King Mas'ud
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The Assyrian of today wishes to make himself
known. He searches for his living memories,
keys of his cultural ethnic, political identities. The Syriac
Chronicles are a good source
to the understanding of his History. For instance, the Assyrians,
sometimes, complain to have had no king in the Christian era.
However, during the Mongolian empire, they had a great king
in Mâwsil (Mosul), a Mesopotamian city. His name was Mas’ud.
The Mongols in the Thirteenth Century
In 1206, The Mongols- the nomadic tribes of central
Asia- joined forces, headed by the famous
Temujin (Gengis
Khan) and dashed into a series of conquests. In the East, they seized
China of Song and the Tibet. In the west, they captured and plundered
the city of Baghdâd, in 1258, putting an end to the dynasty of the
Arabic khalîfahs. The Mongol Khâns established a great empire, which extended from the China Sea to the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia and the Volga River in Russia.
The Christians of Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia and
Asia Minor had waited for the arrival of the Mongols, hoping for an
improvement of their condition. They expected greats changes: no longer
to be considered “Dimmi’
or lesser citizens. As the believers of the others religions, they
met considered themselves equal in right,
in front of the authority of King of King, in a Khanat
where they encountered greater tolerance. Correspondence
was established with China and with Europe. They lived under
the first IL-Khans of Persia for a peaceful and prosperous period.
They built churches,
spread some missions, increased a literary production.
![]() Persian church :In
red the Baghdad Patriarch, in green the Metropolis (Le Coz, Histoire
de l'Eglise d'Orient)
Source
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« And in the year fifteen hundred and ninety-one [of the Greeks (A.D. 1280)], ‘Ashmut , the Igûrian Amîr, and Mas’ûd, the son of Kâwtî, approached ‘Abâkâ, the King of Kings, and they showed [him] that the judges who had been sent with Pâpâ (Bâbâ) the Persian had wronged them, and that the judgement against them had been brought about by bribery. Then ‘Abâkâ commanded that his brother and his son-in-law should be the judges and that they should see which of the two parties was the innocent one. And having passed about a month of days in investigating [the matter], Pâpâ was found guilty and these former judges were exposed, and they confessed to the bribe which they had taken from Pâpâ. And the command went forth, and the head of Pâpâ was cut off with the sword on the fifth day [of the week], on the eighth day of the month of ‘Âb (August) of the year aforesaid, and brought to Mâwsil. And those Christian governors again ruled over Mâwsil and ‘Arbil and they triumphed nobly.” (P. 462)
Papa the
traitor was executed around the same time than a Persian,
Jelâl Ad-Dîn Tûrân,
on August 8, was beheaded and whose head was brought to Mâwsil and
exhibited.
In the summer A.D.1281, the Persians of the house of
Jelâl Ad-Dîn Tûrân ,
and of the house of Pâpâ stirred up a quarrel against Mas’sûd . They
claimed that he had carried off a great quantity of treasure from
Jelâl Ad-Dîn, gold and precious stones. Mas’ûd was arrested, tortured
and condemned. He was brought back to Mâwsil but he fled by night.
A Moghol at Ibn Battuta's time
Ma’sûd, King of Mâwsil
“Then
King Mas’ûd and the other horsemen who were found in the city mounted
and rode out to engage them in battle. And when they saw how great
was their number, and that they themselves had no force equal
to theirs, they turned back and went into the city.”(P.
475)
The marauders brought the spoil from the city all day
long, they looted and robbed the whole of the people. They plundered
Mâwsil ‘s commercial districts and took by leaving 500 slaves.
Ma’sûd, in the citadel, had not been able to prevent this looting.
The Death of Ma’sûd
The others Amîrs, his opponents, complained against
him. Bôkâ began to concoct a secret rebellious against ‘Arghôn. Ma’sud
neglected the submission and obedience to those Amîrs who were permanently
in the Royal Service :
“And because Mas’ûd
Bar Kâwtî, (Kûtî), and his brethren, and his kinsfolk, knew
no one besides Bôkâ in the Royal camp, and they considered the service
of the other Amîrs as of no account, they were unwilling to make a
meaning-less salutation to these others. And because the command of
Bôkâ over all the Amîrs was superior and sublime, they neglected them
all. And they accepted Bôkâ only, although through this [behaviour]
they were condemned and
blamed by every man.” (P. 480-81)
“And because Ma’sûd , the son of Bar Kâwtî, was sick they did not
inflict blows upon him. They feared lest he should die and his money
perish with him. And verily they employed empty promises in dealing
with him, saying that if he would give them ten myriads of gold [dînârs]
, he should remain in his honourable office, and that no man should
harm him. Now Ma’sûd himself
thought that since he had not been beaten by them they would
confer some honour upon him, and he was exceedingly avaricious, and
he used severe words in converse with them. Nevertheless, they, in
their artfulness, partly by means of stripes and blows and partly
by threats and curses, took that amount of money from him. And they
carried him off with them to ‘Arbil and there they killed him on the
second day of Passion Week,
on the fourth day of the month of Nîsân (April) of that year.
And they placed wooden fetters on his son , and shut him up.” (P.
481)
Hereupon Ma’sûd ‘s story finished sadly; his monarchy
lasting only five years.
The kings of the Huns (Tâtârs)
Hûlâkû (1256-1265)
‘Abâkâ (1265-1282)
Tâkûdâr ‘Ahmâd (1282-1284)
‘Arghôn.( 1284-1291)