Qutb al-Din Muhammad (died 1346) was the

Mihrabanid The Mihrabanid dynasty (Persian: خاندان مهربانیان) was a Persian 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 S ...

malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...

Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...

from 1330 until his death. He was the son of Rukn al-Din Mahmud.

Biography

Qutb al-Din was appointed malik in December 1330 by the notables of Sistan following the death of his uncle,

Nusrat al-Din Muhammad Nusrat al-Din Muhammad (died 1330/1331) was the Mihrabanid malik of Sistan from 1318 until his death. He was the son of Nasir al-Din Muhammad. Biography During the 1310s Sistan had suffered from a civil war between Nasir al-Din and Nusrat al-Din' ...

. A deeply religious man, he patronized the religious figures of Sistan and fed travelers and the poor. He also distributed the fortresses of the province to members of his family. During Qutb al-Din's reign the central

Ilkhanid 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 ...

government in

Soltaniyeh Soltaniyeh () is a city in the Central District (Soltaniyeh County), Central District of Soltaniyeh County, Zanjan province, Zanjan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Soltaniyeh, located some ...

collapsed; Sistan's distance from the Ilkhanid center allowed it to mostly avoid the wars that plagued

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

during this time. Under Qutb al-Din Sistan did face one foreign invasion, by the

Kartid The Kart dynasty, also known as the Kartids (), 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 at Herat and centr ...

malik Mu'izz al-Din Husayn, in 1333 or 1334 after he was invited by the Mihrabanid's opponents. Mu'izz al-Din decided to end the campaign after heeding the counsel of a

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

adherent. In 1346, Qutb al-Din was killed by a plague, possibly the

Black Plague The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

. He was succeeded by his son Taj al-Din.

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. 1346 deaths Mihrabanids Year of birth unknown 14th-century Iranian people 14th-century deaths from plague (disease) {{iran-royal-stub