Mazyar

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Mazyar (Persian: مازیار‎) was an Iranian aristocrat of the House of Karen and feudal ruler of the mountainous region of Tabaristan (present-day Mazandaran, Iran). For his resistance to the Baghdad Caliphate, Maziar is considered one of the national heroes of Greater Iran by twentieth-century Iranian nationalist historiography, who have recast his struggle as one against Arab invaders.

Association with Babek and Afshin

Mazyar, a devout Zoroastrian, revolted against the Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th century CE. His revolt began in 839 AD during the rule of Al-Mu'tasim. Along with Babak Khorramdin, he repulsed many armies sent against him.

According to the medieval historian Ibn Isfandiyar in his Tarikh-e-Tabaristan, Mazyar is said to have proclaimed:

“ Khaydār ibn Kāvūs Afshīn, the son of Kāvūs, Babak Khorramdin, and I had made an oath and allegiance that we take the country back from the Arabs and transfer the government and the country back to the family of Kasraviyan.[1] ”

Mazyar was eventually betrayed by his brother Quhyar and captured by the Caliph's forces. He was imprisoned in Baghdad awaiting execution when he drank poison and ended his life in order to avoid humiliation at the hands of the Caliph's executioners.

Mazyar or Mah-Izad-Yar means "protected by the yazata of the moon".

See also

References

  1. ↑ Said Nafisi, Babak Khorramdin Delawar-e-Azerbaijan (Babak Khorramdin, the brave heat of Azerbaijan), Tabesh Publishers, Tehran 1955, pg 57, actual quote from Ibn Esanfiyar من (مازیار) و افشين خيدر بن کاوس و بابک هر سه از دير باز عهد و بيعت کرده ايم و قرار داده بر آن که دولت از عرب بازستانيم و ملک و جهانداري با خاندان کسرويان نقل کنيم»

Bibliography

  • Madelung, W. (1975). "The Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran". In Frye, R.N. The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 198–249. ISBN 978-0-521-20093-6. 
  • Rekaya, M. (1997). "Ḳārinids". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume IV: Iran–Kha. Leiden and New York: BRILL. pp. 644–647. ISBN 90-04-05745-5. 
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