Where Did The Saljuqs Live A Case Study

DAVID DURAND-GUÉDY
ORIENTALISCHES INSTITUT (HALLE)
WHERE DID THE SALJQS LIVE?

A CASE STUDY BASED ON THE REIGN OF
SULTAN MAS‘D B. MUAMMAD (1134-1152)
To the memory of Iraj Afshar *
SUMMARY
This article aims to spatialize Saljq rule on the basis of a detailed analysis of the reign of
Mas‘d b. Muammad (r. 1134-1152). The sultan, highly mobile, practised a kind of
‘political nomadism’ which enabled him to maintain the loyalties essential to his rule. At
the end of his reign, the pattern of travel became more complex as Mas‘d attempted to
regain direct control of Azerbaijan in addition to Jibl and Iraq. At another level, the
sultan remained outside the cities proper, preferring to stay with his emirs in a military
camp at a variable distance from the inhabited areas. Finally, palaces were probably used
only for ceremonial purposes, while the tent remained the sultan’s permanent dwelling
place. Thus, a century after the Saljq conquest of Iran, Mas‘d’s lifestyle was still very
close to that of his forefathers, which means that at least in this regard, the acculturation
of the dynasty was very limited.
Keywords: Saljqs; city; Hamadan; nomadism; tent; camp.
RÉSUMÉ
Cet article vise à inscrire la domination saljuqide dans son contexte spatial à partir de
l’analyse détaillée du règne de Mas‘d b. Muammad (r. 1134-1152). Le sultan, très
mobile, pratiquait une sorte de ‘nomadisme politique’ qui lui permettait de renforcer les
loyautés à la base de son pouvoir. À la fin du règne, les déplacements se complexifièrent
lorsque Mas‘d chercha à contrôler directement l’Azerbaijan en plus du Jibl et de l’Iraq.
À un autre niveau, le sultan se tenait résolument à l’écart de l’espace urbain et préférait
rester avec ses émirs dans un camp militaire plus ou moins éloigné des zones habitées.
Quant aux palais, ils n’étaient sans doute utilisés qu’à des fins protocolaires et la tente
demeurait l’habitat permanent du sultan. Ainsi, après un siècle après la conquête de l’Iran
* A few months before his tragic death, I visited Iraj Afshar in his house in Tehran.
With his usual kindness, he tried to help me identify some of the little known
toponyms I had found in the itineraries of Sultan Mas‘d. We did not make any
spectacular discovery that day, but I cherish the memory of this last inspiring
meeting. Nanos gigantium humeris insidentes.
211 STUDIA IRANICA 40, 2011, p. 211-258

212 D. D U R A N D - G U É D Y StIr 40, 2011
par les Saljqides, le mode de vie de Mas‘d était encore très proche de celui de ses
ancêtres, ce qui signifie, au moins dans ce domaine, que l’acculturation de la dynastie
était très limitée.
Mots clés : Saljqs ; ville ; Hamadan ; nomadisme ; tente ; camp.
*
* *
INTRODUCTION
One of the major questions concerning the Saljqs to remain
unresolved is the relationship they had with the areas they had conquered
and in particular with the cities. The most commonly accepted thesis is
that this Turkish dynasty was heir to the Iranian-Islamic civilization and
rapidly adopted the Persian court culture. The Saljqs’ familiarity with the
urban world is contrasted with the attitude of the Mongols, who came after
them and who are known to have remained attached to their nomadic
lifestyle.1 In fact this familiarity is not at all evident and the question has
never been investigated. In the course of researching the history of Isfahan
in pre-Mongol times, I encountered abundant evidence in the sources
showing that at the time of Malik-Shh, the sultan and his court stayed
outside the city.2 This led me to develop another research project with the
purpose of clarifying the relationship of the various pre-Mongol Turkish
dynasties with cities and city life. My starting hypothesis was that the
Saljqs, like the first Qarkhnids and the Mongol l-khns, ruled from
outside the cities. I have outlined this project, its references in the scholar-
ship and its significance elsewhere.3 The purpose of the present article is to
look at this issue on the basis of a case study (the reign of a particular
sultan), which can provide new and specific elements to the argument.
I have chosen the reign of Sultan Mas‘d b. Muammad (529/1134-
547/1152). He was one of the ‘Saljqs of ‘Irq’ or ‘Lesser Saljqs’, a
My thanks to Jürgen Paul for having read a former version of this article. All errors
are naturally mine.
1 Lambton (1973, p. 111) wrote that the Saljqs ‘did not, like the Mongols, live in
tented encampments apart from the local population – or at any rate not to the same
extent’. This affirmation has been taken up by Melville (1990, 64) in his important
article on Öljeytü: ‘under the Saljuqs, settled, palace-centred rule in the manners of
the Abbasids…still lingered on’. Fragner takes the same stance (see below note 59).
2 See Durand-Guédy 2010, pp. 93-101.
3 See Durand-Guédy [forthcoming 1]. This research project, entitled ‘Ruling from the
outside. Turkish Rulers and City-life in pre-Mongol Iran’, is now under completion
within the collaborative research centre (SFB 586) ‘Difference and Integration’ at
the Universities of Halle-Wittenberg and Leipzig.
WHERE DID THE SALJQS LIVE ? 213
name given to the descendants of Muammad b. Malik-Shh (d. 511/1118)

who reigned in Western Iran and Iraq during and after the sultanate of
Sanjar (d. 552/1157; see genealogical tree in Appendix 3). During
Mas‘d’s sultanate, Sanjar was the uncontested leader of the Saljq house,
but he was too busy fighting on the Eastern borders of his territory to take
any significant and lasting action outside Khursn. For this reason,
Mas‘d was virtually independent.4
My choice of Mas‘d is motivated by three reasons. The first is the
place he occupies within the Saljq dynasty. He belongs to the fifth of
seven generations of Saljq sultans. His case, which has not been studied
in detail so far, therefore enables us to measure the extent of change from
the period of the Great Saljqs, whom we have considered elsewhere. The
second reason is the nature of his reign, which as well as being the longest
of the Saljqs of ‘Irq (with the exception of the particular case of oghrïl
b. Arsln,5 who was a puppet sultan until the death of Atabeg Pahlawn),
was also by and large a period of peace. It is true that Mas‘d’s authority
was being constantly challenged by the great emirs and that he led some
major military operations (in particular against the Abbasid caliphs). But
he did not spend his entire reign waging war as did his great-grand father
Alp Arsln (d. 465/1073), his uncle Berk Yruq (d. 498/1105) or his
brothers Mamd and oghrïl b. Muammad (d. 529/1134). Many of his
enemies disappeared without his having to fight them, whether he had
them murdered or they died conveniently.6 So despite the shortcomings of
our documentation, we are able to follow him when his moves were not
dictated by the urgency of the military situation. (The same reasoning led
Charles Melville to investigate the lifestyle of the l-khns on the basis of
the peaceful reign of Öljeitü.)7
The last reason which led me to choose Mas‘d is the relative quality
of data available to study the sultan’s movements and lifestyle. I empha-
size the word ‘relative’ because these data may seem derisory compared
4 For an introduction to Mas‘d’s reign, see Bosworth 1968, pp. 124-34 and ‘Mas‘d
b. Muammad’ in EI2 (Bosworth). See also Köymen 1954, pp. 250-30; Fragner
1972, pp. 138-49 (for events in Hamadan) and Fragner 2001 (but to be used with
caution, see below note 56); Durand-Guédy 2010, pp. 259-63 (for events in Isfahan).
5 For the transcription of Turkish names, I have used a Turkish-friendly vocalization
following the reading of Sümer 1999. I have kept the diacritics and the macrons
where possible.
6 The major military operations led by Mas‘d during his reign were directed at the
Abbasid caliph al-Mustarshid in 529/1135, the caliph al-Rshid, allied with Atabeg
Zeng and the Saljq D’d b. Mamd, in 530/1136, and the emir of Frs Boz-Aba
in 540/1146 and 541/1147.
7 See Melville 1990, p. 56.
with those available for subsequent rulers like the l-khn Öljeitü, the
Tmrid Shhrukh and the Safavid Shh ‘Abbs, all studied by Charles
Melville.8 However, unlike the sources on the first Saljqs which are very
incomplete and very late, we have for the Saljqs of ‘Irq, and in particular
for Mas‘d, several first-hand accounts written during the sultan’s reign or
shortly after his death. The most important for our study is the Saljq-
nma, written early in the reign of the last Saljq sultan oghrïl b. Arsln.
Its author, ahr al-Dn Nshpr, attended Mas‘d’s court as tutor to one
of the Saljq princes and was therefore a direct witness of the sultan’s
court.9 The data provided by ahr al-Dn are appropriately supplemented
by several chroniclers who lived in the Arab world, especially Ibn al-Jawz
(born in 511/1116) and ‘Imd al-Dn al-Ifahn (born in 519/1125), who
both began their careers in Baghdad at the beginning of Mas‘d’s reign.
Ibn al-Athr (d. 630/1233) was not a contemporary of Mas‘d, but for the
history of Iran during that period he relies on previous narratives, such the
lost Mashrib al-tajrib of Ibn Funduq Bayhaq (d. 565/1169-70). Other
accounts written by contemporaries (‘Azm, Ibn al-Azraq al-Friq, Najm
al-Dn Qum, s) or later historians (usayn, Ibn al-‘Ibr/Bar Hebraeus)
provide us with marginal but sometimes useful data.
To answer the question ‘Where did Mas‘d live?’, I will engage in
three successive levels of analysis. First, I will examine where and for
what reasons the sultan travelled. Second, I will focus on the exact location
of his court and his relationship with cities. Third, I will try to establish
what the sultan’s usual dwelling was. Finally, by correlating the results
obtained at each level (the territory, the urban space, the dwelling), we will
be able to arrive at a clearer picture of the sultan’s lifestyle.
8 See Melville, respectively 1990 (on Öljeytü), 1993 (on Shh ‘Abbs) and forth-
coming (on Shhrukh). On the way of life of the l-khns, see also the pioneering
article of Honda 1976. On the Ghaznavids, see Inaba forthcoming.
9 Rwand (pp. 64-5) states that ahr al-Dn was the ‘tutor (ustdh) of sultan Arsln
[b. oghrïl] and Mas‘d’. Since Mas‘d’s reign began at least 44 years before the
composition of the Saljq-nma, it is reasonable to assume, as did Morton
(introduction to ahr al-Dn, p. 49), that ahr al-Dn was employed by Mas‘d to
teach Arsln. This would match what ahr al-Dn himself says on the matter
(‘Sultan Mas‘d b. Muammad ordered that [Arsln] receive an education’, ahr
al-Dn, p. 105). ahr al-Dn’s original text, recently reconstructed by Morton from a
unicum manuscript, has provided the basis for all later historiography in Persian
about the Saljqs. These later versions are not devoid of interest. The version of
Rashd al-Dn’s Jmi‘ al-tawrkh in particular (perhaps written by Ab l-Qsim
Kshn) contains for Mas‘d’s reign numerous addenda to the original Saljq-
nma. Such data must, however, be used with caution since we do not always know
why or on what basis the author(s) decided to edit ahr al-Dn’s original text; see
Durand-Guédy 2006 and Morton 2010.
TECHNICAL PREAMBLE: RECONSTRUCTING MAS‘D’S TRAVEL PATTERNS

Before setting about the analysis, it is essential to have a firm factual
grounding. The preliminary step to this research was therefore to gather all
the spatial and temporal data at our disposal. They make up the content of
Appendix 1.10 I have summarized this mass of data in two items: a chrono-
logical table showing the movements of the sultan month by month (table
1), and a map showing the places visited throughout his reign (map 1). In
compiling these two items, I have come up against several problems. Such
problems may interest fellow historians and I would like to deal with them
briefly. The hurried reader may pass over this technical matter and go
directly to the next section where the analysis of the results begins.
The sources at our disposal pose two major problems: their lack of
precision on the one hand, and the discrepancies within the data on the
other. To begin with the issue of accuracy, in most cases events described
in the chronicles (such as Ibn al-Athr’s) are not precisely located, and this
applies a fortiori when it comes to the sultan’s court. An extreme case is
Najm al-Dn Qum, a direct witness of Mas‘d’s reign. His account is far
more detailed than that of ahr al-Dn, but he hardly ever specifies dates
or places. Ibn al-Jawz is more precise, but focuses almost solely on Bagh-
dad. ahr al-Dn provides unique information about the places visited by
the sultan. He is, however, very vague about dates except for the end of the
reign.11 The fragmentation of the data relevant to our investigation invol-
ves a vast effort of reconstruction. For the dates, it is rare to obtain a
higher degree of accuracy than the month. Furthermore, we have at best
either the date of departure for a given place or of arrival there, but never
both. As a consequence, and unlike the cases of later rulers such as Öljeitü,
we have no information about the duration of the sultan’s journeys.12 The
same goes for the routes followed. While it is clear that to get from
Baghdad to Hamadan Mas‘d normally followed the ‘Khursn highway’
via Kirmnshh and ulwn (where his presence is noted in 530/1136), we
are left to speculate about his other journeys. The only pieces of data are,
10 Melville (1990, p. 64) calls this kind of table ‘geo-chronology’, but to avoid
confusion it is perhaps better to leave this term to geology where it is used with a
very different meaning.
11 While ahr al-Dn deals with the years 529-540 in a rather vague and anecdotal
manner, sometimes with considerable temporal ellipses (e.g. p. 77, §6: the story
skips directly from 533/1139 to 538/1144), the degree of precision on dates and
travel increases significantly for the four last years of the reign (from 544/1150 until
547/1152) where we can follow Mas‘d season after season. This qualitative change
should probably be read as marking the date of ahr al-Dn’s arrival in the sultan’s
service.
12 See Melville 1990, p. 59.
once again, provided by ahr al-Dn and concern two itineraries: a jour-
ney from Baghdad to Azerbaijan via the pass of Qarbul/Qarbell, and
another from Gulpayign to Hamadan by ‘another road’ rather than the
road of Ghpala.13 This does not tell us much since neither Qarbul/ Qar-
bell nor Ghpala can be located with precision. This brings us to another
problem, which is our ignorance of the exact location of many toponyms
mentioned in the sources. The chronological table of Mas‘d’s movements
(table 1) includes twenty-six toponyms. While eighteen of them are well-
known and can be located accurately, eight are either known but only
approximately located (like Dy Marj) or totally unknown (such as the
Qarbul/Qarbell pass). I have listed these problematic toponyms in
Appendix 2 and proposed plausible locations.
In addition to their vagueness, our sources sometimes contradict each
other. The contradictions can lie in the itineraries. For example, for the
second half of the year 529/1135, given the importance of the event that
had just happened (the murder of the caliph in the presence of the sultan),
we have a large of number of accounts of Mas‘d’s movements, but they
are in whole or in part at variance with each other. Did Mas‘d leave
Margha for Jibl (as per ahr al-Dn and Ibn al-Athr)? Did he head for
Tabrz (as Ibn al-Azraq indicates)? Or did he go to Diyr Bakr and then on
to Baghdad (as per ‘Imd al-Dn al-Ifahn)? In this case we have recon-
structed a chronology and hypothetical route by eliminating sources which
we believe to be erroneous (Ibn al-Athr) and combining others. But more
so than the place visited, it is the dating of the journeys that can be proble-
matic. This is partly because chroniclers, especially ahr al-Dn, refer to
the seasons rather than to the Muslim lunar calendar. Not only that, but
ahr al-Dn’s understanding of the seasons is quite imprecise. For
example, for the year 540, he speaks of the ‘four months of winter’.14
Elsewhere ahr al-Dn writes that ‘during the winter [Mas‘d] went to
Swa, in Rajab of [54]5’, but that Rajab corresponds to 24 Oct.-22 Nov,
well before winter. Such inconsistencies are not unique to ahr al-Dn and
can be found in Ibn al-Athr’s Kmil.15 These examples indicate that in the
chronicles the seasons should not be taken in their restrictive and astrono-
mical sense. Generally, when I have found dual dating, I give preference
to the Muslim lunar calendar. This is not the only cause of chronological
13 See ahr al-Dn, p. 78, §6 and p. 81, §10.

