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The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydism and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamites origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla,: "ʿImād al-Daula may therefore accurately be said to have founded the Būyid Empire, but not to have moulded it into shape." they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dynasties in the region, the approximate century of Buyid rule represents the period in Iranian history sometimes called the Iranian Intermezzo.
The Buyid dynasty was founded by Imad al-Dawla, who in 934 conquered Fars province and made Shiraz his capital. He received the laqab or honorific title of Imad al-Dawla (). His younger brother, Rukn al-Dawla () conquered parts of Jibal in the late 930s, and by 943 managed to capture Ray, which he made his capital. Hasan was given the laqab of Rukn al-Dawla (). In 945, the youngest brother, Ahmad ibn Buya, conquered Iraq and made Baghdad his capital. He was given the laqab Mu'izz al-Dawla.
As Iranians of Daylamite provenance, the Buyids consciously revived symbols and practices of the Sasanian Empire. Beginning with Imad al-Dawla, some of the Buyid rulers used the ancient Sasanian title of , literally "king of kings". The Buyids had many inscriptions carved at the Achaemenid ruins of Persepolis, thus suggesting a form of veneration of the site, which the Buyids thought was built by the mythical Iranian king Jamshid.
The Buyid dynasty reached its zenith under Fannā Khusraw (), whose laqab was Adud al-Dawla. who is remembered for his open-mindedness and building projects such as the Band-e Amir dam near Shiraz. Under him, the Buyid realm stretched from the Byzantine border in Syria in the west to the borders of Greater Khorasan in the east.
Although the Buyids were initially Zaydism, they became Twelver Shia following the Major Occultation of Muhammad al-Mahdi after the death of his fourth agent in 941. Regardless, the Buyids were known for supporting the Sunni Abbasid caliphs and being tolerant of the Sunni population, who formed the majority of their realm. They were, by contrast, unfriendly towards the Fatimid Caliphate centered in Egypt, who were Isma'ilis.
Contrary to the Samanids, who ruled over a mostly Sunni Muslim population in Central Asia, the Buyid realm was populated by many Zoroastrianism and Christians (primarily of the Church of the East). Because of this, many records written under the Buyids were composed in Middle Persian, Syriac language and Arabic.
'Ali also allied with the landowners of Fars, which included the Fasanjas family, which would later produce many prominent statesmen for the Buyids. 'Ali also enlisted more soldiers—including Turkish people, who were made part of the cavalry. 'Ali then sent his brother Ahmad on an expedition to Kerman province, but was forced to withdraw after opposition from the Baloch people and the Qafs. However, Mardavij, who sought to depose the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad and recreate a Zoroastrian Iranian Empire, shortly wrested Khuzestan from the Abbasids and forced 'Ali to recognize him as his suzerain.
Luckily for the Buyids, Mardavij was assassinated shortly thereafter in 935, which caused chaos in the Ziyarid territories, a perfect situation for the Buyid brothers; Ali and Ahmad conquered Khuzistan, while Hasan captured the Ziyarid capital of Isfahan, and, in 943, captured Rey, which became his capital, thus conquering all of Jibal. In 945, Ahmad entered Iraq and seized control of Baghdad, leaving the Abbasid court with no real option but to submit to their authority as de facto rulers. He received the laqab Mu'izz ad-Dawla ("Fortifier of the State"), while 'Ali was given the laqab Imād al-Dawla ("Support of the State"), and Hasan was given the laqab Rukn al-Dawla ("Pillar of the State"). The Buyids constructed a royal palace (Dar al-Mamlaka) in Baghdad, situated just north of the caliphal palace (Dar al-Khilafa), symbolizing a division of authority. Meanwhile, the caliph’s influence continued to decline—he no longer had a vizier and effectively became a figurehead under Buyid control.
Shirdil Abu'l-Fawaris (known by his title of "Sharaf al-Dawla") quickly seized Oman from Samsam al-Dawla, and, in 983, the Turkic troops of Samsam al-Dawla mutinied against him and some left Iraq for Fars, but most of them were persuaded by his relative Ziyar ibn Shahrakawayh to stay in Iraq. However, Iraq was in a grim state, and several rebellions occurred, which he managed to suppress, the most dangerous being that of Asfar ibn Kurdawayh, who tried to make Abu Nasr Firuz Kharshadh (known by his title of "Baha' al-Dawla") the ruler of Iraq. During the same period, Samsam al-Dawla also managed to seize Basra and Khuzistan, forcing his two brothers to flee to Fakhr al-Dawla's territory.
