Al-Mu'addal ibn Ali ibn al-Layth was the

Saffarid The Saffarid dynasty ( fa, صفاریان, safaryan) was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian origin that ruled over parts of Persia, Greater Khorasan, and eastern Makran from 861 to 1003. One of the first indigenous Persian dynasties to emer ...

ruler of

Zarang Zaranj or Zarang ( Persian/Pashto/ bal, زرنج) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, near the border with Iran, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkarga ...

for a part of 911. In 890 al-Mu'addal and his brother

al-Layth Al-Layth ibn Ali ibn al-Layth (died 928) was amir of the Saffarid amirate from 909 until 910. He was the son of Ali ibn al-Layth and nephew of the first two Saffarid rulers, Ya'qub ibn al-Layth and Amr ibn al-Layth. Biography In 890 al-Layth ...

helped their father 'Ali escape from imprisonment at the hands of the latter's uncle, the Saffarid amir

Amr ibn al-Layth Amr ibn al-Layth or Amr-i Laith Saffari ( fa, عمرو لیث صفاری) was the second ruler of the Saffarid dynasty of Iran from 879 to 901. He was the son of a whitesmith and the younger brother of the dynasty's founder, Ya'qub ibn al-Layth a ...

. The three of them fled to Khurasan, where they entered the services of Rafi' ibn Harthama. After 'Ali died in 893, the brothers continued to serve Rafi'. In 896 they were captured by 'Amr, who however treated them well. Near the end of 908 al-Layth made a bid for power against 'Amr's son and successor Tahir by occupying part of

. Al-Mu'addal, who had been taken hostage by Tahir, was released in early 909 after Tahir was unable to dislodge al-Layth in an attempt to induce the latter to give up his struggle. Al-Layth maintained his position, however, and Tahir was eventually forced to withdraw. Al-Layth was now amir, but many were opposed to him. In the east, supporters of Tahir were causing unrest in

Zabulistan Zabulistan ( fa, زابلستان ''Zābulistān''/''Zābolistān''/''Zāwulistān'' or simply ''Zābul'', ps, زابل ''Zābəl''), was a historical region in southern Afghanistan roughly corresponding to the modern provinces of Zabul and ...

, while in the west, the Turkish general Sebük-eri had transferred his allegiance from the Saffarids to the Abbasid caliph, resulting in the loss of Fars and Kerman. Al-Mu'addal was sent to restore order to Zabulistan; while doing so he managed to capture a brother of Sebük-eri's named Ghalib. He then moved on to

Ghazna Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

and killed a local leader there, but soon encountered stiff resistance and al-Layth was required to send him reinforcements. Despite this, he returned to

Sistan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...

near the end of 909 having established the authority of al-Layth in the eastern provinces. In 910 al-Mu'addal participated in al-Layth's campaign against Sebük-eri; once they entered Fars he was charged with capturing the road to Khuzestan. Sebük-eri soon after managed to defeat and capture al-Layth, however, and al-Mu'addal was forced to flee to Kerman, where he took control of the local treasury before moving on to Sistan. In Zarang, meanwhile, news of al-Layth's fall caused the people to recognize another brother,

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

, as amir. In an effort to cement his power, Muhammad imprisoned al-Mu'addal. Muhammad was subsequently forced to conduct a campaign against the

Samanids People Samanid Samanid 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 orig ...

to the north. After suffering a setback and being forced to end the campaign, his advisors convinced him that he needed al-Mu'addal's support, so he set him free. Al-Mu'addal, however, seized Zarang, forcing Muhammad to go to Bust instead. Soon afterwards the Samanid Ahmad ibn Isma'il sent an army to take Zarang from the Saffarids. The Samanids arrived before the city in March 911 and initiated a siege. During the siege al-Mu'addal was informed of Ahmad's taking of Bust and his capture of Muhammad. This prompted him to negotiate with the Samanids, and at the end of July 911 he surrendered. Al-Mu'addal's fate was better than that of his predecessors', who had been imprisoned in Baghdad; he was sent by Ahmad to Bukhara and given a monthly stipend. His surrender allowed the Samanids to take control of Sistan.

References

*Bosworth, C.E. ''The History of the Saffarids of Sistan and the Maliks of Nimruz (247/861 to 949/1542-3)''. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Muaddal Rulers of the Saffarid dynasty 10th-century rulers in Asia 10th-century Iranian people