Sajids

History of Greater Iran
until the rise of modern nation-states
Pre-modern

The Sajid dynasty was an Islamic dynasty that ruled the Iranian region of Azerbaijan from 889-890 until 929. The Sajids originated from the Central Asian province of Ushrusana and were of Iranian(Sogdians)[1][2][3] descent. Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Diwdad the son of Diwdad, the first Sajid ruler of Azerbaijan, was appointed as its ruler in 889 or 890. Muhammad's father Abi'l-Saj Devdad had fought under the Ushrusanan prince Afshin Khaydar during the latter's final campaign against the rebel Babak Khorramdin in Azerbaijan, and later served the caliphs. Toward the end of the 9th century, as the central authority of the Abbasid Caliphate weakened, Muhammad was able to form a virtually independent state. Much of the Sajids' energies were spent in attempting to take control of neighboring Armenia. The dynasty ended with the death of Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath in 929.

Contents

Chronology

See also

References

  1. ^ Clifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996. pg 147: "The Sajids were a line of caliphal governors in north-western persia, the family of a commander in the 'Abbasid service of Soghdian descent which became culturally Arabised."
  2. ^ V. Minorsky, Studies in Caucasian history, Cambridge University Press, 1957. pg 111
  3. ^ C. E. Bosworth, "AZERBAIJAN iv. Islamic History to 1941" in Encyclopaedia Iranica. [1](accessed November 2010). Quote: "In ca. 279/892 the caliph Moʿtażed appointed one of his generals, Moḥammad b. Abi’l-Sāj, an Iranian from Central Asia, as governor of Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the family of the Sajids "

Literature