Mazyar

Mazyar
Ispahbadh of Tabaristan
Reign	817–839
Predecessor	Qarin ibn Vindadhhurmuzd
Successor	Qarin I Quhyar
Born	Tabaristan
Died	839 Samarra
Dynasty	Qarinvand dynasty
Father	Qarin ibn Vindadhhurmuzd
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Mazyar (Middle Persian: Māh-Izād; Persian: مازیار‎‎ Mazyār), was an Iranian prince from the Qarinvand dynasty and feudal ruler of the mountainous region of Tabaristan. For his resistance to the Abbasid Caliphate, Mazyar is considered one of the national heroes of Iran by twentieth-century Iranian nationalist historiography. His name means "protected by the yazata of the moon".

Mazyar succeeded his father Qarin ibn Vindadhhurmuzd in ca. 817. However, his territories were soon invaded by the neighbouring Bavandid ruler Shahriyar I, who defeated Mazyar and forced him to flee. Mazyar took refuge with his cousin Vinda-Umid, who betrayed him and handed him over to Shahriyar. However, Mazyar managed to escape and reach the court of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun. There he met one of his astrologers, Yahya ibn al-Munajjim, a Persian who had recently converted to Islam and belonged to the Banu Munajjim family. Mazyar soon also embraced Islam, and al-Ma'mun gave him the title of "Servant of the Commander of the Faithful" (mawlā amīr al-muʾminīn) and the Muslim name of Abu'l-Hasan Muhammad. Mazyar was also granted two towns in Tabaristan as his fief, and in 822/3 returned to Tabaristan with its Abbasid governor Musa ibn Hafs. Mazyar now began to take revenge against his enemies: Vinda-Umid and Shahriyar's son and successor, Shapur, were defeated and killed, and Mazyar united the highlands under his own rule. Mazyar now began constructing mosques in several towns, and successfully plundered the territories of another local dynasty, the Justanids.

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