The Artuqid dynasty was established in 1102 as a Turkish principality of the Seljuk Empire. It formed a Turkoman dynasty rooted in the Oghuz Döger tribe, and followed the Sunni Muslim faith. It ruled in Northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The Artuqid dynasty took its name from its founder, Artuk Bey, who was a member of Döger branch of the Oghuz Turks and ruled one of the Turkmen principalities of the Seljuk Empire. Artuk's sons and descendants ruled the three branches in the region: Sökmen's descendants ruled the region around Hasankeyf between 1102 and 1231; Ilghazi's branch ruled from Mardin and Mayyafariqin between 1106 and 1186 and Aleppo from 1117–1128; and the Harput line starting in 1112 under the Sökmen branch, and was independent between 1185 and 1233.