Lashkar Haytham ibn Khalid () was the first

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 ...

, or independent ruler of

Shirvan Shirvan (from ; ; Tat: ''Şirvan'') is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, as known in both pre-Islamic Sasanian and Islamic times. Today, the region is an industrially and agriculturally developed part of the Republic of Azerbaijan ...

, renouncing the suzerainty of the

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 ...

in 861 after 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 ...

and beginning the rule of the Mazyadid or Yazidid dynasty.

Biography

He was the youngest son of

Khalid ibn Yazid al-Shaybani Khalid ibn Yazid al-Shaybani (in Arabic خالد بن يزيد الشيباني) was an Arab general and governor for the Abbasid Caliphate, active in the second quarter of the 9th century. Khalid was a member of the Shayban tribe, dominant in ...

and the grandson of

Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani (; died 801) was an Arab general and governor who served the Abbasid Caliphate. Biography Yazid was member of the Shayban tribe, dominant in the region of Diyar Bakr in the northern Jazira. The first member of his ...

, both of whom had repeatedly served the

as governors of

Arminiya Arminiya, also known as the Ostikanate of Arminiya (, ''Hayastani ostikanut'yun'') or the Emirate of Armenia (, ''imārat armīniya''), was a political and geographic designation given by the Muslim Arabs to the lands of Greater Armenia, Cauca ...

, a vast province encompassing most of the

Transcaucasus 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, ...

, with

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 ...

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

(

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

)

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

(

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 ...

). His elder brother

Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Shaybani Muhammad ibn Khalid ibn Yazid al-Shaybani () was an Arab general and governor for the Abbasid Caliphate, active in the Caliphate's Caucasian provinces in the 9th century. Muhammad was a member of the Shayban tribe, originally from the Diyar Bakr ...

also served as governor of Arminiya. This succession of Shaybanid governors enabled them to become firmly entrenched in the region, especially in Shirvan, which came to be ruled directly by Haytham. He had another brother called Ali who was his father's designated successor for commanding the army. Haytham soon adopted the Persian title "''

''", and after the murder of the Abbasid

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

al-Mutawakkil Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...

in 861, Haytham and his heirs became ''de facto'' independent rulers of Shirvan. His other brother Yazid ibn Khalid was ruling as the "'' Layzanshah''", thus starting the Persianization of the family of Yazidids. His early rule spent fighting

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 ...

, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

kingdom north to Shirvan. Nothing more is known about Haytham, except that he was at an unknown date succeeded by his son Muhammad I.

References

Sources

* * * {{Shirvanshahs 9th-century monarchs in the Middle East 9th-century Arab people Iranian people of Arab descent