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 ...

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 ...

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, 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 regio ...

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 ...

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, 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 regio ...

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 ...

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

Akhlat Ahlat (; ) is a town in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. It is the seat of Ahlat District.

Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Jwaideh, Wadie (2006). ''The Kurdish National Movement: Its Origins and Development''.

Syracuse University Press Syracuse University Press, founded in 1943, is a university press that is part of Syracuse University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Domestic distribution for the press is currently provided by the University of North ...

. p. 15. .

Manzikert Malazgirt (; ; ), historically known as Manzikert (), is a town in Muş Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Malazgirt District.Tekin, Rahimi (2000). ''Ahlat tarihi''. Osmanlı Araştırmaları Vakfı. p. 35. .

Nisibis Nusaybin () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,079 km2, and its population is 115,586 (2022). The city is populated by Kurds of different tribal affiliation. Nusaybin is separated ...

, Erciş, Muradiye, Siirt,

Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...

, Hasankayf, and temporarily ruled over

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 ...

and

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

.

History

Origins

According to most academic sources, the Marwanids were a

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 ...

dynasty hailing from the Humaydi Tribe. The Encyclopaedia of Iran considers them as an Arab dynasty in one article, and refers to them as a Kurdish dynasty in another article. The Marwanids were

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 ...

s. The founder of the dynasty was a shepherd,

Badh ibn Dustak Abu ʿAbdullah al-Husayn ibn Dustak al-Harbukhti, Abu Shudjaʿ, or simply Baḍ or Baz (died 991) was a Kurdish tribal leader and one of the most important founders of the Marwanid emirate through the maternal line. Appearance Badh is describ ...

. He left his cattle, took up arms and became a valiant chief of war, obtaining popularity. When 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 ...

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

Adud al-Dawla Fannā (Panāh) Khusraw (), better known by his laqab of ʿAḍud al-Dawla (; 24 September 936 – 26 March 983) was an emir of the Buyid dynasty, ruling from 949 to 983. At the height of his power, he ruled an empire stretching from Makran ...

, who ruled Iraq, died in 983, Badh took Mayyāfāriqīn. He also conquered Diyarbakır, as well as a variety of urban sites on the northern shores of

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

. During the rebellion of

Bardas Phokas the Younger Bardas Phokas (or Phocas) () (–13 April 989) was a Byzantine general who took a conspicuous part in three revolts for and against the ruling Macedonian dynasty. First rebellion Bardas was a scion of the Phokas family, the most prominent By ...

in the

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 ...

, Bādh took advantage of the chaotic political situation to conquer the plain of

Mush In multiplayer online games, a MUSH (a backronymed variation on Multi-user dungeon, MUD most often expanded as Multi-User Shared Hallucination, though Multi-User Shared Hack, Habitat, and Holodeck are also observed) is a text-based online social m ...

in Taron, an Armenian princedom annexed by the Byzantine Empire in 966.

Abu Ali Al-Hasan ibn Marwān

Elias of Nisibis, an Assyrian Syriac Christian chronicler, discussed the life of Abu ‘Ali al-Hasan. After the death of his uncle Badh, the elder son of Marwan came back to Hisn-Kayfa, and married the widow of the old warrior chief. He fought the last

Hamdanids The Hamdanid dynasty () was a Islam, Shia Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled modern day Northern Mesopotamia and Bilad al-Sham , Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia. History Origin ...

, confused them and retook all the fortresses. Elias related the tragic end of this prince who was killed in Amid (

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

) in 997 by rebellious inhabitants. His brother Abu Mansur Sa’id succeeded him under the name of Mumahhid al-Dawla. In 992, after Badh's death and a series of Byzantine punitive raids around Lake Van, Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

(r. 976–1025) was able to negotiate a lasting peace with the Kurdish emirate.

Mumahhid al-Dawla Sa'id

Mumahhid, a skilful diplomat, made use of the Byzantines' ambitions. The relations of this prince with Emperor Basil II were quite friendly. When Basil learnt of the murder of the Georgian potentate

David III of Tao David III Kuropalates (, ''Davit’ III Kurapalati'') or David III the Great (დავით III დიდი, ''Davit’ III Didi''), also known as David II, (c. 930s – 1000/1001) was a Georgia (country), Georgian prince of the Bagrationi, B ...

