Dukes · The Eldiguzid atabegs of Azerbaijan · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Maragha (Ahmadilis)

The Ahmadilis are Turkish atabegs who have ruled Maragha, south-east of Lake Urmia, since the 1110s.

They once held Tabriz too, until Qizil Arslan took it from them in the 1170s. Ala al-Din Korpe Arslan, ruling since before 1188-89, is known as a just ruler and a man of letters: Nizami of Ganja wrote the Haft Paykar (the Seven Beauties) at his request in 1197. He lives mostly in the mountain castle of Ruin Diz, where his treasure is kept, and his town of Maragha, with its brick tomb towers, is one of the finest in Azerbaijan.

He is a rival of Atabeg Abu Bakr and later tries to take Azerbaijan from him with the help of Kokburi of Erbil.

Who he is

Name
Ala al-Din Korpe Arslan
Title
Atabeg (malik) of Maragha
Since
Before 584 AH (1188-89)
Born
Not pinned
Family
Of the Ahmadili house founded by Aq Sunqur al-Ahmadili (d. 1133), a mamluk of the Seljuk emir Ahmadil; his predecessor Falak al-Din succeeded Arslan Aba in 570 AH (1174-75), and his exact relation to Falak al-Din is not pinned in the sources read. He leaves a young son on his death in 604 AH (1208), named in different sources as Falak al-Din Ahmad, Nusrat al-Din Muhammad or Arslan Aba; whether that son is born by 1 January 1200 is not known. A granddaughter, Sulafa Khatun, holds Ruin Diz in the 1220s.
Confidence
high

Iranica (Luther, 'Atabakan-e Maraga') and TDV (Ozaydin, 'Ahmedililer'). Nizami finished the Haft Paykar for him on 14 Ramadan 593 (31 July 1197) and sent it to Ruin Diz, which Iranica calls the atabegs' residence.

Overlord

None in practice. The Ahmadilis are an older line of atabegs than the Eldiguzids and lost Tabriz to them in the 1170s; they owe the Eldiguzids no more than a grudging deference.

What it holds

  • Maragha and its district on the south-eastern shore of Lake Urmia (Bonab, Ajab Shir, the lower Jaghatu and Tatavu rivers)
  • The castle of Ruin Diz, the residence and treasury

How it was acquired

Hereditary since Aq Sunqur al-Ahmadili (Maragha from about 1108-11); Pahlavan besieged Ruin Diz and Maragha in 1174-75 without taking them, and the peace gave Tabriz to the Eldiguzids.

Allies and rivals

Rival: Atabeg Abu Bakr. Ally later: Muzaffar al-Din Kokburi, lord of Erbil (their joint plan is dated 602 AH, 1205-06). Earlier tie: the last Seljuk sultan Toghrul III, whose son Berkyaruq was in Ala al-Din's care in 584 AH (1188-89).

How things stand that morning

Holds Maragha, its district and Ruin Diz. Does not hold Urmia or Ushnu, which Abu Bakr gives him in a later peace (about 1205); does not hold Tabriz.

Wealth

The fertile Maragha plain with its orchards, the lake shore, the road from Tabriz south to Kurdistan and Iraq.

Military

The castle of Ruin Diz, which holds out even after Maragha falls (1208-09) and into the 1220s; the town of Maragha. No figures.

Threats

  • Abu Bakr, who besieges Maragha later (1205-06) and takes it after Ala al-Din's death (1208-09)

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. 602 AH (1205-06)With Kokburi of Erbil he plans to seize Azerbaijan; Abu Bakr, helped by the mamluk Aytoghmish, besieges Maragha; the peace leaves Ala al-Din his land less one fortress and gives him Urmia and Ushnu.Depends on: Aytoghmish's rise in Iraq (600 AH) Stopped by: Peace with Abu Bakr
  2. Dhu al-Qa'da 604 AH (May-June 1208)Death of Ala al-Din; a child succeeds under a slave regent and dies in 605 AH; Abu Bakr takes everything but Ruin Diz.Depends on: Natural death Stopped by: Not applicable to 1200

