Adud al-Dawla Shir-Zad (Persian: عضدالدوله شیرزاد), better known as Shir-Zad (شیرزاد) was the sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire from 1115 to 1116. A son of Mas'ud III (r. 1099–1115), Shir-Zad served as a governor in India during his father's reign. The deputy governor of Shir-Zad was Qiwam al-Mulk Nizam al-Din. During his governorship, Shir-Zad became very close friends with the Persian poet Masud Sa'd Salman, who had recently been released from his imprisonment at Nay.[1] In one of his poems, Masud Sa'd Salman makes mention of a certain Amir Kaykavus at Shir-Zad's court in the city of Lahore, which may been the Ziyarid ruler and author of the Qabus-Nama, Kaykavus.[2]
It was probably at his accession that Shir-Zad adopted the laqab (honorific epithet) of Kamal al-Daula. He ruled for one year, until he was overthrown by his brother Arslan-Shah in February 1116. Shir-Zad fled to the Caspian lands, where he received shelter by the ispahbad (ruler) of the local Bavand dynasty of Tabaristan. With the help of the ispahbad, Shir-Zad made a pilgrimage to Mecca in April–May. After his return, Shir-Zad attempted to regain the throne from his brother, but was killed by the latter.[3]
No coins of Shir-Zad are known, which implies he did not rule long enough to have them minted, or none minted by him have been found yet.[4]
References
- ^ Bosworth 1977, p. 67.
- ^ de Bruijn 2000.
- ^ Bosworth 1977, p. 90.
- ^ Bosworth 1977, p. 3.
Sources
- Bosworth, C. E. (1977). The Later Ghaznavids: Splendour and Decay : the Dynasty in Afghanistan and Northern India, 1040-1186. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04428-8.
- de Bruijn, J.T.P. (2000). "Kaykāvus b. Eskandar". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition. New York.
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