Ahmad of Shirvan () was the eighth

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

Shirvan Shirvan (from ; ; Tat: ''Şirvan'') is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, as known in both pre-Islamic Sasanian and Islamic times. Today, the region is an industrially and agriculturally developed part of the Republic of Azerbaijan ...

Reign

He was born to Muhammad III while he was still governor of Layzan and had a younger brother called Haytham. Upon his father's accession to throne in September 948, he was appointed as

Layzanshah Layzānshah () or Shah of Layzān was a historical title given to the lords of Layzan. According to Vladimir Minorsky, the title was first granted to local rulers by their Sassanid Persian overlords, medieval authors specifically mentioning Anush ...

with his younger brother being Tabasaranshah until his father's murder on 4 June 956. The murderer, vizier Ibn al-Maraghi tried to poison Ahmad too, only to be prevented by shah's mother who fed the food to cat before. The vizier was later beaten to death at his own home. As soon as he solidified rule, his brother Tabarsaranshah Haytham fled

and left for Lakz (modern Southern

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

) while his cousin Abul-Haytham fled to Barda. His uncle Abul Badr died sometime later too, leaving Ahmad as undisputed leader of Shirvan. Meanwhile Haytham returned to Shirvan with reinforcemends from

Sallarid The Sallarid dynasty (), (also known as the Musafirids or Langarids) was a Muslim dynasty of Daylami origin, which ruled in Tarom, Samiran, Daylam, Gilan and subsequently Azerbaijan, Arran, and some districts in Eastern Armenia in the 2nd half o ...

ruler

Ibrahim I Ibrahim I may refer to: *Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab (756–812), first emir of the Aghlabids in Ifriqiya * Ibrahim I ibn Marzuban I ( 957–979), King of Dvin and Azerbaijan *İbrahim I of Karaman ( 1318–1343), bey of Karaman Beylik *Ibrahim I of Sh ...

in 968, in order to reaffirm Sallarid authority over Shirvan. While Ahmad managed to pacify Sallarids with submission and tribute, Haytham - who was supposed to return to Barda with Ibrahim - escaped to al-Masqat (modern Müşkür,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

). He was supported by Ahmad b. Abd al-Malik I, emir of Derbent. While emir tried to negotiate a division of Shirvan on behalf of Haytham, Ahmad chose to march on Derbent instead. Ahmad on his turn captured and burnt

Shabaran Shabaran (also spelled Shaburan and Shaberan; ), was a town and district in the historical region of Shirvan, in what is now the eastern part of Azerbaijan. Shabaran was founded by the Sasanian king Shapur II (). The 10th-century Persian geograph ...

with support from

Sarir Sarir or Serir was a medieval Christians, Christian state lasting from the 6th or 7th century to the 12th century in the mountainous regions of modern-day Dagestan in southern Russia. Its name is derived from the Arabic word for "throne" and re ...

. According to

Ibn Hawqal Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal (), also known as Abū al-Qāsim b. ʻAlī Ibn Ḥawqal al-Naṣībī, born in Nisibis, Al-Jazira (caliphal province), Upper Mesopotamia; was a 10th-century Arab Muslim writer, geographer, and chronic ...

, following the sack of Samandar by Sviatoslav, the Rus' leader did not bother to occupy the Khazar heartlands north of the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...

permanently. Ahmad reportedly supported return of refugee

Khazars The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...

return to

Itil ITIL (previously and also known as Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a framework with a set of practices (previously processes) for IT activities such as IT service management (ITSM) and IT asset management (ITAM) that focus ...

after 969. He died in June 981. He had at least three sons called

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

Yazid Yazīd (, "increasing", "adding more") is an Arabic name and may refer to: Given name * Yazid I (647–683), second Umayyad Caliph upon succeeding his father Muawiyah * Yazid II (687–724), Umayyad caliph * Yazid III (701–744), Umayyad caliph ...

and Haytham. While Muhammad and Yazid rose to throne successively, Haytham died in 1025 in Tabasaran.

References

Sources

* {{Shirvanshahs 10th-century monarchs in the Middle East