Ahmad of Shirvan () was the eighth

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

of Shirvan.

Reign

He was born to Muhammad III while he was still governor of Layzan and had a younger brother called Haytham. Upon his father's accession to throne in September 948, he was appointed as Layzanshah with his younger brother being Tabasaranshah until his father's murder on 4 June 956. The murderer, vizier Ibn al-Maraghi tried to poison Ahmad too, only to be prevented by shah's mother who fed the food to cat before. The vizier was later beaten to death at his own home. As soon as he solidified rule, his brother Tabarsaranshah Haytham fled Shirvan and left for Lakz (modern Southern

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

) while his cousin Abul-Haytham fled to

Barda Barda or BARDA may refer to: Geography *Barda District, a district in Azerbaijan *Barda, Azerbaijan, a town in Azerbaijan *Bârda, a village in Malovăț Commune, Mehedinți County, Romania *Barda, Russia, several rural localities in Russia *Bar ...

. His uncle Abul Badr died sometime later too, leaving Ahmad as undisputed leader of Shirvan. Meanwhile Haytham returned to Shirvan with reinforcemends from

Sallarid The Sallarid dynasty ( fa, سالاریان), (also known as the Musafirids or Langarids) was a Muslim dynasty, of Daylami origin, which ruled in Tarom, Samiran, Daylam, Gilan and subsequently Azerbaijan, Arran, and some districts in Eastern Arm ...

ruler Ibrahim I in 968, in order to reaffirm Sallarid authority over Shirvan. While Ahmad managed to pacify Sallarids with submission and tribute, Haytham - who was supposed to return to Barda with Ibrahim - escaped to al-Masqat (modern

Müşkür Müşkür (known as Pavlovka until 1999) is a village and municipality in the Khachmaz Rayon of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

). He was supported by Ahmad b. Abd al-Malik I, emir of Derbent. While emir tried to negotiate a division of Shirvan on behalf of Haytham, Ahmad chose to march on Derbent instead. Ahmad on his turn captured and burnt

Shabaran Shabran (Shabaran, Shavaran, Sabaran) ( az, Şabran) – was a historical town and district which existed from the 5th to the 18th centuries. It was in what is now the eastern part of the Azerbaijani Republic, within the borders of Greater Caucasu ...

with support from Sarir. According to Ibn Hawqal, following the sack of Samandar by Sviatoslav, the Rus' leader did not bother to occupy the Khazar heartlands north of the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

permanently. Ahmad reportedly supported return of refugee

Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

return to

Itil The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a set of detailed practices for IT activities such as IT service management (ITSM) and IT asset management (ITAM) that focus on aligning IT services with the needs of business. ITIL de ...

after 969. He died in June 981. He had at least three sons called

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

Yazid Yazīd ( ar, يزيد, links=no, "increasing", "adding more") is an Arabic name and may refer to: Given name * Yazid I (647–683), second Umayyad Caliph upon succeeding his father Muawiyah * Yazid II (687–724), Umayyad caliph * Yazid III (701� ...

and Haytham. While Muhammad and Yazid rose to throne successively, Haytham died in 1025 in Tabasaran.

References

Sources

* {{Shirvanshahs 10th-century monarchs in the Middle East