Ilkhanate EMPIRE

**Ilkhanate** · 01-06-2007, 06:09

Arpa Ke'un

Arpa Ke'un (d. 1336) was an Ilkhan (1335-1336) during the disintegration of the Mongol state in Persia. He was a member of the house of Tolui.

Arpa Ke'un came to power following the death of the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id in 1335. Almost immediately he had to deal with an invasion by Ozbek Khan of the Golden Horde. He defeated the invasion, and furthermore used it as a pretext for executing Abu Sa'id's widow Bagdad Katun in an effort to cement his power. He afterward married Sati Beg, Abu Sa'id's sister and widow of Coban. In 1336, he faced attack from the governor of Baghdad, 'Ali Padsah. The latter defeated him near Maraga on April 10, and soon after Arpa was captured and killed. He was succeeded as Ilkhan by the puppet Musa.

**Ilkhanate** · 01-06-2007, 06:16

Musa (Ilkhanid dynasty)

Musa Khan was an Ilkhan from 1336 to 1337.

He was installed to the throne of the Ilkhanate by the governor of Baghdad, 'Ali Padsah, on April 12, two days after the latter had defeated Arpa Ke'un in battle. Musa was meant to be a puppet to 'Ali. However, Musa was challenged by the Jalayirid Hasan Buzurg. 'Ali was killed, and Musa was forced to flee after being defeated at Qara Darra on July 24, 1336.

**Ilkhanate** · 01-06-2007, 06:23

Muhammad Khan (Ilkhan)

Muhammad Khan (d. July 1338) was a claimant to the throne of the Ilkhanate. He was a great grandson of Mengü Temür, who was a grandson of Batu Khan.

During the breakup of the Ilkhanate following the death of Abu Sa'id in 1335, the Jalayirid Hasan Buzurg raised Muhammad Khan to the throne. Muhammad Khan, who was still a young child, was of Mongol blood and was therefore a way to legitimatize Hasan Buzurg's rule from Baghdad. In a battle taking place on July 26, 1336, Hasan Buzurg and Muhammad Khan defeated the forces of 'Ali Padshah and his puppet Ilkhan, Musa. Hasan Buzurg then installed his claimant in Tabriz. Over the next few years, the two strengthened their hold over western Persia, but the appearance of the Chobanid Hasan Kucek spoiled their rule. The two sides met in the Alataq area on July 16, 1338, and Hasan Buzurg and Muhammad Khan were defeated. Hasan Buzurg fled; Muhammad Khan was captured by the Chobanids and executed.

**Ilkhanate** · 01-06-2007, 06:59

Sati Beg

Al-sultana al-radila Sati Beg Khan Khallad Allah Mulkaha (d. sometime after 1345) was a claimant to the throne of the Ilkhanate during the fragmentation of Persia in the mid-14th century. She was the uterine sister of the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id.

Upon her brother's accession in 1316, Sati Beg was betrothed to the amir Coban, one of the most powerful individuals in the Ilkhanid court. They were wed in 1319; their marriage produced a son, Surgan. When Coban and Abu Sa'id came into conflict in 1327, Sati Beg was returned to the Ilkhan. Coban was executed that same year at Abu Sa'id's insistence; Sati Beg and Surgan were spared.

Following Abu Sa'id's death in 1335, the Ilkhanate began to disintegrate. By 1336, Sati Beg and Surgan had taken the side of the founder of the Jalayirid dynasty, Hasan Buzurg. After the latter seized control of western Persia, Surgan was made governor of Qarabag (in modern Azerbaijan), where he and his mother moved to. However, when a grandson of Coban, Hasan Kucek, defeated Hasan Buzurg in July 1338, Sati Beg and Surgan defected to his camp. Taking advantage of her family ties, Hasan Kucek raised her to the Ilkhanid throne in July or August of that year. Her nominal authority did not extend beyond the Chobanid domains of northwestern Persia.

Hasan Buzurg, who still controlled southwestern Persia and Iraq, requested the assistance of another claimant of the Ilkhanid throne named Togha Temur. The latter invaded the Chobanid lands in early 1339. Hasan Kucek, however, promised Sati Beg's hand in marriage to him in exchange for an alliance. This proved, however, to be a ruse; the intent was merely to alienate Hasan Buzurg from Togha Temur. The Jalayirids withdrew their support, and Togha Temur was forced to retreat without gaining Sati Beg. Meanwhile, Hasan Kucek was growing suspicious of Sati Beg and her son. Realizing that she was too valuable to be removed completely, he deposed her and then forced her to marry his new candidate for the throne, Suleiman Khan.

