Al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad al-Shaddadi (also al-Fadl ibn Muhammad, Fadl ibn Muhammad, Fadlun ibn Muhammad, Fadhlun ibn Muhammad, or Fadl I was the

Shaddadid The Shaddadids were a Kurdish Sunni Muslim dynasty. who ruled in various parts of Armenia and Arran from 951 to 1199 AD. They were established in Dvin. Through their long tenure in Armenia, they often intermarried with the Bagratuni royal fami ...

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

of Arran from 985 to 1031. Of Kurdish origin, al-Fadhl was called "Fadhlun the Kurd" by

ibn al-Athir Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab or Kurdish historian ...

and other

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

historians. Al-Fadhl was the first Shaddadid emir to issue

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order ...

age, locating his mint first at Partav (Barda'a) and was later transferred to

Ganja Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: �aːɲd͡ ...

. Al-Fadhl built a bridge across the Araxes with the intent to raid the Rawadids, and led an expedition against the

Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

around 1030.C.E. Bosworth, "Shaddadids", ''The Encyclopedia of Islam'', Vol.IX, Ed. C.E.Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P.Heinrichs and G.Lecomte, (Brill, 1997), 169. The Khazars reportedly killed 10,000 of his soldiers. Since the Khazar

Khaganate A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a Khan (title), khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribe, tribal chiefdom, principality, monarch ...

had been destroyed in 969, it is unclear whether these Khazars were from a successor state or kingdom located in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

, were subjects of a Kipchak or

Pecheneg The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პაჭ ...

ruler, or whether ibn al-Athir was mistaken or was using "Khazars" as a generic term for steppe people. In 993, the army of Fadl I captured

Barda Barda or BARDA may refer to: Geography * Barda District, a district in Azerbaijan *Barda, Azerbaijan, a town in Azerbaijan *Bârda, a village in Malovăț Commune, Mehedinți County, Romania * Barda, Russia, several rural localities in Russia * ...

and

Beylagan Beylagan District ( az, Beyləqan rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the centre of the country and belongs to the Central Aran Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Fuzuli, Aghjabadi, Zardab, Imis ...

. During his reign, there were clashes with the Georgian kings, the Byzantines (1037-1038), the Alans and the Rus. Friendly relations were maintained with the

Rawadids Rawwadid or Ravvadid (also Revend or Revendi) or Banū Rawwād () (955–1071) was a Sunni Muslim Kurdish dynasty, centered in the northwestern region of Adharbayjan (Azerbaijan) between the late 8th and early 13th centuries. Originally of Az ...

, the

Shirvanshahs ''Shirvanshah'' ( fa, شروانشاه), also spelled as ''Shīrwān Shāh'' or ''Sharwān Shāh'', was the title of the rulers of Shirvan from the mid-9th century to the early 16th century. The title remained in a single family, the Yazidids, ...

, and the Emirate of Tbilisi. According to Ibn al-Athir, Fadl I launched a campaign against the Khazars in 1030. Al-Fadhl died in 1031 and was succeeded by his son Abu'l-Fath Musa.

References

Sources

C.E Bosworth. "Arran". ''Encyclopaedia Iranica
*Douglas M. Dunlop. The History of the Jewish Khazars, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1954. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fadl Ibn Muhammad 1031 deaths Emirs of Ganja Shaddadids 10th-century rulers in Asia 11th-century rulers in Asia 11th-century Kurdish people 10th-century Kurdish people