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Divashtich (also spelled Devashtich, Dewashtich, and Divasti), was a medieval Sogdian ruler in Transoxiana during the period of the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. He was the ruler of Panjikant and its surroundings from ca. 706 until his downfall and execution in the autumn of 722.


Origin

Divashtich was the son of a certain Yodkhsetak, who belonged to a noble Sogdian
dehqan The ''dehqân'' ( fa, دهقان) or ''dehgân'' ( fa, دهگان), were a class of land-owning magnates during the Sasanian and early Islamic period, found throughout Iranian-speaking lands. The ''deqhans'' started to gradually fade away under t ...
family from
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
, which could trace its descent back to the Sasanian king
Bahram V Gur Bahram V (also spelled Wahram V or Warahran V; pal, 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭), also known as Bahram Gor (New Persian: , "Bahram the onager") was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') from 420 to 438. The son of the incumb ...
(r. 420–438). The family bore the title of ''sur'' and began ruling parts of Sogdia during the 6th century. There were five members of the family bearing the title of ''sur'', Divashtich being the last of them.


Dispute with Samarkand and the Arabs

In ca. 706, Divashtich was elected as king of Panjikant, succeeding the
Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...
prince Chukin Chur Bilga as the ruler of city. However, Divashtich did not hold absolute power, and shared his power with other princes. Although Divashtich only ruled Panjikant, he claimed the title of "Sogdian king", and "ruler of Samarkand". Some of Divashtich's coins included the name of a certain Nana, which either was the goddess Nanaya, or Chukin Chur Bilga's daughter, whom Divashtich may have been married to. In 709/710, Tarkhun, the Sogdian ruler of Samarkand, was overthrown by a rebellion because of his pro-Muslim policy, and was succeeded by another Sogdian prince named
Gurak Gurak or Ghurak (Chinese: 乌勒伽 ''wūlèjiā'') was a medieval Sogdian ruler in Central Asia during the period of the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. In 710, he was installed as king ( Sogdian: ''ikhshid'') of Samarkand after the populace overt ...
. After the fall of Tarkhun, his two sons fled to the court of Divashtich, where they were treated honorably. This made Divashtich's claim to Samarkand much stronger. In ca. 712, Divashtich, including other local Sogdian rulers such as Gurak, acknowledged the authority of the Umayyad Caliphate after an invasion by the Arab general Qutayba ibn Muslim. While Gurak tried to break from Umayyad suzerainty and request aid from the Tang Dynasty, Divashtich remained loyal to the Arabs, and his relations seems to have been so great with them that he was even considered a Muslim. In 719, he was forced to send the two sons of Tarkhun to al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah, the Umayyad governor of
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 ...
. As late as 721, Divashtich was in correspondence with Abd al-Rahman ibn Nu'aym al-Ghamidi, the new governor of Khorasan, who flatteringly addressed him as King of Sogdia and ruler of Samarkand, possibly trying to assure or win back his loyalty.


Rebellion and death

In 720, Divashtich, along with another Sogdian ruler named Karzanj, are mentioned as the leaders of an anti-Arab rebellion in Sogdia. They managed to earn the allegiance of at-Tar, the Sogdian ruler of Farghana, who promised to give them protection in case their rebellion turned into a failure. While the army of Karzanj was staying at Khujand, at-Tar betrayed him, and told the Umayyad general
Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi ( ar, سعيد بن عمرو الحرشي, Saʿīd ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarashī, ) was a prominent general and governor of the Umayyad Caliphate, who played an important role in the Arab–Khazar wars. Biography Sa'id ibn Amr ...
where Karzanj and his army was stationing. Al-Harashi quickly marched towards Khujand, where he defeated the army of Karzanj, brutally massacring over 3,000 Sogdian inhabitants in the city. Al-Harashi then left for Zarafshan, the location of Divashtich. A battle shortly took place near the city in 722, where al-Harashi managed to emerge victorious once again. Divashtich then fled to a fortress near Zarafshan, but eventually agreed to surrender to Arabs, and was taken prisoner, where he was treated well. The Arabs then began burning several houses and a temple in Panjikant. The Umayyad governor of Iraq, including other high officials, wanted to set Divashtich free. Al-Harashi, however, had Divashtich crucified on a Zoroastrian burial building, and sent his head to Iraq. This choice later played a role of al-Harashi's removal as the governor of Khorasan.


Religion

Although Buddhism and Manichaeism had spread around Sogdia, Divashtich, including the majority his subjects, were practicing Zoroastrianism, which was, however, different from the one practiced in the Iranian plateau. The Zoroastrianism worshipped by Divashtich and his subjects, also known as "Sogdian Zoroastrianism", was a different Zoroastrian sect which had received influence from different religions. Even ancient Mesopotamian religions had influenced the Zoroastrian sect, and gods such as Nanaya were worshipped by the Sogdians., "Panjikant"


Descendants

Divashtich's son Tarkhun (not to be confused with the Sogdian ruler Tarkhun) was taken as a prisoner of war in Iraq. Where his family lived for three generations. In the fourth generation, a member of the family named Mikal ibn Abd al-Wahid, settled in Khorasan at the beginning of the 9th century, where his descendants continued to live, marking the start of the prominent Mikalid family, which served various dynasties of Khorasan.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Divashtich 722 deaths Sogdian rulers 8th-century rulers in Asia Year of birth unknown 8th-century Iranian people 8th-century executions by the Umayyad Caliphate Dehqans Zoroastrian rulers People from Samarkand Muslim conquest of Transoxiana