Tall Afar

Who holds it

Title

castellan

Confidence

low

TDV 'Zengiler' and 'Nureddin Zengi, Arslansah' (Sinjar's castle taken by Nur al-Din in 1204 and returned).

Lord in 1200

Sinjar's.

How things stand that morning

Sinjar's.

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.

Militia

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

Walls and castle

Castle on the mound.

Trade and crafts

Road between Sinjar and Mosul.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Attested as Sinjar's in 1204.

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