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{{Short description|Country in the Middle East (1338–1357)}}
{{About|the Mongol dynasty in Iran|the Anatolian beylik|Chobanids (beylik)}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{lang|fa|سلسله امرای چوپانی}}
| conventional_long_name = Chobanids
| common_name            = Chobanids
| status                 = Empire
| government_type        = Monarchy
| year_start             = 1338
| year_end               = 1357
| p1                     = Ilkhanate
| flag_p1                = 
| s1                     = Golden Horde
| s2                     = Jalayirids
| flag_s2                = 
| image_map              = Chupanid - Jalayerid dynasty 1337–1432 ad.png
| image_map_caption      = Territory of the Chobadnids (<small>{{Colorsample|rgba(65, 105, 225, 0.8)|0.6}}</small>) and division of Ilkhanate territory, circa 1350
| capital                = Tabriz
| common_languages       = [[Persian Language|Persian]], [[Mongolian Language|Mongolian]]
}}
The '''Chobanids''' or the '''Chupanids''' ({{langx|fa|سلسله امرای چوپانی}}) were descendants of a [[Mongol]] family of the [[Suldus]] clan that came to prominence in 14th century [[Persian Empire|Persia]].<ref>Ta'rīkh-i Shaikh Uwais: History of Shaikh Uwais&nbsp;– by Abū Bakr al-Quṭbī Aharī, Abu Bakr al Qutbi al-Ahri, Johannes Baptist van Loon</ref> At first serving under the [[Ilkhan]]s, they took ''[[de facto]]'' control of the territory after the fall of the [[Ilkhanate]]. The Chobanids ruled over [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Azerbaijan]] (where they were based), [[Arran (Caucasus)|Arrān]], parts of [[Asia Minor]], [[Mesopotamia]], and west central Persia, while the [[Jalayirid]]s took control in [[Baghdad]].{{sfn|Melville|Zaryāb|1991|pages=496–502}}
<ref>[http://search.eb.com/eb/article-22890 Encyclopædia Britannica]</ref>

==Amir Chupan and his sons==
{{main|Chupan}}

During the early 14th century, Amir Chupan served under three successive Ilkhans, beginning with [[Mahmud Ghazan|Ghazan Mahmud]]. A military commander of note, Chupan quickly gained a degree of influence over the Ilkhans and married several members of the line of [[Hulagu Khan]]. His power fueled resentment among the nobility, who conspired against him in 1319 but failed. The Ilkhan [[Abu Sa'id (Ilkhanid dynasty)|Abu Sa'id]], however, also disliked Chupan's influence and successfully eliminated him from court. He fled in 1327 to [[Herat]], where the [[Kartids]] executed him. Several of his sons fled to the [[Golden Horde]] or the [[Mamluk|Mamluks of Egypt]] while others were killed.

==Baghdad Khatun==
{{main|Bagdad Katun}}
[[File:Mu'nis al-ahrar Frontipiece, 1341.jpg|thumb|A contemporary princely scene from [[Isfahan]], during the last period of Chobanid control. ''[[The Free Man's Companion to the Niceties of Poems|Mu'nis al-ahrar]]'' frontipiece, Isfahan, 1341.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carboni |first1=Stefano |title=Illustrated Poetry and Epic Images. Persian paintings of the 1330s and 1340s |page=17 |date=1994 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |location=New York |url=https://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/Illustrated_Poetry_and_Epic_Images_Persian_Painting_of_the_1330s_and_1340s.pdf |quote=The political situation in Isfahan and Shiraz before and about 1341 was confused. After the death of Abū Said in 1335, Isfahan was indirectly controlled by the Chūbanid Shaykh Hasan, who installed the Ilkhanid Sulayman as ruler of the region, but local leaders, among whom was a member of the Lunbānī family, made the town almost independent.}}</ref>]]
The Chobanids were not completely wiped out from Persia. A daughter of Chupan's, Baghdad Katun, had caught the eye of Abu Sa'id. During Chupan's lifetime, she had been married to [[Hasan Buzurg]], the future founder of the [[Jalayirids]], but after Chupan fled Hasan Buzurg divorced her, and she married Abu Sa'id. She quickly gained influence over the Ilkhan and exercised the wide powers given to her. She was alleged (but never proven) to have been involved in any conspiracies against the Ilkhan, but was believed by some to have caused Abu Sa'id's death in 1335. Abu Sa'id's successor [[Arpa Ke'un]] executed her.

