Principality of Khuttal
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The Principality of Khuttal, (also spelled ''Khatlan'' and ''Khotlan''), was a local
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 ...
dynasty, which ruled the
Khuttal Khuttal, frequently also in the plural form Khuttalan (and variants such as ''Khutlan'', ''Khatlan'', in Chinese sources ''K'o-tut-lo'') was a medieval region and principality on the north bank of the river Oxus (modern Amu Darya), lying between i ...
region from the early 7th century to 750. The rulers of the region were known by their titles of “Khuttalan Shah” (king of Khuttal), “Khuttalan Khudah” (lord of Khuttal), and “Shir-i Khutallan” (lion of Khuttal). The capital and residence of the rulers was in Hulbuk, close to the city of
Kulob Kulob ( tg, Кӯлоб, کولاﺏ, translit=Kûlob/Kūlob), formerly also Kulyab (russian: Куляб, translit=Kuljab), is a city in Khatlon Region, southern Tajikistan. Located southeast of the capital Dushanbe on the river Yakhsu (a right tr ...
.


History

Khuttal, along with other regions, was originally under
Hephthalite The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
rule, but as the Hephthalite kingdom began to weaken, local dynasties in Khuttal,
Chaghaniyan Chaghaniyan (Middle Persian: ''Chagīnīgān''; fa, چغانیان ''Chaghāniyān''), known as al-Saghaniyan in Arabic sources, was a medieval region and principality located on the right bank of the Oxus River, to the south of Samarkand. His ...
, and other regions, began to assert their rule over them. In ca. 676, Sa'id ibn 'Uthman, the
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
governor of
Khurasan Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...
, managed to make the principality of Khuttal acknowledge Muslim authority. However, this did not effect actual Arab rule over Khuttal and the principality remained independent. In ca. 699, a Khuttalan pretender who was the paternal cousin of the Khuttalan king, known in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, 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 C ...
sources as al-Sabal, fled to the Arab general al-Muhallab ibn Abi Suffrah, and urged him to invade the principality. The latter agreed, provided the pretender with an army to invade the region, and sent another army under his son
Yazid ibn al-Muhallab Yazid ibn al-Muhallab ( ar, يزيد بن المهلب) (672–720) was a provincial governor in the time of the Umayyad dynasty and an early member of the Muhallabid family that became important in early Abbasid times. Life In A.H. 78 (697-69 ...
. However, al-Sabal managed to make a surprise attack on the Khuttalan pretender, and had him executed at his fortress. Yazid shortly after besieged the fortress, but made peace with al-Sabal in return for a ransom of money. In 727, another Arab general,
Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri (; died 738) was a prominent official of the Umayyad Caliphate, serving twice as governor of Khurasan under the Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. The descendant of a prominent Arab family, he was the brother of Khalid al- ...
, invaded Khuttal, but al-Sabal called upon the Turkic Turgesh for aid, who, under their ''
khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...
'' Suluk, won a decisive victory over Asad in the so-called "
Day of Thirst The "Day of Thirst" ( ar, ﻳﻮﻢ ﺍلعطش, Yawm al-aṭash) is the name traditionally given in Arabic historiography to a battle fought in 724 between the Turkic Türgesh Khaganate and the Umayyad Caliphate on the banks of the Syr Darya ri ...
". Al-Sabal, shortly before his death, appointed a Khuttalan nobleman known in Arabic sources as Ibn al-Sa'iji as the regent of his principality until his son, known in Arabic sources as al-Hanash, and in
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
sources as Lo-kin-tsie, who had fled to China, returned to Khuttal. Ibn al-Sa'iji is mentioned in supporting and having made an alliance with the Arab military leader al-Harith ibn Surayj during his rebellion in Khurasan, but the two soon quarrelled and Harith withdrew with his followers into
Tokharistan Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is an ancient Early Middle Ages name given to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources. In the 7th and 8th century CE, Tokharistan c ...
. Because of this, in 737 Asad, once more governor of Khurasan, carried out another invasion of Khuttal, which made Ibn al-Sa'iji, like his predecessor, call upon the Turgesh for aid. The ''khagan'' Suluk, at the head of an army numbering 50,000 men, attacked Asad, and inflicted a heavy defeat on him (30 September 737). However, later in the same year, Asad managed to inflict a heavy defeat on Suluk, who barely escaped capture and was forced to retire north to his lands. There he was soon after murdered by his rivals, leading to the collapse of Turgesh power amid civil war. In the aftermath of the battle, a certain prince named Badr Tarkhan, who may have been the ruler of
Bamiyan Bamyan or Bamyan Valley (); ( prs, بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan or Bamian is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 70,000 people makes it the largest city in Hazarajat. Bamyan is at an alti ...
, conquered Khuttal. Thereupon Asad invaded Khuttal and forced the principality to acknowledge Umayyad authority. In 750, the Umayyad Caliphate fell, and was replaced by 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 ...
, who, under their general
Abu Muslim Khorasani , image = Abu Muslim chastises a man for telling tales, Folio from the Ethics of Nasir (Akhlaq-e Nasiri) by Nasir al-Din Tusi (fol. 248r).jpg , caption = "Abu Muslim chastises a man for telling tales," Folio from the '' ...
, sent Abu Dawud Khalid ibn Ibrahim, the governor of
Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...
, to invade the region and bring it under direct Abbasid rule. When Abu Dawud invaded Khuttal, its ruler, known in Arabic sources as Hanash ibn al-Subul (also called Hubaysh ibn al-Shibl) did not resist the invasion, but the ''
dehqan The ''dehqân'' ( fa, دهقان) or ''dehgân'' ( fa, دهگان), were a class of land-owning magnates during the Sasanian and early Islamic period, found throughout Iranian-speaking lands. The ''deqhans'' started to gradually fade away under t ...
s'' of Khuttal forcibly detained him and carried him to a fortress in order to fight Abu Dawud. Nevertheless, Abu Dawud managed to make Hanash and his ''dehqans'' leave the fortress. Hanash shortly fled to the court of the Turks, and then to the Chinese court, while Abu Dawud consolidated Abbasid rule in Khuttal, marking the end of the principality.


