Fakhr al-Din Masud (
Persian: فخر الدین مسعود), was the first ruler of the
Ghurid
The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; ; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Tajik people, Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Emp ...
branch of
Bamiyan, ruling from 1152 to 1163.
Early life
Fakhr al-Din Masud was the son of
Izz al-Din Husayn and a
Turkic mother. He also had several brothers named
Sayf al-Din Suri,
Baha al-Din Sam I
Baha al-Din Sam I ( Persian: بهاء الدین سام), was the king of the Ghurid dynasty who reigned briefly in 1149. He was the brother and successor of Sayf al-Din Suri.
Biography
When Sayf al-Din Suri of Ghurid Dynasty ascended the thr ...
, Shihab al-Din Muhammad Kharnak, Shuja al-Din Ali,
Ala al-Din Husayn, and Qutb al-Din Muhammad.
After the death of Izz al-Din Husayn,
Sayf al-Din Suri ascended the throne, and divided the Ghurid kingdom among his brothers; Fakhr al-Din Masud received land near the
Hari River; Baha al-Din Sam I received
Ghur; Shihab al-Din Muhammad Kharnak received Madin; Shuja al-Din Ali received Jarmas;
Ala al-Din Husayn received Wajiristan; and Qutb al-Din Muhammad received Warshad Warsh, where he built the famous city of
Firuzkuh. However, Sayf later quarreled with his brother Qutb, who took refuge in
Ghazna, and was poisoned by the Ghaznavid sultan
Bahram-Shah of Ghazna.
In order to avenge his brother, Sayf marched towards Ghazna in 1148, and scored a victory at the
Battle of Ghazni while Bahram fled to Kurram.
[C.E. Bosworth, ''The Later Ghaznavids'', 113-114.] Building an army, Bahram marched back to Ghazna. Sayf fled, but the Ghaznavid army caught up with him and a battle ensued at Sang-i Surakh. Sayf and Majd ad-Din Musawi were captured and later crucified at Pul-i Yak Taq.
Rule over Bamiyan
After Sayf's death, he was succeeded by his brother Baha al-Din Sam I, who continued building Firuzkuh, and prepared an army to march towards Ghazna to avenge the death of his two brothers, but died shortly of natural causes before he reached the city. Ala al-Din Husayn, the younger brother of Sayf and Baha al-Din, then ascended the Ghurid throne. He, along with Fakhr al-Din Masud, shortly avenged their brothers by brutally sacking Ghazna. Ala al-Din Husayn later managed to conquer Garchistan,
Tukharistan, and
Bamiyan. Fakr al-Din Masud was shortly given Bamiyan as a part of his fief, starting the period of the Ghurid branch of Bamiyan. Ala al-Din Husayn later died in 1161, and was succeeded by his son
Sayf al-Din Muhammad, who shortly died two years later. The son of Baha al-Din Sam I,
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad then ascended the throne.
Struggle for the Ghurid throne
Fakhr al-Din Masud, however, claimed the throne for himself, and had allied with Tadj al-Din Yildiz, the
Seljuq governor of
Herat
Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...
, and
Balkh
Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...
.
[''The Iranian World'', C.E. Bosworth, The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5, ed. J. A. Boyle, John Andrew Boyle, (Cambridge University Press, 1968), 161-170.] However, the coalition was defeated by Ghiyath and Mu'izz al-Din at Ragh-i Zar. Ghiyath managed to kill the Seljuq governor during the battle, and then conquered
Zamindawar,
Badghis,
Gharchistan, and
Guzgan. He spared Fakhr al-Din Masud and restored him as the ruler of
Bamiyan. Fakhr al-Din Masud shortly died the same year, and was succeeded by his son
Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Masud.
References
Sources
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{{Ghurid dynasty
12th-century Iranian people
Ghurid dynasty
1163 deaths
Year of birth missing
Founding monarchs in Asia