Amin al-Din Mirjan
Amīn al-Dīn Marjān | |
|---|---|
 A photograph taken in 1918, showing the dome atop the mausoleum of Marjan located along al-Rashid Street. | |
| Personal life | |
| Died | 1372 |
| Resting place | Marjan Mosque, Baghdad |
| Occupation | Emir of Baghdad under the Jalayirids |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Amīn al-Dīn Marjān (Arabic: أمين الدين مرجان) was an emir of Baghdad under Shaykh Uways Jalayir, the Jalayirid ruler of Iraq and Azerbaijan. He was the founder of the historic Marjan Mosque located across al-Rashid Street in Baghdad. Marjan led a revolt against Shaykh Uways Jalayir in 1364 but was defeated and eventually pardoned.
Early life
The early life of Amin al-Din Marjan is relatively unknown. According to Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, his full name is Marjan ibn 'Abd Allah al-Khadim.[1] He was formerly a slave and the childhood best friend of Shaykh Uways Jalayir but was later freed and subsequently rose to prominence in the Jalayirid court, leading to him being appointed as the emir of Baghdad by his former master.[1][2]
Revolt against the Jalayirids
In 1364, Amin al-Din Marjan led a revolt against his former master Shaykh Uways Jalayir with the support of the Shirvanshahs as well as the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Sha'ban who were rivals of the Jalayirids at the time.[3][4] With the help of Qara Mahammad, the Jalayirid forces were able to crush the rebellion. Marjan was arrested and deposed, while a nobleman from the house of Qara named Murad occupied his former position.[3][5] Due to the intercession of the scholars of Baghdad, Shaykh Uways Jalayir pardoned Marjan and spared him from being executed.[4] Marjan was later reinstated as the emir of Baghdad in 1367, although he was forced to start over from scratch due to the fact that Shaykh Uways had still confiscated most of his wealth and properties as punishment.[2][4]
Death and legacy
Upon his return to Baghdad in 1365, Marjan built a madrasa as gratitude for the intercessions of the local scholars.[6][7] He died in 1372 and was buried in a domed chamber in his madrasa.[6][7] During the Ottoman period, the madrasa was converted into a mosque, known as the Marjan Mosque.[6][7] Part of the madrasa including the tomb of Marjan was demolished in 1946 to make way for the expansion of al-Rashid Street.[7] Fictional narratives of Marjan were popular amongst the locals of Baghdad, who believed that Marjan was originally an Italian man named Morgan who became an ascetic and a volunteer at the mosque he founded.[8]
References
- 1 2 al-Asqalani, Ibn Hajar (1997). Durar al-kāminah fī a‘yān al-mi’ah al-thāminah [The Hidden Pearls regarding Notable Figures of the Eighth Centuries] (in Arabic) (1st ed.). Beirut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah.
- 1 2 Abdul Aziz, Qais (2025-12-01). "Marjān al-Baghdādī… min al-ʿUbūdiyyah ilā Ḥukm Baghdād thumma ilā al-Ṭard: Qirāʾah fī Sīrat Ṣadāmātihā al-Ijtimāʿiyyah" [Marjan al-Baghdadi… From Slavery to Ruling Baghdad and Then to Expulsion: A Reading in the Biography of Its Social Clashes]. Al-Hadath Centre (in Arabic). Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- 1 2 Wing, Patrick (2016). The Jalayirids: Dynastic State Formation in the Mongol Middle East. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 1–256. ISBN 9781474402262.
- 1 2 3 Ḥāfeẓ-e Abru (1972). Ḏayl-e Jāmeʿ al-tawāriḵ-e rašidi [Supplement to Rashidi's Compendium of Chronicles] (in Persian). Tehran, Iran: Enteshārāt-e Anjoman-e Āsār-e Melli.
- ↑ Minorsky, V. (1955). "The Qara-Qoyunlu And The Qutb-Shahs". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 17 (1): 50–73. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00106342. ISSN 0041-977X. S2CID 162273460.
- 1 2 3 Shukri, Mahmoud (2010). Jubouri, Abdullah (ed.). Tārīkh masājid Baghdād wa-āthārihā [History of the Mosques and Monuments of Baghdad] (in Arabic). Baghdad, Iraq: Dīwān al-Waqf al-Sunnī.
- 1 2 3 4 Abdel Salam Raouf, Imad (1948). Khayr al-Zād fī Tārīkh Masājid wa Jawāmiʿ Baghdād [The Best Provision in the History of the Mosques and Grand Mosques of Baghdad] (in Arabic) (1st ed.). Baghdad, Iraq: Dīwān al-Waqf al-Sunnī.
- ↑ Mashhadani, Akram (2021-02-25). "Ḥawl Tārīkh Jāmiʿ Marjān .. wa-Ukdhūbat Qiṣṣat al-Īṭālī Mūrkān! wa-Ḥālah" [About the History of Marjan Mosque .. and the Fabrication of the Italian Murkan Story! and Its Current Condition]. Al-Gardenia Cultural Magazine (in Arabic). Retrieved 2026-03-31.