Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj
Encyclopedia
Yusuf ibn Abi'l Saj was the Sajid amir of Azerbaijan
from 901 until his death. He was the son of Abi'l-Saj Devdad
.
. He razed the walls of Maragha and moved the capital to Ardabil
. Shortly afterwards, the Bagratid
king of Armenia
, Smbat I
, offered to become a direct vassal of the caliph
al-Muktafi
. As this threatened the Sajids' interests in Armenia, Yusuf demanded that Smbat appear before him. When the Bagratid refused he invaded Armenia. An agreement was eventually reached between the two sides in 903; Smbat received a crown from Yusuf, acknowledging him as his overlord.
Yusuf had never formalized his relations with the caliph, and they became hostile toward each other. In 908 a caliphal army was sent against Yusuf, but al-Muktafi died and his successor al-Muqtadir
made peace with the Sajid. Al-Muqtadir's vizier Ibn al-Furat had been instrumental in the establishment of the peace; from then on Yusuf considered him to be his protector in Baghdad
and often named him on his coinage. The peace allowed Yusuf to be invested with the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia in 909 by the caliph.
During the conflict between the Yusuf and the caliphate, the latter had encouraged King Smbat to oppose the Sajid. After settling his relations with the caliph Yusuf decided to retaliate. He found a willing ally in the prince of Vaspurakan
, Gagik, who was engaged in a dispute with the Bagratid over the province of Nakhchivan. Gagik became Yusuf's vassal and the Sajid gave him a crown. In 909 Yusuf took Nakhchivan and, together with Gagik, gained control of Siunikh. He then pursued Smbat across the country, and after spending the winter in Dvin
defeated in 910 an army under the command of Smbat's two sons, Ashot
and Mushel to the north of Erevan. Mushel was captured and poisoned.
The war between the Sajids and the Bagratids continued, during which the country was devastated and the Armenians suffered from religious oppression at the hands of the Muslims. In around 913 Yusuf managed to trap Smbat in one of his fortresses. Although the siege was unable to force the surrender of the fortress, Smbat decided to voluntarily surrender himself to Yusuf in an effort to end the war. Yusuf initially let him go, but then seized him and put him in prison for a year. During the siege of Erenjak, in an effort to convince the defenders to surrender, Yusuf had Smbat tortured and executed before the fortress' walls. The body was then sent to Dvin and hung there. Smbat's son Ashot succeeded him as Ashot II. Yusuf initially tried to defeat him as well; Gagik refused to cooperate so he set up the Sparapet Ashot as rival king in Dvin. Ashot II was able to gain the loyalty of the Armenians, however, and could also count on the support of the Byzantines
. Since Yusuf was having his own problems with the caliphate again (see below), he made peace with Ashot in 917, giving him a crown.
In 914, Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj—known to the Georgians as Abu l'Kasim—also campaigned in the Georgian
territories. This campaign was one of the last major attempts on the part of the Abbasid Caliphate to retain its crumbling hold of the Georgian lands, which, at that time, were a patchwork of rival, native states and Muslim holdings. Yusuf made Tiflis as the base for his operations. He first invaded Kakheti
and took hold of the fortresses of Ujarma and Bochorma, but the former was then given back to the Kakhetian ruler Kvirike
following his plead for peace. Yusuf then proceeded to Kartli
, only to see the fortifications of Uplistsikhe
demolished by their defenders. From there, the amir surged into Samtskhe and Javakheti
. Unable to seize control of the stronghold of Tmogvi, he captured the fortress of Q'ueli and put its defender Gobron
to death. The Muslim sources are silent about these events.
