Sulayman ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir ( ar, سليمان بن عبد الله بن طاهر) was a ninth century
Tahirid
The Tahirid dynasty ( fa, طاهریان, Tâheriyân, ) was a culturally Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin, that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in ...
official in the service of the
Abbasid Caliphate
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 ...
. He was the last Tahirid governor of
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. ...
, ruling there until he was expelled by the rebellion of
al-Hasan ibn Zayd in 864, and was afterwards appointed governor of
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 ...
and the
Sawad
Sawad was the name used in early Islamic times (7th–12th centuries) for southern Iraq. It means "black land" or "arable land" and refers to the stark contrast between the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia and the Arabian Desert. Under the Umayyad ...
in 869, a position which he held until his death in 879.
Governorship of Tabaristan
Sulayman was the son of
Abdallah ibn Tahir, the governor of
Khurasan from 828 until 845. According to
Ibn Isfandiyar
Baha al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Isfandiyar ( fa, بهاءالدین محمد بن حسن بن اسفندیار), commonly known as Ibn Isfandiyar (), was a 13th-century Iranian historian from Tabaristan, who wrote a history of his native provinc ...
, he was appointed as governor of Tabaristan in either 851 or 854, and served there on behalf of the Tahirids of Khursasan, under whose jurisdiction the province fell. During his time in Tabaristan, Sulayman came under the influence of his deputy
Muhammad ibn Aws al-Balkhi, who was able to appoint members of his family as governors of the cities and districts of the province. These last dealt with the local inhabitants in an extremely harsh manner, and Sulayman's administration soon became accused of excessive taxation and tyranny.
By 864, Tahirid misrule in Tabaristan caused the residents of the western districts of the province to rise up in revolt. The rebels, who proclaimed the
'Alid al-Hasan ibn Zayd as their leader, quickly gained strength, drawing support from the people of Tabaristan as well as the
Daylamites
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 ...
of neighboring Daylam. After defeating Ibn Aws in a battle they were able to enter
Amul
Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) is an Indian dairy state government cooperative society, based in Anand, Gujarat.
Formed in 1946, it is a cooperative brand managed by Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which today i ...
in November 864 and then marched on
Sariyah, where Sulayman was stationed. Sulayman's troops set out to defend the city, but al-Hasan was able to send a second force to sneak past them and enter Sariyah unopposed. Sulayman then abandoned Tabaristan for
Jurjan
Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies appro ...
, leaving al-Hasan in control of the province.
Following his flight to Jurjan, Sulayman reassembled his troops and requested reinforcements from his nephew
Muhammad ibn Tahir
Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad ibn Tahir ibn 'Abdallah ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن طاهر بن عبد الله, died c. 910) was the last Tahirid governor of Khurasan, from 862 until 873. He was the governor during the period of Extreme ...
, the governor of Khurasan. He then marched back toward Tabaristan and won a victory over the rebels in early 865, forcing al-Hasan to retreat and allowing him to reoccupy much of the province. His fortunes soon reversed again, however, and after a fresh defeat he again fled to Jurjan. Another expedition was soon after undertaken against the rebels, but this also ended in failure, and Sulayman thereafter gave up his attempts to reclaim the province for good.
Governorship of Baghdad
In 869 Sulayman made his way to
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 ...
, and presented himself before the caliph
al-Mu'tazz
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن جعفر; 847 – 16 July 869), better known by his regnal title al-Muʿtazz bi-ʾllāh (, "He who is strengthened by God") was the Abbasid caliph from 866 to 86 ...
in
Samarra
Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional army ...
. On March 24, he was appointed as chief of security (''
shurta
''Shurṭa'' ( ar, شرطة) is the common Arabic term for police, although its precise meaning is that of a "picked" or elite force. Bodies termed ''shurṭa'' were established in the early days of the Caliphate, perhaps as early as the caliphate ...
h'') in Baghdad and the Sawad, replacing his brother
Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir
Abu Ahmad Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir ( ar, أبو أحمد عبيد الله بن عبد الله بن طاهر, c. 838 – May 913) was a ninth century Tahirid official and military officer. He was the last major Tahirid to hold high off ...
in that position.
Upon receiving his appointment, Sulayman was forced to deal with the extremely tumultuous state of affairs in Baghdad. News of the forced abdication of al-Mu'tazz and the accession of
al-Muhtadi
Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn al-Wāthiq ( ar, أبو إسحاق محمد بن هارون الواثق; – 21 June 870), better known by his regnal name Al-Muhtadī bi-'llāh (Arabic: , "Guided by God"), was the Caliph of the Abbasid Calipha ...
in July 869 was met with hostility by the city's residents, who demanded that the
oath of allegiance be given to
Abu Ahmad ibn al-Mutawakkil instead, and it was only after a spell of violence that the
prayers were made in al-Muhtadi's name. Sulayman also suffered from a shortage of available funds, and found it difficult to meet the demands of the soldiers for the pay of their salaries. Before long, a rivalry broke out between the Baghdadi commanders and Muhammad ibn Aws, who was in charge of the troops that had come with Sulayman from Khurasan and
al-Ray, further complicating matters in the city.
After several incidents, the Baghdadi troops grew fed up with the depredations and payment demands of Muhammad's soldiers and rioted. A fierce battle broke out between the two factions, ending with Muhammad being defeated and forced to flee the city. Sulayman then stepped in and mollified the Baghdadi commanders, while sending a message to Muhammad instructing him to return to Khurasan. The latter, however, rejected this command and set about plundering the neighborhoods of
Baradan and
al-Nahrawan
The Nahrevan Canal ( Persian: کانال نرهوان) was a major irrigation system of the Sassanid and early Islamic periods in central Iraq, along the eastern banks of the Tigris and the lower course of the Diyala River. Created in the 6th centu ...
to the north of Baghdad, which continued until the central government appeased him by appointing him over the
Khurasan Road The (Great) Khurasan Road was the great trunk road connecting Mesopotamia to the Iranian Plateau and thence to Central Asia, China, and the Indus Valley.
It is very well-documented in the Abbasid period, when it connected the core of the capital ...
two and a half months later.
Sulayman died in August or September 879, and his positions were assigned to 'Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah in his place.
[. Excepting the account of his death and a mention at v. 36: p. 72, al-Tabari is silent on Sulayman's activities between 869 and 879. According to , Sulayman was dismissed as governor by 873. See also .]
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
* }
*
{{Tahirid dynasty
879 deaths
Tahirid governors of Baghdad
Abbasid governors of Tabaristan
9th-century Iranian people
9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate