The Hamdanid dynasty () was a

Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

Arab dynasty that ruled modern day

Northern Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been known by ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

(890–1004). They descended from the ancient

Banu Taghlib The Banu Taghlib (), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il, were an Arab tribe that originated in Jazira. Their parent tribe was the Rabi'a, and they thus traced their descent to the Adnanites. The Taghlib were among the most powerful and cohesive no ...

tribe of Mesopotamia and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

History

Origin

The Hamdanids hailed from Arab

Taghlib The Banu Taghlib (), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il, were an Arab tribe that originated in Jazira. Their parent tribe was the Rabi'a, and they thus traced their descent to the Adnanites. The Taghlib were among the most powerful and cohesive no ...

tribe, and are descendants of Adi ibn Usama al-Taghlibi. They're sometimes called Adawis or Taghlibis in historical sources.

Hamdanid emirate of Jazirah and Aleppo

The Hamdanid dynasty was founded by

Hamdan ibn Hamdun Hamdan ( ') is a name of Arab origin of aristocratic descent and many political ties within the middle east and the Arab World, controlling import/export mandates over port authorities. Among people named Hamdan include: Given name * Hamdan Mo ...

. By 892–893, he was in possession of

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

, after fighting the

Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...

of the

Jazira Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic language, Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula". The term may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazir ...

. In 895, Caliph al-Mutadid invaded and Hamdan fled Mardin. Hamdan's son, Husayn, who was at Ardumusht, joined the caliph's forces. Hamdan later surrendered to the caliph and was imprisoned. In December 908, Husayn conspired to establish Ibn al-Mu'tazz as Caliph. Having failed, Husayn fled until he asked for mediation through his brother Ibrahim. Upon his return, he was made governor of

Diyar Rabi'a Diyar Rabi'a () is the medieval Arabic name of the easternmost and largest of the three provinces of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Bakr and Diyar Mudar. According to the medieval geographer al-Baladhuri, all three prov ...

. In 916, Husayn, due to a disagreement with vizier Ali b. Isa, revolted, was captured, imprisoned, and executed in 918. Hamdan's other son, Abdallah, was made governor of Mosul in 905–906. He conducted campaigns against the Kurds in that region and in 913–914, was dismissed from his post and subsequently revolted. Abdallah submitted himself to Mu'nis, and with his pardon was made governor of Mosul in 914–915. During his brother Husayn's revolt, both he and his brother Ibrahim were temporarily imprisoned. By 919, Abdallah was commanding an army against Yusuf b. Abi l'Sadj, governor of Adharbaydjan and Armenia. During their rule the Hamdanids intermarried with

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

dignitaries. The rule of Hassan

Nasir al-Dawla Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Abi'l-Hayja Abdallah ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi (; died 968 or 969), more commonly known simply by his honorific of Nasir al-Dawla (, ), was the second Hamdanid ruler of the Emirate of Mosul, encompassing most of the Jazira ...

(929–968), governor of Mosul and

Diyar Bakr Diyar Bakr () is the medieval Arabic name of the northernmost of the three provinces of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Mudar and Diyar Rabi'a. According to the medieval geographer al-Baladhuri, all three provinces were ...

, was sufficiently tyrannical to cause him to be deposed by his own family. His lineage still ruled in

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 ...

, a heavy defeat by the

Buyids 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 ...

in 979 notwithstanding, until 990. After this, their area of control in northern Iraq was divided between the

Uqaylids The Uqaylid dynasty () was a Shia Arab dynasty with several lines that ruled in various parts of Al-Jazira, northern Syria and Iraq in the late tenth and eleventh centuries. The main line, centered in Mosul, ruled from 990 to 1096. History Ri ...

and the Marwanids. Ali

Sayf al-Dawla ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī (, 22 June 916 – 8 February 967), more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla (, ), was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, ...

