Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud

Wajih ad-Din Mas'ud (died 1344) was the leader of the Sarbadars of Sabzewar from 1338-1343 until his death. Under his rule, the Sarbadar state developed its characteristic dual nature as both a secular and radical Shi'i state.

Early Reign

Mas'ud was the son of Fadlullah Bashtini and the brother of 'Abd al-Razzaq, and was one of 'Abd al-Razzaq's supporters when he seized the city of Sabzewar. During a disagreement with his brother, however, Mas'ud stabbed him to death and assumed his place as leader of the Sarbadars.

Unlike 'Abd al-Razzaq, Mas'ud was a shrewd diplomat and politician. Realizing that he could not maintain his brother's policy of unequivocal hostility towards the master of Khurasan, the Ilkhanid claimant Togha Temur, he secured a peace with Togha Temur's Khurasani supporters and agreed to strike coins in his name. Mas'ud was therefore able to hold Sabzewar unmolested by his more powerful neighbors. During this time of peace, he built up a regular army of cavalry and slave soldiers.

In order to gain more support amongst the Sabzewaris and the people of the neighboring regions, who were mostly Shi'i, Mas'ud decided to align himself with a radical Shi'i cleric, Shaikh Hasan Juri. The Shaikh had a significant following in Sabzewar and would give Mas'ud a significant political advantage. Unfortunately for him, Hasan had been imprisoned by Arghun Shah, the chief of the neighboring Jauni Kurban tribe and a partisan of Togha Temur. Arghun Shah, however, had sent most of his forces to support Togha Temur's campaign against the Chobanids, giving Mas'ud the opportunity to cross through the territory of the Jauni Kurban and free Hasan. When Mas'ud and Hasan returned to Sabzewar, Mas'ud made him co-ruler and had his name inserted before his own in the official prayers. Mas'ud's strategy was successful; Hasan's followers quickly threw their support behind the shaikh. They were quickly organized into a military force along the lines of the futuwa. immediately abandoned the battlefield. Malik Husain was then able to counterattack and defeat Mas'ud. The Sarbadars then had little choice but to abort the campaign.

Sole Leadership and Death

Mas'ud had successfully regained sole control of the Sarbadars, although he had permanently alienated Hasan's dervish organization in the process. The dervishes' hostility to Mas'ud and his supporters would eventually prove fatal to Mas'ud's successors and laid the foundation for several decades of hostility between the secular and religious factions of the state. Mas'ud himself, however, seems to have managed to escape any backlash by Hasan's partisans. Instead, he focused on eliminating Togha Temur once and for all. The khan was still restricted to Mazandaran, so Mas'ud began seeking the support of the local rulers against Togha Temur. Although some pledged their support to him, the Bavandids and Baduspanids both refused to abandon their allegiance to the khan.

Mas'ud thus invaded Mazandaran in 1344 with several hostile minor dynasties allied against him. When the Sarbadars advanced on Amol, the Bavandid Hasan II of Tabaristan decided to abandon the city. He then turned around and defeated the Sarbadar garrison at Sari, cutting off Mas'ud's line of retreat. Despite this, Mas'ud decided to press on. When the Bavandids attacked his rear, however, and the Baduspanid Eskandar II met him at his front, Mas'ud was surrounded. The Sarbadars were decimated, and Mas'ud was captured by the Baduspanids. He was handed over to the son of one of Togha Temur's former officials who had died fighting the Sarbadars in 1341/1342 and executed. Muhammad Aytimur, who Mas'ud had left in charge of Sabzewar before starting the campaign, took control of the Sarbadar state upon Mas'ud's death.