Suleyman Shah
Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of Osman I (progenitor of the Ottoman Empire), reputedly drowned in the Euphrates near Qal'at Ja'bar, and was buried near the castle. However, it is probable that this story resulted from a confusion between Suleyman Shah, and Sulayman bin Kutalmish, the founder of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm. It is however not certain whether the actual tomb, known as Mezār-i Türk, related to either of these two rulers. The Ottoman sultan Hamid II had the tomb reconstructed. By article 9 of the Treaty of Ankara of 1921, the area was accepted as Turkish territory and Turkish soldiers were allowed to guard the tomb after Syria's establishment as a French mandate and eventual independence. In 1973, in response to the rising water level of the newly created Lake Assad, the reputed tomb of Suleyman Shah and the associated exclave were moved to a new location north of Qal'at Ja'bar and the castle itself became Syrian territory.