Islam Museum Islam Museum islam.museum
Search ⌕ ARENUR
Accessibility
Text size 100%

Saved on this device only — nothing is sent anywhere.

Shimshat (Arsamosata)

شمشاط

Shimshat (Arsamosata) — the fourth Armenia — of the Jaziran frontier; Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri (may God be pleased with him) and Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal al-Sulami took it under Mu'awiya in Uthman's days on the like of al-Ruha's treaty, Safwan settling and dying there; Constantine camped on it in year 133 gaining nothing; it stayed kharaj-land until al-Mutawakkil made it tithe-land like the rest of the thughur; from it Malik al-Sawa'if rode raiding in year 46, and around it turn the fortunes of Kamkh, Yaghra and Khilat.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Rashidun Caliphate
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Overview

Shimshat is one of the frontier posts of al-Jazira, and according to al-Baladhuri it is counted as the fourth Armenia. Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri and Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal al-Sulami conquered it under the command of Mu'awiya in the days of Uthman, on terms like the peace of al-Ruha. 1

Safwan stayed in it and died there. Constantine besieged it in the year 133 AH and achieved nothing against it. It remained subject to kharaj until al-Mutawakkil made it a tithe district (ushriyya), like the other frontier posts. 2

From it came Malik ibn Abd Allah al-Khath'ami, known as Malik al-Sawa'if (of the summer raids), campaigning in the year 46 AH. Around it revolve the conquests of Kamakh, Yaghra and Khilat. The details of the conquest are at The conquest of Shimshat. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Site of
The Conquest of Shimshat
Part of
The Jazira

People and things also explored

The Conquest of the Jazira· War between al-Ashraf's and Jalal al-Din's armies· Battle of al-Firad (12 AH)· The Mongols enter Diyar Bakr and the Jazira· the Turkmen-Kurd war across the Jazira and Mosul· Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri· Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan· Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal

Sources

  1. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition) , p.259
  2. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition) , p.269
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Shimshat (Arsamosata)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/shimshat/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

Place

Cities, sites and routes on a map that moves through time. Related

The Conquest of the Jazira

In al-Baladhuri through the Raqqa judge Dawud ibn Abd al-Hamid's family from Maymun ibn Mihran: 'the whole Jazira is Iyad ibn Ghanm's conquest, after Abu Ubayda's death — Umar appointed him to it, Abu Ubayda having left him over Syria; Umar gave Syria to Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan then Mu'awiya after him and ordered Iyad to raid the Jazira'; Sulayman ibn Ata says Abu Ubayda dispatched him to the Jazira and died while he was there, Umar then confirming him; al-Waqidi's report — the soundest they had on him — is that Abu Ubayda died in the Amwas plague of year 18 having appointed Iyad, and Umar's letter reached him giving him Hims, Qinnasrin and the Jazira, so he marched for the Jazira on Thursday the middle of Sha'ban year 18 in five thousand, Maysara ibn Masruq al-Absi on the vanguard, Sa'id ibn Amir ibn Hudhaym al-Jumahi on the right wing and Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal al-Sulami on the left — some say Khalid ibn al-Walid held his left wing, some that Khalid marched under no banner after Abu Ubayda, staying at Hims till his death in year 21, or dying at Medina.