Tahirid dynasty

Tahirid Dynasty
طاهریان
Part of Abbasid Caliphate (821–822)
821–873
Provinces governed by the Tahirids.
Capital		Merv, later Nishapur
Languages		Persian(Informal)[1] Arabic(Literature/Poetry/Science)[2]
Religion		Sunni Islam
Government		Emirate
Amir
•	821	Tahir ibn Husayn
Historical era		Medieval
•	Established	821
•	Disestablished	873
Preceded by Succeeded by Abbasid Caliphate Saffarid Empire

The Tahirid dynasty (Persian: طاهریان‎‎) was a dynasty, of Persian^[3] dihqan^[4] origin, that governed the Abbasid province of Khorasan from 821 to 873, and the city of Baghdad from 820 until 891. The dynasty was founded by Tahir ibn Husayn, a leading general in the service of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun. Their capital in Khorasan was initially located at Merv, but later moved to Nishapur. The Tahirids enjoyed a high degree of autonomy in their governance of Khorasan, although they remained subject to the Abbasid caliphate and were not independent rulers.^[3]

Governors of Khorasan

Rise

The founder of the Tahirid dynasty was Tahir ibn Husayn, a general who had played a major role in the civil war between the rival caliphs al-Amin and al-Ma'mun. He and his ancestors had previously been awarded minor governorships in eastern Khorasan for their service to the Abbasids.^[3] In 821, Tahir was made governor of Khorasan, but he died soon afterwards. The caliph then appointed Tahir's son, Talha, whose governorship lasted from 822–828.^[5] Tahir's other son, Abdullah, was instated as the wali of Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, and when Talha died in 828 he was given the governorship of Khorasan. Abdullah is considered one of the greatest of the Tahirid rulers,^[5] as his reign witnessed a flourishing of agriculture in his native land of Khorasan, popularity among the populations of the eastern lands of the Abbasid caliphate and extending influence due to his experience with the western parts of the caliphate.^[6]

The replacement of the Pahlavi script with the Arabic script in order to write the Persian language was done by the Tahirids in 9th century Khurasan.^[7][8]

Fall

Abdullah died in 845 and was succeeded by his son Tahir II. Not much is known of Tahir's rule, but the administrative dependency of Sistan was lost to rebels during his governorship. Tahirid rule began to seriously deteriorate after Tahir's son Muhammad ibn Tahir became governor, due to his carelessness with the affairs of the state and lack of experience with politics. Oppressive policies in Tabaristan, another dependency of Khorasan, resulted in the people of that province revolting and declaring their allegiance to the independent Zaydi ruler Hasan ibn Zayd in 864.^[5] In Khorasan itself, Muhammad's rule continued to grow increasingly weak, and in 873 he was finally overthrown by the Saffarid dynasty, who annexed Khorasan to their own empire in eastern Persia.^[9]

Governors of Baghdad

Besides their hold over Khorasan, the Tahirids also served as the military governors (ashab al-shurta) of Baghdad, beginning with Tahir's appointment to that position in 820. After he left for Khorasan, the governorship of Baghdad was given to a member of a collateral branch of the family, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, who controlled the city for over twenty-five years.^[10] During Ishaq's term as governor, he was responsible for implementing the Mihna (inquisition) in Baghdad.^[11] His administration also witnessed the departure of the caliphs from Baghdad, as they made the recently constructed city of Samarra their new capital.^[12] When Ishaq died in 849 he was succeeded first by two of his sons, and then in 851 by Tahir's grandson Muhammad ibn Abdallah.^[10]

