Shirdil Abu'l-Fawaris ( ar, شيردل أبو الفوارس) (c. 960-September 7, 988 or September 6, 989) was the
Buyid
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. Coupl ...
amir of
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
Fars (983-988/9), as well as
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
(987-988/9). He was the eldest 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
When Kerman was conquered by his father in 968, Shirdil was appointed as viceroy to that province. For some time after 977 he resided in
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 ...
, but was then sent back to Kerman. As the eldest son, Shirdil regarded himself as the successor to his father; 'Adud al-Dawla's apparent preference for his second son
Marzuban therefore made him hostile toward his brother. 'Adud al-Dawla never definitively named a successor by the time of his death in 983. Marzuban (now Samsam al-Dawla) took power in Baghdad as senior amir, but Shirdil also laid his claims to the succession, and from Kerman he invaded and captured Fars.
Reign
Shirdil, who now used the
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
"Sharaf al-Dawla" (), soon found his position surrounded by enemies. In the west, Samsam al-Dawla ruled in Baghdad, while two more of his brothers,
Taj al-Dawla
Abu'l-Husain Ahmad ( fa, ابوالحسین احمد), better known by his ''laqab'' of Taj al-Dawla (Arabic: تاج الدولة،, "Crown of the Dynasty"), was the Buyid ruler of Khuzestan during the 980s. He was the son of 'Adud al-Dawla.
Biog ...
and
Diya' al-Dawla Abu Tahir Firuzshah ( fa, ابو طاهر فیروز شاه), better known by his ''laqab'' of Diya' al-Dawla, was the Buyid ruler of Basra during the 980s. He was the son of 'Adud al-Dawla.
History
Abu Tahir Firuzshah was the son of Adud al-Daw ...
, were in control of
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
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 ...
. To the north,
Fakhr al-Dawla
Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Hasan ( fa, ابوالحسن علی بن حسن), better known by his ''laqab'' of Fakhr al-Dawla ( ar, 'فخر الدولة, "Pride of the Dynasty") (died October or November 997) was the Buyid amir of Jibal (976–980, 9 ...
ruled in
Ray. The next few years were spent by Sharaf al-Dawla fighting against all of these individuals. He provided support to the
Samanids People
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownershi ...
when Fakhr al-Dawla attempted to wrest
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
from them. Despite this, the rulers of Basra and Khuzestan soon acknowledged Fakhr al-Dawla as senior amir, making the latter the most powerful of the Buyids.
Despite this turn of events, Sharaf al-Dawla was able to expand his position. He recovered Buyid
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
, which had earlier seceded to Samsam al-Dawla. In early 986 he captured Basra and Khuzestan, forcing the two brothers to flee to Fakhr al-Dawla's territory. He then took on Samsam al-Dawla; by May or June 986 the latter recognized Sharaf al-Dawla as senior amir. Sharaf al-Dawla probably intended to invade Fakhr al-Dawla's realm, but Iraq soon slipped into anarchy and he was forced to intervene there. He entered Baghdad in 987, deposed Samsam al-Dawla and imprisoned him along with his official
Fuladh ibn Manadhar
Fuladh ibn Manadhar ( fa, فولاد بن ماناذیر), was a Justanid prince, who served as a high-ranking military officer of the Buyid dynasty.
Biography
Fuladh was the son of Manadhar, a Justanid king. Fuladh had a brother named Khusrau ...
in Fars. He also had the
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 ...
officer
Ziyar ibn Shahrakawayh Ziyar ibn Shahrakuya ( fa, کوی کشت و ابنشهر; also spelled Shahrakawayh), was a high-ranking Gilaki military officer who served the Buyids.
Ziyar was the son of Shahrakawayh, the son of Harusindan, the maternal uncle of the Ziyarid rul ...
executed. In July of that year 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 ...
proclaimed Sharaf senior amir.
Sharaf al-Dawla next planned to subdue 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 ...
Badr ibn Hasanwayh
Badr ibn Hasanwayh was the second ruler of the Hasanwayhids from 979 to 1014. He was the son and successor of Hasanwayh ().
Biography
During the civil war between the two Buyid brothers Adud al-Dawla () and Izz al-Dawla (), Hasanwayh had support ...
, who had taken over
Diyarbakr during Samsam al-Dawla's reign and was an ally of Fakhr al-Dawla. The campaign failed, and not long afterwards Sharaf al-Dawla died, either in 988 or 989. He had managed to mostly preserve 'Adud al-Dawla's empire, but the Buyids of Ray under Fakhr al-Dawla had become effectively independent. He was succeeded by his brother
Baha' al-Dawla
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– ...
, but Samsam al-Dawla escaped from prison and captured Fars, Kerman and Khuzestan.
Sources
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharaf al-Dawla
960 births
980s deaths
Buyid emirs of Fars
Buyid emirs of Iraq
Buyid emirs of Kerman
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain
10th-century rulers in Asia
10th-century Iranian people
Amir al-umara of the Abbasid Caliphate