Hasan Buzurg | |
|---|---|
| Viceroy ofAnatolia | |
| Tenure | 1332–1337 |
| Predecessor | Amir Mahmud |
| Successor | Eretna |
| Full name | Tāj al-Dīn Ḥasan b. Amīr Ḥusayn Gūrkān Jalāyrī |
| Died | July 1356 |
| Buried | Najaf,Jalayirid Sultanate |
| Noble family | Jalayirids |
| Spouse(s) | Baghdad Khatun Dilshad Khatun |
| Father | Amir Husayn Küregen |
| Mother | Öljetei Khatun |
Shaikh Hasan (Persian:تاج الدين حسن بن امير حسين گوركان جلايرى,romanized: Tāj al-Dīn Ḥasan b. Amīr Ḥusayn Gūrkān Jalāyrī), also known as"Hasan Buzurg" ("Hasan The Great"),Hassan the Jalair[1] orHassan-e Uljatâï[2] was the first of several de facto independentJalayirid rulers ofIraq and centralIran.
He was born to Amir Husain Jalayir and Öljetei Khatun, daughter ofArghun Khan.[3] His sister Soyurghatmish Khatun was married toÖljaitü Khan. He probably lived with his father during his governorate ofArran (c. 1312)[4] and Khorasan (c. 1322).[5] Hasan Buzurg was married toBaghdad Khatun in 1323, the daughter of AmirChupan.[6] Chupan was the most influential person at the court ofAbu Sa'id Bahadur. However, the Ilkhan soon became enamored with Baghdad Khatun, and asked Hasan Buzurg to divorce her. Chupan sent the two of them toQarabagh in an attempt to rid Baghdad Khatun from Abu Sa'id's mind, but the effort failed, and Baghdad Khatun was forced to marry the Ilkhan. After the murder of Chupan in 1327, Baghdad Khatun and the Grand VizierGhiyas al-Din ibn Rashid al-Din competed for influence over Abu Sa'id. Ghiyas al-Din spread a rumor that Baghdad Khatun and Hasan Buzurg were plotting against the Ilkhan; Hasan Buzurg was arrested in 1331. His mother Öljetei convinced the Ilkhan to spare his life, and he was imprisoned in the castle ofKemah instead.[7] In 1332, however, his name was cleared and he was dispatched as governor toRûm. During Abu Sa'id's lifetime, Hasan Buzurg was also called upon by Ghiyas al-Din to help stop rampant tax abuses in eastern Iran.
Following the death of Abu Sa'id in 1335, several parties competed for the Ilkhanid throne. Hasan stood neutral throughout the reign ofArpa, he became supreme commander of Ilkhanate armies.[5] However, Arpa's rule was not accepted by a part ofOirats, whose leader and the governor ofBaghdad - Ali Padshah was an uncle of Abu Sa'id and had his own designs on throne. Claiming Abu Sa'id's wifeDilshad Khatun was still pregnant, he raisedMusa, the grandson ofBaydu as rightful heir to the throne. Oirat traditional rivalry withAriq Böke's line could also be a factor in this rebellion.[8]
After defeat of Arpa by Ali Padshah on 29 April 1336 and subsequent murder on 15 May 1336, Hasan Buzurg saw his chance and raised a child,Pir Husayn fromTabriz, a great-grandson ofMöngke Temür, to claim the position in alliance with Hajji Taghay, theSutaid claimant toDiyar Bakr in opposition to Ali Padshah. Pir Husayn was crowned inAnatolia on 20 July 1336 with the title "Muhammad Khan" and Hasan left for Iran, leaving his deputyEretna behind to act as governor.[9][10] Later on 24 July Hasan Buzurg and Muhammad met the forces of Musa Khan and 'Ali Padshah in the Ala-Tagh area; Musa was defeated and 'Ali Padshah killed.[11] Hasan Buzurg pursued Musa on his way toBaghdad and created many losses for his enemy. He then proceeded toTabriz where he put Muhammad on throne and married the granddaughter of Chupan and the wife of Abu Sa'id,Dilshad Khatun, who was pregnant with Abu Sa'id's daughter.
Meanwhile, the amirs inKhurasan adopted their own candidate for Ilkhan,Togha Temür. Togha set off in 1337 to subdue western Persia. Azarbaijan and 'Iraq-i 'Ajam were taken. In March he arrived before Sultaniyeh, the former capital of the Ilkhans, and Hasan Buzurg withdrew toArran. Musa's forces, initially battling Togha's, now joined the invader. Togha and Musa met Hasan Buzurg at Soghurlug in the Maragheh area on 15 June 1337; Hasan defeated them, took Musa and Togha Temür's emir Shaykh Ali prisoner shortly after, and executed them on 10 July 1337. Togha gave up the campaign and withdrew to eastern Persia. With Muhammad's and Hasan's position solidified,Eretna was appointed governor of Anatolia. Hasan spent the winter of 1338 inMughan.[5]
Shortly afterwards, however, several descendants of Chupan united under his grandsonHassan Kuchak, who used a slave called Qara Juri to impersonate his fatherTimurtash in order to legitimatize his cause. Hasan didn't really pay attention when Eretna warned him of the emergence of "False Timurtash" inKarahisar.[10] TheChobanids battled with Hasan Buzurg on July 16, 1338, at Naushahr in the Alatagh area. Hasan Buzurg was defeated; his puppet khan, Muhammad, was killed.[12]
Shortly after defeat by the Chobanids, Qara Juri was dismissed byHassan Kuchak and was later routed by Hasan Buzurg. Peace was declared in late 1338, Hasan Buzurg lost Azerbaijan to Hasan Kuchak and Anatolia toMalik Ashraf. Despite all loss Hasan Buzurg retained control of Diyar Bakr, Iraq,Khuzestan andBaghdad. Nevertheless, he sought to be rid of the Chobanid threat. He offered the Ilkhanid throne to Togha Temür, who invaded early in 1339. Hassan Kuchak, however, offered the hand ofSati Beg in marriage and handing over the province ofIraqi Arab when Togha responded warmly to the proposal, he forwarded the letters to Hasan Buzurg. The latter, enraged, halted his expedition to support Togha, who was forced to withdraw during the summer of that year.
