Muhammad Aytimur

Last updated
Muhammad Aytimur
King
Reign 1343-1346
Predecessor Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud
Successor Kulū Isfandiyār
Died August or September 1346
Dynasty Sarbadars
Religion Shia Islam

Muhammad Aytimur (died August or September 1346) was the leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar from 1343 until his death.

Sarbadars

The 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 their capital of Sabzavar, they continued their reign until Khwaja 'Ali-yi Mu'ayyad submitted to Timur in 1381, and were one of the few groups that managed to mostly avoid Timur's famous brutality. Sheikh Khalifa Mazandarani one of the leaders of this movement was indeed a great scholar. In modern Iranian history the term "Sarbedars" was used by the Union of Iranian Communists (Sarbedaran) during their armed uprising in January 1982 in Amol against the Iranian regime.

Contents

Life

Aytimur was born into a lowly family, [1] probably one of the Turkish ḡolāms that Masʿūd, the previous Sarbadār leader, recruited to supplement his bandit and Shiʿite dervish soldiery. [2] He rose to prominence within the Sarbadar state as a military commander under Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud, Mas'ud put Aytimur in charge of Sabzewar during his campaign against the Kartids of Herat in 1342, and again when he invaded Mazandaran in 1344 against the Ilkhanid claimant Togha Temur. In the latter campaign, Mas'ud was killed and his army destroyed; Aytimur's control of the capital at the time resulted in him taking command of the Sarbadar government.

Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud was the leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar from 1338-1343 until his death. Under his rule, the Sarbadar state developed its characteristic dual nature as both a secular and radical Shi'i state.

Herat City in Afghanistan

Herāt is the third-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 436,300, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated in the fertile valley of the Hari River in the western part of the country. It is linked with Kandahar, Kabul, and Mazar-i-Sharif via Highway 1 or the ring road. It is further linked to the city of Mashhad in neighboring Iran through the border town of Islam Qala, and to Mary in Turkmenistan to the north through the border town of Torghundi.

After the annihilation of the Sarbadar army in Mazandaran, Togha Temur resumed the offensive, reoccupying Astarabad and invading Khurasan. Aytimur was able to stop Togha Temur from encroaching any further on Sarbadar territory, but the weakened state of the army eventually prompted him to seek peace. Aytimur agreed to resume the Sarbadars' allegiance to Togha Temur and minted coins in the latter's name, abandoning Mas'ud's alliance with the Chobanids in the process (this alliance had become useless to Aytimur anyway, as the Chobanids were in the midst of a civil war at this time following the death of Hasan Kucek). By this time the Sarbadar state had been reduced to Sabzewar, Nishapur and its environs. Despite the peace, Aytimur still remained wary of Togha Temur. The latter's military advantage against the Sarbadars was somewhat reduced by the defection of one of his most powerful allies, the Jauni Kurban tribe, in 1345 after the death of its leader Arghun Shah. Nevertheless, the need to maintain a perimeter defense against his nominal sovereign meant that Aytimur had to deploy most of the army to the frontier.

Greater Khorasan historical region of Persia

Khorasan, sometimes called Greater Khorasan, is a historical region lying in northeast of Greater Persia, including part of Central Asia and Afghanistan. The name simply means "East, Orient" and loosely includes the territory of the Sasanian Empire north-east of Persia proper. Early Islamic usage often regarded everywhere east of so-called Jibal or what was subsequently termed 'Iraq Ajami', as being included in a vast and loosely-defined region of Khorasan, which might even extend to the Indus Valley and Sindh. During the Islamic period, Khorasan along with Persian Iraq were two important territories. The boundary between these two was the region surrounding the cities of Gurgan and Qumis. In particular, the Ghaznavids, Seljuqs and Timurids divided their empires into Iraqi and Khorasani regions.

Chobanids former country

The Chobanids or the Chupanids, were descendants of a Mongol family of the Suldus clan that came to prominence in 14th century Persia. 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, Arrān, parts of Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and west central Persia, while the Jalayirids took control in Baghdad.

Nishapur City in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

Nishapur or Nishabur is a city in Razavi Khorasan Province, capital of the Nishapur County and former capital of Province Khorasan, in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains. It had an estimated population of 239,185 as of 2011 and its county 433,105. Nearby are the turquoise mines that have supplied the world with turquoise for at least two millennia. The city was founded in the 3rd century by Shapur I as a Sasanian satrapy capital. Nishapur later became the capital of Tahirid dynasty and was reformed by Abdullah Tahir in 830, and was later selected as the capital of Seljuq dynasty by Tughril in 1037. From the Abbasid era to the Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia and Eastern Iran, the city evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center within the Islamic world. Nishapur, along with Merv, Herat and Balkh were one of the four great cities of Greater Khorasan and one of the greatest cities in the middle ages, a seat of governmental power in eastern of caliphate, a dwelling place for diverse ethnic and religious groups, a trading stop on commercial routes from Transoxiana and China, Iraq and Egypt.

Sending the army out of Sabzewar to defend against Togha Temur proved fatal to Aytimur. Most of his supporters were in the regular army; without them he had little support. To rebuild the military forces of the Sarbadars, he had requested the assistance of the radical Shi'i dervishes, but they were hostile to him and as they built up their militia forces, Aytimur's position within the capital weakened. The aristocracy also disliked him due to his common origins. A member of the aristocracy, Khwaja Shams al-Din 'Ali, eventually rounded up several pro-dervish Sarbadar chiefs and they together confronted Aytimur. After voicing their complaints to him, the chiefs deposed Aytimur, who was executed shortly after in August or September 1346. Shams ad-Din 'Ali then installed Kulu Isfandiyar as Aytimur's successor.

Khwaja Shams al-Din 'Ali was the leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar from 1348 until his death.

Notes

  1. ↑ Smith Jr., p 127.
  2. ↑ AY TĪMŪR (or TEYMŪR), MOḤAMMAD, Sarbadār commander and ruler, “the son of a slave” (probably one of the Turkish ḡolāms that Masʿūd, the previous Sarbadār leader, recruited to supplement his bandit and Shiʿite dervish soldiery)

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References

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Preceded by
Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud 		Head of the Sarbadars
1344–1346 		Succeeded by
Kulu Isfandiyar
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