==Role during the fall of the Ilkhanate, and Hasan-i Kuchak==
{{main|Hasan Kucek}}

Arpa Ke'un's position proved to be weak; when a granddaughter of Chupan, [[Delsad Katun]], fled to [[Diyarbakr]], it caused the governor of that region to attack and defeat the Ilkhan. During the strife that occurred in the next few years, individual members of the Chobanids sided with various factions, such as Arpa or Hasan Buzurg. The latter ended up marrying Delsad Katun, who provided for the heirs to the Jalayirid position.

[[File:Map of the Chobanids (maximum extent, circa 1340).png|thumb|left|Map of the Chobanids (maximum extent, circa 1340)]]
While the Jalayirids were consolidating their position in [[Iraq]], however, other Chobanid were also busy. [[Hasan Kucek]], a grandson of Chupan, rallied much of the Chobanid family to his side and defeated the Jalayirids in 1338, paving the way for a Chobanid realm in the area around [[Tabriz]]. That same year, he elevated [[Sati Beg]], sister of Abu Sa'id and widow of Chupan, to the Ilkhanid throne. To keep Sati Beg in check, he forced her to marry his puppet [[Suleiman Khan]]. Hasan Kucek continued to fight the Jalayirids (a fight which was further complicated by the incursions made by [[Togha Temur]] of [[Greater Khorasan|Khurasan]]), but family infighting proved to be the most difficult challenge. 

To the south, [[Pir Husayn Chubani]] was designated as governor of the region of [[Fars province|Fars]] and [[Isfahan province|Isfahan]] regions from 1339 to 1342.<ref name="SC1">{{cite book |last1=Carboni |first1=Stefano |title=Illustrated Poetry and Epic Images. Persian paintings of the 1330s and 1340s |date=1994 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |location=New York |url=https://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/Illustrated_Poetry_and_Epic_Images_Persian_Painting_of_the_1330s_and_1340s.pdf|pages=9ff and 49ff |quote=There can be in fact little doubt that in 740 Isfahan had been incorporated in a more or less regular manner into the realm of the Ilkhanid [[:en:Suleiman Khan|Sulayman]], who was himself a puppet under the control of [[:en:Hasan Kuchak|Shaykh Hasan Chubani]], and that this was still the case when ''Mu'nis al-ahsar'' was completed. We are informed that in 742 Pir Husayn Chubani, who had been sent to southern Iran in the name of Sulayman, replaced Sultanshah Jandar, whom he (Pir Husayn) had previously appointed governor of Isfahan, with Shaykh Abu Ishaq Inju.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Foundation |first1=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/isfahan-vi-medieval-period |website=iranicaonline.org |quote=In 742/1341-42, Amir Pir Ḥosayn Čupāni (see CHOBANIDS), who had gained suzerainty over Fārs and Isfahan, appointed Shaikh Abu Esḥāq Inju (q.v.) as governor of Isfahan.}}</ref> The Chobanids firmly controlled Isfahan at that time, until the takeover of the city by the [[:en:Injuids|Injuid]] [[:en:Abu Ishaq Inju|Abu Ishaq Inju]] in 1342, who replaced the Chobanids in southern Iran with the rule of the [[Injuids]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Akopyan |first1=Alexander V. |last2=Mosanef |first2=Farbod |title=Between Jūjīds and Jalāyirids: the Coinage of the Chopānids, Akhījūq and their Contemporaries, 754–759/1353–1358 |journal=Der Islam |date=30 January 2015 |volume=92 |issue=1 |page=200 |doi=10.1515/islam-2015-0008 |url=https://www.academia.edu/13580159/Between_Jujids_and_Jalayirids_the_coinage_of_the_Chopanids_Akhijuq_and_their_contemporaries_754_759_1353_1358 |quote=The government of Pīr Ḥusayn in Fārs was initially recognized by his cousin the Chopānid Shaykh Ḥasan, but over time their relations became more and more strained due to the extension of Pīr Ḥusayn’s territory towards Iṣfahān, a Chopānid stronghold. Amīr Pīr Ḥusayn was expelled from Fārs, defeated and executed by Shaykh Ḥasan in 742/1341–2.}}</ref>

Several members defected to the Jalayirids; in any case, Hasan Kucek was forced to deal with them up until his death in 1343.

