Shiraz in 1200, Salghurids

The capital of Fars since the Arab conquest and the seat of the Buyids, the Seljuk governors and, since 1148, the Salghurid atabegs.

It lies in a well-watered plain on the road from Isfahan to the Gulf. Its landmarks in 1200: the Old Mosque (Masjid-i Atiq) of the Saffarid age; the madrasa (the Sunquriyya) and public water-house built by the founder Sunqur and endowed with four bazaars and several underground canals (qanat); the mosque and hospice of Amin al-Dawla Kazeruni, Tekele's vizier; the shrine of the Sufi Ibn Khafif, rebuilt by the atabeg Zangi. The great Sufi Ruzbihan Baqli (1128-1209) preaches in the Old Mosque and keeps a hospice nearby.

Sa'd's own works, the new wall, the New Mosque (Masjid-i Naw), the Atabeg's bazaar and the Zangi qanat, are undated and very probably later than 1200. In the winter of 1199-1200 the town is in the grip of the famine that goes with the Salghurid civil war.

Who holds it

Name: Sa'd ibn Zangi (on the majority reading)
Title: Atabeg of Fars
Since: 1198
Confidence: medium

Lord in 1200

The atabeg Sa'd ibn Zangi's capital and residence; his cousin Tughril disputes it in arms.

How things stand that morning

Held by Sa'd; famine; the khutba names the caliph al-Nasir.

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, the chief judge (qadi) and the heads of the quarters speak for the town; the Sufi masters (Ruzbihan Baqli) have great standing. The qadi in 1199-1200 is not pinned.

Communities

Persian Sunni townsmen, mostly Shafi'i; Sufi circles; the atabeg's Turkish soldiers; a Jewish community (size not pinned); Zoroastrians mostly in the countryside, much reduced.

Fairs and markets

The bazaars, among them those endowed to the Sunquriyya; no fair dates recorded.

Militia

Not recorded for 1199-1200.

Walls and castle

The Buyid wall had fallen into ruin by the early twelfth century (Ibn al-Balkhi, via Le Strange); Sa'd's new wall is undated and probably later than 1200 (not pinned). The atabeg's palace and citadel are not described for 1200; the dynasty keeps its treasure in the Istakhr castles.

Trade and crafts

The market of the Fars plains: grain, fruit, wine, rosewater (from Jur), cloth; the caravan roads to Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman and the Gulf ports. The Salghurid mint.

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.

599 AH (1202-03)The civil war ends with Tughril's execution; Sa'd then builds his new wall and the New Mosque (dates not pinned).Depends on: Sa'd's victory Stopped by: Tughril's victory

Places of note

Old Mosque (Masjid-i Atiq): The congregational mosque of the ninth century, where Ruzbihan Baqli preaches

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The monuments are known from Zarkub's Shiraz-nama and Junayd's Shadd al-izar via Shahbazi; institutions in 1200 are not documented.

Primary sources for Salghurids

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.

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
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

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