Editing Urfa (section)

===11th century===
The [[Numayrid dynasty|Numayrid]] emir [[Waththab ibn Sabiq]] declared independence in 990 and annexed Edessa early in his reign. Waththab appointed his cousin 'Utayr as governor of the city.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|204}} 'Utayr installed someone named Ahmad ibn Muhammad as his ''[[na'ib]]'' (deputy) here, but then later had him assassinated.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} This evidently made 'Utayr unpopular with the locals, since Ahmad had treated them well.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|204}} In 1025/6 (416 AH), the city's inhabitants rebelled and appealed to [[Marwanids (Diyar Bakr)#Nasr al-Dawla Ahmad ibn Marwan|Nasr ad-Dawla]], the Marwanid emir of Diyar Bakr.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}}<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|204}} At first, Nasr ad-Dawla appointed someone named Zangi to be his deputy in Edessa, but Zangi died in 1027. Meanwhile, 'Utayr had been assassinated.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} This time, Nasr ad-Dawla ended up appointing two deputies to jointly control Edessa: he chose 'Utayr's son, known only by the ''[[nasab]]'' "Ibn 'Utayr", to be in charge of the main citadel, while he appointed a different Numayrid named Shibl ad-Dawla to be in charge of the smaller citadel – i.e. the converted east gate, now the Bey Kapısı.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|204}}

[[Image:The seizure of Edessa in Syria by the Byzantine army and the Arabic counterattack from the Chronicle of John Skylitzes.jpg|thumb|Miniature from the ''History'' of John Skylitzes showing George Maniakes defending Edessa from Nasr ad-Dawla's counterattack.]]
In October 1031, the Byzantine general [[George Maniakes]] conquered Edessa. This would ultimately be the last significant territorial acquisition by the Byzantine Empire in Mesopotamia.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|20}} The accounts of this event differ heavily.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} According to one version, Ibn 'Utayr had entered into negotiations with Maniakes, intending to sell him the citadel. His desire to sell was apparently motivated by a threat from Shibl ad-Dawla.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|204}} In [[John Skylitzes]]'s version, however, Maniakes had bribed Salman, a deputy of Nasr ad-Dawla's, into surrendering the city to him in the middle of the night.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|20}} If this was the case, then Salman either had some authority over Ibn 'Utayr or had otherwise deposed him.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|204}}

Whoever Maniakes had been negotiating with, Byzantine forces gained control of some of the fortifications but not the rest of the city.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|204}} Exactly which parts Maniakes had taken control of are unclear – Skylitzes described Maniakes had taken possession of "three heavily fortified towers", but his description of Edessa's geography is completely inaccurate and he clearly had never been to the city himself. [[Matthew of Edessa]]'s account, which is more reliable, mentions "three citadels"; according to Tara Andrews, the upper citadel must have been one of them.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|20}} According to T.A. Sinclair, Maniakes had already gained control of the upper citadel.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|204}} That winter, Nasr ad-Dawla came with an army in an attempt to drive out the Byzantines.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} Nasr ad-Dawla tried to besiege the Byzantine positions but was unsuccessful and decided to loot the city and tear down buildings, then burn the city to the ground while retreating with camels carrying off precious objects. According to Skylitzes, Maniakes was able to then capture the citadel and, summoning external reinforcements, secure the whole city.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|20}}

Maniakes remained in charge of Edessa for several years and, according to Honigmann and Bosworth, appears to have been relatively autonomous from the Byzantines, merely sending an annual tribute to Constantinople.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} On the other hand, while Skylitzes does mention that "Maniakes sent an annual tribute of 50 pounds [of gold] to the emperor", Niccolò Zorzi remarks that this "does not necessarily imply that Edessa 'enjoyed a certain amount of independence from Byzantium'".<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|21}} The citadel became known as "Maniakes's citadel" at some point.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|21}}

In May 1036, the Numayri prince Ibn Waththab plundered the city and took the ''patricius'' of Edessa as prisoner, but the fortress remained in the hands of the Byzantine garrison.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} A peace treaty was reached in 1037; under its terms, Edessa came directly under Byzantine control and it was refortified.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} Edessa now became an important Byzantine command placed under a series of [[katepano]]s and dukes.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|204}} The "duchy" of Edessa probably comprised the whole area beyond the Euphrates under their control with several fortresses north of the river.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|20}} The city "was still inhabited by many Christians" at this point.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}}

In 1065-6 and 1066-7, the city was attacked by the Turkish leader Khurasan-Salar.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} For 50 days beginning on 10 March 1071, Urfa was besieged by the Seljuk sultan [[Alp Arslan]].<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} Alp Arslan eventually lifted the siege in return for a large payment and possibly also the submission of its ruler, the ''doux'' Basilios Alousianos (son of [[Alusian of Bulgaria]]).<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} After the [[Battle of Manzikert]], Edessa was intended to be handed over to the Seljuks, but the Byzantine emperor [[Romanos Diogenes]] was deposed and in the political chaos its katepano Paulus ended up siding with the new emperor.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}}

In 1077 or 1078, [[Basil Apokapes]] besieged and captured Edessa, displacing the Byzantine governor Leo Diabatenos.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} He was an agent of [[Philaretos Brachamios]], the main Byzantine agent in the region who governed from Marash; however, Basil ruled Edessa independently.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|205}} In 1081-2, an amir named Khusraw unsuccessfully besieged the city.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} After Basil's death in 1083, the citizens of Edessa elected an Armenian named Smbat to succeed him.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} Smbat was in charge for six months before Philaretos came in person on 23 September 1083.<ref name="Brill EoI"/>{{rp|590}} He appointed a Greek eunuch as governor and gave him the title ''parakoimomenos''; this eunuch was later assassinated by an official named Barsauma.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}}

However, Edessa was in a particularly vulnerable position "caught between two blocks of [[Uqaylid]] territory", and it was particularly vulnerable to the Seljuks.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|205}} In 1086-7, the Seljuk sultan [[Malik Shah I]] sent his general Buzan to take the city<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|205}} while he himself campaigned in Syria.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} A three-month siege followed, with Barsauma defending the city.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} The city surrendered in March 1087 and Buzan appointed a Seljuk commander to head the citadel.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} At some point, an Armenian named [[Thoros of Edessa|Toros]] in charge of the city administration – according to the Syriac ''Chronicle of 1234'', this happened in 1087, while Matthew of Edessa wrote that it happened after Buzan's death in 1094.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} Toros appears to have begun a rebuilding project on the Bey Kapısı fortress, but it wasn't finished until after his rule.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|13}} Meanwhile, Malik Shah had died in 1092 and a Seljuk dynastic crisis had broken out.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} In 1094, Malik Shah's brother [[Tutush I|Tutush]] demanded the city's surrender, but both Toros and the Seljuk citadel commander refused.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} Tutush's forces seized the citadel and made their encampment on the west side of the city.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} Fearing an attack from them, Toros apparently tried to cut the citadel off by building a wall between it and the city.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}} After Tutush died in 1095, however, his forces abandoned the citadel and Toros now took control of the whole city as a ''de facto'' independent ruler.<ref name="Tonghini 2021"/>{{rp|23}}

During the 11th century, there was a large influx of Armenian immigrants into the region, especially the towns.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|6}} In Urfa, they supplanted Syrians as the leading citizens and wealthiest landowners.<ref name="Sinclair 1990"/>{{rp|6}}