Rebels on the Caspian Coast and the ʿAlid Armies of Northern Iran: a Network Analysis of the Origins of the Buyids, Musafirids, and Ziyarids

Abstract The article studies the nature of alliance formation and war-making in Northern Iran during the period of ʿAlid governance (mid-3rd Hijri/9th Common Era century) and the subsequent emergence of three powerful Daylami dynasties (Ziyarids, Buyids, Musafirids). It charts how charismatic ʿAlid leaders and revolutionary Shiʿism empowered anti-status quo Daylami elites and rearranged power coalitions to defeat both pro-status quo local Daylami powers and extra-regional opponents such as the Abbasids. Utilizing social network analysis and drawing on original Arabic and Persian primary sources, this article provides two main contributions: (a) it introduces a theory of conflict and dynastic emergence for new Daylami dynasties and elite ʿAlid army officer networks; and (b) it re-visits the academic literature about 50 years after the last publication of the main influential articles and centers new advances in social network analysis as well as scholarship of academics in the Middle East in the intervening half-century.