The round city of Darab, with its moat, head of the old district of Darabgird, near the mountain of many-coloured salt and the source of the natural bitumen (mumiya) prized by physicians.
In 1200 it lies in the country of the Shabankara Kurds; the old round city is in decline (the later town of Darab lies a few miles away).
Who holds it
- Name
- Not pinned (see Shabankara chief)
- Title
- Shabankara chief
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The Shabankara chiefs.
How things stand that morning
In the Shabankara country.
Charter
None known: the towns of the atabegs have no charters; the governor, the judge (qadi) and the market inspector (muhtasib) answer to the ruler.
Council
No sworn council; the notables (a'yan), the qadi and the headman (ra'is) speak for the town. Names for 1199-1200 not pinned.
Communities
Persian townsmen and Kurdish tribesmen.
Fairs and markets
Daily or weekly markets; no fair dates recorded.
Militia
Not recorded for 1199-1200.
Walls and castle
The circular walls and ditch of the ancient city.
Trade and crafts
Salt, mumiya, fruit and cotton; the road from Shiraz to Kerman and the Gulf.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The Shabankara hold is inferred from the twelfth- and fourteenth-century descriptions.
Sources and studies
- G. Le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate (1905), chapters XVII-XXIV (Fars, Kirman, Makran) after Istakhri, Muqaddasi, Ibn al-Balkhi, Yaqut and Mustawfi
- 'Shabankara', English Wikipedia (after Buchner, EI1 'Shabankara'; Spuler; Mustawfi, Nuzhat al-qulub)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.