Shaddadids - History

History

In 951, Muhammad bin Shaddadid established himself at Dvin. Unable to hold Dvin against Musafirid incursion, he fled to the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan. His son, Ali Lashkari bin Muhammad, ended Musafirid influence in Arran by taking Ganja in 971. He later expanded into Transcaucasia as far north as Shamkur and as far east as Bardha'a. His brother, Marzuban bin Muhammad's reign also lasted only a few years.

Muhammad bin Shaddadid's third son, Al-Fadl I bin Muhammad, expanded his territory during his lengthy reign. He took Dvin from Armenian Bagratids in 1022 and his campaigns against them met with varying degrees of success. He also raided the Khazars in 1030, whilst holding parts of Azerbaijan. Later that year, while returning from a successful campaign in Georgia, his army encountered Georgian and Armenian forces and was decisively defeated.

Following Al-Fadl I's defeat, the entire region became chaotic with Byzantine Empire pressuring Armenian princes and the Seljuq Turks gaining influence over Azerbaijan after a Seljuq attack on Dvin. The poet, Qatran Tabrizi, praised Ali II Lashkari for his victory over Armenian and Georgian princes, during his stay in Ganja. Abu-l-Aswar Shavur I bin al-Fadl I took power in 1049 with Ganja as his capital. He 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.

As their influence continued to decline, Abu-l-Aswar's son, Al Fadl II bin Shavur I was captured by the Georgians and in 1075 Alp Arslan annexed the last of the Shaddadid territories. 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.