Independent States of Azerbaijan 19th -21st Century

Independent States of Azerbaijan 19th -21st Century

1. In the IX-XI centuries Independent states of Azerbaijan

2. SHIRVANSHAHS (861-1538) By the 9th century the Abbasid caliphate lost control of provinces (emirates) and it was beginning of its fracture to the independent kingdoms. several independent states emerged in Azerbaijan from 9th to 11th century, such as Shirvanshahs , Sajids , Salarids , Shaddadids and Ravvadids .

3. dynasty of Mazyadids Founder Yazid ibn Mazyad who was named governor of the region by the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. Haytham ibn Khalid was appointed as governor of Shirvan by Caliph al- Mutawakkil After al- Mutawakkil's murder in 861, he declared himself independent as " Shirvanshah ".

4. Political history The Shirvanshahs dynasty existed as an independent or a vassal state from 861 until 1538. Its name derives from the name of its first central town Shirvan . In 918 Shirvanshah Aby Tahir moved the capital city to Shamaka , which called Yazidiyya that time. In 917 the Lahijan was incorporated to Shirvan in 981-983 Barda , Kabala and Shabran were incorporated also Subjugation of Derbent in 988 is a significant event for the history of Shirvanshahs .

5. Shir van’s M ap

6. Coat of arms

7. Sajids was established in 879 in the Southern Azerbaijan Its founder was Abu Saj Devdad , a commander of Arab army He was from the Central Asian province Usrushana and more likely had Turkic origin. The capital cities of the state were first Maragha , then Ardabil.

8. Successors of Abu Saj During the reign of his son Muhammad ibn Aby Saj (889-901), Sajids began to mint coins. He was succeeded by his brother Yusif ibn Abu Saj (901-928), who was a mighty ruler of country. Yusuf came to power in 901 by overthrowing his nephew, Devdad Ibn Muhammad.

9. Yusif ibn Abu Saj (901-928) He razed the walls of Maragha and moved the capital to Ardabil. In 903 he invaded Armenia, then in 914 he attacked Georgia and took these territories under his control. In 912 Yusuf had begun to withhold the annual tribute due to the caliph. After incorporation of Shirvanshahs , he was able to unite all Azerbaijani territories under his control, which is more significant event of his reign.

10. End of Sajids In 926 Yusuf was instructed by the caliph to take charge of the campaign against the Carmathians of Bahrain. He was captured and in 928 killed. Yusif’s successors weren’t able to continue his policy and Sajids began to wane. Soon in 941, Marzban ibn Muhammad, the ruler of Deylam captured Ardabil and established Salarid state in the territories of Sajids .  

11. Sajids ’ map

12. Salarids (941-981) Using the conflicts in Azerbaijan the ruler of Deylam ( Gilan ), Marzban ibn Muhammad defeated the last ruler of Sajids Deysam (he was slave usurped a power in Sajids State) in 941 and captured the capital city Ardabil. the territory of Salarids stretched from Derbent to upper flows of Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in south, the Caspian Sea in the east and Georgia in the west.

13. Marzban ibn Muhammad (941-957) He captured the north-western of Azerbaijan and subdued Shirvanshahs , including Derbent as well. Moreover, Marzban ibn Mohammed annexed Armenia and Eastern Georgia. So, after Sajids , Salarids were able to unite all Azerbaijani lands within a single state. During the reign of Salarids trading ships of Azerbaijan began sailing in the Caspian Sea.

14. Fall of Salarids After the death of Muhammad ibn Marzban (957), at result of court rivalry between his sons and his brother Vahsudan caused the weakening of central power. Often invasions of Slavs to Caspian coast of Azerbaijan, robbery of Barda in 944 and the terrible massacre of city population accelerated the overthrow of Salarids. Existence of Salarids was ended by Ravvadids in 981.

15. Ravvadids At period of weakening of Salarids the ruler of cities Tabriz, Maragha and Ahar Abulhija Husain b. Muhammad had overthrown the last Salari ruler Ibrahim ibn Marzban (962-981) in 981 and laid the foundation of Ravvadids state. The founder of Ravvadis dynasty was Ar-Ravvadi al Azdi originally from Yemen. Like other Arab tribes settled in Azerbaijan Ravvadis were also mixed with local population.

