Walled town at the southern foot of Jabal Sinjar, with gardens watered from the mountain; capital of the Zengid line of Imad al-Din Zengi II since 1171 (apart from 1182-1183).
Who holds it
- Name
- Qutb al-Din Muhammad
- Title
- malik
- Confidence
- high
Ibn al-Athir 594.
Lord in 1200
Qutb al-Din Muhammad, with the regent Yarunqush.
How things stand that morning
Held by Qutb al-Din.
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; Kurds of the mountain; Bedouin in the market.
Militia
Garrison of the lord's soldiers; townsmen's own militia (ahdath) not recorded here.
Walls and castle
Walls and citadel.
Trade and crafts
Gardens, flocks, road from Mosul to the Khabur.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Ownership firm; urban detail general.
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
- 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)
- TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi, 'Nureddin Zengi, Arslansah' (dates from Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil XII, and al-Tarikh al-bahir; Abu Shama, Dhayl)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.