, Abhar
, Qazvin
and Ray
from the Samanids and hoped that Ibn al-Furat would smooth things over with al-Muqtadir. The caliph, however, angrily sent an army against Yusuf, who defeated it. The arrival of a second Abbasid army under Mu'nis al-Khadim
caused Yusuf to retreat to Arbedil. Although Ibn al-Furat attempted to convince al-Muqtadir to recognize Yusuf as governor, the caliph refused. In 918 the Abbasid army was defeated by Yusuf near Ardabil, but in 919 the Sajid was defeated. Yusuf was captured and brought back to Baghdad where he was imprisoned for three years. During this time, his faithful ghulam
Subuk
took control of Azerbaijan and maintained the province while his master was in Baghdad, defeating an Abbasid army sent against him.
In 922 Yusuf was released and the caliph invested him with the governorship of Azerbaijan and the provinces that he had conquered from the Samanids. Returning to Azerbaijan, he found that Subuk had died. In 924 he conquered Ray from its governor, who had rebelled against the Samanids. After leaving the area and occupying Hamadan
, the people of Ray expelled his officials. In 925 the Sajid briefly returned to Ray.
In 926 Yusuf was instructed by the caliph to take charge of the campaign against the Carmathians of Bahrain
. In 927, despite having a large numerical advantage, Yusuf's army was defeated by the Carmathians near Kufa
. The Sajid was captured and in 928 killed. In Azerbaijan he was succeeded by his nephew Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath
.
Azerbaijan (Iran)
Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan , also Iranian Azerbaijan, Persian Azarbaijan is a region in northwestern Iran. It is also historically known as Atropatene and Aturpatakan....
from 901 until his death. He was the son of Abi'l-Saj Devdad
Abi'l-Saj Devdad
Abi'l-Saj Devdad was an Abbasid military commander and the eponym of the Sajid dynasty of Azerbaijan. His father was named Devdasht.-Career:...
.
War with Armenians and Georgians
Yusuf came to power in 901 by overthrowing his nephew, Devdad Ibn MuhammadDevdad Ibn Muhammad
Devdad was the Sajid amir of Azerbaijan for a period in 901. He was the son of Muhammad al-Afshin.Devdad was installed as emir by the army following the death of his father in 901. After a reign of five months he was removed from power by his uncle Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj and the walls of Maragha were...
. He razed the walls of Maragha and moved the capital to Ardabil
Ardabil
Ardabil is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 412,669, in 102,818 families...
. Shortly afterwards, the Bagratid
Bagratuni Dynasty
The Bagratuni, Bagratid or alternatively Pakradouni royal dynasty of Armenia was a royal family whose branches formerly ruled many regional polities, including the Armenian lands of Sper|presently Ispir in Tayk Province of the Armenian Kingdom, Bagrevand in Ayrarat Province of the Armenian...
king of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Smbat I
Smbat I
Smbat I , known as "the Martyr", was King of Armenia of the Bagratuni dynasty, son of Ashot I and the father of Ashot II Yerkat and Abas I. His rule was a period of unending wars against the Arab conquerors and the rebellious Armenian nobles...
, offered to become a direct vassal of the caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
al-Muktafi
Al-Muktafi
Al-Muktafi was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 902 to 908. He was the son of the previous Caliph, al-Mu'tadid, by a Turkish slave-girl. In command of ar Raqqah at the time of his father's death, he at once returned to the Capital, where he became a favorite of the people for his generosity,...
. As this threatened the Sajids' interests in Armenia, Yusuf demanded that Smbat appear before him. When the Bagratid refused he invaded Armenia. An agreement was eventually reached between the two sides in 903; Smbat received a crown from Yusuf, acknowledging him as his overlord.
Yusuf had never formalized his relations with the caliph, and they became hostile toward each other. In 908 a caliphal army was sent against Yusuf, but al-Muktafi died and his successor al-Muqtadir
Al-Muqtadir
Al-Muqtadir was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 908 AD to 932 AD .After the previous Caliph, al-Muktafi, was confined for several months to his sick-bed, intrigue was made for some time as to his successor...
made peace with the Sajid. Al-Muqtadir's vizier Ibn al-Furat had been instrumental in the establishment of the peace; from then on Yusuf considered him to be his protector in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and often named him on his coinage. The peace allowed Yusuf to be invested with the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia in 909 by the caliph.
