Qutb al-Din (died 1386) was the
Mihrabanid
The Mihrabanid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty that ruled Sistan (or Nimruz) from 1236 until the mid-16th century. It was the third indigenous Muslim dynasty of Sistan, having been preceded by the Saffarid and Nasrid dynasties.
Overview
Most of wh ...
malik
Malik, Mallik, Melik, Malka, Malek, Maleek, Malick, Mallick, or Melekh ( phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤊; ar, ملك; he, מֶלֶךְ) is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic duri ...
of
Sistan
Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan (N ...
from 1380 until 1383. He was the son of
Izz al-Din ibn Rukn al-Din Mahmud.
Biography
During his father's lifetime Qutb al-Din had not been given a role in the government. He eventually grew angry over this state of affairs and sided with a faction seeking to murder Izz al-Din's vizier, who had a large amount of influence over the malik. In 1380 they openly revolted and defeated Izz al-Din's army on the field. Qutb al-Din suffered a temporary setback when the
Kartids
The Kart dynasty, also known as the Kartids ( fa, آل کرت), was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Tajik origin closely related to the Ghurids, that ruled over a large part of Khorasan during the 13th and 14th centuries. Ruling from their capita ...
and the local malik of
Farah invaded Sistan and reinstalled Izz al-Din in the capital. By the end of the year, however, Qutb al-Din had defeated the invaders, forced his father into exile and later received the latter's renunciation of the throne. Over the course of his first year in power, he worked at consolidating his rule in Sistan; he led an army against the town of Uq and killed many of the local landowners who had risen in opposition to him.
In the meantime, the amir
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 Kür ...
had begun his expansion into
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, forcing the
Kartid
The Kart dynasty, also known as the Kartids ( fa, آل کرت), was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Tajik origin closely related to the Ghurids, that ruled over a large part of Khorasan during the 13th and 14th centuries. Ruling from their capital ...
dynasty of
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of 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 (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...
into submission. Around this time, an envoy arrived to Qutb al-Din's court and requested a hostage as a sign of good faith. The malik responded by sending a relative,
Taj al-Din Shah-i Shahan, to Timur's camp with an offer of tribute; the Mihrabanid made a good impression on Timur and returned to Sistan.
In November 1383, however, Timur and his army arrived in Sistan. After negotiations between the two sides failed a battle was fought in which the Mihrabanid forces were defeated. After building a pyramid of human skulls out of the slain Mihrabanid soldiers, the Timurid army forced its way into
Shahr-i Sistan and Qutb al-Din was imprisoned. Timur appointed Shah-i Shahan as governor of Sistan and proceeded to ravage the province. Qutb al-Din was deported to
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
, where he was executed three years later at the age of thirty.
References
*Bosworth, C.E. ''The History of the Saffarids of Sistan and the Maliks of Nimruz (247/861 to 949/1542-3)''. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 1994.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qutb al-Din
1386 deaths
Mihrabanids
Year of birth unknown
14th-century Iranian people