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Mubariz al-Din Muhammad (Persian:مبارز الدین محمد; 1301–1363), was the founder of theMuzaffarid dynasty, ruling from 1314 to 1358. He was born to a family ofArab origin, which settled in Khurasan during the Islamic conquest.[1][2] The Muzaffarids have been described as an Arab,[a][b][c][6][7] Iranian,[8] and Persian dynasty. His mother however was probably Mongol.[9] He was the son of Sharaf al-Din Muzaffar, a servant of theIlkhanids and on his father's death in 1314 Mubariz inherited his father's offices.
Mubariz al-Din lived at the court of Ilkhanid rulerÖljaitü until the latter's death. After Öljaitü's death, Mubariz al-Din left forMaibud, and in 1319, he capturedYazd fromHajji Shah ibn Yusuf Shah, theAtabeg of Yazd, thus putting an end to the Atabeg rule over Yazd.[10] Sometime later, the people ofSistan rebelled against the Ilkhanids, and Mubariz al-Din was ordered to subdue the province, which he did. However, the people of Sistan shortly rebelled, and Mubariz al-Din was once again to forced to fight them; he reportedly fought the rebels in 21 battles until the province was finally subdued.
In the wake of the loss of Ilkhanate authority in central Iran following the death ofAbu Sa'id, Mubariz al-Din continued to carry out his expansionary policy, and declared independence from the Ilkhanids. In 1339 or 1340 he invaded the province ofKirman and seized it from its Mongol governor, Kutb al-Din ibn Nasir. Kutb al-Din was able to retake the province for a short time after receiving aid from theKartid dynasty ofHerat, but Mubariz al-Din permanently gained control of Kirman in late 1340. The city ofBam was besieged and conquered a few years after this.
After the conquest of Kirman, Mubariz al-Din became a rival of the neighboringInjuids, who controlledShiraz andIsfahan. Although the Muzaffarids and Injuids had traditionally been on friendly terms with one another, the InjuidAbu Ishaq Inju's desire to gain Kirman led him to start a drawn-out conflict with the Muzaffarids in 1347. He unsuccessfully besieged Yazd (1350–1351), after which his fortunes declined rapidly. During the same year, he sent an army to Kirman, which was defeated by Mubariz al-Din.
In 1353, Mubariz al-Din capturedShiraz from Abu Ishaq. Abu Ishaq, however, managed to escape from Shiraz and fled toIsfahan, but Mubariz al-Din pursued him, took the city and executed the Injuid ruler.Fars and western Iran were now under his control.
With the destruction of Injuid authority, the Muzaffarids were the strongest power in central Iran, and Shiraz was made their capital. Mubariz al-Din's strength was such that when theKhan of theGolden Horde,Jani Beg, sent an offer to become his vassal, he was able to decline. In fact, he pushed on into Azerbaijan, whichJani Beg had conquered in 1357. He defeated the khan's governor Akhichuq and occupiedTabriz, but realized that he could not hold his position against theJalayirid troops marching from Baghdad and soon retreated. The Jalayirids would therefore maintain a hold on Tabriz, despite further attempts by theMozaffarids to take it.
Mubariz al-Din was known as a cruel ruler, and soon afterwards in 1358, his sonShah Shuja blinded and imprisoned him. A temporary reconciliation was reached, but it failed to last and he died, again in prison, in 1363.
It is easy to ignore the diffusion of Mongol – and sometimes Chinggisid– blood among the new and indigenous dynasties. To take just a few examples: the mother of the Muzaffarid ruler Mubāriz al-Dīn was almost certainly a Mongol.
| Preceded by | Muzaffarid ruler 1314–1358 | Succeeded by |