Military History of Ray, Iran - Buyids, Late 10th and Early 11th Centuries CE

Buyids, Late 10th and Early 11th Centuries CE

About the same time, Muhammad ibn Musafir's son, Marzuban ibn Muhammad, seized power in Azerbaijan. In 337 H (948 CE), following an alleged diplomatic insult, he attempted to capture Ray, but Rukn al-Daula managed to stall long enough to get reinforcements from his brothers, then defeated and captured Marzuban at Qazwin, going on to seize some of his territory in Azerbaijan. Shortly afterwards, 'Imad al-Daula died, having named Rukn's son Fana Khusrau as his heir. The new amir (henceforth to be known as 'Adud al-Daula) had only just entered his teens, so Rukn acted as his regent. This involved spending several months in 'Imad's capital, Shiraz, and inevitably, while Rukn was away, Abu 'Ali once again brought an army from Khorasan and seized Ray in 338 H (949 CE). To attempt to defend this position if Rukn brought the combined armies of the two states he was ruling would have been foolish, so the Samanid general allowed him to return peacefully, subject to payment of tribute, and renouncement of the territory he had captured in Azerbaijan (sadly for Abu 'Ali, such diplomacy was not popular in Khorasan, and he was deposed, dying in exile at Ray).

Throughout all this time, Rukn had new problems with old enemies. Abu 'Ali besieged Ray unsuccessfully, and made peace in 342 H (953 CE), but he was soon followed by the Ziyarid Vushmgir (sometimes ruler of Tabaristan and/or Djurdjan) who was allied with the Samanids. In 344 H (955 CE) he too signed a peace treaty, but by 347 H (958 CE, shortly after a major earthquake had struck the region around Ray and Qazwin) hostilities had resumed, and Vushmgir briefly took control of Ray- following which Rukn briefly took control of Djurdjan, etc. In 356 H (967 CE), while preparing for another joint campaign with his Samanid allies against Rukn, Vushmgir was killed by a boar during a hunt, and his eldest son, Bisutun made a successful alliance with Rukn against a younger son, Qabus, who was the Samanids' choice. Rukn attempted to devise a working arrangement to keep his own sons happy after his death, which occurred in 366 H (976 CE). Unfortunately, the second son 'Ali (Fakhr al-Daula), who inherited Ray, never fully accepted 'Adud al-Daula as his superior, so in 369 H (980 CE), at 'Adud's request, the younger brother Buya (Mu'ayyid al-Daula) invaded, and drove him (with his ally Qabus) to Khorasan. When 'Adud died in 372 H (983 CE), Fakhr and Qabus returned to Djurdjan, with Samanid allies from Khorasan who helped to defeat and kill Mu'ayyid shortly afterwards, in 373 H (984 CE).

After Fakhr's death in 387 H (997 CE), power passed to his infant sons, whose mother Saiyida acted as regent. Nine-year-old Abu Taleb Rostam (honorific name Majd al-Daula) inherited Ray, while his younger brother Abu Taher (Shams al-Daula) had Hamadan. Following the seizure of Khorasan in 388-9 H (999 CE) by the Ghaznavids- Turkic warriors from further east- the exiled Samanid Isma'il ibn Nuh al-Muntasir attempted to capture Ray in 390 H (1000 CE), but failed. By 397 H (1007 CE), the young adult Majd was becoming frustrated by his mother's dominance, and arranged with his vizier to take control. She escaped and sought help from the Kurdish leader Abu Najm ibn Hasanuya. Allying themselves with Shams, they besieged Ray and eventually imprisoned Majd in the hilltop fortress of Tabarak, adjoining the city. After a year, during which Shams was nominal ruler both of Hamadan and Ray, Majd was allowed to return to purely nominal power, and a life of luxury. As his mother grew older, Shams waited for the ideal moment to take Ray back, striking successfully in 405 H (1014-15 CE). Both Saiyida and Majd escaped, and Shams' troops refused to pursue them, so they were soon able to return and drive him back to Hamadan. Saiyida was also uncomfortably aware that the Ghaznavids, by now well established in Khorasan, had thoughts of westward expansion, and she engaged in a subtle diplomatic standoff with the Ghaznavid Sultan (i.e. emperor, only nominally loyal to the Caliph) Mahmud ibn Sabuktegin- honorific name Yamin al-Daula- who temporarily chose to direct his conquering zeal south-eastwards instead. Some rulers were less perceptive than Mahmud, such as ibn Fulad, probably another Daylamite, who began incursions into the province of Ray about 407 H (1016 CE). With help from Tabaristan, Saiyida managed to keep him at bay, but he too sought help in Tabaristan, and received 2,000 troops from the Ziyarid regional overlord Manuchihr. Ray was besieged, and Saiyida (or, nominally, Majd al-Daula) was forced to give ibn Fulad the governorship of Isfahan. Ibn Fulad disappears from the historical record after this, so it is likely that the incumbent governor of Isfahan made an effective objection after the fashion of the time.

When Saiyida died in 419 H (1028 CE) Majd, having been kept for so long in enforced idleness, away from the real workings of government, was hopelessly out of his depth. Many of his troops were Daylamites, but he was generations removed from his family's origins in the same area, and culturally far apart from them, so they refused to acknowledge him as their master, and ran riot through the city. Hamadan had been conquered by Daylamites shortly after Shams' death a few years previously, so in desperation Majd turned for help to Sultan Mahmud. Knowing that his opportunity had arrived, Mahmud sent 8,000 cavalry to restore order- and to capture Majd. Mahmud also moved towards Ray himself, temporarily taking control of Djurdjan, which might otherwise have attempted its own coup in Ray. When Mahmud's general 'Ali approached the city in Rabi II 420 H (May 1029 CE), Majd came out in person to greet him, with a small honour guard of some 100 soldiers. He was politely detained, while 'Ali's force took over the city. An express message was sent to Sultan Mahmud, and he arrived about three weeks later (26 May) to be greeted by the sight of a vast hoard of treasure captured by 'Ali's men. He gently suggested to Majd that he should have paid more attention to the role of the King in chess, before sending him into exile, with his heir Abu Dulaf.