Chobanids

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Chobanids
سلسله امرای چوپانی
1338–1357
Chupanid - Jalayerid dynasty 1337-1432 ad.png
Division of Ilkhanate territory
CapitalTabriz
Common languages Persian, Mongolian
GovernmentMonarchy
History 
 Established
1338
 Disestablished
1357
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Blank.png Ilkhanate
Golden Horde Blank.png
Jalayirids Blank.png

The Chobanids or the Chupanids (Persian : سلسله امرای چوپانی) were descendants of a Mongol family of the Suldus clan that came to prominence in 14th century Persia. [1] At first serving under the Ilkhans, they took de facto control of the territory after the fall of the Ilkhanate. The Chobanids ruled over Azerbaijan (where they were based), Arrān, parts of Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and west central Persia, while the Jalayirids took control in Baghdad. [2] [3]

Contents

Amir Chupan and his sons

During the early 14th century, Amir Chupan served under three successive Ilkhans, beginning with Ghazan Mahmud. A military commander of note, Chupan quickly gained a degree of influence over the Ilkhans and married several members of the line of Hulagu Khan. His power fueled resentment among the nobility, who conspired against him in 1319 but failed. The Ilkhan Abu Sa'id, however, also disliked Chupan's influence and successfully eliminated him from court. He fled in 1327 to Herat, where the Kartids executed him. Several of his sons fled to the Golden Horde or the Mamluks of Egypt while others were killed.

Baghdad Khatun

Shaykh Safi al-Din's dream about the rise of the Chubanids, from the manuscript of Safvat al-Safa (The Quintessence of Purity), Shiraz, Iran, dated September 1582. Shaykh Safi al-Din's dream about the rise of the Chubanids, from the manuscript of Safvat al-Safa (The Quintessence of Purity), Shiraz, Iran, dated September 1582.jpg
Shaykh Safi al-Din's dream about the rise of the Chubanids, from the manuscript of Safvat al-Safa (The Quintessence of Purity), Shiraz, Iran, dated September 1582.

The Chobanids were not completely wiped out from Persia. A daughter of Chupan's, Baghdad Katun, had caught the eye of Abu Sa'id. During Chupan's lifetime, she had been married to Hasan Buzurg, the future founder of the Jalayirids, but after Chupan fled Hasan Buzurg divorced her, and she married Abu Sa'id. She quickly gained influence over the Ilkhan and exercised the wide powers given to her. She was alleged (but never proven) to have been involved in any conspiracies against the Ilkhan, but was believed by some to have caused Abu Sa'id's death in 1335. Abu Sa'id's successor Arpa Ke'un executed her.

Role during the fall of the Ilkhanate, and Hasan-i Kuchak

Arpa Ke'un's position proved to be weak; when a granddaughter of Chupan, Delsad Katun, fled to Diyarbakr, it caused the governor of that region to attack and defeat the Ilkhan. During the strife that occurred in the next few years, individual members of the Chobanids sided with various factions, such as Arpa or Hasan Buzurg. The latter ended up marrying Delsad Katun, who provided for the heirs to the Jalayirid position.

While the Jalayirids were consolidating their position in Iraq, however, other Chobanid were also busy. Hasan Kucek, a grandson of Chupan, rallied much of the Chobanid family to his side and defeated the Jalayirids in 1338, paving the way for a Chobanid realm in the area around Tabriz. That same year, he elevated Sati Beg, sister of Abu Sa'id and widow of Chupan, to the Ilkhanid throne. To keep Sati Beg in check, he forced her to marry his puppet Suleiman Khan. Hasan Kucek continued to fight the Jalayirids (a fight which was further complicated by the incursions made by Togha Temur of Khurasan), but family infighting proved to be the most difficult challenge. Several members defected to the Jalayirids; in any case, Hasan Kucek was forced to deal with them up until his death in 1343.

Malek Ashraf and the Chobanid decline

A power struggle quickly emerged after Hasan Kucek's death. During the dispute, Hasan Kucek's brother Malek Asraf gained the upper hand and eliminated his uncles. By the end of 1344, Malek Asraf had gained effective control of the Chobanid lands. Like his predecessor, Malek Asraf used puppet monarchs from behind which he ruled. During his reign, the Chobanid attempted to capture Baghdad from the Jalayirids in 1347 but failed miserably. He also failed to seize Fars from the Injuids in 1350. As his reign wore on, Malek Asraf became more and more cruel, prompting widespread dissatisfaction amongst his subjects. When forces of the Golden Horde overran the Chobanid realm and captured Tabriz in 1357, few lamented the loss of power by the Chupanids. Malek Asraf was executed, and his family brought north to the Golden Horde. Malek Asraf's offspring were eventually killed off in Persia, bringing a definitive end to the Chobanids as a power.

Family tree

Chupan
Hassan Timurtash Demasq Kaja Shaikh Mahmoud Baghdad Khatun
Hassan Kuchak Malek Ashraf Dilshad Khatun

See also

Related Research Articles

Amir Chūpān, also spelt Choban or Coban, was a Chupanid noble of the Ilkhanate, and nominal general of the Mongol Empire. He was ennobled by Emperor Taiding of Yuan as Duke of Yi (翊國公).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arpa Ke'un</span> Il-Khan

Arpa Ke'un, also known as Arpa Khan or Gavon or Gawon, was an Ilkhan (1335–1336) during the disintegration of the Ilkhanate, the Mongol state in Southwest Asia based in Persia.

