Khalili Collection Islamic Art qur 0087 fol 26b-27a

The Ildegizids, EldiguzidsC.E. Bosworth, "Ildenizids or Eldiguzids", Encyclopaedia of Islam, Edited by P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs et al., Encyclopædia of Islam, 2nd Edition., 12 vols. with indexes, etc., Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960–2005. Vol 3. pp 1110-111. Excerpt 1: "Ildenizids or Eldiguzids, a line of Atabegs of Turkish slave commanders who governed most of northwestern Persia, including Arran, most of Azarbaijan, and Djibal, during the second half of the 6th/12th century and the early decades of the 7th/13th century". Excerpt 2: "The Turkish Ildenizids shared to the full in the Perso-Islamic civilization" or Ildenizids, also known as Atabegs of Azerbaijan ( ''Atabakan-e Āzarbayjan)'' were an

Atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...

ate 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. ...

, and a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

Turkic dynastyBritannica. Article
Eldegüzid dynasty

Eldegüzid dynasty, also spelled Ildigüzid, Ildegüzid, Ildegizid, or Ildenizid, (1137–1225), Iranian atabeg dynasty of Turkish origin that ruled in Azerbaijan and Arrān (areas now in Iran and Azerbaijan).

(started by Eldiguz of Kipchak origin), which controlled most of northwestern Persia, eastern

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

, including Arran, most of

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan (, , ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republ ...

, and

Jibal Jibāl (), also al-Jabal (), was the name given by the Arabs to a region and province located in western Iran, under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates. Its name means "the Mountains", being the plural of ''jabal'' ("mountain, hill"), highlight ...

. At their maximum extent, the territory under their control, roughly corresponds to most of north-western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, most of the regions of modern

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 ...

and smaller portions in modern

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

(southern part), Turkey (northeastern part) and

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 ...

(eastern part). Down to the death in war 1194 of Toghril b. Arslan, last of the Great Seljuq rulers of Iraq and Persia, the Ildenizids ruled as theoretical subordinates of the Sultans, acknowledging this dependence on their coins almost down to the end of the Seljuqs. Thereafter, they were in effect an independent dynasty, until the westward expansion of the Mongols and the Khwarazm-Shahs weakened and then brought the line to its close.

(literally "father-lord" in Turkic) was the title conferred upon the Turkic officers who served as guardians of minor Seljuq rulers.Hodgson, Marshall G.S. ''The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization'', University of Chicago Press, 1974, , p. 260 In the political circumstances of the time, Atabegs were not only tutors and vice-regents of their princes, but also de facto rulers. At the height of Eldiguzid power, their territory stretched from

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

in the south to the borders of

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...

and Shirvan in the north. However, closer to the end of their reign amidst continuous conflicts with the

, the Eldiguzid territory shrank to include only Azerbaijan and eastern Transcaucasia. The historical significance of the Atabeg of Azerbaijan lies in their firm control over north-western Persia during the later Seljuq period and also their role in Transcaucasia as champions of Islam against the Bagratids of Georgia.

Shams ad-Din Eldiguz

In 1136, Sultan Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud () appointed Shams ad-Din Eldiguz () to be an atabeg of Arslan-Shah, the juvenile successor of the throne and transferred Azerbaijan to his possession as ''iqta''. Eldegiz chose Barda as his residence, and attracted the local emirs to his camp. He made himself virtually independent ruler of Azerbaijan by 1146. His marriage with the widow of Sultan Toghrul II (1132–1133; Masud's brother and predecessor) afforded him to intervene in the dynastic strife which erupted upon Mas'ud's death in 1152. He succeeded, in 1160, in deposing Suleiman-Shah and installing his stepson Arslan-Shah (1160–1175) as a Sultan. Conferred with the rank of

, Eldiguz now became a chief protector of the Sultan's authority. The word ''azam'' (meaning "great" in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

) was added to his title and he was also known as ''Atabek-e Azam''. All of the state's subsequent rulers used to hold this title. During his reign, Eldiguz could subdue a spacious territory between the Caucasus and Persian Gulf. The territory belonging to him stretched from the gate of Tbilisi up to

Makran Makran (), also mentioned in some sources as ''Mecran'' and ''Mokrān'', is the southern coastal region of Balochistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in the Balochistan province in Pakistan and in Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. I ...

