Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl

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Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl
Ruler of Dvin and Arran
Silver dirham of Shavur ibn Fadl, National Museum of History of Azerbaijan
Reign1022–1067
PredecessorAnushirvan ibn Lashkari
SuccessorFadl ibn Shavur
Died19 November 1067
Ganja
Issueal-Fadl, Ashot, Iskandar, Manuchihr, Marzuban, unnamed daughter
DynastyShaddadids
FatherFadl ibn Muhammad

Abu'l-Aswar or Abu'l-Asvar Shavur ibn Fadl ibn Muhammad ibn Shaddad was a member of the

Shaddadid dynasty. Between 1049 and 1067 he was the eighth Shaddadid ruler of Arran (today in western Azerbaijan) from Ganja. Prior to that, he ruled the city of Dvin (in what is now Armenia and northeastern Turkey
) from 1022 as an autonomous lord. A capable warrior, and a wise and cunning ruler, Abu'l-Aswar was engaged in several conflicts with most of his neighbours.

During his rule over Dvin, he was mostly involved in the affairs of the

Transcaucasian
principalities.

Abu'l-Aswar became a Seljuk vassal in 1054/5. Although he gained control over the former Armenian capital of Ani through Seljuk patronage in 1065, this association also paved the way for the dynasty's decline after his death in November 1067.

Origin

The main historical source on the

Daylamite) name "Asvar" (cognate with savar, "horseman, knight").[9]

Lord of Dvin (1022–49)

Map of the Caucasus region with the various principalities in different colours
Political map of the Caucasus region c. 1060

Münejjim Bashi records that at the time of his death in 1067, Abu'l-Aswar's total reign, both in Ganja and before that "over some territories", had lasted 46 years. "Some territories" clearly refers to his rule over Dvin, known from other sources, meaning that he became ruler of the city in c. 1022.

Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia, had been left defenceless after the death of Gagik I of Armenia in 1020 and the dispute of his sons over their inheritance, and suffered a devastating Daylamite raid in 1021 which effectively cut it off from the remainder of the Armenian kingdom. In the aftermath, the city appears to have sought the protection of the Shaddadids, and Abu'l-Aswar became its ruler.[12] From this base, he pursued a virtually independent course from his brother, and later his nephew, in Ganja, focused more on Armenia than Arran.[3][13] Abu'l-Aswar was intimately connected with the Armenian princely houses, having married a sister of David I Anhoghin, King of Tashir. His second son even bore the typically Armenian name of Ashot.[14] Due to his focus on the affairs of his domain, he is not mentioned by Münejjim Bashi until his takeover of the main family seat at Ganja in 1049. For his activities in the period 1022–49, the main sources derive from his opponents, the Armenians and the Byzantines.[9]

Abu'l-Aswar is first recorded by the history of

Ashot IV and Hovhannes-Smbat III, came to Dvin. Fearful of the latter's displeasure, Abirat with 12,000 horsemen sought Abu'l-Aswar's protection. Abu'l-Aswar initially welcomed Abirat and gave him a high position, but soon came to mistrust him, and had him killed, whereupon Abirat's lieutenant Sare departed for Ani with Abirat's supporters.[14][15] Despite their kinship, at about the same time Abu'l-Aswar attacked David of Tashir. The Shaddadid army, numbering an impossible 150,000 according to Matthew of Edessa, captured much of Tashir, but David was able to assemble a broad alliance against Abu'l-Aswar. David himself fielded 10,000 troops, Hovhannes-Smbat III of Ani sent 3,000 men, the King of Kapan sent 2,000, and even the King of Georgia sent 4,000, while David also secured the public backing of the Catholicos of Albania. As a result, Abu'l-Aswar was defeated and evicted from Tashir.[15][16]

Ashot IV and Hovhannes-Smbat III died at almost the same time (c. 1040/41), and Ashot's son Gagik II (r. 1042–1045) succeeded them both and began consolidating his position. The chief danger to his throne was the Byzantine Empire, which throughout the early 11th century had been encroaching on the Armenian principalities. Hovhannes-Smbat had even bequeathed his kingdom to the Empire, and after his death, Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian (r. 1034–1041) sent troops to capture Ani. Gagik managed to repel the attack, and political turmoil in Constantinople gained him a couple of years of reprieve after that, but in 1042 a new emperor, Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042–1055), came to the throne determined to secure Byzantine claims in Armenia.[17][18]

Medieval illuminated miniature showing one group of horsemen pursuing another, with fallen soldiers at their feet
The defeat of the Byzantines before Dvin, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes

