emirate · Caucasus

Shaddadid Emirate

951 CE – 1075 CE · capital Ganja

A Kurdish dynasty that ruled Ganja and Arran in the 10th and 11th centuries, a meeting point of Muslim, Armenian and Georgian worlds.

Origins

The Shaddadids were a Kurdish family who exploited the decline of the Sallarid Emirate. In 951 Muhammad ibn Shaddad seized Dvin, and his descendants established their seat at Ganja in Arran, taking over the region between the Kura and the Araxes.

Rule and society

The emirs ruled a mixed population of Muslims and Christians and fought and allied in turn with the Armenian kings of Ani, the Georgians and the Byzantines. Abu'l-Aswar Shavur, who ruled from 1049, was a forceful soldier and patron. Ganja prospered as a market city on routes linking the Caspian, Iran and the Caucasus.

Decline and legacy

The Seljuk Empire took control of Arran, and in 1075 the Seljuk sultan Malik Shah deposed the Ganja line. A branch survived as the Shaddadids of Ani, governing the former Armenian capital for the Seljuks.

Lineage

Sallarid Emirate 941 CE – 981 CEShaddadid Emirate

Connections (2)

More states of Caucasus →

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