Asfar ibn Shiruya

Asfar ibn Shiruya (Gilaki/Persian: اسفار بن شیرویه‎‎: died 931) was an Iranian military leader of Gilaki origin, active in northern Iran (esp. Tabaristan and Jibal) in the early 10th century. He played a major role in the succession disputes of the Alids of Tabaristan, and managed to establish himself as the ruler of Tabaristan and northern Jibal briefly from 928 to 930.

Asfār is a local Caspian form of Middle Persian aswār, which means "rider, cavalryman". The New Persian form of the word is savār.

A native of Lahijan, Asfar belonged to the Gilaki clan of Varudavand, and was the son of a certain Shiruya (Sheroe). Asfar had a brother named Shirzad, and grew up in an environment where "Persian culture, memories of the glories of the Persian Empire, were alive among them." Like many other Gilakis and Daylamites, Asfar was not a Muslim—he was in fact a nationalist, who admired the Persian Empire. According to the 10th-century Arab historian al-Masudi, most of the Daylamite and Gilaki leaders, who were Zoroastrian and pagan, had become atheists. Asfar was one of the many Gilaki leaders that entered into the service of the Alids, after establishing their rule over Tabaristan, Gilan, and Daylam.

Asfar is first mentioned in 917, during the succession disputes for control in Tabaristan after the death of the Alid ruler Hasan al-Utrush (r. 914–917). Eventually, Hasan ibn Qasam (called al-da'i al-saghir, "the lesser missionary") managed to emerge victorious. It was around this period, that the Samanid Empire was seeking to expand their power from Transoxiana and Khorasan into northern Iran, opposing Zaydi Shia Islam there whilst advocating the Sunni movement against it.

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