Emirate of Derbent () was a medieval state that arose on the Caspian trade route with its center in the city of

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

. The latter occupied a key position among trade centers in the Caspian region. It was ruled by the Hashimid dynasty (''Āl-e Hāšem''), descendants of a freedman from the

Banu Sulaym The Banu Sulaym () is an Arab tribe that dominated part of the Hejaz in the pre-Islamic era. They maintained close ties with the Quraysh of Mecca and the inhabitants of Medina, and fought in a number of battles against the Islamic prophet Muha ...

tribe.

Background

The first attack on Derbent by an

Arab Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entir ...

was launched in 642 under Suraqa ibn Amr, according to

al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...

. As a result, the city's

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

-appointed governor Shahrbaraz surrendered. Thereafter the city was used as a base by Arabs during the devastating

Arab–Khazar wars The Arab–Khazar wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Khazar Khaganate and successive Arab caliphates in the Caucasus region from to 799 CE. Smaller native principalities were also involved in the conflict as vassals of the two ...

. In 713–714, Arab general

Maslama Maslama or Maslamah (Arabic: مَسْلَمة ''maslamah'') is an Arabic male given name and sometimes female, meaning "peace, safety and security from every calamity, disease, evil, misfortune, ordeal, pestilence, damage, harm, disaster, injury, a ...

led an expedition which captured Derbent, reportedly after a resident showed him a secret underground passage. The Armenian historian

Łewond Łewond () or Leontius was a late 8th-century Armenians, Armenian priest and historian. Very little is known about his life, except that he was an eyewitness to the events he describes after 774. His historical work was commissioned by Sapuh, son o ...

claims that the Arabs, realizing that they could not hold the fortress, razed its walls. Future caliph

Marwan II Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan (; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 744 until his death. His reign was dominated by a Third Fitna, civil war, and he was the l ...

once garrisoned Derbent. Asid ibn Zafir al-Sulami and his son

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 ...

were also once in command of Derbent. A commander of Derbent, al-Munajjim al-Sulami (or Najm b. Hashim) was executed by Sa'id ibn Salm al-Bahili in 799, which prompted his son Hayyun to mount a revenge raid by the

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 ...

. Maskat was also annexed to governorate after 833.

History

The autonomous or independent emirate was formed in 869 by Hashim b. Suraqa b. Salis b. Hayyun, Hayyun's great-grandson, following the

Anarchy at Samarra The Anarchy at Samarra () was a period of extreme internal instability from 861 to 870 in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate, marked by the violent succession of four caliphs, who became Puppet ruler, puppets in the hands of powerful rival milit ...

.C. Cahen, �
ĀL-E HĀŠEM
” ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English-language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyc ...

'', I/7, p. 758 (accessed on 14 May 2014). The emirate's politics were influenced by guilds, important tribes and warrior caste ('' ghazi''), often struggling with each other as kingmakers. The neighbouring

Shirvanshah The Shirvanshahs (Arabic/) were the rulers of Shirvan (in present-day Azerbaijan) from 861 to 1538. The first ruling line were the Yazidids, an originally Arab and later Persianized dynasty, who became known as the Kasranids (also referred t ...

s also contested the emirs' sovereignty. Hashim's rule lasted until 884 was followed by his descendants who continuously fought against the

, the Rus', the Shirvanshahs and

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 ...

. The Hashimid dynasty fell from power in 1075 when

Fariburz I Fakhr al-Din Fariburz ibn Sallar (), better simply known as Fariburz I (), was the sixteenth Shah of Shirvan, ruling from 1063 to 1096. His reign saw many major political balance changes in Caucasus, including expansion by the Seljuqs. He was consi ...

annexed Derbent, but soon another dynasty emerged following Saljuq intervention, namely the Aghlabids, named after Aghlab b. Ali who was appointed by Seljuk commander Savtegin after his release from Shirvan prison. This dynasty was in power when

Akhsitan I Akhsitan I (also spelled Akhsatan; ) was the 20th Shirvanshah after 1160, and thought to have reigned until the years 1197–1203/04. He was the son and successor of Manuchihr III (). His mother was Tamar, a Georgian princess from the Bagratio ...

defeated emir Bek-Bars b. Muzaffar with his cousin

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

(r. 1156–1184), the king of Georgia.

