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39-703: The Tahirids, however, were not an independent dynasty—according to Hugh Kennedy: "The Tahirids are sometimes considered as the first independent Iranian dynasty, but such a view is misleading. The arrangement was effectively a partnership between the Abbasids and the Tahirids." Indeed, the Tahirids were loyal to the Abbasid caliphs and in return enjoyed considerable autonomy; they were in effect viceroys representing Abbasid rule in Persia. The tax revenue from Khorasan sent to

78-416: A book about poems and poets ( Kitab al-ishara fi akhbar al-shi'r ), a treatise on government ( Risala fi al-siyasa al-mulukiyya ), a collection of letters sent to him by the Abbasid prince and poet Ibn al-Mu'tazz , a book on melody and the background behind the composition of well-known songs ( Kitab al-adab al-rafi'a ), and a work on rhetoric ( Kitab al-bara'a wa al-fasaha ). His poetry was also organized into

117-552: A leading part in the renaissance of Persian literature . Centuries later, both 'Aufi and Daulatshah wrote the Tahirids were hostile to Persian literature. 'Abd-Allah b. Tahir ordered the Persian novel Vamiq-u Adhra "The Ardent Lover and the Virgin" (based on a Hellenistic novel) and other Persian and Zoroastrian works destroyed, according to Daulatshah. However, according to the historian Shivan Mahendrarajah, in reference to

156-604: A military capacity under his brother Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir , who as governor commanded the overall defense against the besiegers. At the end of the war, he was responsible for transferring the signet, cloak and scepter of the defeated caliph al-Musta'in (r. 862–866) to the victor al-Mu'tazz (r. 866–869). Upon Muhammad's death in November 867, Ubaydallah assumed the governorship of Baghdad as his brother's designated successor, and he quickly received formal confirmation from al-Mu'tazz. During his first term as governor, he

195-465: A musician he was known to have composed several melodies for prominent signers of the time, although he was too proud to openly take credit for his pieces and attributed them to a singing girl that he owned instead. He also enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the poet Ibn al-Rumi , and was one of the largest dedicatees of the latter's poetry. Ubaydallah was the author of several works, although they are now believed to be lost. Among his writings were

234-546: A poet, who had humiliated him about his lost eye in a poem. The caliph Harun al-Rashid later died in 809, and was succeeded by his son al-Amin . In 810, the caliph al-Amin , and his brother, Al-Ma'mun , came in conflict which each others, which later led to a civil war; in January 811, al-Amin formally began the Great Abbasid Civil War when he appointed Ali ibn Isa as governor of Khurasan, placed him at

273-456: A rapprochement between the central government and 'Amr, but in 891 the Abbasid prince Abu al-Abbas ibn al-Muwaffaq (the future caliph al-Mu'tadid, r. 892–902) appointed his own page Badr al-Mu'tadidi to that position instead. During the reign of al-Mu'tadid Ubaydallah fell into a period of hardship, and in his last years he relied on financial assistance from prominent individuals such as al-Muktafi , Ibn al-Mu'tazz , and Ahmad and Ali of

312-577: The Banu Shayban of Jazira and the Banu Qays of Syria. The veteran Abd al-Malik ibn Salih was sent to Syria to mobilize its troops along with Ali ibn Isa's son, Husayn. However, al-Amin's efforts failed due to the long-standing intertribal divisions between Qaysis and Kalbis , the Syrians' reluctance to get involved in the civil war, as well as the unwillingness of the abna′ to cooperate with

351-673: The Banu'l-Furat . He died in Baghdad in May 913. Aside from his political career, 'Ubdaydallah was renowned for his extensive cultural patronage and expertise, leading the historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth to call him "the most celebrated of his family in the literary and artistic fields." He was considered to be proficient in adab literature, poetry, grammar, history, geometry, and music, and his skills in these fields were praised by authors such as Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani and al-Shabushti . As

390-472: The Mihna (inquisition) in Baghdad. His administration also witnessed the departure of the caliphs from Baghdad, as they made the recently constructed city of Samarra their new capital. 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 . Abdallah played a major role in the events of the " Anarchy at Samarra " in the 860s, giving refuge to

429-573: The Muhallabid governor Muhammad ibn Yazid , whereupon the Muhallabids of Basra surrendered to him. Tahir also took Kufa and al-Mada'in , advancing on Baghdad from the west while Harthama closed in from the east. At the same time, al-Amin's authority crumbled as supporters of al-Ma'mun took control of Mosul , Egypt and the Hejaz , while most of Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan fell under

