Shi'a Century

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The Shi'a Century or Shi'ite Century is a historiographical term sometimes used to describe the period between 945 and 1055, when Shi'a Muslim regimes, most notably the Fatimids and the Buyids, held sway over the central lands of the Islamic world. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

In the late 9th century, the Abbasid Caliphate began to fragment. A succession of internal crises—the "Anarchy at Samarra" and the Zanj Revolt—weakened the central government and gave rise to a series of regional dynasties in the provinces of the Abbasid empire. [3] During this time, opposition to the faltering Abbasid regime was increasingly expressed by radical Shi'a sects, many of which were born and grew during the 9th century in the Abbasid metropolitan region of Iraq, before spreading to the periphery of the Islamic world. [4]

Rise of Shi'a influence

The weakness of the Abbasid regime allowed the creation of a number of Shi'a regimes in the remoter corners of the Islamic world, such as the Zaydi states in Tabaristan (in 864) and Yemen (in 897), [5] but most notably, it provided the opportunity for the massive spread of the clandestine millennialist Isma'ili missionary movement, which gave birth to the Qarmatians and the Fatimid Caliphate. [6] [7] The Fatimid Caliphate, established in 909 in Ifriqiya, quickly came to control North Africa, conquered Egypt in 969, and expanded into the Levant, [8] while the Qarmatians established a state of their own in Bahrayn in 899, raided Iraq and the Levant, and even sacked Mecca in 930. [9]

In the meantime, following a temporary revival under the caliphs al-Mu'tadid and al-Muktafi, the Abbasid Caliphate declined quickly during the early 10th century as a result of ineffective leadership under Caliph al-Muqtadir (r. 908–932), infighting between the army and the bureaucrats, and financial mismanagement. This culminated in 945 in the capture of Baghdad by the pro-Shi'a Buyids, who had emerged from humble origins to rule over much of Iran during the previous decade. [10] [11] Although the Buyids retained the Abbasid caliphate, for the next century the Abbasid caliphs were more or less powerless puppets under Buyid control. [10] The Buyids sponsored Shi'a scholarship, and it was under their patronage that Twelver Shi'ism acquired a definite form both as a sect and as a distinct community, with the elaboration of a specifically Twelver doctrine, and the creation of specifically Shi'a festivals and ritual practices. [12] During the later 10th century, under the Hamdanid rulers of Aleppo, northern Syria became a major centre of Shi'ism, [13] while the same period saw the emergence of the Alawite and Druze sects.

End

The period of Shi'a predominance came to an end with the "Sunni Revival", a resurgence of orthodox Sunni Islam initiated by the Abbasid caliph al-Qadir's formalization of Sunni doctrines, and carried out in the political sphere through the conquests of the Sunni Seljuk Empire in the mid-11th century. The great Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk furthered the Sunni intellectual counteroffensive by sponsoring a network of Sunni public schools across the Seljuk domains. [14] [15]

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The Fatimid dynasty was an Arab dynasty that ruled the Fatimid Caliphate, between 909 and 1171 CE. Claiming to be descended from Fatima and Ali and adhering to Isma'ili Shi'ism, they held the Isma'ili imamate and considered themselves the rightful leaders of the Muslim community. The line of Nizari Isma'ili imams, represented today by the Aga Khans, claims descent from a branch of the Fatimids. The Alavi Bohras, predominantly based in Vadodara, also claim descent from the Fatimids.

al-Mutadid 16th Abbasid Caliph (r. 892–902)

Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn Al-Muʿtaḍid bi'Llāh, 853/4 or 860/1 – 5 April 902, better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh, was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 892 until his death in 902.

al-Muktafi 17th Abbasid Caliph (r. 902–908)

Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muktafī bi'Llāh, better known by his regnal name al-Muktafī bi-Llāh, was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 902 to 908. More liberal and sedentary than his militaristic father al-Mu'tadid, al-Muktafi essentially continued his policies, although most of the actual conduct of government was left to his viziers and officials. His reign saw the defeat of the Qarmatians of the Syrian Desert, and the reincorporation of Egypt and the parts of Syria ruled by the Tulunid dynasty. The war with the Byzantine Empire continued with alternating success, although the Arabs scored a major victory in the Sack of Thessalonica in 904. His death in 908 opened the way for the installation of a weak ruler, al-Muqtadir, by the palace bureaucracy, and began the terminal decline of the Abbasid Caliphate that ended in 946 with the caliphs becoming puppet rulers under the Buyid dynasty.