14 ahr al-Dn, p. 78, §6. In Rashd al-Dn (p. 118, line 11; trans. p. 109) the sentence
is edited: ‘three months of winter and one month of spring’.
15 Ibn al-Athr (III, p. 71) mentions that in 533, ‘Mas‘d entered Baghdad in Rab‘ al-
awwal [ie. 6 Nov.-5 Dec.] during the winter season (zamn al-shit’)’.
Map 1: Mas‘d’s territory

(author: D. Durand-Guédy; cartography: Borleis & Weis, Leipzig).
discrepancies. The dating of an important event often varies. In most cases,

the difference is only a few days, as in the case of the murder of the caliph
in Mas‘d’s camp near Margha in August 1135. But it sometimes amounts
to a whole year, as with the arrest of emir Turshak in Baghdad (in 537
according to Ibn al-Athr, 538 according to Ibn al-Jawz)16 or the meeting
between Sanjar and Mas‘d in Rayy (in 543/1149-50 according to ahr
al-Dn; in 544/1150-1 according to Ibn al-Jawz, Ibn al-Athr and ‘Imd al-
Dn).17 In the first case, the difference is of no consequence (Mas‘d was
in Baghdad in both years anyway), but in the second case, the whole chro-
nology of the last years of his reign is at stake. For this last case, I have
added an alternative chronology for the years 1148-1150 (see table 1,
variant 1).
While it is clear that the data regarding Mas‘d’s movements are less
accurate than, for example, those gathered by Charles Melville on Öljeitü,
it is nevertheless possible to fill many gaps on the basis of deduction. Let
us take the case of the winter journeys between Hamadan and Baghdad.
Ibn al-Athr twice notes that it was ‘the annual custom (‘al ‘datihi f
kulli sinna)’ for Mas‘d to winter in Baghdad.18 The date of his arrival in
Baghdad is specified by Ibn al-Jawz on five occasions and ranges from 13
October to 16 or 26 February.19 But this four month span can be reduced to
one month and a half (13 October to 5 December) if we exclude the years
in which the sultan spends part of the summer in Azerbaijan (this delayed
his arrival since he had to pass through Jibl), and the years when a late
arrival in Baghdad can be explained by political reasons (as in 540/1146
and 544/1150).20 Regarding the journey back to Hamadan, the month of
departure is given by Ibn al-Jawz on one occasion (538/1144) and
16 See Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 93; Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 105, lines 21-22.
17 See Appendix 1 for reference. To avoid needless repetition, when the reference is
not given in the footnote, the reader should refer to Appendix 1 under the appro-
priate date and event.
18 Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 93: ‘this year [538] sultan Mas‘d came to Baghdad as was his
annual custom’. See also Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 71: ‘he was now in the habit of
wintering in Iran and spending the summer in the Jibl’.
19 Dates and references are noted in Appendix 1 under the years 532/1138, 533/1138,
538/1143, 540/1146, 541/1146-7 and 543/1149 (or variant 1: 544/1150).
20 In 540/1146, Mas‘d was threatened by a coalition of rebellious emirs led by ‘Abbs
and Boz-Aba and delayed his departure from Hamadan as long as possible so that
his main supporter (the emir Chwlï Jndr) could come to his rescue from Azer-
baijan. He finally decided to abandon his capital and arrived in Baghdad on January
6. In 544/1150 (or variant 1: 543/1149), Mas‘d interrupted his journey to Baghdad
in Asad-bd (40 km South-West from Hamadan) after he heard the news of the
Sanjar’s arrival at Rayy. He turned back to meet Sanjar and then resumed his
journey, arriving in Baghdad on February 26 (or variant 1: February 16).
corresponds to 7 April-6 May. This data is indirectly confirmed by ahr

al-Dn and Najm al-Dn Qum who both mention (for two different years)
a departure from Baghdad at the beginning of the spring.21 In both cases,
the arrival and departure dates to/from Baghdad match the data found by
Melville for Öljeytü.22 On this basis, I have made the following assump-
tions when the sources are silent: first, the sultan winters in Baghdad and
spends the summer in Jibl near Hamadan; second, the sultan arrives in
Baghdad in December and departs in early April. I have applied this
deductive method to establish Mas‘d’s arrival in Baghdad in 1140 and
1144, and his return to Hamadan in 1139-1143 and 1145 (dates inferred by
me are indicated in brackets). The same type of deduction can apply to
other movements. We know, for example, that in 1148 Mas‘d returned
from Azerbaijan to Hamadan at the end of the summer. When he under-
took the same trip in 1151, we can assume that he returned to Hamadan at
about the same period. In the end, it is possible to reconstruct a fairly
accurate timeline, integrating matched-up data from the chronicles and
data obtained by deduction. Let us turn now to the analysis of these results.
FIRST LEVEL OF ANALYSIS: THE SULTAN’S TRAVEL PATTERNS

The territory theoretically subject to Mas‘d covered four regions:
Jibl (or ‘Irq-i ‘ajam), Iraq, Azerbaijan and Frs. But the sultan did not
occupy them uniformly. If we use table 1 to calculate the time that the
sultan spent in each region (see table 2), it appears that he spent more than
half of his reign in Jibl (60%); Iraq ranked second (30%), followed by
Azerbaijan (9%); Frs does not figure in the table while Diyr Bakr
appears in it because of a raid made on that region in 530/1135.
Region Jibl Iraq Azerbaijan Diyr Bakr
Number of months spent 129 65 21 1
in the region
Proportion of the reign 60% 30% 9% 1%
spent in the region
Table 2. Time spent by Mas‘d in the different regions of his territory.
I have summarized in table 3 the various itineraries of the sultan. It

shows very clearly that Hamadan was Mas‘d’s political centre. This city
was the starting point and final destination of nearly all his known trips.
21 See ahr al-Dn for the year 1152 (‘awwal-i bahr’) and Qum for the year 1146
(‘bahrgh’).
22 See Melville 1990, p. 59, table 1.
Conversely there is almost no lateral movement: it amounts to only 6% of

Mas‘d’s known trips (see the two last columns of table 3).
ITINERARY Number Number Total Proportion
of of return
journeys journeys
Hamadan to Baghdad 13 13 26 55%
Hamadan to Azerbaijan 2 5 7 15%
Hamadan to Azerbaijan via Swa 3 – 3 6%
Hamadan to Rayy 2 3 5 11%
Hamadan to Isfahan 1 1 2 4%
Hamadan to Gulpayign 1 1 2 4%
Azerbaijan to Diyr Bakr 1 1 2 4%
Baghdad to Azerbaijan 1 – 1 2%
Total 24 24 48 100%
Table 3. The itineraries of Mas‘d.
With his usual ornate style, ‘Imd al-Dn speaks of Hamadan as ‘the
seat of [Mas‘d’s] power and the string on which he puts his [orders]
(maqm mulkihi wa nim silkihi)’.23 The city had gained this role during
the reign of sultan Mamd (d. 535/1131), when the crisis of Saljq autho-
rity and the increasing number of military operations in Jibl called for a
capital more strategically located than Isfahan.24 Hamadan was far from
being the largest city in the territories subject to Mas‘d, but it was the
most central. It was almost equidistant (650 km, or 400 miles) from Isfahan
(the largest city of Jibl), Baghdad (probably still the largest city of the
Muslim East) and Tabrz (the rising centre of the rising region of Azer-
baijan).25 Hamadan was also located at the intersection of several major
roads. The most important was the ‘Khursn highway’ linking Iraq to
Khursn through Rayy (the latter city being the outpost of the territories
directly controlled by Sanjar), but other roads linked Hamadan to
Azerbaijan (via Dnawar) and, via Isfahan, to Frs (see map 1).
For Mas‘d, the most frequent itinerary was Hamadan-Baghdad. This
route represents more than half of his known trips (55% according to table
3). Mas‘d wintered in Baghdad (December to March) and went back to
23 Bundr, p. 219, lines 4-5. To facilitate reference, quotations from ‘Imd al-Dn al-
Ifahn’s chronicle refer to the abridged version by Bundr when the text is similar.
24 On the role of Hamadan during this period, and the reasons that led the Saljqs of
‘Irq to abandon Isfahan, see Durand-Guédy 2010, pp. 208-209.
25 We can remark that the centrality of Hamadan in Mas‘d’s territory parallels that of
Isfahan when it was Malik-Shh’s capital: Isfahan was at 1500 km (930 miles) dis-
tance from both Antioch, the western end of the empire, and Tirmidh, its eastern end.
the uplands in spring (see table 1). This seasonal to-and-fro movement
between Baghdad and Hamadan gives its rhythm to the reign. Out of the
eighteen winters of his reign, Mas‘d spent twelve in Iraq (ten mentioned
in the sources, two inferred by me). Better still: after the first two years, in
which he was busy establishing his authority in turbulent conditions (his
battle against the caliph al-Mustarshid, the assassination of the caliph in
his presence, the siege of Baghdad the following summer and the deposi-
tion of the caliph al-Rshid), Mas‘d spent eleven consecutive winters in
Baghdad (from 1136-7 to 1146-7).
What was the function of these travels? This type of movement recalls
the seasonal migration of the Qashqs around nawrz, from their winter
pastures in Khuzistn toward their summer pastures in the heights of the
Zagros. And when ‘Imd al-Dn refers to Mas‘d’s journey to Baghdad, he
uses a Quranic expression alluding to the winter caravan (rila al-shit’)
sent by the Quraysh in Arabia.26 The fact is that Saljq military power was
based on cavalry, and cavalry implies a large number of horses and the
need to have access to rich meadows in spring. That said, Mas‘d did not
follow the nomadic cycles. He could go almost anywhere when he wished.
For example, when he learned of the death of his brother oghrïl in
Hamadan, he set off for Baghdad immediately despite the arrival of winter,
beating a path through the snow with camels.27 Nothing indicates that the
sultan moved with flocks. Naturally there was a clear advantage in win-
tering in Iraq when the mountainous areas of the Iranian plateau, and in
particular the region of Hamadan famous for its harsh winter, was covered
with snow.28 Already in Antiquity, a Greek author said that Cyrus’s habit
of travelling between Iran and Mesopotamia enabled him ‘to live in the
coolness of an eternal spring’.29 But the main motivation for the journey to
Baghdad was political. This annual move was the main way for Mas‘d to
enforce his control over the city. This control was vital, not only because
Baghdad was the largest and the richest city of his territories (and therefore
contributed decisively to his finances), but also because it was the city of
26 See Bundr, pp. 192-3 and 199, line 5. The expression ‘rila al-shit’’ is drawn
from Qur’an, CV (Quraysh): ‘For the composing of Quraysh, their composing for
the winter and summer caravan!’
27 See ahr al-Dn, p. 75, §2.
28 See Ganji 1968, p. 221, fig. 72 and TAVO map A IV 2 ‘Vorderer Orient: Mittlere
Januartemperaturen’. The harshness of the winter in Hamadan, which is located on
the northern side of Mount Alvand, was proverbial. Most of Yqt’s entry on Hama-
dan deals with it (see Yqt, IV, pp. 984-987; trans. pp. 601-605). Muammad
b. Mamd (p. 279, line 16) notes that ‘there were always princes settled in the
vicinity of Hamadan, except in winter’.
29 Quoted by Briant 1996, p. 199.
the caliph, without whose formal recognition Mas‘d’s prestige would

have been severely diminished. If Mas‘d had to come in person, it is
because his power had a very limited ‘reach’.30 Mas‘d had reliable sup-
porters in Isfahan, where the Khujand family ensured that the authority of
the sultan of Hamadan was respected in exchange for recognition of their
local leadership in the city.31 This is why Mas‘d made only one trip to
Isfahan during the eighteen years of his reign, although after Baghdad it
was the largest and richest city in his territories.
But the same did not go for Baghdad. There the stakes were too high,
the centrifugal forces too strong and his supporters too unreliable. The
rebellion of two successive caliphs during the first two years of the sulta-
nate had almost cost Mas‘d his crown. By spending four to five months a
year in the Abbasid capital, he saw to it that such a situation did not repeat
itself. The presence of the sultan with all his emirs was a natural deterrent
to the new caliph al-Muqtaf, who remained obedient as long as Mas‘d
was alive. The effectiveness of these royal journeys is shown by other
examples. ahr al-Dn tells us that having been informed of a gathering of
rebel emirs on the meadow of Lshtar (about fifty kilometres south of
Hamadan), Mas‘d rode there overnight. When the emirs awoke and saw
him in the middle of the camp, they all came to pay homage.32
Sometimes even the mere suggestion of a personal visit could give the
desired result: in 541/1146-7 when Mas‘d announced he would travel to
Mosul (the capital of the increasingly independent and powerful emir
Zeng), he almost immediately received a delegation bringing presents and
a promise of obedience.33
The political function of Mas‘d’s travels is highlighted, a contrario,
by the case of the first Saljq sultans. Significantly, before the death of
Malik-Shh (d. 485/1092), the sultans did not usually winter in Baghdad.
oghrïl Beg went to Bagdad only once after he made the conquest of Iraq.
Alp Arsln, the victor of Byzantium, never visited it. As for his son Malik-
Shh, he only began to winter in Baghdad at the very end of his reign and
for entirely different motives: with the conquest of Syria and Palestine the
30 On the reach of the state, see Paul 1996, p. 311 and 315.
31 In 545/1150, the Khujands resisted a nephew of Mamd who raided the region
(see Bundr, p. 226; see also Durand-Guédy 2010, p. 263). In 542/1147-8, Mas‘d
exiled the Khujands because they had opened the city gates to the rebel emir Boz-
Aba, but he restored them to their previous position the following year (see Bundr,
pp. 219-221; see also Durand-Guédy 2010, p. 262).
32 See ahr al-Dn, p. 76, §2.
33 See Bundr, p. 218, lines 18-20.
center of gravity of the Saljq empire had shifted westward, and Malik-
Shh may have consider the idea of making Baghdad his capital.34
Mas‘d’s journeys to Baghdad can therefore be interpreted as show of
force (aimed at the caliph), but also as a sign of weakness (since he could
not simply rely on a symbolic presence or an intermediary to have his
authority respected).
Map 2: The patterns of Mas‘d’s movements

