Demasq Kaja or Dimashq Khwāja (; , 1300 - August 24, 1327) was a member of the

Chobanid 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 I ...

family around the first quarter of the

14th century The 14th century lasted from 1 January 1301 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCCI) to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Euro ...

Biography

He was the third son of

Chupan Amir Chūpān (; died October/November 1327), also spelt Choban or Coban, was a Chupanids, Chupanid noble of the Ilkhanate, and nominal general of the Mongol Empire. He was ennobled by Yesün Temür (Yuan dynasty), Emperor Taiding of Yuan as Duke ...

, born during

Ghazan Khan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes westernized as Casanus was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun, grandson of Abaqa ...

's Syrian campaign. His father named him after

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, who probably was born during its siege. He rose to prominence thanks to his father's rise following the death of Uyghur noble Amir Sevinch in January 1318, who was guardian of

Ilkhan Il Khan (also ''il-khan'', ''ilkhan'', ''elkhan'', etc.), in Turkic languages and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title ''khan'' with the prefix ''el/il'', from the word ''ulus'' – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', ' ...

Abu Sa'id Abu or ABU may refer to: Aviation * Airman Battle Uniform, a utility uniform of the United States Air Force * IATA airport code for A. A. Bere Tallo Airport in Atambua, Province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia People * Abu (Arabic term), a kun ...

. 18-year old Demasq Kaja seized

Shabankara Shabankara or Shwankara (, ; was an Iranian tribe. They claimed descent from the mythical Iranian king Manuchehr and from the founder of the Sasanian Empire, Ardashir I. They had been deported to eastern Fars from Isfahan and Syria by the Buyid ...

district of the

Fars province Fars Province or Pars Province, also known as Persis or Farsistan (فارسستان), is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz. Pars province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, i ...

and dispersed it to his favorites. His estates were plundered during revolt of

Irinjin Irinjin or Irenjin (, ) was a powerful Kerait emir in Ilkhanate and a viceroy of Anatolia. Life He was a son of emir Sarija (his name could also be a misreading of George) and a nephew of Doquz Khatun, thus a great-grandson of Toghrul. His fa ...

and Qurumishi in 1319 by the former's son. After their defeat, Chupan accumulated a great deal of power as an amir of the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

. While technically serving the emir, he was the effective power behind the throne. He therefore divided up Ilkhanate between himself and his sons' influence regions. Demasq became viceroy of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. According to ''

Safvat as-safa The ''Safvat as-safa'' (), also spelled ''Safvat al-safa'' or ''Safwat al-safa'', is a Persian hagiography of the Sufi sheikh, shaykh Safi-ad-din Ardabili, Safi-ad-Din Ardabili (1252–1334), founder of the Safaviya (sufi order), Safaviya sufi ord ...

'', he met

Safi-ad-Din Ardabili Safi-ad-Din Ardabili ( ''Ṣāfī ad-Dīn Isḥāq Ardabīlī''; 1252/3 – 1334) was a poet, Mysticism, mystic, teacher and Sufism, Sufi master. He was the son-in-law and spiritual heir of the Sufi master Zahed Gilani, whose order—the Zahediye ...

Karabakh Karabakh ( ; ) is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and Aras. It is divided into three regions: Highland Kara ...

in 1320 who was visiting with Shams al-Din Jamalan (grandson of

Zahed Gilani Taj Al-Din Ebrahim ibn Rushan Amir Al-Kurdi Al-Sanjani (or Sinjani; Persian:تاج الدين ابراهيم كردی سنجانی)‎ (1218 – 1301), titled Sheikh Zahed (or Zahid) Gilani (Persian: شیخ زاهد گیلانی), was an Irani ...

). He would later be one of the signatories to the decree about Zahed Gilani's family. According to an anecdote, he once saved life of Qara Sunqur, a Mamluk deserter to Ilkhanate - who was attacked by a

fida'i "" () is the national anthem of Palestine. Etymology The word (; plural: or , often rendered in English as ''fedayeen'') means "sacrifice" or "one who sacrifices himself" (a literal translation of might be "martyrdom in Palestinian cult ...

in 1323. Later, he gained the use of the powers that the vizier Rukn al-Din Sa'in had been invested with in 1325. Although Jean Aubin calls him as first and last Mongol vizier of Ilkhanate, there were others before him like

Buqa Buqa (or Bugha) (died January 16, 1289) was a Mongol lord and chancellor who was instrumental in sweeping Arghun to power as the fourth Il-Khan of Iran in 1284 and became his chief minister (vizier) and advisor, succeeding Shams ad-Din Juvayni ...

