Falak al-Ma'ali Manuchihr ( fa, فلک‌المعالی منوچهر), better known as Manuchihr (died c. 1031), was the ruler of the Ziyarids (1012 at the latest – c. 1031). He was the son of

Qabus Qabus ibn Wushmagir (full name: ''Abol-Hasan Qābūs ibn Wušmagīr ibn Ziyar Sams al-maʿālī'', ; (died 1012) (r. 977–981; 997–1012) was the Ziyarid ruler of Gurgan and Tabaristan in medieval Iran. His father was Vushmgir and his mother wa ...

Early life

During his father's reign Manuchihr was appointed as 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. ...

. When, in the early part of the 11th century, a group of army conspirators rebelled against Qabus and took control of the capital

Gurgan 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 ...

, invited Manuchihr to take the throne. Due to his fear that he might lose the succession, he agreed and pursued Qabus to Bastam. His father eventually agreed to step down in favor of his son and retired to a castle, but was eventually killed in 1012.

Reign

Manuchihr was granted the title of ''Falak al-Ma'ali'' upon his ascension by the

Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

al-Qadir Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ishaq ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن إسحاق, Abu'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq; 947/8 – 29 November 1031), better known by his regnal name al-Qadir ( ar, القادر بالله, al-Qādir bi’llāh, Made po ...

. Shortly after this, Manuchihr recognized the sovereignty of the Mahmud of Ghazna, and married one of his daughters. He did so in order to prevent the

Ghaznavids The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwes ...

from attempting to install his brother Dara, who had fled to the Ghaznavid court, on the throne. Manuchihr sent tribute and

Dailamite 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 ...

troop detachments for Mahmud's invasion of India. Ibn Fuladh, a Dailamite military officer, who claimed

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...

for himself, revolted against his

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. Co ...

overlord Majd al-Dawla in 1016. Majd al-Dawla, however, refused to make him governor of Qazvin, which made Ibn Fuladh threaten him around the countryside of his capital in

Ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

. Majd al-Dawla then requested the aid of his vassal, the

Bavandid 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 ...

ruler

Abu Ja'far Muhammad Abu Ja'far Muhammad ( fa, ابو جعفر محمد), was the ruler of the Bavand dynasty from an unknown date until his capture and defeat by the Kakuyids in 1027. Background In 1006, the Bavand dynasty was put to an end by the Ziyarid ruler Qab ...

, who managed to defeat Ibn Fuladh and repel him from Ray. Ibn Fuladh then requested aid from Manuchihr. Ibn Fuladh agreed to become Manuchihr's vassal in return for his aid. The following year, a combined army of Ibn Fuladh and Manuchihr besieged Ray, which forced Majd al-Dawla to make Ibn Fuladh the governor of

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...

. However, the Kakuyid ruler Muhammad ibn Rustam Dushmanziyar, who was a Buyid vassal king of Isfahan, defeated Ibn Fuladh, possibly killing him during the battle. Manuchihr's relationship with the Ghaznavids was not always friendly, however; on his way to seize the possessions of Majd al-Dawla of Ray in 1028, Mahmud invaded the Ziyarid's territory. Manuchihr was forced to flee and only returned to his throne after paying a large sum to Mahmud. Manuchihr died in around 1030''E. Merçil'', p. 41 and was succeeded by his son Anushirvan, who also undertook a promise to pay tribute to the Ghaznavids.

References

Sources

* E. Merçil (1989). ''Gazneliler Devleti Tarihi'' (History of Ghaznavids), Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara. * * * *

External links

* {{Ziyarid Rulers 1030 deaths Ziyarid dynasty Mazandaran Province 11th-century monarchs in Asia Year of birth unknown 11th-century Iranian people