Kiya Afrasiyab ( Mazandarani/ fa, کیا افراسیاب چلاوی, Kīā Afrāsīāb), was the founder of the Afrasiyab dynasty, ruling from 1349 to 1359.

Biography

Rise to power

Afrasiyab was the son of certain Hasan Chulabi, who belonged to the Chulabids, a prominent family of Mazandaran which served the

Bavandids The Bavand dynasty () (also spelled Bavend), or simply the Bavandids, was an Iranian dynasty that ruled in parts of Tabaristan (present-day Mazandaran province) in what is now northern Iran from 651 until 1349, alternating between outright inde ...

. Afrasiyab was the ''

sipahsalar ''Ispahsālār'' ( fa, اسپهسالار) or ''sipahsālār'' (; "army commander"), in Arabic rendered as ''isfahsalār'' () or ''iṣbahsalār'' (), was a title used in much of the Islamic world during the 10th–15th centuries, to denote the sen ...

'' and the brother-in-law of the Bavandid ruler

Hasan II Hassan II ( ar, الحسن الثاني, translit=al-Ḥasan aṯ-ṯhānī;), with the prefix "Mulay" before his enthronement 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was the King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. He was a member of the 'Alaw ...

(r. 1334-1349). In 1349, the Bavandid ruler Hasan ordered the execution of one of his most powerful officials, Jalal ibn Ahmad Jal, who was from the powerful Jalali which governed

Sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std ...

. The execution resulted in a revolt by the nobles of Mazandaran. Hasan then tried to get support from the Chulabids, but the two sons of Afrasiyab murdered Hasan in his bath.

Reign

Afrasiyab then gained control of the Bavandid territories, thus marking the end of the Bavand dynasty and the start of the Afrasiyab dynasty. A son of Hasan managed to flee to the court of the Paduspanid ruler

Eskandar II Jalal al-Dawla Iskandar was the ruler ('' ustandar'') of the Baduspanids from 1333 to 1360. Under his rule, the kingdom reached its zenith. Taking advantage of the collapse of the Mongol Ilkhanate in 1335, he expanded his rule into the southern Alb ...

, who later tried to restore Bavand rule in Mazandaran, but failed to do so. Afrasiyab also faced another problem; the nobles of Mazandaran did not acknowledge his rule and viewed it as usurpation. Afrasiyab shortly tried to achieve stability by asking aid from Mir-i Buzurg, a

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamm ...

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...

from Dabudasht. However, some of Mir-i Buzurg's dervishes acted hostile to Afrasiyab, which made him imprison Mir-i Buzurg and many of his dervishes. However, the supporters of Mir-i Buzurg shortly revolted, and freed him from prison. In 1359, a battle between Afrasiyab and Mir-i Buzurg took place near

Amol Amol ( fa, آمل – ; ; also Romanized as Āmol and Amul) is a city and the administrative center of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran, with a population of around 300,000 people. Amol is located on the Haraz river bank. It is less th ...

, where Afrasiyab was defeated and was killed together with his three sons. Mir-i Buzurg shortly conquered the territories of the Afrasiyab dynasty, and laid foundations to the Marashi dynasty. Afrasiyab had several other sons who tried to restore Afrasiyabid authority in Mazandaran. His son Fakhr al-Din Chulabi murdered one of the sons of Mir-i Buzurg, which resulted in a massacre of most of the Afrasiyabid family. Afrasiyab's other son Iskandar-i Shaykhi, managed with the aid of

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

, to restore Afrasiyabid authority in 1393.

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiya Afrasiyab 14th-century monarchs in the Middle East 14th-century Iranian people 1359 deaths Year of birth missing Afrasiyab dynasty People from Mazandaran Province People from Amol Iranian slave owners