Cambridge Oriental Series n°6, Studies in Caucasian History
Vladimir Minorsky
Taylor’s Foreign Press
The three studies collected in the volume are devoted to the 'Iranian Inter- mezzo' of the tenth-eleventh century, when numerous Iranian principalities sprang up throughout the Middle East, resulting in important repercussions in the Caucasian lands.
Using an unknown contemporary source, the author, in his first study, restores the history of the Kurdish Shaddadids of Ganja and elucidates their contacts with the Armenians, Georgians, Byzantines, Russians, and Turks (340/951-468/1075).
He next sums up the history of the later branch of the Shaddadids estab- lished at Ani, and finally traces the Kurdish origins of the family of Saladin, together with the role of the Iranian elements in the AyyUbid State and army.
The volume contains a map and some pages of Arabic text.
V Minorsky, Prof. Emer. in the University of London
Table of Contents
I. New Light on the Shaddadids of Ganja
1. Introduction / I
2. Translation from Jdmi' al-duwal / 5
3. Notes / 25
4. Rulers and invasions:—
A. The origin of the Shaddadids / 33
B. Muhammad b. Shaddad's three sons / 37
c. Fadll / 40
D. Musa, Lashkari II, Anushirvan / 46
E. Abul-Aswar I / 50
F. Nicephore's expedition against Abul-Aswar I / 59
G. Fadl II / 64
H. Fadlun (Fadl III) / 67
j. Siunik' and. P'arisos / 68
K. The Northern invaders / 74
L. The Rus / 76
II. The Shaddadids of Ani
1. Introduction: sources, special features of Ani / 79
2. Minuchihr / 80
3. Abul-Aswar II / 83
- 4. Fadlun III / 84
5. Fadlun's brothers / 86
6. Mahmud's sons / 86
7. Georgian domination / 91
8. Princes Mxargrdzeli / 101
9. Dvin, Ani and trade-routes / 104
III. Prehistory of Saladin
1. Saladin in Western tradition / 107
2. Iranian in Azarbayjan / 110
3. Vicissitudes of Dvin / 116
4. Saladin’s origins / 124
5. Conclusions / 132
Annex A. Kurds under the Ayyubids / 139
Annex B. The eastern expansion of the Ayyubids / 146
Addenda / 156
Appendix: Jami' al-duwal on the Musafirids and Rawwadis / 158
Index / 171
I. INTRODUCTION
One of those rare Muslim dynasties whose history has been very insufficiently explored are the Shaddadids who ruled in eastern Transcaucasia over an area extending between the rivers Kur and Araxes. Their residences were Ganja and the ancient Armenian capital, Dvin. A later branch of the family ruled in another Armenian capital, Ani. The Shaddddids are interesting because in their warlike and peaceful activities they came into close touch with their Christian neighbours, the Armenians and the Georgians, and with various northern invaders, including the Alans and the Russians. In Caucasian history, the Shaddadids were the missing link without which one could see only one side of the events. The second point is that the Shaddadids became involved in world politics at the moment when the Byzantine emperors were nervously seeking to secure their positions in Armenia and Transcaucasia, while from the East there was rising the tidal wave of the Turkish invasion which was to change the whole aspect of the Near East. Finally, the Kurdish Shaddādids were one of the manifestations of the Iranian “interlude”—a short but highly significant epoch between the periods of Arab and Turkish domination.
Numerous references to the Shaddādids are scattered throughout Armenian, Georgian, Arabic and Persian sources, but they are like dead leaves which are no substitute for the original tree to which they belong.
Several attempts have been made to disentangle the history of the Shaddādids but, with one exception, little progress has been made in recent times beyond the initial tracings of the earlier explorers. Here is the list of this literature.
(1) Fraehn, “Erklärung der arabischen Inschrift des Eisenernen Thorflügels zu Gelathi”, in Mém. de l’Académie de St. Pétersbourg, VI-e série, Sciences politiques. III, 1836, pp. 531-46 (based on later sources).
