Abu'l-Wafa Tuzun, commonly known as Tuzun ( ar, توزون), was a
Turkish soldier who served first the
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
ruler
Mardavij ibn Ziyar and subsequently 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 ...
. Rising to a position of leadership in the Abbasid army, he evicted the
Hamdanid
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 ...
Nasir al-Dawla
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Abu'l-Hayja Abdallah ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi ( ar, أبو محمد الحسن ابن أبو الهيجاء عبدالله ابن حمدان ناصر الدولة التغلبي; died 968 or 969), more commonly known simpl ...
from Baghdad and assumed the position of ''
amir al-umara'' on 31 May 943, becoming the Caliphate's ''de facto'' ruler. He held this position until his death in August 945, a few months before Baghdad, and the Abbasid Caliphate with it, came under the control of 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 ...
.
Early career
Tuzun was a
Turkish slave-soldier (''
ghulam
Ghulam ( ar, غلام, ) is an Arabic word meaning ''servant'', ''assistant'', ''boy'', or ''youth''. It is used to describe young servants in paradise. It is also used to refer to slave-soldiers in the Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid and to a lesser ...
'' or ''
mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
''), who initially served the autonomous
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
ruler
Mardavij ibn Ziyar. After the assassination of Mardavij in 935, many of his soldiers left to enter service under the powerful
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 ...
governor of
Wasit
Wasit ( ar, وَاسِط, Wāsiṭ, syr, ܘܐܣܛ) is an ancient city in Wasit Governorate, south east of Kut in eastern Iraq.
History
The city was built by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in c. 702 CE on the west bank of the Tigris across from the hi ...
,
Ibn Ra'iq. With their support, in 936 Ibn Ra'iq managed to secure 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 ...
al-Radi's invitation to take over the effective administration of what remained of the Caliphate, under the title of ''
amir al-umara''. Among Ibn Ra'iq's first actions were the disbandment of the old caliphal army, leaving his Turkish troops as one of the main power factors in the struggle for control of the Caliph and his court, a struggle that soon drew in ambitious neighbouring potentates like 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 ...
of the
Jazira
Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre
* Al-Jazira ( ...
and the
Baridis 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 han ...
. In this complicated struggle, Ibn Ra'iq was deposed in 938 by
Bajkam
Abū al-Husayn Bajkam al-Mākānī ( ar, أبو الحسين بجكم المكاني), referred to as Bajkam, Badjkam or Bachkam (from ''Bäčkäm'', a Persian and Turkish word meaning a horse- or yak-tailCanard (1960), pp. 866–867), was a Tur ...
, who like Tuzun had once served Mardavij and had come west with him. Ibn Ra'iq recovered his position in 941, after Bajkam's death, only to be assassinated and replaced the following year by the Hamdanid emir
Nasir al-Dawla
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Abu'l-Hayja Abdallah ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi ( ar, أبو محمد الحسن ابن أبو الهيجاء عبدالله ابن حمدان ناصر الدولة التغلبي; died 968 or 969), more commonly known simpl ...
.
![Iraq Ninth Century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Iraq_Ninth_Century.png)
During this period, Tuzun played an active role. He is first mentioned in early 941, when the Baridis moved against Baghdad, and he was tasked by Bajkam, along with
Nushtakin, with confronting them. Battle was joined at Madhar, which at first went against the Baghdad troops, but eventually Tuzun and Nushtakin prevailed and routed the Baridis. Bajkam was killed, however, by Kurdish brigands on 21 April, and turmoil ensued: Caliph
al-Muttaqi
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Jaʿfar al-Muqtadir ( ar, أبو إسحاق إبراهيم بن جعفر المقتدر) better known by his regnal title Al-Muttaqi (908 – July 968, ar, المتقي) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 940 to 944. Hi ...
appointed a
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...
of his own, but was soon compelled to install the Baridi leader
Abu Abdallah al-Baridi
Abu Abdallah al-Hasan al-Baridi (; ) was the most prominent of the Baridi family, Iraqi tax officials who used the enormous wealth gained from tax farming to vie for control of the rump Abbasid Caliphate in the 930s and 940s.