Hasan Kucek was murdered late in 1343; Sati Beg's son Surgan found himself competing for control of the Chobanid lands with the late ruler's brother Malek Asraf and his uncle Yagi Basti. When he was defeated by Malek Asraf, he fled to his mother and stepfather. The three of them then formed an alliance, but when Hasan Buzurg decided to withdraw the support he promised, the plan fell apart, and they fled to Diyarbakr. Surgan was defeated again in 1345 by Malek Asraf and they fled to Anatolia. Coinage dating from that year appears in Hesn Kayfa in Sati Beg's name; this is the last trace of her. Surgan moved from Anatolia to Baghdad, where he was eventually executed by Hasan Buzurg; Sati Beg may have suffered the same fate, but this is unknown.

Suleiman Khan

Suleiman Khan (also known as Solayman Khan or Sulaiman Khan) was a Chobanid puppet for the throne of the Ilkhanate during the breakdown of central authority in Persia. He was the great-grandson of the Ilkhan Hülegü's third son Yoshmut.

Suleiman was raised to the throne around May 1339 by the Chobanid Hasan Kucek. He then married Sati Beg, who had previously been Hasan Kucek's puppet Ilkhan. Suleiman was present at the battle on the Jaghatu against the Jalayirids under Hasan Buzurg in June 1340; the Chobanids emerged victorious. Around 1341 the Sarbadars, in an attempt to foster an alliance with the Chobanids, accepted Hasan Kucek as their suzerain, and also recognized Suleiman as Ilkhan.

In 1343 Hasan Kucek was murdered and a rivalry broke out for the succession between Sati Beg's son Surgan, Yagi Basti and Malek Asraf. Suleiman appealed to Hasan Buzurg to intervene. When Malek Asraf defeated Surgan, the latter fled to Suleiman and Sati Beg; all three of them then concluded an alliance. When the Jalayirids withdrew their support, however, it became clear victory was not possible. They fled to Diyarbakr, where coins representing Suleiman were struck until 1345.

Jahan Temur

Jahan Temür was a Jalayirid candidate for the throne of the Ilkhanate in the late 1330s. He was the son of Ala-Fireng and the grandson of the Ilkhan Gaykhatu.

Having repudiated the titular sovereignty of the Ilkhan claimant Togha Temur early in the summer of 1339, the Jalayirid Hasan Buzurg raised Jahan Temür to the throne. In June 1340 Hasan Buzurg and his puppet khan met the Chobanids under Hasan Kucek in battle on the Jaghatu; the Jalayirids were defeated. Following this, Hasan Buzurg returned to Baghdad and deposed Jahan Temür. While Hasan Buzurg would recognize Togha Temur as his suzerain again for a time, Jahan Temür was his last puppet Ilkhan, and the Jalayirid (Ilkan) dynasty of Baghdad came to rule in its own right. The fate of Jahan Temür himself is not recorded.

Anusirvan

Anusirvan-e 'Adel (also known as Anushirvan) was a Chobanid ruler during the mid-14th century. His origins are not clear.

Nusirvan was raised to the Ilkhanid throne following around 1344. He was given the name Anusirvan, after the Sassanid Khosrau I. The Chobanids struck coins in his name until 1353.

Ghazan II (1356-1357) (known only from coinage)

Togha Temür

Togha Temür (also known as Taghaytimur) (d. late 1353) was a claimant to the throne of the Ilkhanate in the mid-14th century. Of the many individuals who attempted to become Ilkhan after the death of Abu Sa'id, Togha Temür was the only one who hailed from eastern Iran, and was the last major candidate who was of the house of Chinggis Khan. His base of power was Gurgan and western Khurasan.

Before the death of Abu Sa'id
Togha Temür was a descended from Jochi, a brother of Chingghis Khan. Eventually, his family became the rulers of a nomadic tribe, the Chete. His grandfather Baba Kawun had moved the Chete into the region between Astarabad (modern-day Gurgan) and Kalbush on the east Gurgan River. This region's principal cities were Astarabad and Jurjan. When Togha Temür became the leader of the Chete, they were still in this area.

Struggles with the Jalayirids and Chobanids
A few months after the death of Ilkhan Abu Sa'id in 1335, Togha Temür became involved in the succession struggle. The governor of Khurasan, Shaikh 'Ali b. 'Ali Qushji, noting Togha Temür's relation to Chinngis Khan, proposed naming him Ilkhan, and most of the princes of eastern Iran were convinced to accept him as sovereign. After his name was added to the coinage and in the official prayers, an expedition into western Iran was planned. In that part of the country two Ilkhans, Arpa Ke'un and Musa Khan, had already been overthrown, and it was believed that the troops of Khurasan could overcome the instability there.

