Abu Nasr Firuz Kharshadh ( ar, أبو نصر فيروز خوارشاذ; died December 22, 1012), better known by his ''
laqab'' of Baha al-Dawla ( ar, بهاء الدوله, Bahaʾ al-Dawla, Splendour of the State) was the
Buyid amir of
Iraq (988–1012), along with
Fars and
Kerman
Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...
(998–1012). His early reign was dominated by struggles with his rival relatives over control of the western
Persian provinces, but by 998 he managed to establish his supremacy over the Buyid confederation. His reign nevertheless saw the increasing encroachment of neighbouring powers on Buyid territory, and marks the beginning of the decline of the Buyids' power. He was the third son of
'Adud al-Dawla
Fannā (Panāh) Khusraw ( fa, پناه خسرو), better known by his laqab of ʿAḍud al-Dawla ( ar, عضد الدولة, "Pillar of the bbasidDynasty") (September 24, 936 – March 26, 983) was an emir of the Buyid dynasty, ruling from 9 ...
.
Early life
In 986, a
Dailamite officer named
Asfar ibn Kurdawayh rebelled against the ruler of Iraq,
Samsam al-Dawla, and changed his allegiance to
Sharaf al-Dawla. However, Asfar quickly changed his mind, and declared allegiance to the latter's other brother Abu Nasr Firuz Kharshadh, who was shortly given the honorific epithet of "Baha' al-Dawla." However, Samsam al-Dawla, with the aid of
Fuladh ibn Manadhar, suppressed the rebellion, and imprisoned Baha al-Dawla. Samsam al-Dawla shortly made peace with Sharaf al-Dawla, and agreed to release Baha al-Dawla. Sharaf al-Dawla shortly betrayed Samsam al-Dawla, conquered Iraq, and had him imprisoned in a fortress.
Reign
Upon the death of Sharaf al-Dawla in 988, Baha' al-Dawla succeeded him, whereupon he took the additional title of ''Diya' al-Milla''. Samsam al-Dawla, who managed to flee from prison, prevented Baha' al-Dawla from gaining all of Sharaf al-Dawla's possessions by taking control of
Fars,
Kerman
Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...
and
Khuzestan
Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...
. Both Baha' al-Dawla and Samsam al-Dawla, however, were threatened by their granduncle
Fakhr al-Dawla, the ruler of
Jibal, who invaded Khuzestan in an attempt to drive a wedge between the two brothers' territories. This act prompted the brothers to draw up an alliance. Samsam al-Dawla recognized Baha' al-Dawla as the ruler of Iraq and Khuzestan, while he himself kept
Arrajan, Fars and Kerman. Both promised to consider each other as equals, and took the title of king (''
malik
Malik, Mallik, Melik, Malka, Malek, Maleek, Malick, Mallick, or Melekh ( phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤊; ar, ملك; he, מֶלֶךְ) is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic duri ...
''). In 990, Baha' al-Dawla appointed
Sabur ibn Ardashir as his ''
vizier''.
In 991 Baha' al-Dawla attempted to gain supremacy over Samsam al-Dawla's realm. He took the ancient Persian title of ''
Shâhanshâh'' and invaded the latter's territory. His forces were defeated, however, and Samsam al-Dawla regained Khuzestan and even gained control of the Buyid territories in
Oman. He then recognized Fakhr al-Dawla as senior ''
amir'', submitting to his authority.
Fakhr al-Dawla's death in 997, coupled with Samsam al-Dawla's increasing troubles within his realm, provided Baha' al-Dawla with the opportunity to assert his authority in
Persia. He gained the support of the
Hasanwayhid ruler
Badr ibn Hasanwayh and prepared for the expedition. The invasion began in December 998; scarcely had it commenced when Samsam al-Dawla was killed by one of the sons of
'Izz al-Dawla who had risen in revolt. Baha' al-Dawla then took
Shiraz, defeated 'Izz al-Dawla's sons, and was joined by the Dailamites of Fars under
Ibn Ustadh-Hurmuz
Abu Ali Hasan ibn Ustadh-Hurmuz ( ar, أبو علي حسن بن أستاذ هرمز), commonly known after his father as Ibn Ustadh-Hurmuz () (died 1011) was a Daylamite military officer of the Buyids, and an important figure in the Buyid state dur ...
. For the rest of his life Baha' al-Dawla remained in Fars. He also managed to gain indirect control over northern Iran, where Fakr al-Dawla's two sons
Majd al-Dawla and
Shams al-Dawla recognized him as senior ''amir'' by 1009 or 1010. In 1001, Baha' al-Dawla appointed Ibn Ustadh-Hurmuz as the governor of
Ahvaz, and one year later, appointed him as the governor of Iraq, where he kept order by solving disputes between different religious sects, and by defeating bandits who had caused chaos in the region.
He also managed to defeat the former governor of Iraq, Abu Ja'far al-Hajjaj, who was supported by
Kurds and
Shayban Arabs. In 1007, Baha' al-Dawla made peace with the
Al-Mazeedi ruler
Ali ibn Mazyad, who was given the honorific title of "Sanad al-Dawla", and agreed to become a vassal of Baha' al-Dawla in return for recognition of his rule. This treaty was highly in favor of Baha' al-Dawla, who managed to use Ali ibn Mazyad as the keeper of Buyid influence in Iraq and its surrounding regions. In 1011, Ibn Ustadh-Hurmuz died and was succeeded by Baha' al-Dawla's new vizier
Fakhr al-Mulk as the governor of Iraq.
Baha' al-Dawla's reign coincided with the beginning of the decline of the Buyids. The
Kurd ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
ish chief Badh laid the foundations for the
Marwanid amirate in
Diyarbakr, while the initially subservient '
Uqaylids of
Mosul expanded into Iraq at the Buyids' expense. By the time Baha' al-Dawla died,
Baghdad and
Wasit were the only two major Iraqi cities directly under his control. In the north, where Fakhr al-Dawla's sons ruled, the Buyid frontier also fell back, as the
Ziyarids
The Ziyarid dynasty ( fa, زیاریان) was an Iranian dynasty of Gilaki origin that ruled Tabaristan from 931 to 1090 during the Iranian Intermezzo period. The empire rose to prominence during the leadership of Mardavij. After his death, his ...
of
Gorgan and
Tabaristan permanently wrested themselves from Buyid control. The
Ghaznavids
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 ...
kept putting pressure on the
Khurasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...
border, while the
Kakuyids began to set up a state in
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
.
Death
For various reasons, Baha' al-Dawla did not actively defend the borders. Having gained undisputed control of the Buyid state, he seemed content to allow external enemies to seize territories in the west and north. He died in Arrajan in December 1012. Shortly before his death, he named his son
Sultan al-Dawla
Abu Shuja ( fa, ابو شجاع; 993 – December 1024), better known by his ''laqab'' of Sultan al-Dawla (Persian: سلطان الدوله, "Power of the Dynasty"), was the Buyid amir of Fars (1012–1024) and Iraq (1012–1021). He was the son o ...
as his successor.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baha al-Dawla
971 births
1012 deaths
Buyid emirs of Fars
Buyid emirs of Iraq
Buyid emirs of Kerman
10th-century rulers in Asia
11th-century rulers in Asia
10th-century Iranian people
11th-century Iranian people
Shahanshahs
Amir al-umara of the Abbasid Caliphate