(2) Khanykof, “Quelques inscriptions musulmanes d’Ani’, Bull, de la classe historique de l'Acad, de St. Pétersbourg, t.VI, Nos. 13-14, 1849, p. 195. Reprinted in Mélanges Asiatiques, I, 1849, pp. 70-71 (contains a chart by Brosset based on Armenian sources).
(3) Brosset, Histoire de la Géorgie, 1849, VI» 344 (chart as under (2)).
(4) Markoff, “Collections scientifiques”, VII, St. Pétersbourg 1891, p. 25, and “Inventarnīy katalog Ermitazha”, St. Pétersbourg, 1896-8, p. 309 (on coins).
(5) Justi, “Iranisches Namenbuch”, 1895, p. 443 (Brosset’s chart).
(6) Marquart, “Notes on two articles on Mayyâfariqīn”, Jras, 1909, 170-6 (by assuming wrong filiations links the Shaddādids with two different dynasties).
(7) Sachī Au, “Ein Verzeichniss Muhammedanischer Dynastien”, in Abh. Preuss. Akademie, 1923, No. 1, p. 14 (a brief summary of the Turkish abridgment of Münejjim-bashī ).
(8) Sir Denison Ross, “On Three Muhammadan dynasties,” in Asia Minor, II/2, 1925, 215-9 (based on Khanykof, Münejjim-bashï (see above No. 7); chart confused).
(9) R. Vasmer, “Die Ğastāniden und Sallāriden” in Asia Major, III/2,1927, 181-3 (three unknown coins).
(10) E. Zambaur, “Manuel de généâlogie”, 1927, pp. 180, 184, 388 (wrong filiations).
(11) N. Marr, “Ani, History of the town according to literary sources and excavations” (in Russian), Leningrad 1934, p. 34 and following.
(12) Sayyid Ahmad Kasravi, Pādshāhān-i gum-nām (in Persian): a very good study based on both Muslim and Armenian sources, the Turkish translation of Münejjim-bashï , and references in Persian poets. Part I: Jast nids, Kangarids and Musafirids (Tehran 1928); Part II: Rawwādids (1929); Part III: Shadd dids (1930, 84 pp.) (1).
(13) Markwart, “Südarmenien”, Wien 1930, pp. 562-570 (a sketch of the events in Dvin).
(14) Sir D. Ross, Shāddādi in E.I. (uses Kasravī).
(15) Markwart, “Die Entstehung der Armenischen Bistümer in Orientalia Christiana, No. 80. Sept. 1932, 148-51 (still embroiled; in fact the Shadd dis are one of the very rare problems which have baffled the acumen of the great German scholar).
None of the authors enumerated above, even those who quoted Münejjim-bashī , has realized that the Turkish translation of his work, completed by Ahmad Nedim in A.D. 1730 and published under the title of Sahā'if al-akhbār in 1285 / 1868, is only an abridgment of the original work composed in Arabic and bearing the name of J mi' al-duwal. The author, Ahmad b. Lutfullāh, known as the “Astronomer Royal” (Münejjim-bashī ) died in Mekka in 1113/1702, but he used a great number of sources,2 and among them a local history of B b al-abw b, Sharv n and Arrân ( Ta’rīkh al-Bāb) written by a faqīh, and now lost. This is the new source to which I have already referred.
Through the kindness of H. E. Tahsin Öz, Director of the Top-Kapï Sarayï Library, and Dr. Ahmed Ateș, I have obtained a photograph of the chapter on the Shaddādids which will form the subject of the present part of my study. The new text enriches our knowledge with many entirely new and important facts. It should be noted, however, that even the Arabic Jāmi‘ al-duwal seems to abridge the full text of the original local history. MS. 2951 of the Top-Kapï Library is said to have been copied from Münejjim-bashī’s own copy, but even for this accurate compiler, living 600 years after the events, many geographical names and ethnological facts remained obscure. Therefore a very careful analysis of each detail was necessary and in my commentary I have used all the multifarious sources, Muslim and Christian, likely to shed light on the valuable data of the original.3 I have commented on each of the paragraphs into which I have divided the text, and I have separately treated each reign and each difficult problem raised by the text.