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468-791: The Perso-Arabic script , referring to this as "an ingenious Iranian adaption that allowed them to retain the heritage and charm of the Persian language". The Tahirids claimed descent from Rustam , the mythological Iranian hero. The art historian Sheila Blair explains that the Tahirids may well have added Persian inscriptions to their (now non-extant) buildings. Bold denotes a Tahirid that served as governor of Khorasan; italics denotes an individual who served as governor of Baghdad. Tahir ibn Husayn Ṭāhir ibn Ḥusayn , ( Arabic : طاهر بن الحسين , Tahir bin al-Husayn ), also known as Dhul-Yamīnayn ( Arabic : ذو اليمينين , "the ambidextrous"), and al-Aʿwar ( Arabic : الأعور , "the one-eyed"),

507-543: The Abbasids. In 821, Tahir was made governor of Khorasan , but he died soon afterwards. The caliph then appointed Tahir's son, Talha, governor of Khorasan. Talha was unsuccessful in removing the Kharijites from Sistan, and following the death of the Kharijite leader, Hamza b. Adarak (d.828), the Tahirids occupied Zarang but never succeeded in collecting taxes in the surrounding countryside. Tahir's other son, Abdullah,

546-467: The Arab tribes and to make political concessions to them. These failed efforts to secure Arab support backfired on al-Amin, as the abna′ began to doubt whether their interests were best served by him. In March 812, Husayn ibn Ali led a short-lived coup against al-Amin in Baghdad, proclaiming al-Ma'mun as the rightful Caliph, until a counter-coup, led by other factions within the abna′ , restored al-Amin to

585-402: 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. During Ishaq's term as governor, he was responsible for implementing

624-468: The Tahirids were Persians, they were also highly Arabized in culture, and eager to be accepted in the caliphal world, where cultivation of things Arabic gave social and cultural prestige. Due to this, the Tahirids were not part of the renaissance of Early New Persian language and culture. He adds that the Persian language was at least tolerated in the entourage of the Tahirids, whereas the Saffarids played

663-618: 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. 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 . Besides their hold over Khorasan,

702-432: 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. Violent riots plagued Baghdad during the last years of Abdallah's life, and conditions in the city remained tumultuous after he died and

741-457: The caliphal treasury in Baghdad was perhaps larger than those collected previously. The founder of the Tahirid dynasty was Tahir ibn Husayn , a Sunni Persian of dehqan origin, who had played a major military 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

780-705: The caliphate. A noted poet, he sympathized with all things Arabic. 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 . Abdullah died in 844 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

819-545: The control of the local Arab tribal leaders. As Tahir's army closed on Baghdad, the rift between al-Amin and the abna′ was solidified when the desperate Caliph turned to the common people of the city for help and gave them arms. The abna′ began deserting to Tahir in droves, and in August 812, when Tahir's army appeared before the city, he established his quarters in the suburb of Harbiyya, traditionally an abna′ stronghold. The Islamic scholar Hugh N. Kennedy characterized

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858-490: The dynasties of the Iranian Intermezzo of which the Tahirids are considered part: Persian (the language) and Iranian (the identity) were reasserting themselves. Iranians were adapting Arab-Islamic cultural tenets through a process of 'take the best, leave the rest'. Within this context, Mahendrarajah adds that the Tahirids were specifically responsible for initiating the process by which Persian became written in

897-407: The head of an unusually large army of 40,000, drawn from an elite group known as abna′ , and sent him to depose al-Ma'mun. When Ali ibn Isa set out for Khurasan, he reportedly took along a set of silver chains with which to bind al-Ma'mun and carry him back to Baghdad. The news of Ali's approach threw Khurasan into panic, and even al-Ma'mun considered fleeing. The only military force available to him

936-547: The richer citizens to cut the pontoon bridges over the Tigris that connected the city to the outside world, allowing al-Ma'mun's men to occupy the city's eastern suburbs. Tahir then launched a final assault, in which al-Amin was captured and executed at Tahir's orders while trying to seek refuge with his old family friend Harthama. Tahir was afterwards transferred out of the public eye to an unimportant post in Raqqa . However, he

975-407: The same night. According to some sources, he was poisoned by the orders of al-Ma'mun. Nevertheless, al-Ma'mun appointed Tahir's son to continue at his father's post. Tahir is said to have said his last words in Persian , his native language. Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir Abu Ahmad Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir ( Arabic : أبو أحمد عبيد الله بن عبد الله بن طاهر , c. 838 – May 913)

1014-546: The subsequent siege of the city as "an episode almost without parallel in the history of early Islamic society" and "the nearest early Islamic history saw to an attempt at social revolution", as Baghdad's urban proletariat defended their city for over a year in a vicious urban guerrilla war. Indeed, it was this "revolutionary" situation in the city as much as famine and the besiegers' professional expertise, that brought about its fall: in September 813, Tahir convinced some of