al-Mustakfi Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad (r. 944–946)

Abu’l-Qāsim ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Mustakfī bi’llāh , better known by his regnal name al-Mustakfī bi’llāh was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 944 to 946.

al-Muti Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad (r. 946–974)

Abū ʾl-Qāsim al-Faḍl ibn al-Muqtadir, better known by his regnal name of al-Mutīʿ li-ʾllāh, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 946 to 974, ruling under the tutelage of the Buyid emirs.

al-Qadir Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad (r. 991–1031)

Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ishaq, better known by his regnal name al-Qadir, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 991 to 1031.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamdanid dynasty</span> Islamic state in northern Mesopotamia and Syria from 890 to 1004

The Hamdanid dynasty was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia.

Abū'l-Ḥasan Mu'nis al-Qushuri, also commonly known by the surnames al-Muẓaffar and al-Khadim, was the commander-in-chief of the Abbasid army from 908 to his death in 933 CE, and virtual dictator and king-maker of the Caliphate from 928 on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sayf al-Dawla</span> 10th-century Muslim ruler of northern Syria

ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī, more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla, was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, encompassing most of northern Syria and parts of the western Jazira.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nasir al-Dawla</span> Emir of Mosul from 935 to 967

Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Abi'l-Hayja Abdallah ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi, more commonly known simply by his honorific of Nasir al-Dawla, was the second Hamdanid ruler of the Emirate of Mosul, encompassing most of the Jazira.

Hamdan Qarmat ibn al-Ash'ath was the eponymous founder of the Qarmatian sect of Isma'ilism. Originally the chief Isma'ili missionary in lower Iraq, in 899 he quarreled with the movement's leadership at Salamiya after it was taken over by Sa'id ibn al-Husayn, and with his followers broke off from them. Hamdan then disappeared, but his followers continued in existence in the Syrian Desert and al-Bahrayn for several decades.

The Sunni Revival was a period in Islamic history marked by the revival of the political fortunes of Sunni Islam, a renewed interest in Sunni law and theology and the spread of new styles in art and architecture. Conventionally, the revival lasted from 1055 until 1258.

The Fatimid conquest of Egypt took place in 969 when the troops of the Fatimid Caliphate under the general Jawhar captured Egypt, then ruled by the autonomous Ikhshidid dynasty in the name of the Abbasid Caliphate.

The vizier was the senior minister of the Abbasid Caliphate, and set a model that was widely emulated in the Muslim world. Many viziers came to enjoy considerable power, even at times eclipsing the Abbasid caliphs and using them as puppets. The majority of the viziers were of non-Arab origin, and several were also notable patrons of poets and scholars, sponsoring the Translation Movement as well as religious works.

The Second Qarmatian invasion of Egypt occurred in 974, when Qarmatians of Bahrayn unsuccessfully invaded Egypt, the seat of the Fatimid Caliphate. The Qarmatian attack followed upon a failed invasion in 971, which had nevertheless succeeded in evicting the Fatimids from their initial conquests in the Levant. The Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz was hard put to contain the Qarmatian threat, as his treasury was empty and the populace resentful at the high taxation. His efforts to bring the Qarmatians, who belonged to a different branch of the same Isma'ili sect of Shi'a Islam that had given birth to the Fatimid dynasty, into recognizing his authority as imam, were brusquely rebuffed by the Qarmatian leader, al-Hasan al-A'sam. In late 973, the Alid notable Akhu Muslim entered Egypt and led a rebellion against the Fatimids and their tax collectors, leading other disaffected Alid ashraf to flock to his cause. The main attack was launched in spring 974. The Qarmatian army entered Egypt and occupied the Nile Delta before turning south towards Cairo, but was defeated by the Fatimid heir apparent, Abdallah ibn al-Mu'izz, in battle north of Ayn Shams, close to where the 971 invasion had also been turned back. The Qarmatians retreated to their home territory in Bahrayn, and despite al-A'sam's urgings, reached an accommodation with the Fatimids and largely withdrew from interference in the affairs of the Levant thereafter. The rebellions in Egypt were quickly stamped out by the Fatimid forces. Akhu Muslim managed to evade capture and flee to Arabia, but was poisoned by his former Qarmatian allies. The failure of the Qarmatian invasion opened the way for the Fatimid conquest of Syria over the following years.

