Jawali Saqawa, was a Turkoman adventurer and general, ruled as Emir of Mosul from 1106 to 1108, and then ruled as Emir of Fars from 1114 to 1116.
Biography
Reign over the lands between Fars and Khuzestan Jawali's birth location and date are unknown, the first time he appeard in history was in the late decades of the fifth Hijri century (11th century). Jawali seized the lands between Khuzestan and Fars (modern-day Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province), stayed there for years, built up its fortresses and strongholds, and mistreated its people, cutting off their hands, mutilating their noses, and gouging out their eyes.
In 1102, during Jawali's rule over these lands, the Nizaris seized fortresses in Khuzestan, Fars, and the areas between them, and their crimes grew, disrupting trade routes in those regions. A group of Jawali's followers defected and joined them, gaining their trust. Then Jawali pretended that he would leave his territories because they would be attacked by Banu Bursuq, and that he would take refuge in Hamadan. The defectors from Jawali’s companions advised the Assassins to attack him on the road to take his money. They agreed and went out to cut his road with 300 men, but when they arrived, Jawali’s former followers switched sides and stabbed the Nizaris in the back, killing them and looting their weapons and horses. Ibn al-Athir claimed that only three of them survived and fled to the mountain.
The Seljuk Empire was in a state of civil war, and therefore no one dealt with Jawali. But after the war ended and Sultan Muhammad I Tapar took over, he sent Mawdud ibn Altuntakin to confront him. Jawali was besieged for eight months, until Jawali sent word to the Sultan informing him that he would not surrender to Mawdud but would surrender to any other commander. Indeed, Sultan Muhammad changed the commanders, and then Jawali surrendered and went to Isfahan. He became in the court of Sultan Muhammad and a servant of his. In 1106, Sultan Muhammad appointed him Emir of Mosul.
Emir of Mosul and Rebellion At that time, Shams al-Dawla Jikirmish, the deposed Emir of Mosul, refused to give up his position, thus Jawali had to fight for Mosul. Jawali left Baghdad for Mosul in November 1106, seizing and plundering al-Bawazij despite having granted its inhabitants safety if they surrender. He then proceeded to Erbil, where its emir, Husam al-Din Abu al-Hayja, had allied himself with Jikirmish. Their forces clashed at the village of Kalba, where Jawli attacked and defeated them, capturing Jikirmish. Jawali then advanced and besieged Mosul, attempting to use Jikirmish by parading him around daily, as he would call upon his followers to open the city gates. However, they did not listen, and Jikirmish eventually died at the age of 60. The people of Mosul sought help from Kilij Arslan I, Sultan of Rum. When Jawali learned of his arrival, he ended the siege and went to Sinjar to ally with Fakhr al-Mulk Ridwan, the Sultan of Aleppo. He then besieged al-Rahba, seized it, and its ruler surrendered to him. When the news reached Kilij Arslan, he went out to confront him, and they met in the Battle of Khabur River, in 13 July 1107, where Jawali was victorious and Kilij Arslan drowned and died. Jawali then entered Mosul without resistance and sent Malik Shah of Rum to Isfahan, and he subdued Cizre.Fink, Harold S. (1969). "Chapter XII. The Foundations of the Latin States, 1099-1118 ." In Setton, Kenneth M.; Baldwin, Marshall W. (eds.). A History of the Crusades: I. The First Hundred Years. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 393–394. [As Chavli Saqaveh]Cahen, Claude (1969). "Chapter V. The Turkish Invasion: The Selchükids ." In Setton, Kenneth M.; Baldwin, Marshall W. (eds.). A History of the Crusades: I. The First Hundred Years. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 169–173. [As Chavli Saqaveh]
The Sultan rewarded Jawali and allowed him to rule all the lands he conquered, but this made him arrogant, and he began to refrain from fulfilling his financial obligations, and refused to respond to the Sultan’s invitation, and in the end he declared an outright rebellion against the Sultan, so Muhammad I sent a large army to him, including an army led Mawdud ibn Altuntakin, to besiege him. When Jawali learned of this, he fortified the city and left it under the command of his wife, then he plundered the farms around Mosul, and took Baldwin II, Count of Edessa, who was a prisoner of the Muslims, and left Mosul heading towards the Artuqids, later in April 1108, the siege started.
Jawali's campaign and adventures in Levant Jawali headed to Nusaybin and offered Ilghazi ibn Artuq an alliance against the Seljuk Sultan, but he refused and left for Mardin, leaving his son in Nusaybin with orders to attack Jawali if he returned again. When Jawali learned of his departure, he went to Dara and sent a messenger to Ilghazi, but he followed the messenger after him, and when he arrived, Jawali had arrived with him, to try to ally with Ilghazi again. When Ilghazi saw Jawali's trust in him, he agreed, and they camped in Nusaybin and besieged Sinjar. After they failed to enter it, they headed to Al-Rahba, on the road they reached Araban (a city on the banks of the Khabur) and camped there, Ilghazi fled at night and returned to his realm.
Despite Ilghazi's escape, Jawli continued his journey. When he reached Maxin, he released Baldwin II for 70,000 dinars and freed the Muslim prisoners in Edessa. He sent him to the fortress of Ja'bar, ruled by Salim bin Malik al-Uqaili. There, Jocelyn de Courtenay, Lord of Telbacher and cousin of Naldoin, came and released him, paying 20,000 dinars of the ransom and surrendering himself as a hostage until the rest was paid. Then Jawli released Jocelyn and exchanged him for his relative and Baldwin's relative, ordering him to go and help Baldwin, and sent some of his men with him.
