Atabeg
Atabeg,Atabek,[1]orAtabeyis a hereditary title ofnobilityofTurkicorigin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to amonarchand charged with raising thecrown prince.The first instance of the title's use was with earlySeljuk Turkswho bestowed it on the Persian vizierNizam al-Mulk.[1][2]It was later used in theKingdom of Georgia,first within theArmeno-Georgian family ofMkhargrdzelias a military title and then within the house ofJaqeliasprinces of Samtskhe.[3]
Title origins and meanings[edit]
The wordatabegis a compound of theTurkicword[4]ata,"ancestor", or "father"[1]and the wordbegorbey,"lord, leader, prince".[5]Begis stated in some sources as being of Iranian origin (as in the compoundBaghdadfrombag/beganddad,"lord" given). However, according toGerhard Doerfer,the wordbegmay have possibly been of Turkic origin – the origin of the word still remains disputed to this day.[6]
The titleAtabegwas common during theSeljukrule of theNear Eaststarting in the 12th century. It was also common inMesopotamia(Iraq). When aSeljukprince died, leaving minor heirs, a guardian would be appointed to protect and guide the young princes. These guardians would often marry their wards' widowed mothers, thus assuming a role similar to a surrogate father's. Amongst theTurkmentribes, as in Persia, the rank was senior to akhan.
The titleAtabegwas also in use for officers inMamluk Egypt;some of them were proclaimed sultan before the incorporation into theOttoman Empire.After the end of Seljuk rule, the title was used only intermittently.
When describing theAtabegs of Azerbaijan,theIldeniz(Ildegoz) dynasty, the titleAtabeg-e-Azam(Great Atabeg) was used, to denote their superior standing, power and influence on the Seljuk sultans.
InPersian,the styleAtabek-e-Azamwas occasionally used as an alternative title for theShah'sVazir-e-Azam(Grand Vizier), notably in 1834–35 for Mirza Abolghasem Farahani, Gha'em Magham, in 1848–51 for Mirza Mohammed Taghi Khan, Amir-e Kabir, in 1906–07 for Mirza Ali Asghar Khan, Amin-ol Soltan, and finally in 1916 for aQajarprince, Major-General Shahzadeh Sultan 'Abdu'l Majid Mirza, Eyn-ol Douleh.
List of Atabeg dynasties and other dynasties who used the title[edit]
- Ahmadilis(Atabegs ofMaragha) (of Turkic origin)
- Eldiguzids(Atabegs ofAzerbaijan) (of Kypchaq Turkic origin)
- Salghurids(Atabegs ofFars) (of Turkmen origin)[7]
- Hazaraspids(Atabegs ofLuristan) (of Iranian origin)
- Atabegs of Yazd(of Iranian origin)
- Zengids(Atabegs ofMosul) (of Turkmen origin)
Atabeg dynasties[edit]
In the Near East[edit]
Beginning in the twelfth century the atabegs formed a number ofdynasties,and displaced the descendants of theSeljukidemirsin their various principalities. These dynasties were founded by emancipatedMamluks,who had held high office at court and in camp under powerful emirs. When the emirs died, they first became stadtholders for the emirs' descendants, and then usurped the throne of their masters. There was an atabeg dynasty inDamascusfounded byToghtekin(1103–1128).
Other atabeg "kingdoms" sprang up to the north east, founded by Sokman (Sökmen), who established himself at Kaifa inDiyarbakırabout 1101, and by his brotherIlghazi.The city ofMosulwas underMawdud ibn Altuntash,and was later ruled by atabegs such as Aksunkur andZengi.Zengi became Atabeg ofMosulin 1128 and soon established himself as an independent ruler of much of northernMesopotamiaandSyria(includingAleppo).
The northern part ofLuristan,formerly known as Lurikuchik ('Little Luristan'), was governed by independent princes of the Khurshidi dynasty, styled atabegs, from the beginning of the 17th century when the last atabeg, Shah Verdi Khan, was removed by Persian ShahAbbas Iand the government of the province given to Husain Khan, the chief of a rival tribe. Husain, however, was given the gubernatorial title ofvaliinstead of atabeg. The descendants of Husain Khan retained the title.
Great Luristan, in the southern part of Luristan, was an independent state under the Fazlevieh atabegs from 1160 until 1424. Its capital was Idaj, now only represented by mounds and ruins atMalamir.[8]
In the Caucasus[edit]
In theKingdom of Georgia,atabeg (Georgian:ათაბაგი,romanized:atabagi) was one of the highest court titles created by QueenTamar of Georgiain 1212 for her powerful subjects of theMkhargrdzelifamily. The atabeg of Georgia was avizierand a Lord High Tutor to Heir Apparent. Not infrequently, the office of atabeg was combined with that ofamirspasalar(commander-in-chief). In 1334, the title became hereditary in theJaqelifamily who ruled thePrincipality of Samtskhe.Therefore, this entity came to be denominated asSamtskhe-Saatabago,the latter element meaning "of the atabags".[9]
Notes[edit]
- ^abcChisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 609.
- ^Atabak,Encyclopedia Iranica. Accessed February 1, 2007.http:// iranicaonline.org/articles/atabak-turkish-atabeg-lit
- ^The Turco-Mongol Invasions, Reactions of the Armenian Lords, Mongol Control TechniquesArchivedSeptember 27, 2007, at theWayback Machine
- ^"atabeg".Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.Retrieved25 March2008.
- ^"bey".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.Archivedfrom the original on 8 March 2008.Retrieved25 March2008.
- ^"BEG"Encyclopædia Iranica.Retrieved 14 January 2015
- ^C.E. Bosworth,The New Islamic Dynasties of Islam,(Columbia University Press, 1996), 103.
- ^"Lorestān | region, Iran".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved10 December2020.
- ^Toumanoff, Cyril(1967).Studies in Christian Caucasian History,p. 438, n. 1.Georgetown University Press.