To this end, he contacted Abu'l-Aswar and called upon him to attack the Armenians from the rear. Abu'l-Aswar agreed, in exchange for guarantees that he would retain his conquests, a request granted in an imperial

Anberd, and Khor Virap fell to the Byzantine army, but Chelidonion (modern Yerevan) resisted until September 1047, when the outbreak of a rebellion led by Leo Tornikios forced the army's recall to Constantinople. A peace treaty was hastily concluded, whereby Abu'l-Aswar agreed not to raid Byzantine territory and to recognize the authority of the emperor.[22][23]

The successful resistance of Dvin put an end to the Byzantine advance in Armenia, helping preserve the independence of the smaller Armenian realms of Syunik, Tashir and

Qutlumush ibn Arslan Isra'il and Ibrahim Inal into Byzantine Armenia in 1048.[24] While the Shaddadids may have been tempted to see in them welcome allies against the Byzantines,[24] they were equally likely to be a threat, as demonstrated by the attack on Ganja by Qutlumush in 1046/47.[5][25]

Shortly after, in late 1048 or early 1049—although some authors have suggested a later date, c. 1050 (A.F. Gfrörer and M.H. Yinanç) or even c. 1055/56 (E. Honigmann)[26]—the Byzantines launched another offensive against Dvin under the rhaiktor Nikephoros. According to the contemporary Byzantine historian John Skylitzes, this was because Abu'l-Aswar ("Aplesphares", as the Byzantines called him) had violated the previous agreement and raided Byzantine lands. The Shaddadid ruler remained ensconced in Dvin, while the Byzantines devastated its environs "as far as the Iron Bridge and Ganja", forcing Abu'l-Aswar to renew his previous oath of subservience and hand over his great-nephew Ardashir, the son of Abu'l-Hasan Lashkari, as a hostage.[5][24][27]

Emir of Ganja (1049–67)

In 1049, Abu'l-Aswar's nephew Lashkari, the emir of Ganja, died, after a troubled reign of 15 years. He was succeeded by his infant son

Shamkur and called upon Abu'l-Aswar to assume control of Ganja as well.[28] Abu'l-Aswar agreed and abandoned Dvin, which had become too exposed to the Byzantines. The city was left in the hands of a series of governors until 1053, when he appointed his son Abu Nasr Iskandar as ruler of the city and the surrounding regions.[24] The Shaddadid ruler first set things in order in Shamkur, and then entered Ganja, taking possession "all the lands of Arran and its fortresses".[29]

At this point in his career, Abu'l-Aswar had achieved a considerable reputation as a ruler and a warrior; the

Maw'dud of Ghazni.[30][31] According to Keikavus, his host was "a great king, a man firm and clever, [...] just, courageous, eloquent dialectician, of pure faith and far-sighted".[30] This estimate was shared by the Byzantines, for Skylitzes likewise calls him "as clever a strategist as anybody else, capable of thwarting the enemies' tactics and policies",[30] while Münejjim Bashi writes that after his takeover of Ganja, "Abu'l-Aswar [...] restored the name of the dynasty to life after it had nearly died out. He became strong and the situation of the subjects and the army became orderly."[29]

gates of Ganja, installed under Abu'l-Aswar's orders in 1062, now at the Gelati Monastery in Georgia

According to Münejjim Bashi, in 1053, Abu'l-Aswar seized the (unidentified) fortress of Basra from the Georgians, and refortified and garrisoned it with many men.

Darial Pass in the same year: more than 20,000 inhabitants of Arran were carried off as slaves according to Münejjim Bashi's account. In response to the Alan threat, Abu'l-Aswar built a wall and moat around the suburb (rabad) of his capital Ganja.[3][33] The gates installed by Abu'l-Aswar for this new fortification were carried off by the Georgians under Demetrius I in 1139, and are still preserved at the Gelati Monastery in modern Georgia.[34] In 2012–14, replicas of the original gates were installed in Ganja's Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography.[35]

