The Dabuyid or Gaubarid Dynasty was a

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

Iranian dynasty that started in the first half of the seventh century as an independent group of rulers, reigning over

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

and parts of western

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

.''DABUYIDS'', W. Madelung, Encyclopaedia Iranica
/ref> Dabuyid rule over Tabaristan and Khorasan lasted from ca. AD 642 to the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...

conquest in 760.

History

The family's early history is recorded by the later historian

Ibn Isfandiyar Baha al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Isfandiyar ( fa, بهاءالدین محمد بن حسن بن اسفندیار), commonly known as Ibn Isfandiyar (), was a 13th-century Iranian historian from Tabaristan, who wrote a history of his native provinc ...

. According to this tradition, the Dabuyids were descended from

Jamasp Jamasp (also spelled Zamasp or Djamasp; pal, 𐭩𐭠𐭬𐭠𐭮𐭯; fa, جاماسپ ''Jāmāsp'') was Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 496 to 498/9. He was a son of Peroz I and younger brother of Kavad I. Jamasp was installed on the Sasa ...

, a son of

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

King of Kings

Peroz I Peroz I ( pal, 𐭯𐭩𐭫𐭥𐭰, Pērōz) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 459 to 484. A son of Yazdegerd II (), he disputed the rule of his elder brother and incumbent king Hormizd III (), eventually seizing the throne after ...

and younger brother of Kavadh I, and were therefore a cadet branch of the

House of Sasan The Sasanian dynasty was the house that founded the Sasanian Empire, ruling this empire from 224 to 651 AD in Persia (modern-day Iran). It began with Ardashir I, who named the dynasty as ''Sasanian'' in honour of his grandfather (or father), Sasa ...

. Jamasp's grandson, Piruz, conquered Gilan, and a progeny of Piruz's, Gil, nicknamed Gavbara (literally Devotee of the Cow), then extended the family's rule by annexing

. This led to the formal conferment of the titles of ''Gil e Gilan'' ("ruler of Gilan") and ''Padashwargarshah'' ("King of Patashwargar", the older name of Tabaristan's mountains), to Gil's son Dabuya or Daboe, by the last Sassanid King of Kings,

Yazdegerd III Yazdegerd III (also spelled Yazdgerd III and Yazdgird III; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the last Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II. Ascending the throne at the ...

. Following the

Muslim conquest of Persia The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The ...

, this Sassanian cadet branch, along with the dynasts of the noble houses of Ispahbudan and Karin, signed peace treaties with the Arab armies by which the Arabs were obligated to never approach these territories without prior permission. Consequently the regions of Gilan and at least parts of Tabaristan remained under Gavbara's control, while Rey and parts of Khorasan were ruled by Farrokhzad of House of Ispahbudan.Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008). Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. pp 287-318. . After about 15 years, Ibn Isfandiyar reports that Gavbara died and his son Dabuya succeeded the throne - hence the name given to the dynasty. Dabuya's son,

Farrukhan the Great Farrukhan the Great (Persian: فرخان بزرگ, ''Farrukhan-e Bozorg''; 712–728) was the independent ruler ('' ispahbadh'') of Tabaristan in the early 8th century, until his death in 728. He is the first actually attested (through his coinag ...

was successful in taking over Tabaristan up to the frontiers of Nishapur after years of dynastic struggle between the houses of Karin and Ispahbudan in north eastern Iran. In addition to the titles granted by Yazdegerd III, the Dabuyid rulers also bore the old Iranian military title of ''

ispahbadh ''Spāhbed'' (also spelled ''spahbod'' and ''spahbad'') is a Middle Persian title meaning "army chief" used chiefly in the Sasanian Empire. Originally there was a single ''spāhbed'', called the , who functioned as the generalissimo of the Sasa ...

'' as their regnal title. Farrukhan the Great, repelled a great Muslim invasion under

Yazid ibn al-Muhallab Yazid ibn al-Muhallab ( ar, يزيد بن المهلب) (672–720) was a provincial governor in the time of the Umayyad dynasty and an early member of the Muhallabid family that became important in early Abbasid times. Life In A.H. 78 (697-698 ...

in 716–717,"Dabuya", B. Spuler, ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Vol. II, ed.B. Lewis, C. Pellat and J. Schacht, (Brill, 1991), 74. Recent scholarship places his assumption of power there in the 670s instead of the early 710s, as previously assumed. Farrokhan died in 728, and was succeeded by his son,

Dadhburzmihr Dadhburzmihr (also spelled Dadmihr or Dazmihr) was the independent ruler (ispahbadh) of Tabaristan. He succeeded his father Farrukhan the Great in 728 and reigned until his death in 740/1. According to the 13-century Iranian historian Ibn Isfandi ...

(Dadmihr). Little is known of his reign, and he died at an early age in 740/741. Dadmihr's son and successor,

Khurshid Khorshīd or Khorshēd ( , meaning ''the Sun'' or the "Radiant Sun"), also spelled as ''Khurshed'' and ''Khurshid'', is a Persian given name. In the modern day as well as historical Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, but also in Iraqi Kurdistan, Egypt, ...

, was still a boy when he was crowned Ispahbadh of Tabaristan, requiring his uncle

Farrukhan the Little Farrukhan the Little ( Persian: ''Farrukhan-e Kuchak''), also surnamed the Deaf (''Korbali''),Madelung (1993), pp. 541–544 was a member of the Dabuyid dynasty, which ruled Tabaristan as independent monarchs in the century after the Muslim conques ...

to rule as regent for seven years until Khurshid came of age. Khurshid ruled a prosperous state and tried repeatedly, though without success, to break his ties to the Caliphate. Following the turmoil of the

Abbasid Revolution The Abbasid Revolution, also called the Movement of the Men of the Black Raiment, was the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE), the second of the four major Caliphates in early Islamic history, by the third, the Abbasid Calipha ...

, a serious conflict ensued between Khurshid and the Abbasid Caliph

Al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور‎; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) ...

. In 759, Mansur used a ruse to launch a campaign against the Dabuyid dynasty. He sought Khurshid's aid in subduing a rebellion in Khorasan by allowing the Caliph's forces to pass through Tabaristan. Khushid permitted this only to be faced with a surprise attack which led to the invasion and subsequent fall of Tabaristan. The fleeing Khurshid took refuge in Gilan, where he attempted to reinforce for a counter attack but following the capture of the royal family committed suicide in 761, thus ending the reign of the Dabuyid dynasty.

Dabuyid rulers

Gil Gavbara Gil Gavbara ( fa, گیل گاوباره), also known as Gavbarih (the Cow Devotee), was king and founder of the Dabuyid dynasty in 642, ruling until his death in 660. Origins According to Ibn Isfandiyar, the Dabuyids were descended from Djamas ...

(640-660) *

Dabuya Dabuya or Dabuyih ( fa, دابویه), was the Dabuyid ruler ( ispahbadh) of Tabaristan. He succeeded his father Gil Gavbara in 660 and reigned until his death in 712. His son, Farrukhan the Great Farrukhan the Great ( Persian: فرخان بزر ...

(660-676) *

(712-728) *

(728-740/41) *

(740/41-747/48) as regent for *

(741-759/60)

References

Sources

* Inostranzev, M. (1918)
Iranian Influence on Moslem Literature – Appendix I: Independent Zoroastrian Princes of Tabaristan
'. * * * {{Sasanian Empire Iranian dynasties Zoroastrian dynasties History of Mazandaran Province Monarchy in Persia and Iran Tabaristan 7th century in Iran 8th century in Iran 640s establishments 760s disestablishments History of Talysh

History

Dabuyid rulers

See also

References

Sources