emirate · Mesopotamia and Iran

Dulafid dynasty

825 CE – 897 CE (approx.) · capital Karaj

An Arab family of governors who ruled the Jibal region of western Iran for most of the 9th century from their own city, Karaj.

Origins

Abu Dulaf al-Qasim ibn Isa, of the Arab Banu Ijl, was a general and poet in the service of Harun al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun. Around 825 he founded or developed the town of Karaj (Karaj Abi Dulaf, near modern Arak, not the city near Tehran) and governed much of the Jibal as an Abbasid official.

Rule and society

The Dulafids ruled hereditarily but in the name of the Abbasid Caliphate, collecting taxes in a rich agricultural and horse-raising region on the route from Baghdad to Khurasan. Abu Dulaf was celebrated as a patron and poet and appears in Arabic literature for his generosity. His descendants, notably Ahmad ibn Abd al-Aziz, fought the Saffarids and sometimes defied Baghdad.

Decline and legacy

After internal disputes, the caliph al-Mu'tadid ended Dulafid rule in 897, reabsorbing the Jibal into direct caliphal administration.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Dulafid dynasty. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dulafid-dynasty
MLA
“Dulafid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dulafid-dynasty. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Dulafid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dulafid-dynasty.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Dulafid dynasty’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dulafid-dynasty (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