Apart from Baghdad, Mas‘d’s second main destination was Azerbai-

jan. According to table 1, he went there in six different years and the sum
of his stays amounts to 9% of the reign (see table 2). More than a quarter
of Mas‘d’s known journeys are to or from this region (see table 3). These
movements fall into two discrete groups. The first journeys are in response
to the urgency of the military situation. In summer 1135, having captured
34 See Ibn al-Jawz, IX, pp. 60-1; Durand-Guédy 2010, p. 83 (and Appendix D).
the caliph al-Mustarshid on a battlefield near Hamadan, Mas‘d marched

to Azerbaijan to confront his nephew D’d b. Mamd, who had been the
main supporter of the caliph’s bid. In summer 1137, after the indecisive
battle of Panj Angusht against D’d and the emir of Frs, he returned to
Azerbaijan because D’d was occupying the capital, Hamadan. In 1146,
Mas‘d made another journey, this time directly from Baghdad, to join the
emir Chwlï, who was his main supporter. The journeys made in the last
years of his reign (1148, 1150, and 1151) obey another logic. At that time,
the political situation had evolved in favour of Mas‘d and there was no
longer any urgency. Indeed in 1147 the sultan had freed himself of the
great emirs who had undermined his authority since his enthronement.35
Mas‘d took advantage of this increased room for maneouvre by trying to
regain control of Azerbaijan, which he rightly considered crucial for the
future of the sultanate.
The political importance of Azerbaijan had increased significantly since
the late fifth/eleventh centuries. Logically, the emergence of a smaller
political entity (the state of the Saljqs of ‘Irq) made each of its parts pro-
portionally more important than it was within the huge empire of the Great
Saljqs. But there were other reasons. Azerbaijan was a strategic region
because of its proximity to the Christian kingdoms of Caucasus and the
Qïpchq territories further north (potential sources of slaves). In addition,
the Türkmen nomads moving with their herds between the Mughn plain
and the heights of the Sabaln could supply horsemen to whomever
controlled it.36 It is no coincidence that since the beginning of the final
crisis of the sultanate in 511/1118, the most powerful emirs, and the most
dangerous to the sultan’s authority, were all based in Azerbaijan. During
Mas‘d’s reign the pre-eminent emirs were Aq-Sonqur Amadl (d. 527/
1133), Qar-Sonqur (d. 535/1140-1), Chwlï Jndr (d. 541/1146) and
‘Abd al-Ramn oa-Yürek [ugh-Yurik] (d. 541/1146). The accuracy
of Mas‘d’s analysis about Azerbaijan would, conversely, be demonstrated
after his death: at that time, emir Eldigüz took control of almost all of
Azerbaijan and from there conquered Jibl and deprived the Saljqs of all
their power.
So, in 1148, feeling strong enough, Mas‘d decided to assert his con-
trol over Azerbaijan in addition to Jibl and Iraq. The elevation of the emir
Kh-Beg, a Türkmen from Azerbaijan who would be entirely beholden
35 Chwlï’s sudden death in 1146 was quickly followed by the murder of Ibn Toa-
Yürek by Kh-Beg, of ‘Abbs by Mas‘d, and finally by Mas‘d’s decisive
victory over Boz-Aba at Qar-Tegn.
36 On the military role played by the Türkmen in Saljq Iran, see Durand-Guédy
forthcoming 3.
to Mas‘d, was one aspect of this renewed control; the new travel pattern
was another. To the traditional winter trip to Baghdad, Mas‘d added a
variant: winter at Swa, departure for Azerbaijan in spring,37 return to
Hamadan during the summer. This increasing presence of the sultan in
Azerbaijan did not go smoothly. Significantly the Iraqi sources speak of
the rebellion of emirs from Arrn and Azerbaijan in the same period for
which ahr al-Dn tells us about Mas‘d’s trips to Azerbaijan. Ibn al-
Athr contents himself with linking this rebellion to the favour enjoyed by
Kh-Beg;38 but we can go further and link it to the political project
underlying this favour, namely the sultan’s takeover of the region, in
which his main instrument was the summer journey there.
Seasonal travel, whether to Baghdad in winter or Margha in summer,
combined pleasure (hunting) and political aims (the direct control of vital
territories). By receiving homage from his emirs, by conferring honour on
them, Mas‘d made sure that the loyalties which formed the basis of his
power were maintained. ‘He gave away at the audience (brgh) the loads
of revenues which arrived from the various regions’, recalls ahr al-Dn.39
Was there any difference from the time of Malik-Shh? The same process
of maintaining loyalty through direct contact can be observed at the time
of the Great Saljqs, but with the essential difference that then it was the
vassals who went to the sultan’s court, not the other way around. Another
difference is that apart from one short and opportunistic raid against
Artuqid territories at the beginning of his reign, Mas‘d did not wage any
wars of conquest.40 This is because his model of kingship had clear limita-
tions. Despite his robust constitution (he was ‘the strongest and the tallest
of the Saljqs’41), Mas‘d could not physically go beyond the limits of the
territory he had inherited without risking losing it. The fact that he never
traveled to Frs, even after his major victory against Boz-Aba (d. 541/
1147), is significant. Frs continued to enjoy a de facto independence
37 The stop at Swa, where Mas‘d spent two consecutive winters, had two obvious
advantages: close to the kavr, the area enjoyed a relatively mild winter (compared
to Hamadan and Azerbaijan); close to Rayy, it was an ideal location to monitor this
strategic city. Moreover, the region was (and still is) known for its hunting grounds,
and thus allowed the Mas‘d to satisfy his passion (‘he was never sated with hunt-
ing’ recalls ahr al-Dn, p. 74, §1; on this issue see Lambton 1988, p. 235; Durand-
Guédy 2010, p. 85).
38 Ibn al-Athr XI, p. 132.
39 See ahr al-Dn, p. 74, §1.
40 Mas‘d’s expedition in the ‘land of Sökmen’ in 529 or 530/1135, assuming that it
really took place (Ibn Azraq does not mention it), can be explained by pure opportu-
nism. Mas‘d was at Khy and the neighbouring principality of Akhl was at that
time in deep crisis, see Cahen 1935, p. 245 and Sümer, 1998, p. 71.
41 ahr al-Dn, p. 74, §1.
because Mas‘d could not at the same time control anywhere beyond
Baghdad, Jibl and Azerbaijan. Even the trips to Azerbaijan posed a risk to
Mas‘d’s authority in Iraq; indeed every time Mas‘d spent the winter
away from Baghdad the city was attacked by rebel Turkish emirs.42
The conclusion from this section is that sultan’s mobility should be
seen as a political instrument. We could perhaps go further and say that
mobility was not only an instrument of power, but one of its attributes.
Indeed, having defeated and captured the caliph al-Mustarshid, one of the
conditions Mas‘d imposed upon him, in addition to the payment of a
yearly tribute and the prohibition on raising an army, was that he should
not leave his palace.43 This form of peripatetic government marks a clear
break with the model of kingship previously prevalent in Islamic Iran. That
being said, as Morgan has already observed, travel as an instrument of
political domination was nothing unusual in pre-modern states. We have
numerous examples of European princes who relied on this ‘political noma-
dism’ (the Ottonians in tenth-century Saxony, the ‘restless’ Plantagenets in
twelfth- and thirteenth-century England, the princes of Kiev in Ukraine,
the Capetians in France until the settlement of the French monarchy in
Versailles), and as far as Iran is concerned, the Achaemenids moved con-
stantly between their four capitals, two of which happened to share the
locations as Mas‘d’s future ‘capitals’ (Ecbatana/Hamadan and Ctesiphon/
Baghdad).44 The real originality in Mas‘d’s lifestyle lies not in the pattern
of his movement, but in his relationship to the cities.
SECOND LEVEL OF ANALYSIS: THE ROYAL CAMP

No source explicitly shows Mas‘d inside a city.45 Conversely, when
the setting of the sultan’s court is specified, it is an extra-urban space
42 The emirs of Arrn and Azerbaijan attacked Baghdad in 543/1148 (Ibn al-Athr, XI,
pp. 132-4) and 544/1149 (Ibn al-Jawz, X, pp. 137-8). Compare with table 1.
43 See Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 27 ([amarahu] an l yakhruja min drihi.)
44 I owe the reference to the Ottonians and Plantagenets to Melville, 1990, pp. 61-62,
and the reference to the princes of Kiev to Inaba, forthcoming. On the kings of
France, see Solnon 1987, pp. 51-73, and Wagner and Vaillancourt 2001. On the
Achaemenids, see Briant 1988 and Briant 1996, pp. 199-203. The expression
‘nomadisme “politique” ’ has been used by Jean-Pierre Digard (1987, p. 32) about
the travels of the Bakhtyr khans to the sensitive areas of their territory. Briant
(1996) speaks of ‘nomadisme aulique’.
45 The only exception might be when Mas‘d seized Baghdad in 530/1135 and ordered
a gathering of the qs and the fuqah’ to have the caliph al-Rshid deposed and
replaced by his uncle. But even for this occasion, it is impossible to be categorical.
Ibn al-Jawz (X, p. 60, line 3 and 7) gives the most detailed account of what happen-
ed in Baghdad that year. He writes twice that Mas‘d ‘entered’ the city (dakhala
sometimes explicitly termed a ‘military camp’ (lashkargh in Persian,

mu‘askar or ‘askar in Arabic). The examples are numerous. In 534/1140, a
letter authorizing the caliph to dismiss his vizier arrived from the sultan’s
‘camp’ (mu‘askar).46 In 528/1134, just before Mas‘d’s accession to the
throne, the Caliph ordered the arrest of one of the Saljq emirs, which
provoked the flight of other emirs ‘to the camp (‘askar) of Sultan Mas‘d’
who was then ‘in’ Baghdad.47 After the death of the emir Chwlï, the great
emirs (‘Abbs, Ibn ua-Yürek, Boz-Aba) came to the ‘sultan’s camp’ (al-
mu‘askar al-suln).48 Likewise Muammad s remembers having met
the great emir ‘Abbs in the military camp (mu‘askar).49 The camp was the
sultan’s space par excellence, to the point that the term could be used by
metonymy to designate the sultan. Thus, to say that some emir was very
close to Mas‘d, ‘Imd al-Dn writes that ‘he never left the camp (li-l
mu‘askar ghayr mufriq)’.50 The great emirs in charge of whole regions
naturally had their own camps, which sometimes appear in the sources.
When Mas‘d fled to Azerbaijan in 540/1146, the emir Chwlï welcomed
him in his camp near Margha. But when Chwlï learnt that one of
Mas‘d’s emirs had planned to assassinate him, he had the Sultan told that
he would not see him unless ‘they both ride alone and at the edge of the
camp’.51
il/bi-Baghdd), but neither he nor the other sources specify where the gathering
took place. Nothing proves that it was in the caliphal palace and from what we know
about Mas‘d, I would be inclined to place it in the sultan’s palace, and therefore
outside the city walls. Mas‘d’s nephew, D’d, was killed in the bazaar of Tabrz
(see Ibn al-Azraq, p. 186, trans. p. 108). This proves that he entered the city once.
But it also proves that for the Turks, these forays into an environment that was not
theirs was not without danger. Conversely, the same reason explains why two
Abbasid caliphs were killed in less than four years during Mas‘d’s reign: outside
the protection of Baghdad’s walls, and in particular on the Iranian plateau, they were
easy targets for their Ism‘li enemies.
46 See Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 85, line 17: ‘The writings (kutub) [produced by the Abbasid
administration] bore [the] name [of the vizier] until the arrival from the camp
(mu‘askar) of the answer to the letters sent by the caliph’.
47 See Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 19. Richards (I, p. 312) has translated ‘askar by ‘army’, but
‘military camp’ is more appropriate. Similarly in the narrative devoted to the murder
of al-Mustarshid, instead of ‘his tent was isolated from the main army’, it is better to
read ‘isolated from the camp’ (see Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 27; trans. I, p. 318).
48 Bundr, p. 214, lines 5-6.
49 s, p. 279, line 16.
50 Bundr, p. 193, line 15.
51 Bundr, p. 200, line 17-18 (fa-m ijtama‘a al-suln wa Jwl ba‘d dhalika ill
rkibn munfaridn ‘an al-‘askar mutajnibn). Chwlï’s camp is later set up on the
outskirts of Miynj and then Zanjn. See Bundr, p. 203, lines 13 (bi-hir Maynj)
and 16 (fa-khayyama ‘al Zanjn). Chwlï’s camp near Zanjn is the setting of a
long and amusing anecdote related by Qum, pp. 140-141.
Mas‘d’s royal camp is not described anywhere in our sources, and

