The Fall of Qaliqala, 133, and its Rebuilding

سقوط قاليقلا سنة 133 وعمارتها

c. 750 CE · 133 AH

In al-Baladhuri from Muhammad ibn Bishr and Ibn Warz al-Qaliyan from the shaykhs of Qaliqala: the city had remained defiant with its folk since its conquest until the tyrant came out in year 133, besieged Malatya's people, razed its wall and evacuated its Muslims to the Jazira, then camped at Marj al-Hasa and sent Kusan the Armenian, who camped on Qaliqala and besieged it — its people then few and its governor Abu Karima — whereupon two Armenian brothers of the city undermined an earthwork in its wall, went out to Kusan and let him into the city; he took it, killed, captured, demolished, drove the spoil to the tyrant and divided the captives among his men; al-Waqidi says: in year 139 al-Mansur ransomed those of Qaliqala's captives still alive, rebuilt and resettled the city, returned the ransomed to it and levied for it a garrison of Jazirans and others; and the Roman tyrant had come out against Qaliqala in al-Mu'tasim's caliphate and battered its wall near collapse, whereupon al-Mu'tasim spent five hundred thousand dirhams on it until it was fortified.

Depth

At a glance

Era: The Umayyad Period · The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region: Levant & Iraq
Review: Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

The Early Abbasid Caliphate · The Umayyad Period

Overview

Al-Baladhuri reports that Qaliqala remained unconquered until 133 AH, when Kosan the Armenian besieged it and it fell, and al-Mansur rebuilt it in 139 AH. ¹

The fall

Al-Baladhuri says that the king of the Romans went out in 133 AH and besieged the people of Malatya, demolished its wall, and expelled the Muslims to al-Jazira. Then he sent Kosan the Armenian against Qaliqala, whose people were few and whose governor was Abu Karima. Two Armenian brothers dug through a breach in the wall, and let Kosan into the city, and he killed, took captives and destroyed. ¹

The rebuilding

Al-Baladhuri, quoting al-Waqidi, says that al-Mansur ransomed in 139 AH those of the captives who were still alive, built the city, and returned them to it. He adds that al-Mu'tasim spent five hundred thousand dirhams on it when its wall was almost falling, until it was fortified. ¹

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at: Qaliqala (Theodosiopolis/Erzurum)
Had participant: Constantine V· Kusan the Armenian· Abu Karima· Abu Ja'far al-Mansur· al-Mu'tasim Abu Ishaq ibn al-Rashid

People and things also explored

The Entry of Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhil into al-Andalus· Beginning of the codification of knowledge· The Building of the Hashimite City at Kufa· Conquest of Amorium· The Taking of Qaliqala and the Opening of Armenia· Death of al-Mansur· Death of al-Mu'tasim· Deposition of Isa ibn Musa from the succession

Sources

Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition) , p.280

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Fall of Qaliqala, 133, and its Rebuilding”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/fall-and-rebuilding-of-qaliqala/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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The Entry of Abd al-Rahman al-Dakhil into al-Andalus

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