1053-563: The throne. Fadl ibn al-Rabi , however, one of the main instigators of the war, concluded that al-Amin's case was lost and resigned from his court offices. At about the same time, al-Ma'mun was officially proclaimed caliph, while his vizier Fadl ibn Sahl acquired the unique title of Dhu 'l-Ri'asatayn ("he of the two headships"), signifying his control over both civil and military administration. In spring 812, Tahir, reinforced with more troops under Harthama ibn A'yan , resumed his offensive. He invaded Khuzistan , where he defeated and killed

1092-726: Was a general and governor during the Abbasid Caliphate . Specifically, he served under al-Ma'mun during the Fourth Fitna and led the armies that would defeat al-Amin , making al-Ma'mun the caliph . Tahir bin al-Husayn was then appointed governor of Khorasan as a reward, which marked the beginning of the Tahirids . Tahir was born in Pushang which was a village near the ancient city of Herat in Khorasan . He

1131-400: Was a ninth century Tahirid official and military officer. He was the last major Tahirid to hold high office, having served as the governor of Baghdad at various points between 867 and 891. Ubaydallah was the son of Abdallah ibn Tahir , the governor of Khurasan from 828 to 845. During the civil war of 865–866 he was present in Baghdad, and throughout the siege of the city he served in

1170-497: Was a small army of some 4,000–5,000 men, under Tahir. Tahir was sent to confront Ali's advance, but it was widely regarded as almost a suicide mission, even by Tahir's own father. The two armies met at Rayy , on the western borders of Khurasan, and the ensuing battle (3 July 811) resulted in a crushing victory for the Khurasanis, in which Ali was killed and his army disintegrated on its flight west. Tahir's unexpected victory

1209-517: Was again appointed as head of security ( shurtah ) in Baghdad, this time as deputy to the Saffarid Amr ibn al-Layth , who had been granted that position by the central government. He probably held the governorship until 885, when a reversal in caliphal policy toward the Saffarids resulted in 'Amr being formally dismissed from office. In August 889 he was restored to the shurtah following

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1248-424: Was decisive: al-Ma'mun's position was secured, while his main opponents, the abna′ , lost men, prestige and their most dynamic leader. Tahir now advanced westwards, defeated another abna′ army of 20,000 under Abd al-Rahman ibn Jabala after a series of hard-fought engagements near Hamadan , and reached Hulwan by winter. Al-Amin now desperately tried to bolster his forces by alliances with Arab tribes, notably

1287-575: Was from a Persian dehqan noble family who had distinguished themselves since the Abbasid Revolution , and were previously awarded minor governorships in eastern Khorasan for their service to the Abbasids . His great-grandfather Ruzaiq was a mawla of Talha ibn Abd Allah al-Khuza'i , an Arab nobleman from the Khuza'a tribe , who served as the governor of Sistan . Ruzaiq's son Mus'ab

1326-484: 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, as his reign witnessed a flourishing of agriculture in his native land of Khorasan, popularity in the eastern lands of the Abbasid caliphate and expanding influence due to his experience with the western parts of

1365-427: Was later recalled from the post, and was rewarded with the governorship of Khorasan . Tahir then began consolidating his authority over the region, appointing several officials to certain offices, including Muhammad ibn Husayn Qusi , who was appointed as the governor of Sistan . Tahir later declared independence from the Abbasid empire in 822 by omitting any mention of al-Ma'mun during a Friday sermon. However, he died

1404-524: Was mistreated. When he was released he fought on the side of Harthama ibn A'yan against Rafi ibn al-Layth in 808 when the latter rebelled at Samarkand , but when the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid deposed Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan, and sent general Harthama ibn A'yan against Rafi, he returned to obedience. During the event, Tahir lost an eye after an accident, which gained him the nickname al-A'war ("the one-eyed"). Tahir seems to have been quickly offended if someone picked him about his eye, even threatening

1443-482: Was responsible for hunting down the sons of the Turkish officer Bugha al-Sharabi following the latter's execution in 868. Before long, however, he was beset by fiscal problems which made it difficult for him to pay the salaries of the troops in the city, and was eventually compelled to surrender the governorship to his brother Sulayman ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir in 869. Following Sulayman's death in late 879, Ubaydallah

1482-444: Was succeeded by his brothers, first Ubaydallah and then Sulayman . 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, and the family soon lost their prominence within the caliphate after that. The historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth explains that while

1521-399: Was the governor of Pushang and Herat. Mus'ab's son, Husayn, who was the father of Tahir, continued to his father's role as the governor of Pushang and Herat. Under the governor of Khorasan, Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan , there were riots in the province because of the latter's cruelty and persecution of other noble families, which included the family of Tahir; Tahir was imprisoned for some time and

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