only hints help clarify its characteristics. The centerpiece was the maydn,
namely a large open space used for parades, military exercises and polo
games.52 It was on the maydn that the population of Baghdad came and
met Mas‘d during the troubles caused by the ‘ayyarns in the winter of
1143-4.53 It was on the maydn that Sanjar met Kh-Beg in 543/1149;54
and of course it was on the maydn that the sultan assembled his army. For
example, in 1147 he joined forces with the emirs of Azerbaijan on the
maydn of Biyr near Hamadan.55 Logically, the maydn was considered a
symbol of the sultanate. In the introduction of the chapter dedicated to
Mas‘d, ahr al-Dn describes him as the ‘adornment of the throne and
the ornament of the maydn (rayish-i takht wa znat-i maydn)’.56
Where was the camp located? This is a difficult question since the
vagueness of our sources generally leaves us unaware of the exact setting
of the events recounted.57 As far as the sultan is concerned, the chroniclers
often content themselves with saying, for example, ‘sra il/aqma f s’
in Arabic, or ‘raft bi/nuzl kard dar s’ in Persian. In such sentences, the
adverbial phrase of place may refer to the city proper as well as its
hinterland.58 This ambiguity has led modern historians to translate or inter-
pret the text according to their own preconception of Saljq lifestyle.59
52 The relationship between the opening of maydns in Middle Eastern cities and the
political domination of Turkish horsemen has been commented on by Garcin 1991.
53 See Ibn al-Jawz, X, 106, line 9.
54 See Rashd al-Dn, p. 379, line 2 (ahr al-Dn’s version does not mention the
maydn, nor the presence of Kh-Beg at Rayy).
55 See ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §12. The modern meaning of ‘maydn’ (that is: city square)
has led Fragner (1972, p. 145) to completely misinterpret this passage. Basing him-
self on the version given by Rwand (p. 242, line 3, identical to ahr al-Dn, ibid.),
he understands the reference to the ‘maydn-i Dih Biyr’ as a square inside Hama-
dan (‘auf dem grossen Hamadaner Platz ‘Maidan-i Dih Bijar’). He further imagines
a huge square ‘to mobilize the troops’ but naturally cannot say where it was in the
town (Fragner 1972, p. 147).
56 ahr al-Dn, p. 74, §1.
57 The example of Isfahan has already shown how rare references to urban topography
are in the sources on Saljq Iran (e.g. Durand-Guédy 2010, p. 94 and 234).
58 See Aubin 1970, p. 68.
59 Richard’s translation of Ibn al-Athr’s Kmil is riddled with such over-translations.
In a recent article, Fragner has again dealt with Saljq Hamadan. However, its con-
tent is far from the promise announced by the tantalizing subtitle: ‘Raumkonzepte in
einer Chronik der Seldschukenzeit’ (Fragner 2001). It is actually a study of the
reigns of Mas‘d and his successor Muammad b. Mamd based on Rwand’s
Rat al-udr (written ca. 601/1204-5). Although the Rat al-udr is for this
period a faithful copy of ahr al-Dn’s Saljq-nma, Fragner considers the fact that
Rwand was himself living in Hamadan to have ‘qualitative consequences’ (ibid.,
p. 102 – not surprisingly he does not explain what these consequences might be).
Aubin was much more cautious and often translated the above examples
by ‘il alla dans/il fit halte dans le s’ (instead of ‘il alla à/il fit halte à
s’). But while such a formulation does not enable us to be positive about
the location of the sultan’s court, other elements prove that it was located
outside the city. Indeed some chroniclers sometimes give additional detail
about the sultan’s location by saying, for example, that it was ‘‘al bb
Hamadhn’ or ‘bi-Hamadhn’ in Arabic, ‘bi-dar-i shahr Hamadhn’ or
bi-hir-i shahr Hamadhn’, in Persian. These formulations mean literally
‘at the door of’ or ‘outside Hamadan’. Significantly the most precise in-
formation is given by authors who had had a direct experience of Mas‘d’s
court, first and foremost ahr al-Dn, but also Najm al-Dn Qum and
‘Imd al-Dn. For example in 529/1135, Mas‘d has the Arab emir Dubays
b. "adaqa murdered ‘‘al bb Khy’. In 540 or 541/1146, he receives the
homage (dast-bs) of the powerful emir of Frs, Boz-Aba, ‘bi-dar-i Jar-
bdhaqn [Gulpyign]’. In 544/1150, he spends eighteen days ‘bi dar-i
Rayy’ in the camp of his uncle Sanjar (Mas‘d had stayed at the same
place fifteen years earlier when he was not yet sultan).60 But logically the
expression ‘bi-dr/‘al bb’ turns up most frequently for Hamadan where
Mas‘d spent most of his reign. ahr al-Dn uses the expression ‘bi dar-i
Hamadhn’ no less than seven times in his chapter on Mas‘d’s sulta-
nate.61 Ibn al-Jawz locates the death of Mas‘d ‘ ‘al bb Hamadhn’.62
And Qum says that shortly before Sanjar’s arrival at Rayy, ‘sultan Mas‘d
had decamped az hir-i Hamadhn and had gone to Asad-bd’.63
While the wording bi-dr/‘al bb clearly indicates that the sultan
remained outside the walls, it should not necessarily be translated literally
by ‘at the gate of’. The distance could be considerable. For example,
Ibn al-Azraq writes that the battle between Mas‘d and the caliph
More problematically, Fragner mentions the ‘Zirkulationmodell’ of the sultans

(p. 107 about Muammad II) but without providing any concrete evidence. Above
all, he repeats the erroneous analysis already set out twenty-nine years earlier in his
thesis (compare Fragner 1972, pp. 145-147 with id., 2001, pp. 104-105 on ‘altes
Schloss’ and ‘neues Schloss’, see below note 74), and hence, he totally ignores the
extra-urban dimension of Saljq power. The conclusion reached (that the city
belongs to the Turkish emirs, p. 106 repeated p. 108) is according to my own under-
standing totally wrong. Fragner mocks the abundance of trivial events in Rwand’s
account (p. 103), but it seems to me that a critical analysis of these events can help
by highlighting phenomenon which otherwise would not appear through a super-
ficial reading.
60 See Qum, p. 95.
61 See ahr al-Dn, p. 81, §9; p. 81, §10; p. 83, §12; p. 83, §13; p. 84, §13 (three
occurrences).
62 Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 147, line 10.
63 Qum, p. 158.
al-Mustarshid took place ‘bi bb Hamadhn at a place called Dy Marj
near the mountain of Bihsutn’. But Bihsutn is 130 kilometres from
Hamadan by road, not exactly ‘at the door of’ the city (see map 3).64 This
is probably an extreme case, but other elements indicate that the distance
of the camp from the city could vary. ahr al-Dn says that when Mas‘d
took up the habit of going to Azerbaijan in spring, he once spent two
months at Dl, ‘at one stage (marala)’, that is at thirty kilometres’ dis-
tance, from Tabrz.65 Likewise ‘Imd al-Dn says that during the summer
of 1135, the camp of Mas‘d and al-Mustarshid was ‘around Margha
(‘al l-Margha)’, but Ibn al-Athr is more precise and writes ‘two
parasangs (farsakhs) from Margha’, that is, twelve kilometres.66 The
important thing was to set up the camp on a meadow (Ar.: marj, Pers.:
marghzr) rich enough to support the cavalry. Near the capital Hamadan,
Mas‘d had the choice of at least three different meadows: the Meadow at
the Gate of Hamadan (marghzr-i dar-i Hamadhn), the Meadow of Sag
(marghzr-i sag) and the Meadow of Qar-Tegn (see map 3). Only the
first one was close to the city. The Meadow of Sag was probably located in
the green plain between Hamadan and Bahr (10 kilometres north-east of
Hamadan). As for the Meadow of Qar-Tegn, although ahr al-Dn
locates it ‘bi dar-i Hamadhn’,67 it was even more distant and should
probably be located in the plain of Malyir, about sixty kilometres south-
east of Hamadan (see map 3 and Appendix 2). Other meadows located far
away from cities appear in the sources concerning Mas‘d’s reign. ahr
al-Dn mentions a maydn in the Meadow of Alishtar, a hundred kilo-
metres south of Hamadan,68 and, according to Rashd al-Dn, Mas‘d met
Kh-Beg ‘between Sarw and Ardabl’ (certainly the Marghzr-i Sayin
later used by the Mongols), on the southern side of Mount Sabaln.69 In the
same line of argument, we can also note that the word maydn, which
commonly refers to the vast open space occupied by the sultan and his
cavalry on the outskirts of the cities, can also refer to a mountain valley.
64 Ibn Azraq, p. 165 (bi bb Hamadhn il maw‘ yussami Dy Mark qarb min
Jabal Bihsutn), trans. p. 66.
65 ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §14.
66 See Bundr, p. 177, lines 16-8 and Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 27. Rashd al-Dn (p. 360,
line 15) places the camp in the ‘village of Nlaq near Margha’ but I have not been
able to locate that village.
67 ahr al-Dn, p. 110, §7.
68 ahr al-Dn, p. 76 §4.
69 See Rashd al-Dn, p. 121, line 14; trans. p. 110. In the Ilkhnid period, at least two
quriltay were held here, in 1285 and 1296 (see Aubin 1989, p. 6, based on Rashd
al-Dn).
Map 3: The region of Hamadan

When located just on the outskirts of capital cities, the royal camp
could be distinguished by several ‘royal’ features. In Baghdad, Mas‘d
used Dr al-mamlaka, an area on the eastern side of the Tigris where the
Byids had built palaces, gardens and also a large maydn. The Great
Saljqs had inherited these structures (the palace was then renamed dr al-
salna) and added several buildings, including a bazaar and a mosque (the
jmi‘ al-qar also called jmi‘ al-suln).70 At the time of Mas‘d, this area
had kept its extra-urban character and was clearly separated from the
walled city where the caliph lived.71
In Hamadan, the royal camp did not have such grandeur. When
Mas‘d arrived to take possession of the throne in 529/1134, Hamadan had
played the role of capital for less than a decade and no special buildings
70 On the buildings erected and/or used by the Saljqs in Baghdad, see Le Strange
1900, pp. 234-241. Mas‘d’s presence in the ‘sultan’s mosque’ is attested in 538/
1144 (see Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 106, line 18) and 541/1147 (ibid. X, p. 120, lines 8-9).
71 See map in Le Strange 1900, map VII; Kennedy 2002, map 28 b. Ibn al-Jawz (X,
p. 88, lines 15-16) may be emphasizing the extra-urban character of dr al-salana
when he speaks of it as the ‘village of the sultan (qarya al-suln)’. But this is not
automatically a sign of contempt since Mecca is called ‘umm al-qur’.
marked the royal space. Mamd b. Muammad (d. 525/1131) had been
the first Saljq sultan to settle in Hamadan, but his installation was gradual
and he himself probably did not expect it to be definitive (the proof is that
his corpse was taken back to Isfahan after he died). As for his brother and
successor oghrïl b. Muammad (d. 529/1134), he reigned for too little
time and in too agitated circumstances to have been able to build anything.
At the beginning of his reign, Mas‘d therefore still had to use the private
mansion (sary) of the ‘Alaw family as a palace.72 Mas‘d used his long
reign to develop the royal camp and erected there a pavilion-style building
(in Persian: kshk). In the sources, this building is sometimes called
‘Mas‘d’s pavilion (kshk-i Mas‘d)’,73 but more often ‘the old pavilion’
(kshk-i kuhan) in contrast to the pavilion built afterwards by his successor
Muammad b. Mamd in 549/1154-5.74 Like its models in Isfahan, this
pavilion was located ‘in the middle of the maydn’ and ‘at the city gate’.75
The distance between the pavilion and the city appears clearly from a
passage of ahr al-Dn’s Saljq-nma. ahr al-Dn says that for the
enthronement of Mas‘d’s successor, one of the Saljq princes was
brought ‘from the city to the pavilion (az shahr bi kshk)’ to attend the
ceremony.76 Unlike Malik-Shh in Isfahan, Mas‘d did not seem to have
72 This palace was designated as the ‘sary-i ‘Al’ al-Dawla’ (ahr al-Dn, p. 74, §2).
73 See ahr al-Dn, p. 89, §2.
74 See ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §12; Mukhtrt min al-ras’il, p. 214, doc. no. 102 (trans. in
Durand-Guédy 2008, p. 291). In his study on Hamadan, Fragner (1972, p. 147)
distinguishes two palaces (‘Schloß’) built by Mas‘d: an ‘old palace’ and a ‘new
palace’, the later supposedly completed just before the sultan’s death (see below
note 89). This is another mistake originating from an incorrect reading of Kshn’s
version of the Saljq-nma. It is true that ahr al-Dn (p. 85, which corresponds to
Kshn, p. 65), says that Mas‘d ‘died in the new palace (kshk-i n) he had built
in the middle of maydn’ and that he mentions elsewhere ‘an old palace (kshk-i
kuhan)’. But in the first occurrence ahr al-Dn qualifies the kshk (which was
‘new’ in Mas‘d’s time) while in the other cases he calls it by its usual name at the
time he was writing, that is, after the construction of a second kshk in Hamadan by
Muammad b. Mamd. ahr al-Dn elsewhere uses an ambiguous formulation.
About the successor of Mas‘d, Muammad b. Mamd, and his emirs he says that
they ‘drank wine in the meadow of Qar-Tegn, and the next day they went to the
kshk of the Meadow at the Gate of Hamadan (kshk-i marghzr-i dar-i Hamadhn)
and [the sultan] held a meeting in the kshk of Mas‘d’. The text seems to speak of
two kshks, but Rwand (p. 259, line 21) has reformulated this unclear wording.
75 See ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §12 (kshk-i kuhan…bi-dar-i Hamadhn) and 85 (kshk-i
n ki dar miyn-i maydn skhta shud).
76 ahr al-Dn, p. 87, §2. Fragner is wrong once again when he locates the ‘new
castle’ inside the city. But this time the mistake is due to a misprint (or an error) in
the source he used (the pseudo-Saljq-nma of Kshn , p. 65): the kshk is located
in ‘the middle (dar miyn) of the city of Hamadhn’ instead of ‘in the middle of the
maydn (miyn-i maydn)’ as says Rwand (p. 245, line 17).
built any garden near or around his palace.77 This may just reflect the
shortcomings of our documentation. More probably the investment was
beyond Mas‘d’s financial capacity (we have already noted that ‘he redis-
tributed all of his revenues to the emirs’78). Whatever the case, the sur-
roundings of Hamadan and Bahr with their many orchards could offer a
pleasant location for the sultan’s court.
How can we explain the apparent distance kept by Mas‘d from the
cities proper? There is no point in turning to ethno-cultural factors and
generalization (such as: ‘the Türkmens were reluctant to live inside walled
cities’), always difficult to establish given the nature of our documentation
(the Saljqs themselves did not write), and in any case scientifically
unfounded. It is more productive to consider the activities of the sultan,
which suggest that his presence in the city was not required. According to
our documentation, even the most pro-Saljq works such as the Saljq-
nma, Mas‘d’s peacetime activities were hunting, equestrian games, fes-
tivities, the reception of emirs and travel. We have already mentioned his
passion for hunting. All the places he frequented, whether in the vicinity of
Hamadan, Baghdad, Swa or Margha, are known for the abundance of
their game, and ahr al-Dn recalls that during his last trip to Baghdad,
Mas‘d saw the falconer in action.79 For equestrian games and banquets,
the examples are even more numerous, like the lavish reception (mihmn)
thrown by the emir ‘Abd al-Ramn Toa-Yürek in 1146 (‘for two days
they drank wine with the sultan’)80 or the many polo games in which
Mas‘d’s protégé, the emir Kh-Beg, shone.81 The majlis (for the festi-
vities, and in particular drinking parties) and the maydn (for the polo
games) were the two places of the sultan’s social but also political life.82
The authors of our sources were educated Iranians and Arabs and some-
times openly express their contempt for or condemnation of the activities
of the sultan. ‘Imd al-Dn, who witnessed Mas‘d’s visits to Baghdad,
wrote that ‘the sultan was busy having a good time and debauching’ (lhun
77 On the royal camp in Isfahan with its many gardens and pavilions, see Durand-
Guédy 2010, pp. 97-100.
78 See above, note 41.
79 ahr al-Dn, p. 85: ‘He saw the keepers of the hunting birds hunt with their birds
(tamsh-yi shikara-kardan-i shikaradrn kard)’.
80 ahr al-Dn, p. 81, §9.
81 On the polo games played in Mas‘d’s presence in Azerbaijan in 1146, see ahr al-
Dn, p. 79, §7; in Rayy in 1149, see Rashd al-Dn, p. 379, lines 3-4, trans. p. 117.
82 This is well summarized by the formula used by ahr al-Dn (p. 80, §8) about
Sulaymn’s presence in Mas‘d’s camp near Rayy: ‘bi majlis u maydn ir m-
bd’. See also Qum, p. 137.
bi l-malh, mutanhun f l-manh)’.83 To repeat this type of normative

judgement (motivated here by ‘Imd al-Dn’s personal hatred of the Turks)
would be to miss the point: banquets, hunting parties and games were for
the sultan as many opportunities to strengthen the loyalties which ensured
that his authority would be respected by his emirs and soldiers.84
At another level, living outside the cities was an absolute necessity for
the sultan since he was always with his Turkish horsemen, whether in the
camp or on the move. When he heard about Sanjar’s arrival in Rayy,
Mas‘d decided to leave the ‘the rest of the emirs, the army (lashkar) and
the baggage (buna)’ at Asad-bd in order to reach Rayy as quickly as
possible.’85 From this detail given by ahr al-Dn, we understand that the
sultan was normally accompanied by his emirs and army. Obviously the
armies of the Saljqs of ‘Irq were much less numerous than those of the
Turkish rulers in Khursn and Central Asia at the same period, and they
rarely exceeded 10,000 to 15,000 horsemen.86 But at the height of his
power, Kh-Beg had nonetheless about 1,400 horses and camels in the
camp of Hamadan.87 Therefore, while the sultan probably had no more
than a couple of thousand horsemen in his constant company, it is clear
that a city like Hamadan could not accommodate all these soldiers and
their (numerous) mounts, even if they had wished to stay there. Ruling
from the outside was a necessity as much as a choice.
THIRD LEVEL OF ANALYSIS: THE TENT AND THE PALACES

The last question that remains to be answered is where Mas‘d actually
dwelt. Scholars who have dealt with Mas‘d’s reign have assumed that the
sultan lived in his palace.88 It is true that the palace, whether the one in
83 Bundr, p. 218, line 16-7.

