DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — The tomb of the Kurdish Marwanid dynasty’s last ruler was lost to history, until it was rediscovered recently by a researcher in Turkey’s southeastern city of Diyarbakir. Now, Dr. Arafat Yaz is on a quest to have the historic figure’s final resting place officially recognized by the government.
“According to the sources the tomb is here. The sources are from four great Islamic historians,” Yaz said of Nasir al-Dawla Mansur’s tomb, which he locates in the city’s district of Sur, near Diyarbakir’s castle. “They all say that the tomb of Nasir al-Dawla Mansur is located in Ickale on the Tigris river close to the castle.”
A Kurdish scholar of Islamic history and art, Yaz has been studying the Marwanids, a Kurdish dynasty that governed the northern parts of the al-Jazira region from 983 to 1085, for seven years.
Established by Baadh ibn Dustak, the dynasty's capital was the historic city of Farqin (Silvan) in current-day Turkey’s Diyarbakir province.
“We don’t know when he was born, but he died in al-Jazira between 1093 and 1096,” said Yaz of the late leader, who also went by Abu Muzaffar. “Following his death, his wife Situnass Bin Saied Bin Nasr al-Dawla brought his body here for burial.”
Yaz has submitted a petition to the Culture and Tourism Directorate for the tomb’s registration. He has also asked for biographic information to be placed on the tomb.
The scholar believes the site’s recognition is important to have the historic figure remembered.
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
