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Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from
Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...
: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the
Caspian Caspian can refer to: *The Caspian Sea *The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea *The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea *Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian peopl ...
coast of northern
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. It corresponded to the present-day province of Mazandaran, which became the predominant name of the area from the 11th-century onwards.


Pre-Islamic era

Tabaristan was named after the
Tapurians The Mazanderani people ( mzn, مازرونیون or mzn, تبریون) or Tabari people ( mzn, تپورون, links=no) are an Iranian peoples, Iranian peopleAcademic American Encyclopedia By Grolier Incorporated, page 294 who are indigenous to ...
, who had been deported there from
Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
by the
Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
king
Phraates I Phraates I ( xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕 ''Frahāt'') was king of the Arsacid dynasty from 170/168 BC to 165/64 BC. He subdued the Mardians, conquered their territory in the Alborz mountains, and reclaimed Hyrcania from the Seleucid Empire. He died in ...
(). At the advent of the
Sasanians The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
, the region, along with Gilan and Daylam, was part of the Padishkhwargar kingdom of king Gushnasp, who is mentioned in the Letter of Tansar. He submitted to the first Sasanian
King of Kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...
()
Ardashir I Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new emp ...
() after being guaranteed to keep his kingdom. His line would continue ruling Padishkhwargar until the second reign of Kavad I (), who removed the dynasty from power and appointed his son
Kawus Kawus, recorded as Caoses by Procopius of Caesarea and Kayus () by early Islamic sources, was the eldest son of Kavadh I, the Sasanian emperor of Iran. During the late reign of his father, Kawus was appointed as governor of Tabaristan, and was give ...
in its stead. Under the Sasanians, Tabaristan enjoyed considerable autonomy. They most likely left most of the affairs to the locals. The mint signature of "AM" is generally presumed to be an abbreviation for the
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 ...
, the main city of the region. The first known Sasanian monarch to have minted coins with the signature was Bahram V (), whilst the last was Boran ().


Islamic era


Dabuyid rule

In the 640s, the Dabuyid prince
Gil Gavbara Gil Gavbara ( fa, گیل گاوباره), also known as Gavbarih (the Cow Devotee), was king and founder of the Dabuyid dynasty in 642, ruling until his death in 660. Origins According to Ibn Isfandiyar, the Dabuyids were descended from Djamasp, a ...
(), who was a great-grandson of
Jamasp Jamasp (also spelled Zamasp or Djamasp; pal, 𐭩𐭠𐭬𐭠𐭮𐭯; fa, جاماسپ ''Jāmāsp'') was Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 496 to 498/9. He was a son of Peroz I and younger brother of Kavad I. Jamasp was installed on the Sasan ...
(), conquered all of Daylam and Gilan and planned on extending his conquests to Tabaristan. Its governor,
Adhar Valash Adhar Valash was an Iranian prince from the House of Karen, who ruled Tabaristan and Gurgan under the authority of the last Sasanian emperor Yazdegerd III (). The name of ''Adhar Valash'' is a combination of ''ādur/ādar'' ("fire") and the perso ...
, requested the aid of ()
Yazdegerd III Yazdegerd III (also spelled Yazdgerd III and Yazdgird III; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the last Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II. Ascending the throne at t ...
(). Being unable to suppress the revolt, Yazdegerd III instead acknowledged Gil Gavbara as the ruler of the regions, presumably to deter him from creating an independent realm. Gil Gavbara was given the titles of ''Padashwārgarshāh'' (shah of Padishkhwargar) and "'' Ispahbad'' of
Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
", possibly indicating Dabuyid rule in eastern Iran. Gil Gavbara maintained the independence of his realm during the
Arab invasion of Iran The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The ...
, which had resulted in the collapse of the Sasanian Empire. His son Baduspan I was granted control over Ruyan (a district that encompassed the western part of Tabaristan) in 665, thus forming the Baduspanid dynasty, which would rule the region until the 1590s. Rule in the mountains of Tabaristan was maintained by two Dabuyid vassal kingdoms, the Qarinvandids and
Bavandids 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 ...
. In 716, the Dabuyid ruler Farrukhan the Great () successfully contained a large-scale invasion by the Umayyad general
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 ...
. Farrukhan's son and successor Dadhburzmihr () may have temporarily lost control of Tabaristan to the Arabs, as indicated by his lack of coinage. However, this may also mean the Dabuyids lacked funds to circulate throughout their realm. The last Dabuyid ruler Khurshid () managed to safeguard his realm against the Umayyads, but after its replacement 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 ...
, he was finally defeated in 760. Tabaristan was subsequently made a regular province of the caliphate, ruled from Amul by an Arab governor, although the local dynasties of the Bavandids, Qarinvandids, the Zarmihrids and Baduspanids, formerly subject to the Dabuyids, continued to control the mountainous interior as tributary vassals of the Abbasid government. These rulers were largely if not completely autonomous.


Caliphate rule

Under the caliphate, Amul became the leading town of Tabaristan, being the primary manufacturer of the silk fabrics that the region was famous for. Throughout history, many prominent figures with the ''
nisba The Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to: * Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation **comparatively, in Afro-Asiatic: see Afroasiatic_lang ...
'' ''al-Tabari'' were from the city, such as Muhammad ibn Jarir (died 923), the author of the Qur'anic commentary ''
Tafsir al-Tabari ''Jāmiʿ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āy al-Qurʾān'' (, also written with ''fī'' in place of ''ʿan''), popularly ''Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī'' ( ar, تفسير الطبري), is a Sunni ''tafsir'' by the Persian scholar Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (83 ...
'' and the historical chronicle ''Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk'' (''
History of the Prophets and Kings The ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' ( ar, تاريخ الرسل والملوك ''Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk''), more commonly known as ''Tarikh al-Tabari'' () or ''Tarikh-i Tabari'' or ''The History of al-Tabari '' ( fa, تاریخ طب ...
''). The second Abbasid governor of Tabaristan,
Khalid ibn Barmak Khalid ibn Barmak (709–781/82; ar, خالد بن برمك) was the first prominent member of the Barmakids, an important Buddhist family from Balkh, which converted to Islam and became prominent members of the Abbasid court in the second ...
, had attempted to build towns and befriend the Qarinvand ruler
Wandad Hurmuzd Vindadhhurmuzd (Persian: ونداد هرمز), also known by the more correct form of Vandad Hormozd (ونداد هرمزد), was the ruler of the Qarinvand dynasty from 765 to 809. Background In 760, during the reign of Vandad Hormozd's unnamed ...
() in order to increase Abbasid influence there. After he left the region, however, the Bavandid ruler Sharwin I () destroyed his constructions. Although Wandad Hurmuzd and Sharwin I had reassured their pledge to the caliph al-Mahdi in 781, they mounted a threatening anti-Muslim rebellion with the Masmughan of Miyanrud two years later. According to local accounts, the rebels massacred all the Muslim inhabitants of Tabaristan in one day. The modern historian Wilferd Madelung considers it exaggerated, and suggests that the massacres only took place in the highlands and segments of the lowlands that the rebels where able to penetrate. The rebels were initially successful, defeating the Muslim forces and their leaders. This alarmed al-Mahdi, who in 783/4 sent his son
Musa Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province *Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran *Musa, Kerman, Iran * Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaijan ...
with "a huge army and equipment such as no one previously had been equipped, to Gurgan to direct the war against Wandad Hurmuzd and Sharwin, the two lords of Tabaristan." The following year, a force of 40,000 soldiers under Sa'id al-Harashi finally defeated the rebels. Wandad Hurmuzd was wounded and captured, but he was soon pardoned and allowed to return to his lands. Following this, relations between the Muslim governors and local rulers of Tabaristan became friendly for a period. Wandad Hurmuzd bought considerable amounts of land outside of
Sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...
from the governor Jarid ibn Yazid. Tensions arose once again at the end of the reign of caliph
Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
(). The Bavandids and Qarinvandids disallowed any Muslim to get buried in Tabaristan, and the soldiers of Sharwin I had killed the caliphal deputy of the region, who was the nephew of the governor Khalifa ibn Sa'id. In 805, Wandad Hurmuzd's brother Vindaspagan killed a Muslim tax collector who had been sent to inspect his villages. Harun al-Rashid, who was at the city of
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 (g ...
to address an issue with the governor of Khurasan, summoned the two rulers. There they both guaranteed their loyalty to the caliph, promising him to pay the land tax. On the request of Wandad Hurmuzd, Harun al-Rashid replaced the governor of Tabaristan. However, the new governor was instructed to confine the power of the local rulers to the highlands. Wandad Hurmuzd's son Qarin, as well Sharwin I's son Shahriyar, were taken to
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 ...
as hostages as proof of their loyalty. After Harun al-Rashid's death in 809, they were returned to Tabaristan. Shahriyar (now known as
Shahriyar I Shahriyar I (Persian: شهریار) was the sixth ruler of the Bavand dynasty from 817 to 825. He was the grandson and successor of Sharwin I. Before Shahriyar became ruler of the Bavand dynasty, he was taken as hostage by Harun al-Rashid to Baghdad ...
), after succeeding his father sometime before 817, expelled the Qarinvand ruler
Mazyar Mazyar (Middle Persian: ''Māh-Izād''; Mazandarani/ fa, مازیار, Māzyār) was an Iranian prince from the Qarinvand dynasty, who was the ruler (''ispahbadh'') of the mountainous region of Tabaristan from 825/6 to 839. For his resistance to ...
(a grandson of Wandad Hurmuzd) with the help of the latters uncle Vinda-Umid ibn Vindaspagan.


Culture

Mazandarani, the local language of Tabaristan, is first attested in the works of early Muslim geographers, who refer it as ''Tabari''. The geographical distribution of the language almost remains the same till this day. To the west it extended to Tammisha; on the other side the inhabitants spoke the "''lotara'' of Astarabad and Persian of Gurgan". The eastern limit of the language was a bit further than present-day, reaching as far as
Malat Malat ( fa, ملاط, also Romanized as Malāţ) is a village in Daryasar Rural District, Kumeleh District, Langarud County, Gilan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a countr ...
. The writing tradition of the language is approximately as old as that of
New Persian New Persian ( fa, فارسی نو), also known as Modern Persian () and Dari (), is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into thre ...
. This was due to the long-lasting independent and semi-independent local kingdoms, ruled by the ''ispahbads''. The oldest known work in Tabari, which has only survived in the Persian translation, is the '' Marzban-nama'', written by the Bavandid ''ispahbad'' al-Marzuban in the late 10th-century or early 11th-century. Islam was first properly established in Tabaristan (as well as Gilan and Daylam) with the advent of
Zaydi Shi'ism Zaydism (''h'') is a unique branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s Revolt of Zayd ibn Ali, unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In contrast to other Shia Muslims of Twelver Shi'ism an ...
in the 9th and 10th centuries. Christian tribes also inhabited Tabaristan, and fought the Arabs around 660, but were defeated after heavy resistance and either killed or enslaved if they did not convert to Islam. The tradition of using Pahlavi script for lapidary and monumental purposes, and possibly for chancery as well, endured longer in the Caspian region. The Bavandid ''ispahbads'' made use of Pahlavi legends as late as the early 11th-century. Hunting, which had already been widely popular under the Sasanians, was particularly popular amongst the Iranians. Khurshid had parks filled with wild boars, hares, wolves and leopards, which he used as a hunting ground. For a certain period, the Caspian shore of Iran served as a center for ancient Iranian national consciousness. In 783, during a rebellion in Tabaristan, the locals gave up their Arab husbands to the rebels. Dynasties such as the Bavandids and Ziyarids continued to commemorate their pre-Islamic background, with traditional Iranian festivals such as Nowruz and Mehregan continuing to exist in Tabaristan.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{coord missing, Mazandaran Province History of Mazandaran Province Historical regions of Iran Caspian Sea basin Historical regions Historical geography of Iran