Jazirat ibn Umar

Who holds it

Name

Mu'izz al-Din Sanjar Shah

Title

malik

Confidence

high

TDV 'Zengiler', 'Cizre'.

Lord in 1200

Mu'izz al-Din Sanjar Shah, in residence.

How things stand that morning

Held by Sanjar Shah.

Charter

No charter or commune: the town is governed by its lord's castellan (wali), its judge (qadi) and the market inspector (muhtasib); notables (a'yan) speak for it.

Council

No town council; notables and the qadi deal with the lord's governor.

Communities

Muslims; Christians of the Church of the East; a large Jewish community; Kurdish tribes (Bukhti, Bashnawi) in the hills round it.

Militia

Garrison of the lord's soldiers; townsmen's own militia (ahdath) not recorded here.

Walls and castle

Ancient walls round the island town; bridge over the Tigris (attributed to the Artuqid or Zengid period).

Trade and crafts

Raft trade to Mosul (honey, butter, nuts); the road north to Armenia.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Ownership firm.

Primary sources for Jazirat ibn Umar

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