[1] Karim Bar Masih was a member of the family of Jabir, which was originally from Tagrit, but had moved to Mosul due to Islamic persecution in the 11th century.
The Syriac Orthodox community of Amid protested to the new governor who agreed to expel Bar Wahbun and his supporters if Michael I met with him.
The death of John IV in 1189 left the seat of maphrian vacant, and Bar Masih gained the support of Muhyi al-Din, a Muslim judge of Mosul responsible for collecting tribute from local monasteries, such as the Monastery of Mar Mattai, and key adviser to the governor of Mosul.
Bar Masih bribed the governor of Mosul and was ordained as maphrian by his supporters at the Monastery of Mar Mattai, assuming the name Dionysius.
Mujahid al-Din complied and Bar Masih travelled to Tagrit, where he was rejected by the Syriac Orthodox Christians there, and returned to Mosul.