BUWAIHID DYNASTY

Introduction

·      Dynasty in Iran, related to Daylamids.

·      Ruling Period: 322-447 (Hijri)

·      They also ruled Baghdad, Kerman, Mosul, Hamadan, Thwabristhan, Persia...etc.

·      Founder: Ahmad Bin Buwaih (Muizzuddaula)

·      Languages: Persian (Official), Daylami, Arabic

·      Religions: Islam (Shiya, most of the people believed. Sunni, Mu'tazila Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism also.

Emergence

Shuja'a Buwaihi, the commander of Daylamids who conquered many provinces and was appointed at many positions, had three sons. Ali, Hasan and Ahmad. Ali conquered Fars and started ruling there making Shiraz his capital and received the title of 'Imaduddaula' while his younger brother Hasan conquered and became the ruler of Jibal making Rayy capital and was known as 'Ruknuddaula'. The younger brother Ahmad conquered Iraq and began to rule it with Baghdad as capital. He was titled 'Muizzuddaula'. As he ruled Baghdad, he was concerned as 'Ameerul Umara'. Because, Baghdad was most important province. Even though, Imaduddaula had the great influence in Buwaihid dynasty and was the beginner of the dynasty.

Major Rulers

1.   Ahmad Bin Buwaih (Muizzuddaula)

·   At first, he served Makan ibn Kaki, military leader of Daylamids.  But, he revolted against him.

·   He conquered Baghdad in 945 and became' Ameerul Umara' of the Buwaihid dynasty.

·   He battled for the total control over Baghdad victoriously against Hamadanid Ameer Nasiruddaula twice in 946 and 964 for several months and Batihah Amirate without a decisive victory. He also faced rebellion from Ruzbahan for two years along with the wars against minor rulers like Ikhshidids.

·   Before his death in 967, he could become unchallenged ruler of Iraq.

·   His son Izzuddaula (Bakhthiyar) started ruling Iraq after him. At the time, Adududdaula, son of Ruknuddaula, claimed the emirate of Iraq from Izzuddaula after he helped him from a rebellion of Sebük-Tegin. But, his father restored Izzuddaula as the ruler of Iraq.

2.   Adududdaula (Fanna Khusraw)

·   After the death of Imaduddaula in 358 (H), Adududdaula conquered Izzuddaula and proclaimed himself as 'Ameerul Umara' and 'Shahanshah' which meant

·   He was the most powerful ruler of the dynasty. He ruled over the period from 949 to 983.

·   Soon after his enthroning, he banned public demonstrations and polemics to restore peace in Baghdad and saved Shiya scholars and shrines.

Military Campaigns in His Reign

·   In 967, Adud al-Dawla conquered Ilyasid ruler Muhammad ibn Ilyas of Kerman, and appointed his son Shirdil Abu'l-Fawaris as the viceroy of the province, while a Daylamite officer named Kurkir ibn Justan was appointed as the chief captain of the army of Kerman.

·   He made peace negotiations with Saffarid ruler Khalaf Bin Ahmad and the Byzantines later in 981.

·   Many tribes in Iran accepted Islam during his campaigns.

·   He also defeated Muhammad Bin Makan of Daylamids in 966 and Sulaiman bin Ilyas of Ilyasid dynasty in 970 and continued marching through Hormuz.

·   In 976, Izzuddaula allied with Fakhruddaula and Abu Taghlib, ruler of Hamadanids to defeat Adududdaula. And he marched to Adududdaula's regions and Izzuddaula was defeated by him near Samarra.

·   Then he conquered Mosul, capital of Hamadanids and the territories under Bedouins and Kurds.

·   Bisutun, Ziyarid ruler who had married Adududdaula's daughter, died at the same period. In the clash between Bisutun's son and his brother Qabus, Adud sent an army to support Qabus against Dubaj ibn Bani, governer of Thwabristhan who opposed Qabus. Qabus was titled as Shams al-Ma'ali.

·   In 979, he invaded the territories of his brother Fakhruddaula and helped Muayyaduddaula to conquer Thwabaristhan and Gorgan from Qabus who gave refugee to Fakhruddaula.

Contributions

·   He built many caravanserais and public buildings, like the largest public hospital at the time, named Al-Adudi Hospital which was later destroyed by Mongols, where prominent figures like Ali Bin Al-Abbas Al-Majusi and Ibn Marzuban worked.

·   Constructed dams like the greatest one named 'Bande Ameer' between Shiraz and Estakhir which irrigated about 300 villages in Fars and was constructed in 960.

·   He dug Haffar channel which connected Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

·   The palace with 360 rooms and wind towers for air conditioning system.

·   When the population in Shiraz increased he built a satellite city Kardi Fanna Khusraw near the city for his army.

·   There were two annual festivals in the city. The first to commemorate the day when the water pipe reached the city and the second to recall the date of the founding of the city. Both were celebrated on the Iranian annual day.

Ø He was dead in 984 and buried in Najaf.

After Adududdaula, the dynasty was divided into three independent provinces. Among the rulers in three provinces, most were unstable and not considered as important to be described here.