Battle of al-Mada'in
Battle of al-Mada'in | |||||||
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Iraq in the 9th/10th centuries | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Hamdanid emirate of Mosul | Baridis of Basra | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Sayf al-Dawla Tuzun Khajkhaj | Abu'l-Husayn al-Baridi | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Heavy | Heavy |
The Battle of al-Mada'in was fought near
Background
By the 930s, after a series of civil wars that enfeebled its central government, the
In this turmoil, the Baridis managed to advance their positions from Basra to
Battle of al-Mada'in
As the Hamdanids moved on Baghdad, Abu'l-Husayn abandoned the city and fled to Abu Abdallah in Wasit. The Hamdanids entered the city to a triumphal reception in mid-July.[12][13] The situation was still in the balance, however, as Abu Abdallah gathered his forces at Wasit and began moving against the capital. Unease spread in Baghdad at the news, and the Caliph sent his harem upstream to Samarra for safety.[14] Command of the Hamdanid army was entrusted to Nasir al-Dawla's brother Ali, with the Turks under their own commanders Tuzun and Khajkhaj, while the Baridi army was led by Abu'l-Husayn.[14]
The two armies met at the village of Gil, two
On 2 September, Nasir al-Dawla staged a triumphal entry into Baghdad with the captive Baridi commanders, and al-Muttaqi awarded the laqab of Sayf al-Dawla ("Sword of the Dynasty") to Ali, by which he was to become famous later as the emir of Aleppo and the champion of Islam against the Byzantines.[18][19][20] This double award to the Hamdanid brothers marked the first time that a laqab incorporating the prestigious element al-Dawla was granted to anyone other than the vizier, the Caliphate's chief minister.[19]
Aftermath
The costly victory at al-Mada'in was soon undone: while Sayf al-Dawla wanted to continue the campaign against the Baridis, his brother—"whether from jealousy or negligence", according to historian Harold Bowen—did not send him the funds requested. Furthermore, the two Turkish generals, Tuzun and Khajkhaj, began showing signs of insubordination. The growing unreliability of his army forced Sayf al-Dawla to abandon the campaign and secretly flee to Baghdad. Nasir al-Dawla, dismayed at these developments and exposed far from his real power-base, decided to give up the capital, and in June 943, the two brothers returned to Mosul.[21] After Sayf al-Dawla left, Tuzun and Khajkhaj agreed to divide the spoils: Tuzun would become amir al-umara, with Khajkhaj as commander-in-chief; but soon Tuzun had his colleague blinded and sidelined.[22][23]
After becoming the master of Baghdad, Tuzun pursued a peace with the Baridis of Basra, sealed with a marriage alliance.[24][25] The alliance between Tuzun and the Baridis was seen as a threat by Caliph al-Muttaqi and his advisors. In September 943, while Tuzun was still in Wasit, the caliph once more appealed to the Hamdanids for aid: an army under Nasir al-Dawla's cousin al-Husayn appeared before Baghdad, and the caliph left the capital and went north, meeting Nasir al-Dawla at Tikrit.[26][27] Tuzun immediately abandoned Wasit and pursued the caliph north, heavily defeated Sayf al-Dawla in two battles near Tikrit, and captured Mosul itself. An agreement was concluded between Tuzun and the Hamdanids on 26 May 944, whereby Nasir al-Dawla renounced his claims on the Caliphate's core lands in central Iraq, receiving in return recognition for his control over Upper Mesopotamia and his claims over Syria, in exchange for an annual tribute of 3.6 million dirhams.[28][29]
Tuzun's victory was concluded when al-Muttaqi was persuaded to return to the capital, only to be deposed and blinded, and
References
- ^ a b Kennedy 2004, p. 194.
- ^ a b Sourdel 1960, pp. 1046–1047.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2004, pp. 195–196.
- ^ a b Sourdel 1960, p. 1046.
- ^ Bowen 1928, pp. 366–367, 370–371.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 10, 12–18.
- ^ Bowen 1928, p. 374.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 25–26.
- ^ Bowen 1928, pp. 374–376.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 26, 29–30.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 27–28.
- ^ a b Bowen 1928, p. 376.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 28, 30.
- ^ a b c d e Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, p. 31.
- ^ Potts & Canepa 2018, p. 436.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 31–32.
- ^ Bowen 1928, pp. 376–377.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, p. 32.
- ^ a b Bianquis 1997, p. 104.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, p. 270.
- ^ Bowen 1928, pp. 377–378.
- ^ Bowen 1928, p. 382.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 43–47.
- ^ Bowen 1928, pp. 382–383.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Bowen 1928, p. 383.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 52–54.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 270–271.
- ^ Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Bowen 1928, pp. 384–385.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, p. 196.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 196, 214–215.
- ^ Bowen 1928, pp. 383–384.
Sources
- OCLC 13341177.
- ISBN 978-90-04-10422-8.
- Bowen, Harold (1928). The Life and Times of ʿAlí Ibn ʿÍsà, ‘The Good Vizier’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. OCLC 386849.
- ISBN 978-0-582-40525-7.
- Potts, D. T.; Canepa, Matthew P. (2018). "Ctesiphon". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.
- OCLC 495469456.