. During 1326 and 1327, Chupan took Rukn al-Din with him to a campaign

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

against Chagatai ruler

Duwa Duwa (; died 1307), also known as Du'a, was Khan of the Chagatai Khanate (1282–1307). He was the second son of Baraq. He was the longest reigning monarch of the Chagatayid Khanate and accepted the nominal supremacy of the Yuan dynasty as ...

. With the two gone, Demasq was effectively in control back at the Ilkhanid capital of Sultaniya. Abu Sa'id had resented the power of Chupan and his offspring for some time by now, and he plotted their fall. Since Demasq was the most imminent threat, as well as known as an arrogant emir, Abu Sa'id chose to deal with him first. When it was discovered that Demasq had been having with an affair with a former concubine of the late Ilkhan Öljeitü's, Abu Sa'id used this as a pretext for moving against him. Demasq, trapped in Sultaniyah, tried to escape, but was captured by emir Misr Khwaja in the process, on 25 August 1327. Other versions suggest that he was killed on the instigations of Narin Taghay (a nephew of

Taghachar Taghachar, also spelled Tajir, Ta'achar (, ; died c. 1296) was a commander in the Mongol Empire's army. He was one of the conspirators involved in the overthrow of three Ilkhanate khans, and placed the short-lived Baydu on the throne in 1295. Ba ...

and grandson of

Kitbuqa Kitbuqa Noyan (died 1260), also spelled Kitbogha, Kitboga, or Ketbugha, was an Eastern Christian of the Naimans, a group that was subservient to the Mongol Empire. He was a lieutenant and confidant of the Mongol Ilkhan Hulagu, assisting him ...

), who was previously banished from the court. He was the first of the Chobanids to be killed; several others would soon follow. He was buried in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

in a neighborhood that would later be named Dimashqiyya after him. His sister

Baghdad Khatun Baghdad Khatun (; died 16 December 1335) (lit. Queen Baghdad), 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. Family Baghdad Khatun was the daughter of Emir Chu ...

ordered a madrasa to be built commemorating his name.

Family

Demasq had one consort - Tursin Khatun (killed 1324), daughter of

and Konchak Khatun, daughter of

Tekuder Ahmed Tekuder (; ; 10 August 1284), also known as Sultan Ahmad, was the sultan of the Ilkhanate from 1282 to 1284. He was a son of Hulegu and brother of Abaqa. He was eventually succeeded by his nephew Arghun Khan. Early life Tekuder was bor ...

Khan with whom he had only daughters: #

Dilshad Khatun Dilshad Khatun (; died 27 December 1351), 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 Sh ...

(d. 1351), married firstly to

Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (June 2, 1305 – December 1, 1335; ), also spelled Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sa'id Behauder (Modern , ''Abu sayid Baghatur Khan'', in modern Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian), was the ninth ruler (c. 1316 – 1335) ...

, son of

Öljaitü Öljaitü, also known as Mohammad-e Khodabandeh (24 March 1282 – 16 December 1316), was the eighth Ilkhanid dynasty ruler from 1304 to 1316 in Tabriz, Iran. His name 'Öjaitü' means 'blessed' in the Mongolian language and his last name 'Khod ...

, married secondly to Shaikh

Hasan Buzurg Shaikh Hasan (), also known as "Hasan Buzurg" ("Hasan The Great"), Hassan the Jalair or Hassan-e Uljatâï was the first of several de facto independent Jalayirid rulers of Iraq and central Iran. Early years He was born to Amir Husain Jalayir ...

; #Sultan Bakht Khatun, married firstly to Amir Ilkhan, son of Shaikh Hasan Buzurg, married secondly to Masud Shah Inju; #Dendi Shah Khatun, married to Shaikh Ali Khushji, and mother of Misr Malik; #Alam Shah Khatun, married to Sultan Shah, son of Nikruz;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaja, Demasq Chobanids 1327 deaths 1300 births Viziers of the Ilkhanate People from the Ilkhanate