Ziyarid dynasty

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Ziyarid dynasty
زیاریان
931–1090
Tabari
Religion
Islam
GovernmentMonarchy
King 
• 931–935
Mardavij (first)
• 1087–1090
Gilanshah (last)
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
931
• Disestablished
1090
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Abbasid Caliphate
Samanid Empire
Alid dynasties of northern Iran
Nizari Ismaili state
Buyid dynasty
Timeline
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The Ziyarid dynasty (

Gilaki origin that ruled Tabaristan from 931 to 1090 during the Iranian Intermezzo period. The empire rose to prominence during the leadership of Mardavij. After his death, his brother Vushmgir and his Samanid allies led the dynasty in wrestling for control over territory against the Buyids in the early- to mid-10th century. When Vushmgir died, his sons Bisutun and Qabus fought for influence. Qabus would eventually outlive his brother and ruled the kingdom. However, Qabus was placed in exile from 980 to 998 by the Buyid ruler, Adud al-Dawla who would then dominate Tabaristan, the heartland of Ziyarid power. A succession of other rulers came to rule the kingdom with Ghaznavid support in the early 11th century. The Nizari Ismaili state
invaded and ended Ziyarid rule in 1090.

At its greatest extent, it ruled much of present-day western and northern Iran. During the turn of the century, the kingdom attracted many scholars, with the most notable being al-Biruni.

Origins

The dynasty was descended from Vardanshah, leader of the

Kai Khosrow.[2] Vardanshah had a son named Ziyar, who married a sister of the Gilaki king Harusindan, who bore him a son named Mardavij
. Mardavij later served another Gilaki military leader named Asfar ibn Shiruya, but later betrayed the latter and conquered Tabaristan, which led to the foundation of the Ziyarid dynasty, which he named after his father.

History

Mardavij then began aggressively expanding his territories, killing Asfar and capturing several important cities in Iran, such as

Abbasids.[4] He further planned to restore the Sasanian Empire through conquering Baghdad and ousting the Abbasid Caliphate, but was instead murdered in 935.[4] After Mardavij's death, his brother and general Vushmgir was crowned as the new Ziyarid ruler in Ray
.

Samanids also took advantage of the opportunity, but were defeated by Vushmgir, who then wrested Gorgan
from Samanid control.

Reign of Vushmgir 930s–960s

However, Vushmgir soon decided to acknowledge Samanid supremacy, and in 936 he also turned over Gorgan to Makan.

Abu 'Ali Chaghani attacked Gorgan; Vushmgir sent Makan aid, but the city fell after a long siege. Abu 'Ali Chaghani then engaged Vushmgir in battle in Ray and defeated him, killing Makan in the process. Vushmgir fled to Tabaristan, but was faced there with a revolt by his governor of Sari, al-Hasan ibn al-Fairuzan
, who was a cousin of Makan and blamed the Ziyarid for his death. Vushmgir defeated him, but al-Hasan convinced Abu 'Ali Chaghani to invade Tabaristan. Vushmgir was forced to recognize Samanid authority again. Hasan furthered the Ziyarid's troubles by retaking Isfahan in 940.

When Abu 'Ali Chaghani left for Samanid-held

Nuh I
. Al-Hasan meanwhile allied with Hasan, but when Ibn Muthaj took Ray from the Buyids in 945, he recognized Samanid authority. Still, in 945 Vushmgir captured Gorgan with Samanid support, but did not manage to retain his rule there. It was only in 947 when he was able to take Gorgan and Tabaristan from al-Hasan with the help of a large Samanid army.

