Shapur (

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 ...

: شاپور یکم) was the seventh ruler of the

Bavand dynasty The Bavand dynasty () (also spelled Bavend), or simply the Bavandids, was an Iranian dynasty that ruled in parts of Tabaristan (present-day Mazandaran province) in what is now northern Iran from 651 until 1349, alternating between outright inde ...

, who ruled briefly in 825. He was the son and successor of Shahriyar I.

Reign

Just when Shapur had ascended the Bavandid throne, the Qarinvand

Mazyar Mazyar (Middle Persian: ''Māh-Izād''; Mazandarani/ fa, مازیار, Māzyār) was an Iranian prince from the Qarinvand dynasty, who was the ruler (''ispahbadh'') of the mountainous region of Tabaristan from 825/6 to 839. For his resistance to ...

, whom Shapur's father Shahriyar I along with Mazyar's uncle Vinda-Umid had expelled from

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

, returned with an

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

army, and invaded the territories of Shapur and Vinda-Umid, where he defeated them both. Vinda-Umid was killed, whilst Shapur was taken hostage. Shapur, knowing that Mazyar planned to have him killed, sent a secret message to the Abbasid governor of Tabaristan, Musa ibn Hafs, willing to pay him 100,000 dirhams if he would assert him as his own prisoner. Musa responded by saying his best shot would be by converting to Islam and become a client of the

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

. Musa, nervous of Mazyar learning of his secret communication with Shapur, asked him how he would react if Shapur converted to Islam and offered to become a client of the caliph. Mazyar gave no answer, but had Shapur beheaded the same day, which greatly angered Musa.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapur Bavand dynasty 9th-century monarchs in Asia 9th-century Iranian people 825 deaths Year of birth unknown Zoroastrian rulers