Babek

Babak, also known as Babak Khorramdin, was a Persian military leader who directed the Khurramite movement against the Abbasid Caliphate in the early 9th century. The Khurramites were a regional, religious-political uprising centered in the western Iranian region of Azerbaijan, seeking greater autonomy from Abbasid rule and challenging centralized taxation and authority.

Babak emerged as the movement’s principal figure and led a sustained resistance that leveraged local support from various communities, including some Zoroastrians and other groups discontent with Abbasid governance. The rebellion established a strong defensive base in a fortified stronghold associated with the Babak Fort near Kaleybar in present-day East Azerbaijan Province, where Babak and his followers conducted guerrilla operations against Abbasid forces for roughly two decades.

The revolt gradually weakened as Abbasid efforts intensified. In 837 CE, Abbasid forces under the general Afshin defeated Babak, who was captured and killed shortly thereafter. The crushing of the revolt marked a significant consolidation of Abbasid control over the region, though the episode left a lasting imprint on regional memory.

Babak’s legacy endures in Iranian and Azerbaijani historiography as a symbol of local resistance to centralized imperial power. His story appears in historical and literary works and contributes to the cultural memory of the region. The site of the Babak Fort remains a notable landmark associated with the rebellion and its historical narrative.