Khurasan, occupying Merv and Nishapur. Yelü Dashi, however, sent a force to plunder Khwarazm, forcing Atsïz to pay an annual tribute.