Buyid dynasty

آل بویه Āl-e Buye Buyid Empire ← 934–1055 → The Buyid dynasty (light blue) in 970 Capital Shirāz Language(s) Persian Religion Shī‘ah Islam Government Hereditary monarchy Emir/Shāhanshāh  - 934-949 'Imad al-Daula  - 1048-1055 Al-Malik al-Rahim Historical era Middle Ages  - Established 934  - 'Imad al-Daula proclaimed himself Emir  - 'Adud al-Daula proclaimed himself Shāhanshāh  - Disestablished 1055

History of Iran see also Kings of Persia · Timeline of Iran BCE Prehistory Proto-Elamite period 3200–2800 Elamite dynasty 2800–550 Kassites 16th–12th cent. Mannaeans 10th–7th cent. Median Empire 728–550 Achaemenid Empire 550–330 Seleucid Empire 330–150 Parthian Empire 248–CE 226 CE Sassanid Empire 226–651 Islamic conquest 637–651 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258 Tahirid dynasty 821–873 Alavid dynasty 864–928 Sajid dynasty 889/890–929 Saffarid dynasty 861–1003 Samanid dynasty 875–999 Ziyarid dynasty 928–1043 Buyid dynasty 934–1062 Sallarid 942–979 Ma'munids 995-1017 Ghaznavid Empire 963–1187 Ghori dynasty 1149–1212 Seljuq dynasty 1037–1194 Khwarezmid dynasty 1077–1231 Ilkhanate 1256–1353 Muzaffarid dynasty 1314–1393 Chupanid dynasty 1337–1357 Sarbadars 1337–1376 Jalayerid dynasty 1339–1432 Timurid dynasty 1370–1506 Qara Qoyunlu 1407–1468 Aq Qoyunlu 1378–1508 Safavid dynasty 1501–1722/36 Hotaki dynasty 1722–1729 Afsharid dynasty 1736–1750 Zand dynasty 1750–1794 Qajar dynasty 1781–1925 Pahlavi dynasty 1925–1979 Interim Government 1979–1980 Islamic Republic since 1980 edit

Buyid dynasty, also known as the Buyid Empire^[1] or the Buyids (Persian: آل بویه Āl-e Buye), also known as Buwaihids, Buyahids, or Buyyids, were a Shī‘ah Persian^{[2][3][4][5][6]} dynasty that originated from Daylaman in Gilan.^[7] They founded a confederation that controlled most of modern-day Iran and Iraq in the 10th and 11th centuries.

History

The Vakeel Bazaar of Shirāz was originally built during the Būyid era, possibly during the rule of 'Adud al-Daula.

The founders of the Būyid confederation were ‘Alī ibn Būyah and his two younger brothers, al-Hassan and Aḥmad. Originally a soldier in the service of the Ziyārīds of Ṭabaristān, ‘Alī was able to recruit an army to defeat a Turkish general from Baghdad named Yāqūt in 934. Over the next nine years the three brothers gained control of the remainder of the 'Abbāsid Caliphate. While they accepted the titular authority of the caliph in Baghdad, the Būyid rulers assumed effective control of the state.

The first several decades of the Būyid confederation were characterized by large territorial gains. In addition to Fars and Jibal, which were conquered in the 930s, and central Iraq, which submitted in 945, the Būyids took Kermān (967), Oman (967), the Jazīra (979), Ṭabaristān (980), and Gurgān (981). After this, however, the Būyids went into a slow decline, with pieces of the confederation gradually breaking off and local dynasties under their rule becoming de facto independent.^[8]

The approximate century of Būyid rule, coupled with the rise of other Iranian dynasties in the region, represents a period in Iranian history sometimes called the 'Iranian Intermezzo' since it was an interlude between the rule of the 'Abbāsid Arabs and the Saljuq Turks^[9]. Indeed, as Dailamite Iranians the Būyids consciously revived symbols and practices of Persia's Sassānid dynasty.^[10] In fact, beginning with 'Adud al-Daula they used the ancient Sassānid title Shāhanshāh (Persian: شاهنشاه), literally king of kings.^[11][12]

