Sayyid Fakhr al-Din (Persian: سید فخرالدین) was a Mar'ashi prince, who ruled the region of Rustamdar from 1381 to 1390. He shared power with his three other brothers; Kamal al-Din I in Sari; Rida al-Din in Amul; and Sharaf al-Din in Karatughan. Together, they ruled a realm encompassing all of Mazandaran, reaching as far west to the city of Qazvin.[1] They had inherited this realm from their father Mir-i Buzurg (r. 1359–1362), the founder of the Mar'ashis.[2]

Sayyid Fakhr al-Din
Ruler of Rustamdar
Reign1381–1390
PredecessorAdud al-Dawla Qubad (Baduspanids)
SuccessorSa'd al-Dawla Tus (Baduspanids)
Died1400s
Kashghar
DynastyMar'ashis
FatherMir-i Buzurg
ReligionTwelver Shia Islam

Rustamdar had originally been part of the Baduspanids, however, shortly after the accession of the Baduspanid ruler Adud al-Dawla Qubad (r. 1379–1381), the Mar'ashis accused him of being uncooperative and mistreating the dervishes of their order. Intenting to incorporate Rustamdar into their domains, Fakhr al-Din defeated Qubad and seized the coastal parts of Rustamdar in 1380.[3]

A year later (1381), a Mar'ashi force defeated and killed Qubad at a battle at Laktor. The fortress of Kojur was conquered and made the permanent residence of Fakhr al-Din; the Mar'ashis were now the masters of all of Mazandaran. The Baduspanids were temporarily ousted from power, until almost a decade later in 1390, when Kamal al-Din I installed Sa'd al-Dawla Tus on the Baduspanid throne in Rustamdar to challenge the Afrasiyabid prince Iskandar-i Shaykhi who accompanied the Turco-Mongol ruler Timur (r. 1370–1405), who intended to conquer Mazandaran.[3][1]

However, Tus secretly corresponded with Iskandar-i Shaykhi, and eventually joined the forces of Timur in 1392. The following year (1393), Timur dislodged the Mar'ashis and conquered Mazandaran.[4] He split up their territories between rival families and Timurid governors.[5] Tus managed to convince him to spare the Mar'ashi family; they were deported instead, while Iskandar-i Shaykhi was appointed governor of Mazandaran.[3][4] By the time of Timur's death in 1405, Fakhr al-Din and Kamal al-Din had died in Kashghar.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Calmard 1991, pp. 511–512.
  2. ^ Calmard 1991, pp. 510–512.
  3. ^ a b c Madelung 1988, pp. 385–391.
  4. ^ a b Bosworth 1984, pp. 742–743.
  5. ^ Manz 2007, p. 137.
  6. ^ Calmard 1991, p. 512.

Sources edit

  • Bosworth, C. E. (1984). "Āl-e Afrāsīāb". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. I, Fasc. 7. New York. pp. 742–743.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Calmard, J (1991). "Marʿas̲h̲is". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VI: Mahk–Mid. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-08112-3.
  • Madelung, Wilferd (1988). "Baduspanids". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. III, Fasc. 4. New York. pp. 385–391.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Manz, Beatrice Forbes (2007). Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-46284-6.
Preceded by Ruler of Rustamdar
1381–1390
Succeeded by