84 The significance of polo games in the court life is demonstrated by the brilliant
career of Kh-Beg, which owed much to the excellence he displayed on the may-
dn in front of those who wished him ill (Chwlï in Azerbaijan, Sanjar in Rayy).
85 ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §13.
86 At the time of Mas‘d, Chwlï’s camp at Miynj contained 12,000 soldiers
(Bundr, p. 203, line 15). But this is the highest figure I have been able to find. In
529/1135, when the caliph al-Mustarshid launched his troops on the plateau, Mas‘d
was in Hamadan with 1,500 horsemen (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 25). In 541/1147, when
Boz-Aba rebelled, Mas‘d rushed from Baghdad with ‘a small retinue (b lashkar-
yi andak)’ (ahr al-Dn, p. 82, §12).
87 See ahr al-Dn, p. 91, §2.
88 E.g. Fragner 1972, p. 146: ‘Seit seiner eingültigen Rückker nach Hamadn am Ende
des Jahres 546 H…. lebte er im neuen schloß und ließ vermutlich sich seine
Angehörigen und den Hofstaat hierher übersiedeln die früher im alten schloß
gewohnt hatten’. See also Richards’s translation of Ibn al-Athr where ‘nazala f’ is
translated several times by ‘lodged in’ when referring to Mas‘d.
Baghdad or in Hamadan, appears very often in the sources. ahr al-Dn

says that after his victory over Boz-Aba in 541/1147, Mas‘d ‘came to the
old pavilion at the gate of Hamadan’.89 Najm al-Dn Qum says that in
533/1138-9 the vizier Kaml al-Dn Khzin expelled the rabble (awbsh)
from the sultan’s palace in Hamadan.90 But on the other hand, no source
explicitly mentions that Mas‘d lived in his palace, as did, for example,
the Abbasid caliphs.
The palace most often mentioned in the sources concerning Mas‘d’s
reign is the dr al-salana outside Baghdad. I have summarized in table 4
all the instances in which it is cited during Mas‘d’s reign.
Date Event Presence of

A.H. Mas‘d in
Baghdad
529 Yarïn Qush Bzdar and other emirs opposed to No
Mas‘d settle at dr al-suln and receive gifts from
the caliph (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 44, lines 14-15).
530 The Atabeg Zeng, opposed to Mas‘d, ‘took up resi- No
dence on [the] eastern side in one of the houses
belonging to the sultan (nazala...f ad dr al-sala-
na). He stayed there until the [arrival of Mas‘d]
whereupon he encamped (khayyama) on the western
side’ (Ibn al-Azraq, p. 171, trans. p. 76, see also Ibn
al-‘Adm, p. 257, line 4).
530 II D’d, recognized as sultan by caliph al-Rshid, No
‘enters Dr al-Mamlaka and displayed his justice [ie.
he presided at the malim tribunal]’ (Ibn al-Jawz,
X, p. 55, line 10), ‘he stayed in the dr al-suln’
(Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 36).
530 I The inhabitants of Baghdad plunder the dr al-suln No
after the defeat and flight of Mas‘d’s emirs
(Bundr, p. 194, lines 16-7; Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 35).
530 XI Mas‘d enters Baghdad and settles in his palace Yes
(nazala f drihi) (Ibn al-Azraq, p. 172, trans. p. 77),
‘when the sultan entered Baghdad he displayed his
justice [i.e. he presided at the malim tribunal]’ (Ibn
al-Jawz, X, p. 60, line 7).
530 XI The vizier of the caliph goes to dr al-salana to Yes
meet Mas‘d who has just taken Baghdad (Ibn al-
Azraq, p. 172, trans. p. 78).
89 ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §12.

90 Qum, p. 96.
532 ‘Popular’ demonstration organized by the q al- ?

Shahrazr in front of the dr al-suln (Ibn al-Athr,
XI, p. 58).
533 The chief q goes to the dr al-suln to organize No
(18/II) the wedding between the sultan of Kirmn and the
widow of the caliph al-Musta#hir (Ibn al-Jawz, X,
p. 78, line 20).
533 The predicator al-Maghrib holds sessions (juls) in ?
the dr al-suln (Ibn al-Jawz X, p. 79, line 12).
534 V Mas‘d and his sister settle in dr al-mamlaka (Ibn Yes
al-Jawz, X, p. 85, line 4).
534 The vizier of the caliph, Ibn ird al-Zaynab, seeks No
refuge in the dr al-suln (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 85,
line 15; Ibn al-Azraq, p. 182, trans. p. 100) and stays
there for the two next years (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 96;
Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 76 et 89).
536 III Mas‘d goes to the dr al-suln and receive the Yes
vizier of the caliph Ibn Juhayr and the former vizier
Ibn ird (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 96, lines 1-2).
538 VII asan b. Ab Bakr al-Nshpr delivers a sermon Yes
against the Ash‘arites in the dr al-suln (Ibn al-
Jawz, X, p. 107, line 22).
541 Mas‘d invites the emir ‘Abbs in the dr al-suln Yes
and has him killed (‘dr al-suln’ in Ibn al-Jawz, X,
p. 123, line 5; ‘f drihi’ in Bundr, p. 217, line 17
and Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 117; ‘bi sary’ in ahr al-
Dn, p. 82, §11). ‘Abbs’ body is thrown ‘over the
garden wall on the banks of the Tigris (jaththa bi-
kinr-i Dijla andkhtand az bgh)’ (ahr al-Dn,
p. 82, §11).
543 VI The emirs of Arrn and Azerbaijan attack Baghdad No
and seize the dr al-suln (Ibn al-Qalnis, p. 301,
trans. p. 300).
Table 4. Reference to the sultan’s palace in Baghdad during Mas‘d’s reign.
This table shows that the palace in Baghdad was used by the sultan on
very special occasions: to display justice by presiding at the malim tribu-
nal where the local population would come to air their grievances (in 530/
1135); to listen to a sermon delivered by a famous preacher (in 538/1144);
or to receive important figures, such as the vizier of the caliph (in 530/
1136) and the emirs (in 541/1147), if necessary to kill them. The palace
itself was a symbol of the sultan’s power, even in his absence. In this capa-
city it was seized by rebel emirs (Yarïn-Qush Bzdr in 529/1135, Zeng
and D’d in 530/1136, the emirs of Arrn and Azerbaijan in 543/1148). It

was plundered by the inhabitants of Baghdad in 530/1135 after their victory
over the Saljq emirs.91 And it it was the logical setting for the ‘popular’
demonstrations organized by the q Shahrazr in 532/1138 to force the
sultan to fight the Byzantines. For the same reason (its symbolism of the
sultan’s power), the Abbasid vizier took refuge in the dr al-suln after he
found himself on bad terms with the caliph.
Conversely, no source shows the sultan using his palace as a dwelling
place.92 This is not surprising in itself, since our sources (chronicles)
intentionally ignore daily life to focus on the major political events. But it
makes it very difficult to give a firm answer by focusing on the case of a
single sultan. Rather, a large body of data on the whole dynasty would
have to be collected, an undertaking that far exceeds the scope of this
article.93 The following remarks should therefore be read as a hypothesis.
My suggestion is that Mas‘d lived in tents when he was in Baghdad and
elsewhere. I base this on three types of arguments. Firstly, the kshk built
in Hamadan was clearly not intended for habitation. No vestige remains,
but the allusions contained in the Saljq-nma suggests that it was a rather
modest two-storey structure, with a staircase to reach the second floor.94 It
had nothing in common with the palatial complexes of the Abbasids. Its
principal (and perhaps sole) function was to provide a vantage point from
which a polo match could be viewed, and where emirs and ambassadors
could take in the power of the sultan, with the full extent of his army
spread out below them in the camp. Secondly, it is clear that even when
Mas‘d arrived somewhere where he did have a palace, he continued to
live in tents. For example, in 528/1134 when he came to Baghdad and
formed an alliance with the caliph against his brother oghrïl, the caliph
recognized Mas‘d as the legitimate sultan and therefore ‘ordered his tents
to be brought out to the caliph’s gate’.95 A year later relations between the
91 It is possible that after this plundering Mas‘d used another building when he came
to Baghdad. See Qum (p. 91) who says that in 533/1138-9 ‘the sultan went to a
kshk built near [the tomb of Ab anfa] (suln bar kshk raft ki bar nj
nishasta bd)’.
92 ahr al-Dn (p. 82, §11) says that at the end of winter 1147, the sultan escaped
a plot against him because that day ‘it rained so much that no-one could leave his
house (hch kas az khna brn natavnist mad)’. I believe that ahr al-Dn speaks
here of the entire population of Baghdad. Even if it was not the case, the sentence
does not prove anything since ‘khna’ could refer to a tent (see Paul, 2007, p. 449).
93 See Durand-Guédy [forthcoming 2].
94 The existence of two floors in the kshk built by Mas‘d in Hamadan is clear from
the sentence ‘az kshk bi-zr mad’ (lit.: he came down from the pavilion) found in
ahr al-Dn’s account of Kh-Beg’s murder (see ahr al-Dn, p. 90).
95 Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 19.
two men had deteriorated. Mas‘d moved his camp and ‘settled by the
Gharba gate (aqma bi dr al-gharba)’.96 ‘Imd al-Dn significantly
employs the terms mu‘askar and mukhayyam indiscriminately, which indi-
cates that Mas‘d lived in a camp of tents (mukhayyam).97 The third argu-
ment is on a different line of thinking: insofar as Mas‘d spent much of his
time on roads, and in places where there was no palace (be it the meadows
of Qar-Tegn, of Dl or Nlaq), there is every reason to believe he did not
change his habits when he came to Baghdad, the only place where a decent
palace awaited him. For all these reasons, I believe that Mas‘d lived in
tents and used the palace for very special occasions. Mas‘d’s palace is
clearly designed as a locus of power, but—and this is the difference from
the palaces of most rulers—this was probably its sole purpose.
CONCLUSION
The spatial analysis of Mas‘d’s reign shows a considerable gap

between the sultan and the urban world. His seasonal movements as well
as his habit of living in a camp of tents with the rest of his emirs show that
the ethnic distinction (Turkish/Iranian) was also a cultural and spatial one.
The case of Mas‘d does not suggest any evolution from the situation
observed at the time of the Great Saljqs. It does not mean that the sultan
was indifferent to the cities (he needed their wealth and whatever his per-
sonal feelings, he built madrasas inside their walls). It means that his space
(the camp) was simply contiguous to the urban space, not superimposed on
it. This separation was structural in Saljq power and was abolished only
with the death of the sultan: at that time, his body was brought from the
camp to the city to be buried in a madrasa.98 The upholding of this distance
can be explained, I think, by the very nature of Saljq power at that time:
the Turkish identity of the dynasty, the increasing militarization of society,
and last but not least, the presence of a significant Türkmen population on
the western and northern part of the sultan’s territory. Significantly, the
man on whom Mas‘d relied in his action to regain his authority at the
expense of the great mamlk emirs was a Türkmen whom he met on the
grassy slopes of Mount Sabaln, far away from any city. The future for
96 Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 41, line 15.

