Alid dynasties of northern Iran

Alid dynasties of northern Iran
864–928
White flag of the Alavids
Flag
CapitalAmol
Capital-in-exileSari and Astarabad
Common languagesArabic, Mazandarani
Religion
Zaydi Shi'a Islam
GovernmentTheocratic aristocracy
Emir 
• 864 -884(first)
Hasan ibn Zayd
• 927–928 (last)
Hasan ibn Qasim al-Da'i ila'l-Haqq
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
864
• Disestablished
928
CurrencyDinar (gold coins),Dirham(silver coins),Fals(copper coins)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Rashidun Caliphate
Samanid
Ziyarid dynasty
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Alid dynasties of northern Iran or Alavids (Persian: علویان طبرستان). In the 9th–10th centuries, the northern Iranian regions of Tabaristan, Daylam and Gilan, sandwiched between the Caspian Sea and the Alborz range, came under the rule of a number of Arab Alid dynasties, espousing the Zaydi branch of Shia Islam.

The first and most powerful Zaydi emirate was established in Tabaristan in 864 and lasted until 928. It was interrupted by Samanid occupation in 900, but restored in 914 by another Alid branch.

The second period of the Alid emirate was plagued by internal dissensions and power struggles between the two branches, and ended in the second conquest of the region by the Samanids in 928. Subsequently, some of the soldiers and generals of the Alavids joined the Samanids, among them Mardavij, founder of the Ziyarid dynasty, and the three sons of Buya (Ali, Hassan and Ahmad), founders of the Buyid dynasty.

Local Zaydi rulers survived in Daylam and Gilan until the 16th century.