Muhammad ibn Zayd
| Muhammad ibn Zayd | |
|---|---|
| Emir of Tabaristan | |
| Reign | 884–900 |
| Predecessor | Hasan ibn Zayd ibn Muhammad |
| Successor | Samanid occupation |
| Died | October 900 |
| House | Zaydid dynasty |
| Father | Zayd ibn Muhammad |
| Religion | Shi'a Islam |
Muḥammad ibn Zayd ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘il ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Zayd (died October 900), also known as al-Da‘ī al-ṣaghīr ("the Younger Missionary"), was an Alid who succeeded his brother, Hasan ("the Elder Missionary"), as ruler of the Zaydid dynasty of Tabaristan.[1]
Biography
Nothing is known of Muhammad's early life prior to his succession of his brother Hasan—who had founded Zaydid rule over Tabaristan[2]—in 884.[1] At the time of his brother's death, Muhammad was absent in the nearby province of Gurgan, which was also under Zaydid control. In Tabaristan itself, his position was usurped by his cousin, al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Aqiqi, who proclaimed himself as the legitimate emir and held out for ten months until Muhammad returned, defeated and beheaded him.[1][2] Muhammad assumed the same regnal name as his brother, al-Qa’im bi al-Ḥaqq ("Upholder of the Truth") or al-Da‘ī ila‘l-Ḥaqq ("He who calls to the Truth"), and was known as al-Da‘ī al-ṣaghīr ("the Younger Missionary") in contrast to Hasan (al-Da‘ī al-kabīr, "the Elder Missionary").[1][2]
Muhammad pursued an active propaganda of his Shi'ite faith, and gained popularity by sponsoring the rebuilding of the shrine to Ali and his son Husayn after its destruction by the Abbasids, as well as by his liberal donations to other members of the Alid family across the Muslim world.[2] Like his brother, he also tried to expand his domain by military means, and campaigns occupied a large part of his reign. In 885/886 he tried to capture Rayy, but was driven back. In 889/890 Muhammad faced an invasion of his domains by Rafi' ibn Harthama, who conquered most of the Zaydid realm, forcing Muhammad, like his brother before him, to seek shelter in the mountains of the western districts of Daylam and Gilan, whose lords had sworn allegiance to the Zaydids.[1][3] His fortunes changed in 892, when the Caliph al-Mu'tadid, fearful of Ibn Harthama's power, stripped him of the governorship of Khurasan and gave it to his rival, the Saffarid Amr ibn al-Layth. In response, Ibn Harthama concluded a peace with Muhammad, returned Tabaristan to him and even pledged allegiance to the Zaydid cause. As a result, when in 896, Ibn Harthama briefly conquered Nishapur, the Friday prayer was read in Muhammad's name. Unfortunately for the Zaydids, Ibn Harthama was killed shortly after by the Saffarids.[1][4]
Undeterred, Muhammad tried to conquer Khurasan himself in 900, taking advantage of the defeat of the Saffarids by the Samanids in April of that year. His invasion of Khurasan was intercepted already in Gurgan by a Samanid army under Muhammad ibn Harun al-Sarakhsi. In the ensuing battle, the Samanids prevailed, and the severely wounded Muhammad was captured. he died shortly after, in August or, more likely, October 902.[1][4] The Samanids took over Tabaristan, and Muhammad's son Zayd was sent as a hostage to the Samanid capital of Bukhara.[4]
The Samanid conquest brought along a restoration of Sunni Islam in the province, but the Shi'a cause was upheld and spread among the Daylamites and Gilanites by another Alid, Hasan ibn Ali al-Utrush, who in 914 managed to conquer Tabaristan and restore Zaydid rule.[5]
References
Sources
- "Muḥammad b. Zayd". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume VII: Mif–Naz. Leiden and New York: BRILL. 1993. pp. 417–418. ISBN 90-04-09419-9.
- Madelung, W. (1975). "The Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran". In Frye, R.N. (ed.). 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.
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External links
- Madelung, W. "ʿALIDS OF ṬABARESTĀN, DAYLAMĀN, AND GĪLĀN". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Retrieved 25 January 2013.