The Buyid confederation was split between and governed by multiple members of the dynasty. They nominally recognized the suzerainty of caliphs of Baghdad, who in reality had no temporal power within the state. The title used by the Buyid rulers was amīr, meaning governor or prince. Generally one of the amīrs would be recognized as having seniority over the others; this individual would use the title of amīr al-umarā'^[12], or senior amīr. Although the senior amīr was the formal head of the Būyids, he did not usually have any significant control outside of his own personal amirate; each amir enjoyed a high degree of autonomy within his own territories. As mentioned above, some of the stronger amīrs used the Sassānid title of Shāhanshāh. Succession of power was hereditary, with fathers dividing their land among their sons.

Iranian Būyid Daylaman soldier.

The Būyid army consisted of their fellow Dailamite Iranians, who served as foot soldiers, and of the Turkish cavalry that had played a prominent role in the 'Abbāsid military. The Dailamites and Turks often quarreled with each other in an attempt to be the dominant force within the army.^[13] To compensate their soldiers the Būyid amīrs often distributed iqtā's, or the rights to a percentage of tax revenues from a province, although the practice of payment in kind was also frequently used^[14].

Like most Daylamites at the time, the Būyids were originally Zaydī or Fiver Shī'as. After taking power in Iran and Iraq, however, they began to lean closer to Twelver Shī'ism, possibly due to political considerations^[15]. In fact, the Būyids rarely attempted to enforce a particular religious view upon their subjects except when in matters where it would be politically expedient. The Sunnī 'Abbāsids retained the caliphate, although they were deprived of all secular power. In addition, in order to prevent tensions between the Shī'a and Sunni from spreading to government agencies, the Būyid amirs occasionally appointed Christians to high offices instead of Muslims from either sect.^[16]

The Fall

During the mid-11th century, the Buyid amirates gradually fell to the Ghaznavid and Saljuq Turks. In 1055, Tughrul conquered Baghdad, the seat of the caliphate, and ousted the last of the Buyid rulers. Like the Buyids, the Seljuks kept the Abbasid caliphate as the titular ruler.^[17]

Buyid Rulers

Major Rulers

Generally, the three most powerful Buyid amirs at any given time were those in control of Fars, Jibal and Iraq. Sometimes a ruler would come to rule more than one region, but no Buyid rulers ever exercised direct control of all three regions. Daylamids of Fars

• Ali b. Buya ('Imad ad-Dawla) 934-949
• Fana Khusraw ('Adud ad-Dawla) 949-983
• Shirzil b. Fana Khusraw (Sharaf ad-Dawla) 983-989
• Marzuban b. Fana Khusraw (Samsam ad-Dawla) 989-998
• Firuz b. Fana Khusraw (Baha' ad-Dawla) 998-1012
• Abu Shuja' b. Firuz (Sultan ad-Dawla) 1012-1024
• Abu Kalijar Marzuban b. Abu Shuja' (Imad al-Din) 1024-1048
• Abu Mansur Fulad Sutun 1048-1062

Power in Fars seized by the Shabankara Kurdish Chief Fadluya

Buyid era art: Painted, incised, and glazed earthenware. Dated 10th century, Iran. New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Daylamids of Rey

• Rukn ad-Dawla 935-976
• Fakhr ad-Dawla 976-980
• Mu'ayyed ad-Dawla 980-983
• Fakhr ad-Dawla (restored) 984-997
• Majd ad-Dawla 997-1029

To the Ghaznavids.