During the conflict between the Yusuf and the caliphate, the latter had encouraged King Smbat to oppose the Sajid. After settling his relations with the caliph Yusuf decided to retaliate. He found a willing ally in the prince of Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan was the first and biggest province of Greater Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered around Lake Van...
, Gagik, who was engaged in a dispute with the Bagratid over the province of Nakhchivan. Gagik became Yusuf's vassal and the Sajid gave him a crown. In 909 Yusuf took Nakhchivan and, together with Gagik, gained control of Siunikh. He then pursued Smbat across the country, and after spending the winter in Dvin
Dvin
Dvin was a large commercial city and the capital of early medieval Armenia. It was situated north of the previous ancient capital of Armenia, the city of Artaxata, along the banks of the Metsamor River, 35 km to the south of modern Yerevan...
defeated in 910 an army under the command of Smbat's two sons, Ashot
Ashot II
Ashot II the Iron was an Armenian King, the son of King Smbat I. His reign was filled with rebellions by pretenders to the throne, and foreign invasions, which Ashot fought off successfully. This is how he got the epithet the Iron. In 914, Ashot II visited Constantinople to get aid from Byzantine...
and Mushel to the north of Erevan. Mushel was captured and poisoned.
The war between the Sajids and the Bagratids continued, during which the country was devastated and the Armenians suffered from religious oppression at the hands of the Muslims. In around 913 Yusuf managed to trap Smbat in one of his fortresses. Although the siege was unable to force the surrender of the fortress, Smbat decided to voluntarily surrender himself to Yusuf in an effort to end the war. Yusuf initially let him go, but then seized him and put him in prison for a year. During the siege of Erenjak, in an effort to convince the defenders to surrender, Yusuf had Smbat tortured and executed before the fortress' walls. The body was then sent to Dvin and hung there. Smbat's son Ashot succeeded him as Ashot II. Yusuf initially tried to defeat him as well; Gagik refused to cooperate so he set up the Sparapet Ashot as rival king in Dvin. Ashot II was able to gain the loyalty of the Armenians, however, and could also count on the support of the Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. Since Yusuf was having his own problems with the caliphate again (see below), he made peace with Ashot in 917, giving him a crown.
In 914, Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj—known to the Georgians as Abu l'Kasim—also campaigned in the Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
territories. This campaign was one of the last major attempts on the part of the Abbasid Caliphate to retain its crumbling hold of the Georgian lands, which, at that time, were a patchwork of rival, native states and Muslim holdings. Yusuf made Tiflis as the base for his operations. He first invaded Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
and took hold of the fortresses of Ujarma and Bochorma, but the former was then given back to the Kakhetian ruler Kvirike
Kvirike I of Kakheti
Kvirike I was a prince and chorepiscopus of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 893 to 918.He succeeded upon the death of Padla I of Kakheti, his possible father. In 914, he faced an Arab invasion led by Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj who took hold of the fortresses of Ujarma and Bochorma, but the former was...
following his plead for peace. Yusuf then proceeded to Kartli
Kartli
Kartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...
, only to see the fortifications of Uplistsikhe
Uplistsikhe
Uplistsikhe is an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10 kilometers east of the town of Gori, Shida Kartli.Built on a high rocky left bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the Early Iron Age to the Late Middle Ages, and is notable for the unique...
demolished by their defenders. From there, the amir surged into Samtskhe and Javakheti
Javakheti
Javakheti is a historical region of the nation of Georgia, in the southeastern part of the country's Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Today it comprises the Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda municipal territories. It was historically bordered in the west with both sides of the Mtkvari river, in the north,...
. Unable to seize control of the stronghold of Tmogvi, he captured the fortress of Q'ueli and put its defender Gobron
Gobron
Gobron also known as Mikel-Gobron or Michael-Gobron was a Christian Georgian military commander who led the defense of the fortress of Q'ueli against the Sajid emir of Azerbaijan. When the fortress fell after a 28-day-long siege, Gobron was captured and beheaded, having rejected inducements to...
to death. The Muslim sources are silent about these events.
