[2] Arzen was the capital of the district of Arzanene (Armenian: Aghdznik), and held to belong to the Jaziran sub-province of Diyar Bakr.
[5] At the same time, he remained formally a subordinate of the Shaybanid ruler of Diyar Bakr, Isa ibn al-Shaykh, and had to support him in his conflicts.
This coalition managed to defeat Ibn Kundajiq, but the latter's position was soon bolstered by receiving appointment by the Caliph as governor of Diyar Rabi'a and Armenia (879/80).
[7][10] A few inconclusive skirmishes followed, and the situation was not resolved by the time of Isa's death in 882/3, as Ibn Kundajiq became involved in the Abbasid efforts to recover Syria from the Tulunids.
[11] In c. 890 he was taken prisoner by the ambitious son of Isa ibn al-Shaykh, Ahmad, who imprisoned Abu'l-Maghra and annexed the Zurarid domains.