Shirvanshah - Origin and History

Origin and History

The title Shirvanshah dates back to pre-Islamic times. Ibn Khordadbeh mentions the Shirvanshah as the local ruler who received the title from Sassanid emperor Ardashir. Al-Baladhuri also mentions that Shirvanshah, together with the adjacent potentate, Layzanshah were encountered by Arab invaders of the region and records that Shirwan submitted during the time of Caliph Uthman to the commander Salman b. Rab'ia Al-Bahili.

From the end of the 2nd/8th century, Shirvan was under the rule of the members of the Arab family of Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani (d. 185/801). By origin, the Yazidids were Arabs of the Shaybani tribe and belonged to high ranking generals and governors of the Abbassid army. They held a firm grip also on the wider region of Azarbaijan, Arran, Armenia and eastern Caucasus regions. After the death of the Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, the door for emancipation from the caliphate were slowly opened. The great-grandson of Yazid b. Mazyad Shaybani was Haytham b. Muhammad and he assumed the ancient title of Shirvanshah. The dynasty continuously ruled the area of Shirvan either as an independent state or a vassal state until the Safavid times.

One of the important books in the early history of this dynasty is the anonymous Taʾrikh Bab al-Abwab, preserved by the Ottoman historian Munejjim-Bashi (Chief Astronomer), the last date of which concerning the dynasty is 468/1075. A translation of this important work into English language was published by the orientalist Vladimir Minorsky in 1958. We know from this book that the history of the Shirvan Shahs was closely tied with that of the Arab Hashimid family in Darband (Bab al-Abwab) and intermarriage between the two Arab families was common with Yazidis often ruling for various periods in the latter town.

By the time of the anonymous work Hodud al-Alam (c. 982 AD), the Shirvan Shahs, from their capital of Yazīdiyya (very probably the later Shamakha), had absorbed neighbouring kingdoms north of the Kur river and thus acquired the additional titles of Layzan Shah and Khursan Shah. We can also discern the progressive Persianisation of this originally Arab family. According to Encyclopedia of Islam: After the Shah Yazid b. Ahmad (381-418/991-1028), Arab names give way to Persian ones like Manūčihr, Ḳubādh, Farīdūn, etc., very likely as a reflection of marriage links with local families, and possibly with that of the ancient rulers in Shābarān, the former capital, and the Yazidids now began to claim a nasab (lineage) going back to Sassanid kings Bahrām Gūr or to Khusraw Anushirwan. According to Vladimir Minorsky, the most likely explanation of the Iranicisation of this Arab family could be marriage link with the family of the ancient rulers of Shabaran. He further states: The attraction of a Sassanian pedigree proved stronger than the recollection of Shaybani lineage. The coat of arms with two lions could be a reminder of the story of Bahrām Gur in Shahnama where Bahrām had to claim the crown from between two lions to be recognized as the king.

Shirvanshahs built many defensive castles across all of Shirvan to resist many foreign invasions. From the walled city of Baku with its Maiden Tower (XII) and many medieval castles in Absheron to impregnable strongholds all over mountains of Shirvan and Shaki, there are many great examples of medieval military architecture. However, Shirvan was greatly devastated by Mongol invasion in 1235, from which it was not able to fully recover for the next century.

The Shirvanshahs dynasty, existing as independent or a vassal state, from 861 until 1538; longer than any other dynasty in Islamic world, are known for their support of culture. There were two periods of an independent and strong Shirvan state: first in 12th century, under kings Manuchehr and his son, Axsitan who built the stronghold of Baku, and second in 15th century under Derbendid dynasty. In the 13th and 14th centuries Shirvan was a vassal of stronger Mongol and Timurid empires.

Shirvanshah Ibrahim I revived the country's fortunes, and through his cunning politics managed to resist Timurid conquest, letting the state go with paying a tribute.

Shirvanshahs Khalilullah I and Farrukh Yassar resided over most successful period in a history of Shirvan. Architectural complex of "Shirvanshah palace" in Baku that was also a burial site of the dynasty and Halwatiyya Sufi khaneqa, was built during the reign of those two rulers in mid 15th centuries. The Shirvanshah rulers were more or less Sunni. In 1462 Sheykh Junayd, the leader of Safavids, was killed in a battle against Shirvanishans near the town of Khachmaz – an event that Safavids never forgot. By 1500, significantly weakened Shirvan suffered the onslaught of avenging Safavids.

Shah Ismail I sacked Baku in 1501, and, avenging his grandfather, exhumed bodies of Shirvanshahs, buried in the mausoleum and burned them. Most of Baku population was forcibly converted to Shi'ism thereafter.

The vassal Shirvan state managed to hang on until 1538, when, weakened by internal conflict and a Qalandari dervish uprising, it became an easy prey to Shah Ismail's son Tahmasp I. He gave Shirvan to his brother Alqas Mirza to rule as a province.