Places of note

  • Gonbad-e Kabud (the Blue Tomb), Maragha: Brick tomb tower dated 593 AH (1196-97); Iranica suggests, without proof, that Ala al-Din built it
  • Gonbad-e Sorkh (the Red Tomb), Maragha: Tomb tower of 542 AH (1147-48)

Where the sources disagree

  • The English Wikipedia list of Ahmadilis repeats Ala al-Din under 1134-73 as well as 1189-1208; Iranica and TDV give only the second reign. TDV says he gave up Maragha in exchange for Urmia and Ushnu; Iranica says he kept his land less one fortress and received Urmia and Ushnu. Both are after 1200.

Evidence: Ibn al-Athir, Ibn al-Fuwati and Nizami's dedication; the reign's events are not well connected in the sources (Iranica).

On the map: The district's southern limit toward the Kurdish country (Miandoab, Mahabad) is not pinned.

Primary sources for Eldiguzids

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 Complete History, Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir (about 1200 to 1231, at Mosul). The widest Muslim narrative for the years 596 to 597 AH (1199 to 1201): al-Adil's entry into Cairo and his taking of the sultanate from his nephew al-Mansur Muhammad early in 1200, the quarrels of the Ayyubid princes at Damascus, Aleppo and Hama, the Nile failure and the great famine of Egypt, Mosul under Nur al-Din Arslan Shah and the Jazira under Gokbori and the Artuqids, Baghdad under the caliph al-Nasir, the Khwarazmshah Tekish's death in 1200 and Muhammad's accession, the Ghurid wars in Khurasan, the Eldiguzids and Georgia, the Almohads in the west, and the Seljuks of Rum in passing. Read online
  • History of the Armenians, Kirakos Gandzaketsi (1241 to 1265). Written at Getik and Gandzak in the Zakarid lands of Georgian Armenia. Read online
  • The Georgian Chronicles: the Histories and Eulogies of the Sovereigns, and the Life of Queen Tamar, Anonymous, attributed to the chancellor Theodore of Chqondidi and to Basili, master of the court (about 1210 to 1225). Two court histories of Queen Tamar written within a generation. Read online
  • The Historical Compilation of Vardan Areveltsi, Vardan Areveltsi (about 1267 to 1271). A short universal history that for the 12th and 13th centuries follows Samuel of Ani, Michael the Syrian (which Vardan helped translate into Armenian in 1248) and Kirakos. Read online
  • Comfort of Hearts and Sign of Joy: a History of the Seljuks, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Rawandi (Ravandi) (1203 to 1204, dedicated to Kaykhusraw I of Rum). A history of the Great Seljuks from their origins to the death of the last sultan Toghril III in 1194, begun at Hamadan and finished for Kaykhusraw of Rum when the author moved to Anatolia. Read online
  • History of Tabaristan, Ibn Isfandiyar (Baha al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan) (begun 1206, extended about 1216; continued anonymously to 1349). The local history of the Caspian province and the only account of the Bavandid kings of Tabaristan: Husam al-Dawla Ardashir (reigned 1173 to 1206) at Sari and Amul, his dealings with the Khwarazmshahs Tekish and Ala al-Din Muhammad, the Nizaris of Alamut, the Eldiguzids and the caliph, and the marriages, feuds and raids of the Daylamite and Gilaki lords. Read online
  • Dictionary of Countries, Yaqut al-Hamawi (1224 to 1228, at Aleppo). An alphabetical gazetteer of every place Yaqut had read of or seen: he travelled as a bookseller's agent through Syria, Iraq, Persia, Khurasan and Khwarazm (about 1213 to 1220) and settled in Aleppo. Read online

Sources and studies

  1. K. A. Luther, 'Atabakan-e Maraga', Encyclopaedia Iranica
  2. A. Ozaydin, 'Ahmedililer', TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi
  3. K. A. Luther, 'Atabakan-e Adarbayjan', Encyclopaedia Iranica

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.