Bahram ibn Ardashir al-Majusi was a

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 ...

officer of

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...

extraction who during his early career served the Buyid ruler Adud al-Dawla, and then later the latter's son

Samsam al-Dawla Abu Kalijar Marzuban, also known as Samsam al-Dawla ( ar, صمصام الدولة, Ṣamṣām al-Dawla, Lion of the Dynasty; c. 963 – December 998) was the Buyid amir of Iraq (983–987), as well as Fars and Kerman (988 or 989 – 998). He w ...

Biography

Bahram was the son of a certain Ardashir, and belonged to a Zoroastrian family. He is first mentioned as one of the secretaries of the Buyid king Adud al-Dawla, and in 976/7 acted as a negotiator for the latter; after Adud al-Dawla had defeated his cousin

Izz al-Dawla Bakhtiyar ( fa, بختیار, died 978), better known by his ''laqab'' of Izz al-Dawla ( ar, عز الدولة, ʿIzz ad-Dawla, lit=Glory of the Dynasty), was the Buyid amir of Iraq (967–978). Early life Izz al-Dawla was born as ''Bakhtiyar ...

at Ahvaz, Bahram was sent to negotiate with Izz al-Dawla and gave the latter permission to retire and settle in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, then under Hamdanid control. However, on his way to Syria, Izz al-Dawla became convinced by

Abu Taghlib Fadl Allah Abu Taghlib al-Ghadanfar Uddat al-Dawla ( ar, فضل الله أبو تغلب الغضنفر عدة الدولة, Faḍl Allāh ʿAbu Taghlib al-Ghaḍanfar ʿUddat al-Dawla), usually known simply by his as Abu Taghlib, was the third H ...

, the Hamdanid ruler of

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 large ...

, to go fight again against his cousin. On May 29, 978, Izz al-Dawla along with Abu Taghlib invaded the domains of his Adud al-Dawla and fought against him near

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 ...

. Bahram also participated in this war; Izz al-Dawla was once again defeated, and was captured and executed at the orders of Adud al-Dawla. Bahram along with the rest of the Buyid army then marched to Mosul and captured the city, which forced Abu Taghlib to flee to Byzantine territory in Anzitene where he asked for aid. Meanwhile, the Buyid army was completing the conquest of

Diyar Bakr Diyar Bakr ( ar, دِيَارُ بَكرٍ, Diyār Bakr, abode of Bakr) is the medieval Arabic name of the northernmost of the three provinces of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Mudar and Diyar Rabi'a. According to the m ...

and

Diyar Mudar Diyar Mudar ( ar, دِيَارُ مُضَرَ, Diyār Muḍar, abode of Mudar) is the medieval Arabic name of the westernmost of the three provinces of al-Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Bakr and Diyar Rabi'a. According to th ...

; The important Hamdanid city of Mayyafariqin was shortly captured by them, which forced Abu Taghlib to flee to

Rahba Al-Rahba (/ALA-LC: ''al-Raḥba'', sometimes spelled ''Raḥabah''), also known as Qal'at al-Rahba, which translates as the "Citadel of al-Rahba", is a medieval Arab fortress on the west bank of the Euphrates River, adjacent to the city of Maya ...

from where he tried to negotiate peace with Adud al-Dawla. During the same period, Bahram along with other Buyid officers, were sent to arrest Izz al-Dawla's former ''

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 a ...

Ibn Baqiyya Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Baqiyya, also known as Nasir-al-Dawla, Naseh, best known as Ibn Baqiyya, was a statesman of the Buyid dynasty, who served as the vizier of Izz al-Dawla from 973 to 977. Biography A native of Awana, a place near ...

. In 983, Bahram was sent under an army to fight the

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 ...

Marwanid The Marwanids or Dustakids (983/990-1085, ) were a Kurdish Sunni Muslim dynasty in the Diyar Bakr region of Upper Mesopotamia (present day northern Iraq/southeastern Turkey) and Armenia, centered on the city of Amid (Diyarbakır). Territory Th ...

ruler

Abu Shuja Badh Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

, but was defeated. During the reign of Adud al-Dawla's son

, Bahram served as his deputy, but was executed in 986.

References

Sources

* * * *{{cite encyclopedia , last = Turner , first= John P. , title = 'Adud al-Dawla , page = 16 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MypbfKdMePIC , year = 2006 , encyclopedia = Medieval Islamic Civilization: A-K, index , publisher = Taylor & Francis , isbn= 9780415966917 Iranian Zoroastrians 10th-century Iranian people 986 deaths 10th-century births Buyid generals