Nasir al-Dawla
Nasir al-Dawla | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amir al-umara (942–943) Emir of Mosul | |||||
Reign | 935–967 | ||||
Successor | Abu Taghlib | ||||
Died | 968 or 969 Ardumusht | ||||
Issue | Abu Taghlib, Abu'l-Fawaris, Abu'l-Qasim, Abu Abdallah al-Husayn, Abu Tahir Ibrahim | ||||
| |||||
Dynasty | Hamdanid | ||||
Father | Abdallah ibn Hamdan |
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Abu'l-Hayja Abdallah ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi
As the senior member of the Hamdanid dynasty, he inherited the family power base around
Life
Origin and family
Nasir al-Dawla was born al-Hasan ibn Abdallah, the eldest son of
Hamdan's possessions were captured in 895 by the Abbasid Caliph
Consolidation of control over the Jazira
During his absence in Baghdad in his final years from 920/21 on, Abdallah relegated authority over Mosul to Hasan.[12][13] After Abdallah's death, however, al-Muqtadir took the opportunity to avenge himself upon the Hamdanids, and appointed an unrelated governor over Mosul, while Abdallah's domains were divided among his surviving brothers. Faced with the claims of his uncles, Hasan was left in charge of a small portion, on the left bank of the Tigris.[11][13] In 930, after the caliph's governor died,[13] Hasan managed to regain control over Mosul, but his uncles Nasr and Sa'id soon removed him from power and confined him to the western parts of the Diyar Rabi'a. In 934, Hasan again recovered Mosul, but Sa'id, residing in Baghdad and supported by the caliphal government, evicted him again. Hasan fled to Armenia, from where he orchestrated Sa'id's murder. Only then did his troops occupy Mosul and establish him permanently as its ruler.[11] Finally, after defeating caliphal forces under the vizier Ibn Muqla and the Banu Habib, his rivals among the Taghlib, in late 935 the caliph al-Radi was forced to formally recognize him as governor of Mosul and of the entire Jazira, in exchange for an annual tribute of 70,000 gold dinars and supplies of flour for the two caliphal capitals of Baghdad and Samarra.[11][12]
Hasan still had to overcome considerable resistance to his rule outside of his family's core region around Mosul. In
Struggle for control of the Caliphate
While he tried to consolidate his rule over Mosul, Hasan showed himself conspicuously loyal to the Abbasid regime, and refused to support the revolt of Mu'nis al-Khadim against the caliph al-Muqtadir in 932.
Thus, in the late 930s, Hasan, encouraged by his control over a large and rich domain, entered the intrigues of the Abbasid court, and became one of the main contenders for the title of amir al-umara.
The Hamdanids' success and rule over the Abbasid capital lasted for little more than a year. They lacked funds and were politically isolated, finding little support among the Caliphate's most powerful vassals, the
In the meantime, the caliph was brought to Raqqa for greater safety, while Husayn ibn Sa'id tried to secure control over northern Syria and pre-empt Egypt's ruler Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid from taking control of the region. The attempt failed, as al-Ikhshid himself advanced into Syria, took Aleppo and marched to Raqqa, where he met the caliph. Al-Ikhshid tried to persuade al-Muttaqi to come to Egypt under his protection, but the caliph refused, and al-Ikhsid returned to Egypt. Instead, al-Muttaqi, persuaded by Tuzun's assurances of loyalty and safety, returned to Baghdad, where Tuzun deposed and blinded him, replacing him with al-Mustakfi (r. 944–946).[16][21][22] At the news of this crime, Nasir al-Dawla again refused payment of tribute, but Tuzun marched against him and forced his compliance.[21] Henceforth, Nasir al-Dawla would be tributary to Baghdad, but he would find it difficult to resign himself to his loss of power over the city he once ruled, and during subsequent years he would undertake several attempts to regain it.[23]
Wars with the Buyids
In late 945, Tuzun died. His death weakened the Abbasid government's ability to maintain its independence against the rising power of the Buyids, who under
Conflict between the two rivals was renewed in 948, when Mu'izz al-Dawla again marched against Mosul, but was forced to cut off his campaign to assist his brother
