Muhammad ibn Zayd

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Zayd ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismaʿīl ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Zayd (died 3 October 900), also known as al-Dāʿī al-Ṣaghīr ("the Younger Missionary"), was an Alid who succeeded his brother, Hasan ("the Elder Missionary"), as ruler of the Zaydid dynasty of Tabaristan in 884. Nothing is known of his early life. Iranologist Wilferd Madelung speculates that the family lived in Iraq before coming to Tabaristan after Hasan's takeover of the province; Muhammad appears to have come to Tabaristan in 867. He then suppressed a rebellion in Gurgan headed by another Alid, Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Aqiqi, and probably continued to govern the province in his brother's name until the latter's death on 6 January 884.

Religious policies and character Like his brother, Muhammad espoused and promoted Zaydi Shi'ism and Mu'tazilism, while repressing Sunni opposition. This religious oppression, combined with their reliance on the Daylamite mountaineers, whose lack of discipline and barbarous behaviour were much resented by the populace, resulted in an estrangement of the mass of the people from Zaydid rule.