, who had left his kingdom to the Byzantine Empire by testament, he stopped the campaign that he had begun in

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 ...

to ensure the Arabian emirs' obedience and crossed the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

. He annexed David's state, received Mumahhid al-Dawla with honours and made peace with him. Mumahhid al-Dawla took advantage of the peace to restore the walls of his capital Maïpherqat ( Mayyafariqin), where an inscription still commemorates this event. In 1000 when Basil II travelled from

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

to the lands of

David III Kuropalates David III Kuropalates (, ''Davit’ III Kurapalati'') or David III the Great (დავით III დიდი, ''Davit’ III Didi''), also known as David II, (c. 930s – 1000/1001) was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid family of Tao, a hist ...

(Akhlat and Manzikert), Mumahhid al-Dawla came to offer his submission to the emperor and in return he received the high rank of ''

magistros The (Latin; ; ) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magist ...

'' and '' doux'' of the East.

Sharwin ibn Muhammad, usurper

In 1010, Mumahhid al-Dawla was assassinated by his ''

ghulam Ghulam (, ) is an Arabic word meaning ''servant'', ''assistant'', ''boy'', or ''youth''. It is used to describe young servants in Jannah. It is also used to refer to slave-soldiers in the Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid and to a lesser extent, Mughal e ...

'', Sharwin ibn Muhammad, who assumed rulership. He legitimized his rule with the ancient rule that whoever kills the ruler becomes himself the successor. However this archaic rule and Sharwin's rule were soon contested, and Sharwin was overthrown. Coins are known from his brief reign.

Nasr al-Dawla Ahmad ibn Marwan

Nasr al-Dawla was the third son of Marwan to ascend the throne. A clever politician, he skilfully navigated between the surrounding great powers: 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 ...

emir Sultan al-Dawla, the

Fatimid 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 ...

caliph of

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 ...

al-Hakim and Basil II. Elias of Nisibis has written that Nasr al-Dawla Ahmad ibn Marwan, "the victorious emir", subdued ''Ibn Dimne'', his

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

in Diyarbakır, in 1011. He signed with the Byzantine Empire a pact of mutual non-aggression, but violated it once or twice. The renown of this Kurdish Muslim prince grew so much that the inhabitants of al-Ruha (

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

, present-day Sanli Urfa), at the west, called him to free them from an Arab chief. Nasr al-Dawla took the city of Edessa in 1026, and added it to his possessions. This event has been reported by the famous western Syriac author Bar Hebraeus (1226–1286). So Nasr al-Dawla annexed Edessa, but the city was retaken by the Byzantine general George Maniakes in 1031. In 1032 he sent an army of 5000 horsemen, under the command of his general Bal, to re-take the town from Arab tribes supported by Byzantium. The Kurdish commander Bal took the city and killed the Arab tribal chief, then he wrote to his lord, asking for reinforcements, "if you want to save your Lordship on Kertastan (Kurdistan)". Al-Ruha was finally captured again by Byzantines in 1033. The long rule of Nasr al-Dawla represented the apogee of Marwanid power. He built a new citadel on a hill of Mayyafariqin where the Church of the Virgin stood, and also constructed bridges and public baths, and restored the observatory. Some libraries were established in the mosques of Mayyafarikin and Amid. He invited well-known scholars, historians and poets to his royal court, among them Ibn al-Athir, Abd Allah al-Kazaruni, and al-Tihami. He sheltered political refugees such as the future

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

caliph

al-Muqtadi Abū'l-Qasim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qa'im (Arabic: أبو القاسم عبد الله بن محمد بن القائم) better known by his regnal name al-Muqtadi (Arabic: المقتدي 'the follower'; 1056 – February 1094) was the ...

(1075–1099). In 1054 he had to acknowledge Toghrul Beg the

Seljuq Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

as his own liege, who ruled the largest part 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 ...

