The Alavids or Alavians (سلسله علویان طبرستان in Persian; also Alijds), also known as the Zaydids, were a Zaidi Shia emirate

Emirate

An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Muslim monarch styled emir.-Etymology:Etymologically emirate or amirate is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any emir ....

 based in Mazandaran (Tabaristan) of Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

. They were descendants of the second Shi'a Imam

Imam

An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...

 (Imam Hasan ibn Ali

Hasan ibn Ali

Al-Hasan ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib ‎ is an important figure in Islam, the son of Fatimah the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. Hasan is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt and Ahl al-Kisa...

) and brought Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 to the south Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

 region of Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

. Their reign was ended when they were defeated by the Samanid

Samanid

The Samani dynasty , also known as the Samanid Empire, or simply Samanids was a Persian state and empire in Central Asia and Greater Iran, named after its founder Saman Khuda, who converted to Sunni Islam despite being from Zoroastrian theocratic nobility...

 empire in 928 AD. After their defeat some of the soldiers and generals of the Alavids joined the Samanid dynasty. Mardavij

Mardavij

Mardāvīj , was the founder of the Ziyarids dynasty, who successfully defeated the Abbasid's army firstly in Hamadan , and finally in Kashan and Isfahan...

 the son of Ziar was one of the generals that joined the Samanids. He later founded the Ziyarid

Ziyarid

The Ziyarids, also spelled Zeyarids , were an Iranian dynasty that ruled in the Caspian sea provinces of Gorgan and Mazandaran from 928-1043 . The founder of the dynasty was Mardavij , who took advantage of a rebellion in the Samanid army of Iran to seize power in northern Iran...

 dynasty. Ali

'Imad al-Daula

Ali ibn Buya "'Imad al-Daula" was the founder of the Buyid dynasty in Iran .- Early career :'Ali first entered the services of the Samanids under Nasr II, where he became a member of the ruler's entourage. From there he eventually joined Makan, who ruled Gorgan and Ray as a governor of the...

, Hassan and Ahmad the sons of Buye [bu:je] (that were founders of the Buyid or Buwayhid

Buwayhid

The Buyid dynasty, also known as the Buyid Empire or the Buyids , also known as Buwaihids, Buyahids, or Buyyids, were a Shī‘ah Persian dynasty that originated from Daylaman in Gilan...

 dynasty) were also among generals of the Alavid dynasty who joined the Samanid army.

Their capital was the city of Amol

Amol

Amol is a city in and the capital of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 197,470, in 55,183 families.Amol and the old part of town is the first of the four towns that populate the world in which there is Nzamyh...

.

List of Alavid Amirs

• Hasan ebne Zeid Hasani  "Da'i Kabir" "Great Missionary" (864-884)
• Mohammad ebne Zeid (884-900)
• Samanids capture Tabaristan Alavis flee to Gilan in exile (900-913)
• Hasan ebne Ali Hoseini “Nasir Kabir” “Great Defender” (913-916)

Split of Alavis: Anti-Samanid & Pro-Samanid:

Anti-Samanids:

• Hasan ebne Ghasem Hasani “Da’i Saqir” “Young Misionary” (916-928)

Pro-Samanids:

• Ahmad ibn Hassan “Nasir Kabir” (916-923)
• Jafar ibn Hasan “Nasir Kabir” (916-924)
• Mohammad ibn Ahmad (924-927)
• Hassan ibn Ahmad (927)

See also

• History of mazandaran
• History of Iran
  History of Iran
  The history of Iran has been intertwined with the history of a larger historical region, comprising the area from the Danube River in the west to the Indus River and Jaxartes in the east and from the Caucasus, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea in the north to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and Egypt...
  
  
• List of kings of Persia
• List of Shi'a Muslims dynasties