Bazawash (d. 1138), also known as Bazwāj and Beza-Uch. Mameluk military commander at Damascus through 1138. Bazawash led a regiment at Baalbek who murdered Yusuf ibn Firuz in 1136, and was then made chief minister by Shihab ed-Din Mahmud, atabeg of Damascus. Spurred on by Zengi’s successes, Bazawash invaded Tripoli in 1137, routing the local Frankish forces. Pons of Tripoli, taking refuge in the Castle of Saint-Gilles, was captured and put to death. Zengi was not happy with Bazawash’s passiveness, causing him to attack Homs, then under Unur. Approached by a Frankish army from Tripoli, Zengi withdrew from Homs and attacked the Franks under Fulk. Fulk fled into Montferrand, to be rescued by a force led by Patriarch William of Malines. Following their withdrawal, Bazawash ravaged as far south