Nusaybin

Nusaybin (anciently known as Nisibis), located in Upper Mesopotamia, in the Diyar-ı Rabia region, is a city frequently mentioned in historical sources from antiquity to the Ottoman period. Throughout history, it changed hands between different empires and dynasties, and stood out with its water resources and scholars.

Ancient Sources

In ancient sources, Nisibis is mentioned along with Corduene. Ammianus Marcellinus, who personally participated in the campaign, describes in detail the wars between the Sasanian Shahanshah II. Şapur and the Roman army and the region; he reports that the Persians demanded the surrender of Corduena, Nisibis (Nusaybin), and Singara (Sincar), along with Moxoena (Miks), Zabdicena, and fifteen castles, as ransom (Volume 1, p. 49). In the chronicle of Mar Yeşua, which describes the period of MS 494-506/7, the campaigns of Sasanian Shah I. Kawad and the famine in these regions are discussed; in this context, it is recorded that a community rebelled against Kawad, attempted to seize Nisibis/Nusaybin, and fought for a long time (Volume 1, p. 53). The city also appears as a geographical boundary point in the History of Mar Qardagh, which contains information about the fourth century: the Adiabene region is described as the area extending from Nusaybin to the Diyala Nehri (Volume 1, p. 58).

Islamic Period Geography

In the Islamic period, Upper Mesopotamia, along with the lands known as el-Cezîre and including Nusaybin, became one of the main subjects of early Islamic history and geography books (Volume 1, p. 87). According to the geography drawn by İbn Havkal, Diyar-ı Rabia is the region in the eastern and southern parts of the Cezîre lands, with Musul as its center, and Nusaybin is one of its principal cities, along with Cezîretu İbn Ömer (Cizre), Beled, Rasulayn, Sincar; its borders extend from Tur Abidin, facing Nusaybin in the west, to the Dicle (Volume 2, p. 62).

The fact that the geographer İbn Havkal was originally from Nusaybin himself indicates the city's place in the academic community (Volume 2, p. 18). The city is one of the prominent topics in geography books due to its abundance of water resources; the rich waters also affected its climate, giving it a suffocating quality that overwhelmed, and sometimes even sickened, visitors. Dımaşkî mentions that stones and lead were piled into the springs to prevent the city from being submerged (Volume 2, p. 102). The city's rosewater production is also famous; İbn Battûta records that Nusaybin had no equal in terms of rosewater and essence. Many geographers have also mentioned the city's deadly scorpions (Volume 2, p. 103).

Changes in Sovereignty

Nusaybin has been the subject of conflicts between various powers. İbn Şeddad recounts that during the reign of Dustekî Ruler Bad, the city first came under the sovereignty of the Dustekî State, then the Mervanî State, that it changed hands among various powers until it fell to the Ayyubid State, and finally its capture by the Mongols (Volume 2, p. 102). El-Umerî, on the other hand, states that Nusaybin formed part of the large geographical area where the Kurds spread across the plains of Mardin, between the Dicle and Fırat Nehirleri, during the Mongol and Mamluk periods (Volume 2, p. 103). It is also recorded that the emirs of Nusaybin, along with Cezîre, Botan, Hısnu Keyfâ, and Suruç, declared their allegiance (Volume 2, p. 64).

Ottoman Period

In the Ottoman administrative system, Nusaybin was one of the districts (kazas) of the Mardin sanjak, which was part of the Diyarbekir province; it is mentioned along with Cizre, Avina, Midyat, and Şırnak (Volume 4, p. 119). Records reflected in the provincial yearbooks show that there were 243 villages and 7 sub-districts (nahiyes) in the Nusaybin kaza, which was part of the Mardin sanjak (Volume 4, p. 127).