Buyid dynasty

Buyid Dynasty آل بویه (Persian) Âl-i Būya
934–1062[1]
The Buyid dynasty in 970
Capital	Fars , 934–1062) Ray (Buyids of Jibal, 943–1029) Baghdad (Buyids of Iraq, 945–1055)
Common languages	Arabic (official and court language; lingua franca)[2] Middle Persian (secondary court language)[2] New Persian (popular, literature)[2][3] Daylami (ruling dynasty)
Religion	Shia Islam (dynasty)[3] Sunni Islam (majority) Zoroastrianism Christianity Judaism
Government	Hereditary monarchy
Emir/Shahanshah
• 934–949	Imad al-Dawla
• 1048–1062	Abu Mansur Fulad Sutun
Historical era	Middle Ages Islamic Golden Age
• Established	934
•  Adud al-Dawla becomes the supreme ruler of the Buyid dynasty	979
• Disestablished	1062[1]
Area
980 est.[4][5]	1,600,000 km2 (620,000 sq mi)
Currency	dirham, dinar
Preceded by Succeeded by Abbasid Caliphate Ziyarids Banu Ilyas Abu Abdallah al-Baridi Ghaznavids Seljuk Empire Kakuyids Uqaylid dynasty Marwanids Shabankara Banu Mazyad Annazids

The Buyid dynasty (

As Daylamite Iranians, the Buyids consciously revived symbols and practices of the Sasanian Empire.^[7] Beginning with Imad al-Dawla, some of the Buyid rulers used the ancient Sasanian title Shahanshah "Emperor" (شاهنشاه), literally "king of kings".^[3] The Buyids had many inscriptions carved at the Achaemenid ruins of Persepolis, thus suggesting a form of veneration of the site, which the Buyids thought was built by the mythical Iranian king Jamshid.^[8]

The Buyid dynasty reached its zenith under Panāh Khusraw (پناه خسرو r. 949–983), whose laqab was

Although the Buyids were initially Zaydi Shia, for political advantage, they became Twelver Shia following the Major Occultation of Muhammad al-Mahdi after the death of his fourth agent in 941. Regardless, the Buyids were known for supporting the Sunni Abbasid caliphs and being tolerant of the Sunni population, who formed the majority of their realm. They were, by contrast, unfriendly towards the Fatimid Caliphate centered in Egypt, who were Isma'ilis.^[9]

Contrary to the

The word Būya (Arabic Buwayh) is a Middle Persian name ending in the diminutive ـویه (Middle Persian -ōē, modern Persian -ūyeh, Arabic -uwayh). The Buyids were descendants of Panah-Khusrow, a Zoroastrian from Daylam. He had a son named Buya, who was a fisherman from Lahijan,^[11] and later left Zoroastrianism and converted to Islam.^[12] Buya later had three sons, named Ahmad, 'Ali, and Hasan, who would later carve out the Buyid kingdom together. The Buyids claimed royal lineage from Bahram V (r. 420–438), the King of Kings (shahanshah) of the Sasanian Empire.^[13]

History

Rise (934–945)

The founder of the dynasty, 'Ali ibn Buya, was originally a soldier in the service of the Daylamite warlord

Shirdil Abu'l-Fawaris (known by his title of "Sharaf al-Dawla") quickly seized Oman from Samsam al-Dawla, and, in 983, the Turkic troops of Samsam al-Dawla mutinied against him and some left Iraq for Fars, but most of them were persuaded by his relative

During the mid-11th century, the Buyid amirates gradually fell to the

The Buyids established a confederation in Iraq and western Iran. This confederation formed three principalities: one in Fars, with Shiraz as its capital, the second one in Jibal, with Ray as its capital, and the last one in Iraq, with Baghdad as its capital. However, during their late period, more principalities formed in the Buyid confederation. Succession was hereditary, with rulers dividing their land among their sons.

