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The Iraqi Section of the Abbassid Road Mosul—Nisibin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

J. M. Fiey
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Extract

Almost all modern writers agree on the list of the stations on the caravan road linking Mosul to Nisibin, as it was known to the Arab geographers of the classical age (ninth–eleventh centuries) and their successors of the Middle Ages. Starting from Mosul it includes: Balad, Bâ’aynâtha, Barqa’îd, Adhrama, Tell Farrâsha and Nisibin.

The first station, Balad, does not raise any problem; its identification with Eski-Mosul fixes it firmly on the map, on the Tigris, at a distance of 40 kilometres to the north-west of Mosul (see Fig. 1).

After Balad, questions begin to arise, and it may not be impossible that some of the proposed localisations could be revised.

These localisations are well known:

For Bâ’aynâtha, de Goeje proposed Abû Wadjnah, in Iraq, near the ’Ain Zâlah airfield of the Mosul Petroleum Company, and Dussaud suggested Tell al ’Uwaynât, also in Iraq, to-day on the railway line Mosul-Syria.

Barqa’îd was pushed back by de Goeje and Von Oppenheim beyond the Syrian border, to Tell Rumailân (or Rumaileh) near Tell Hâdi, with, as a corollary, the localisation of its replacement, Bashazza, at Tshilagha, 25 kilometres to the West of Qubûr al bîdh, also in Syria.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , Autumn 1964 , pp. 106 - 117
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1964 

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References

1 Cf. bibliography on Barqa’id, s.v., in The Encyclopedia of Islam, 1st French edition, 1913, vol. I, p. 678 Google Scholar by M. Streck, reset in the 2nd ed. i960, vol. I, p. 1082 by S. H. Longrigg. A description of the road is given, with references about every station, by Strange, G. Le, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 1st ed., 1905, pp. 99–100 Google Scholar, and by Canard, M., Histoire de la dynastie des Hamdanides, Paris, 1953, vol. I, pp. 104–106 Google Scholar.

2 On Balad, and mainly Christian Balad, see my article in l'Orient Syrien, Paris 1964, pp. 189–232 Google Scholar.

3 Cf. Topographie historique de la Syrie antique et médiévale, Paris, 1927, p. 499, with mapGoogle Scholar. See also Dilleman, L., Haute Mésopotamie et pays adjacents, Paris 1962, p. 63, 71 n. 1, 74 Google Scholar; maps VIII p. 61 and XVIII p. 149.

4 von Oppenheim, M., Vom Mittlemeer zum Persisch. Golf, 1900, vol. II, pp. 134–135 and 167–168 Google Scholar, notes by Goeje, De, with Kiepert's map, Die Euphrat-Tigris Länder, zu C. Ritter's Erdkunde, Berlin, 1854 Google Scholar.

5 Cf. Canard, op. cit., p. 104; Dilleman, pp. 60, 71 n. 1, 166 and map p. 61.

6 According to Dilleman, op. cit., “the enceinte” is still visible at Tell Laylan on a photograph published by Poidebard, Père, La trace de Rome, pl. CLX, 3 Google Scholar.

7 Kitâb al masâlik wal mamâlik, ed. and French transi, by Goeje, De, Leiden, 1891, p. 95 Google Scholar (Ar.).

8 Ibid. pp. 89 and 164.

9 Ibid. p. 214 (Ar.), which counts 7 parasangs for the stage Balad-Bâ’aynâtha.

10 Arabic edition, dateless and pageless (in fact Rome, 1592, 326 pp.) 5th part of the IVth climate, last page of quire 34.

11 Mappae Arabicae, Arabische Welt und Länderkarten, III Band, I, Asien, fig. 80 p. 17 Google Scholar, by Konrad Miller, Stuttgart 1927. In his text (p. 20) the editor reproduces the list of Ibn Khurdadhbah, where he reads Baghina.

12 Sifat Djaztrat al‘Arab, Cairo 1954, p. 133 Google Scholar, in the chapter on Diyâr Rabl‘â.

13 Kitâb al masâlik wal mamâlik, B.G.A., vol. I, p. 72 Google Scholar.

14 Encyclopedia of Islam (French ed.), s.v. Djughraphia, Suppl. 1938, p. 71 Google Scholar.

15 Géographie, or Taqwîm al buldân, Fr. transl, by Guyard, S., vol. II, 2, Paris, 1883, p. 50 Google Scholar.

16 Ed. Kramers, , 1938, B.G.A., vol. II, 1, p. 208 Google Scholar.

17 Text also reproduced in Arabic by Canard, M., in Sayf ad dawla, Algiers 1934, p. 53 Google Scholar.

18 Ahsan at taqâsîm, B.G.A., vol. III, 1906, p. 139 Google Scholar.

19 The smaller Idrîsi's map, dated 1192, is less complete. It shows only Mosul, Barqa’îd, and Nisibin, ., Mappae. cit. I. 3, p. 87, and mapGoogle Scholar.

20 Islamatlas, N.R, VII, Djesira, p. 33*–36*, with plates 13–16.

21 With the text, Fig. 84, p. 36*.

22 Sûrat al ardh, op. cit. p. 206.

23 Cf. Chabot, , Littérature syriaque, p. 60 Google Scholar.

24 Absan at taqâsîm, op. cit., pp. 55, 54, 137, 139.

25 Mu’djam al buldân, vol. II, pp. 41 fGoogle Scholar.

26 Canard, op. cit. p. 110 and n. 75. Earlier he identifies the Nahr Bâ’aynâtha with the Derguli River, a tributary of the Tigris on the left side, joining it below Finik.

