Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: اتابک مظفرالدین ابوبکر بن سعد بن زنگی), also known as Muzaffar al-Din Qutlugh Khan, was the

Salghurid The Salghurids (), also known as the Atabegs of Fars (), were a Persianate society, Persianate dynasty of Salur tribe, Salur Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman origin that ruled Fars province, Fars, first as vassals of the Seljuks then for the Khwara ...

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...

'' (ruler) of Fars from 1226 to 1260. He was the son and successor of Sa'd I.

Background

Since 1148, the southern Iranian region of Fars had been ruled by the Turkoman Salghurid dynasty. Abu Bakr was the son of Sa'd I (), the Salghurid ''

'' (ruler) of Fars. Before his succession to the throne, Abu Bakr attempted to seize power by rebelling in

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

against his father during the latter's conflict with two princes of the

Khwarazmian Empire The Khwarazmian Empire (), or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. Khwarazmians ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran ...

. He was, however, defeated by local troops and imprisoned. Just before his father's death on 5 November 1226, Abu Bakr was released and subsequently became the new ''atabeg''.

Reign

On 12 November 1230, Abu Bakr captured the

Kish Island Kish ( ) is a resort island in Bandar Lengeh County, Hormozgan Province, off the southern coast of Iran in the Gulf. The island constitutes the city of Kish, Iran, Kish. Owing to its free trade zone status, the island is marketed as a consumers ...

, thus giving him access to the trade between the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where he could enforce dues on it. In August 1236, Abu Bakr seized the islands of Bahrayn, which was officially part of the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

. This resulted in a long struggle against its Arab inhabitants. Following the occupation of northern Iran and

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Ilkhanid The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

ruler

Hulagu Khan Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of ...

(), Abu Bakr declared his allegiance to him by sending his son Sa'd II to the Mongol court at Baghdad. During Sa'd II's assignment, Abu Bakr died, on 18 May 1260. Sa'd II thus succeeded him, but died en route at

Tafresh Tafresh () is a city in the Central District (Tafresh County), Central District of Tafresh County, Markazi province, Markazi province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Tafresh is located amidst high mountains sou ...

due to illness after ruling for twelve or eighteen days. According to the modern historian John Limbert, Abu Bakr's death marked the start of the decline of the Salghurids, as his successors were either "drunkards, braggarts, or children," contrary to the previous "harsh and tough-minded Salghurid rulers."

Court culture and local traditions

Abu Bakr was highly interested in learning, and had a circle of scholars and artists such as

Saadi Shirazi Abu Mohammad Moshrefoldin Mosleh ebn Abdollah ebn Mosharraf, better known by his pen name Saadi (; , ), also known as Saadi of Shiraz (, ''Saʿdī Shīrāzī''; born 1210; died 1291 or 1292), was a Persian poet and prose writer of the medieval p ...

(died 1291/92), who resided at his court. Saadi used his pen name in admiration of Abu Bakr, and also dedicated his first major work to the latter, the '' Bustan.'' During this period, culture flourished in Fars; Abu Bakr ordered the construction of many hospitals and high-level religious establishments which attracted many scholars. According to local traditions, Abu Bakr's minister Amir Muqarrab al-Din Mas'ud discovered the burial place of Ahmad, a brother of the eight Imam

Ali al-Ridha Ali al-Rida (, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the eighth imam in Twelver Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Musa al-Kazim. He is also part of th ...

(died 818). He was identified by the seal ring he wore. Consequently, the locals saw light emerging from a hill, where they allegedly found the burial place of Ahmad's brother Husayn. Abu Bakr had the hill dug, where they found an unscathed body holding a

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and a sword.

References

Sources

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Background

Reign

Court culture and local traditions

References

Sources

Further reading