Taharids

Taharids 

(also Tahirids), a feudal dynasty that ruled in Khorasan (Iran) from A.D. 821 to 873. The Taharid state came into being with the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate. Both the state and the dynasty were founded by the Abbasids’ viceroy in Khorasan, the feudal lord Tahir ibn al-Husayn, who ruled from 821 to 822. The Taharid state’s independence was secured by Tahir’s sons: Talha (822 to 828) was followed by Abdallah (828 to 844), under whom Nishapur was made the capital of the state. Nominally regarded as vassals of the Abbasid caliph, the Taharids did not allow him to interfere in the state’s internal affairs.

The Taharid state reached the height of its power under Abdallah. Peasant rebellions were taking place under the ideological cover of Kharijism and Shiism; in order to calm the peasantry as well as to strengthen central authority, Abdallah put a limit on requisitions, carried out extensive irrigation work, and attempted to protect the peasants and artisans from the arbitrary rule of feudal lords and public officials. The Taharid state was subsequently conquered by the Saffarids.

REFERENCES

Bartol’d, V. V. Soch., vol. 1. Moscow, 1963. Pages 266–76.
Zakhoder, B. N. Istoriia vostochnogo srednevekov’ia. Moscow, 1944.
Kadyrova, T. Iz istorii krest’ianskikh vosstanii v Maverannakhre i Khorasane v VIII-nach. IX vv. Tashkent, 1965.
Nafisi, S. Tarikh-e Khanedan-e Taheri (History of the Taharid Dynasty), book 1. Tehran, 1335 AH. (A.D. 1956).
Spuler, B. Iran in friih-islamischer Zeit. Wiesbaden, 1952.