Uqaylid dynasty

Uqaylid dynasty إمارة بنو عقيل
990–1096
Uqaylid Emirate at its greatest extent
Capital	Mosul
Official languages	Arabic
Religion	Shia Islam
Government	Emirate
History
• Established	990
• Disestablished	1096
Preceded by Succeeded by Hamdanid dynasty Mirdasid dynasty Seljuk Empire

TheUqaylid dynasty(Arabic:العقيليون,romanized:al-ʿUqayliyyūn) was aShiaArabdynasty with several lines that ruled in various parts ofAl-Jazira,northernSyriaandIraqin the late tenth and eleventh centuries. The main line, centered inMosul,ruled from 990 to 1096.

History

Rise

The Uqaylids were descended from theBanu Uqayland wereShi'a.They first came to power inDiyar Bakrwhen they were granted land there by theBuwayhids,who hoped that they would serve as a buffer against theKurdBādh ibn Dustak.Soon afterwards the 'Uqaylids forged an alliance with theHamdanids,who had been expelled from Mosul by the Buwayhids in 979. Together the two of them moved against the Buyids and Mosul and theDiyar Rabi'awas occupied in 989. The Uqaylid leader,Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab,then fought against Bādh, which eventually resulted in the death of the Kurdish rebel. Following this, Muhammad turned against the Hamdanids and defeating them as well. He also forced the Buwayhid governor of Mosul to grant him half of his dependencies.

Uqaylids of Mosul

Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab died in 996. He was succeeded by his brotheral-Muqallad,who in that same year marched on Mosul, forcing its Buwayhid governor to flee. From there the Uqaylids advanced into Iraq; they succeeded in overrunning much of the country and even raidingBaghdad.Eventually the Buwayhid amirBaha' al-Dawlacame to terms with al-Muqallad, whereby the Uqaylid was invested by the Abbasidcaliphwith the rule of Mosul,KufaandJami'yan.He was also given thetitleof "Husam al-Dawla". The treaty made al-Muqallad nominally subservient to the Buwayhids, but in effect he was independent, refusing to pay the tribute that he owed.

Despite the treaty, al-Muqallad still desired to take Baghdad, and might have done so had he not been assassinated by one of hisTurkishslaves in 1001. This marked the beginning of the long reign of al-Muqallad's son,Qirwash.In 1002 Qirwash raided Buwayhid territory, prompting Baha' al-Dawla's governor of Baghdad to undertake an expedition against the Uqaylids. Defeated at first, he eventually managed gain a victory over them near Kufa, but at this point was removed from his post as governor, preventing him from following up on this success. In 1005 Qirwash was confirmed in all of his possessions by the caliph, who gave him the title "Mu'tamid al-Dawla".

Qirwash's major problem during the second half of his reign was finding a way to control theOghuz Turkswho were coming in fromIran.The Oghuz even managed to occupy and sack Mosul in 1044, although Qirwash was able to expel them with the support of theMazyadids.In 1050 Qirwash was removed from power by his brotherBaraka( "Za'im al-Dawla" ), who reigned until 1052 when he died. Baraka's sonQuraysh( "Alam al-Din" ) succeeded him and ruled for the next nine years. During his reign he acknowledged the supremacy of theSeljuk Empire,although he later came into conflict with them and was temporarily expelled from Mosul. He accompanied the TurkBasasiriwhen the latter took Baghdad at the end of 1058, but the Seljuks retook the city in the next year.

Quraysh died in 1061 and was followed by his sonMuslim( "Sharaf al-Dawla" ). Sharaf al-Dawla was a just ruler; the Uqaylid domains were relatively stable for most of his reign. He furthermore gainedAleppofrom theMirdasidsin 1080 when its inhabitants offered to hand the city over to him in the hopes that he could protect from Seljuk raids, and he tookHarranfrom theNumayridsin the following year. Soon, however, he ran into trouble with the Seljuks himself. He fought against SultanMalik Shah'sforces and was defeated, but he was pardoned and reinstated.In 1085 he was killed fighting the Seljuks ofSüleyman b. Qutulmush.Following Sharaf al-Dawla's death, his brother Ibrahim, who had previously been imprisoned, was released and declared as his successor. Süleyman meanwhile had been killed in thebattle of Ain SalmbyTutush,the brother of Malik Shah and ruler ofDamascus,and Malik Shah himself took Aleppo in 1086 and appointed Aksungur as governor of the city.

In 1089 or 1090 Ibrahim was summoned to the court of Malik Shah. When he arrived he was imprisoned and was kept close to Malik Shah's side. Mosul during this time was managed by the Seljuk governorFakhr al-Dawla ibn Jahir.When Malik Shah died in 1092 a fight between Sharaf al-Dawla's sons Ali and Muhammad ensued. Ali was brought by his mother Safiyya to Mosul, but Muhammad attempted to take the city for himself. In a battle at Mosul he was defeated and forced to flee. Ibrahim, meanwhile, had been released by Malik Shah's widow so he returned to Mosul, and eventually convinced Safiyya to give up the city to him.

Ibrahim managed to keep his renewed power for only a short time. The emir of Damascus, Tutush, demanded that he recognize him as sultan in thekhutbaand allow him passage through his territory. Ibrahim refused, prompting Tutush to move his army against him. The two sides met outside Mosul on 2 April 1093, and in the ensuing battle Ibrahim and his uncle were killed in a bloody battle.Tutush then installed Ali and his mother Safiyya as his representatives in Mosul.

Muhammad b. Sharaf al-Dawla continued to attempt gain Mosul. He recruited the Turkish commanderKerboghaand his brother Tuntash, but Kerbogha imprisoned him. He then attempted to take Mosul from Ali but failed. Kerbogha then executed Muhammad and tried again to take Mosul. As the siege continued, Ali decided to flee to the Mazyadids. Kerbogha eventuallygained control of the cityin late 1096 and became its amir, ending 'Uqaylid rule there.

Other Uqaylids

Several other Uqaylid lines were established in various areas, including Jazirat ibn Umar,Takrit,Hit,andUkbara(whose ruler, Gharib ibn Muhammad once gave refuge to the Buwayhid amirJalal al-Daulawhen he found it necessary to leave Baghdad). Some of these lines were still extant after the overthrow of the Uqaylids in Mosul, with one branch in Raqqa and Qal'at Ja'bar lasting until 1169 when it was ended by theZengids.

List of Uqaylid rulers

• Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab(c. 990–996)
• al-Muqallad ibn al-Musayyab,brother of Muhammad, known as Husam al-Dawla (996–1001)
• Qirwash ibn al-Muqallad,known as Mu'tamid al-Dawla (1001–1050)
• Baraka ibn al-Muqallad,brother of Qirwash, known as Za'im al-Dawla (1050–1052)
• Quraysh ibn Baraka,known as Alam al-Din (1052–1061)
• Muslim ibn Quraysh,known as Sharaf al-Dawla (ruled 1061–1085)
• Ibrahim ibn Quraysh,brother of Muslim (1085–1089/90 and 1092–1093)
• Ali ibn Muslim(1089/90–1092 and 1093–1096)

See also

• List of Shia dynasties
• Usfurids
• Jarwanid dynasty
• Mirdasid dynasty
• Kalbids
• Banu 'Amir

Sources

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