The title used by the Buyid rulers was

During the beginning of the Buyid dynasty, their army consisted mainly of their fellow Daylamites, a warlike and brave people of mostly peasant origin, who served as foot soldiers. The Daylamites had a long history of military activity dating back to the Sasanian period, and had been mercenaries in various places in Iran and Iraq, and even as far as Egypt. The Daylamites, during a battle, normally bore a sword, a shield, and three spears. Furthermore, they were also known for their formidable shield formation, which was hard to break through.^[29]

However, when the Buyid territories increased, they began recruiting Turks into their cavalry,^[18] who had played a prominent role in the Abbasid military.^[30] The Buyid army also consisted of Kurds, who, along with the Turks, were Sunnis, while the Daylamites were Shi'i Muslims.^[31] However, the army of the Buyids of Jibal was mainly composed of Daylamites.^[32]

The Daylamites and Turks often quarrelled with each other for dominance within the army.^[33] To compensate their soldiers, the Buyid amīrs often distributed iqtāʾs, or the rights to a percentage of tax revenues from a province (tax farming), although the practice of payment in kind was also frequently used.^[34] While the Turks were favoured in Buyid Iraq, the Daylamites were favoured in Buyid Iran.^[35]

Culture

Language

Contrary to the Samanids, the Buyids did not adopt Dari (also known as New Persian) as their official language.^[36] Instead, Arabic served as the lingua franca of their realm, while Middle Persian was occasionally used as a secondary court language.^[2] Although the Buyids were of Iranian stock, they supported writing in Arabic, and also used the language in their correspondence, as well as poetry.^[3]

It is uncertain why the Buyids did not promote the use of New Persian. According to the historians Edmund Herzig and Sarah Stewart in their book Early Islamic Iran (2011), it may have been due to three factors; the Buyids had been influenced during their stay in Baghdad and thus aspired to be important supporters of Arabic writing; New Persian may have been discouraged by the Zoroastrian priests, who still wrote in Middle Persian in regions such as Fars; New Persian may have been very different/at odds with the dialects of western Iran, and was only mostly welcomed in eastern Iran.^[37]

However, New Persian was still used as language of poetry at the Buyid courts. Many prominent poets in the Buyid realm wrote in New Persian, such as Abu Muhammad Mansur ibn Ali al-Mantiqi al-Razi, Khusrawi Sarakhsi and Abu Zayd Muhammad ibn Ali al-Ghada'iri al-Razi.^[3] The Persian vizier Sahib ibn Abbad (died 995), who was the leading figure at the Buyid court at Ray for a lengthy period, wrote only in Arabic, which he preferred instead of his native tongue. However, he also accepted New Persian panegyrics that were dedicated to him.^[38]

The Buyids also promoted the use of fahlaviyat,^[37] a designation for poetry composed in the local northwestern Iranian dialects and languages.^[39][40] Due to having a large Zoroastrian and Christian population, many records written under the Buyids were composed in Middle Persian, Syriac and Arabic.^[9]

Naming traditions, celebrations and identity

While the brothers that established the Buyid kingdom had the Arabic names of Ali, Hasan, and Ahmad, the second Buyid generation notably had Iranian names, such as Kamrava, Marzuban, Bahram and Khusraw.^[2] The Buyids had many inscriptions carved at the Achaemenid ruins of Persepolis, thus suggesting a form of veneration of the site, which the Buyids thought was built by the mythical Iranian king Jamshid.^[8] Adud al-Dawla celebrated the ancient Iranian festivals of Sadeh and Mehregan, and like many previous Islamic rulers—including the caliphs—he most likely celebrated Nowruz as well. He used Nowruz as a model for two newly created festivals, which were celebrated annually in the town of Fana Khusraw-gird.^[10]

Under the Buyids, the idea of "Iranshahr" (Iran) appears in geographical works, which were all written in Arabic by mostly Iranian authors. The geographer Istakhri, who was active in the late 10th-century and wrote; "The best cultivated (ma‘mur), fairest and most fertile part of the world, and the most established in its political life is the kingdom of Iranshahr."^[38]

Herzig and Stewart adds that;^[37]

Considered together the preceding materials offer important clues to the question of Iranian identity under the Buyids. In the first instance we have rulers who are unashamedly Iranian and who sought by genealogy, title and homage to Persepolis to show their connection with the pre-Islamic Iranian past. At the same time, the inhabitants of the Buyid kingdoms and eastern Iranians showed a sometimes embarrassingly high level of self-esteem as the people of Iranshahr.

Religion

Like most Daylamites at the time, the Buyids were Shia and have been called

The Buyids rarely attempted to enforce a particular religious view upon their subjects except in matters where it would be politically expedient. The Sunni Abbasids retained the caliphate but were deprived of all secular power.[44] In addition, to prevent tensions between the Shia and the Sunnis from spreading to government agencies, the Buyid amirs occasionally appointed Christians to high offices instead of Muslims from either sect.^[45]

Architecture

Under the supervision of the Buyids, large construction and engineering projects took place, such as irrigation systems and agricultural developments, all of which led to an increase in income. In comparison to other local rulers in Iraq, particularly the Baridis and

It was during the reign of Adud al-Dawla that most of the Buyid construction and restoration projects took place. Under him, Shiraz became so crowded that the garrison had no place to roam, which led Adud al-Dawla to have a special quarter created, Fana Khusraw-gird ("Fana Khusraw made it"), a name which deliberately reflected the name of towns established by the Sasanian kings.[3]^[10] The town of Firuzabad, considered to be linked to the Sasanian king Ardashir I (r. 224–242), was revamped by Adud al-Dawla, possibly done in order to stress his claim to Sasanian ancestry. One of Adud al-Dawla's lasting building projects was the mausoleum erected on the burial place of Ali.^[3]

Buyid rulers

Major rulers

Generally, the three most powerful Buyid amirs at any given time were those controlling

• Imad al-Dawla (934–949)
• 'Adud al-Dawla (949–983)
• Sharaf al-Dawla (983–989)
• Samsam al-Dawla (989–998)
• Baha' al-Dawla
  (998–1012)
• Sultan al-Dawla (1012–1024)
• Abu Kalijar (1024–1048)
• Abu Mansur Fulad Sutun (1048–1051)
• Abu Sa'd Khusrau Shah (1051–1054)
• Abu Mansur Fulad Sutun (1051–1062)

Buyids in Ray

• Rukn al-Dawla (935–976)
• Fakhr al-Dawla (976–980)
• Mu'ayyad al-Dawla (980–983)
• Fakhr al-Dawla (restored) (984–997)
• Majd al-Dawla (997–1029)

Buyids in Iraq

• Mu'izz al-Dawla (945–967)
• 'Izz al-Dawla
  (966–978)
• 'Adud al-Dawla (978–983)
• Samsam al-Dawla (983–987)
• Sharaf al-Dawla (987–989)
• Baha' al-Dawla
  (989–1012)
• Sultan al-Dawla (1012–1021)
• Musharrif al-Dawla (1021–1025)
• Jalal al-Dawla (1025–1044)
• Abu Kalijar (1044–1048)
• Al-Malik al-Rahim (1048–1055)

Minor rulers

It was not uncommon for younger sons to found collateral lines, or for individual Buyid members to take control of a province and begin ruling there. The following list is incomplete.

Buyids in Basra

• Diya' al-Dawla
  (980s)

Buyids in Hamadan

• Mu'ayyad al-Dawla (976–983)
• Shams al-Dawla (997–1021)
• Sama' al-Dawla (1021–1024)

Buyids in Kerman

• Qawam al-Dawla (1012–1028)

Buyids of Khuzistan

• Taj al-Dawla (980s)

Family tree

See also

Part of a series on the
History of Iran
Prehistoric period BCE / BC Baradostian culture c. 36,000–18,000 Zarzian culture c. 20,000–10,000 Shulaveri–Shomu culture c. 6000–5000 Zayandeh River Culture c. 6th millennium Dalma culture c. 5th millennium
Proto-Elamite	3200–2700
Jiroft culture	c. 3100–2200
Lullubi Kingdom/Zamua	c. 3100-675
Elam	2700–539
Marhaši	c. 2550-2020
Oxus Civilization	c. 2400–1700
Akkadian Empire	2400–2150
Kassites	c. 1500–1155
Avestan period	c. 1500–500
Neo-Assyrian Empire	911–609
Urartu	860–590
Mannaea	850–616
Zikirti	750-521
Saparda	720-670