The
Qarinvand dynasty
(also spelled
Karenvand
and
Qarenvand
), or simply the
Karenids
, was an
Iranian
dynasty that ruled in parts of
Tabaristan
(
Mazandaran
) in northern
Iran
from the 550s until the 11th-century. They considered themselves as the inheritors of the
Dabuyid dynasty
, and were known by their titles of
Gilgilan
and
Ispahbadh
. They were descended from
Sukhra
, a
Parthian
nobleman from the
House of Karen
, who was the
de facto
ruler of the
Sasanian Empire
from 484 to 493. The Qarinvand dynasty is also considered to be the one of the last
Zoroastrian
dynasties before the rise of the Islamic Iranian dynasties
History
[
edit
]
The dynasty was founded by Karen, who in return for aiding the
Sasanian
king
Khosrow I
(r. 531?579) against the
Turks
, received land to the south of
Amol
in Tabaristan. During the 7th century, an unnamed ruler from the Qarinvand dynasty was granted parts of Tabaristan by the
Dabuyids
who ruled in the area. In 760, the Dabuyid ruler
Khurshid
was defeated, his dynasty abolished and Tabaristan annexed by the
Abbasids
, but the Qarinvand and other minor local dynasties continued in existence. At this time, a certain
Vindadhhurmuzd
is mentioned as the Qarinvand ruler, while his younger brother
Vindaspagan
ruled as a subordinate ruler over the western Qarinvand regions, which reached as far as
Daylam
,
a region controlled by the
Daylamites
, who like the Qarinvands and other rulers of Tabaristan were
Zoroastrians
.
Vindadhhurmuzd, along with the
Bavandid
ruler
Sharwin I
, led the native resistance to Muslim rule and the efforts at Islamization and settlement begun by the Abbasid governor,
Khalid ibn Barmak
(768?772). Following his departure, the native princes destroyed the towns he had built in the highlands, and although in 781 they affirmed loyalty to the Caliphate, in 782 they launched a general anti-Muslim revolt that was not suppressed until 785, when
Sa'id al-Harashi
led 40,000 troops into the region.
Relations with the caliphal governors in the lowlands improved thereafter, but the Qarinvand and Bavandid princes remained united in their opposition to Muslim penetration of the highlands, to the extent that they prohibited even the burial of Muslims there. Isolated acts of defiance like the murder of a tax collector occurred, but when the two princes were summoned before
Harun al-Rashid
in 805 they promised loyalty and the payment of a tax, and were forced to leave their sons behind as hostages for four years.
Vindadhhurmuzd later died in 815, and was succeeded by his son
Qarin ibn Vindadhhurmuzd
, who along with Sharwin's successor
Shahriyar I
was requested by the Abbasid caliph
al-Ma'mun
to aid in the
Arab?Byzantine wars
. Shahriyar declined the request, while Qarin accepted, and became successful in his campaign against the
Byzantines
.
[4]
Qarin was then bestowed with many honors by Al-Ma'mun. Shahriyar, jealous of Qarin's fame, began annexing some of the latter's territory. In 817, during the reign of Qarin's son
Mazyar
, Shahriyar, with the aid of Mazyar's uncle Vinda-Umid, expelled the latter from Tabaristan, and seized all his territories.
[4]
Mazyar fled to the court of al-Ma'mun, became a Muslim and in 822/23 returned with the support of the Abbasid governor to exact revenge: Shahriyar's son and successor,
Shapur
, was defeated and killed, and Mazyar united the highlands under his own rule. His growing power brought him into conflict with the Muslim settlers at
Amul
, but he was able to take the city and receive acknowledgement of his rule over all of Tabaristan from the caliphal court. Eventually, however, he quarreled with
Abdallah ibn Tahir
, and in 839, he was captured by the
Tahirids
, who now took over control of Tabaristan.
The Bavandids exploited the opportunity to regain their ancestral lands: Shapur's brother,
Qarin I
, assisted the Tahirids against Mazyar, and was rewarded with his brother's lands and royal title.
Quhyar
, a brother of Mazyar, who had betrayed the latter and chose to aid the Tahirids, who promised him the Qarinvand throne, shortly ascended the Qarivand throne, but was shortly killed by his own Dailamite soldiers because of his betrayal against his brother. Although many scholars considered the death of Quhyar as the fall of the Qarinvand dynasty, the dynasty continued to rule in parts of Tabaristan, and a certain Baduspan ibn Gurdzad is mentioned in 864 as the ruler of the Qarinvand dynasty, and is known to have supported the
Alid
Hasan ibn Zayd
. However, his son and successor
Shahriyar ibn Baduspan
was hostile to Hasan ibn Zayd, but was along with the Bavandid ruler
Rustam I
forced to acknowledge his authority.
Shahriyar's son
Muhammad ibn Shahriyar
is later mentioned as the later of the Qarivand dynasty in 917, and was like his father hostile to the Alids.
Two centuries later, a certain Qarinvand ruler named Amir Mahdi is mentioned in 1106 as one of the vassals of the Bavandid ruler
Shahriyar IV
. After him, no other Qarinvand ruler is known, but they continued to rule until the 11th-century.
Known Qarinvand rulers
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Bosworth, C. E.
(1968).
"The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000?1217)"
. In
Boyle, John Andrew
(ed.).
The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1?202.
ISBN
0-521-06936-X
.
- Frye, R. N. (1960).
"B?wand"
. In
Gibb, H. A. R.
;
Kramers, J. H.
;
Levi-Provencal, E.
;
Schacht, J.
;
Lewis, B.
&
Pellat, Ch.
(eds.).
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition
. Volume I: A?B
. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 1110.
OCLC
495469456
.
- Madelung, W.
(1975).
"The Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran"
. In
Frye, Richard N.
(ed.).
The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 198?249.
ISBN
0-521-20093-8
.
- Madelung, W.
(1984).
"?L-E B?VAND (BAVANDIDS)"
.
Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 7
. London u.a.: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 747?753.
ISBN
90-04-08114-3
.
- Rekaya, M. (1978).
"??rinids"
. In
van Donzel, E.
;
Lewis, B.
;
Pellat, Ch.
&
Bosworth, C. E.
(eds.).
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition
. Volume IV: Iran?Kha
. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 644?647.
OCLC
758278456
.
- Mottahedeh, Roy
(1975).
"The ?Abb?sid Caliphate in Iran"
. In
Frye, Richard N.
(ed.).
The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 57?90.
ISBN
0-521-20093-8
.
- Ibn Isfandiyar, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan
(1905).
An Abridged Translation of the History of Tabaristan, Compiled About A.H. 613 (A.D. 1216)
. Translated by
Edward G. Browne
. Leyden: E.J. Brill.