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Muslim ibn Quraysh takes Harran and kills its qadi

أخذ مسلم بن قريش حران وقتل قاضيها

c. 1083 CE · 476 AH

Harran

In 476 Harran's people and their Hanbali qadi Ibn Julba resolved to hand the city to Janaq the Turkman amir — a Sunni — defying Muslim b. Quraysh, lord of Mosul, whom they counted a Rafidi and who was busy besieging Damascus with the Egyptians against Taj al-Dawla Tutush; Muslim raced to Harran, flung mangonels at it, took it, and slaughtered the qadi and his two sons 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

1070108010901100 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

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Summary

In 476 AH the people of Harran and their judge, Ibn Jalaba al-Hanbali, decided to hand the city to Junq, the Turkmen commander, because he was a Sunni. They rebelled against Muslim ibn Quraysh, the ruler of Mosul, because he was a Rafidi and was busy besieging Damascus with the Egyptians 1.

Taking the city with siege engines

Muslim hurried to Harran, bombarded it with siege engines, broke down its walls and took it. Then he slaughtered the judge Abu al-Fath and his two sons 1.

Connections

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Occurred at
Harran

People and things also explored

The Conquest of Harran· The earthquake that ruined al-Jazira, 508· Harran's final ruin, 670· Salah al-Din's siege of Mosul and the settlement of Shahrazur in 581· Abd al-Qadir al-Rahawi· Majd al-Din Ibn Taymiyya· Sawab al-Adili· Sayf al-Din Ibn Taymiyya

Sources

  1. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 350
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Muslim ibn Quraysh takes Harran and kills its qadi”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/muslim-ibn-quraysh-harran-476/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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The Conquest of Harran

In al-Baladhuri: Iyad marched on Harran, halting at Ajda and sending his vanguard ahead — its people shut the gates against them, and when he invested it the Harranian faction among them sent word that they held part of the city and asked him to make for al-Ruha so they could compound with him secretly and leave him and the Christians apart; the Christians heard, consented to what the Harranians offered and outbid it, so he went to al-Ruha whose people had gathered, shot at the Muslims a while, sent out their fighters whom the Muslims routed back into the city, and soon sued for peace and aman; another report has Iyad finding Harran empty — its people removed to al-Ruha — so when al-Ruha fell they compounded for their city from within it on the like of its treaty; he compounded with Harran on the like of al-Ruha's terms, they opened its gates, he set a man over it and went on to Sumaysat where Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal and Habib ibn Maslama held villages and forts, its people compounding likewise — Sumaysat later apostatised and he returned and besieged it till he took it — and he came to Saruj, Ra's Kayfa and the White Land, mastering its land and compounding with its fort-dwellers on al-Ruha's terms.