river crossing depicted on the Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman 4th/5th century map. The river crossing lay at the end of a Roman road that connected it with Nisibis, and was part of the region of Zabdicene. It was previously assumed by most scholars that Bezabde was located at the same site of what would later become Cizre, but is now agreed to be at Eski Hendek, northwest of Cizre. Cizre was originally known as Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar, and was founded by and named after al-Hasan ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab al-Taghlibi (died c. 865), Emir of Mosul, in the early 9th century, as recorded by Yaqut al-Hamawi in Mu'jam al-Buldan. The city was constructed in a bend in the river Tigris, and al-Hasan ibn Umar built a canal across the bend, placing the city on an island in the river, hence the city's name. Eventually, the original course of the river disappeared due to sedimentation and shifted to the canal, leaving the city on the west bank of the Tigris. Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was situated to take advantage of trade routes from the direction of Amid to the northwest, Nisibin to the west, and Iran to the northeast. The city also functioned as a river port, and goods were transported by raft down the Tigris to Mosul and further south. Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar supplanted the neighbouring city of Bezabde as its inhabitants gradually left for the new city, and was likely abandoned in the early 10th century. Medieval Islamic scholars recorded competing theories of the founder of the city as al-Harawi noted in Ziyarat that it was believed that Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar was the second city founded by Nuh (Noah) after the Great Flood. This belief rests on the identification of nearby Mount Judi as the (place of descent) of Noah's Ark. The shahanshah Ardashir I of Iran (180–242) was also considered a potential founder. In Wafayāt al-Aʿyān, Ibn Khallikan reported that Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi (d. 744) was considered by some to be responsible for the city's foundation, whilst he argued that Abd al-Aziz ibn Umar was the founder and namesake of Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar. The city was fortified in the 10th century at the latest. In the 10th century, Ibn Hawqal in Surat al-Ard described Jazirat Ibn ʿUmar as an entrepôt engaged in trade with the Byzantine Empire, Armenia, and the districts of Mayyafariqin, Arzen, and Mosul. Abu Taghlib,