. He had possessed

, Arran, Shirvan,

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

, Gilan,

Mazandaran Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari, Iran, Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is border ...

and Rey. The Atabegs of

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...

and Fars as well as the feudals of Shirvan,

Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

Ahlat Ahlat (; ) is a town in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. It is the seat of Ahlat District.Arzan-ar-Rum and Maragha became his liegemen.

Campaigns against Georgia

, whose army was additionally strengthened by the Kipchak mercenaries, became the strongest rival of the Shams al-Din Eldiguz. In 1138, Georgian king Demetrius I, attacked the earthquake-ridden city of Ganja. While leaving the city, his troops carried off the well-known gate of Ganja as their trophy, which up to this date remains on display at the Gelati monastery. From 1161 onwards Georgians began to make plundering raids and outright conquests on Ani, Dvin, Ganja, Nakhchivan and other regions controlled by Atabegs. Eldiguz formed a coalition with other Seljuqids in the beginning of the 1160s to fight against the Georgians, and in 1163 the allies inflicted a defeat on king George III of Georgia. The Seljuqid rulers were jubilant, and they prepared for a new campaign. However, this time they were forestalled by George III, who marched into Arran at the beginning of 1166, occupied a region extending to faraway cities as Nakhchivan and Beylagan, devastated the land and returned with prisoners and booty. There seemed to be no end to the war between George III and atabeg Eldiguz. But the belligerents were exhausted to such an extent that Eldiguz proposed an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

. George had no alternative but to make concessions. Eldiguz restored Ani to its former rulers, the Shaddadids, who became his vassals. In 1173, Atabeg Eldiguz began another campaign against Georgia but he was defeated. Atabeg's troops retreated and Eldiguz died in 1174 in Nakhchivan.

Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan

After the death of Shams al-Din Eldiguz, in 1175, the Seljuq Sultan Arslan Shah tried to escape from the yoke of the Grand Atabeg of Azerbaijan but failed, and was poisoned to death by Shams ad-Din's son, the new Grand Atabeg Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan (1174–1186). Pahlavan transferred his capital from Nakhchivan to

in western Iran, and made his younger brother, Qizil Arslan Uthman, the ruler of Azerbaijan. In 1174, Qizil Arslan captured

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

, which subsequently became his capital. Jahan Pahlavan suppressed all rebellious emirs and appointed faithful mamluks to key positions. He apportioned each of them any region or town as Iqta. The twelve years of his rule are considered the most peaceful period of the state's existence. Under his reign the central power was strengthened and no foreign enemy invaded the territory belonging to the Atabegs. Friendly relations with Khwarazm Shahs, the rulers of Central Asia, were founded. All those facts had positive influence on the development of science, handicraft, trade and arts.

Qizil Arslan

After Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan's death his brother Qizil Arslan (1186–1191) ascended the throne. He continued his successful struggle against the Seljuq rulers. At the same time the central power began to get weaker as mamluks who had strengthened their power in their allotments did not want to obey the Sultan. Even Shirvanshah Akhsitan I who used to be Atabegs' liegeman attempted to intervene the interior affairs of the Eldiguzids and opposed Qizil Arslans aspiration to the throne. In the response to this, Qizil Arslan invaded Shirvan in 1191, reached to Derbent and subordinated the whole Shirvan to his authority. In 1191 Toghrul III, the last Seljuq ruler was overthrown by Qizil Arslan. Then, by Khalif's leave, he proclaimed himself a Sultan. The same year Qizil Arslan, who had become the sole ruler of the Great Seljuq Empire, was assassinated. The power was divided among his three sons:

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

, Qutluq Inandj and Amir Mihran. Abu Bakr governed Azerbaijan and Arran, and his brothers were the rulers of Khorasan and several neighboring regions. Soon, these three successors began to fight for the throne. Victorious in power struggle, Abu Bakr ''"Jahan-pahlavan"'' ( 1195–1210) had his elder brother Qutluq Inandj assassinated and forced the younger brother, Amir Mihran, to take refuge at the court of the latter's brother-in-law, Shirvanshah Akhsitan I (1160-1196). The Shirvanshah together with Amir Mihran headed for

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, the capital of

, and appealed for help to Queen

Tamar of Georgia Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr , ; 1160 – 18 January 1213) queen regnant, reigned as the List of monarchs of Georgia#Kings of unified Georgia (1008–1490), Queen of Kingdom of Georgia, Georgia from 1184 to 1213, ...

