Kart dynasty

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kart dynasty
آل کرت
1244–1381
The Kart dynasty at its greatest extent
The Kart dynasty at its greatest extent
StatusMonarchy
CapitalHerat
Common languagesPersian
Religion
Sunni Islam
Malik/Sultan 
• 1245
Malik Rukn-uddin Abu Bakr (first)
• 1370–1389
Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali (last)
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Foundation by Malik Rukn-uddin Abu Bakr
1244
• Disestablished
1381
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Ilkhanate
Timurid Empire
Today part ofAfghanistan
Iran
Turkmenistan

The Kart dynasty, also known as the Kartids (

Ghiyāṣ-ud-din Muhammad bin Sām, Sultan of the Ghurid Empire, to whom they were related,[3] and then as vassal princes within the Mongol Empire.[4] Upon the fragmentation of the Ilkhanate in 1335, Mu'izz-uddin Husayn ibn Ghiyath-uddin worked to expand his principality. The death of Husayn b. Ghiyath-uddin in 1370 and the invasion of Timur in 1381, ended the Kart dynasty's ambitions.[4]

Vassals of the Ghurid dynasty

The Karts trace their lineage to a Tajuddin Uthman Marghini, whose brother, 'Izzuddin Umar Marghini, was the Vizier of Sultan

Ghiyāṣ-ud-din Muhammad bin Sām (d.1202-3).[5] The founder of the Kart dynasty was Malik Rukn-uddin Abu Bakr, who was descended from the Shansabani family of Ghur.[6]

Malik Rukn-uddin Abu Bakr married a Ghurid princess.[4] Their son Shams-uddin succeeded his father in 1245.

Vassals of the Mongol Empire

Herat Friday Mosque
, view of courtyard, looking northwest circa 1916-1917. The Kart period cauldron in seen in the foreground.
Timur's army attacks the fortress of Herat and Ghiyath al-Din, the Kartid ruler, sues for peace, signed Dharm Das, Mughal India, circa 1595-1600.

Shams-uddin Muhammad succeeded his father in 1245, joined

Hulagu Khan, and three years later his successor Abaqa Khan, whom he accompanied in his campaign against Darband and Baku. He again visited Abaqa Khan, accompanied by Shams-uddin the Sahib Diwan, in 1276–7, and this time the former good opinion of the Mongol sovereign in respect to him seems to have been changed to suspicion, which led to his death, for he was poisoned in January 1278, by means of a water-melon given to him while he was in the bath at Tabriz
. Abaqa Khan even caused his body to be buried in chains at Jam in Khorasan.

Fakhr-uddin was a patron of literature, but also extremely religious. He had previously been cast in prison by his father for seven years, until the

Gilan
were conquered by Oljeitu.

Sham-suddin Muhammad was succeeded by his son Rukn-uddin. The latter adopted the title of Malik (Arabic for king), which all succeeding Kart rulers were to use. By the time of his death; in Khaysar on 3 September 1305, effective power had long been in the hands of his son Fakhr-uddin.

Fakhr-uddin's brother Ghiyath-uddin succeeded him upon his death; almost immediately, he began to quarrel with another brother, Ala-uddin ibn Rukn-uddin. 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

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, Ghiyath-uddin made a pilgrimage to Mecca, leaving his son Shams-uddin Muhammad ibn Ghiyath-uddin in control during his absence. In 1327 the Amir Chupan fled to Herat following his betrayal by the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan
, where he requested asylum from Ghiyath-uddin, whom he was friends with. Ghiyath-uddin initially granted the request, but when Abu Sa'id pressured him to execute Chupan, he obeyed. Soon afterwards Ghiyath-uddin himself died, in 1329. He left three sons: Shams-uddin Muhammad ibn Ghiyath-uddin, Hafiz ibn Ghiyath-uddin and Mu'izz-uddin Husayn ibn Ghiyath-uddin.

Independent principality

Four years after Mu'izz-uddin Husayn ibn Ghiyath-uddin's ascension, the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan died, following which the Ilkhanate quickly fragmented. Mu'izz-uddin Husayn, for his part, allied with

Shia 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 Karts launched a raid into his territory. Upon Mu'izz-uddin Husayn's death in 1370, his son Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali inherited most of the Kart lands, except for Sarakhs and a portion of Quhistan, which Ghiyas-uddin's stepbrother Malik Muhammad ibn Mu'izz-uddin
gained.

Vassals of the Timurids

Herat Friday Mosque

Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali, a grandson of Togha Temür through his mother Sultan Khatun, attempted to destabilize the Sarbadars by stirring up the refugee dervishes within his country. 'Ali-yi Mu'ayyad countered by conspiring with Malik Muhammad. When Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali 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-uddin Pir 'Ali took advantage of this by seizing the city of Nishapur around 1375 or 1376. In the meantime, both Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali 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-uddin Pir 'Ali by proposing a marriage between his niece Sevinj Qutluq Agha and the Kart ruler's son Pir Muhammad ibn Ghiyas-uddin, a marriage which took place in Samarkand around 1376. Later on, Timur invited Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali to a council, so that the latter could submit to him, but when the Kart attempted to excuse himself from coming by claiming he had to deal with the Shia 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 Kart 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-uddin Pir 'Ali and his son were carried off to Samarkand. Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali was made Timur's vassal, until he supported a rebellion in 1382 by the maliks of Herat. Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali 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 Karts were murdered in 1396 at a banquet by Miran Shah.[7] The Karts therefore came to an end, having been the victims of Timur's first Persian campaign.

Rulers

Titular Name Personal Name Reign Notes
Malik Rukn-uddin Abu Bakr ?-1245
Shams-uddin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr 1245-1277
Malik
ملک
Shams-uddin -i-Kihin
Rukn-uddin ibn Sham-suddin Muhammad 1277–1295
Malik
ملک
Fakhr-uddin ibn Rukn-uddin
1295–1308
Malik
ملک
Ghiyath-uddin ibn Rukn-uddin
1308–1329
Malik
ملک
Shams-uddin Muhammad ibn Ghiyath-uddin 1329-1330
Malik
ملک
Hafiz ibn Ghiyath-uddin 1330–1332 Hafiz, a scholar and the next person to take the throne, was murdered after two years.
Malik
ملک
Sultan
سلطان
Mu'izz-uddin Husayn ibn Ghiyath-uddin 1332–1370
Malik
ملک
Sultan
سلطان
Ghiyas-uddin Pir 'Ali
& Malik Muhammad ibn Mu'izz-uddin under whom were initially Sarakhs and a portion of Quhistan
1370–1389
Conquest of Greater Khorasan and Afghanistan by Amir Timur Beg Gurkani.

The colored rows signify the following;

Family Tree

Kartid Dynasty
Abu Bakr
r. ?–1245
Muhammad I
r. 1245–1277
Rukn ad-Din
r. 1277–1295
Fakhr ad-Din
r. 1295–1308
Ghiyath ad-Din
r. 1308–1329
Muhammad II
r. 1329–1330
Hafiz
r. 1330–1332
Hussain
r. 1332–1370
Pir-Ali
r. 1370–1389

See also