Shaddadids | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 951–1199 | |||||||||||||
 Map of the Shaddadids ( , ), 11th-12th centuries CE | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Dvin,Janza,[1]Ani | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Persian (court, poetry)[2] | ||||||||||||
| Other languages | Kurdish | ||||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||||
| Government | Emirate | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||||
• Established | 951 | ||||||||||||
• Muhammad ibn Shaddad conquersDwin | 951 | ||||||||||||
• Lashkari ibn Muhammad established himself inGanja | 971 | ||||||||||||
• Manuchihr ibn Shavur founded the Shaddadis emirate ofAni | c. 1072 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1199 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheShaddadids were aSunni Muslim dynasty ofKurdish origin.[3][4] who ruled in various parts ofArmenia andArran from 951 to 1199 AD. They were established inDvin. Through their long tenure in Armenia, they often intermarried with theBagratuni royal family of Armenia.[a][b]
They began ruling in the city of Dvin, and eventually ruled other major cities, such asBarda andGanja. A cadet line of the Shaddadids were given the cities ofAni andTbilisi[6] as a reward for their service to theSeljuqs, to whom they becamevassals.[7][8] From 1047 to 1057, the Shaddadids were engaged in several wars against theByzantine army. The area between the riversKura andAras was ruled by a Shaddadid dynasty.
The Shaddadids were of Kurdish origin, hailing from theHadhabani Tribe.[9] The historianAndrew Peacock notes that the Shaddadids "aspired to a more illustrious origin than that ofKurdish tribesmen". Some members of the Shaddadid family, such as Manuchihr, Anushirvan, Gudarz and Ardashir, were named after theSasanian shahanshahs of pre-Islamic Iran (224-651 AD), and the dynasty claimed descent from theSasanians as well.[4] The notion of claiming links with the pre-Islamic Iranian past as they "sought to legitimize themselves as heirs to pre-Islamic Iranian traditions" was a feature which the Shaddadids shared with numerous other contemporaneous dynasties. In addition to Iranian influences, there were strong Armenian influences among the Shaddadid ruling house, which is attested in members of the family bearing Armenian names such as Ashot.[4]
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In 951,Muhammad established himself atDvin. Unable to hold Dvin againstMusafirid incursion, he fled to the ArmenianKingdom of Vaspurakan. His son,Lashkari I, ended Musafirid influence inArran by takingGanja in 971. He later expanded into Transcaucasia as far north asShamkir and as far east asBarda (present-day Azerbaijan). The reign of his brother,Marzuban, also lasted only a few years.
Muhammad's third son,Fadl I, expanded his territory during his lengthy reign. He took Dvin fromArmenian Bagratids in 1022, and his campaigns against them met with varying degrees of success. He also raided theKhazars in 1030, while holding parts of Arran (present-day Azerbaijan).[11] Later that year, while returning from a successful campaign inGeorgia, his army encountered Georgian and Armenian forces and was decisively defeated. Following Fadl I's defeat, the entire region became chaotic, with theByzantine Empire pressuringArmenian princes and theSeljuk Turks gaining influence over Arran after a resurgent attack by theSeljuks on Dvin.
Abu'l-Fath Musa succeeded Fadl I in 1031, and reigned until his murder by his son and successorLashkari II in 1034. The poetQatran Tabrizi praised Lashkari II for his victory over Armenian and Georgian princes during his stay in Ganja. Lashkari II ruled Arran for fifteen years in what is described by the Ottoman historianMünejjim Bashi as a troubled reign.[12] When he died in 1049,Anushirvan succeeded him, but he was still underage, and real power lay with thechamberlain (hajib) Abu Mansur, who served asregent.[13]
The new regime was quickly opposed by a large faction among the populace. Münejjim Bashi, summarizing a now lost local chronicle, reports that this was because Abu Mansur immediately agreed to surrender several frontier fortresses to theKakhetians, theGeorgians andByzantines, in order "to restrain their greed for Arran".[14][4] This decision provoked the leading men to revolt under the leadership ofal-Haytham, chief of the tanners inShamkor. According toVladimir Minorsky, this movement represented an uprising of the town notables against the senior bureaucratic caste. Abu Mansur, then residing at Shamkor, attempted to arrest al-Haytham, but al-Haytham and hisghilman (servants) "drew their daggers" and declared for Anushirvan's great-uncleAbu'l-Aswar Shavur, ruler ofDvin.[15]
Abu'l-Aswar occupied Shamkor, settled the troubled situation there, and went on to take up his residence in the capital, Ganja. He arrested Anushirvan, whose reign ended abruptly after two months, as well as Abu Mansur and his relations.[16] Abu'l-Aswar's long reign (c.1049–67) would prove to be the zenith of the Shaddadids.[4][17] He was the last independent ruling Shaddadid emir, whenTughril I arrived at Ganja and demanded his vassalage.
