emirate · Mesopotamia and Iran
Hamdanid emirate of Mosul
Origins
The Hamdanids, from the Arab tribe of Taghlib in the Jazira, rose as Abbasid commanders. In 905 Abu'l-Hayja Abdallah ibn Hamdan was appointed governor of Mosul. His son al-Hasan, given the title Nasir al-Dawla in 942, turned the governorship into a hereditary emirate over Mosul and the Diyar Rabi'a.
Rule and society
Nasir al-Dawla was briefly amir al-umara, effective master of Baghdad and the caliph, in 942 to 943, and later fought the Buyid dynasty for control of Iraq. He was known for heavy taxation of the Jazira's farmland. His brother Sayf al-Dawla founded the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo, famed for its court poets such as al-Mutanabbi. The family favoured Shia Islam while ruling a mixed Sunni and Christian population.
Decline and legacy
Nasir al-Dawla was deposed by his son Abu Taghlib in 967. In 978 Adud al-Dawla of the Buyids expelled the Hamdanids from Mosul; a brief return ended around 990, when the Uqaylid dynasty took over.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Hamdanid emirate of Mosul was a vassal of Abbasid Caliphate905 CE – 945 CE
- Hamdanid emirate of Mosul was conquered by Buyid dynasty979 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Hamdanid emirate of Mosul. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hamdanid-emirate-of-mosul
- MLA
- “Hamdanid emirate of Mosul.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hamdanid-emirate-of-mosul. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Hamdanid emirate of Mosul.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hamdanid-emirate-of-mosul.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Hamdanid emirate of Mosul’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hamdanid-emirate-of-mosul (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