Rulers

The Derbent emirate was mainly ruled by Hashimids, at times interrupted by Shirvanshah appointees: # Hashim b. Suraqa (869 – 884) # 'Omar b. Hashim (884 – 885) # Muhammad b. Hashim (885 – December 915) # Abd al-Malik I (4 January 916 – 24 February 939) #* Abu’l-Naǰm b. Muhammad (claimant after 2 March 916) # Ahmad b. Abd al-Malik I (27 February 939 – June 939) # Haytham ibn Muhammad (son of Muhammad III of Shirvan) (June 939 – May 941) # Ahmad (2nd time, May 941 – December 941) # Haytham ibn Muhammad (2nd time, December 941 – May 942) #

Ahmad of Shirvan Ahmad of Shirvan () was the eighth Shah of Shirvan. 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 L ...

(May 942 – September 953) # Khashram Ahmad b. Munabbih (September 953 – March 954) — King of Lakz # Ahmad (3rd time, March 954 – November 976) # Maymun I b. Ahmad (November 976 – 990) # Muhammad IV of Shirvan (990 – 991) # Maymun I (2nd time, 990 – 27 February 997) # Muhammad II b. Ahmad (27 February 997 – December 997) # Lashkari I b. Maymun (March 998 – September 1002) # Mansur I b. Maymun (1003 – 1019) #

Yazid ibn Ahmad Yazid ibn Ahmad or Yazid II () was the tenth Shirvanshah. Reign Yazid was second son of Ahmad of Shirvan, Shirvanshah Ahmad. He followed his brother Muhammad IV of Shirvan, Muhammad IV on throne of Shirvan . Relations with Christians Yazid on ...

(1019 – 1021) # Mansur I (2nd time, 1019 – 1023) #

(2nd time, 1023 – 1024) # Mansur I (3rd time, 1024 – 1034) # Abd al-Malik II b. Mansur (deposed 9 February 1034) #

Ali II of Shirvan Abu Mansur Ali () was twelfth Shah of Shirvan, ruling from 1034 to 1043. Reign Abu Mansur murdered his elder brother Manuchihr I with aid of his wife and rose to throne, also marrying her in January 1035. He continued to push traditional claims o ...

(9 February 1034 – April 1035) #* Mansur b. Musaddid (as commander) # Abd al-Malik II (2nd time, April 1035 – 10 March 1043) # Mansur II b. Abd al-Malik II (18 March 1043 – 22 September 1054) # Lashkari II b. Abd al-Malik II (22 September 1054 – 3 January 1055) # Mansur II (2nd time, 1 July 1055 – 10 February 1065) # Abd al-Malik III b. Lashkari II (May 1065 – October 1065) # Afridun I (30 January 1066 – July 1068) # Abd al-Malik III (2nd time, 27 October 1068 – 28 December 1068) # Afridun I (2nd time, 28 December 1068 – 1070) # Abd al-Malik III (3rd time, 1070 – 1071) # Afridun I (3rd time, 1071 – January 1072) # Abd al-Malik III (4th time, 1072 – 20 August 1075) # Maymun II b. Mansur II (20 August 1075 – December 1075) The emirate was eventually absorbed into the

Seljuq 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 later

state. However, around 1130-1150, the emirate was ruled by another dynasty according to

Abu Hamid al-Gharnati Abu Hamid al-Gharnati (full name: Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Sulayman ibn Rabi al-Māzinī al-Qaysi; c. 1080 – 1170) was an Andalusian traveller from Granada who travelled around eastern and central Europe, and wrote about his trave ...

: # Sayf al-Din Muhammad b. Khalifa (before 1154) # Muzaffar b. Muhammad () — married to daughter of

Demetrius I of Georgia Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, D ...

# Bek-Bars b. Muzaffar () # Abd al-Malik IV b. Bek-Bars () # Rashid b. Farrukhzad () The emirate was again absorbed into Shirvanshah state after 1225 but was finally annexed to

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

after the arrival of

Hulagu Khan Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of ...

in the Middle East, who appointed his son

Yoshmut Yoshmut () was an Ilkhanate prince and one of the eldest sons of Hulagu. According to Dai Matsui and Daniel King, his name was of Christian Uyghur origin and ultimately derived from the Sogdian word "''ʿywšmbt''" (cognate with ). Life He was ...

to commander the march of Derbent in 1265.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{The History of al-Tabari, volume=14 History of Derbent History of the Caucasus Former emirates History of Dagestan History of Azerbaijan