Abu Bakr of Harput

Who he is

Name

Imad al-Din Abu Bakr son of Qara Arslan

Title

Emir of Harput

Since

581 AH (1185)

Born

not pinned

Family

Artuqid

Confidence

high

Bosworth via Wikipedia: 1185-1204; TDV: 1185 and 1204.

Overlord

None formally; Saladin's man in 1185; his ties with al-Adil and with Konya in 1200 are not pinned.

What it holds

• Harput and its plain
• Palu on the Murat
• Pertek and Cemisgezek (not pinned)

How it was acquired

Seized on his brother Nur al-Din Muhammad's death in 1185 with Saladin's acceptance.

Allies and rivals

Kin: the Artuqids of Hisn Kayfa and Mardin. Neighbours: Qaysarshah at Malatya, the Mengujekids, Ahlat.

How things stand that morning

Holds Harput securely.

Wealth

The plain's grain and vines; roads to Amid and Malatya.

Military

The citadel of Harput; the castle of Palu.

Threats

• The Seljuk advance to Malatya (1201).

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 600 AH (about September 1203 to August 1204), laterDies; succeeded by his son Nizam al-Din Ibrahim.Depends on: Natural death. Stopped by: Nothing known.

Places of note

• Citadel of Harput: Seat.
• Castle of Palu: Castle on the Murat, once the Artuqid Belek's seat.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Reign dates are firm; lands beyond Harput are not.

On the map: Only Harput itself is firm.

Primary sources for Harput

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Anonymous Syriac Chronicle to 1234, Anonymous (a Syrian Orthodox writer, probably of Edessa) (about 1234 to 1240). An Edessene chronicle independent of Michael the Syrian in its later part, with a secular section reaching 1234 that gives the Jazira, Edessa, Harran, Mardin and Melitene about 1200 under al-Adil's sons and the Artuqids, the Seljuks of Rum, the Armenians of Cilicia and the Franks of Antioch, and a church section to 1207 on the Jacobite succession after Michael's death in 1199. Read online
• The Chronicle of Michael the Syrian (Michael the Great), Michael the Syrian, patriarch of Antioch 1166 to 1199 (about 1180 to 1195). The Jacobite patriarch's world chronicle, in parallel columns of church, secular and miscellaneous events, ending four years before 1200 and shortly before his own death on 7 November 1199, which left the Syrian Orthodox church with a disputed succession in 1200. Read online
• The Cream of the History of Aleppo, Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Adim (about 1240 to 1260). The annals of Aleppo. Read online