97 Compare Bundr, p. 177, line 17 (mukhayyam) and line 18 (mu‘askar). The sources
refer to the palaces of the emirs (e.g. Bursuq, Tatr, Yarïn-Qush) but they also refer
to their tents. I will deal with this issue elsewhere.
98 On Mas‘d’s burial in a Hamadan madrasa, see ahr al-Dn, p. 85. On the royal
madrasa which served as mausoleum for the Saljqs in Isfahan, see Durand-Guédy
2010, pp. 81-82.
Mas‘d, as would also be the case two generations after him with oghrïl
b. Arsln, lay not in the cities, but instead in a return to the origins of
Saljq power.
David DURAND-GUÉDY
Orientalisches Institut der
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg /
SFB 586,
Mühlweg 15,
D-06114 Halle (Saale)
Germany
david.durand@orientphil.uni-halle.de
APPENDIX 1
CHRONOLOGICAL AND TEMPORAL DATA

REGARDING MAS‘D DURING HIS REIGN
I 529/22 Oct.-21 Nov. 1134: Mas‘d leaves the camp (‘askar) of Baghdad
for Hamadan (ahr al-Dn, p. 74, §2; Ibn al-Athr, XI, pp. 19-20).
Winter 1134-5: Mas‘d is in Jibl (implicit from Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 43).
Since he arrives at Hamadan in October when the first snowfalls are
blocking the roads (ahr al-Dn, p. 75, §2) and is still in Hamadan in
June (see following paragraph), he must have stayed in Jibl all winter to
establish his rule and ease tensions within the Saljq family, especially
with his nephew D’d (made son-in-law and heir apparent) (see ahr al-
Dn, p. 75, §2). At an unspecified time and place, but probably near
Burjird in April, Mas‘d fights a battle against the emirs banded together
behind Yarïn-Qush Bzdr (Bundr, p. 176, line 2, repeated by usayn,
p. 107).
June 1135: Mas‘d leaves Hamadan (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 45, line 4; Ibn al-
Athr, XI, p. 25) to fight the caliph al-Mustarshid on 10 IX 529/24 June
1135 at Dy Marj near Bihsutn (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 26; for the place, see
also Bundr, p. 177, line 8 and Qum, p. 56 – but not ahr al-Dn, p. 75,
§3 who mistakenly writes ‘Panj Angusht’; for the date, see Ibn al-Jawz,
X, p. 45, line 9), then returns to Hamadan (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 26).
July 1135: goes to Azerbaijan (to fight his nephew D’d) (ahr al-Dn,
p. 75, §3; Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 46, line 21 adds: il bb Margha; Ibn al-
Athr, XI, p. 27; Ibn al-Azraq, p. 166, trans. p. 69; Qum, p. 57). Dating:
since Mas‘d comes back to Hamadan after the battle of Dy Marj and is
near Margha on 29 Aug. 1135, he probably left Hamadan in July.
17 XI 529/29 Aug. 1135: Mas‘d’s camp (‘askar, mu‘askar) is set up at
Nlaq near Margha (the caliph al-Mustarshid is killed on that occasion).
For the place, see Rashd al-Dn, p. 114, line 15; for the date, see Ibn al-
Jawz, X, p. 49, lines 9-10 (Ibn al-Jawz is the only source to give the day
of the week which corresponds to the lunar date). See also Ibn al-Athr,
XI, p. 27 (17 XI 529/20 Aug., the ‘askar is at ‘two farsakhs from
Margha’, repeated by Ibn al-‘Ibr); Ibn al-Qalnis, p. 252, trans. p. 225
(18 XII 529/21 Aug, ‘two stages from Margha’), ahr al-Dn, p. 75, §3
(bi-Margha, no date); Bundr, pp. 177-8 (18 XI 529/30 Aug., kna al-
mu‘askar ‘al Margha); Najm al-Dn Qum, p. 57 (bi hir-i Margha);
usayn, p. 107 (14 XI 529/26 Aug.); Ibn al-Azraq, pp. 166-7 (16 XII
529/28 Aug., mu‘askar), trans. p. 71; Hindshh, pp. 295-6 (17 XI 529/20
Aug., bi hir-i Margha); Ibn Khallikn, II, p. 265, trans. I, p. 506 (14
XI 529/26 Aug.) quoting one Ibn al-Mustawf.
14 XII 529/25 Sept. 1135: Mas‘d’s camp (‘askar) is set up near Khy
(‘al bb Khy) (the Arab emir Dubays b. "adaqa is killed on that occa-
sion) (Ibn Khallikn, II, p. 265, trans. I, p. 506 quoting Ma’mn). For the
place, see also Ibn al-‘Adm (p. 250, line 12 quoting a witness) and Ibn al-
Azraq (p. 167: raala al-suln b‘ad muddat il bb Tabrz, trans. p. 71);
for the date, see also Ibn al-Jawz (X, p. 53, lines 6-7: 28 days after the
death of the caliph) and Bundr (p. 179, line 2: one month after the death
of the caliph). Ibn al-Athr (XI, p. 30: bi hir-i Khnaj, see Le Strange
1905, p. 225; repeated by Ibn al-‘Ibr: ‘Khunj’) and Husayn (p. 108:
Dubays is killed when the sultan is at Hamadan) give wrong locations (in
the case of Ibn al-Athr, the inaccuracy probably comes from the
similarity between the spelling of ‘Khnaj’ and ‘Khy’).
Oct. 1135: Mas‘d is in eastern Diyr Bakr. Reasoning: according to
‘Imd al-Dn (Bundr, p. 179, line 9) ‘the first thing Mas‘d did after the
caliph’s death was to leave for the territory of Sökmen [Sukmn]’.
Sökmen II b. Sökmen al-Qub ruled in the region around Van Lake (see
Sümer 1998, p. 71 and C. Hillenbrand, ‘Shh-Arman’ in EI2, p. 193). Such
a raid (which is not mentioned by the Iraqi chroniclers or Azraq) was
possible from Khy where Mas‘d stayed after al-Mustarshid’s death.
Autumn and winter 1135-6: Mas‘d leaves Azerbaijan for Jibl (ahr al-
Dn, p. 75, §4: az dharbayjn bi-Kuhistn mad wa az nj bi-Baghdad
kishd; usayn, p. 108). Reasoning: insofar as he reaches Baghdad via
ulwn in spring 1136, it means that he arrived from Jibl. If Mas‘d was
in Khy on 25 September and then went to Diyr Bakr in October, he still
had time to come back to Hamadan just before the winter. Sources not
taken into account: according to Bundr (p. 179, line 11), Qum (p. 73)
and Ibn al-Azraq (p. 170, trans. p. 76), Mas‘d went (directly?) from
Azerbaijan to Baghdad, but we know that he was not in Baghdad during
the winter (see Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 36); according to ‘Azm (p. 411) and
Ibn al-Qalnis (p. 257, trans. p. 234), Mas‘d spends winter 530/1135-6
in Baghdad, but the events described (the deposed caliph al-Rshid is in
Mosul) in fact correspond to 531/1136-7 (see Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 69, lines
4-11).
Before 22 VIII 530/26 May 1136: Mas‘d arrives at Baghdad from Jibl
(ahr al-Dn, p. 75, §4) via ulwn (usayn, p. 108). He camps at al-
Mlikiyya (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 41) near Dr al-Mamlaka (see Le Strange
1900, p. 204; Kennedy 2002, map 28a and b). Other source: Ibn al-Azraq
(p. 171, trans. pp. 76-7, says ‘near Nahrawn’). Date given by Ibn al-
Jawz, X, p. 57, lines 8-9; see also Ibn al-Qalnis, p. 256, trans. p. 234.
The military operations to defeat the caliph al-Rshid last for ‘about 50
days’ (Ibn al-Athr, X, p. 41), during which Mas‘d moves toward Wsi
in order to cross the Tigris (Ibn al-‘Adm, p. 257, line 8).
15 XI 530/15 Aug. 1136: Mas‘d enters Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, XI, p. 60,
lines 3-4; see also Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 41) and settles in his palace (Ibn al-
Azraq, p. 172: nazala f drihi, trans. p. 77).
I 531/29 Sept.-28 Oct. 1136: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (Ibn al-Athr, XI,
p. 47).
15 V 531/8 Feb. 1137: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 68, line
23).
16 VI 531/11 March 1137: Mas‘d leaves Baghdad (for Hamadan?) but
returns after a few days (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 69, lines 4-5).
VII 531/25 March-23 April 1137: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, X,
p. 67, line 7).
End of April 1137: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (he attends the ‘aqd ceremony
between his sister and the caliph al-Muqtaf; Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 67, lines
10-1; see also Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 47). Dating: Sha‘bn 531/24 April-22
May 1137 according to Ibn al-Jawz (ibid.). Since the battle of Krshanba
/Panj Angusht takes place in the same month, the ceremony must have
taken place at the beginning of Sha‘bn, i.e. end of April.
May 1137: Mas‘d leaves Baghdad for Hamadan (ahr al-Dn, p. 76, §4;
see also Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 67, line 12 and usayn, p. 109). Dating
inferred by me.
VIII 531/24 April-22 May 1137: Mas‘d is on the plain of Krshanba/
Panj Angusht (he fights D’d and Mengü-Bars) (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 60:
‘Panj Angusht’; Bundr, p. 184, line 10: ‘Krshanba’; for the place see
also Qum, p. 97: dar naw-yi Hamadhn); he camps in the mu‘askar
(Bundr, p. 184, line 17). Dating: see ‘Azm (p. 412), Bundr (p. 185,
lines 6-7, repeated by usayn, p. 110), Ibn al-Jawz (X, p. 68, line 15)
and Ibn al-Qalnis (p. 261, trans. p. 239). Ibn al-Athr mentions the battle
under the year 532, but it took place the previous year. Even if we follow
Ibn al-Athr’s chronology the battle could not have been fought in
Sha‘bn 532/14 April-12 Mai 1138: Ibn al-Athr says that after the battle
Mas‘d went to Azerbaijan (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 61), then to Iraq to prevent
the deposed caliph al-Rshid entering the region (id., XI, p. 62). As we
know that al-Rshid was killed in Isfahan between 25 and 27 IX 532/4-6
June 1138 (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 62; Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 76, line 18),
Mas‘d could not possibly have travelled from Hamadan via Margha to
Baghdad in less than a couple of weeks; Ibn al-Athr’s narrative becomes
plausible only if the battle took place in Sha‘bn 531.
Summer 1137: Mas‘d is in Azerbaijan (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 61; Qum,
p. 97). Dating: see previous paragraph.
Beg. V 532/15 Jan. 1138: Mas‘d arrives in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, X,
p. 72, line 9) from Hamadan or Azerbaijan.
VI 532/14 Feb.-14 March 1138: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz,
p. 72, lines 18-9).
April 1138: Mas‘d is in Baghdad. Reasoning: the q Shahrazr
informs Mas‘d of the capture of Buz‘a by the Byzantines (Ibn al-Athr,
XI, p. 58). Since Buz‘a is taken on 25 VII 532/9 April 1138, the meeting
must have taken place in the second part of the April.
IX 532/13 May-11 June 1138: Mas‘d is probably in Hamadan – he mar-
ries the daughter of the sultan of Kirmn (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 72, lines 20-
21 – he does not specify the place). Zubayda b. Berk Yruq, Mas‘d’s
first wife, dies at Hamadan the same year (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 74, line 22),
probably before the wedding.
Summer 1138: in Hamadan. Reasoning: according to ahr al-Dn (p. 76,
§4 and p. 5), Mas‘d is in Hamadan the summer prior to the appointment
of vizier Kaml al-Dn Muammad al-Khzin (which took place in III
533/5 Nov.-5 Dec. 1138). During that summer, Mas‘d rides to the
Meadow of Alishtar (ahr al-Dn, p. 76, §4).
III 533/6 Nov.-5 Dec 1138: Mas‘d arrives in Baghdad (Ibn al-Athr, XI,
p. 7; see also ahr al-Dn, p. 76, §5; Ibn al-Qalnis, p. 264, trans.
p. 244).
Winter 1138-9: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (‘Azm, p. 413).
X 533/1-30 June 1139: Mas‘d is near Hamadan. Reasoning: the emir
Qar-Sonqur on his way from Azerbaijan to Frs ‘approached the sultan’
(Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 70: lamm qraba al-suln), probably near
Hamadan, and obtained the death of his vizier Kaml al-Dn al-Khzin
(dating of his death in Bundr, p. 187, line 14).
Summer 1139: Mas‘d is in Jibl (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 71: ‘he spent the
summer in Jibl’). At an unknown date he travels to Rayy (ahr al-Dn,
p. 77, §6; Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 82 without date).
End summer or autumn 1139: Mas‘d is near Hamadan. Reasoning: Qar-
Sonqur meets Mas‘d bi dar-i Hamadhn (ahr al-Dn, p. 77, §5) after
returning from Frs, probably at the end of the summer or during the
autumn.
V 534/24 Dec.1139-23 Jan. 1140: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (his sister is pre-
sented to the caliph), at dr al-mamlaka (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 85, lines 3-6;
Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 77, gives the following month).
VIII 534/22 March-19 April: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (he protects the
caliph’s vizier) (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 85, lines 10-2).
XII 534/18 July-17 Aug.: Mas‘d is in his camp (mu‘askar) – he writes a
letter to the caliph (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 85, lines 17 and 20). The location
of the camp is not specified, but was probably in Jibl near Hamadan. The
letter arrives in Baghdad in 535 (Ibn Azraq, p. 182, trans. p. 100).
Winter 535/1140-1: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (‘Azm, p. 419). He may have
attended the reception given by the emir Bihrz in the dr al-Bursuq on 9
IV 535/22 Nov.1140 (Ibn al-Jawz, XI, p. 89, lines 11-14).
5 III 536/8 Oct. 1141: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (reception of the caliph’s
vizier; Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 96, lines 1-2; see also Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 89
without date and Bundr, pp. 192-3).
536/Winter 1141-2: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 95, lines
14-5; Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 89).
IV 538/13 Oct.-11 Nov 1143: arrives in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 105,
line 23; see also ‘Azm, p. 423).
Winter 538/1143-4: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (preparation of the campaign
against Zeng; Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 106, lines 18-21, Ibn al-Athr, XI,
p. 93). Arrests the emir Türshek the same winter (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 105,
line 22; but in 537 according to Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 92).
20 VII 538/28 Jan. 1144: Mas‘d is in Baghdad – he attends a sermon
(Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 107, line 22).
IX 538/8 March-7 April 1144: Mas‘d is in Baghdad – he expels an
Ash‘arite theologian (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 108, line 4).
X 538/7 April-6 May 1144: Mas‘d leaves Baghdad for Hamadan (Ibn al-
Jawz, X, p. 108, line 8).
Summer 539/1144: Mas‘d goes to Isfahan (Bundr, p. 195, lines 14-15).
Date inferred by me. Returns to Hamadan (ahr al-Dn, p. 77, §6 on the
death of ‘Izz al-Mulk Burjird in 539).
20 VII 540/6 Jan.1146: Mas‘d arrives in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, X,
p. 116, lines 3-9; see also Ibn al-Qalnis, p. 282, trans. p. 271) from
Hamadan via Kirmnshh and ulwn (ahr al-Dn, p. 78, §6).
IX 540/15 Feb.-16 March 1146: Mas‘d leaves Baghdad for Azerbaijan
(Ibn al-Athr, XI,104). Dating: ahr al-Dn (p. 78, §6) says that ‘the
sultan stayed in Baghdad the four (sic) months of winter’ and Qum
(p. 136) that he left in spring (bahrgh)’, but it is possible that he left
shortly before nawrz (20-1 March), which would match Ibn al-Athr’s
dating. Goes through the Qarbul/Qarbell pass (Bundr, p. 200, line 6,

