Atabeg

Kitāb al-aghānī fronstispiece, Mosul

, 1218-1219. Vol IV. Cairo, Egyptian National Library, Ms Farsi 579

Atabeg, Atabek,

Title origins and meanings

The word atabeg is a compound of the Turkic word^[4] ata, "ancestor", or "father"^[1] and the word beg or bey, "lord, leader, prince".^[5] Beg is stated in some sources as being of Iranian origin (as in the compound Baghdad from bag/beg and dad, "lord" given). However, according to Gerhard Doerfer, the word beg may have possibly been of Turkic origin – the origin of the word still remains disputed to this day.^[6]

The title Atabeg was common during the

Turkmen tribes, as in Persia, the rank was senior to a khan

.

The title Atabeg was also in use for officers in

Mamluk Egypt; some of them were proclaimed sultan before the incorporation into the Ottoman Empire

. After the end of Seljuk rule, the title was used only intermittently.

When describing the

Ildeniz

(Ildegoz) dynasty, the title Atabeg-e-Azam (Great Atabeg) was used, to denote their superior standing, power and influence on the Seljuk sultans.

In Persian, the style Atabek-e-Azam was occasionally used as an alternative title for the Shah's Vazir-e-Azam (Grand Vizier), notably in 1834–35 for Mirza Abolghasem Farahani, Gha'em Magham, in 1848–51 for Mirza Mohammed Taghi Khan, Amir-e Kabir, in 1906–07 for Mirza Ali Asghar Khan, Amin-ol Soltan, and finally in 1916 for a Qajar prince, Major-General Shahzadeh Sultan 'Abdu'l Majid Mirza, Eyn-ol Douleh.

List of Atabeg dynasties and other dynasties who used the title

Maragha
) (of Turkic origin)
Eldiguzids (Atabegs of Azerbaijan) (of Kypchaq Turkic origin)
Fars) (of Turkmen origin)^[7]

Luristan

) (of Iranian origin)

Atabegs of Yazd (of Iranian origin)
Zengids (Atabegs of Mosul
) (of Turkmen origin)

Atabeg dynasties

In the Near East

Beginning in the twelfth century the atabegs formed a number of

Seljukid emirs in their various principalities. These dynasties were founded by emancipated Mamluks, who had held high office at court and in camp under powerful emirs. When the emirs died, they first became stadtholders for the emirs' descendants, and then usurped the throne of their masters. There was an atabeg dynasty in Damascus founded by Toghtekin

(1103–1128).

Other atabeg "kingdoms" sprang up to the north east, founded by Sokman (Sökmen), who established himself at Kaifa in

Zengi. Zengi became Atabeg of Mosul in 1128 and soon established himself as an independent ruler of much of northern Mesopotamia and Syria (including Aleppo

).

The northern part of

Abbas I and the government of the province given to Husain Khan, the chief of a rival tribe. Husain, however, was given the gubernatorial title of vali

instead of atabeg. The descendants of Husain Khan retained the title.

Great Luristan, in the southern part of Luristan, was an independent state under the Fazlevieh atabegs from 1160 until 1424. Its capital was Idaj, now only represented by mounds and ruins at

Malamir.^[8]

In the Caucasus

In the

Principality of Samtskhe. Therefore, this entity came to be denominated as Samtskhe-Saatabago, the latter element meaning "of the atabags".^[9]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Seljūks" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 609.
^ Atabak, Encyclopedia Iranica. Accessed February 1, 2007. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/atabak-turkish-atabeg-lit
^ The Turco-Mongol Invasions, Reactions of the Armenian Lords, Mongol Control Techniques Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ "atabeg". Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
^ "bey". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
^ "BEG" Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 14 January 2015
^ C.E. Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties of Islam, (Columbia University Press, 1996), 103.
^ "Lorestān | region, Iran". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
^ Toumanoff, Cyril (1967). Studies in Christian Caucasian History, p. 438, n. 1. Georgetown University Press.

References

Amin Maalouf. Crusades Through Arab Eyes, 1984
ÏNĀNČ ḴĀTUN, Encyclopædia Iranica
ATĀBAK, Encyclopædia Iranica
ATĀBAKĀN-E ĀḎARBĀYJĀN, Encyclopædia Iranica
https://web.archive.org/web/20180105151014/http://www.selcuklular.com/?

[EB1911-1] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Seljūks" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 609.

[2] Atabak, Encyclopedia Iranica. Accessed February 1, 2007. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/atabak-turkish-atabeg-lit

[3] The Turco-Mongol Invasions, Reactions of the Armenian Lords, Mongol Control Techniques Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[4] "atabeg". Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved 25 March 2008.

[5] "bey". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2008.

[6] "BEG" Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 14 January 2015

[7] C.E. Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties of Islam, (Columbia University Press, 1996), 103.

[8] "Lorestān | region, Iran". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

[Toumanoff-9] Toumanoff, Cyril (1967). Studies in Christian Caucasian History, p. 438, n. 1. Georgetown University Press.

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