In this contest A ...
in the post, who held it until an army mutiny resulted in the appointment of 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 ...
leader
Kurankij as ''amir al-umara'' (1 July). In the meantime, following Bajkam's death, Tuzun, Nushtakin,
Khajkhaj and several other Turkish military leaders at first went north to
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
and tried to enter the employ of Nasir al-Dawla, but he turned them away. As a result, they turned to Ibn Ra'iq, who used the opportunity to recover his old post (23 September). In November, however, Tuzun and other Turkish leaders mutinied against Ibn Ra'iq and deserted him for the Baridis. This increased the latter's strength an emboldened them to march on Baghdad: on 7 March 942 the Baridi troops fought their way into the city, while Ibn Ra'iq and the Caliph withdrew north to seek the aid of the Hamdanids. Now master of the capital, the head of the Baridi family Abu'l-Husayn appointed Tuzun as ''
sahib al-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 ...
'' of the eastern half of the city, across the
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
. Baridi rule soon proved unpopular, however, as the plunder of his undisciplined Daylamites was coupled with a sharp rise in prices and stifling taxation. Tuzun and the other Turks conspired to seize Abu'l-Husayn, but was betrayed by Nushtakin, and his attack on the Baridis' palace was repulsed by the forewarned Daylamite troops. Tuzun then abandoned Baghdad and with many of the Turks marched north to Mosul. Strengthened by these defections, the Hamdanids marched south onto Baghdad, which the Baridis abandoned. This was followed by the murder of Ibn Ra'iq by the Hamdanids (11 April 942) and the accession of Nasir al-Dawla to the post of ''amir al-umara'' a few days later. Tuzun in turn was rewarded with the post of ''sahib al-shurta'' of the capital on both sides of the river.
The Baridis continued to challenge the Hamdanid position from their base in Wasit, however, and Tuzun was one of the commanders of the army sent against them under Nasir al-Dawla's brother Ali, better known by his ''
laqab
Arabic language
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet ...
'' of
Sayf al-Dawla
ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī ( ar, علي بن أبو الهيجاء عبد الله بن حمدان بن الحارث التغلبي, 22 June 916 – 9 February 967), more commonly known ...
. In a hotly contested battle near
al-Mada'in that lasted from 16 to 19 August 942, the Hamdanid and Turkish troops routed the Baridis, who abandoned Wasit for their original base of Basra. Sayf al-Dawla occupied Wasit, but by the spring of 943, the Turkish troops and their leaders, chiefly Tuzun and Khajkhaj, had become restless and mutinous due to delays in their pay, while, according to
Ibn Miskawayh
Ibn Miskawayh ( fa, مُسْکُـوْيَه Muskūyah, 932–1030), full name Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Miskawayh was a Persian chancery official of the Buyid era, and philosopher and historian from Parandak, Iran. As ...
, Sayf al-Dawla tried to win them over for his own designs on Syria by slighting his brother. In the end, on the night of 7 May 943, the Turkish troops attacked Sayf al-Dawla's encampment and set fire to it. The Hamdanid was able to escape through the desert to Baghdad, while at Wasit the Turkish officers acclaimed Tuzun as their chief (''
amir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
''), bringing him myrtle and herbs in accordance with ancient Persian custom, and Khajkhaj was made commander-in-chief (''
ispahsalar
''Ispahsālār'' ( fa, اسپهسالار) or ''sipahsālār'' (; "army commander"), in Arabic rendered as ''isfahsalār'' () or ''iṣbahsalār'' (), was a title used in much of the Islamic world during the 10th–15th centuries, to denote the sen ...
'').