In 964, Nasir al-Dawla tried to renegotiate the terms of the arrangement, but also to secure Buyid recognition for his eldest son, Fadl Allah Abu Taghlib al-Ghadanfar, as his successor. Mu'izz al-Dawla refused Nasir al-Dawla's demands, and again invaded Hamdanid territory. Once again Mosul and Nasibin were captured, while the Hamdanids fled to the mountain fortresses. As in 958, the Buyids were unable to maintain themselves for long in the Jazira, and soon an agreement was reached which allowed the Hamdanids to return to Mosul. This time, however, Abu Taghlib emerged as the effective leader in his father's place: it was with him, rather than the aged Nasir al-Dawla, that Mui'zz al-Dawla concluded a treaty.[11][21][26] The end of Nasir al-Dawla's rule came in 967, in the same year that saw the deaths of his brother Sayf al-Dawla and his great rival, Mu'izz al-Dawla. Nasir al-Dawla was reportedly so much affected by his brother's death that he lost interest in life and became remote and avaricious.[21] In the end, Abu Taghlib, already the de facto governor of the emirate, deposed him with the aid of his Kurdish mother, Fatima bint Ahmad, who according to Ibn al-Athir exercised considerable influence over her husband's affairs.[21][27] Nasir al-Dawla tried to counter them by turning to one of his other sons by a different mother, Hamdan. In reaction, Abu Taghlib imprisoned him in the fortress of Ardumusht, where he died in 968 or 969.[11][21]
Domestic policies
Nasir al-Dawla was heavily criticized by contemporaries for his oppressive fiscal policies and the suffering they caused among the population.[21] The traveller Ibn Hawqal, who visited Nasir al-Dawla's domains, reports in length on his seizure of private land in the most fertile regions of the Jazira, on flimsy legal pretexts, until he became the greatest landowner in his province. This was linked with the practice of a monoculture of cereals, destined to feed the growing population of Baghdad, and coupled with heavy taxation, so that Sayf al-Dawla and Nasir al-Dawla are said to have become the wealthiest princes in the Muslim world.[21][28] Nevertheless, the Hamdanid administrative machinery seems to have been fairly rudimentary, and the tribute paid to the Buyids—estimated at somewhere between two and four million dirhams, when it was paid at all—was a heavy burden on the treasury.[20]
Notes
- Taghlib.[1]
References
- ^ Ibn Khallikan 1842, p. 404.
- ^ Canard 1971, pp. 126, 127.
- ISBN 9781317376392.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 265–266.
- ^ a b c Canard 1971, p. 126.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 266, 269.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 266, 268.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 266–267.
- ^ Canard 1971, pp. 126–127.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 267–268.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Canard 1971, p. 127.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2004, p. 268.
- ^ a b c d e f Bowen 1993, p. 994.
- ^ a b c Bianquis 1997, p. 104.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 192–195.
- ^ a b Bonner 2010, pp. 355–356.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2004, pp. 195–196.
- ^ a b Bonner 2010, p. 355.
- ^ Bowen 1993, pp. 994–995.
- ^ a b c d Kennedy 2004, p. 270.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Bowen 1993, p. 995.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2004, p. 196.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 270–271.
- ^ Bonner 2010, p. 356.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 221, 271.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2004, p. 271.
- ^ El-Azhari 2019, p. 86.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, p. 265.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-90-04-10422-8.
- ISBN 978-0-521-83823-8.
- Bowen, H. (1993). "Nāṣir al-Dawla". In ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
- OCLC 495469525.
- El-Azhari, Taef (2019). Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History, 661-1257. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-1-4744-2318-2.
- OCLC 1184199260.
- ISBN 978-0-582-40525-7.