Mosul

After the Ilkhanids Mosul passed through the hands of the Jalayirids, the Aq Qoyunlu and the Safavids, until Suleiman the Magnificent took it in 1538. The Ottomans ruled it through local notables rather than their own officials, and it became one of the most independent districts of their empire; by the 18th century the Jalili family, grown rich on land and trade, were the masters of the city. Their strength was tested in 1743, when Nader Shah bombarded Mosul for eight days and then stormed it with some 1,700 scaling ladders. Hussein Pasha al-Jalili's defenders, Muslims, Christians and Yazidis together, held the walls, and Nader lost over 5,000 men before he agreed to terms. The Jalilis kept their hold for nearly another century, until in 1834 the sultan sent a governor from outside to end it.