Iranian Studies the Qadi, the Wazir and the Da'i: Religious And

This article was downloaded by: [Harvard Library] On: 22 December 2014, At: 17:36 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Iranian Studies Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cist20 The Qadi, the Wazir and the Da‘i: Religious and Ethnic Relations in Buyid Shiraz in the Eleventh Century Rachel T. Howes Published online: 24 Oct 2011. To cite this article: Rachel T. Howes (2011) The Qadi, the Wazir and the Da‘i: Religious and Ethnic Relations in Buyid Shiraz in the Eleventh Century, Iranian Studies, 44:6, 875-894, DOI: 10.1080/00210862.2011.570526 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00210862.2011.570526 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions Iranian Studies, volume 44, number 6, November 2011 Rachel T. Howes The Qadi, the Wazir and the Da‘i: Religious and Ethnic Relations in Buyid Shiraz in the Eleventh Century Shiraz’s importance as a Buyid political capitol during the late Buyid period has been mentioned but not thoroughly analyzed. This article attempts to understand Shirazi politics under the late Buyid Abu Kalijar (r. 415/1024 to 440AH/1048CE) by tracing the careers of three prominent figures in his court: the Ismaili propagandist Al-Mu’ayyad fi al-Din al-Shirazi, the Sunni Qadi Abdallah al-Fazari, and Abu Kalijar’s Wazir Bahram ibn Mafanna al-‘Adil. Using material from a variety of different narrative sources, it becomes clear that all three individuals used their understanding of court politics and their connections to one or more factions, preferably military factions, to gain sufficient intimacy with King Abu Kalijar to present their own point of view and to exclude other individuals from doing the same. Abu Kalijar was able to maintain sufficient contact with a variety of different factions to prevent the kind of factional warfare that was evident in Baghdad in the same period. By tracing the political strategies of these three men, the article sketches the structure of Shirazi politics and highlights the inclusiveness of Abu Kalijar’s court and its relative stability compared to the Baghdad court of the same period. Shiraz has little to teach of the art of wise, just and stable government; it has bequeathed us no pattern of prosperous politics, no blueprint for a better society. Its legacy is in no way material, but rather exclusively spiritual and artistic; and have we the right to say that it is less precious on that account?1 Downloaded by [Harvard Library] at 17:36 22 December 2014 In one of the few monographs in English on the history of the city of Shiraz, A. J. Arberry, the distinguished scholar of Arabic and Persian literature, downplays the political history of Shiraz and builds up its artistic and religious legacy. Arberry’s focus on the cultural legacy of the city is important, and Shiraz’s impact on literature and religion is undeniable. However, Shiraz also had political importance. In the Buyid period, at least, Shiraz was in fact a major center of political activity. It was one of the three most important Buyid cities along with Rayy and Baghdad. Most Rachel T. Howes is Associate Professor, Department of History, California State University, Northridge, USA. 1Arthur J. Arberry, Shiraz: Persian City of Saints and Poets (Norman, OK, 1960), vii. ISSN 0021-0862 print/ISSN 1475-4819 online/11/060875–20 ©2011 The International Society for Iranian Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00210862.2011.570526 876 Howes of the major Buyid princes, including ‘Adud al-Dawla and Baha’ al-Dawla, made Shiraz their capital at one time or another, and less famous Buyids such as Abu Kalijar spent most of their time there. This article will examine Shirazi politics under the Buyid King Abu Kalijar who ruled Shiraz from 415/1024 to 440AH/ 1048CE in order to examine the way in which politics in the Buyid period outside of Baghdad worked. While Shirazi politics in the mid-eleventh century may well bear out Arberry’s assertion that Shirazi government was not wise, just or stable, it should certainly serve to help us understand how government that was less than perfect actually functioned. Arberry’s choice not to focus on Shirazi politics is representative of scholarship on Buyid-era