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On July, 1068 Abu'l-Aswar Shavur's son,Fadl II invaded Georgia with 33,000 men and ravaged its countryside.Bagrat IV of Georgia defeated him and forced the Shaddadid troops to flight. On the road throughKakheti, Fadl was taken prisoner by the local rulerAghsartan. At the price of conceding several fortresses on theIori River, Bagrat ransomed Fadl and received from him the surrender ofTbilisi where he reinstated a local emir on the terms of vassalage.[19]
During the captivity of Al-Fadl II, his older brotherAshot ruled Arran for eight months (August 1068 – April 1069), even minting coins in his own name and that of his overlord, the Seljuk SultanAlp Arslan.[20][4] In 1075 Alp Arslan annexed the last of the Shaddadid territories. A cadet branch of Shaddadids continued to rule inAni andTbilisi[6] as vassals of the Seljuq Empire until 1175, whenMalik-Shah I deposedFadl III.[21][22]
In 1085, Fadl III instigated a revolt and gained possession of Ganja.[23] Malik-Shah launched a campaign in 1086 and removed Fadl from power again.[23] A collateral line of Shaddadids, throughManuchihr, continued to rule inAni.[23]
The historianAndrew Peacock notes that the Shaddadids "aspired to a more illustrious origin than that of Kurdish tribesmen".[4] Some members of the Shaddadid family, such as Manuchihr, Anushirvan, Gudarz and Ardashir, were named after theSasanianshahanshahs of pre-Islamic Iran (224-651 AD), and the dynasty claimed descent from the Sasanians as well.[c][24][4] The notion of claiming links with the pre-IslamicIranian past as they "sought to legitimize themselves as heirs to pre-Islamic Iranian traditions" was a feature which the Shaddadids shared with numerous other contemporaneous dynasties.[4] In addition to Iranian influences, there were strong Armenian influences among the Shaddadid ruling house, which is attested in members of the family bearing Armenian names such as Ashot.[4]
In 1072, the Seljuks sold Ani to the Shaddadid emir ofManuchihr. Manuchihr repaired and enlarged the walls of Ani. The Shaddadids generally pursued a conciliatory policy towards the city's overwhelmingly Armenian and Christian population and actually married several members of theBagratid nobility.
A son and successor of Manuchihr,Abu'l-Aswar was accused by the contemporary Armenian historianVardan Areveltsi of persecuting Christians and attempting to sell Ani to the emir ofKars. His rule was terminated by the resurgent KingDavid IV of Georgia, whom Ani surrendered without a fight in 1124. Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ended his days as a captive of the Georgians, while Ani was given by David IV to his general,Abuleti. Abu'l-Aswar Shavur's sonFadl IV would be able to resume the Shaddadid reign in Ani in 1125.[4]
In 1130 Georgia was attacked by theSultan of Ahlat,Shah-ArmenSökmen II (c.1128-1183). This war was started by the passage of Ani into the hands of the Georgians;Demetrius I had to compromise and give upAni toFadl IV on terms ofvassalage and inviolability of the Christian churches. Fadl extended his rule toDvin andGanja, but failed to maintain these cities. He was murdered by his courtiers following the fall of Dvin to the Turkish emir Qurti c. 1030. His brothers, Mahmud and Khushchikr, ruled briefly in quick succession until the emirate was taken over by Fadl's nephew,Fakr al-Din Shaddad.[4]
In 1139, Demetrius raided the city of Ganja in Arran. He brought theiron gate of the defeated city to Georgia and donated it toGelati Monastery atKutaisi. Despite this brilliant victory, Demetrius could hold Ganja only for a few years.[27][28] In reply to this, the sultan ofEldiguzids attacked Ganja several times, and in 1143 the town again fell to the sultan who appointed his own emir to rule it.
Fakr al-Din Shaddad asked forSaltuk II's daughter's hand, however Saltuk refused him. This caused a deep hatred in Shaddad towards Saltuk. In 1154 he planned a plot and formed a secret alliance with the Demetrius I. While a Georgian army waited in ambush, he offered tribute toSaltukids, ruler ofErzerum and asked the latter to accept him as a vassal. In 1153-1154 EmirSaltuk II marched on Ani, but Shaddad informed his suzerain, the King of Georgia, of this. Demetrius marched to Ani, defeated and captured the emir. At the request of neighbouring Muslim rulers and released him for a ransom of 100,000dinars, paid by Saltuk's sons in law and Saltuk swore not to fight against the Georgians he returned home.[29]
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In 1156 the Christian population of Ani rose against the emirFakr al-Din Shaddad, and turned the town over to his brotherFadl V. But Fadl, too, apparently could not satisfy the people of Ani, and this time the town was offered to theGeorge III of Georgia, who took advantage of this offer and subjugated Ani, appointing his generalIvane Orbeli as its ruler in 1161. A coalition ofMuslim rulers led byShams al-Din Eldiguz, ruler ofAdarbadagan and some other regions, embarked upon a campaign against Georgia in early 1163. He was joined by the Shah-Armen Sökmen II, Ak-Sunkur, ruler ofMaragha, and others. With an army of 50,000 troops they marched on Georgia. The Georgian army was defeated. George had no choice but to make peace.
Eldiguz, a resurgentatabeg of Azerbaijan handed the city over toShahanshah on terms of vassalage. The Shaddadids, ruled the town for about 10 years, but in 1174 King George took the Shahanshah as a prisoner and occupied Ani once again. Ivane Orbeli, was appointed governor of the town. In 1175 the southern provinces of Georgia were again overrun by a united Muslim host. This marked the beginning of another long struggle for Ani. The chronicles do not allow the reconstruction of any coherent picture of this struggle, but we can assume that the town and region frequently changed hands. The Georgians captured Ani four times; 1124,[30] 1161,[31] 1174[32] and 1199. The first three times, it was recaptured by the Shaddadids. In the year 1199, Georgia'sQueen Tamar captured Ani, she granted the city to the Armeno–GeorgianMkhargrzeli family.[4][33]
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