According to Münejjim-bashï , his source, Ta’rīkh al-Bāb wa Sharvān, was completed towards 500/1106. However, both the chapter on the Shaddādids and the two important chapters on al-Bāb (Darband) and Sharvān stop at about 468/1075, which is the likely time at which the original author wrote. It is characteristic that he says nothing about the later branch of the Shaddādids which ruled in Ani.
We cannot say in what relation the History of al-Bāb stood to a History of Arrān by a native of Barda'a (al-Barda'ī) and to a History of Azarbayjān by Ibn Abil-Hayjā al-Rawwādī4 (for the events to the south of the Araxes). Of them we know only the titles.
Some lively passages in our text show that the author lived in the close neighbourhood of Ganja, or that he used some local chronicles or entries in the books. He was strongly opposed to the Christians, but had no better feeling for the Turks. One can surmise in him some local Persian or Kurd, whose position resembled that of the collector of local documents, Mas'ūd b. Nāmdār.5 The latter wrote some forty years after the fall of the Shaddadids of Ganja—the event with which Münejjim-bashï’s excellent source concludes its story.
I am grateful to the Faculty of Oriental Languages of the University of Cambridge for having included my work in their series of publications and it is my pleasant duty to thank Professor Sir E. Minns for his help in the preparation of the sketch-map, my friends Y. A. Ismā'īl and A. A. Magīd for their advice on the Arabic text and Dr. J. A. Boyle for kindly checking my copy.
2. Translation From the Arabic*
[503a] Part VII, Chapter IV: On the Descendants of Shaddād, rulers of Ar ti** and parts of Armenia
§I. They are ten persons and I think they were Kurds. Their capital was Dabīl and later Janza. They first appeared in 340 / 951 and their collapse occurred in 468 / 1075. The duration of their rule was 128 years.***
* The longer notes to the text numbered (1), (2), etc., are given separately after the translation. Before a name * points to a conjectural reading.
** Spelt alternatively Ārān and Ārrān
*** I have completed the tree given in M.-b. at this place by the names quoted in his text.
1 Kasravi possessed the spirit of a true historian. He was accurate in detail and clear in presentation. Among his accomplishments was a good knowledge of Arabic and Armenian. He was assassinated in Tehran on 20.XII.1945. M. K. Āzāde in his pamphlet Cherā Kasrāvī-rā koshtand, Tehran 1325/1946, gives a list of Kasravi’s writings.
2 Hammer, “Geshichte des Osmanischen Reiches”, VII, 545-50, enumerates 72 sources which Münejjim-bashï quotes in his preface. F. Babinger, “Die Geschichtschreiber der Osmanen”, pp. 234-5, does not warn the readers of the deficiency of the translation. Moreover, the Dar al-kutub in Cairo does not possess the Arabic original of the J mi'' al-duwal.
3 Prof. A. Z. Validi-Togan is the only scholar who has quoted a few names / from this chapter in his article “Azerbaycanin tarihi cografiyasī ” in Azerbaycan yurt bilgisi, 1932, Part I, p. 38. See also Prof. M. H. Yinanç, “Selcuklular devri”, 1944, p. 16, 113.
4 See Khalil b. Aybak al Safadi, transi, by E. Amar in Jour. As., March 1912, p. 210 (instead of Dāvūdī, read *Rawwādī) and Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-zunün, ed. Flügel, II, 107, Nos. 2x32-3.
5 See Minorsky and C. Cahen, “Le recueil Transcaucasien”, Jour. As., Ī 949, pp. 93-142.