repeated by usayn 115; ahr al-Dn, p. 78, §6 and 105).
March or April 540/1146: Mas‘d stays ‘a few days’ at Margha (ahr
al-Dn, p. 78, §7) in the camp (mu‘askar) (Bundr, p. 200, line 18). Date
inferred by me.
Spring and Summer 541/1146: Mas‘d leaves Margha for Miyna (ahr
al-Dn, p. 78, §7), then Khnaj (Rashd al-Dn, p. 366, line 2: ‘Kghaz-
Kunn’), then Zanjn (ahr al-Dn, p. 79, §8), then camps ‘at one stage’
from Inbi in the district of A‘lam (ibid.) or at Sujs (Bundr, p. 201, line
13), then khur Rustam near Rayy – he captures his brother Sulaymn
(ahr al-Dn, p. 80, §8; see also Bundr, p. 201, line 17), stays one
month in Rayy (ahr al-Dn, p. 80, §8; see also Qum, p. 137; ‘Azm,
p. 422, says that Mas‘d ‘entered Khursn’), then Hamadan (dar-i
Hamadhn; ahr al-Dn, p. 81, §9), then Gulpayign (bi dar-i Jarb-
dhaqn) where he stays 2 days (he meets Boz-Aba; ibid.), then returns to
Hamadan (dar-i Hamadhn) by a road other than that of Ghpala/Jpalaq
(ahr al-Dn, p. 81, §10; var. in Rashd al-Dn, p. 373, line 4: rh-i
Barrajn, i.e. Farrazn, instead of Ghpala, trans. p. 114). At Hamadan, he
stays in the sultan’s camp (mu‘askar al-suln) (Bundr, p. 214, lines 5-
6).
VII 541/7 Dec. 1146-6 Jan.1147: Mas‘d arrives at Baghdad (Ibn al-
Jawz, X, p. 119, line 12; see also Bundr, p. 215, line 8: ‘they entered
Baghdad in the autumn’; ahr al-Dn, p. 81, §10 and Qum, p. 146).
1 X 541/6 March 1147: Mas‘d is in Baghdad (he escapes an assassina-
tion attempt the day of the ‘ayd [al-fir]) (ahr al-Dn, p. 82, §11).
Reasoning: the ‘ayd mentioned by ahr al-Dn is the ‘ayd al-fir, on 1 X.
It cannot be the ‘ayd al-a, on 10 XII, since it follows after the assas-
sination of emir ‘Abbs, see next paragraph). Location: ahr al-Dn
indicates that the sultan was to be killed ‘when he came out onto the plain
for prayer (chn suln bi-ar bi-namz yad)’. This is probably an
allusion to the mualla, a large space almost always located outside the
walls and used for the ‘ayd al-fitr and ‘ayd al-a.
14 XI 541/17 April 1147: Mas‘d is in Baghdad – he has ‘Abbs killed in
his presence (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 123, line 5; see also Ibn al-Athr, XI,
p. 117 and ahr al-Dn, p. 82, §11, without date). Alternative date: 5 XI
541/8 April 1147 (see Bundr, p. 217, line 14, repeated by usayn,
p. 119).
15 XI 541/18 April 1147: Mas‘d is in Baghdad – he attends a sermon in
the jmi‘ al-suln (Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 120, lines 8-9).
April 1147: Mas‘d leaves Baghdad for Hamadan (ahr al-Dn, p. 82,
§12). Date inferred by me. Assembles his army on the maydn of the
village of Biyr (ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §12; see also Ibn al-Qalnis, p. 295,
trans. p. 290, referring to the orchards near Hamadan).
XII 541/May 1148: Mas‘d is in the Meadow of Qar-Tegn – he fights

Boz-Aba (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 119; Bundr, p. 219, line 15; usayn,
p. 119; Qum, p. 151; Mukhtrt min al-ras’il, p. 232, doc. 120, bi
marghzr-i Qar-Tegn). Date inferred by me: ahr al-Dn (p. 83, §12)
dates the battle to 541 while all the sources written in Iraq indicate 542
(without specifying the month). Insofar as ahr al-Dn’s chronology of
the events for the end of the reign is precise and accurate, the date of 541
is plausible. The cause of the discrepancy probably lies in the fact that the
battle was fought in the last days of 541 (i.e. before 2 June), and the
victory was announced in Baghdad only at the beginning of 542 (after 2
June). After the battle, Mas‘d returns to Hamadan (b kshk-i kuhan bi
dar-i Hamadhn; ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §12).
Winter 1147-8: winters in Swa. Reasoning: according to ahr al-Dn
(p. 83, §13) Mas‘d ‘went to Swa this winter and from there to Azerbai-
jan’. Mas‘d probably waited for the spring to travel to Azerbaijan, as he
did in 1149-50.
Spring and early summer 1148: Mas‘d is in Azerbaijan (see Winter
1147-8).
Aug. 1148: Mas‘d leaves Azerbaijan for Hamadan (bi-dar-i Hamadhn;
ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §13). Dating: ahr al-Dn dates this trip to ‘the end
of the summer’. According to Ibn al-Athr (XI, p. 133) and Ibn al-Qalnis
(p. 302, trans. p. 301), Mas‘d was in Jibl when the emirs of Azerbaijan
and Arrn attacked Baghdad (in III 543/20 July-18 Aug. 1148 according
to Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 132, line 7 and Bundr, p. 223, lines 14-15; in IV
543/19 Aug.-17 Sept 1148 according to Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 132-3).
I suppose that Mas‘d came back to Hamadan in August. Ibn al-Jawz (X,
131, line18) speaks of Mas‘d’s camp (mu‘askar) before III 543/20 July-
18 Aug. 1149 but without locating it.
Winter 1148-9: Mas‘d winters in Baghdad (?).
Spring-Summer 1149: Mas‘d summers in Hamadan. Data obtained by
deduction.
VIII 544/4 Dec.1149-1 Jan 1150: Mas‘d leaves Hamadan for Baghdad,
stops at Asad-bd and turns back to Rayy (where Sanjar has arrived).
Reasoning: we suppose that the itinerary given by ahr al-Dn (p. 83,
§13) concerns the year 544 and not 543.
Jan. 1150: Mas‘d stays 18 days in Rayy (dar-i Rayy; ahr al-Dn, p. 84,
§13), on the maydn (Rashd al-Dn, p. 379, line 2, trans. p. 117). Date
inferred by me from the length of his stay in Rayy and his arrival in
Baghdad. We suppose that the date given by ahr al-Dn (p. 83, §13)
concerns the year 544 and not 543.
Jan. or Feb. 1149: Mas‘d goes from Rayy to Baghdad (Ibn al-Athr, XI,
p. 143; Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 138, line 10, gives the following month).
mid X 544/ca. 15 Feb. 1150: Mas‘d arrives in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, X,

p. 138, lines 6-10; Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 134 and 143; Bundr, p. 224).
End of X 544/Beg. March 1150: Mas‘d leaves Swa for Azerbaijan
(ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §14).
April-May 1150: Mas‘d stays two months at Dl near Tabrz (ahr al-
Dn, p. 84, §14). Date inferred by me.
II 545/30 May-27 June 1150: Mas‘d arrives in Hamadan (b dar-i
Hamadhn) from Azerbaijan (ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §14; see also Qum,
p. 159: bi hir-i Hamadhn).
III 545/28 June-27 July 1150: Mas‘d is in Hamadan during Malik-
Shh’s raid on Isfahan (Bundr, p. 226, line 6 – Mas‘d’s presence in
Hamadan is implicit).
VII 545/24 Oct.-22 Nov. 1150: Mas‘d goes to Swa from Hamadan
(ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §14).
Winter 1150-51: Mas‘d winters at Swa (ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §14).
End X 545/21 Jan.-18 Feb. 1151: Mas‘d goes to Azerbaijan (ahr al-
Dn, p. 84, §14). ‘Imd al-Dn (Bundr, p. 226, lines 13-14) says that
Mas‘d wintered in Baghdad in 545/1150-51 and that it was his last
winter in the city, but he probably confuses it with 546 when Mas‘d’s
presence in Baghdad is confirmed by Ibn al-Jawz and ahr al-Dn (see
below).
Spring and summer 1151: Mas‘d is in Margha (bi dar-i Margha; ahr
al-Dn, p. 84, §14). Qum (p. 159) mentions this journey to Margha
immediately after the journey to Rayy. Dating (season) obtained by
deduction.
End of summer 1151: Mas‘d returns to Hamadan (ahr al-Dn, p. 85,
§15). Dating (season) obtained by deduction (see Aug. 1148).
IX 546/12 Dec. 1151-10 Jan. 1152: Mas‘d arrives in Baghdad (Ibn al-
Jawz, X, p. 145, line 8). ahr al-Dn (p. 85, §15) says he left Hamadan
for Baghdad ‘in the autumn’.
ca. 21 March 1152: Mas‘d returns to Hamadan (ahr al-Dn, p. 85, §15:
awwal-i bahr).
VI 547/3 Sept. -1 Oct.1152: Mas‘d is in Hamadan (ahr al-Dn, p. 85,
§15).
1 VII 547/2 Oct. 1152: Mas‘d dies in Hamadan (ahr al-Dn, p. 85, §15;
see also Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 160: ‘beg. of VII 547’). Variants on the date
of death: 11 VI 547/13 Sept. (Ibn Khallikn, V, p. 202, trans. III, p. 356),
29 VI 547/1 Oct. (Ibn Khallikn, V, p. 202, trans III, p. 356 ; Ibn al-Jawz,
X, p. 101, line 22; Bundr, p. 227, line 4).
Variant 1 (Winter 1148-9 to Spring 1151)

VIII 543/15 Dec.1148-13 Jan.1149: Mas‘d leaves Hamadan for Bagh-
dad, stops at Asad-bd and turns back to Rayy (where Sanjar has
arrived; ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §13; usayn, p. 121). The internal chrono-
logy of Sanjar’s reign allowed him to go to Rayy to meet Mas‘d in 543/
1148-9 (he returned from Khwrazm in June 1148, see Juwayn, II, p. 10,
lines 8-12; see Barthold 1928, p. 328 and Köymen 1954, pp. 345-53 and
486). However this date is problematic, first because it is contradicted by
the Iraqi chronicles, second because according to a document from the
Atabat al-Kataba, Sanjar informs Mas‘d of his arrival to Khursn from
‘Irq at the end of 545 (Muntajab al-Dn Juwayn, doc. no. 34[bis],
pp. 88-89).
Jan. 1149: stays 18 days in Rayy (dar-i Rayy) for a meeting with Sanjar
(ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §13), on the maydn (Rashd al-Dn, p. 379, line 2,
trans. p. 117). Date inferred by me from the length of his stay in Rayy and
his arrival in Baghdad.
15 X 543/26 Feb 1149: Mas‘d arrives in Baghdad from Rayy. Date
inferred by me, assuming that the month given by Ibn al-Athr (XI,
p. 143) concerns the year 543 and not 544.
II 544/10 June-8 July 1149: Mas‘d arrives in Hamadan (b dar-i
Hamadhn) from Baghdad (ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §14).
VII 544/4 Nov.-3 Dec 1149: Mas‘d goes from Hamadan to Swa (ahr
al-Dn, p. 84, §14).
Winter 1149-50: Mas‘d winters in Swa (ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §14).
End of X 544/Beg. March 1150: Mas‘d leaves Swa for Azerbaijan
(ahr al-Dn, p. 84, §14).
APPENDIX 2
ABOUT SOME UNKNOWN TOPONYMS
Table 1 has 26 toponyms of which 19 are well known and precisely

located, such as Alishtar, Asad-bd, Azerbaijan, Baghdad, Jarbdhaqn,
Hamadan, ulwn, Isfahan, Khy, Margha, Miyna, Rayy, Swa, Sujs,
Tabrz, Zanjn. I have searched the seven remaining toponyms through a
corpus consisting of reference studies (Schwarz 1896; Le Strange 1905;
Krawulsky 1978; Dikhud, Lughat-nma), modern regional studies on
Azerbaijan and Jibl, and geographical as well as historical sources on the
Saljq and Mongol period. For each toponym, I give the results of this
search, the location I propose, and the argument underlying it.
– khur Rustam
Mas‘d camps there while pursuing his brother Sulaymn in summer
541/1146 (ahr al-Dn, p. 80, § 8).
I have not found any other reference to this place.
Approximate location: khur Rustam is a village near Rayy.
Inferred from ahr al-Dn (ibid.): az Inbi kch kard wa bi-jnib-i Rayy
raft, bi-khur Rustam furd mad (identical to Rwand, p. 235, line 2
and Rashd al-Dn, p. 124, line 11).
– Biyr (dih-i ~)
The armies of Mas‘d and the emirs of Azerbaijan met there in 541/ 1147
(ahr al-Dn, p. 83, § 12).
I have not found any other reference to this place (Dikhud mentions two
places called Biyr but neither of them is in Jibl).
Approximate location: Biyr is village near Hamadan, perhaps in the
vicinity of Bahr (10 km NW of Hamadan).
Reasoning: Mas‘d comes from Baghdad and orders the emirs of Azer-
baijan to join him at Biyr before moving to the Meadow of Qar-Tegn
to fight Boz-Aba (ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §12; identical to Rwand, p. 242,
line 3 and Rashd al-Dn, p. 130, line 13). Since Boz-Aba comes from the
east (Isfahan), Biyr must logically be west of Qar-Tegn (see below for
the location of Qar-Tegn). Problem: Rashd al-Dn (p. 130, line 12) adds
that when Mas‘d ordered the army of Azerbaijan to join forces with him,
the latter had already reached ‘Krb around Karaj and Slkhur’, which
is east of Burjird (see Krawulsky 1978, map 6) and also of Qar-Tegn.
– Dy Marj
Location of the battle between Mas‘d and the caliph al-Mustarshid in
529/1135 (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 26; see also Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 45, line 9),
and later between oghrïl b. Arsln and the Abbasid Jall al-Dn b. Ynus
in 583/1187 (Ibn al-Athr, XII, p. 25; usayn, p. 188).
The place is mentioned in the chronicles (Bundr, p. 177, line 8; usay-
n, p. 188; Ibn al-Athr, X, p. 293, X, p. 677 and XI, p. 26; Ibn al-Azraq,
165-6; Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 45; Qum, p. 56), but not in the geographical
sources. Dnawar (pp. 57-8; see also Adhk’ 2001, p. 76) gives an
etymology of the name Dy Marj but without locating it.
The place is not mentioned by Le Strange, Krawulsky or Schwarz.
Dihkhud mistakenly distinguishes a ‘Dy Marj’ between Hamadan and
Kshn (supposedly the scene of the battle of 529/1135) and a ‘Dy Marg’
between Hamadan and Kirmnshh. Adhk’ mistakenly locates Dy
Marj in the plain north of Hamadan (Adhk’ 2001, p. 77: near Darguzn;
ibid., p. 80: in the plain known as the ‘Dasht-i Hamadhn’ stretching from
Bahr to Razan, repeated p. 140: ‘from Qurwa to Way Nasr, and Quruq
Bahr and Dy Marj to Krjn, stretching to the north up to Razan,