, but he kept his territories. This fine period of peace and good feelings between

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

and Syriacs was rich in cultural creations. It enjoyed extensive trade, vibrant arts and crafts, and an impressive history. Nasr al-Dawla left monumental inscriptions in Diyarbakır that show still now the artistic brightness of his reign.

Twilight

After Nasr al-Dawla's death, the Marwanids' power declined. His second son, Nizam, succeeded him and ruled until 1079, then followed his son Nasir al-Dawla Mansur. The end of the Marwanid dynasty came about by treason. Ibn Jahir, a former vizier, left the Diyar Bakr and went to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. There, he convinced the Seljuq sultan

Malik Shah I Malik-Shah I (, ) was the third sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1072 to 1092, under whom the sultanate reached the zenith of its power and influence. During his youth, he spent his time participating in the campaigns of his father Alp Arslan, ...

(1072–1092), a grand-nephew of Toghrul Beg, and the famous vizier

Nizam al-Mulk Abū ʿAlī Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī Ṭūsī () (1018 – 1092), better known by his honorific title of Niẓām al-Mulk (), was a Persian Sunni scholar, jurist, political philosopher and vizier of the Seljuk Empire. Rising from a low position w ...

, to allow him to assault Mayyafarikin. When the city was taken, Ibn Jahir took the Marwanids' great treasures for himself. Henceforth, the Diyar Bakr fell almost entirely under the direct rule of the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

. The last emir, Nasir al-Dawla Mansur, kept only the city of Jazirat Ibn ‘Umar (present-day

Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...

in south-eastern Turkey). The roots of the Badikan tribe go back to Badh ibn dustak the founder of the Marwanids. This tribe continues its existence in the provinces of

Muş Muş (; ; ) is a city in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Muş Province and Muş District.İl Beled ...

, Silvan and

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The Malabadi Bridge in

Silvan, Diyarbakır Silvan (; , ) is a municipality and district of Diyarbakır Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,252 km2, and its population is 86,161 (2022). It is populated by Kurds. History Silvan has been identified by several scholars as one of two possi ...

takes its name from Bad, the founder of the Marvanids. Malabadi means (house of Bad) in Kurdish.

List of Marwanid rulers

# Abu Shujā' Badh ibn Dustak (983/990–991) #Al-Hasan ibn Marwān (991–997) #Mumahhid al-Dawla Sa’īd (997–1010) #Sharwin ibn Muhammad (1010), usurper # Nasr al-Dawla Ahmad ibn Marwān (1011–1061) #Nizām al-Dawla Nasr (1061–1079) #Nasir al-Dawla Mansur (1079–1085)

Military

The Marwanids based their Military on Kurdish tribesmen, they never needed to employ Turkic Ghilmans like their Buyid Predecessors, because they provided mounted soldiers from their own ranks.

References

Sources

* * Bar Hebraeus, ''Chronique universelle'', Mukhtassar al-Duwal, Beirut. *''Chronography'' of Elias bar Shinaya, Metropolitan of Nisibe, edited and translated into French by L .J. Delaporte, Paris, 1910. * al-Fāriqī, Ahmad b. Yûsuf b. `Alī b. al-Azraq, Tārīkh al-fāriqī (ed. Badawī `Abd al-Latīf `Awwad). Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-Lubnānī, 1984. English summary by H. F. Amedroz, "The Marwanid dynasty at Mayyafariqin in the tenth and eleventh centuries AD", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1903, pp. 123–154. *

External links

Waqf inscription from Nasr al-Dawla; Jerusalem
by Ephrem-Isa Yousif.

by Catherine Holmes, 2003. {{Authority control Kurdish dynasties Medieval Upper Mesopotamia Sunni dynasties 11th century in the Middle East States and territories disestablished in the 1080s

Territory

History

Origins

Abu Ali Al-Hasan ibn Marwān

Mumahhid al-Dawla Sa'id

Sharwin ibn Muhammad, usurper

Nasr al-Dawla Ahmad ibn Marwan

Twilight

List of Marwanid rulers

Military

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links