Tahirid dynasty
Encyclopedia
The Tahirid Dynasty, was a Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

 dynasty that governed from 820 to 872 over the northeastern part of Greater Iran
Greater Iran
Greater Iran refers to the regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence. It roughly corresponds to the territory on the Iranian plateau and its bordering plains, stretching from Iraq, the Caucasus, and Turkey in the west to the Indus River in the east...

, in the region of Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...

 (parts that are presently in 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...

 (Persia), Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...

, and Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

). The dynasty was founded by Tahir ibn Husayn
Tahir ibn Husayn
Tahir ibn Husayn was a general and governor during the Abbasid caliphate. Specifically, he served under al-Ma'mun and led the armies that would defeat al-Amin, making al-Ma'mun the caliph...

, a leading general in the service of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun
Al-Ma'mun
Abū Jaʿfar Abdullāh al-Māʾmūn ibn Harūn was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833...

. The Tahirs were awarded governorship of eastern Khorasan for supporting the Abbasids. Their capital was initially located at Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...

, but later moved to Nishapur
Nishapur
Nishapur or Nishabur , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad...

. Although nominally subject to the Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....

 caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...

 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...

, the Tahirid rulers were effectively independent.

Rise

In 820/821, Tahir ibn Hayn was made governor of Khorasan, but died soon afterwards. The caliph appointed Tahir's son, Talha, whose governorship lasted from 822-828. Tahir's other son, Abdullah, was instated as the wali
Wali
Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...

 of Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. Abdullah is considered one of the greatest of the Tahirid rulers for the dynasty witnessed in his reign flourishing agriculture in his native land of Khorasan, popularity among the populations of the eastern lands of the Abbasid caliphate and extending influence due to his experience with the western parts of caliphate.

Fall

The dynasty began to deteriorate in the reign of Muhammad bin Tahir
Muhammad of Khorasan
Muhammad bin Tahir was last the Tahirid governor of Khurasan, from 862 until 873.-Governor of Khurasan:When Muhammad's father Tahir bin 'Abd-Allah died in 862, the caliph wanted to replace him with Muhammad b. 'Abd-Allah, but after the latter refused he appointed Muhammad as governor...

 due to his carelessness with the affairs of the state and lack of experience with politics. Muhammad spent a lot of time drinking and seeking pleasure rather than following the legacy of his predecessors.
Due to their increasing weakness, the Tahirids were overthrown by the Saffarid dynasty
Saffarid dynasty
The Saffarids or the Saffarid dynasty was a Persian empire which ruled in Sistan , a historical region in southeastern Iran, southwestern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan...

, who annexed Khorasan to their own empire in eastern Persia, in 872/259 Hijri
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...

.

Rulers of the Tahirid dynasty

  • Tahir ibn Husayn
    Tahir ibn Husayn
    Tahir ibn Husayn was a general and governor during the Abbasid caliphate. Specifically, he served under al-Ma'mun and led the armies that would defeat al-Amin, making al-Ma'mun the caliph...

     (820-822)
  • Talha
    Talha of Khorasan
    Talha ibn Tahir was the Tahirid governor of Khurasan from 822 until his death.In 822 Tahir ibn Husayn, who had taken control of Khurasan the previous year, died...

     (822-828)
  • Abdullah bin Tahir
    Abdullah bin Tahir of Khorasan
    Abdullah ibn Tahir was the Tahirid governor of Khurasan from 828 until his death. He is perhaps the most famous of the Tahirids....

     (828-845)
  • Tahir II
    Tahir II of Khorasan
    Tahir bin 'Abd-Allah was the Tahirid governor of Khurasan from 845 until 862.During his father 'Abd-Allah's lifetime, Tahir was sent into the steppes to the north in order to keep the Oghuz Turks in line; he probably received Samanid assistance in this venture. When 'Abd-Allah died in 844, the...

     (845-862)
  • Muhammad of Khorasan
    Muhammad of Khorasan
    Muhammad bin Tahir was last the Tahirid governor of Khurasan, from 862 until 873.-Governor of Khurasan:When Muhammad's father Tahir bin 'Abd-Allah died in 862, the caliph wanted to replace him with Muhammad b. 'Abd-Allah, but after the latter refused he appointed Muhammad as governor...

     (862-872)

Family tree

See also

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