The First Qarmatian invasion of Egypt took place in 971, when the Qarmatians of Bahrayn unsuccessfully invaded Egypt, which had recently been conquered by the Fatimid Caliphate. Both the Qarmatians and the Fatimids were offshoots of the Isma'ili sect of Shi'a Islam, but belonged to different and rival branches. Following the takeover of Egypt under the general Jawhar in 969, the Fatimids began their expansion into the Levant. There they confronted the Qarmatians, who in previous years had raided and extracted tribute from the regional potentates. In order to stop the Fatimid advance, the Qarmatians, led by al-Hasan al-A'sam, joined in a league with other regional powers, including the Sunni Abbasid caliph in Baghdad. After defeating and killing the Fatimid commander Ja'far ibn Fallah at Damascus in August 971, the Qarmatians and their Bedouin allies marched south. A Fatimid relief army marching to assist Ibn Fallah withdrew to Jaffa where it was blockaded, while the main Qarmatian army invaded Egypt. The diversion of the Qarmatian forces into the Nile Delta in support of local revolts gave Jawhar the time to mobilize his remaining forces and prepare defences in the form of a trench and wall at Ayn Shams, just north of Cairo, then still under construction as the new Fatimid capital. At a battle north of the city on 22 and 24 December, Jawhar defeated the Qarmatians and forced them to withdraw from Egypt in disorder. After the Qarmatians quarreled with their Bedouin allies, the Fatimids were able to reoccupy Ramla, but this was short-lived; by the summer of 972, Palestine was again under Qarmatian control. On the other hand, the rebellions in Egypt were suppressed, and the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz was able to move his capital from Ifriqiya to Cairo in June 973. A second invasion followed in 974, which was also defeated, ending the Qarmatian threat for good, and paving the way for the Fatimid expansion into the Levant.

Abu Abdallah al-Husayn ibn Nasir al-Dawla was a Hamdanid prince, who along with his brother Ibrahim was the last Hamdanid ruler of Mosul in 989–990. After his defeat at the hand of the Marwanid Kurds and the takeover of Mosul by the Uqaylids, he entered the service of the Fatimid Caliphate.

The Qarmatian invasion of Iraq was a large-scale raid by the Qarmatians of Bahrayn against the Abbasid Caliphate's metropolitan region of Iraq, that began in autumn of 927 and continued until the summer of 928.

Sabuktakin or Sübüktegin was a Turkic commander in the service of the Buyid dynasty. His power was such that he defied the Buyid ruler Bakhtiyar Izz al-Dawla, and even rose in revolt against him in 974, seizing control of Baghdad and threatening to overthrow Buyid rule in Iraq completely. His career was cut short by his own death in late 974. His successor, Alptakin, was defeated by the Buyids and fled to Damascus, where he eventually joined the Fatimids.

References

  1. ↑ Bennison 2009, pp. 27, 42–43.
  2. ↑ "Islamic world: The Būyid dynasty". Encyclopaedia Britannica . The fact that they were Shīʿite, as were the Idrīsids, Fāṭimids, and Ḥamdānids, led scholars to refer to the period from the mid-10th to mid-11th century as the Shīʿite century.
  3. ↑ Bonner 2010, pp. 313–327.
  4. ↑ Bonner 2010, pp. 325–326.
  5. ↑ Bonner 2010, pp. 326–328.
  6. ↑ Bonner 2010, pp. 327–330.
  7. ↑ Kennedy 2004, pp. 285–286.
  8. ↑ Bennison 2009, pp. 40–41.
  9. ↑ Kennedy 2004, pp. 286–290.
  10. 1 2 Bennison 2009, p. 42.
  11. ↑ Kennedy 2004, pp. 185–197.
  12. ↑ Kennedy 2004, pp. 225–227.
  13. ↑ Humphreys 2010, p. 538.
  14. ↑ Bennison 2009, pp. 43–44.
  15. ↑ Griffel 2006, pp. 782–783.

Sources

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