Abu Tahir Ibrahim ibn Nasir al-Dawla was a Hamdanid prince, who along with his brother al-Husayn was the last Hamdanid ruler of Mosul in 989–990. After his defeat at the hand of the MarwanidKurds, he was killed by the Uqaylid leader Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab, who usurped rule over Mosul for his family.
Life
Family tree of the Hamdanid dynasty
Ibrahim was a younger son of the founder of the Hamdanid emirate of Mosul, Nasir al-Dawla (r. 935–967).[1] Nasir al-Dawla was succeeded by his son Abu Taghlib, who had to confront an uprising by his half-brother Hamdan. Ibrahim apparently sided with Hamdan, for when the latter was defeated in 971 and fled to the Buyid court in Baghdad, Ibrahim joined him.[2][3] Abu Taghlib's rivalry with the Buyids eventually led to the capture of Mosul by the Buyid Adud al-Dawla in 978, which forced Abu Taghlib to flee to Syria.[1][4] Ibrahim, however, along with his brother al-Husayn, apparently submitted to the Buyids and entered their service,[1] or were possibly kept as hostages in Baghdad.[5]
During the 980s, Mosul was threatened by the Kurdish chieftain Badh ibn Dustak.[4] Left without support from Baghdad, the local Buyid governor turned to the local Arab tribes of the Banu Uqayl and the Banu Numayr for assistance.[5] This threatened Buyid control of the area as much as the Kurds, and in 989, the new Buyid emir, Baha al-Dawla, allowed the Hamdanid brothers to return to Mosul, in the hope that their local ties would mobilize opposition against Badh, and keep the Arab tribes reined in.[4][6]
The Hamdanids were indeed received with enthusiasm by the local population, to such a degree that they rose in revolt and expelled the Buyid governor from Mosul.[7] The Uqayl backed the Hamdanids, and received control of the towns of Jazirat ibn Umar, Nisibis, and Balad (north of Mosul), in exchange.[7][8] Exploiting the turmoil, Badh attacked Mosul in the next year, but was defeated and killed by the numerically inferior Uqayl forces in battle near Balad.[1][7] A Hamdanid counter-offensive followed in the region of Amida against Badh's successor, Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Marwan, but failed to score any success. Indeed, al-Husayn was taken prisoner during the campaign, only to be released and seek refuge in the Fatimid Caliphate.[1][7] Ibrahim fled with his son Ali to Uqaylid-held Nisibis, where Muhammad took them prisoner and killed them, usurping rule over Mosul and founding the Uqaylid dynasty.[7][9][10]
Busse, Heribert (2004) [1969]. Chalif und Grosskönig - Die Buyiden im Irak (945-1055) [Caliph and Great King - The Buyids in Iraq (945-1055)] (in German). Würzburg: Ergon Verlag. ISBN3-89913-005-7.