27 (d.1094) in Mu’djam mâ ista’djam, vol. I, p. 243 Google Scholar; the same writer misplaces Barqa’îd in the country of Damascus.

28 Mu’djam al buldân, vol. II, p. 41 Google Scholar.

29 Maqâmât of Hariri, 7th. maqâma: al Barqa’îdîya, Ar. ed. Sacy, De, Paris 1822, pp. 65–75 Google Scholar.

30 Cf. Mu’djam al buldân, vol. II, pp. 131–133, s.v. Google Scholar; Qazwini, Al (d.1318) in Athâr al bilâd, pp. 306–307 Google Scholar, and Ibn ’Abdul Haq (d.1300) in Marâsid al ittilâ’, add nothing to Yâqût. The synthesis of the various texts has been made by Canard, op. cit.

31 Op. cit. p. 105.

32 According to the French map of the Levant, laid in 1925, before the metalling of the roads.

33 I should thank here Mr. Jacques J. Palgen, survey engineer, professor at the Baghdad and Al Hikma Universities, for his invaluable help in the topographical research.

34 Sometimes the same writer, even living on the spot, contradicts himself. For example the Mawsulli Yâsîn al ’Omari gives as half a day's march the distance from Mosul to the monastery of Al Khidhr ( Muniat al udabâ’, ed. Dewahdji, Sa’id ad, Mosul 1955, p. 143 Google Scholar) and as one day's march the distance from Mosul to Dôla’îya. In fact both localities are at the same distance (35 km.) from Mosul.

35 Encyclopedia of Islam (Fr. ed.) vol. II/1937, s.v. Farsakh p. 75 Google Scholar.

36 Travels in Mesopotamia, London, 1827, vol. I, pp. 448–475 Google Scholar; vol. II, pp. 1–19.

37 For example, the Persian prince Mirza Abul Taleb Khan, Voyages, published in French by C. Malo Paris 1819, pp. 366–374, 323, 351, etc.

38 Perhaps these differences could be explained by the fact that some of the ancient Arab geographers were mainly commentators of maps, and we have seen that the maps never showed more than the important stations, leaving out smaller halting-places. Compilers of itineraries, on the other hand, paid more attention to distances.

39 Musil, A., The Middle Euphrates, New York 1927 Google Scholar, Appendix, has found errors in the distances given by Ibn Khurdadhbah.

40 The oddest text, at variance with all others, is found in Yâqût, who had however visited Mosul several times. Speaking about Barqa’îd ( Mu’djam vol. II, pp. 131–132 Google Scholar) he puts that town at four days from Mosul, then leaves but 10 parasangs to Nisibin. The text is probably corrupt.

41 The word “Irâq” is used here for the modern state of that name. It is known that, for the Ancient, the name of Al‘Irâq (al ‘arabî) covered the South of Mesopotamia, while the North was called Al Jazîra.

42 Mu’djam, vol. VII, p. 264 Google Scholar, s.v. Kafar Zummâr. We shall see later on that the distance was in fact a little more. The reference given here by Yâqût shows that he did not himself visit this district, we would have guessed it by his confusion about Bâ’aynâtha, pointed out by Canard, op. cit., p, 65.

43 Mu’djam, vol. II, pp. 131–132 Google Scholar.

44 Mu’djam, vol. VIII, p. 28 Google Scholar, also quoted by Pognon, , Inscriptions sémitiques, p. 35 n. 4Google Scholar.—The name of Maraq appears in the division of the Western Syrian (monophysite) diocese in 1167; cf. Hebraeus, Bar, Chron. Eccl., vol. II, col. 361Google Scholar.

45 Cf. Iraq in the XVIIth. century, Arabic translation of Tavernier's Travels by ’Awwad, G. and Francis, B., Baghdad 1945, pp. 138–139 Google Scholar.

46 Mu’djam, IV, pp. 105–106 Google Scholar; Muniat, p. 145.

47 The Persian prince Mirza Abul Taleb Khan, in 1802 (cf. Voyages, Fr. transl. Malo, C., Paris 1819, pp. 366–374 Google Scholar) followed that road with a large caravan of 3000 persons. He reckons three stages of respectively 24, 24 and 52 English miles from Nisibin to Tell al Hawa, then 52 to Hugna, 36 to Hmaidât and 12 to Mosul. Posting houses were officially to be found every nine parasangs (36 miles) (p. 323).

48 Mu’djam, vol. II, p. 37 Google Scholar. On the battle which was fought there in 1198, see Muniat al udabâ’, p. 64 with the quotation from Al Kâmil in note 3.

49 Muniat p. 136.

50 Yâqût ( Mu’djam, IV, p. 12 Google Scholar) followed by Marâsid, II, 433 Google Scholar, and Masâlik, I, pp. 303–304 Google Scholar, puts the Monastery of the Devıls “ between Balad and Mosul”, while it is in the opposite direction, to the north-west of Balad, near Awsal. Many other examples of the same lack of precision could be quoted.

51 Buckingham (Travels, cit.) cuts from Rumayla to Damir Kapu, Tell Fraat (?), and Tell al Hawa, but then goes round to Tell Mus and Eski Mosul for fear of the Yezidis. Leaving Nisibin on the 1st of July 1816, he reached Mosul on the 5 th.

52 Medieval Antiquities West of Mosul, in Iraq, V (1938), pp. 145–147 Google Scholar, and Pl. XXII. However, his reading of the date (1213–4) may be questioned.