Quhyar (), was the ruler of the

Qarinvand dynasty The Qarinvand dynasty (also spelled Karenvand and Qarenvand), or simply the Karenids, was an Iranian dynasty that ruled in parts of Tabaristan (Mazandaran) in northern Iran from the 550s until the 11th-century. They considered themselves as the ...

, ruling briefly in 839 until his assassination.

Biography

Quhyar was the son of Qarin ibn Vindadhhurmuzd, and had a brother named

Mazyar Mazyar (Middle Persian: ''Māh-Izād''; Mazandarani language, Mazandarani/) was an Iranian peoples, Iranian prince from the Qarinvand dynasty, who was the ruler (''ispahbadh'') of the mountainous region of Tabaristan from 825/6 to 839. For his re ...

, who, after ascending the Qarinvand throne, was repelled from

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 ...

by his uncle Vinda-Umid and the Bavandid ruler

Shahriyar I Shahriyar I (Persian: شهریار) was the sixth ruler of the Bavand dynasty from 817 to 825. He was the grandson and successor of Sharwin I. Before Shahriyar became ruler of the Bavand dynasty, he was taken as hostage by Harun al-Rashid to Baghd ...

. However, Mazyar returned in 822/23 with the support 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 ...

to take revenge.

Shapur Shahpur, Shapur, Shahpoor, or Shahapur () may refer to: People * Shapur (name), Persian given name and a list of people with the name Places India Bihar * Shahpur, Bihar, a city in Bhojpur district ** Shahpur, Bihar Assembly constitue ...

, who was the son and successor of Shahriyar I, was defeated and killed along with Vinda-Umid. Mazyar then united Tabaristan under his own rule. Mazyar, however, later rebelled against the Abbasid Caliphate, an act which was widely supported by the native Zoroastrians, who began plundering the Muslim villages. 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 ...

ruler Abdallah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani and the Abbasid caliph

al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. ...

shortly sent five corps that entered Tabaristan from all sides. Mazyar made his brother Quhyar as the defender of the Qarinvand mountains, and the Bavandid

Qarin I Qarin I (Persian: کارن), was the eighth ruler of the Bavand dynasty from 839 to 867. Biography His brother, Shapur, was murdered in 825 by a Qarinvand named Mazyar, who then conquered his domains. With the aid of Abbasids and Tahirids, howe ...

as the defender of eastern Tabaristan. However, the fall of Tabaristan went quickly: several cities were caught by surprise, while Qarin I betrayed Mazyar and agreed to aid the Abbasids in exchange for being restored as the ruler of the Bavand dynasty. The people of

Sari A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-sti ...

shortly revolted against Mazyar, and Quhyar betrayed Mazyar, and had him captured and given to al-Mu'tasim. Mazyar was shortly brought to

Samarra Samarra (, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and mi ...

, where he was executed. His body later became gibbeted with the body of the

Khurramite The Khurramites ( , meaning "those of the Joyful Religion") were an IranianW. Madelung, "Khurrammiya" in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianchi, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2009. Brill Online. ...

Babak Khorramdin Bābak Khorramdin (, , from , ''Pāpak/Pābag''; 795 or 798 – January 838) was one of the main Iranian revolutionary leaders of the Iranian Khorram-Dinān ("Those of the joyous religion"), which was a local freedom movement fighting the Abbasi ...

. Quhyar, who had just ascended the Qarinvand throne, however, was shortly killed by his own

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 ...

soldiers because of his betrayal against Mazyar. Although many scholars considered the death of Quhyar as the fall of the Qarinvand dynasty, the dynasty continued to rule in parts of Tabaristan, and a certain Baduspan ibn Gurdzad is mentioned in 864 as the ruler of the Qarinvand dynasty

References

Sources

* * * {{s-end 9th-century Iranian people Qarinvand dynasty 839 deaths Year of birth missing Murdered Persian monarchs Zoroastrian monarchs 9th-century murdered monarchs