In 1080, Tutush determined to capture Aleppo by force, in which he wanted to strip it from its nearby defenses; hence, he seized Manbij, Hisn al-Faya (at modern-day al-Bira), Biza'a and Azaz. He later influenced Sabiq to cede the emirate to the Uqaylid emir Muslim ibn Quraysh "Sharaf al-Dawla".

The headman in Aleppo, Sharif Hassan ibn Hibat Allah Al-Hutayti, currently under siege by Suleiman ibn Qutalmish, promised to surrender the city to Tutush. Suleiman was a distant member of the Seljuk dynasty who had established himself in Anatolia and was trying to expand his rule to Aleppo, having captured Antioch in 1084. Tutush and his army met Suleiman's forces near Aleppo in 1086. In the ensuing battle Suleiman's forces fled, Suleiman was killed and his son Kilic Arslan captured. Tutush attacked and occupied Aleppo except for the citadel in May 1086, he stayed until October and left for Damascus due to the advance of Malik-Shah's armies. The Sultan himself arrived in December 1086, then he appointed Aq Sunqur al-Hajib as the governor of Aleppo.