In the spring of 1337 Togha Temür's forces began the campaign. There was dissension within his ranks, however; several local princes resented the power of Shaikh 'Ali over the would-be Ilkhan, and hated the economic policies that he had been in charge of implementing as governor of Khurasan. As a result two of his supporters, namely Arghun Shah, who was chief of the Jauni Kurban tribe, and 'Abd-Allah b. Mulai, who held Kuhistan, withdrew from the campaign at Bistam. This was offset by the addition of the former Ilkhan Musa Khan and his troops, who had been in flight since their defeat by the Jalayirid Hasan Buzurg and his puppet khan, Muhammad Khan. Together they occupied the old Ilkhan capital Soltaniyeh, but in June 1337 Hasan Buzurg met and defeated them on the field, forcing Togha Temür and Shaikh 'Ali to evacuate the region.

In July 1337, while returning to Khurasan, Shaikh 'Ali was captured by Arghun Shah, who executed him and sent his head to Hasan Buzurg. From this point on Arghun Shah was Togha Temür's most powerful supporter. He convinced Togha Temür to resist Muhammad-i Mulai, who arrived in Khurasan to act as Hasan Buzurg's governor there. Togha Temür and Arghun Shah defeated and executed him in the fall of that year, making sure that Khurasan remained free of the Jalayirids.

Less than a year later, Togha Temür was again drawn into events in the west. Hasan Buzurg's rule there had been contested by the Chobanid Hasan Kucek, who had defeated the Jalayirids, killed Hasan Buzurg's puppet khan, and taken control of Tabriz in July 1338. In response, Hasan Buzurg requested the assistance of Togha Temür. After consulting Arghun Shah, he accepted, and in 1339 he returned to western Iran. As part of the deal, Hasan Buzurg recognized him as Ilkhan.

Hasan Kucek, however, acted quickly to destroy the alliance. He sent a letter to Togha Temür, offering him the hand of his own Ilkhan puppet, Sati Beg, in marriage with the prospect of an alliance between the Chobanids and Khurasanis. Togha Temür was pleased with the idea, so he sent a response accepting the offer. Hasan Kucek then forwarded the response to Hasan Buzurg with a supplementary letter warning him that Togha Temür was an untrustworthy person and claiming that the Jalayirids and Chobanids believed in many of the same things and could together work towards the reunification of the Ilkhanid state.

Hasan Buzurg, believing his Chobanid rival, decided to turn against the Khurasanis. With both Jalayirid and Chobanid forces opposing him, Togha Temür had little choice but to return to Khurasan. Although in 1340 Togha Temür was again recognized by Hasan Buzurg as Ilkhan, and continued to be recognized as such until 1344, his attempts to unify the Ilkhanate under his rule had effectively failed. The regular Khurasani army had been decimated, leaving Togha Temür dependent on his and his allies' tribal forces, which were insufficient to conquer the west.

Conflict with the Sarbadars
Main article: Sarbadars

In the west the Jalayirids and Chobanids had prevented Togha Temür from extending his rule across much of the Ilkhanate. Another group opposed him much more directly - they threatened his rule in Khurasan itself. The Sarbadars came to power by revolting against one of Togha Temür's subordinates, 'Ala' al-Din Muhammad, as a result of increasingly harsh tax demands. Initially the Sarbadars claimed that their revolt was against 'Ala' al-Din only and not against Togha Temür, and continued to put Togha Temür's name on their coins. When they attacked Arghun Shah's Jauni Kurban, however, Togha Temür was prompted to send his forces against them, but they were defeated and both 'Ala' al-Din and 'Abd-Allah b. Mulai were killed. Following this, the Sarbadars took much of Khurasan and transferred their allegiance to the Chobanids, recognizing Hasan Kucek's puppet khan Suleiman Khan.

Togha Temür and his supporters fled to the Jajrud valley, to the south of Amul (in Mazandaran), whose ruler, the Bavandid Fakhruddawla Hasan, was his vassal. In 1344 the Sarbadars decided to wipe out Togha Temür and moved against him, but the Bavandids trapped their army and killed their leader, Mas'ud. This allowed Togha Temür to reclaim much of the territory the Sarbadars had captured, and he even briefly regained their allegiance.

