Nasruddevle

Nasruddevle is one of the prominent rulers of the Kurdish Mervânî dynasty that reigned in Diyarbakır and its surroundings. He is Mumehhiduddevle’s younger brother and took over the administration from Şervîn with the help of Hoca Ebu’l-Kâsım el-İsfahânî, the governor of Erzen (Volume 1, p. 130).

Origin of the Mervânî Dynasty

The Mervânî dynasty originates from Mervân b. Kek, who was originally from Kurmâs Village between Siirt and Maden, and worked as a miller in this village. Mervân’s sons joined the army of their uncle Bâz; after Bâz’s assassination, the administration passed to the eldest nephew Ebû Ali el-Hasan b. Mervân, who can be considered the true founder of the dynasty. After Ebû Ali was killed on 4 Zilkade 387 (8 November 997) while entering the city of Âmid through Bâbu’l-Mâ (Tigris Gate), power within the dynasty continued to change hands, and in this process, the administration extended to Nasruddevle (Volume 1, p. 130).

Construction Activities

During Nasruddevle’s reign, the Mervânî geography witnessed intense construction activities. In addition to houses for dynasty members, public service structures such as gardens, water wheels, canals, mosques, clock towers, caravanserais, hammams, bimaristans, and bridges were built. Many towers in the walls of Âmid, one of the important cities of the Mervânîs, were rebuilt or repaired, and a small mosque was also constructed in the city. Repairs were also carried out on the walls of Cizre, another important city of the dynasty (Volume 1, p. 131).

Seljuk Allegiance

While Nasruddevle had fully established his dominance in the region, he faced a new political reality. With the Seljuks launching raids westward into Byzantine territories, which were the western and northern neighbors of the Mervânîs, the Seljuks became the decisive political actor in the region; the Mervânîs also began to base all their policies on them. This development, occurring along the route of Tuğrul Bey who came to the Middle East, resulted in the Mervânîs becoming one of the states that adopted Seljuk allegiance during his period (Volume 1, p. 131).