Afrighids
Afrighid dynasty | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
305–995 | |||||||
Capital | Kath | ||||||
Common languages | Old Khwarazmian | ||||||
Religion | Zoroastrianism (until the early 9th-century) Sunni Islam (after the early 9th-century) | ||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||
Khwarazmshah | |||||||
• 305–??? | Afrig (first) | ||||||
• 967–995 | Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad (last) | ||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||
• Established | 305 | ||||||
• Ma'munid conquest of Khwarezm. | 995 | ||||||
|
History of Greater Iran | |
---|---|
1407–1468 | |
Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans | 1378–1508 |
Safavid Empire | 1501–1722 |
Mughal Empire | 1526–1857 |
Hotak dynasty | 1722–1729 |
Afsharid Iran | 1736–1750 |
Zand dynasty | 1750–1794 |
Durrani Empire | 1794–1826 |
Qajar Iran | 1794–1925 |
The Afrighids (
They were ultimately deposed by a rival family, the
Sources
Al-Biruni, the native Khwarezmian scholar, mentions twenty-two members of the Afrighid dynasty for a total span of 690 years with an average rule of 31 years for each ruler.[4] According to him, the Afrighids ruled from 305, through the Arab conquests under Qutayba ibn Muslim in 712, and up to their overthrow in 995 by the rising rival family of Ma'munids. The main source on the Afrighids prior to Islam is also Al-Biruni. Part of the reason for the gap in information about this dynasty is mentioned by Al-Biruni.
Al-Biruni states:
When
Zoroastrianpriests and burned and wasted their books, until gradually the illiterate only remained, who knew nothing of writing, and hence the region's history was mostly forgotten.
Etymology
It has been suggested that 'Afrigh' is the Arabicized of 'Abriz' in Persian (آبریز where water flows, a reference to the geography of Khwarazm and its abundant water). However, Dr. Parviz Azkai, in his annotations on Al-Biruni's Chronology of Ancient Nations, explains that this is a popular etymology. Azkai explains that Afrigh was originally Ap-Air-ig meaning from the Aryan descent: ap or af is the same in 'afrashtan' (Persian: افراشتن) to raise; air is the root meaning Aryan as seen in Iraj, and Eran/Iran (land of Aryan); and -ig is the suffix of relation in Iranian languages and cognate to '-ic' in English or '-ique' in French.
Geography
Khwarazm was a well-irrigated, rich agricultural region on the lower
Kingdom
Most of Afrighid history is recorded by the Khwarazmian scholar
The first four centuries of Afrighid rule are particularly obscure. According to al-Biruni, Afrig had a large fortress called Fil or Fir constructed on the fringe of the capital
Once the Arabs withdrew from their raid, the Shahs recovered power in Khwarezm and they continued to adhere to their ancestral faith, which according to Al-Biruni was
The Afrighids and the local population were most likely adherents of
An uncertain part of Khwarazmian history is the rise of
Religion
The Khwarazmian population practiced a variant of Zoroastriansm mixed with local paganism. Contrary to Iran, Zoroastrianism was not an official religion of Khwarazm, and thus did not follow strict writings.[12] The Iran-based and Khwarazmian variants differed significantly from each other; while the remains of the deceased was buried in niches carved in rock or in arched burial chambers, while the Khwarazmians used ossuaries, which was a survival of earlier doctrines. The Khwarazmians continued to bury their dead in ossuaries until the 3rd-century, when they were replaced with stone boxes, a sign of the expanding influence of orthodox Zoroastrianism from Iran. Contrary to the orthodox Zoroastrians, the Khwarazmians, like the Sogdians, mourned the dead, as demonstrated by the paintings on the Toprak-Kala ossuaries.[13] Veneration of the dead was highly esteemed in Khwarazm, with food being placed in the burial chambers on the last five days of the last (twelfth) month and five extra days during the New Year. The local cult of Vakhsh—the tutelary spirit of the element of water—was a sign of early animism amongst the Khwarazmians. They commemorated the feast of Vakhsh on the tenth day of the last month of the year.[12]
Language
The native language of Afrighid Khwarazm was Old Khwarazmian, written an indigenous script derived from Aramaic, which had been imported by the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) during their rule over Khwarazm.[14] According to the 10th-century Arab traveller Ahmad ibn Fadlan, the language sounded "like the chattering of starlings."[9]
Names of rulers
Only consonants of the pre-Islamic names are known with long vowels, since in
More is known about the dynasty in the Islamic era after the beginning of the 8th century and their conversion to Islam.
