DABUYID

The Dabuyids were descendants of Sassanian Kings and were considered a cadet branch of the House of Sassan [i]. After the Muslim conquest of Persia [ii] in the 640s, the Sassanian cadet branch signed a peace treaty, ensuring that Arab forces were barred from approaching Dabuyid territory without Dabuyid's permission. The dynasty however fell in 760, after a conflict between Dabuyid ruler, Khurshid [iii], and Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur. Khurshid allowed for Al Mansur’s forces to pass through Tabaristan to quell a rebellion in a nearby region but was met with a surprise attack that led to the invasion and eventual fall of the dynasty.

As a cadet branch of the House of Sassan, the Dabuyid Dynasty was naturally aligned with the Sassanid Empire [iv] until its fall in 651. The Dabuyids faced skirmishes with the Turks to their East on the eastern border, and rebellion from their Iranian Deylamite [v] subjects on the Western. However, the Dabuyids’ major rivals were the Arab Caliphates: the Umayyad [vi] and the Abbasid Empires, both of whom attempted numerous invasions. In 716, the Umayyads successfully invaded Tabaristan and seized two villages, but were soon defeated by Dabuyid’s Farrukhan the Great [vii]. It was not until 760 that the Abbasids successfully defeated the Dabuyids.

Although there are few direct connections between the Dabuyid Dynasty and modern society, the dynasty’s defense of Zoroastrianism supported the religion’s survival, with current practitioners residing in nearby India [viii]. The Abbasid invasion and Dabuyid downfall resulted in the introduction of Islam to Tabaristan, allowing for the region to be incorporated into the vast rule of the Abbasid Caliphate and for Tabaristan to join the Islamic tradition that would come to dominate what is now Iran. Farrukhan the Great’s development of the Saruyeh region resulted in the bustling coastal city of Sari which remains the capital city in Iran’s Mazandaran province today.

Unlike its predecessors, the Dabuyid ruling system was made up of various independent leaders [ix] - or Ispahbads, each ruling over their own region. The Dabuyid Ispabhads, ruled primarily over the lowlands of Tabaristan and Ruyan, while the highlands were ruled by the minor dynasties of Bavand [x] and Qarinvand [xi] Ispahbads, who recognized the overlordship of the Dabuyid Ispahbads [xii]. The Dabuyids began as a cadet branch of the Sassanian Empire, meaning they were descendants of the Sassanian monarch’s sons (cadets). While the early Isbahbads had autonomy over their land, they showed their allegiance to the Sassanian kings until the fall of the Sassanid Empire.

Much of our knowledge of Dabuyid history comes from historian Ibn Isfandiyar’s Tarikh-I Tabaristan, written in 613 CE. Although rulers of this time were often attested via numismatics [xiii], Dabuyid Ispahbads were not displayed on coinage until the third Ispahbad of the Dynasty. Unlike many predeceasing dynasties, the Dabuyid reign began under peaceful terms. Gil Gavbara’s annexation of Tabaristan offered autonomy over the region, and Sassanid King Yazdegerd III [xiv] formally conferred upon him the title of “ruler of Gilan”. The Dabuyid Dynasty prided themselves on military power and mastery of difficult terrain, allowing them to maintain their territory for over a century.

The Dabuyid Dynasty survived for an impressively long time, despite coming to power during the decline of the Sassanid Empire and the ongoing Arab invasion [xv]. The dynasty also lived through the rise and fall of the Umayyad Caliphate by taking advantage of its geographic location and rocky terrain to defend against unwanted visitors. The Dabuyid Dynasty was most successful under the rule of Tabaristan’s Farrukhan the Great [xvi] between 712 and 728, who defended the dynasty against the Umayyads, the Turks, and local rebel groups. Under Farrukhan’s leadership, the dynasty saw a great period of city development and construction, including the contemporary city of Sari [xvii].

The Dabuyids used a silver unit of currency known as the dirham, which would often display a portrait of the Dabuyid Ispahbad in power at the time. This coinage followed the style of the earlier Sassanian monarchs. Amol, the province’s capital, served as the dynasty’s economic center, and later accounts indicate that the dynasty’s dirhams were minted here [xviii]. Although there is not much known about the Dabuyid Dynasty’s economic state or key industries, it can be assumed that they carried on the Sassanian agricultural traditions and that much of the dynasty’s economy was dependent on these continuing practices and traditions.