Kings and their demesnes · Sinjar (Qutb al-Din Muhammad) · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Qutb al-Din

Young lord of Sinjar since late 1197, his state run at first by the mamluk Mujahid al-Din Yarunqush.

Robbed of Nisibin by his cousin of Mosul in spring 1198 and restored by al-Adil's intervention in July 1198, he nevertheless joined the Zengid league that relieved Mardin in August 1199. He holds his towns on 1 January 1200, the league's least reliable member.

Who he is

Name
Qutb al-Din Muhammad ibn Imad al-Din Zengi II
Title
lord (malik) of Sinjar
Since
late 1197 (594 AH)
Born
not pinned
Family
Zengid
Confidence
high

Ibn al-Athir 594 (Richards); TDV 'Nureddin Zengi, Arslansah'.

Overlord

None formally.

What it holds

  • Sinjar
  • Tall Afar
  • Nisibin
  • the Khabur villages
  • al-Ba'aj and the plain south of Jabal Sinjar

How it was acquired

Inherited from his father Imad al-Din Zengi II.

Allies and rivals

In the Zengid league; indebted to al-Adil; feud with Nur al-Din over Nisibin.

How things stand that morning

Holds Sinjar, Tall Afar, Nisibin and the Khabur.

Wealth

Nisibin's gardens and road; the Khabur grain; flocks.

Military

Small host; shared in the victory below Mardin.

Threats

  • Nur al-Din's designs on Nisibin
  • al-Adil

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. 1200-1204 (not pinned)Won back to al-Adil by the khutba.Depends on: al-Adil's success Stopped by: a firm Zengid league

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Succession and regent from Ibn al-Athir; lands from 1193 and 1204 evidence.

On the map: Farmed cores only.

Primary sources for Sinjar

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

Sources and studies

  1. Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi'l-ta'rikh, tr. D.S. Richards, The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period, Part 3 (589-629/1193-1231), Ashgate 2008 (read for 589-594; later years via the works below)
  2. TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi, 'Nureddin Zengi, Arslansah' (dates from Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil XII, and al-Tarikh al-bahir; Abu Shama, Dhayl)
  3. TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi, 'Zengiler'

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