Fmann and the Kharraqn mountains’).
Location: Dy Marj is the meadow near the mountain of Bihsutn (130
km south-west of Hamadan on the road to Baghdad).
Inferred from Ibn al-Azraq, p. 165, trans. p. 66 and ibid., p. 166, trans.
p. 68 based on an eye-witness account: Dy Mark qarb min Jabal Bih-
sutn; see also Qum, p. 56: bi udd-i Dy Marj wa Bihsutn.
Such a location is consistent with other narratives. In 526/1132, Mas‘d
arrived at Dy Marj from Baghdad, then ‘withdrew to Kirmnshh’ while
Sanjar camped at Asad-bd (Ibn al-Athr, X, p. 677). In 583/1187, the
Abbasid vizier Jall al-Dn b. Ynus ‘went from Kirmnshh towards
Hamadn and camped at Dy Marj’ (Husayn, p. 188). These two
accounts imply that Dy Marj is between Hamadan and Kirmnshh. In
529/1135, the caliph al-Mustarshid marched on Hamadan. His ally D’d
b. Mamd, who was in Azerbaijan, advised him ‘to turn aside to Dna-
war to allow [him] to join him. Al-Mustarshid did not do this, but pressed
on to Dy Marj’ (Ibn al-Athr, XI, p. 25). This account implies that Dy
Marj is between Hamadan and Dnawar. The plain of Bihsutn suits both
locations. This plain (under the name of Chamchaml) was to be used
later by the Mongols (Öljeytü had a pavilion built there, see Melville
1990, p. 65 and Fig. 1).
– Dl
Place where Mas‘d spends two months in 544-5/1150 (ahr al-Dn,
p. 84, §14).
The historian of Tabrz Ibn Kurbal’, 1: 48, mentions a ‘Dla-yi ‘Arab’
but does not locate it. It may also be connected to the ‘Kardlaq’ and/or
‘Kardla’ quoted in Rashd al-Dn, Rab‘-i Rashd (ed. I. Afshr and
M. Mnuw, 1978), 107 (doc. no. 27 and 33).
Proposed location: Dl is a meadow at 30-50 kilometres south of Tabrz.
Reasoning: ahr al-Dn (ibid.) says that it lays at ‘one stage’ (manzal) of
Tabrz. ‘Gw-i Dl’ is listed in the Mongol period as one of the naiyat of
Margha (amd Allh Mustawf, p. 87, line 7).
– Inbi
Setting of the confrontation between Mas‘d and the emir ‘Abbs, ally of
the Saljq Sulaymn b. Muammad, in 541/1146.
Mentioned but not located by Yqt (1: 370, line 4: qur min Hama-
dhn). Adhk’ (2001, 132) locates Inbi in the nayat of Sharrhn
(south-east of Hamadn), but this is obviously a mistake.
Proposed location: Inbi is a village northern A‘lam district.
Reasoning: Inbi belongs to the district of A‘lam (ahr al-Dn, p. 79, § 8:
Inbi az niyat-i A‘lam, identical to Rwand, p. 234, line 10), whose
main city (qaba) was Darguzn (Yqt, 1: 316, lines 12-4; see also amd
Allh Mustawf 72, line 12-3 and Krawulsky 1978, 224). Since Mas‘d
arriving from Zanjn and ‘Abbs coming from Rayy met at Inbi, that
place must logically have been located in the north of the district.
– Khnaj
Place crossed by Mas‘d in 541/1146 (see Appendix 1).
Mentioned in the geographical sources but not identified with precision
(see Le Strange 1905, 224-5 and map V; Krawulsky 1978, 271).
Approximate location: Khnaj is city (and homonymous district) on the
road from Zanjn to Ardabl, ca. 30 km south of the Sifd Rd. Source:
Yqt (2: 500, line 7: ‘two days from Zanjn’).
In the Mongol period, Khnaj is renamed Kghaz-Kunn (Rashd al-Dn,
p. 366, line 2; amd Allh Mustawf, 66, line 1-3).
– Panj Angusht
Setting of the battle between Mas‘d and D’d in 531/1137 (Ibn al-
Athr, XI, p. 60), and also between Mas‘d and Sanjar in 526/1132
(Bundr, p. 158, line 18).
Two villages are associated with the plain of Panj Angusht: Krshanba
(mentioned by Bundr, p. 184, line 10 as the setting of the battle of 531/
1137; see Yqt, 4: 319, line 21: ‘near Hamadan’); ‘Uln (mentioned by
Ibn al-Athr, X, p. 677, as the setting for the battle of 526/1132).
I have not found any other reference to this place (Mustawf, 217, line 8,
mentions the ‘Panj Angusht/Besh Parmk Mountain’ but it is a different
place). Krawulsky (1978, p. 371-2) locates it very approximately: ‘Ort bei
Dnawar’, probably by relying on Bundr (p. 158, line 18: mawu‘ min
‘amal Dnawar). Iqbl (notes to Rwand, p. 227 note 6) mistakenly sup-
poses that Panj Angusht and Dy Marj are close (the error is due to the
location given by ahr al-Dn, p. 75, §3, for the battle of 529/1135).
Location: Panj Angusht is a vast open space north-west of Hamadan with-
in the Kh-i Panja ‘Al Mountains. Source: Muammad Qazwn writes,
in the appendices to his edition of Juwayn, 3: 481-2, about the Siyh-Kh
mentioned in Nar al-Dn s’s Dhayl: ‘a place around Hamadn, at the
frontier with Kurdistan, and probably located in the mountainous district
north-west of Hamadn which is called Kh-i Panja ‘Al or Panja ‘Al
Dgh and previously Panj Angusht. The origin of the name is certainly
linked to the presence of five peaks aligned in this mountainous region so
that from the distance it looks like if it was five fingers’.
The narrative of the events confirms a location near Dnawar and Asad-
bd. See Rashd al-Dn, p. 114: chn az Dnawar bugzasht wa bi-
udd-i Asad-bd risd, bi marala-yi Panj Angusht nuzl kard (Rashd
al-Dn’s version is more precise than ahr al-Dn’s original text, p. 75,
§3: chn az Dnawar bugzasht wa bi Panj Angusht risd, identical to
Rwand, p. 227, line 15).
– Qar-Tegn (marghzr-i ~)
Place used by Mas‘d to camp (see table 1 and Appendix 1 for reference).
Scene of the battle between Mas‘d and Boz-Aba in 541/1147 (see
Appendix 1). Also visited by Berk Yruq in 495/1101 (Ibn al-Athr, X,
p. 331), emir q-Sonqur in 527/1133 (Bundr, p. 169, line 17), the emirs
of Mas‘d in 548/1153 (ahr al-Dn, p. 89, §2; Bundr, p. 233, lines 1-
2), Arsln b. oghrïl and Eldigüz in 559/1164 (id., 110, §7: bi marghzr-i
Qar-Tegn furd madand bi dar-i Hamadhn).
Rashd al-Dn (377, line 1, trans. p. 116) mentions a village named Kihrn
in the middle of the meadow. Dikhud’s entry on Qar-Tegn is copied
from usayn, p. 119.
Location: Qar-Tegn is a meadow north of the plain of Malyir. Inferred
from the presence of a village named Qar-Tegn 20 kilometers north of
Malyir.
Such a location is consistent with ‘Imd al-Dn’s statement: ‘at one stage
of Hamadn’ (Bundr, p. 219, line 15; repeated in usayn, p. 119; see
also Yqt, IV, p. 479, line 9 about the Meadow of Qarbuln – obviously
Qar-Tegn: ‘at one stage from Hamadn in the direction of Isfahan and
the setting of numerous battles between the Saljqs’). It also consistent
with the narrative of the events of 495 by Ibn al-Athr (X, 331): Muam-
mad and Berk Yruq meet at Rdhrwar (near modern Tysirkn, see
Krawulsky, 1978, map 6) and then head off in opposite directions, Mu-
ammad east towards Asad-bd and Berk Yruq towards Qar-Tegn and
Swa (Asad-bd is at the west of Rdhrwar, Malyir at the east).
Besides, a location in the sparsely populated hill region north of Malyir
answered the need for the camp to be far away from the cultivated zone
(see Paul 2007, p. 443). Finally, and for that very reason, the plain of
Malyir has been used in the past centuries to gather troops before a
military campaign (see Adhk’ 2001, pp. 99-100).
– Qarbul/Qarbell (darband-i ~)
Place crossed by Mas‘d in II 540/1146 during a journey from Takrt to
Margha (ahr al-Dn, p. 78, §6, 105; Bundr, p. 242, line 9).
Approximate location: Qarbul/Qarbell is pass in Kurdistan, probably
the defile of the Little Zb River, north of the modern Sulaymniyya.
I have not found any other reference to this place in the sources dealing
with the Saljq period, but it is mentioned in Mamlk sources. Despite his
rebelliousness, the lord of the Darbandt Qarbuliyya was among the
Kurdish emirs with whom the Mamlk chancellery (dwn al-insh’)
maintained an official correspondence. The toponym, which seems to
have disappeared today, is written in various forms in the Arabic sources:
Darband Qarbul, Darbandt Qarbuliyya, Darband, Darbandah (see al-
‘Umar, III, p. 127, al-Qalqashand, VII, p. 285, 287, 289 and IV, pp. 373-
4; Ibn N#ir al-Jaysh, p. 75, 80, 81). I am indebted to Boris James for
these references.
The name could derive from the word ‘black (Tur.: qar) bridge (Pers.:
pul)’. But it could also derive from the Turkish name Qarbell (see
Sümer 1999, II, p. 68) since a Türkmen of the Salghur tribe named Qarb-
(l)l took control of Kurdistan in 495/1101-2 (see Ibn al-Athr, X, pp. 346-
7). The pass might have been named after him in the Saljq period.
APPENDIX 3
PARTIAL GENEALOGY OF THE SALJQ HOUSE IN THE SIXTH/THIRTEENTH CENTURY
Malik-Shh
(d. 485/1092)
$
Berk Yruq Muammad Sanjar

(d. 498/1105) (d. 511/1118) (d. 552/1157)
$$$
Mamd Mas‘d Sulaymn oghrïl Saljq-Shh

(d. 525/1131) (d. 547/1152) (d. 556/1161) (d. 529/1134)
$
Malik-Shh Muammad D’d Arsln

(d. 555/1160) (d. 554/1159) (d. 571/1176)
oghrïl
(d. 590/1194)
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List of tables:
Table 1. Movements of Mas‘d throughout his reign.
Table 2. Time spent by Mas‘d in the different regions of his territory.
Table 3. The itineraries of Mas‘d.
Table 4. Reference to the sultan’s palace in Baghdad during Mas‘d’s reign.
List of maps (author: D. Durand-Guédy; cartography : Borleis & Weis, Leipzig).

Map 1. Mas‘d’s territory.
Map 2. The patterns of Mas‘d’s movements.
Map 3. The region of Hamadan.

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DAVID DURAND-GUÉDY

ORIENTALISCHES INSTITUT (HALLE)

WHERE DID THE SALJQS LIVE?

To the memory of Iraj Afshar *

211 STUDIA IRANICA 40, 2011, p. 211-258

name given to the descendants of Muammad b. Malik-Shh (d. 511/1118)

TECHNICAL PREAMBLE: RECONSTRUCTING MAS‘D’S TRAVEL PATTERNS

13 See ahr al-Dn, p. 78, §6 and p. 81, §10.

Map 1: Mas‘d’s territory

discrepancies. The dating of an important event often varies. In most cases,

corresponds to 7 April-6 May. This data is indirectly confirmed by ahr

FIRST LEVEL OF ANALYSIS: THE SULTAN’S TRAVEL PATTERNS

I have summarized in table 3 the various itineraries of the sultan. It

Conversely there is almost no lateral movement: it amounts to only 6% of

the caliph, without whose formal recognition Mas‘d’s prestige would

Map 2: The patterns of Mas‘d’s movements

Apart from Baghdad, Mas‘d’s second main destination was Azerbai-

the caliph al-Mustarshid on a battlefield near Hamadan, Mas‘d marched

SECOND LEVEL OF ANALYSIS: THE ROYAL CAMP

sometimes explicitly termed a ‘military camp’ (lashkargh in Persian,

Mas‘d’s royal camp is not described anywhere in our sources, and

More problematically, Fragner mentions the ‘Zirkulationmodell’ of the sultans

Map 3: The region of Hamadan

bi l-malh, mutanhun f l-manh)’.83 To repeat this type of normative

THIRD LEVEL OF ANALYSIS: THE TENT AND THE PALACES

83 Bundr, p. 218, line 16-7.

Baghdad or in Hamadan, appears very often in the sources. ahr al-Dn

Date Event Presence of

89 ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §12.

532 ‘Popular’ demonstration organized by the q al- ?

and D’d in 530/1136, the emirs of Arrn and Azerbaijan in 543/1148). It

The spatial analysis of Mas‘d’s reign shows a considerable gap

96 Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 41, line 15.

CHRONOLOGICAL AND TEMPORAL DATA

dating. Goes through the Qarbul/Qarbell pass (Bundr, p. 200, line 6,

XII 541/May 1148: Mas‘d is in the Meadow of Qar-Tegn – he fights

mid X 544/ca. 15 Feb. 1150: Mas‘d arrives in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, X,

Variant 1 (Winter 1148-9 to Spring 1151)

ABOUT SOME UNKNOWN TOPONYMS

Table 1 has 26 toponyms of which 19 are well known and precisely

Bahr and Dy Marj to Krjn, stretching to the north up to Razan,

PARTIAL GENEALOGY OF THE SALJQ HOUSE IN THE SIXTH/THIRTEENTH CENTURY

Berk Yruq Muammad Sanjar

Mamd Mas‘d Sulaymn oghrïl Saljq-Shh

Malik-Shh Muammad D’d Arsln

II. Modern studies

List of maps (author: D. Durand-Guédy; cartography : Borleis & Weis, Leipzig).

You might also like

WHERE DID THE SALJQS LIVE?

name given to the descendants of Muammad b. Malik-Shh (d. 511/1118)

TECHNICAL PREAMBLE: RECONSTRUCTING MAS‘D’S TRAVEL PATTERNS

13 See ahr al-Dn, p. 78, §6 and p. 81, §10.

Map 1: Mas‘d’s territory

corresponds to 7 April-6 May. This data is indirectly confirmed by ahr

the caliph, without whose formal recognition Mas‘d’s prestige would

Map 2: The patterns of Mas‘d’s movements

Apart from Baghdad, Mas‘d’s second main destination was Azerbai-

the caliph al-Mustarshid on a battlefield near Hamadan, Mas‘d marched

sometimes explicitly termed a ‘military camp’ (lashkargh in Persian,

Mas‘d’s royal camp is not described anywhere in our sources, and

bi l-malh, mutanhun f l-manh)’.83 To repeat this type of normative

83 Bundr, p. 218, line 16-7.

Baghdad or in Hamadan, appears very often in the sources. ahr al-Dn

89 ahr al-Dn, p. 83, §12.

532 ‘Popular’ demonstration organized by the q al- ?

and D’d in 530/1136, the emirs of Arrn and Azerbaijan in 543/1148). It

The spatial analysis of Mas‘d’s reign shows a considerable gap

96 Ibn al-Jawz, X, p. 41, line 15.

dating. Goes through the Qarbul/Qarbell pass (Bundr, p. 200, line 6,

XII 541/May 1148: Mas‘d is in the Meadow of Qar-Tegn – he fights

mid X 544/ca. 15 Feb. 1150: Mas‘d arrives in Baghdad (Ibn al-Jawz, X,

Bahr and Dy Marj to Krjn, stretching to the north up to Razan,

PARTIAL GENEALOGY OF THE SALJQ HOUSE IN THE SIXTH/THIRTEENTH CENTURY

Berk Yruq Muammad Sanjar

Mamd Mas‘d Sulaymn oghrïl Saljq-Shh

Malik-Shh Muammad D’d Arsln