Imprisonment, Restoration and Death
After the dismissal of the vizier Ibn al-Furat, Yusuf had begun to withhold some of the annual tribute due to the caliph. In 915 or 916 he imprisoned a caliphal envoy, although he later released him and sent him back with presents and money. After Ibn al-Furat regained the vizierate in 917 he conquered ZanjanZanjan
Zanjan may refer to:* Zanjan Province, Iran* Zanjan County, an area within Zanjan Province* Zanjan, Iran, the capital of Zanjan County and Zanjan Province* Zanjan University, located in the city of Zanjan* Senjan, a city in Markazi Province, Iran...
, Abhar
Abhar
Abhar is a city in and capital of Abhar County, Zanjan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 70,836, in 19,136 families.Abhar is located between Qazvin and Zanjan, near the Abhar River. It is the second-largest city in the province after Zanjan...
, Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
and Ray
Ray, Iran
Rey or Ray , also known as Rhages and formerly as Arsacia, is the capital of Rey County, Tehran Province, Iran, and is the oldest existing city in the province....
from the Samanids and hoped that Ibn al-Furat would smooth things over with al-Muqtadir. The caliph, however, angrily sent an army against Yusuf, who defeated it. The arrival of a second Abbasid army under Mu'nis al-Khadim
Mu'nis al-Khadim
Mu'nis al-Khadim was the commander of the Abbasid army during the reign of al-Muqtadir. His many successes on the field helped to check the decline of the Caliphate during his lifetime...
caused Yusuf to retreat to Arbedil. Although Ibn al-Furat attempted to convince al-Muqtadir to recognize Yusuf as governor, the caliph refused. In 918 the Abbasid army was defeated by Yusuf near Ardabil, but in 919 the Sajid was defeated. Yusuf was captured and brought back to Baghdad where he was imprisoned for three years. During this time, his faithful ghulam
Ghilman
Ghilman Ghilman Ghilman (singular ghulam describes either young servants in paradise or slave-soldiers in the Ottoman, Mughal and Persian Empires.-Islamic Theology:...
Subuk
Subuk
Subuk was a ghulam who gained the governorship of Azerbaijan in 919 and held it for three years.In 919 Subuk's master, the Sajid Yusuf Ibn Abu'l-Saj, was captured by forces of the caliph, who he had been at war with. Acting in order to protect Yusuf's interests, Subuk took control of Azerbaijan...
took control of Azerbaijan and maintained the province while his master was in Baghdad, defeating an Abbasid army sent against him.
In 922 Yusuf was released and the caliph invested him with the governorship of Azerbaijan and the provinces that he had conquered from the Samanids. Returning to Azerbaijan, he found that Subuk had died. In 924 he conquered Ray from its governor, who had rebelled against the Samanids. After leaving the area and occupying Hamadan
Hamadan
-Culture:Hamadan is home to many poets and cultural celebrities. The city is also said to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.Handicrafts: Hamadan has always been well known for handicrafts like leather, ceramic, and beautiful carpets....
, the people of Ray expelled his officials. In 925 the Sajid briefly returned to Ray.
In 926 Yusuf was instructed by the caliph to take charge of the campaign against the Carmathians of Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. In 927, despite having a large numerical advantage, Yusuf's army was defeated by the Carmathians near Kufa
Kufa
Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
. The Sajid was captured and in 928 killed. In Azerbaijan he was succeeded by his nephew Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath
Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath
Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath was the last Sajid amir of Azerbaijan . He was the son of Muhammad al-Afshin.In 928 Abu'l-Musafir was invested with the government of Azerbaijan by the caliph after Abu'l-Musafir's uncle Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj was killed. After only one and a half years of rule, however, he was...
.
Sources
- Madelung, Wilferd. "Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran." The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: The Period From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Ed. R. N. Frye. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1975.