Royal kin and queens · Tabaristan: the Bavandid kings · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Rustam (prisoner)

In 595 AH (1199) a party of Ardashir's vassals plotted to raise Rustam in his father's place while the Khwarazmians were pressing the kingdom; Ardashir broke the plot and imprisoned Rustam in the fortress of Dara.

He holds nothing, but he is the rallying point of the disaffected vassals.

Who he is

Name
Shams al-Muluk Rustam ibn Ardashir
Title
Bavandid prince (in prison)
Since
Imprisoned 595 AH (1199)
Born
not pinned
Family
Second son of Ardashir I.
Confidence
high

Ibn Isfandiyar via Madelung.

Overlord

His father, who holds him captive.

What it holds

  • Nothing: a prisoner at Dara (site not pinned)

How things stand that morning

A prisoner in the fortress of Dara.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 602 AH (1205-06)Released and enthroned at Amul on his father's death; murdered on 4 Shawwal 606 AH (1 April 1210), after which the Khwarazmshah takes Mazandaran.Depends on: Ardashir's death and Sharaf al-Muluk's death Stopped by: A different succession

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Ibn Isfandiyar was his contemporary; his murder prompted the History of Tabaristan.

Primary sources for Bavandids

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

  • History of Tabaristan, Ibn Isfandiyar (Baha al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan) (begun 1206, extended about 1216; continued anonymously to 1349). The local history of the Caspian province and the only account of the Bavandid kings of Tabaristan: Husam al-Dawla Ardashir (reigned 1173 to 1206) at Sari and Amul, his dealings with the Khwarazmshahs Tekish and Ala al-Din Muhammad, the Nizaris of Alamut, the Eldiguzids and the caliph, and the marriages, feuds and raids of the Daylamite and Gilaki lords. Read online
  • Dictionary of Countries, Yaqut al-Hamawi (1224 to 1228, at Aleppo). An alphabetical gazetteer of every place Yaqut had read of or seen: he travelled as a bookseller's agent through Syria, Iraq, Persia, Khurasan and Khwarazm (about 1213 to 1220) and settled in Aleppo. Read online

Sources and studies

  1. Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'Bavandids' (W. Madelung), on Hosam-al-dawla Ardashir after Ibn Esfandiar

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.