Ziyarid dynasty زیاریان | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 931–1090 | |||||||||||||||
.PNG) Map of the Ziyarid dynasty, lighter blue shows their greatest extent for a small period of time. | |||||||||||||||
| Capital | Isfahan (931–935) Ray (935–943) Gorgan (943–1035) Amol (1035–1090)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Persian Gilaki Tabari | ||||||||||||||
| Religion | Zoroastrianism &Islam | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||||||
• 931–935 | Mardavij(first) | ||||||||||||||
• 1087–1090 | Gilanshah(last) | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 931 | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1090 | ||||||||||||||
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TheZiyarid dynasty (Persian:زیاریان) was anIranian dynasty ofGilaki origin that ruledTabaristan from 931 to 1090 during theIranian Intermezzo period. The empire rose to prominence during the leadership ofMardavij. After his death, his brotherVushmgir and hisSamanid allies led the dynasty in wrestling for control over territory against theBuyids in the early- to mid-10th century. When Vushmgir died, his sonsBisutun andQabus 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 dominateTabaristan, the heartland of Ziyarid power. A succession of other rulers came to rule the kingdom withGhaznavid support in the early 11th century. TheNizari Ismaili state invaded and ended Ziyarid rule in 1090.
At its greatest extent, it ruled much of present-day western and northernIran. During the turn of the century, the kingdom attracted many scholars, with the most notable beingal-Biruni.
The dynasty was descended from Vardanshah, leader of theShahanshahvand tribe, which traced its descent back to the legendary kingArghush Farhadan, who was the ruler ofGilan, and lived during the time ofKai Khosrow.[2] Vardanshah had a son named Ziyar, who married a sister of the Gilaki kingHarusindan, who bore him a son namedMardavij. 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.
Mardavij then began aggressively expanding his territories, killing Asfar and capturing several important cities in Iran, such asHamadan,Dinavar,Kashan,Isfahan,Shiraz[3] andAhvaz from theAbbasids.[4] He further planned to restore theSasanian Empire through conqueringBaghdad and ousting theAbbasid Caliphate, but was instead murdered in 935.[4] After Mardavij's death, his brother and generalVushmgir was crowned as the new Ziyarid ruler inRay.
Hasan ibn Buya, one of the brothers of theBuyid rulerAli ibn Buya, took advantage of Mardavij's death by seizing Isfahan from Ziyarid rule. TheSamanids also took advantage of the opportunity, but were defeated by Vushmgir, who then wrestedGorgan from Samanid control.
However, Vushmgir soon decided to acknowledge Samanid supremacy, and in 936 he also turned over Gorgan to Makan.[5][6] Turning against Hasan, he retook Isfahan in 938. In 939 or 940 the Samanid governorAbu '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 ofSari,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-heldKhurasan, Vushmgir retook control of Ray. He then lost it for good in 943, to the Buyid Hasan. Returning to Tabaristan, he was defeated there by al-Hasan, who had previously occupied Gorgan. Vushmgir fled to theBavandids of the mountains in eastern Tabaristan, then to the court of the SamanidNuh 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 948Hasan (who since the Buyids' entrance intoBaghdad in 945 had used the titleRukn 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]
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 sonBisutun. However, the Samanid army favored another son,Qabus, and challenged Bisutun's rule. Bisutun then agreed withRukn al-Dawla to become his vassal in return for protection against the Samanids, which forced the Samanid army to withdraw toKhorasan. In 971, theAbbasidcaliphal-Muti gave Bisutun the title ofZahir al-Dawla. Bisutun later died in 977, and was succeeded by Qabus. However, he was expelled by the Buyid rulerAdud al-Dawla in 980, because he gave refuge to the latter's rival and brotherFakhr al-Dawla. The Buyids now dominatedTabaristan over 17 years while Qabus was in exile in Khorasan. In 998, Qabus returned to Tabaristan and re-established his authority there. He then established good relations with theGhaznavid rulerMahmud of Ghazni who had taken control of Khorasan, but still acted as an independent sovereign. During the reign of Qabus, his kingdom was a major attraction to scholars;Abu Rayhan Biruni, the great scientist of the Middle Ages, was supported by Qabus. In fact he dedicated his workChronology to Qabus around 1000 and observed eclipses of the moon in his capital of Gorgan.[8]
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Due to his tyrannical rule, Qabus was overthrown by his own army in 1012, and was succeeded by his sonManuchihr, who quickly recognized the sovereignty of Mahmud of Ghazni, and married one of his daughters. Manuchihr died in 1031, and was succeeded by his sonAnushirvan Sharaf al-Ma'ali whom Mahmud of Ghazni had chosen as the heir of the Ziyarid dynasty. From 1032 to 1040, the real power behind the throne was held by Abu Kalijar ibn Vayhan, a relative of Anushirvan. In 1035, Abu Kalijar stopped paying tribute to the Ghaznavids, which led to the Ghaznavids invading Tabaristan and sacked the Ziyarid capital ofAmol.[1] Abu Kalijar, after having learned the consequences of not paying tribute to the Ghaznavids, agreed to continue paying tribute. This gave Anushirvan the opportunity to imprison Abu Kalijar and gain a firm grip over his kingdom. In 1041/1042, theSeljuqs, 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 cousinKeikavus, the celebrated author of theQabus nama, a major work ofPersian literature. Keikavus died in 1087, and was succeeded by his sonGilanshah. His reign was however short and in 1090, theNizari Ismaili state underHassan-i Sabbah invaded and conquered his domains, which ended Ziyarid rule in Tabaristan.
One of the most famous architectural works of the Ziyarid dynasty is theGonbad 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.
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 poetManuchihri would take his penname from his first patron, Falak al-Ma'ali Manuchihr, son of Qabus.[12] By the reign ofKeikavus however, the Ziyard court was Persianate, with Keikavus writing the Persian literary work,Qabus-nama.[13]
| Portrait | Title | Regnal name | Personal Name | Birth | Family relations | Reign | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ziyarid dynasty (928–1043) | ||||||||
 | Abolhajjaj, Emir | Mardavij | ? | son of Ziyar | 930-January 935 | January 935 | ||
| Abutaher | Voshmgir | ? | son of Ziyar | 935–967 | 967 | |||
 | Zahir od-Dowleh | Bisotoon | ? | son ofVoshmgir | 967–977 | 977 | ||
.jpg) | Shams ol-Ma'ali, Abolhasan | Qabus | ? | son ofVoshmgir | (first) 977–981 (second) 997-1012 | 1012 | ||
.jpg) | Falak ol-Ma'ali | Manuchehr | ? | son ofQabus | 1012–1031 | 1031 | ||
| Sharaf ol-Ma'ali | Anushiravan | ? | son ofManuchehr | 1030–1050 | 1050 | |||
| Onsor ol-Ma'ali | Keikavus | ? | son of Eskandar son ofQabus | 1050-1087 | 1087 | |||
| Gilanshah | ? | son ofKeykavous | 1087-1090 | 1090 | ||||
| Vardanshah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ziyar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mardavij 930–935 | Vushmgir 935–967 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Farhad | Bisutun 967–977 | Qabus 977–1012 | Salar | Langar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manuchihr 1012–1031 | Dara | Iskandar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anushirvan 1030–1050 | Keikavus 1050–1087 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gilanshah 1087–1090 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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