Daysam ibn Ibrahim (orDaysam) or sometimes calledDaysam ibn Ibrahim al-Kurdi (d. c. 957) was aKurdish commander who occasionally ruledAdharbayjan between 938 and 955 during the power struggle that ensured after the fall of theSajid dynasty.
Daysam was aKharijite, born to a Kurdish mother and anArab[1][2] or Kurdish[3] father, who rose to prominence while serving theSajid rulerYusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj.[4] With Kurdish support he managed to take over Adharbayjan by 938. His position in Adharbayjan was soon threatened by Lashkari ibn Mardi, aGilite formerly in the service of theZiyarids. Lashkari's Gilite andDaylamite army expelled Daysam from Adharbayjan, but he was able to recover the province with the help of theZiyaridVushmgir.[4]
In 941 or 942 Daysam's vizier, Abu'l-Qasim Ja'far ibn 'Ali, fled due to an intrigue against him to theSallarids of Tarum. There he convincedMarzuban ibn Muhammad (r. 941/2–957) to take Adharbayjan from Daysam. Daysam met Marzuban's army on the field by his Daylamite mercenaries (whom he had hired to counterbalance the power of his unruly Kurdish troops) defected to the Sallarid and he was forced to flee to the court of theArdzrunidking of Vaspurakan.[3] Ja'far ibn 'Ali became Marzuban's vizier after he conquered Adharbayjan, but soon feared for his position. He went toTabriz and invited Daysam to return to the province. When he arrived at the city he gained the support of the Kurds. His army was defeated by Marzuban's, however, and the Sallarid besieged him in Tabriz. At this point Ja'far abandoned Daysam again, but Daysam managed to escape from Tabriz and enterArdabil. Marzuban was not far behind and he laid siege to Ardabil. Eventually Daysam's new vizier, who had been bribed by the Sallarids, convinced Daysam to surrender. Daysam was treated with leniency by Marzuban, who gave him his castle in Tarum after he requested it.[5]
In 949 Marzuban was captured by theBuyids, who sent an army underAbu Mansur Muhammad to conquer Adharbayjan. Marzuban's brotherWahsudan ibn Muhammad sent Daysam to Adharbayjan to protect Sallarid interests there. Abu Mansur Muhammad's approach forced Daysam to retreat toArran, but after Abu Mansur Muhammad suffered a setback he retreated, allowing Daysam to take control of the province. Marzuban escaped from the Buyids in 953 and sought to regain his territory. Daysam was defeated by a Sallarid army near Ardabil, and the Daylamite leaders deserted from his side. He fled toArmenia, where he was given aid by the Christians. A year later, however, he was expelled from Armenia; he made his way toBaghdad, where the BuyidMu'izz al-Dawla received him with honor.[6]
After the Buyids made peace with the Sallarids, Daysam realized that he could not count on them for help in regaining Adharbayjan. He therefore left them for theHamdanids; with the aid ofSayf al-Dawla ofAleppo he occupiedSalmas in 955/956 as a Hamdanid vassal. Marzuban expelled from there,[clarification needed] and Daysam again found refuge with the Ardzrunids of Vaspurakan. The Ardzunid king, however, facing threats from Marzuban, seized Daysam and handed him over to the Sallarid. Daysam was blinded and imprisoned. He was killed by some of Marzuban's supporters after the latter's death in 957.[7]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Daysam is described as the son of a Kurdish mother and an Arab father who had been a partisan of the Kharijite Hārūn Wāzeqī at Mosul during the caliphate of al-Moʿtażed (279-89/892-902).
| Preceded by | Ruler ofAdharbayjan 938–942 | Succeeded by |