Daysam ibn Ibrahim al-Kurdi (or Daysam) (d. c. 957) was a
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
commander who occasionally ruled
Adharbayjan between 938 and 955 during the power struggle that ensured after the fall of the
Sajid dynasty
The Sajid dynasty ( fa, ساجیان, sajyan), was an Iranian Muslim dynasty that ruled from 889/890 until 929. The Sajids ruled Azerbaijan and parts of Armenia first from Maragha and Barda and then from Ardabil.''Azerbaijan IV'', C.E. Bosworth, ' ...
.
Life
![Adharbayjan Ninth Century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Adharbayjan_Ninth_Century.svg)
Daysam was a Kurdish
Kharijite, born to a Kurdish mother and an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
or Kurdish
father, who rose to prominence while serving the
Sajid Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj. With Kurdish support he managed to take over Adharbayjan by 938. His position in Adharbayjan was soon threatened by Lashkari ibn Mardi, a
Gilite formerly in the service of the
Ziyarids. Lashkari's Gilite and
Daylamite
The Daylamites or Dailamites (Middle Persian: ''Daylamīgān''; fa, دیلمیان ''Deylamiyān'') were an Iranian people inhabiting the Daylam—the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, now comprisin ...
army expelled Daysam from Adharbayjan, but he was able to recover the province with the help of the
Ziyarid
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 ...
Vushmgir.
In 941 or 942 Daysam's vizier, Abu'l-Qasim Ja'far ibn 'Ali, fled due to an intrigue against him to the
Sallarids
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 ...
of Tarum. There he convinced
Marzuban ibn Muhammad
Marzuban ibn Muhammad (died 957) was the Sallarid ruler of Azerbaijan (941/42–957). He was the son of Muhammad bin Musafir, the ruler of Tarum.
Takeover of Azerbaijan
In 941 Marzuban and his brother Wahsudan ibn Muhammad, with the tacit app ...
() to take Adharbayjan from Daysam. Daysam met Marzuban's army on the field by his Daylamite mercenaries (whom he had hired to counterbalance the power of his unruly Kurdish troops) defected to the Sallarid and he was forced to flee to the court of the
Ardzrunid king of Vaspurakan. Ja'far ibn 'Ali became Marzuban's vizier after he conquered Adharbayjan, but soon feared for his position. He went to
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
and invited Daysam to return to the province. When he arrived at the city he gained the support of the Kurds. His army was defeated by Marzuban's, however, and the Sallarid besieged him in Tabriz. At this point Ja'far abandoned Daysam again, but Daysam managed to escape from Tabriz and enter
Ardabil
Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...
. Marzuban was not far behind and he laid siege to Ardabil. Eventually Daysam's new vizier, who had been bribed by the Sallarids, convinced Daysam to surrender. Daysam was treated with leniency by Marzuban, who gave him his castle in Tarum after he requested it.
In 949 Marzuban was captured by the
Buyids
The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coup ...
, who sent an army under
Abu Mansur Muhammad to conquer Adharbayjan. Marzuban's brother
Wahsudan ibn Muhammad sent Daysam to Adharbayjan to protect Sallarid interests there. Abu Mansur Muhammad's approach forced Daysam to retreat to
Arran, but after Abu Mansur Muhammad suffered a setback he retreated, allowing Daysam to take control of the province. Marzuban escaped from the Buyids in 953 and sought to regain his territory. Daysam was defeated by a Sallarid army near Ardabil, and the Daylamite leaders deserted from his side. He fled to
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, where he was given aid by the Christians. A year later, however, he was expelled from Armenia; he made his way to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
, where the Buyid
Mu'izz al-Dawla
Ahmad ibn Buya ( Persian: احمد بن بویه, died April 8, 967), after 945 better known by his ''laqab'' of Mu'izz al-Dawla ( ar, المعز الدولة البويهي, "Fortifier of the Dynasty"), was the first of the Buyid emirs of Iraq ...
received him with honor.
After the Buyids made peace with the Sallarids, Daysam realized that he could not count on them for help in regaining Adharbayjan. He therefore left them for the
Hamdanids
The Hamdanid dynasty ( ar, الحمدانيون, al-Ḥamdāniyyūn) was a Twelver Shia Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern A ...
; with the aid of
Sayf al-Daula of
Aleppo he occupied
Salmas
Salmas ( fa, سلماس; ; ; ; syr, ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ, Salamas) is the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. It is located northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,86 ...
in 955/956 as a Hamdanid vassal. Marzuban expelled from there, and Daysam again found refuge with the Ardzrunids of Vaspurakan. The Ardzunid king, however, facing threats from Marzuban, seized Daysam and handed him over to the Sallarid. Daysam was blinded and imprisoned. He was killed by some of Marzuban's supporters after the latter's death in 957.
References
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10th-century rulers in Asia
Kurdish rulers
Azerbaijan under the Abbasid Caliphate
10th century in Iran
Kharijites
People of the Sajid dynasty
10th-century Kurdish people