Abu'l Haret Ahmad (died ca. 1000) was the third

Farighunid The Farighunids were an Iranian dynasty that ruled Guzgan (modern-day northern Afghanistan) in the late 9th, 10th and early 11th centuries. They were ultimately deposed by the ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire, Sultan Mahmud (). Background Accordi ...

ruler of

Guzgan Guzgan ( fa, گوزگان, also known as Gozgan, Guzganan or Quzghan, in Arabic Juzjan or Juzjanan) was a historical region and early medieval principality in what is now northern Afghanistan. Etymology The area was known as "Guzgan" or in the ...

from 982 to 1000. He was the son and successor of

Abu'l Haret Muhammad Abu'l Haret Muhammad ( fa, ابوالحارث محمد; died c. 982) was the second Farighunid ruler of Guzgan from an unknown date during the 10th century to 982. He was the son and successor of Ahmad ibn Farighun. Abu'l Haret's father died at an ...

Biography

In 982, Abu'l Haret's father died, leaving him a kingdom at its height. In 990, Abu'l-Haret was sent by the

Samanid The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Kho ...

ruler

Nuh II Nuh II ( fa, نوح, died 22 July 997)''Tabaqat-i Nasiri'' by Minhaj-i-Siraj, pg. 107, Lahore Sangmil Publications 2004 was amir of the Samanids (976–997). He was the son and successor of Mansur I. Beginning and Middle of Reign Having ascended ...

to suppress the rebellion of the Turkic military leader Fa'iq. Abu'l Haret was, however, defeated by Fai'q, and was forced to flee. Some time later, Abu'l Haret's relations with the

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...

noble and Samanid general Sebüktigin and his son

Mahmud Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 199 ...

began to flourish; they attacked Fa'iq and the Simjurid Abu 'Ali Simjuri at

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

, where they won a decisive victory over them. They also made an alliance by double marriage; Abu'l Haret's son,

Abu'l-Nasr Muhammad Abu'l-Nasr Muhammad (died ca. 1010) was the last Farighunid ruler of Guzgan from 1000 to 1010. He was the son and successor of Abu'l Haret Ahmad. Biography Abu'l-Nasr Muhammad is first mentioned during the late 990s, when his father made an allia ...

, married Sebüktigin's daughter, while Mahmud married one of Abu'l Haret's daughters. Meanwhile, the Samanids began to quickly decline. Sebüktigin later died in 997, and his kingdom was soon thrown into civil war between his sons Mahmud and

Ismail Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

. During the civil war, Abu'l Haret stayed neutral, and by 998, Mahmud managed to emerge victorious, and Ismail was shortly allowed to live at the court of Abu'l Haret. One year later, the remains of the Samanid kingdom was conquered by the

Kara-Khanid Khanate The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek ...

. Abu'l Haret later died in ca. 1000 and was succeeded by his son Abu'l-Nasr Muhammad, who shortly became a vassal of the Ghaznavids.

Sources

*Bosworth, C. E. "ĀL-E FARĪḠŪN." ''Encyclopedia Iranica.'' 1 August 2012. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abul Haret Ahmad 1000 deaths 10th-century births 10th-century Iranian people 11th-century Iranian people Farighunids 10th-century monarchs in Asia 11th-century monarchs in Asia Rulers of Guzgan