In 948 Hasan (who since the Buyids' entrance into Baghdad in 945 had used the title Rukn al-Dawla) invaded Tabaristan and Gorgan and took them from Vushmgir. While al-Hasan supported the Buyids, Vushmgir relied on his Samanid allies. Tabaristan and Gorgan changed hands several times until 955, when in a treaty with the Samanids, Rukn al-Daula promised to leave Vushmgir alone in Tabaristan. Peace between the two sides did not last long, however since in 958 Vushmgir briefly occupied Ray, which was Rukn al-Dawla's capital. Rukn al-Dawla later made a counter-attack, temporarily taking Gorgan in 960, then taking both Tabaristan and Gorgan for a short time in 962. He may have also taken Tabaristan and Gorgan in 966, but did not hold on to them for long.[7]

Reign of Qabus 970s–990s

Vushmgir was killed by a boar during a hunt in 967, shortly after a Samanid army had arrived for a joint campaign against the Buyids. He was succeeded by his eldest son

Abu Rayhan Biruni, the great scientist of the Middle Ages, was supported by Qabus. In fact he dedicated his work Chronology to Qabus around 1000 and observed eclipses of the moon in his capital of Gorgan.[8]

Later rulers and decline 1000s–1090

Manuchihr addresses his assembled people and army. Folio from a Tarikhnama (Book of history) by Balami, early 14th century.

Due to his tyrannical rule, Qabus was overthrown by his own army in 1012, and was succeeded by his son

Seljuqs
, now the new masters of Khorasan, invaded Anushirvan's domains, which forced him to accept their authority.

Anushirvan died in 1059 and was succeeded by his cousin

Hassan-i Sabbah
invaded and conquered his domains, which ended Ziyarid rule in Tabaristan.

Art and architecture

One of the most famous architectural works of the Ziyarid dynasty is the Gonbad Kavous (meaning the "Dome of Qabus"). The tomb is one of the earliest architectural monuments with a dated inscription surviving in post-Islamic Iran. The tomb, built of fired brick, is an enormous cylinder capped by a conical roof. The circular plan, broken by 10 flanges, is 17 m in diameter, and the walls are 3 m thick.[9] The height from base to tip is 49 m. Legend has it, that the body of Qabus was enclosed in a glass coffin which was suspended by chains from the interior dome inside the tower.

Culture

Qabus, a prominent writer of Arabic, patronized Kamalu'd-din Bundar of Ray, Abu'l-Qasim Ziyad b. Muhammad al-Qamari al-Jurjani, and Abu-Bakr Muhammad b. 'Ali al-Khusravi.[10] Kamalu'd-din Bundar wrote his poetry in Arabic, Persian and Gilaki.[11] The poet Manuchihri would take his penname from his first patron, Falak al-Ma'ali Manuchihr, son of Qabus.[12] By the reign of Keikavus however, the Ziyard court was Persianate, with Keikavus writing the Persian literary work, Qabus-nama.[13]

Ziyarid rulers

Family tree

Vardanshah
Ziyar
Mardavij
930–935
Vushmgir
935–967
FarhadBisutun
967–977
Qabus
977–1012
SalarLangar
Manuchihr
1012–1031
DaraIskandar
Anushirvan
1030–1050
Keikavus
1050–1087
Gilanshah
1087–1090

See also

References

  1. ^ a b The Ghaznavids, C.E. Bosworth, History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol.IV, part 1, ed. M.S. Asimov, C.E. Bosworth, (Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1997), 107.
  2. ^ Madelung 1975, p. 212.
  3. ^ Madelung 1975, p. 213.
  4. ^ a b "Ziyarids", C.E. Bosworth, Encyclopaedia Iranica, (October 1, 2010).[1]
  5. ^ Nazim (1987), pp. 164–165
  6. ^ Madelung (1975), p. 213
  7. ^ "The Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran", C.E. Bosworth, The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 4, ed. W. Madelung, (Cambridge University Press, 1975), 214.
  8. ^ "The Exact Sciences", E.S. Kennedy, The Cambridge History of Iran: The period from the Arab invasion to the Saljuqs, Vol. 4, 394.
  9. Encyclopaedia Iranica
    , Vol. XI, Fasc. 2. pp. 126–129.
  10. ^ Rypka 1968, p. 146-147.
  11. ^ Rypka 1968, p. 147.
  12. ^ de Bruijn 2019, p. 13.
  13. ^ Dabashi 2012, p. 78-79.

Sources