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 Noah after the Great Flood. This belief rests on the identification of nearby Mount Judi as the "apobaterion" (place of descent) of Noah's Ark. "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.