Muhammad ibn Mikal was an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

nobleman from the Mikalid family, who served as a military commander of the

Tahirid The Tahirid dynasty (, ) was an Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in Abbasid Baghdad until 891. The dynasty was f ...

governor. He was the son of Mikal, a nobleman who had left

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and settled in

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

, and could trace his descent back to the

Sogdia Sogdia () or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemen ...

n ruler

Divashtich Divashtich (also spelled Devashtich, Dewashtich, and Divasti), was a medieval Sogdian ruler in Transoxiana during the period of the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. He was the ruler of Panjikant and its surroundings from ca. 706 until his downfall ...

. Muhammad also had a brother named

Shah ibn Mikal Shah ibn Mikal or al-Shah ibn Mikal, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian nobleman from the Mikalids, Mikalid family, who served as a military commander of the Abdallah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani, Abdallah ibn Tahir, the governor of Khorasan and later direc ...

, who, during his early career, along with Muhammad, played an important role under the Tahirid ruler

Abdallah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani Abdallah ibn Tahir (, ) (ca. 798–844/5) was a military leader and the Tahirid governor of Khurasan from 828 until his death. He is perhaps the most famous of the Tahirids. His career spanned twenty-five years under three caliphs, al-Ma'mun, ...

. In 864, the

Alid The Alids are those who claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib (; 600–661 CE), the fourth Rashidun caliph () and the first imam in Shia Islam. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The main branches are the ...

Hasan ibn Zayd Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn Zayd ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismaʿīl ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Zayd (; died 6 January 884), also known as ''al-Dāʿī al-Kabīr'' (, "the Great/Elder Missionary"), was an Alid who became the founder of the Zaydid dynasty o ...

conquered

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan (; ; from , ), was a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. It corresponded to the present-day province of Mazandaran, which became the predominant name of the area from the 11th-century onward ...

from the Tahirids, while another Alid named Muhammad ibn Ja'far ibn al-Hasan expelled the Tahirid governor of

Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

, and captured the city. The Tahirid governor

Muhammad ibn Tahir Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad ibn Tahir ibn 'Abdallah (, died c. 910) was the last Tahirid governor of Khurasan, from 862 until 873. He was the governor during the period of Extreme instability in Abbasid Caliphate and Civil war of 865–866. His care ...

shortly sent an army from Khurasan under Muhammad ibn Mikal, who managed to recapture the city and capture Muhammad ibn Ja'far. Hasan, however, quickly made a counter-attack under his

Dailamite The Daylamites or Dailamites (Middle Persian: ''Daylamīgān''; ''Deylamiyān'') were an Iranian people inhabiting the Daylam—the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, now comprising the southeastern ...

general Wajin, who managed to rout the army of Muhammad ibn Mikal, and kill the latter. Muhammad had a son named

Abd-Allah Mikali Abd-Allah Mikali (; died 920 CE) was an Iranian statesman from the Mikalid family, who served the Saffarids, and later the Abbasids. Biography Abd-Allah was the son of Muhammad ibn Mikal, a prominent Mikalid commander who served the Tahirids o ...

, who achieved prominence under the

Saffarids The Saffarid dynasty () was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1002. One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emerge after the Islamic conq ...

, a dynasty which had conquered Khurasan from the Tahirids.

Sources

* * * 9th-century Iranian people 860s deaths 9th-century births Mikalids {{Iran-mil-bio-stub