Haidar Qassāb (died 1356) was the head of the

Sarbadars The Sarbadars (from fa, سربدار ''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 Khurasan in the midst of the disintegration of t ...

Sabzewar Sabzevar ( fa, سبزوار ), previously known as Beyhagh (also spelled "Beihagh"; fa, بيهق), is a city and capital of Sabzevar County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, approximately west of the provincial capital Mashhad, in northeastern I ...

During 1356.

Biography

A possible member of the artisan guild, Haidar Qassāb served in the government of

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 Hasa ...

as a collector of urban craft and trade taxes. When the accounts for the revenues generated by these taxes fell into

arrears Arrears (or arrearage) is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due. The term is usually ...

, Haidar was harshly punished by Shams al-Din 'Ali. In retaliation, Haidar had him assassinated in 1351 or 1352.

Yahya Karawi Yahya Karawi (died 1355/56) was the leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar from around 1353 until his death. Reign Yahya, an aristocrat, came to power after the assassination of Khwaja Shams al-Din 'Ali in around 1351. He had been informed beforeha ...

, an aristocrat who had been informed by Haidar of the assassination plot, succeeded Shams al-Din 'Ali as head of state. Under him Haidar served in a military post and commanded the army forces in

Astarabad Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies appro ...

after it was conquered in 1353/54. When Yahya was murdered in 1355 or 1356, several members of the party of

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 ...

attempted to install Mas'ud's son Lutf Allah as ruler. Haidar Qassāb prevented this by marching from Astarabad to Sabzewar and forcing the conspirators to flee the city. When they sought refuge in a castle, he had it razed to the ground. After this he installed Yahya's nephew

Zahir al-Din Karawi Zahir al-Din Karawi was the leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar from 1356 to 1359. Reign Zahir al-Din was the nephew of Yahya Karawi. After his uncle's murder in 1355 or 1356, the partisans of Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud attempted to take control of the ...

as head of state. Zahir al-Din quickly proved to be an unsatisfactory ruler for Haidar Qassib. Some of Mas'ud's followers had escaped Haidar's purge, and Luft Allah's

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...

Nasr Allah rebelled in

Esfarayen Esfarayen ( fa, اسفراین, also Romanized as Esfarāyen; formerly, Meyanābād, Mīānābād, and Mīyānābād) is a city and capital of Esfarayen County, North Khorasan Province in Iran. At the 2011 census its population was 60,372 persons ...

. Ignoring Haidar's advice, Zahir al-Din refused to move against the rebels. Haidar then deposed him and took formal control of the government himself. His position was very weak, however; both the partisans of Mas'ud (who disliked him for his original affiliation with Shams al-Din 'Ali and his crackdown on Lutf Allah's supporters) and the

dervishes 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 ...

(who hated him due to his murder of Shams al-Din 'Ali) were opposed to him.Roemer, p. 30 Before he and his army could reach Esfarayen to subdue the rebels, he was stabbed to death by the Turkish slave of Hasan Damghani in 1356. Hasan Damghani then installed Lutf Allah as head of the Sarbadars.

Notes

References

*Roemer, H. R. "The Jalayirids, Muzaffarids and Sarbadars." ''The Cambridge History of Iran Volume 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods.'' Edited by Peter Jackson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986. *Smith, Jr., John Masson. ''The History of the Sarbadar Dynasty 1336-1381 A.D. and Its Sources''. The Hague: Mouton, 1970. {{DEFAULTSORT:Haidar Qassab 1356 deaths Sarbadars Year of birth unknown