Despite, this, the Sarbadars continued to pose a problem. Togha Temür was not helped by the death of Arghun Shah, who died in 1345 or 1346, after which the Jauni Kurban ceased to support him against the Sarbadars. Fighting between the two sides continued until Yahya Karawi took control of the Sarbadars in around 1352. He decided to submit to Togha Temür, minting coins in his name, sending him tribute, and promising to present himself before the khan every year. Togha Temür accepted this proposal, and it seemed like peace had been achieved. However, Yahya did not intend to remain Togha Temür's vassal. In November or December of 1353 Yahya and a group of Sarbadars presented themselves before Togha Temür in his camp. They struck him down, then slaughtered his family and his army and killed the nomads' animals.

Much of Togha Temür's territories then passed into the Sarbadars' hands again. The remaining lands were supposed to fall into his son Luqman's hands, but Amir Vali, the son of Togha Temür's governor of Astarabad, set him aside; it was he who continued the struggle with the Sarbadars.

Kartids

The Kartid Dynasty (Karts, also known as Kurts) was a dynasty that ruled over a large part of Khurasan during the 13th and 14th centuries. Ruling from their capital at Herat, they were at first subordinates within the Mongol Ilkhanate, and upon the fragmentation of the Ilkhanate in 1335 they became de facto independent rulers up until the invasion of Timur in 1381.

Rise to Power
The first important Karts were two brothers, named Taju'd-Din 'Uthman-i-Marghini and 'Izzu'd-Din 'Umar-i-Marghini. Both served under the ruler of Ghor, Sultan Muhammad of Ghor. The former was given charge of the castle at Khaysar, while the latter served as Muhammad's wazir. Taju'd-Din's son, Malik Ruknu'd-Din Abu Bakr, married the Sultan's daughter some time after Taju'd-Din died. Malik Ruknu'd-Din had a son, Shamsu'd-Din, who succeeded his father in 1245 or 1246. The following year, he participated in an invasion of India led by Sali Noyan. Later, he met the ruler of the Mongol Empire, Mongke Khan, who granted Shamsu'd-Din authority over Herat, Jam, Bushanj, Ghor, Khaysar, Firuz-Kuh, Gharjistan, Farah, Sistan, Kabul, Tirah, and Afghanistan all the way to the Indus River. Following his subjugation of Sistan, Shamsu'd-Din visited the Ilkhan Hülegü Khan around 1263/4, and then met Hülegü's successor Abaqa three years later. In 1276/7 he met the Ilkhan again, but eventually Abaqa grew suspicious of Shamsu'd-Din and had him poisoned in January 1278 with a watermelon given to him while he was bathing in Tabriz. His body was buried in chains in Jam.

1278-1307
Shamsu'd-Din was succeeded by his son Ruknu'd-Din. The latter adopted the title of malik, which all succeeding Kartid rulers were to use. By the time of his death in Khaysar on September 3, 1305, effective power had long been in the hands of his son Fakhru'd-Din. Fakhru'd-Din was a patron of literature, but also extremely religious. He had previously been cast in prison by his father for seven years, until the Ilkhanid general Nauruz intervened on his behalf. When Nauruz's revolt faltered around 1296, Fakhru'd-Din offered him asylum, but when an Ilkhanid force approached Herat, he betrayed the general and turned him over to the forces of Ghazan. Three years later, Fakhru'd-Din fought against Ghazan's successor Oljeitu, who shortly after his ascension in 1306 sent a force of 10,000 to take Herat. The malik, however, tricked the invaders by letting them occupy the city, and then destroying them, killing their commander Danishmand Bahadur in the process. He died on February 26, 1307.

1307-1331
Fakhru'd-Din's brother Ghiyathu'd-Din succeeded him upon his death; almost immediately, he began to quarrel with another brother, 'Ala'u'd-Din. Taking his case before Oljeitu, who gave him a grand reception, he returned to Khurasan in 1307/8. Continuing troubles with his brother led him to visit the Ilkhan again in 1314/5. Upon returning to Herat, he found his territories being invaded by the Chagatai prince Yasa'ur, as well as hostility from Qutbu'd-Din of Isfizar and the populace of Sistan. A siege of Herat was set by Yasa'ur. The prince, however, was stopped by the armies of the Ilkhanate, and in August 1320 Ghiyathu'd-Din made a pilgrimage to Mecca, leaving his son Shamsu'd-Din Muhammad in control during his absence. In 1327 the amir Coban fled to Herat following his betrayal by the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id, where he requested asylum from Ghiyathu'd-Din, whom he was friends with. Ghiyathu'd-Din initially granted the request, but when Abu Sa'id pressured him to execute Coban, he obeyed. Soon afterwards Ghiyathu'd-Din himself died, in 1329. He left four sons: Shamsu'd-Din, Hafiz, Mu'izzu'd-Din Husain, and Baqir. Shamsu'd-Din, who succeeded him, died shortly after; Hafiz, a scholar and the next person to take the throne, was murdered after two years. The succession therefore fell on Mu'izzu'd-Din.