Shiraz and Iran in general. Most studies on the Buyids have focused on Baghdad. These same studies acknowledge that the Buyids had more than one capital city, but, having said that, they usually move on to focus on Baghdad.2 There are only a few studies on other cities or other regimes in the region.3 In addition to limiting their attention to Baghdad, most studies on the Buyids deal only cursorily, if at all, with the period after the death of Baha’ al-Dawla in 403/1012, and the few studies that there are on Iran in the eleventh century focus only on the period after the 2The most important study of the Buyids is still Heribert Busse, Chalif und Grosskönig Die Buyuden im Iraq (945–1055) (Beirut and Wiesbaden, 1969); more recent studies include John Donohue, The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq 334 H./945 to 403 H./1012: Shaping Institutions for the Future (Leiden, 2003); Mustafa Tawati, al-Muthaqqafun wa-al-sultah fi al-hadarah al-‘Arabiyah: al-dawlah al-Buway- hiyah namudhajan, 2nd ed. (Beirut, 2004); Older studies include M. Kabir The Buwayhid Dynasty of Baghdad 334/976–447/1055 (Calcutta, 1964); V. Minorsky, La domination des Dailamites (Paris, 1932). There are a number of other studies that deal with Buyid era Baghdad see Eric Hanne, Putting the Caliph in his Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate (Madison, NJ, 2007); Joel Kraemer, Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam: Cultural Revival during the Buyid Age (Leiden, 1992); Roy P. Mottahedeh, Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society, 2nd ed. (New York, 2001); Georges Makdisi, Ibn Aqil et la résurgence de l’Islam: Traditionaliste au XIe siècle (Ve siècle de l’hegire) (Damascus and Beirut, 1963). Downloaded by [Harvard Library] at 17:36 22 December 2014 3There are two studies of the Buyids in Iran: Hasa Munaymanah, Ta’rikh al-dawlah al-Buwayhiyah: al-siyasi wa-al-iqtisadi wa-al-ijtima‘I wa-al-thaqafi: muqata’ al Faris 334–447 H, 945–1055 M (Beirut, 1987); and Heribert Busse, “Iran under the Buyids,” in Cambridge History of Iran, vol. IV The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Seljuks (Cambridge, 1975), 298–301; a new article by Elizabeth R. Alexandrin deals specifically with Abu Kalijar and his relationship to Ismailis, “Studying Ismaili Texts in 11th Century Shiraz: al-Mu’ayyad and the ‘Conversion’ of the Buyid Amir Abu Kalijar,” Iranian Studies, 44, no. 1 (2011), 99–115. In terms of other regimes in the area the most comprehensive work are the two volumes by C. E. Bosworth on the Ghaznavids, The Ghaznavids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern Iran (Edinburgh, 1963) and The later Ghaznavids: Splendour and Decay: The Dynasty in Afghanistan and Northern India, 1040–1186 (New York, 1977); V. Barthold, Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasions, 3rd ed. (London, 1977). On the Hamdanids Marius Canard, Histoire de la Dynastie des Hamdanides de Jazira et de Syrie, Publications de la Faculte? des lettres d’Alger, vol. 2 (Algiers, 1951); on the Mazyadids see Georges Makdisi, “Notes on Hilla and the Mazyadids in Medieval Islam,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, lxxvi (1954): 119–33. Religious and Ethnic Relations in Buyid Shiraz 877 Seljuk conquest of Baghdad.4 Likewise, studies on other regimes focus on the tenth rather than the eleventh century. There is no doubt that the source material for Baghdad, especially in the tenth century, is much richer than for the other Buyid courts, but there are enough sources that deal with Shiraz to allow us a glimpse into its political workings in a pivotal period. Through this usually scattered material, we can pick out the outlines of this court and its workings, and focusing on a court other than Baghdad leads to a better understanding of how politics and administration worked in this crucial period. Within Shiraz under the Buyid King Abu Kalijar there was a delicate balance between individuals of different religious and ethnic backgrounds and the Buyid state. The position of Shiraz relative to other Buyid principalities and non-Buyid states such as Fatimid Egypt and Ghaznavid Central Asia made the political balance that much more precarious.

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