Middle East · Mongols to gunpowder empires
Kartids
Iranian (Tajik) regional dynasty, later Timurid vassal · 1244–1381; nominal vassals to 1389
The Kart (or Kurt) dynasty was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Tajik, eastern-Iranian origin, closely related to the Ghurids of Ghor: the founder's family, the Marghinis, had intermarried with the Ghurid sultans. The dynasty proper was founded in 1244–45 by Shams al-Din Muhammad Kart, who secured the favor of the Great Khan Möngke and was granted the governorship of Herat and the lands between Sistan and the Indus.
- Type
- Iranian (Tajik) regional dynasty, later Timurid vassal
- Existed
- 1244–1381; nominal vassals to 1389
- Shown on the map
- 1344–1384
- Capital
- Herat
- Peak area
- ~577,000 km²
- Region
- Middle East
Origins & rise
The Kart (or Kurt) dynasty was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Tajik, eastern-Iranian origin, closely related to the Ghurids of Ghor: the founder's family, the Marghinis, had intermarried with the Ghurid sultans. The dynasty proper was founded in 1244–45 by Shams al-Din Muhammad Kart, who secured the favor of the Great Khan Möngke and was granted the governorship of Herat and the lands between Sistan and the Indus. For nearly ninety years the Karts ruled Khorasan as loyal — if occasionally rebellious — vassals first of the united Mongol Empire and then of the Ilkhanate, weathering court intrigues that cost Shams al-Din his life (he was poisoned at Tabriz in 1278) and surviving sieges and invasions by Chagatai princes.
History & key rulers
The decisive figure was Mu'izz al-Din Husayn (r. 1332–1370). When the Ilkhanate collapsed in 1335 he first allied with the claimant Togha Temür, then, after 1349, dropped all pretense and ruled as an independent sultan. He defeated the neighboring Sarbadars of Sabzavar at the battle of Zava (1342), campaigned successfully against the Chagatai Mongols, recovered Herat after the sack by the amir Qazaghan (c. 1358), and for a time employed the young Timur himself. His reign made the Kart kingdom, centred on Herat and controlling most of Khorasan from Quhistan to the Hindu Kush, one of the more stable and prosperous of the post-Ilkhanid states. On his death in 1370 the realm passed to his son Ghiyas al-Din Pir 'Ali, who seized Nishapur around 1375 but drifted into fatal dependence on Timur, whose niece married Pir 'Ali's son.
Government, religion & culture
The Karts ruled as maliks (and later sultans) in the Perso-Islamic tradition, Sunni in faith, Persian in language and administration. Herat under the Karts was substantially rebuilt after the Mongol devastation: they are regarded as the "builders of post-Mongol Herat," restoring the city's canals, walls and the great Friday Mosque, where the famous Kart-period cauldron still stands, and laying the urban foundations later exploited by the Timurids. Fakhr al-Din (r. 1295–1307) was noted as a patron of literature.
Peak & territory
At its fourteenth-century height the Kart realm covered most of greater Khorasan — Herat, Nishapur, Sistan, Quhistan, Bamiyan and lands toward the Indus — roughly 577,000 km² across what is now Afghanistan, eastern Iran and southern Turkmenistan.
Decline & legacy
In April 1381 Timur appeared before Herat; the demoralized city surrendered, its fortifications were razed, and Pir 'Ali was deported to Samarkand as a vassal. After he backed a Herati revolt in 1382, he and his family were executed (c. 1383), and the remaining Karts were murdered by Miran Shah in 1396. The dynasty thus became the first victim of Timur's Persian campaigns, but its rebuilt Herat went on to become the glittering capital of the Timurid Renaissance.
Common questions
- What were the Kartids?
- The Kart (or Kurt) dynasty was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Tajik, eastern-Iranian origin, closely related to the Ghurids of Ghor: the founder's family, the Marghinis, had intermarried with the Ghurid sultans. The dynasty proper was founded in 1244–45 by Shams al-Din Muhammad Kart, who secured the favor of the Great Khan Möngke and was granted the governorship of Herat and the lands between Sistan and the Indus.
- When did the Kartids exist?
- The Kartids existed 1244–1381; nominal vassals to 1389. On this map they are drawn 1344–1384.
- What were the capital of the Kartids?
- The Kartids were ruled from Herat.
- How large were the Kartids at their height?
- At its fourteenth-century height the Kart realm covered most of greater Khorasan — Herat, Nishapur, Sistan, Quhistan, Bamiyan and lands toward the Indus — roughly 577,000 km² across what is now Afghanistan, eastern Iran and southern Turkmenistan.
- Who ruled the Kartids?
- The decisive figure was Mu'izz al-Din Husayn (r. 1332–1370). When the Ilkhanate collapsed in 1335 he first allied with the claimant Togha Temür, then, after 1349, dropped all pretense and ruled as an independent sultan.
- How did the Kartids end?
- In April 1381 Timur appeared before Herat; the demoralized city surrendered, its fortifications were razed, and Pir 'Ali was deported to Samarkand as a vassal. After he backed a Herati revolt in 1382, he and his family were executed (c. 1383), and the remaining Karts were murdered by Miran Shah in 1396.
- How were the Kartids governed?
- The Karts ruled as maliks (and later sultans) in the Perso-Islamic tradition, Sunni in faith, Persian in language and administration.
Sources
Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.
- Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kart_dynasty
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Herat iii. History, medieval period" www.iranicaonline.org/articles/herat-iii/
- Stanley Lane-Poole, The Mohammadan Dynasties (Karts chapter) cristoraul.org/BYZANTIUM/The-Mohammedan-dynasties.pdf
This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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