The Masmughans of Damavand (

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

: Masmughan-i Dumbawand,

New Persian New Persian (), also known as Modern Persian () is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into three stages: Early New Persian (8th ...

: مس مغان دماوند, meaning ''Great Magians of Damavand'') were a local dynasty, which ruled Damavand and its surrounding areas from ca. 651 to 760. The founder of the dynasty was a Karenid named Mardanshah of Damavand.

History

The Masmughans of Damavand are first mentioned by

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- ...

, where the Masmughan Mardanshah of Damavand reportedly aided the Mihranid Siyavakhsh at Ray against the Arabs. The forces of Siyavakhsh and Mardanshah, were, however, defeated. Mardanshah then made peace with the Arabs in return for an annual tribute."Maṣmug̲h̲an." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2013. Reference. 30 November 2013 In 748/749, Abu Muslim sought to subdue the Masmughan but his general Musa ibn Kab was ambushed by the local forces who enjoyed the advantage of the terrain, which forced him to return to Ray. In 758/759 due to disputes between Abarwiz and his brother, who is simply called ''Masmughan'' in Arabic sources, Abarwiz then went over to the

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-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

who gave him a pension. In some Arabic sources Abarwiz is called Al-Masmughan Malik (''

malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...

of the Masmughans''), and is known for his bravery. In 760, Masmughan, the brother of Abarwiz, was at war against his father-in-law, the Dabuyid ispahbadh Khurshid, but when he heard about the Abbasid expedition to Tabaristan, he made peace with the latter. The Arabs then defeated the ispahbadh and the Masmughan, who was captured along with his daughters Bakhtariya and Shakla. One of these daughters became the wife of

Al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr (; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his ...

References

Sources

*{{cite book, last=Pourshariati, first=Parvaneh, title=Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, location=London and New York, publisher=I.B. Tauris, year=2008, isbn=978-1-84511-645-3, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I-xtAAAAMAAJ Zoroastrian monarchs House of Karen Damavand County History of Mazandaran province Monarchy in Persia and Iran 7th century in Iran 8th century in Iran 651 establishments

History

See also

References

Sources