16. Political history Abul-Hija Ḥusain b. Muammad (955-988) and his son Mamlan or Muḥammad (988-1000) and their descendants pushed the Mosaferids back into their original homeland of Daylam , and ruled the whole of Azerbaijan from Tabriz, thus bringing that town into prominence for the first time in Islam.

17. Vahsudan b. Mamlan (1025-1059 In the reign of Vahsudan b. Mamlan (1025-1059) a new decisive change appeared in the politics of Azerbaijan. In 1028 Vahsudan allowed 2000 Oghuz families, expelled from Khorasan by the Ghaznavid Sultan Maḥmūd , to settle in his territories. The Oghuz mounted archers were taken into Vahsudan’s service as auxiliaries for use against the Christians of Armenia and Georgia and against the rival Muslim family of the Kurdish Shaddadids of Ganja in Arrān and of Dvin . But their indiscipline made them uncontrollable, and the depredations of their flocks disturbed the agrarian system of Azerbaijan, so that shortly after the Oḡuz had sacked Maraga in 1038, Vahsudan allied with Hadbani Kurds and slew many of them.

18. Fall of Ravvadids Toghrul conquered the principality in 1054, and he defeated the prince of Tabriz Wahsudan ibn Mamlan . In 1071, when Alp Arslan returned from his campaign against the Byzantine Empire, he deposed Mamlan . Wahsudan's successor, Ahmad bin Wahsudan ruled as a lord of Maragha . They reminded in Maragha as Aksunqurids until their elimination by the prince of the Khoremshahs Jalaladdin in 1227.

19. Shaddadid dynasty The Shaddadis were an Azerbaijani dynasty of Kurdish origin reigning from about 950 until 1175, first in Dvin and Ganja, later in Ani . The founder of the dynasty was Moḥammad b. Shaddad , who first appears in the mid-10th century, who took advantage of Mosaferid decline to establish himself in Dvin in 951. Later his sons Abulhasan Lashkari and Fazl came to Ganja and with the support of the local populace, the brothers expelled the Mosaferid governor and Abulhasan Lashkari I became emir in 971.

20. Political history Lashkari I ruled in Ganja for eight years, and was succeeded in 978 by his brother Marzobān , despite his own preference that Fazl should inherit the emirate. However, Marzobān’s incompetent rule gave Fazl popular support to overthrow him. After murdering Marzoban and imprisoning his son, Fazl I established himself as emir in 985. During his long reign of 47 years, he expanded the Shaddadid domains in Arran , seizing Barda and Baylaqan in 993. He also captured territory in Syunik from the Pahlavunis , and re-established Shaddadid rule in Dvin

21. Political history We know very little of the reign of Fazl I’s successor, his son Musa, from 1031 until 1034. Musa was murdered by his Abul-Ḥasan Lashkari II, who reigned for 15 years during which the first Oghuz attacks on Arran are recorded. The Oghuz , led by the Saljuq chief Qutalmish besieged Ganja in 1047, although they were forced to retreat after 18 months. Abul-Aswar Shavur b. Fazl usurped power in Ganja in 1049 from Anushervan , who ruled only 2 months. Shortly after Abul-Aswar captured Ganja in 1054, he, along with the Ravvadids and other local rulers, was obliged to recognize the sovereignty of the Saljuq sultan Toghrul . Yet, the Shaddadid position apparently remained too weak for Abul-Aswar to accept a request for aid from the people of Tbilisi, the main Muslim stronghold remaining in Georgia. Alan invasions from the north forced him to fortify Ganja, but in 1063 and 1064, he was able to launch a series of major expeditions against Shirvan .

22. Political history Abul-Aswar Shavur b. Fazl was the last independent ruling Shaddadid until 1067, when Tugrul I arrived at Ganja and demanded his vassalage. With this, the Seljuqs imposed direct rule over Arran and ended Shaddadid influence there. A cadet branch of Shaddadids continued to rule in Ani and Tbilisi as vassals of the Great Seljuq Empire until 1175, when Malik-Shah I deposed al- Fadl III.