Magnates and their honours · Contested ground · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Maymun al-Qasri

One of the great amirs of Saladin's generation, Maymun al-Qasri holds Nablus, the market town of Samaria, with its hill villages.

He fought with al-Adil against the Franks in 1197; in 1201 he will join al-Zahir and al-Afdal besieging Damascus and follow al-Zahir to Aleppo, receiving Azaz. On 1 January 1200 he is in possession, his loyalty uncertain, his country astride the road al-Adil must take to Egypt.

Who he is

Name
Faris al-Din Maymun al-Qasri
Title
Lord (sahib) of Nablus, holding it as an iqta'
Since
Not pinned; named lord of Nablus in 1197 and again in 1201 (Abu'l-Fida). His predecessor Sayf al-Din Ali ibn Ahmad al-Mashtub died lord of Nablus in 1192.
Born
not pinned
Family
not pinned; 'al-Qasri' marks a mamluk of the Fatimid palace (the Qasr) taken into Saladin's service.
Confidence
medium

Abu'l-Fida pp. 156, 160-161 and index: 'one of Saladin's principal emirs'; joins al-Zahir in 1201, receives Azaz from him, dies later (Abu'l-Fida index).

Overlord

The Ayyubid prince commanding Palestine: in 1197 he joined al-Adil at Tell al-Ajjul together with the lord of Jerusalem, who was al-Aziz of Egypt's man; in 1201 he went over to al-Zahir. His stand in the war of 1199 is not recorded in the sources read, so his lordship is drawn as contested between the Cairo regency and al-Adil.

What it holds

  • Nablus and its villages (Nablus); Sebaste (Sabastiya) with the shrine of John the Baptist; the hills between Jenin and the edge of the Jerusalem district.

How it was acquired

Iqta' from the Ayyubids after the conquest of 1187 (date not pinned).

Allies and rivals

Salahi amirs such as Jaharkas and Qaraja; later al-Zahir (1201).

How things stand that morning

Holds Nablus; not under attack.

Wealth

Olive oil and soap, grain and the Samaritan and Muslim villages of the hills; no figures.

Military

His own mamluks; Nablus had no strong walls (its citadel was taken by Saladin's general Ibn Lajin in 1187).

Threats

  • Al-Adil, if he took the allies' side in 1199.

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. 1201 (597 AH)Joins al-Zahir and al-Afdal at the second siege of Damascus, then goes with al-Zahir and receives Azaz (Abu'l-Fida).Depends on: The renewed coalition. Stopped by: A settlement satisfying him in 1200.

Places of note

  • Sebaste: Town and shrine in the lordship.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Named as lord of Nablus in 1197 and 1201 by Abu'l-Fida; nothing dated for the winter of 1199-1200.

On the map: District drawn round Nablus; its western edge against the Frankish lordships of Caesarea and Arsuf is left to the anchors.

Sources and studies

  1. Abu'l-Fida, Annals (al-Mukhtasar), Arabic text with French translation in Recueil des historiens des croisades, Historiens orientaux I (1872), pp. 150-172 (years 589-615 AH), read through archive.org search-inside

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