Name of the rulers given by the native Khwarezmian speaker Al-Biruni, and modern scholars.[1][15]
- Afrig (died 4th century)
- Baghra
- Biwarsar I (r. 3rd quarter of the 4th century)
- Kawi
- Biwarsar II
- Sahhasak
- Askajamuk I
- Azkajwar I
- Sahr I
- Shaush
- Hamgari
- Buzgar
- Arsamuh (r. during the time of the prophet Muhammad, around 600)
- Sahr II
- Sabri
- Azkajwar II (r. late 7th century — 712)
- Khusrau (r. 712)
- Askajamuk II (r. 712–?)
- Sawashfan (8th century)
- Torkasbatha
- Azkajwar-Abdallah (r. after 762/before 787 – 820s)
- Mansur ibn Abdallah
- Eraq ibn Mansur
- Muhammad ibn Eraq (died 10th century)
- Abu Sa'id Ahmad
- Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad (r. 967–995, the year he was killed)
References
- ^ a b c d Bosworth, C. E. "ĀL-E AFRĪḠ". Encyclopædia Iranica. Columbia University. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ISBN 81-208-1595-5. Excerpt from page 101: "The ancient Iranian kingdom of Khwarazm had been ruled until 995 by the old established line of Afrighids of Kath, but control subsequently passed to the new line of Khwarazm Shahs, the Ma'munidsof Gurganj"
- ^ Clifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996.
- ^ Encyclopedia Iranica, "ĀL-E AFRĪḠ (Afrighid dynasty)" by C. E. Bosworth
- ^ Bosworth 1996, pp. 89–90.
- ^ a b c d Bosworth 1978, p. 1066.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bosworth 1984a, pp. 743–745.
- ^ Bosworth 1978, p. 1065.
- ^ a b Curtis & Stewart 2009, p. 16.
- ^ British Museum Collection
- ^ Bosworth & Crowe 1965, pp. 1025–1027.
- ^ a b Nerazik & Bulgakov 1996, p. 231.
- ^ Nerazik & Bulgakov 1996, pp. 223, 232.
- ^ MacKenzie 1992, pp. 517–520.
- Biruni says: It is through the Arabic language that the sciences have been transmitted by means of translations from all parts of the world. They have been enhanced by the translation into the Arabic language and have as a result insinuated themselves into men's hearts, and the beauty of this language has commingled with these sciences in our veins and arteries. And if it is true that in all nations one likes to adorn oneself by using the language to which one has remained loyal, having become accustomed to using it with friends and companions according to need, I must judge for myself that in my native Khwarezmian, science has as much as chance of becoming perpetuated as a camel has of facing Kaaba.
Sources
- OCLC 495469475.
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1968). "The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000–1217)". In ISBN 0-521-06936-X.
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1978). "K̲h̲wārazm-S̲h̲āhs". In OCLC 758278456.
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1984a). "Āl-e Afrīḡ". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 7. pp. 743–745.
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1984b). "Āl-e Maʾmūn". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 7. pp. 762–764.
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1986). "Anuštigin Ĝarčāī". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1989). "Altuntaš". In ISBN 978-0-71009-121-5.
- Bosworth, C.E. (1996). The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. New York City: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10714-5.
- Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Stewart, Sarah (2009). The Rise of Islam: The Idea of Iran Vol 4. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1845116910.
- MacKenzie, D. N. (1992). "Chorasmia iii. The Chorasmian Language". In ISBN 978-0-939214-79-2.
- Nerazik, E. E.; Bulgakov, P. G. (1996). "Khwarizm". In Litvinsky, B. A. (ed.). History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III: The Crossroads of Civilizations, A.D. 250 to 750. Paris: UNESCO Publishing. pp. 207–236. ISBN 92-3-103211-9.
Further reading
- OCLC 499987512.