Everything about Kartids totally explained
The
Kartid Dynasty (
Karts, also known as
Kurts) was a
Persian dynasty that ruled over a large part of
Khorassan during the
13th and
14th centuries. Ruling from their capital at
Herat and central Khorasan in the Bamyan-Valley, 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 (the Sulaiman Mountains) 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'd 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 didn't 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.
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