See also

*
Khatlon Region Khatlon Region ( tg, Вилояти Хатлон, ''Viloyati Xatlon''), one of the four provinces of Tajikistan ( tg, вилоят, ''Viloyat''), is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwest ...
*
Principality of Chaghaniyan The Principality of Chaghaniyan, known in Arabic sources as al-Saghaniyan, was a part of the Hephthalite Confederation from the 5th to the 7th century CE. After this, it was ruled by a local, presumably Iranian dynasty, which governed the Chagha ...
*
Principality of Ushrusana The Principality of Ushrusana (also spelled ''Usrushana'', ''Osrushana'' or ''Ustrushana'') was a local dynasty ruling the Ushrusana region, in the northern area of modern Tajikistan, from an unknown date to 892 CE. Ushrusana, just like Ferghana, ...
*
Bukhar Khudahs The Bukhar Khudahs or Bukhar Khudats ( Sogdian: ''βuxārak Xwaday'') were a local Sogdian dynasty, which ruled the city of Bukhara from an unknown date to the reign of the Samanid ruler Isma'il ibn Ahmad, who incorporated Bukhara into the Samanid ...
*
Principality of Farghana The Principality of Farghana (also spelled ''Ferghana'', ''Fergana'', and ''Fargana''), was a local Iranian dynasty of Sogdian origin, which ruled the Farghana region from an unknown date to 819. The rulers of the region were known by their title ...


References


Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khuttal States and territories disestablished in the 8th century History of Tajikistan Former monarchies of Central Asia Former countries in Central Asia + Muslim conquest of Transoxiana