Master of the Caliphate
On learning of the Turkish revolt, the Baridis began to move against Wasit and sent an envoy to Tuzun urging him to march on Baghdad, and requesting the rights of tax-farming in Wasit. Tuzun gave a non-committal answer, but his spies soon informed him that Khajkhaj was planning to desert to the Baridis. On 20 May, Tuzun with his retainers surprised Khajkhaj in his bed, seized him and blinded him. Leaving 300 men under Kaighalagh to safeguard Wasit, Tuzun marched on Baghdad. There Sayf al-Dawla had promised the Caliph to resist, but on the Turks' approach, the Hamdanid and his officers fled north, and on 3 June, Tuzun entered the capital and was named ''amir al-umara'' by the Caliph.
Tuzun's first act was to march south against Wasit, which Kaighalagh had been forced to abandon in the face of Baridi superiority. On his way south he met with
Muhammad ibn Shirzad, a defector from the Baridis, whom he appointed as his personal secretary. Tuzun pursued a peace with the Baridis, who now had to face an unexpected attack by
Yusuf ibn Wajih, the ruler of
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 ...
, on Basra itself. The deal was sealed with a marriage alliance between Tuzun and a daughter of Abu Abdallah al-Baridi. Back in Baghdad, however, the news of the peace between Tuzun and the Baridis was not welcomed: the vizier Abu'l-Husayn ibn Muqla distrusted both Tuzun and especially Ibn Shirzad. Fearing for his own position if he could not satisfy the financial demands of the Turks, he made contact with the Hamdanids. A Hamdanid army under Nasir al-Dawla's cousin
Abu Abdallah al-Husayn appeared before the Harb Gate of Baghdad, and both the vizier and the Caliph went over to him and were escorted north to Mosul. Hearing about these events, Tuzun quickly granted al-Baridi the tax-farming of Wasit and returned to Baghdad with his troops.
Tuzun followed the Hamdanids north, heavily defeated Sayf al-Dawla in two battles near
Tikrit
Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...
, and captured Mosul. The Hamdanid brothers and the Caliph to abandon Mosul for
Nisibis
Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...
, from where the Caliph and his entourage, accompanied by Sayf al-Dawla, went to
Raqqa
Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...
. An agreement was concluded between Tuzun and the Hamdanids on 26 May 944, whereby Nasir al-Dawla renounced his claims on the Caliphate's core lands in central Iraq, receiving in return recognition for his control over the Jazira and his claims over
Syria. The Hamdanid was also obliged to pay an annual tribute of 3.6 million ''
dirhams''. In the meantime, Caliph al-Muttaqi, who resented the dominance of the various warlords and tried to recover the independence and authority of his office, had contacted the powerful and virtually independent ruler of Egypt,
Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj ibn Juff ibn Yiltakīn ibn Fūrān ibn Fūrī ibn Khāqān (8 February 882 – 24 July 946), better known by the title al-Ikhshīd ( ar, الإخشيد) after 939, was an Abbasid commander and governor who beca ...
. In response, the Ikhshid launched a campaign across Syria and in August 944 met with the Caliph at Raqqa, where he tried to persuade al-Muttaqi to move to Egypt. Al-Muttaqi refused, and instead returned to Baghdad, trusting the assurances of Tuzun. As the Caliph approached the capital, however, Tuzun met him and had him blinded and deposed in favour of
al-Mustakfi
Abu’l-Qāsim ʿAbdallāh ibn Ali ( ar, أبو القاسم عبد الله بن علي; 908 – September/October 949), better known by his regnal name al-Mustakfī bi’llāh ( ar, المستكفي بالله, , Desirous of Being Satisfied wit ...
.
Until his death in August 945, Tuzun remained in control in Baghdad, but his position was increasingly threatened by the ambitions of a new power, 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 ...
, and particularly
Ahmad ibn Buya. A first Buyid attack on Baghdad in 944 was repelled, but after Tuzun's death, Muhammad ibn Shirzad was unable to enforce his authority, and on 17 January 946, Ahmad entered Baghdad as the new ''amir al-umara'' and overlord of the Caliphate.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuzun
945 deaths
10th-century rulers in Asia
10th-century Turkic people
Abbasid ghilman
Amir al-umara of the Abbasid Caliphate
Year of birth unknown