Abu Tahir Yazid (Arabic: ابوطاهر یزید) or Yazid I was sixth Shah of Shirvan and third Shah of Layzan.

Abu Tahir Yazid
Shah of Shirvan and Layzan
Reign917–948
PredecessorAli I of Shirvan
SuccessorMuhammad II
Layzanshah
Reign?–917
PredecessorMuhammad of Layzan
SuccessorMuhammad II
DiedSeptember 948
HouseMazyadid
DynastyShirvanshah
FatherMuhammad of Layzan

Reign

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He was reigning as Layzanshah as heir of his father Muhammad. He attacked Shirvan c. 917 and captured its ruler Ali I alongside his son Abbas and grandson Abu Bakr in Marzūqiya, near Derbent.[1] While shah and son were executed, Abu Bakr managed to flee. He subsequently fortified Yazidiya (modern Shamakhi, Azerbaijan) in 918.

Around 932, Muflih al-Saji arrived in Shirvan, who was escaping Daysam al-Kurdi. Fearing retribution, Abu Tahir handed him over to Balduya, possibly a general of Daysam.[1]

He intervened in Emirate of Derbent c. 944 when inhabitants expelled their ruler Ahmad b. Abd al-Malik I and appealed to Abu Tahir to take over emirate, who in turn sent his second son Ahmad to Derbent. However this rule proved short as Derbentis deposed Ahmad again and returned former emir to rule. Abu Tahir plundered environs of citadel as a retribution.

He soon had to face an invasion by Marzuban ibn Muhammad and was forced to make a common cause with Derbentis against Sallarid invasion. Despite that he won the battle, he was nevertheless forced to pay tribute later.[2]

Towards the end of his reign, Abu Tahir was allied with Emirate of Derbent and Sallarids in a campaign against Christian neighbors, probably Bagratid Armenia.[3]

Family

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Abu Tahir Yazid had at least two sons:

References

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  1. ^ a b Minorsky 1958, p. 27.
  2. ^ Madelung 1975, p. 246.
  3. ^ Minorsky 1958, p. 62.

Sources

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  • Madelung, W. (1975). "The Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran". In Frye, R. N. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 198–249. ISBN 978-0-521-20093-6.
  • Minorsky, Vladimir (1958). A History of Sharvān and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries. Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons, Ltd.
Abu Tahir Yazid
Born:  ? Died: 948
Regnal titles
Preceded by Layzanshah Succeeded by
Preceded by Shirvanshah
917-948
Succeeded by