Abdallah played a major role in the events of the "Anarchy at Samarra" in the 860s, giving refuge to the caliph al-Musta'in and commanding the defense of Baghdad when it was besieged by the forces of the rival caliph al-Mu'tazz in 865. The following year, he forced al-Musta'in to abdicate and recognized al-Mu'tazz as caliph, and in exchange was allowed to retain his control over Baghdad.^[13] Violent riots plagued Baghdad during the last years of Abdallah's life, and conditions in the city remained tumultuous after he died and was succeeded by his brothers, first Ubaydallah and then Sulayman.^[14] Eventually order was restored in Baghdad, and the Tahirids continued to serve as governors of the city for another two decades. In 891, however, Badr al-Mu'tadidi was put in charge of the security of Baghdad in place of the Tahirids,^[10] and the family soon lost their prominence within the caliphate after that.^[5]

Members of the Tahirid dynasty

Map of Tahirid Khurasan

Governor[10][15]	Term
Governors of Khurasan
Tahir ibn Husayn	821-822
Talha ibn Tahir	822-828
Abdallah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani	828-845
Tahir (II) ibn Abdallah	845-862
Muhammad ibn Tahir (II)	862-873
Governors of Baghdad
Tahir ibn Husayn	820-822
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Mus'abi	822-850
Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim	850-851
Abdallah ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim	851
Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir	851-867
Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir	867-869
Sulayman ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir	869-879
Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah (again)	879-885
Muhammad ibn Tahir (II)	885-890
Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah (again)	890-891

Family tree

Bold denotes a Tahirid that served as governor of Khorasan; italics denotes an individual who served as governor of Baghdad.^[16]

Mos'eb

Husayn

Tahir I 821–822

Ibrahim

Talha 822–828

Abdallah 828–845

Ishaq

Tahir II 845–862

Muhammad

Ubaydallah

Sulayman

Muhammad

Abdullah

Muhammad 862–872

References

1. Introduction:the Turko-Persian tradition, Robert L. Canfield, Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective, ed. Robert Leroy Canfield, (Cambridge University Press, 1991), 6.
2. Language situation and scripts: Arabic, S. Blair, History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. IV, ed. C.E. Bosworth and M.S. Asimov, (Motilal Banarsidass, 2003), 340.
3. The Tahirids and Saffarids, C.E. Bosworth, The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 4, ed. Richard Nelson Frye, (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 90-91.
4. Sectarian and national movements in Iran, Khurasan and Transoxanial during Umayyad in early Abbasid times, F. Daftary, History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. IV, 57.
5. Tahirids, C.E. Bosworth, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. X, ed. P. J. Bearman, T. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs, (Brill, 2000), 104-105.
6. Hammuda, Abdul Hamid, H. The History of Independent Islamic States:Tarikh Adduwal Al-Islamiyyah Al-Mustaqillah, al-Dar al-Thaqafiyyah lil-Nashr, Cairo, 2010, p.30-40
7. Ira M. Lapidus (29 October 2012). Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History. Cambridge University Press. pp. 256–. ISBN 978-0-521-51441-5.
8. Ira M. Lapidus (22 August 2002). A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press. pp. 127–. ISBN 978-0-521-77933-3.
9. see Hammuda
10. Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1996), The New Islamic Dynasties, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), 168-9.
11. Turner, John P., "Ishaq ibn Ibrahim," in Medieval Islamic Civilization, Volume 1, Ed. Josef W. Meri (Routledge 2006), p. 402.
12. Gordon, Matthew S. (2001), The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra (A.H. 200-275/815-889 C.E.), Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, p. 47 ff.
13. Kennedy, Hugh (2001), The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State, London: Routledge, pp. 135-9.
14. Yar-Shater, Ehsan, ed. (1985-2007), The History of al-Tabari, Vols. 1-40, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, v. XXXV p. 124 ff.; v. XXXVI pp. 3-5, 13 ff.
15. Yar-Shater, Ehsan, ed. (1985-2007), The History of al-Tabari, Vols. 1-40, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, v. XXXIV pp. 105, 108, 110, 116; v. XXXVII pp. 147, 160
16. Kraemer, Joel L (1989), Foreword, in Ehsan Yar-Shater (Ed.), The History of al-Tabari, Volume XXXIV: Incipient Decline, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, p. xxviii.

See also

• Iranian Intermezzo
• List of Muslims
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties