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Part II - The Structure of Iranian Dynasties From Dependence to Independence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 December 2023
Summary
When ʿAbbāsid caliphs used Iranian structural resources to gain power, they did not believe that Iranians would be able to gradually change the structure of ʿAbbāsid power in their favor. But, the persistent efforts of the Iranian agents marked the second season of post-Islamic social change in Iran, a season in which Iranians reproduced their prior structures. Although the Iranian dynasties each formed a different set of social actions and structures in the history of this land, each of them was also completed the social changes of the previous dynasties. In this phase of change, the Iranian dynasties gradually expanded their sphere of influence, forcing the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate to accept the social changes brought about by these dynasties.
The formation of the Tāherids (205–259 AH/820–872 AD) and Sāmānids (203–389 AH/819–999 AD), although each were founded by Iranian amirs, was different. The actions of the Tāherids were not entirely independent of Baghdad, and amirs of the Tāherids defined their activities according to the structure of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate. Meanwhile, the Sāmānids, while being loyal to the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate, began to reproduce their power structures by addressing cultural issues, strengthening Iranian bureaucracy, and maintaining their role as border guards of the eastern territories.
The establishment of the Saffārid dynasty (247–393 AH/861–1003 AD), whose authority originated not from the caliph's approval, but from military power, posed a serious challenge to the legitimacy of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate and provided the prelude to greater independence for Iranian governments. This time, the power originating in Iran moved toward Baghdad, a city that Mansur had built several years before, defining the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate's identity independent of previous governments in the Islamic realm. The Saffārids’ unsuccessful move to Baghdad was completed with the rise of the Buyids (320–448 AH/932–1056 AD). The establishment of the Shiʿite Buyid dynasty and the domination of their power over Baghdad and the ʿAbbāsid caliph was an essential social change that linked the efforts of the Iranian amirs and the ʿAlawites.
The formation of the Buyids was the reproduction of a wide range of social changes by small local governments such as the ʿAlawites of Tabarestān (250–316 AH/864–928 AD), the Ziyārids (318–482 AH/930-1089 AD), and the Saffārids (247–393 AH/861–1003 AD).
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- Social Change in Medieval Iran 132-628 AH (750-1231 AD)The Perspectives of Persian Historiography, pp. 99 - 102Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2023