Shams al-Din was the leader of the

Sarbadars The Sarbadars (from ''sarbadār'', "head on gallows"; also known as Sarbedaran ) were a mixture of religious dervishes and secular rulers that came to rule over part of western Greater Khorasan, Khurasan in the midst of the disintegration of ...

Sabzewar Sabzevar (; ) is a city in northeastern Iran. It is located in the Central District of Sabzevar County, Razavi Khorasan province, serving as the capital of both the county and the district. History The history of Sabzevar goes back to the ...

from 1347 until around 1348.

Reign

Shams al-Din was the son of Fazl Allah and the brother of 'Abd al-Razzaq and

Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud (died 1344) 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. Early Reign Mas'ud ...

. As such, he had significant support amongst the members of the Bashtini

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

and the military. In 1347 they moved against Kulu Isfandiyar, who at that time controlled Sabzewar, and overthrew him. Shams al-Din then took control of the government. He was only able to hold on to power for about a year. A failure to pay the troops resulted in him in losing the favor of the military, and eventually he had so few supporters that the pro-dervish aristocrat

Khwaja Shams al-Din 'Ali Khwaja Shams al-Din 'Ali (died 1351–52) was the leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar from 1348 until his death. Biography Shams al-Din 'Ali was a member of the Sabzewar aristocracy and a leader of one of the city guilds. During Shaikh Has ...

was able to stage a coup and force him to abdicate in 1348.

References

*Smith, John Masson, Jr. ''The History of the Sarbadar Dynasty 1336-1381 A.D. and Its Sources''. The Hague: Mouton, 1970. {{end box Sarbadars