The
Kartid Dynasty (
Karts, also known as
Kurts) was a
PersianThe Persian people are the majority ethnic group in Iran. However, there are sub-groups who speak the Persian language as their mother tongue throughout the Iranian plateau. The term Persian has also a supra-ethnic significance and has been historically referred to a part of Iranian peoples...
dynasty that ruled over a large part of
KhorassanGreater Khorasan is a modern term for a historical geographic region spanning north-eastern and east of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, western and northern Afghanistan and the North Western Areas of Pakistan...
during the 13th and 14th centuries. Ruling from their capital at
HeratHerāt , classically called the Aria, is a major city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herāt. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan,...
and central Khorasan in the Bamyan-Valley, they were at first subordinates within the Mongol
IlkhanateThe Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate or Il Khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
, and upon the fragmentation of the Ilkhanate in 1335 they became de facto independent rulers up until the invasion of
TimurTimur , also known as Tamerlane , was a 14th-century conqueror of much of western and central Asia, and founder of the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, which survived until 1857 as the Mughal...
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 GhorMuḥammad Shahābuddīn Ghorī , originally called Mu'izzuddīn Muḥammad Ibn Sām but famously known as Muḥammad of Ghor and Muḥammad Ghorī, , was a powerful governor and general and ultimately sultan of the Ghorid dynasty, centered in modern day Afghanistan...
. 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 IndiaThe Mongol Empire launched several Mongol invasions into the Indian subcontinent from 1221 to 1327. The Mongols made Kashmir their vassal state, however, the campaigns against the Delhi Sultanate proved unsuccessful, in spite of the constant Mongol threat...
led by Sali Noyan. Later, he met the ruler of the
Mongol EmpireThe Mongol Empire was an empire from the 13th and 14th century spanning from Eastern Europe across Asia. It is the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world...
,
Mongke KhanMöngke Khan, also transliterated as Mongke, Mongka, Möngka, Mangu or Mangku , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1251 to 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line. Under Möngke, the Mongols conquered Iraq and Syria as well as the Tai kingdom of Nan-chao and the area of...
, who granted Shamsu'd-Din authority over Herat, Jam, Bushanj, Ghor, Khaysar, Firuz-Kuh,
GharjistanGharjistan or Gharshistan was a region in Greater Khorasan was a historical geographic region spanning north-eastern and east of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and north-western Pakistan....
,
FarahFarah: from Arabic فرح it means: joy, happiness, joyfulness etcFarah may refer to:-People:* Sam Farah Creater of the Dar Farah Social Network at http://darfarah.com* Farah Pahlavi , née Dibah, the last Empress of Iran...
,
SistanSīstān is a border region in eastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan . Sistan derives its name from 'Sakastan', which Sistan was once the westernmost part of. The Sakas that were once native to Sistan were driven to the Punjab during the Arsacid era...
,
KabulKabul , is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of over 2.5 million, and is located in the province of Greater Kabul...
,
TirahTirah is a mountainous tract of country in the Kurram and Khyber agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. It lies between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley, and is inhabited by the Afridi and Orakzai tribes.-Society:...
, and
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
(the Sulaiman Mountains) all the way to the
Indus RiverThe Indus River is the longest river in...
. 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
TabrizTabriz is the fourth largest city of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former capitals and residence of the crown prince...
. 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. But Herat and Gilan were conquered by Oljeitu.
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
ChagataiChagatai can refer to different things:* Chagatai Khanate* Chagatai Khan* Chagatai Khans* Chagatai language* Chagatai Tajiks* Chughtai...
prince
Yasa'urYasa'ur was a Chagatai prince who launched a revolt against the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id. He was the son of Chübei, and a great-great-grandson of Chagatai Khan.Yasa'ur had originally resided within the Chagatai ulus...
, 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
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
, 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'idAbu Sa'id also Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sayed Behauder), was the ninth ruler of the Ilkhanate state in Iran ....
, 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 TemurTogha Temür 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 Genghis Khan...
, 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
SarbadarsThe Sarbadars were a mixture of religious dervishes and secular rulers that came to rule over part of western Khurasan in the midst of the disintegration of the Mongol Ilkhanate in the mid-14th century...
, 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
ChagataiChagatai can refer to different things:* Chagatai Khanate* Chagatai Khan* Chagatai Khans* Chagatai language* Chagatai Tajiks* Chughtai...
Mongols to the northeast. During this time, he took a still young
TimurTimur , also known as Tamerlane , was a 14th-century conqueror of much of western and central Asia, and founder of the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, which survived until 1857 as the Mughal...
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
SarakhsSarakhs is both a city and also a 8407 km² district of Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Sarakhs town was once a stopping point along the Silk Road, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries and a famous school of architects. Much of the original city site is now just across the...
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
NishapurNishapur, or Neyshābūr , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad....
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
SamarkandSamarkand is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. The Bibi-Khanym Mosque remains one of the city's most famous...
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 ShahMiran Shah was a son of Timur, and a Timurid governor during his father's lifetime.Miran's Shah's first charge was a vast region centered around Qandahar, which he was granted in 1383. That same year, he destroyed a rebellion against Timurid authority by the Kartids, then vassals of Timur in...
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.