| Battle of Gorgan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Northern Iran | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Samanid dynasty | Zaydid dynasty | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Isma'il ibn Ahmad | Muhammad ibn Zayd † Zayd ibn Muhammad (POW) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of Gorgan took place in 900, between the Alids of Tabristan and the Samanids of Khorasan at Gorgan, northern Iran. The battle, which took place after the invasion of Khorasan by Muhammad ibn Zayd, ended with a Samanid victory and brought Tabaristan under Samanid control until restoration of Alid rule in 914. Muhammad ibn Zayd, however, was killed in action and his son was captured. [1]
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The Samanids now demanded the cession of Gurgan, while Muhammad was planning to exploit the turmoil and invade Khurasan himself. Muhammad and his army met with Samanid army under Muhammad ibn Harun al-Sarakhsi at Gurgan, and in the ensuing battle, the Samanids prevailed, and the severely wounded Muhammad was captured. He died on the next day, 3 October 900 (or in August, according to Abu'l-Faraj). [2] [3] [4] His corpse was decapitated, and while his head was sent to the Samanid court at Bukhara, his body was buried at the gate of Gurgan. [3] Within a short time, as al-Mas'udi reports, his tomb became a centre of pilgrimage. [2]
As Muhammad's son and designated heir Zayd was also captured and sent to Bukhara, the Zaydid leaders agreed to name Zayd's infant son al-Mahdi as their ruler, but dissension broke out among their ranks: one of them proclaimed himself for the Abbasids instead, and his troops attacked and massacred the Zaydid supporters. Instead, the Samanids took over the province. [3] The Samanid conquest brought along a restoration of Sunni Islam in the province, but the Shi'a cause was upheld and spread among the Daylamites and Gilanites by another Alid, Hasan al-Utrush, who in 914 managed to conquer Tabaristan and restore Zaydid rule. [5]
The Samanid victory was also considered a victory for Sunni Islam, against Shiaism and was celebrated in Baghdad, capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. [1]