, an official protector of Shirvan. Received with great honors at the Georgian court, they were given desired support, and the Georgian army led by Consort David Soslan marched to Shirvan. Medieval azerbaijani helmet 4

The Eldiguzid atabeg

attempted to stem the Georgian advance, but suffered a defeat at the hands of David Soslan at the Battle of Shamkor. and lost his capital to a Georgian

protégé Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

in 1195. Although Abu Bakr was able to resume his reign a year later, the Eldiguzids were only barely able to contain further Georgian forays. The State's defense capability was stricken. Khorezmshahs' and Georgians' non-stopping forays aggravated the situation in the country and speeded up its decay. In 1209, the Georgian army laid waste to

Ardabil Ardabil (, ) is a city in northwestern Iran. It is in the Central District (Ardabil County), Central District of Ardabil County, Ardabil province, Ardabil province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The ...

– according to the Georgian and Armenian annals – as a revenge for the local Muslim ruler's attack on Ani and his massacre of the city's Christian population.. In a great final burst, the Georgian army led an army through Nakhchivan and Julfa, to Marand,

, and

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

in northwest

, pillaging several settlements on their way.

Uzbek

After the death of Qizil Arslan, the power was divided among Jahan Pahlavan's sons, however, soon they started to fight for the throne. Abu Bakr came to the fortress of Alinja. The fortress, along with all the treasures, was at the disposal of Jahan Pahlavan's other widow, Zahida Khatun. Abu Bakr captures the fortress and the treasury. Qizil Arslan's nephews began to rule independently, and one of the Mamluks of Jahan Pahlavan, Mahmud Anas Oglu,freed Toghrul III from his prison and regains the sultanate throne in May 1192. However, soon after, in 1194, after a long war with the Khwarazm Shahs, Sultan Togrul III was defeated and the existence of the Iraqi Seljuk Sultanate came to an end. After defeated by Abu Bakr, Amir Amiran Omar went to gain a support from Shirvanshah Akhsitan I and Georgian Tsarina Tamar. In 1194, the united Georgian-Shirvan and Amir Amiran Omar's troops defeated Abu Bakr in the battles of Shamkir and Beylagan. Later, the Georgians trying to capture Ganja, temporarily occupied it, but soon Abu Bakr's troops drove the Georgians out of Ganja. This process was speeded up during the reign of Atabeg Uzbek (1210–1225), who was enthroned after Abu Bakr's death. During his reign, the country was attacked by Mongols and Georgians. In that period, Armenian prince Hasan-Jalal Dawla (founder of House of Hasan-Jalalyan cadet branch of

Siunia dynasty The Siuni or Siwni dynasty () was an ancient Armenians, ArmenianIn the west stretched the country called Siunia (in Armenian Siunik') whose rulers belonged to a special Armenian family of descendents of Sisak princely () dynasty which ruled the prov ...

Robert H. Hewsen. The Geography of Ananias of Širak: Ašxarhacʻoycʻ, the Long and the Short Recensions. – Reichert, 1992. – P. 194.) (1215–1262) began his separatist activities, a fact which shook the fundamentals of the weakened State. In 1225, Khwarazm Shah Jalal-ad-din dethroned the Ildegizid Uzbek Muzaffar al-Din and set himself up in the capital of

on the 25 of July in 1225.

List of Eldiguzid atabegs

# Eldigüz (ca. 1135 or 1136-1174 or 1175) # Muhammad Jahan Pahlawan, son of Eldigüz (1174 or 1175–1186) # Qizil Arslan, son of Eldigüz (1186–1191) # Qutluq Inandj, stepson of Muhammad Jahan Pahlawan (1191) # Nusrat al-Din Abu Bakr, son of Muhammad Jahan Pahlawan (1191–1210) # Muzaffar al-Din Uzbek, son of Muhammad Jahan Pahlawan (1210–1225)

Genealogy of House of Ildiguz

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Encyclopædia Iranica, "Atabakan-e Adarbayjan", Saljuq rulers of Azerbaijan, 12th–13th, Luther, K.

''The history of Seljuq Turks from the Jami 'Al-Tawarikh: An Ilkhanid Adaptation of the Saljuq Nama of Zahir al-din Nishapuri''. trans. and annoated by K. Allin Luther, e.d. by C.E. Bosworth (London, Curzon Press, 2001).

Clifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996. pp 199-200
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldiguzids 12th century in Armenia 13th century in Armenia Medieval history of Azerbaijan Medieval history of Iran 12th century in Iran 13th century in Iran