'Sword of the Dynasty' ruled (945–967) northern Syria from Aleppo, and became the most important opponent of the Christian

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

's re-expansion. His court was a centre of culture, thanks to its nurturing of

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is ''Adab (Islam), Adab'', which comes from a meaning of etiquett ...

, but it lost this status after the Byzantine sacking of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. To stop the Byzantine advance, Aleppo was put under the suzerainty of the

Fatimids 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 Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, but in 1003 the Fatimids deposed the Hamdanids.

Hamdanid rulers

Hamdanids in Al-Jazira #

al-Husayn ibn Hamdan Husayn ibn Hamdan ibn Hamdun ibn al-Harith al-Taghlibi () was an early member of the Hamdanid family, who distinguished himself as a general for the Abbasid Caliphate and played a major role in the Hamdanids' rise to power among the Arab tribes i ...

(895–916) #

Abdallah ibn Hamdan Abu'l-Hayja Abdallah ibn Hamdan (; died 929) was an early member of the Hamdanid dynasty, who served the Abbasid Caliphate as a military commander and governor of Mosul (in 905/06–913/14, 914/15, and again in 925–29). Esteemed for his qualities ...

(906–929) #

(929–967) #

Abu Taghlib Uddat al-Dawla Abu Taghlib Fadl Allah al-Ghadanfar al-Hamdani (), usually known simply by his as Abu Taghlib, was the third Hamdanid ruler of the Emirate of Mosul, encompassing most of the Jazira. His reign was troubled, being marked by conflic ...

(967–978) # Directly administered as part of 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 ...

-controlled

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

, 979–981 #

Abu Tahir Ibrahim ibn Nasir al-Dawla Abu Tahir Ibrahim ibn Nasir al-Dawla was a Hamdanid prince, who along with his brother Abu Abdallah al-Husayn ibn Nasir al-Dawla, al-Husayn was the last Hamdanid ruler of Mosul in 989–990. After his defeat at the hand of the Marwanid Kurds, he wa ...

(989–990) #

Abu Abdallah al-Husayn ibn Nasir al-Dawla Abu Abdallah al-Husayn ibn Nasir al-Dawla was a Hamdanid prince, who along with his brother Ibrahim was the last Hamdanid ruler of Mosul in 989–990. After his defeat at the hand of the Marwanid Kurds and the takeover of Mosul by the Uqaylids, ...

(989–990) # Deposed by the

Uqaylid The Uqaylid dynasty () was a Shia Arab dynasty with several lines that ruled in various parts of Al-Jazira, northern Syria and Iraq in the late tenth and eleventh centuries. The main line, centered in Mosul, ruled from 990 to 1096. History Ris ...

chieftain

Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab Abu'l-Dhawwād Muḥammad ibn al-Musayyab was the first Emir of Mosul from the Uqaylid dynasty, from –991/2. Life Muhammad and the Uqaylid dynasty belonged to the Banu Uqayl, a northern Arab tribe who were originally clients of the Hamdanid emi ...

Hamdanids in Aleppo #

(945–967) #

Sa'd al-Dawla Abu 'l-Ma'ali Sharif, more commonly known by his honorific title, Sa'd al-Dawla (), was the second ruler of the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo, encompassing most of northern Syria. The son of the emirate's founder, Sayf al-Dawla, he inherited the t ...

(967–991) #

Sa'id al-Dawla Abu'l-Fada'il Sa'id al-Dawla () was the third Hamdanid ruler of the Emirate of Aleppo. He succeeded his father Sa'd al-Dawla in 991, but throughout his reign real power rested in the hands of Sa'd al-Dawla's former chamberlain, Lu'lu', to whose ...

(991–1002) # Deposed by the ''ghulam''

Lu'lu' al-Kabir Abu Muhammad Lu'lu', surnamed al-Kabir ("the Elder") and al-Jarrahi al-Sayfi (" ervantof the Jarrahids and Sayf al-Dawla"), was a military slave (''ghulam'') of the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo. Under the rule of Sa'd al-Dawla, he rose to become the ...

References

Sources

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