Muhammad ibn Zayd
| Muhammad ibn Zayd | |
|---|---|
| Emir of Tabaristan | |
| Reign | 884–900 |
| Predecessor | Hasan ibn Zayd |
| Successor | Samanid occupation |
| Died | 3 October 900 |
| House | Zaydid dynasty |
| Father | Zayd ibn Muhammad |
| Mother | Aminah bint Abdallah |
| Religion | Zaydi Shi'a Islam |
Abu Abdallah Muḥammad ibn Zayd ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘il ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Zayd (died 3 October 900), also known as al-Da‘ī al-ṣaghīr ("the Younger Missionary"), was an Alid who succeeded his brother, Hasan ("the Elder Missionary"), as ruler of the Zaydid dynasty of Tabaristan in 884. Little is known of his early life, before coming to Tabaristan after Hasan established Zaydid rule there in 864. He served his brother as a general and governor, and continued his policies after his accession. His reign was troubled by rebellions and wars, most notably by the invasion of Rafi' ibn Harthama in 889–892, which occupied most of his domains. After Rafi' fell out of favour with the Abbasids, Muhammad recovered his position and secured the allegiance of Rafi', but did not particularly support him against the Saffarids. In 900, following the Saffarids' defeat by the Samanids, he tried to invade Khurasan, but was defeated and died of his wounds, whereupon Tabaristan fell to the Samanids.
Muhammad was the younger brother of Hasan ibn Zayd, an Alid who founded Zaydid rule over Tabaristan in 864. Nothing is known of his early life. Iranologist Wilferd Madelung speculates that the family lived in Iraq before coming to Tabaristan after Hasan's takeover of the province; Muhammad appears to have come to Tabaristan in 867.
During Hasan's rule, Muhammad is mentioned as being captured by Ya'qub al-Saffar during the latter's 874 invasion, but released at Gurgan when Ya'qub withdrew in 876. After a brief visit to Tabaristan to see his mother, he returned to Gurgan as an assistant to Hasan's brother-in-law, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim. The Zaydids were expelled from Gurgan by the Tahirid general Ishaq al-Sari in spring 877, but soon recovered it. In 880, Muhammad also suppressed the rebellion of Rustam I, a member of the native Bavandid dynasty which ruled the mountains of eastern Tabaristan and opposed the Zaydids. He then suppressed a rebellion in Gurgan headed by another Alid, Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Aqiqi, and probably continued to govern the province in his brother's name until the latter's death on 6 January 884.
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