1331-1370
Four years after Mu'izzu'd-Din's ascension, the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id died, following which the Ilkhanate quickly fragmented. Mu'izzu'd-Din, for his part, allied with Togha Temur, a claimant to the Ilkhanid throne, and paid tribute to him. Up until his death, Mu'izzu'd-Din's main concern were the neighboring Sarbadars, centered in Sabzavar. As the Sarbadars were the enemies of Togha Temur, they considered the Kartids a threat and invaded. When the Kartids and Sarbadars met in battle at Zava on July 18, 1342, the battle was initially in the favor of the latter, but disunity within the Sarbadar army allowed the Kartids to emerge victorious. Thereafter, Mu'izzu'd-Din undertook several successful campaigns against the Chagatai Mongols to the northeast. During this time, he took a still young Timur into his service. In 1349, while Togha Temur was still alive, Mu'izzu'd-Din stopped paying tribute to him, and ruled as an independent sultan. Togha Temur's murder in 1353 by the Sarbadars ended that potential threat. Sometime around 1358, however, the Chagatai amir Qazaghan invaded Khurasan and sacked Herat. As he was returning home, Qazaghan was assassinated, allowing Mu'izzu'd-Din to reestablish his authority.

Another campaign by the Sarbadars against Mu'izzu'd-Din in 1362 was aborted due to their internal disunity. Shortly afterwards, the Kartid leader welcomed Shi'i dervishes fleeing from the Sarbadar ruler 'Ali-yi Mu'ayyad, who had killed their leader during the aborted campaign. In the meantime, however, relations with Timur became tense when the Kartid launched a raid into his territory. Upon Mu'izzu'd-Din's death in 1370, his son Ghiyas al-Din Pir 'Ali inherited most of the Kartid lands, except for Sarakhs and a portion of Quhistan, which Ghiyas al Din's stepbrother Malik Muhammad gained.

Fall, 1370-1383
Ghiyas al-Din, a grandson of Togha Temur through his mother Sultan Khatun, attempted to destabalize the Sarbadar state by stirring up the refugee dervishes within his country. 'Ali-yi Mu'ayyad countered by conspiring with Malik Muhammad. When Ghiyas al-Din attempted to remove Malik Muhammad, 'Ali-yi Mu'ayyad flanked his army and forced him to abort the campaign, instead compromising with his stepbrother. The Sarbadars, however, soon suffered a period of internal strife, and Ghiyas al-Din took advantage of this by seizing the city of Nishapur around 1375 or 1376. In the meantime, both Ghiyas al-Din and Malik Muhammad had asked for the assistance of Timur regarding their conflict: the former had sent an embassy to him, while the latter had appeared before Timur in person as a requester of asylum, having been driven out of Sarakhs. Timur responded to Ghiyas al-Din by proposing a marriage between his niece Sevinj Qutluq Agha and the Kartid ruler's son Pir Muhammad, a marriage which took place in Samarkand around 1376.

Later on, Timur invited Ghiyas al-Din to a council so that the latter could submit to him, but when the Kartid attempted to excuse himself from coming by claiming he had to deal with the Shi'i population in Nishapur, Timur decided to invade. He was encouraged by many Khurasanis, included Mu'izzu'd-Din's former vizier Mu'in al-Din Jami, who sent a letter inviting Timur to intervene in Khurasan, and the shaikhs of Jam, who, being very influential persons, had convinced many of the Kartid dignitaries to welcome Timur as the latter neared Herat. In April 1381 Timur arrived before the city, whose citizens were already demoralized and also aware of Timur's offer not to kill anyone that did not take part in the battle. The city fell, its fortifications were dismantled, theologians and scholars were deported to Timur's homeland, a high tribute was enacted, and Ghiyas al-Din and his son were carried off to Samarkand. Ghiyas al-Din was made Timur's vassal, until he supported a rebellion in 1382 by the maliks of Herat. Ghiyas al-Din and his family were executed around 1383, and Timur's son Miran Shah destroyed the revolt. That same year, a new uprising led by a Shaikh Da'ud-i Khitatai in Isfizar was quickly put down by Miran Shah. The remaining Kartids were murdered in 1396 at a banquet which Miran Shah had invited them to. The Kartids therefore came to an end, having been the victims of Timur's first Persian campaign.

Luqman (1353-1388) (son of Togha Temür)

THE END OF The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate or Il Khanate