At the same time, Abu'l-Aswar's relations with his neighbour,

Shirvanshah Fariburz I (r. 1063–1069), abruptly deteriorated. The two dynasties were linked by family ties—Fariburz's predecessor, Sallar (r. 1050–1063), had even been married to a daughter of Abu'l-Aswar—but now the Shaddadid ruler launched a series of invasions against Shirvan. In spring 1063, Abu'l-Aswar captured the Quylamiyan castle, marched on to the capital of Shirvan, Shamakhi, defeated the Shirvanshah's forces in battle, plundered their camp, and captured his own daughter, her treasure and retinue. He then withdrew to Arran, but in July returned to Shirvan to raid it. In the next year, he again invaded Shirvan and captured a number of fortresses, while the local Kurdish tribes went over to him. After his return to Ganja, a peace treaty was signed with the Shirvanshah in June/July 1064, whereby Abu'l-Aswar returned Quylamiyan in exchange for 40,000 gold dinars.[36]
In 1064, the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan invaded Byzantine Armenia and took Ani. Abu'l-Aswar himself led raids into the area, capturing the unidentified fortress of Wyjyn ("one of the best in Armenia" according to Münejjim Bashi). Münejjim Bashi further records that Alp Arslan handed over control of Ani to him;
Barda'a. Abu'l-Aswar and his troops preferred to remain within the protection of the walled cities rather than face the raiders in the field, and the Alans reached all the way to the Araxes before turning back north, along with the prisoners they had taken.[38]

Abu'l-Aswar died on 19 November 1067, and was buried at the main mosque of Ganja.[38] He was succeeded by his eldest son, Fadl II, whom he had already announced as his heir, and to whom the oath of allegiance (bay'ah) had been taken by the Shaddadid family, the army and the people of Arran.[39] Apart from Fadl, Abu'l-Aswar had four more sons—Ashot, Iskandar, Manuchihr, and Marzuban—as well as an unnamed daughter, wife of the Shirvanshah Sallar.[40]

Abu'l-Aswar's reign represented the zenith of the Shaddadid dynasty,[5][41] but their fall began almost immediately after his death: the Seljuks strengthened their grip on Arran and the other principalities of the region, and Alp Arslan visited Ganja in person to extract an enormous tribute. Fadl II's reign was troubled—at one point he was captured and held by the Georgians for eight months—but he managed to capture Derbent. Fadl II was overthrown by his son Fadlun (Fadl III) in 1073, who was in turn deposed in 1075 by the Turkish ghulam Sav Tegin, to whom the Seljuks had assigned control of Arran and Derbent.[3][31][42] This ended the family's rule over Arran, but a junior line, led by Abu'l-Aswar's third son Manuchihr, continued to govern Ani as emirs, initially as Seljuk, and later as Georgian, vassals. This last branch of the Shaddadids maintained a precarious independence until the end of their dynasty in c. 1200.[3][31][43]

See also

  • Seljuk invasion of Anatolia

References

  1. ^ a b Ter-Ghewondyan 1976, p. 119.
  2. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 2–4.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Peacock 2011.
  4. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 33–34.
  5. ^ a b c d Bosworth 1968, p. 34.
  6. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 5–16, 34–39.
  7. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 6, 16–17, 40–45.
  8. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 6, 17–18, 46–50.
  9. ^ a b Minorsky 1977, p. 50.
  10. ^ Minorsky 1977, p. 22.
  11. ^ Ter-Ghewondyan 1976, pp. 120–121.
  12. ^ Ter-Ghewondyan 1976, p. 120.
  13. ^ Minorsky 1977, p. 44.
  14. ^ a b Minorsky 1977, p. 51.
  15. ^ a b Ter-Ghewondyan 1976, p. 121.
  16. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 51–52.
  17. ^ Minorsky 1977, p. 52.
  18. ^ Ter-Ghewondyan 1976, pp. 121–122.
  19. ^ a b Ter-Ghewondyan 1976, p. 122.
  20. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 52–53.
  21. ^ Minorsky 1977, p. 53.
  22. ^ Ter-Ghewondyan 1976, pp. 122–123.
  23. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 53–54.
  24. ^ a b c d e Ter-Ghewondyan 1976, p. 123.
  25. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 18, 48.
  26. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 55, 60–61.
  27. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 48–49, 54–56, 59–64.
  28. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 18–19.
  29. ^ a b c Minorsky 1977, p. 19.
  30. ^ a b c Minorsky 1977, p. 56.
  31. ^ a b c d Bosworth 1968, p. 35.
  32. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 19–20, 56–58.
  33. ^ Minorsky 1977, p. 20.
  34. ^ Minorsky 1977, p. 31 (note 14).
  35. ^ "Ilham Aliyev reviewed the monumental complex Ganja Fortress Gates - the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography". Official website of the President of Azerbaijan. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  36. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 20–21, 31–32 (notes 15–18), 58.
  37. ^ Minorsky 1977, p. 21.
  38. ^ a b Minorsky 1977, pp. 22, 59.
  39. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 22–23, 59.
  40. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 6, 21, 22.
  41. ^ Minorsky 1977, p. 64.
  42. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 64–68.
  43. ^ Minorsky 1977, pp. 79–101.

Sources

Further reading
Preceded by
Shaddadid emir of Ganja

1049–1067 		Succeeded by
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