==Malek Ashraf and the Chobanid decline==
[[File:Division of Anūshīrwān’s domains according to the agreement of 745 (1344–5) among the Chopanids.png|thumb|Division of [[Anushirwan|Anūshīrwān]]’s domains among the Chopanids, according to the agreement of 745 (1344–5).]]
{{main|Malek Ashraf}}
A power struggle quickly emerged after Hasan Kucek's death. During the dispute, Hasan Kucek's brother Malek Asraf gained the upper hand and eliminated his uncles. By the end of 1344, Malek Asraf had gained effective control of the Chobanid lands. Like his predecessor, Malek Asraf used puppet monarchs, such as the Ilkhanid [[Anushirwan|Anūshīrwān]] (1344–1357), from behind which he ruled. During his reign, the Chobanid attempted to capture [[Baghdad]] from the Jalayirids in 1347 but failed miserably. He also failed to seize [[Fars province|Fars]] from the [[Injuids]] in 1350. As his reign wore on, Malek Asraf became more and more cruel, prompting widespread dissatisfaction amongst his subjects. When forces of the Golden Horde overran the Chobanid realm and captured Tabriz in 1357, few lamented the loss of power by the Chupanids. Malek Asraf was executed, and his family brought north to the Golden Horde. Malek Asraf's offspring were eventually killed off in Persia, bringing a definitive end to the Chobanids as a power.

==Genealogy of House of Chupan==
{{Chart top|width=100%|collapsed=no|House of Chupan}}
{|- valign=top
| colspan=100% style="text-align:left" |
{{Color sample|border=#FF7F27|#white; border-width:2px}} Chupanids <br>
{{Color sample|border=#3F48CC|#white; border-width:2px}} [[Injuids]]
|}
{{Tree chart/start|align=center|style=font-size:90%}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | A01 | | | | | | | | | |
|A01=[[Chupan]]
}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | A01 | | A02 | | A03 | | A04 | |
|A01=[[Timurtash|Timur-Tash]]
|A02=[[Shaikh Mahmoud|Shaykh-Mahmud]]
|A03='''[[Yagi Basti|Yaghi-Basti]]''' <br>{{r.|1343|1343}} <br>{{hilight|{{r.|1343|1344}}|#FF7F27}}
|A04='''Surghan''' <br>{{r.|1344|1345}}
|boxstyle_ A03 =border-color:#3F48CC
|boxstyle_ A04 =border-color:#FF7F27
}}
{{Tree chart| | |,|-|-|-|(| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | A01 | | A02 | | A03 | | | | | | | | | |
|A01='''[[Hasan Kuchak|Hasan]]''' <br>{{r.|1338|1343}}
|A02='''[[Malek Ashraf|Malik-Ashraf]]''' <br>{{r.|1345|1357}}
|A03='''[[Pir Husayn Chubani|Pir-Husayn]]''' <br>{{r.|1339|1342}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#FF7F27
|boxstyle_ A02 =border-color:#FF7F27
|boxstyle_ A03 =border-color:#3F48CC
}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Chart bottom}}

==See also==
{{Mongols}}
{{History of Iran|Mongol horserider, 1341 CE, Isfahan.jpg}}
*[[Dai Chopan]]
*[[Dey Chopan District]]
*[[Chopan]] – a town in India

==References==
<references/>

==Sources==
* {{cite encyclopedia | title = CHOBANIDS | last1 = Melville | first1 = Charles | last2 = Zaryāb | first2 = ʿAbbās | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/chobanids-chupanids-pers | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. V, Fasc. 5 | pages = 496–502 | year = 1991 }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last1=Akopyan |first1=Alexander V. |last2=Mosanef |first2=Farbod |title=Between Jūjīds and Jalāyirids: the Coinage of the Chopānids, Akhījūq and their Contemporaries, 754–759/1353–1358 |journal=Der Islam |date=2015 |volume=92 |issue=1 |pages=197–246 |doi=10.1515/islam-2015-0008}}
* {{Encyclopaedia Islamica|last1=Dianat|first1=Ali Akbar|last2=Gholami|first2=Rahim|title=Chūpānids|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-islamica/chupanids-COM_05000091?s.num=22&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-islamica&s.start=20&s.q=Caucasus+Iran}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hope |first1=Michael |title=The Political Configuration of Late Ilkhanid Iran: A Case Study of the Chubanid Amirate (738–758/1337–1357) |journal=Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies |date=2021 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.1080/05786967.2021.1889930|s2cid=233888764 }}
* {{EI3|last1=May|first1=Timothy|year=2016|title=Chūbānids|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/chubanids-COM_24622}}

{{Mongol Empire |state=collapsed}}
{{Iran topics}}

[[Category:Chobanids| ]]
[[Category:1357 disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1335]]
[[Category:Former countries in West Asia]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Mongol dynasties]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1357]]