Buyid Dynasty (932-1062)

After a decade of chaos, during which Ibn Raʾiq and other military leaders struggled for power, an element of stability was regained in 945, when Baghdad was taken by the Buyid chief Muʿizz al-Dawlah.

History | Buyid Dynasty

Architecture of the Buyid Dynasty. Photo: Iran Route

The Buyids were leaders of the Dailamite people of the area southwest of the Caspian Sea. These courageous mountaineers took advantage of the prevailing anarchy to dominate much of western Iran in 934, and now moved into Iraq. Mu'izz al-Dawlah established himself in Baghdad, but his regime never ruled the entire territory that comprised Iraq. In the capital, a state of tension developed between the Dailamites and the Turks, who for many years were the main military force. Furthermore, when the Buyids publicized their adherence to the Shia branch of Islam, there was more tension, often violent, between their supporters and the Sunnis, who made up the majority.

Baghdad began to disintegrate into several small communities, Sunni or Shia, and each with its own walls to protect it from its neighbors. Large areas, including much of the Round City of al-Mansur, fell into ruin. Other problems were caused by the loss of control of Al-Jazirah in northern Iraq, as it was precisely from this place that Baghdad received its grain supplies. The city was too populous to be fed from within, and when political conflict stopped Al-Jazirah's grain supply, famine added to other problems that caused the people's misery.

However, the Buyids maintained their ancient ties, instead of making a "cleansing", or rather, they allowed the Abbasid caliphs to remain in their "comfortable palatial captivity" in Baghdad. Those who forgot where the real power lay were soon reminded.

From the beginning of the 10th century, Iraq was generally divided politically and the Buyids in Baghdad rarely controlled the entire area as their Abbasid predecessors had done. The region around Basra in the south was often in the hands of rival Buyid princes, and the north increasingly went its own way.

The economic decline and ruin of irrigation systems that affected central and southern Iraq do not appear to have been as marked in Al-Jazirah, where agriculture was largely dry, i.e. dependent on rainfall; this region was, consequently, potentially less wealthy than the south, but also less vulnerable to political problems. Mosul was the most important city in Al-Jazirah since the Islamic conquest and, at that time, it became an important regional capital. The area was dominated by the Hamdanid dynasty (909-1004).

Originally leaders of the Taghlib Bedouin tribe of Al-Jazirah, members of this family had served in the Abbasid armies. In 935, their leader, Nasir al-Dawlah, was recognized as ruler of Mosul in exchange for a cash tribute and the supply of grain to Baghdad and Samarra, although neither money nor grain were paid regularly. The Hamdanids strengthened their position by recruiting Turkish soldiers into their army and establishing good relations with the leaders of the Kurdish tribes in the northern hills.

In 967 Nasir al-Dawlah was succeeded by his son Abu Taghlib, but in 977 the greatest of the Buyids of Iraq, ʿAdud al-Dawlah, took Mosul and expelled the Hamdanids. This triumph did not unite Iraq for long; After ʿAdud al-Dawlah died in 983, his weaker successors allowed northern Iraq to slip out of his hands.

Increasingly, power in the north was assumed by the tribal chiefs of the Banu ʿUqayl, the largest Bedouin tribe in Al-Jazirah. In the early 11th century, the leader of the 'Uqaylid dynasty (990-1150), Qirwash ibn al-Muqallad, dominated Mosul and Al-Jazirah. Unlike the Hamdanids and the Buyids, the 'Uqaylid chiefs lived in desert camps rather than cities, and they relied on their tribesmen rather than Turkish or Dailamite soldiers.

By 1010, Qirwash's power extended as far south as Kufah, although Baghdad itself never came under Bedouin control, and he attempted to organize an alliance with the caliphs of Egypt's Fatimid dynasty. From then on, their power declined, and in the early 1040s, the Banu 'Uqayl found themselves threatened by a new enemy: the Turkish Oguz tribes invading Iran. In 1044, northwest of Mosul, these Turks and the Arabs Bedouins fought a great battle, in which the Turks were defeated.

Although little reported by historians, it is likely that this battle ensured that the people of the northern Iraqi plains continued to speak Arabic, unlike the inhabitants of the northern Anatolian steppes, who began to speak Turkish.

In the south also the Bedouins became increasingly powerful. On the desert frontier in the Kufah area, the Banu Mazyad, the main chiefs of the Asad tribe, established a small state that reached its zenith during the long reign of Dubays (1018-1081). During this time, the main camp (Arabic: hillah) of the Mazyadid dynasty (961-1150) became an important city and, under the name Al-Hillah, replaced the early Islamic Kufah, as the largest urban center of the area.

The city of Babylon in the 6th century BC. Modern illustration, author unknown.

Baghdad and the surrounding area from the lower Tigris south to the Persian Gulf remained under the rule, albeit weak, of the Buyids. In 978, Baghdad was taken by the Buyid ruler of Fars (southwestern Iran), ʿAdud al-Dawlah. In the five years before his death in 983, he made a serious attempt to rebuild the administration, control the Bedouins, and reunite Mosul with southern Iraq. In addition to being a patron of learning, he made efforts to restore damaged irrigation systems. Such determination, however, was rare and, after his death, his lands were divided. The later Buyids had great difficulty in ruling as far as Baghdad and the surrounding places. Poverty, however, worsened the problems; Jalal al-Dawlah (1025–1044) was forced to dismiss his servants and his horses as he could no longer feed them.

Baghdad presented a scenario of devastation during this period. Bandits supported themselves by kidnapping and extortion, and disputes between Sunnis and Shiites became increasingly violent. The Shiites, although fewer in number, were sometimes encouraged by princes of the Buyids who wished to gain their support. This led the Sunnis to look to the Abbasid caliphs for leadership. Caliph al-Qadir (991–1031) assumed religious leadership of the Sunnis and published a manifesto, the Risalat al-Qadiriyyah (1029), in which the principles of Sunni belief were outlined. He, however, did not achieve any significant political power. Despite this disorder and political chaos, Baghdad remained an intellectual center. The lack of firm political authority meant that free debate and exchange of ideas could occur in a way that was not possible under more authoritarian regimes.

This anarchic but culturally productive era in Iraqi history came to an end in December 1055, when the Seljuq Turkish leader Toghrıl Beg entered the city with his forces and quickly established secure rule over most of Iraq. The country had undergone many changes since the 7th century.

Much of the ethnic and religious diversity of late Sasanian Iraq had disappeared. Apart from the Turkish military and Kurds from the mountainous areas, most people now spoke one dialect or another of Arabic. Christian communities still existed, especially in the northern areas around Tikrit and Mosul, but the majority of the population was now Islamic. Within the Muslim community, however, there were serious divisions between Sunnis and Shiites. Iraq has also lost its position as the richest area in the Middle East. There are no census figures, but it is reasonable to assume that the population declined significantly, and it is clear that many capable and enterprising people tried to escape the chaos by migrating to Egypt. Iraq had lost its imperial role forever.

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Source:

Iraq - The Buyid period (932–1062) | Britannica