Rawadid Emirate of Adharbayjan | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900–1070/1116 | |||||||||||
 Rawadids in the 11th and 12th centuries | |||||||||||
| Capital | Tabriz | ||||||||||
| Other languages | New Persian (court, literature)[1][2] Adhari (local)[3] | ||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||
| Government | Emirate | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | 900 | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1070/1116 | ||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||
• Total | 250.000 km2 (96.526 sq mi) | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Rawwadid,Ravvadid (alsoRevend orRevendi), orBanū Rawwād (Arabic:بنو رَوّاد) (900–1071)[4] was aSunni MuslimKurdish[1][5] dynasty, centered in the northwestern region of Adharbayjan (Azerbaijan) between the late 8th and early 13th centuries.[1]
Originally ofArab descent and later Kurdified,[6] or of fullKurdish descent. The Rawadids ruledTabriz and northeastern Adharbayjan in the late 8th and early 9th centuries.[1] In the second half of the 10th century and much of the 11th century, these descendants controlled much of Adharbayjan as well as parts ofArmenia.[1]
Several scholars (Bosworth, Kasravi, W. Madelung, D.McDowall) claim that the origin of the Rawadid dynasty was connected to the name of the tribal leader Rawad ibn Muthanna (ca. 200/815), who was the governor ofTabrīz,[7] whilstHugh Kennedy suggest mystery around their origins and not a clear connection to Banu Rawwad and suggest their origins plausibly being linked to RawaddisHadhabani Kurds.[8]
The majority scholars hold that Rawadids were originally ofAzdi Arab ancestry, arriving in the region in the mid 8th century, but they had becomeKurdicized by the late 10th century (Kasravi, Bosworth, W. Madelung, J. Boris) and began to useKurdish forms likeMamlan for Muhammad andAhmadil for Ahmad as their names. The local poetQatran Tabrizi (d. c. 465/1072), praised them for their Arab ancestry.[9][1][10][11][12][13] Rawwadid rulerWahsudan bin Mamlan also acknowledged his mixed Arab and Iranian descent[14][15]
According toKasravi, Rawadids conquered the lands of theMusafirid rulerIbrahim I ibn Marzuban I, in Adharbayjan in 979.Abu Mansur Wahsudan (1019-1054) is the best known Rawwadid ruler, and he is mentioned byIbn Athir. According toAhmad Kasravi, sixty panegyricqasidas of the poetQatran Tabrizi (11th century) dedicated to Wahsudan have been preserved. After the Oghuz revolt againstMahmud Ghaznavi (998-1030) in Khorasan in 1028, about 2,000 Oghuz families fled to the West. Wahsudan protected and allowed some of them to settle in the territory of the Rawwadis.[16][17] He gave them land and made them vassals, intending to use them in the wars against theByzantine Empire.[18] The regions ofTabriz,Maragha and the strongholds ofSahand mountain were in his possession. In 1029, he helped theHadhbani Kurds in Maragha to defeat the invadingOghuz Turkish tribes.
According to Ibn Athir, Wahsudan formed a marriage alliance with the first group of Oghuz Turks reached Adharbayjan to act against his enemies. This alliance stimulated animosity of theShaddadid ruler Abu’l-Ḥasan Laškari. Another group of Turks arrived in Adharbayjan in 1037–1038. After they looted Maragha, Wahsudan and his nephew Abu’l-Hayjā put aside their problems and joined forces against the Ghuzz Turks. Turks were dispelled toRayy,Isfahan, andHamadan. A group of Turks remained inUrmiya. Wahsudan invited their leaders to a dinner and slaughtered them in 1040–1041.[1]
Qatran mentioned about several battles between Wahsudan and a group of a Ghuzz reached Adharbayjan in 1041–1042. An intense battle in the desert of Sarāb resulted in the Rawwadids’ defeat on the Turks.[1]
After banishing the Oghuz, Wahsudan improved relations with Shaddadids and travelled in person toGanja, center of Shaddadids.[1]
Wahsudan also sent an expedition toArdabil under the command of his sonMamlan II. The ruler (sipahbod) of Moghan had to submit to the conqueror. Mamlan also built a fortress in Ardabil.[19]
A devastating earthquake in 1042-1043 destroyed much of Tabriz, its walls, houses, markets, and much of the Ravvadis' palace. Although Ibn al-'Asir said that 50,000 people died in Tabriz, Nasir Khosrow, who passed through Tabriz four years later gave the number of dead 40,000 and stated that the city was prospering at the times of his visit. Wahsudan himself was saved because he was in a garden outside the city.[20]
TheSeljuks underTughril conquered the principality in 1054 CE, and he defeated the prince of TabrizWahsudan ibn Mamlan and brought his son Abu Nasr Mamlan.[21] In 1071, whenAlp Arslan returned from his campaign against theByzantine Empire, he deposed Mamlan.[1] Wahsudan's successor,Ahmad bin Wahsudan, lord ofMaragha, took part inMalik Shah's campaign againstSyria in 1110 CE.[22] His full title wasAhmadil bin Ibrahim bin Wahsudan al-Rawwadi al-Kurdi.[23]Ahmadil fought again thecrusaders during theFirst Crusade.Joscelin made a peace treaty with him during the siege ofTell Bashir (in present-day southern Turkey, south-east ofGaziantep). He was stabbed to death by theIsmaili assassins in 1117 inBaghdad. His descendants continued to rule Maragha andTabriz as Atabakane Maragha until theMongol invasion in 1227.[24][25]
Imamzadeh Chaharmanar inTabriz, is the burial place of Rawadid Rulers:
the local poet Qatran ( d . c . 465/1072 ) still praised them for their Arab ancestry .
Rawadid tribe, which moved into Kurdistan at the beginning of the Abbasid era (750 CE), was considered to be Kurdish within 200 years, although its Arab origin was well known.
Rawwadid ruler Vahsudān b. Mamlān notes his mixed Arab and Iranian (Ar. ʿajam; q.v.) descent (Kasravi, p. 155)
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