After Jawali released Baldwin in Makesin, he headed to Al-Rahba and on his way he met Abu Al-Najm Badran and Abu Kamil Mansour, the sons of Sayf Al-Dawla Sadaqa bin Mansour Al-Mazyadi, the former Emir of Hillah who was recently killed by the Seljuks. He allied with them and promised to attack Al-Rahba with them. They decided to pledge allegiance to a Seljuk Emir named Bektash ibn Bektash ibn Alp Arslan as their Sultan. At that time, Spahbed Sabawu, the Emir of Al-Rahba, came to them and advised Jawali to leave Iraq and head to the Levant because it was far from the Sultan and because it was in a state of chaos due to the Crusaders. Jawali listened to his words and changed his destination.
Messengers arrived to Jawali from Salim ibn Malik al-Uqayli, the Emir of Qal’at Ja’bar, informing him that the city of Raqqa, which was ruled by his son Ali, had been attacked by Banu Numayr, led by Jawshan al-Numayri, who had seized the city and killed its ruler, Ali ibn Salim. Fakhr al-Mulk Ridwan, had also attacked a Crusader caravan that was transporting part of the ransom for Baldwin that was to be paid to Jawali. Ridwan also attacked Raqqa, but he made an agreement with Banu Numayr that they would pay him tribute. When Jawali learned of this, he went and besieged Raqqa for seventy days. In the end, he made peace with Banu Numayr in exchange for them supplying him with money and horses. He told Salim bin Malik that he was busy with more important matters, and that if he returned to Iraq and succeeded in his plans, he would compensate Salim for the loss of Raqqa, and that he would not concern himself with “besieging some five men from Banu Numayr”.
Then Emir Hasan ibn Atabeg Qatghalaktin arrived to Jawali with Fakhr al-Mulk ibn Ammar with a message from Sultan Muhammad I Tabar. The Sultan ordered Jawali to go to jihad with Ibn Ammar and ordered him to hand over his regions to the Sultan. He reassured him and told him that if he returned to obedience, he would reward him. Jawali replied, saying: I am the Sultan’s mamluk and I am in his obedience. Then sent him gifts and clothes. Then Jawali told Hasan ibn Qatghalaktin to go and order the commanders to lift the siege on Mosul. In return, he would send one of his men to give him his son as a hostage and would leave the appointment of the Emir of Mosul to the Sultan. The plan almost succeeded as most of the siege commanders withdrew, except for Mawdud, who insisted on staying and arrested Jawli’s follower.
Jawali then headed to the city of Balis, which belonged to Ridwan and the Seljuks of Aleppo, and attacked it on September 22, 1108. Ridwan’s followers fled from the city while the people took refuge behind its walls. Jawali besieged it for five days, and then on September 26, Jawali succeeded in piercing one of the towers, causing it to collapse on the Naqqabin and killing a group of them. After he seized the city, Jawali crucified a group of its notables and executed Qadi Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz bin Ilyas, and looted the country and took a lot of money.
When news reached Ridwan, he allied himself with Tancred, the Regent of Antioch, against Jawali. Upon learning of this, Jawali contacted his ally, Baldwin II, and released him from paying the remainder of the ransom. Jawali and Baldwin met in Manbij, where news arrived that the siege of Mosul had ended in victory for the Sultan's forces, and that Mawdud had entered the city and seized Jawali's treasury and wealth. This news greatly weakened Jawali, and he began to lose the trust of his followers. Some of them actually deserted him, such as Atabeg Zengi ibn Aq Sunqur and Bektash al-Nahawandi. Despite this, Jawali retained a thousand horsemen and encamped with Baldwin at Turbessel. There, Tancred attacked them, and a major battle ensued. It almost ended in a victory for Jawali and Baldwin, but the Bedouins in Jawali's army fled after stealing the horses of their allies from the Edessa. Jawali then withdrew, and his former friends dispersed. Jawali then headed to al-Rahba and remained nearby. After he was nearly discovered by some of the Mawdud’s soldiers, Jawali decided to return to the Sultan and his court. Jawali went to Isfahan in disguise and quickly and arrived after seventeen days. Through the mediation of Hasan bin Qatghalaktin, Sultan Muhammad allowed Jawali to return to his entourage. Jawali, in turn, handed over Bektash ibn Bektash the Seljuk Prince to be executed, whom Jawli had wanted to crown as a Sultan in the past.
Emir of Fars
Upon Jawali's return to Sultan Muhammad's court, the latter granted him Fars region as a fiefdom, ordering him to reform it and suppress corruption. He sent his two-year-old son, Jaghri ibn Muhammad, with him to raise him as his atabeg. According to Ibn al-Athir, when Jawali arrived, he taught the young prince to say "Take him" in Persian. He then summoned Emir Baldaji, the powerful ruler of Kalil and Sarmah, who had also been a Mamluk of Malik Shah. When Baldaji entered, young Jaghri, as was his custom, said in Persian, "Take him", so Baldaji was arrested, executed, and his wealth plundered. Baldaji's deputy in the fortress of Istakhr where Baladji's family and possessions were located, al-Jurhumi, rebelled against Jawali who besieged him, defeated him, then Jawali himself transferred his wealth to Istakhr.