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Sunpadh Rebellion

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Sunpadh Rebellion
Part of The Persian Rebellions against the Caliphate

An Arabic map showing Sunpadh's Rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate in 137 AH / 755 AD.
  Abbasid Territory
  Tabaristan's Territory
  Rebellion's territory including cities as:(Ray, Semnan,Damghan,and Nishapur)
  City surroundings, such as in north east is Gorgan, In North west is Zanjan, and South west are Qazvin, Qom, and Hamadan
Date137 AH / 755 AD
Location
Khorasan and some parts of the mountains
Result Abbasid victory[1]
Belligerents
Abbasid Caliphate Sunpadh Movement
Supported by :
Daylamites
Dabuyid dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Al-Mansur
Jumhur ibn Marar [ar]		 Sunpadh X
Units involved
Abbasid army Sunpadh's Army
Strength
10,000 Troops[2] 90,000–100,000 Rebels
Casualties and losses
Unknown 60,000 killed[2]

The Rebellion of Sunpadh, or Sunpadh Rebellion, was a Persian Zoroastrian uprising against the Abbasid Caliphate in retaliation for the Execution of Abu Muslim al-Khurasani. The rebellion seemed clearly driven by Sunpadh’s close connection to Abu Muslim, as he was one of his companions and supporters. Sunpadh claimed to be a follower of Abu Muslim, which gave him a justification to declare his rebellion, protesting the murder of Abu Muslim. In response, Caliph al-Mansur dispatched the Abbasid commander "Jumhur ibn Marar [ar]" to suppress the revolt. Jumhur ibn Marar emerged victorious, decisively defeating Sunpadh’s followers and inflicting severe reprisals on his supporters in a major battle between Hamadan and Ray.

Background

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The news of Abu Muslim al-Khurasani’s Execution reached the people of Khurasan and the broader Persian population, many mourned his death, believing they had lost their savior and the most significant figure to emerge from their ranks since the Islamic conquest of Persia. Seizing upon the widespread discontent against the Abbasid Caliphate, adherents of "Mazdakism", Khurramism, and Zoroastrianism capitalized on the situation.

The suppression of the rebellion and assassination of Sunpadh

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Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur dispatched his commander, Jumhur ibn Marar al-'Ijli [ar], at the head of ten thousand cavalrymen to confront Sunpadh. The two forces met between Hamadan and Ray. Jahwar resolved to prolong the engagement, but when the battle lines were drawn, Sunpadh placed Muslim women captives on camels at the front ranks. Upon seeing the Muslim army, the women stood in their howdahs and cried out, "O Muhammad! Islam is lost!". The camels panicked and rushed back toward Sunpadh's army, causing disorder in his ranks. The Muslim cavalry then launched their attack, relentlessly pursuing and killing Sunpadh ’s forces, with casualties reaching around sixty thousand killed. Some other source states that A force of 10,000 Abbasid troops under Jahwar ibn Marrar al-Ijli was shortly sent towards Sunpadh and they clashed between Hamadan and Ray, where Sunpadh was defeated and routed.[3] The Muslim army also captured their women and children. Sunpadh fled the battlefield toward Tabaristan, seeking refuge with its ruler, Khurshid of Tabaristan. However, Khurshid sent his cousin which is named "Tuz" to deal with Sunpadh. however Sunpadh, belittled and insulted Tuz, provoking the latter to anger. In response, Tuz struck Sunpadh down and beheaded him between Tabaristan and Qumis. He then wrote to Abu Ja'far, informing him of the execution and seizing Sunpadh's wealth. This displeased al-Mansur, who subsequently demanded the wealth from the ruler of Tabaristan. The latter denied possessing it, leading to a serious conflict with the caliph. Entire episode, from Sunpadh's revolt to his death, lasted seventy days, concluding in Dhu al-Qadah 137 AH (May 755 CE).[4][5][6][7][8] Some other source states that It is possible, that the murder was instigated by Khurshid, in the hope of acquiring the remainder of Abu Muslim's treasure.,[9] Some other source claim that Sunpadh and his brother fled to Tabaristan, and a relative of The ruler of Tabaristan had both killed and sent their heads to Jumhur.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Foltz, Richard (2016). Iran: Persia in World History. Oxford University Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-19-933549-7. Especially in the wake of Abu Muslim's murder. In 755, a neo-Zoroastrian leader named Sunpadh raised an army with the vow to avenge Abu Muslim by marching on Mecca and destroying Islam's most sacred shrine, the Kaaba. (He was not successful.)
  2. ^ a b McAuliffe 1995, p. 45.
  3. ^ McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (1995). Jane Dammen McAuliffe (ed.). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXVIII: The ʿAbbāsid Authority Affirmed: The Early Years of al-Mansūr, A.D. 753–763/A.H. 136–145. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-7914-1895-6.
  4. ^ Al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (2004). History of the Prophets and Kings. Amman: Bayt Al-Afkar Al-Dawliyyah. pp. 1501–1502. ISBN 978-9957-21-152-3. OCLC 956977290.
  5. ^ Ayyoub, Mohammed Shaaban (2013). The Powerful Abbasids. Cairo: Iqra Foundation for Publishing, Distribution, and Translation. p. 282.
  6. ^ Ibn al-Athir, Ali ibn al-Kathir (2005). Abu Suhaib al-Karmi (ed.). Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh. Amman: Bayt al-Afkar al-Dawliya. p. 796.
  7. ^ Zain, Hassan Fadhel (1989). The Internal and External Policies of Al-Mansur Abu Ja'far. pp. 326–329.
  8. ^ Crone, Patricia (2012). The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 35–37.
  9. ^ Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2017). "Kārin". Encyclopaedia Iranica. pp. 314–315.
  10. ^ Crone, Patricia (2012). The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 36. Sunbadh and his brother fled to Tabaristan , and here a relative of the local ruler had both of them killed and sent their heads to Jumhur ibn marar
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