The Banū Mazyad () or Mazyadids were an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

dynasty following Shia Islam. They belonged to the clan of Nāshira of the tribe of Banū Asad. They ruled an autonomous emirate in the area around Kūfa and

Hīt Hit or Heet (, ''Hīt'') is a city in Al Anbar Governorate of Iraq. Situated on the banks of the Euphrates River, it lies northwest of Ramadi, the provincial capital. The city is administrative capital for Hit District. A major city in the cent ...

in central

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

between c. 961 and c. 1160. Older sources sometimes mistakenly date the beginnings of Mazyadid rule to the early 11th century, but

Ali ibn Mazyad Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

's reign must be dated a half century earlier. The Banu Mazyad first acquired titles and subsidies from the

Buyid The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyna ...

emir

Mu'izz al-Dawla Ahmad ibn Buya (Persian language, Persian: احمد بن بویه, died April 8, 967), after 945 better known by his ''laqab'' of Mu'izz al-Dawla (, "Fortifier al-Dawla, of the Dynasty"), was the first of the Buyid emirs of Iraq (region), Iraq, ...

in return for military services between 956 and 963. These included lands between Kūfa and Hīt. In 1012, Ali founded Ḥilla which would later become their capital.

Moojan Momen Moojan Momen (b. 1950) is a retired physician and historian specializing in Baháʼí studies who has published numerous books and articles about the Baháʼí Faith and Islam, especially Shia Islam, including for Encyclopædia Iranica the British ...

, ''An Introduction to Shi'i Islam'' (Yale University Press, 1985). Originally a mere encampment, Ḥilla merged with the earlier settlement of Jami'ayn. Under

Sadaqa I ' ( , "charity", "benevolence", plural ) in the modern-day Islamic context has come to signify "voluntary charity". Unlike zakat, which is a obligatory form of almsgiving and one of the five pillars of Islam, ''ṣadaqah'' is a voluntary offe ...

(1086–1108), a wall was built around the new city and it became the capital of Mazyadid power. The Mazyadids' chief rivals were the Uqaylids. Early in the reign of Dubays I (1017–1082), the Uqaylids supported his brother Muqallad when the latter challenged Dubays for the emirate. At the establishment of the

Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...

, Dubays threw his support behind the Shia

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, i ...

and the general

al-Basasiri Abuʾl-Ḥārith Arslān al-Muẓaffar al-Basāsīrī (died 15 January 1059) was a Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman slave-soldier (''mamlūk'') who rose to become a military commander of the Buwayhid dynasty in Iraq (region), Iraq. When the Buwayhids ...

. The reign of the weak Seljuk sultan Barkiyaruq (1092–1105) corresponds to the height of Sadaqa I's power. To the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

rs, he was the "king of the Arabs" (''rex Arabum'' in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

chronicles). After Malik-Shah II succeeded Barkiyaruq, he moved against Sadaqa, who was defeated and killed in battle in 1108. His successor, Dubays II, was equally famous to the Latins and as an Arabic poet. The later Mazyadid emirs allied with local Turkish emirs against Sultan Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud (1134–1152). Seljuk forces occupied Ḥilla on several occasions. Dubays II died in 1135 and was succeeded by his son, Ali II, who reigned until 1150. He was succeeded in turn by his son, Muhalhil, about whose reign nothing is known, including its length. In 1163, Ḥilla was occupied by

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

forces and Mazyadid rule came to an end. The Mazyadids did not mint coin.

Mazyadid rulers

*c.961–1017 : Sana al-Dawla Ali (I) ibn Mazyad al-Asadi al-Nashiri *1017–1082 : Nur al-Dawla Abu'l-A'zz Dubays (I) ibn Ali *1082–1086 : Abu Kamil Baha al-Dawla Mansur ibn Dubays *1086–1108 : Sayf al-Dawla Fakhr al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Sadaqa (I) ibn Mansur *1108–1135 : Nur al-Dawla Abu'l-A'zz Dubays (II) ibn Sadaqa *1135–1138 : Sayf al-Dawla Sadaqa (II) ibn Dubays *1138–1145 : Muhammad ibn Dubays *1145–1150 : Ali (II) ibn Dubays *1150–???? : Muhalhil ibn Ali

Notes

References

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External links

The Shia Rulers of Banu Ammar, Banu Mardas and the Mazidi
{{Arab tribes in Iraq Medieval history of Iraq Tribes of Arabia Tribes of Iraq Shia dynasties