Military History of Ray, Iran - Ghaznavids and Oghuz, Mid 11th Century CE

Ghaznavids and Oghuz, Mid 11th Century CE

Previously, the various military actions in the vicinity had meant relatively little to the people of Ray, because each successive ruler had an interest in keeping the city's commercial life running as smoothly as possible, and levying taxes. Sultan Mahmud, however, had an additional motivation. He was an ardent Sunni Muslim, and Ray was a city where Sunnis were a minority. Now Mahmud's troops set about rectifying this by direct reduction of the numbers of supporters of other branches of Islam. Some were taken off to Khorasan, others fled or were driven into exile, and many were stoned to death within the city, bodies being hung from trees lining the streets. Religious texts contrary to Sunni belief were burned, more acceptable books were taken to Mahmud's capital, Ghazni, which he had for decades been transforming into a city of culture. There too Mahmud soon returned, leaving his son Mas'ud in charge at Ray, with orders to extend his territory as far as possible. Mas'ud did so, capturing key centres such as Isfahan, but eleven months after the triumph at Ray, his father died, and Mas'ud had to hurry to Ghazni himself, to stake his claim to the Sultanate. When the deposed governor of Isfahan, Majd's cousin Muhammad ibn Rustam Dushmanziyar ('Ala' al-Daula; also familiarly known as Ibn Kakuya) heard that Mas'ud had left the area, he moved rapidly to recapture, not just Isfahan, but other towns including Ray during 421-22 H (1030-31 CE). Unfortunately for him, Mas'ud had few problems deposing and crippling his twin brother Muhammad to win the Sultanate, and soon sent his general Tash Farrash to teach the rebel a lesson. Once again, the citizens of Ray were subjected to atrocities- but 'Ala' himself evaded the Ghaznavid troops, and was eventually allowed to remain in power at Isfahan.

Some years previously, Mahmud had attempted to control a population of Turkic Oghuz nomads which had been causing havoc in Khorasan, by holding their leader, Arslan ibn Seljuq, as a hostage and dispersing them over a wide area, apparently hoping that in small groups they could be controlled by his local governors. This failed, and groups of Oghuz moved westward, some settling in Azerbaijan. Others spent some time along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, and in 420 H (1029 CE) some of them, led by one Yaghmur, waited until Mahmud's main army left newly-conquered Ray, and paid the city a visit. Remarkably, Mas'ud chose not to oppose them, but to employ them in Khorasan. During the campaign against 'Ala' al-Daula, in 424 H (1033 CE), Tash Farrash learned, at Nishapur, that the Oghuz in Khorasan had not abandoned their old plundering ways, and as punishment he executed many, including Yaghmur and over fifty other leaders. Later, with Tash Farrash busy at Isfahan, and Mas'ud dealing with a rebellion in India, the survivors of these Oghuz headed for Ray. They claimed that their true destination was Azerbaijan, where their cousins were still living in peace, but for the populations of all the communities they passed through and plundered, that made no difference, and the area round Ray itself was particularly wealthy. About 426 H (1035 CE) Tash assembled an expeditionary force including 3,000 cavalry, and even a few elephants, to drive the Oghuz away once more, but when his force, with all its supplies, was still some distance from their encampment near Ray, the Oghuz warriors, taking only their weapons and light rations, moved out to attack. Although the sheer strength of Tash's force gave him an advantage, it consisted of several different contingents, and when the Oghuz captured the leader of the Kurdish troops, he offered to remove his troops from the battle if they would spare his life. This done, the advantage was with the Oghuz, who, by sheer weight of numbers, were even able to cut down the elephants, including the one Tash Farrash was riding. He and most of his officers were killed, and his army routed; then, with the additional resources gained from the victory, the Oghuz troops attacked Ray itself. The governor, Abu Sahl al-Hamduni, recognising that his forces were outnumbered, took them into the fortress of Tabarak, but instead of settling down to a siege, the Oghuz ignored him, and rampaged through the city. Abu Sahl brought his troops out to fight again, and captured two of the most important Oghuz leaders, which was enough to bring about a truce. It was agreed that the Oghuz should pay some compensation and leave Ray, which they did, in 427 H (1035-6 CE), only to observe an army approaching from Djurdjan. This they ambushed, capturing the commander and some 2,000 of his men.

'Ala' al-Daula, forced out of Isfahan again by the forces of the late Tash Farrash, soon learned that Ray was almost defenceless, and paid a friendly visit to the city, offering protection if Abu Sahl would pay him. When the governor refused, 'Ala' sent a message to the Oghuz, who were still not hurrying on the journey to Azerbaijan, offering land near Ray if they would help him against Abu Sahl. Some 1,500 of them did so- not because of 'Ala's offer, but because of an even better offer from one of his officers, who wanted to use them to depose 'Ala'. Learning of this plot soon after his combined forces had persuaded Abu Sahl to submit in Jumada I 429 H (February–March 1038 CE), 'Ala' had the officer imprisoned at Tabarak, so the Oghuz went on the rampage again. While 'Ala' set about dealing with the new problem and taking control of Ray, the arrival of the new Oghuz in Azerbaijan completely upset the tolerably successful balance which had been struck with the earlier immigrants. Vicious Oghuz raiding, affecting both the dominant population group and the Kurdish minority, led to an alliance between Wahsudan, the Rawadid ruler of Azerbaijan, and the Kurdish leader Abu'l-Hayja ibn Rabib al-Daula. Outnumbered, many of the Oghuz fled once more, and at the end of 429 H (1038 CE) a large group came to Ray, where they allied with Fana-Khusrau, son of Majd al-Daula, and Kam-Rava, Daylamite ruler of Saveh, to besiege the city. 'Ala' abandoned Ray to its fate, followed by many well-informed citizens, and the Oghuz once again began looting. They also killed many of the men and enslaved many women, leaving Ray almost deserted.