Baghdad Khatun, was a Chobanid princess, the daughter of Chupan. She was the empress consort of the Ilkhanate as the wife of Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan.

Musa Khan was an Ilkhan for 4 months.

Shaikh Mahmoud was a member of the Chupanid family who lived in the Ilkhanate. He was the fourth son of Mongol emir and general Chupan.

Hasan Kuchak or Ḥasan-i Kūchik was a Chupanid prince during the 14th century. He is credited with setting up a nearly independent Chupanid state in Iran during the struggles taking place in the aftermath of the Ilkhanate. He effectively became kingmaker like his namesake Hasan Buzurg.

Demasq Kaja or Dimashq Khwāja was a member of the Chobanid family around the first quarter of the 14th century.

Dilshad Khatun, also Delshad, was a Chobanid princess. She was the wife of Ilkhan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, and after him Hasan Buzurg, the first ruler of the Jalayirid Sultanate, and the mother of his son and successor Shaikh Awais.

Shaikh Hasan, also known as "Hasan Buzurg", Hassan the Jalair or Hassan-e Uljatâï was the first of several de facto independent Jalayirid rulers of Iraq and central Iran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaykh Uways Jalayir</span> Jalayirid ruler of Iraq

Shaykh Uways Jalayir was the Jalayirid ruler of Iraq (1356–1374) and Azerbaijan (1360–1374). He was the son of Hasan Buzurg and the Chobanid princess Dilshad Khatun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Khan (Ilkhan)</span> Il-Khan

Muhammad Khan was a claimant to the throne of the Ilkhanate.

Sati Beg was an Ilkhanid princess, the sister of Il-Khan Abu Sa'id (r. 1316–1333). She was the consort of amir Chupan (1319–1327), Il-Khan Arpa (r. 1335–36), and Il-Khan Suleiman (r. 1339–1343). In 1338–39, she was briefly the Ilkhanid khatun during internal conflicts, appointed by a Chobanid faction led by Hassan Kuchak.

Suleiman Khan was a Chobanid puppet for the throne of the Ilkhanate during the breakdown of central authority in Persia.

Jahan Temür was a Jalayirid puppet for the throne of the Ilkhanate in the late 1330s.

Malek Ashraf, was a Chupanid ruler of northwestern Iran during the 14th century. He was the last of the Chupanids to possess a significant influence within Ilkhanate. His regnal name was Giyas al-Din Shah Malek Ashraf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jalayirid Sultanate</span> 1335–1432 Persianate Mongol state in modern Iraq and western Iran

The Jalayirid Sultanate was a dynasty of Jalayir origin, which ruled over modern-day Iraq and western Iran after the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s. It lasted about fifty years, until disrupted by Timur's conquests and the revolts of the Qara Qoyunlu Turkoman. After Timur's death in 1405, there was a brief attempt to re-establish the sultanate in southern Iraq and Khuzistan. The Jalayirids were finally eliminated by the Qara Qoyunlu in 1432.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Togha Temür</span> Ilkhan (Claimant)

Togha Temür, also known as Taghaytimur, 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. His base of power was Gurgan and western Khurasan. His name "Togoy Tomor" means "Bowl/Pot Iron" in the Mongolian language.

Yagi Basti was a member of the Chobanid family and the ruler of Shiraz for a part of 1343. He was the son of Amir Chupan by his second wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eretna</span> Founding Sultan of the Eretnids from 1343 to 1352

Ala al-Din Eretna was the first sultan of the Eretnids, reigning from 1343 to 1352 in central and eastern Anatolia. Initially an officer in the service of the Ilkhanate officer Chupan and his son Timurtash, Eretna migrated to Anatolia following Timurtash's appointment as the Ilkhanid governor of the region. He took part in Timurtash's campaigns to subdue the Turkoman chiefs of the western periphery of the peninsula. This was cut short by Timurtash's downfall, after which Eretna went into hiding. Upon the dissolution of the Ilkhanate, he aligned himself with the Jalayirid leader Hasan Buzurg, who eventually left Anatolia for Eretna to govern when he returned east to clash with the rival Chobanids and other Mongol lords. Eretna later sought recognition from Mamluk Egypt to consolidate his power, although he played a delicate game of alternating his allegiance between the Mamluks and the Mongols. In 1343, he declared independence as the sultan of his domains. His reign was largely described to be prosperous, with his efforts to maintain order in his realm such that he became known as Köse Peyghamber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan</span> Ilkhan from 1316 to 1335

Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, also spelled Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sa'id Behauder, was the ninth ruler of the Ilkhanate, a division of the Mongol Empire that encompassed the present day countries of Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, as well as parts of Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. After his death in 1335, the Ilkhanate disintegrated.

References

  1. Ta'rīkh-i Shaikh Uwais: History of Shaikh Uwais – by Abū Bakr al-Quṭbī Aharī, Abu Bakr al Qutbi al-Ahri, Johannes Baptist van Loon
  2. Melville & Zaryāb 1991, pp. 496–502.
  3. Encyclopædia Britannica

Sources

Further reading