During the mid-11th century, the Buyid amirates gradually fell to the Ghaznavids and Seljuk Turks. In 1029, Majd al-Dawla, who was facing an uprising by his Daylami troops in Ray, requested assistance from Mahmud of Ghazna. When Sultan Mahmud arrived, he deposed Majd al-Dawla, replaced him with a Ghaznavid governor and ended the Buyid dynasty in Ray.
In 1055, Tughril conquered Baghdad, the seat of the caliphate, and ousted the last of the Buyid rulers. Like the Buyids, the Seljuks kept the Abbasid caliphs as figureheads.Bernard Lewis, The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years, (New York: Scribner, 1995) p. 89.
The title used by the Buyid rulers was amir, meaning "governor" or "prince". Generally, one of the amirs would be recognized as having seniority over the others; this individual would use the title of amir al-umara, or senior amir. Although the senior amīr was the formal head of the Būyids, he did not usually have any significant control outside of his amirate; each amir enjoyed a high degree of autonomy within his territories. As mentioned above, some stronger amirs used the Sassanid title of Shahanshah. Furthermore, several other titles such as malik ("king"), and malik al-muluk ("king of kings"), were also used by the Buyids. On a smaller scale, the Buyid territory was also ruled by princes from other families, such as the Hasanwayhids.
However, when the Buyid territories increased, they began recruiting Turks into their cavalry, who had played a prominent role in the Abbasid military. Sohar and the Daylamī interlude (356–443/967–1051), Valeria Fiorani Piacentini, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, Vol. 35, Papers from the thirty-eighth meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies held in London, 22–24 July 2004 (2005), 196. The Buyid army also consisted of Kurds, who, along with the Turks, were Sunni Islam, while the Daylamites were Shia Islam. However, the army of the Buyids of Jibal was mainly composed of Daylamites.
The Daylamites and Turks often quarrelled with each other for dominance within the army. To compensate their soldiers, the Buyid amīrs often distributed iqtāʾs, or the rights to a percentage of tax revenues from a province (tax farming), although the practice of in kind was also frequently used.Sourdel-Thomine, J. "Buwayhids." The Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume I. New Ed. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960. p. 1353. While the Turks were favoured in Buyid Iraq, the Daylamites were favoured in Buyid Iran.
However, New Persian was still used as language of poetry at the Buyid courts. Many prominent poets in the Buyid realm wrote in New Persian, such as Abu Muhammad Mansur ibn Ali al-Mantiqi al-Razi, Khusrawi Sarakhsi and Abu Zayd Muhammad ibn Ali al-Ghada'iri al-Razi. The Persian vizier Sahib ibn Abbad (died 995), who was the leading figure at the Buyid court at Ray for a lengthy period, wrote only in Arabic, which he preferred instead of his native tongue. However, he also accepted New Persian that were dedicated to him.
The Buyids also promoted the use of fahlaviyat, a designation for poetry composed in the local northwestern Iranian dialects and languages. Due to having a large Zoroastrian and Christian population, many records written under the Buyids were composed in Middle Persian, Syriac language and Arabic.
Under the Buyids, the idea of "Iranshahr" (Iran) appears in geographical works, which were all written in Arabic by mostly Iranian authors. The geographer Istakhri, who was active in the late 10th-century and wrote; "The best cultivated ( ma‘mur), fairest and most fertile part of the world, and the most established in its political life is the kingdom of Iranshahr."
Herzig and Stewart adds that;
The Buyids rarely attempted to enforce a particular religious view upon their subjects except in matters where it would be politically expedient. The Sunni Abbasids retained the caliphate but were deprived of all secular power. Abbasids, Bernard Lewis, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, ed. H. A. R. Gibb, J. H. Kramers, E. Levi-Provençal, J. Schacht, (E.J. Brill, 1986), 19. In addition, to prevent tensions between the Shia and the Sunnis from spreading to government agencies, the Buyid amirs occasionally appointed Christians to high offices instead of Muslims from either sect.Heribert, pp. 287–8
It was during the reign of Adud al-Dawla that most of the Buyid construction and restoration projects took place. Under him, Shiraz became so crowded that the garrison had no place to roam, which led Adud al-Dawla to have a special quarter created, Fana Khusraw-gird ("Fana Khusraw made it"), a name which deliberately reflected the name of towns established by the Sasanian kings. The town of Firuzabad, considered to be linked to the Sasanian king Ardashir I (), was revamped by Adud al-Dawla, possibly done in order to stress his claim to Sasanian ancestry. One of Adud al-Dawla's lasting building projects was the mausoleum erected on the burial place of Ali.
Buyids in Fars
Buyids in Ray
Buyids in Iraq
Buyids in Basra
Buyids in Hamadan
Buyids in Kerman
Buyids of Khuzistan
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