Sajid dynasty

Sajid dynasty
ساجیان
889–929
Map of the Sajid dynasty at its greatest extent
Capital		Maragha (889-901) Ardabil (901-929)
Languages		Persian
Religion		Sunni Islam
Government		Monarchy
Afshin
•	889–901	Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj
•	928–929	Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath (last)
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	889
•	Disestablished	929
Preceded by Succeeded by Abbasid Caliphate Sallarid dynasty
Today part of		Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Iran Russia Turkey

The Sajid dynasty (Persian: ساجیان‎‎), was an Islamic dynasty that ruled the Azerbaijan from 889-890 until 929. Sajids ruled Azerbaijan and Armenia first from Maragha and Barda and then from Ardabil. The Sajids originated from the Central Asian province of Ushrusana and were of Iranian (Sogdians) descent. Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Diwdad the son of Diwdad, the first Sajid ruler of Azerbaijan, was appointed as its ruler in 889 or 890. Muhammad's father Abi'l-Saj Devdad had fought under the Ushrusanan prince Afshin Khaydar during the latter's final campaign against the rebel Babak Khorramdin in Azerbaijan, and later served the caliphs. Toward the end of the 9th century, as the central authority of the Abbasid Caliphate weakened, Muhammad was able to form a virtually independent state. Much of the Sajids' energies were spent in attempting to take control of neighboring Armenia. The dynasty ended with the death of Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath in 929.

Chronology

• Abdu Ubaydullah Muhammad Ibn Abi'l-Saj (899-901)
• Abul Musafir Devdad Ibn Muhammad (901)
• Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj (901-919)
  • Subuk (919-922) (a servant of the Sajids and a temporary care-taker)
• Yusuf (restored) (922-928)
• Fath b. Muhammad b. Abi 'l Saj (928-929)

See also

• Sajid invasion of Georgia
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
• Iranian Intermezzo

Literature

• Madelung, Wilferd. "Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran." The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: The Period From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Ed. R. N. Frye. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1975.
• Clifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996.
• V. Minorsky, Studies in Caucasian history, Cambridge University Press, 1957.

• Iranicaonline.org AZERBAIJAN iv. Islamic History to 1941
• Clifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996. pg 147: "The Sajids were a line of caliphal governors in north-western persia, the family of a commander in the 'Abbasid service of Soghdian descent which became culturally Arabised."
• V. Minorsky, Studies in Caucasian history, Cambridge University Press, 1957. pg 111
• C. E. Bosworth, "AZERBAIJAN iv. Islamic History to 1941" in Encyclopaedia Iranica. [1](accessed November 2010). Quote: "In ca. 279/892 the caliph Moʿtażed appointed one of his generals, Moḥammad b. Abi’l-Sāj, an Iranian from Central Asia, as governor of Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the family of the Sajids "