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Contents

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
Faravahar background

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

Buyid dynasty, also known as the Buyid Empire[1] or the Buyids (Persian: آل بویه Āl-e Buye, Caspian: Bowyiyün), 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-1000s, 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

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

To the Ghaznavids.

Daylamids of Iraq

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

To the Buyids of Fars.

Buyids of Hamadan

To the Kakuyids.

Buyids of Kerman

To the Buyids of Fars.

Buyids of Khuzistan

To the Buyids of Fars.

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. ^ a b 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

   
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