Following his abandonment of Togha Temur, Hasan Buzurg recognizedJahan Temür, a grandson ofGaykhatu, as Ilkhan nearHamadan.[13] The conflict with the Chobanids again boiled over, and Hasan Buzurg and Jahan Temur met Hassan Kuchak and his new puppetSuleiman Khan in battle on the Jaghatu. There Hasan Buzurg was defeated on June 26, 1340. He fled to Baghdad; following which he deposed Jahan Temür. With the Chobanids continuing to press him, Hasan Buzurg this time turned toMamluk Sultanate. He promised Baghdad and Diyar Bakr in return of Mamluk military assistance and capture of Azerbaijan for himself. In 1341,Sutayid Barhashin (son of Hajji Taghay) and Ibrahimshah (nephew of Hajji Taghay) was sent toAleppo, court ofal-Nasir as emissaries.[14] The alliance was a success at first but was later broken thanks to cunning of Hasan Kuchek, who instructedArtuqid ruler ofMardin al-Malik as-Salih to write a letter to Mamluk sultan on alleged Jalayirid truce with Chobanids, advising not to aid Hasan Buzurg. In return, al-Malik was promised that his son-in-law Ibrahim ShahSutayid would be granted Diyar Bakr instead of pro-Jalayirid Hajji Taghay.
Hasan Buzurg for some time again recognized Togha Temur's suzerainty, and struck coins in his name. After he stopped recognizing Togha in 1344, he still did not proclaim himself independent, and ruled with the title ofulus beg, as a mere governor, simply leaving the Ilkhan throne unfilled. Nevertheless, this marks the beginning of effectively independent Jalayirid rule.
For the rest of his reign, Hasan Buzurg attempted to deal with the Chobanids. He managed to form an alliance with Hassan Kuchak's uncle Surgan, as well as the governor ofDiyarbakır and theMamluk Sultanate, but Surgan was soon convinced to abandon the alliance, and the Mamelukes withdrew shortly after. He also offered assistance to another of Hassan Kuchak's uncles,Yagi Basti, as well as to Mas’ud Shah of theInjuids, in their attempt to expel Hassan Kuchak's cousinPir Hosayn fromShiraz. The murder of Hassan Kuchak in 1343 did not provide much relief, for his brotherMalek Ashraf sent an army to conquer Baghdad in 1347. Jalayirid forces, however, inflicted heavy losses on the force, which was forced to retreat by the summer. While Malek Ashraf and the Chobanids would survive until 1357, their threat to the Jalayirids was diminished. Hasan Buzurg continued to play an influential part in Persian politics; he assisted the Injuid Abu Ishaq against theMuzaffarids, helping him restore his rule inIsfahan in 1353. The latter, however, destroyed the Injuids in 1357.
Hasan Buzurg died in July 1356 and was buried inNajaf. He was succeeded by his son,Shaikh Awais Jalayir.
He was married at least two times:
With unknown wives or concubines:
Hasan Buzurg seemed intent on restoring unity to the Ilkhanate. This is evidenced by the fact that he used the title of ulus beg all of his life, and raised several men as Ilkhans instead of ruling in his own name. Furthermore, he attempted to unify Persia; he had sent a Muhammad-I Mulai to act as governor of Khurasan, for example; the latter was later executed by Togha Temür's military commander Arghun Shah. In attempting to maintain the Ilkhanate, he ultimately failed, and in some ways accelerated its disintegration, by preventing other forces such as the Chobanids from gaining more influence. However, he set up a strong state that would rule over Iraq and parts of Persia for over half a century, a state that would become even more powerful under his successor Shaikh Avais.
Hasan Buzurg is also remembered for his friendship withSafi-ad-din Ardabili (d. 1334) of the Ardabilitariqa. This evolved into theSafaviyya movement and Ardabili's descendants would found theSafavid dynasty. After Hasan Buzurg's death, the Jalayirids continued to maintain good relations with the Arbadili order. Later on, many of Hasan Buzurg's accomplishments would be accredited to his friendship with Safi al-Din.
| Preceded by – | Jalayirid Ruler 1336–1356 | Succeeded by |