Daylamids of Iraq

• Mu'izz ad-Dawla 945-967
• 'Izz ad-Dawla 966-978
• 'Adud ad-Dawla 978-983
• Samsam ad-Dawla 983-987
• Sharaf ad-Dawla 987-989
• Baha' ad-Dawla 989-1012
• Sultan ad-Dawla 1012-1021
• Musharrif ad-Dawla 1021-1025
• Jalal ad-Dawla 1025-1044
• Abu Kalijar 1044-1048
• al-Malik ar-Rahim 1048-1055

To the Seljuks.

Minor Rulers

It was not uncommon for younger sons to found collateral lines, or for individual Buyid members to take control of a province and begin ruling there. Note: the following list is incomplete.

Buyids of Basra

• Diya' al-Daula 980s

To the Buyids of Fars.

Buyids of Hamadan

• Mu'ayyad al-Daula 976-983
• Shams al-Daula 997-1021
• Sama' al-Daula 1021-1024

To the Kakuyids.

Buyids of Kerman

• Qawam al-Daula 1012-1028

To the Buyids of Fars.

Buyids of Khuzistan

• Taj al-Daula 980s

To the Buyids of Fars.

Family tree

See also

• Full list of Iranian Kingdoms
• Persian Empire
• List of Shi'a Muslims dynasties

[6] The Buyid Domination as the Historical Background for the Flourishing of Muslim Scholarship During the 4th/10th Century by Dr. M. Ismail Marcinkowski*

References

1. ↑ A)Busse, Heribert (1975), "Iran Under the Buyids", in Frye, R. N., The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs., Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 270: "Aleppo remained a buffer between the Buyid empire and Byzantium". B) Joseph Reese Strayer (1985), "Dictionary of the Middle Ages", Published by Scribner, 1985.
2. ↑ [1]
3. ↑ Encyclopedia Iranica: DEYLAMITES
4. ↑ Clifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996. pg 154-155.
5. ↑ "Buyid Dynasty." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 25 Jan. 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9018373>
6. ↑ JAN RYPKA. History of Iranian Literature. Dordrecht: D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1968. pg 146
7. ↑ Iranica,Encyclopedia Iranica: BUYIDS:Their father, a certain Būya b. Fannā (Panāh) Ḵosrow was a humble fisher­man from Daylam in Gīlān.
8. ↑ Examples of the former include the loss of Mosul in 990, and the loss of Ṭabaristān and Gurgān in 997. An example of the latter is the Kakūyid dynasty of Isfahān, whose fortunes rose with the decline of the Būyids of northern Iran.
9. ↑ Blair, Sheila (1992), The Monumental Inscriptions From Early Islamic Iran and Transoxiana., Leiden: E.J. Brill, ISBN 9004093672 
10. ↑ Arthur Goldschmidt, "A Concise History of the Middle East: Seventh Edition ", Westview Press, 2001. pg 87.
11. ↑ Clawson, Patrick; Rubin, Michael (2005), Eternal Iran: continuity and chaos, Middle East in Focus (1st ed.), New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 19, ISBN 1403962766 
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} Mafizullah, Kabir (1964), The Buwayhid dynasty of Baghdad, 334/946-447/1055, Calcutta: Iran Society 
13. ↑ Busse, Heribert (1975), "Iran Under the Buyids", in Frye, R. N., The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs., Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 265, 298, ISBN 0521200938 
14. ↑ Sourdel-Thomine, J. "Buwayhids." The Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume I. New Ed. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960. p. 1353.
15. ↑ Berkey, Jonathan Porter. The Formation of Islam London: Cambridge University Press, 2003. ISBN 0521588138. p. 135
16. ↑ Heribert, pp. 287-8
17. ↑ Bernard Lewis, The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years, (New York: Scribner, 1995) p. 89.

Another excellent discussion of the Buyids is Harvard professor Roy Mottahedeh's Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society

External links

• Encyclopedia Iranica "Buyids" Tilman Nagel
• Encyclopedia Iranica: DEYLAMITES
• [2] The Buyid Domination as the Historical Background for the Flourishing of Muslim Scholarship During the 4th/10th Century by Dr. M. Ismail Marcinkowski