Amul on the Haraz river was the capital of Tabaristan under the caliphs and the Alid Zaydi rulers and remains its largest and richest town, the home town of the historian al-Tabari.
In 595 AH (1199) Arghush, the Khwarazmian lord of Fulul up the Haraz valley, seized it during the plot of Ardashir's vassals; Ardashir drove him out. It is the gate of the Haraz road to Rayy, now closed at Fulul by a Khwarazmian garrison.
Who holds it
- Name
- Husam al-Dawla Ardashir I
- Title
- Shah of Mazandaran
- Since
- Recovered from Arghush in 595 AH (1199)
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
Ardashir I, through a governor not named
How things stand that morning
Bavandid, recovered from the Khwarazmians in 1199.
Charter
None known: towns under Turkish and Daylami princes had no charters; the governor, the judge (qadi) and the market inspector (muhtasib) answer to the ruler.
Council
No sworn council: the notables (a'yan), the headman (ra'is), the qadi and the heads of the quarters speak for the town. Names for 1199-1200 are not in the sources read.
Communities
Tabari Persian townsmen; a strong Shi'i (Zaydi and Twelver) tradition from the Alid period; Sunni scholars (proportions not pinned).
Fairs and markets
Daily markets (suq) and caravanserais; no fair days recorded.
Militia
Townsmen's young men's associations ('ayyarun) existed in the towns of Persia; nothing specific is recorded here for 1199-1200.
Walls and castle
Walls and citadel (state in 1200 not pinned).
Trade and crafts
Silk and linen cloths and mats; rice, citrus and fruit; the Haraz road trade.
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.
- 602 AH (1205-06)Rustam is enthroned at Amul on his father's death.Depends on: Ardashir's death Stopped by: A different succession
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Events from Ibn Isfandiyar via Madelung; town description from the geographers.
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
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'Bavandids' (W. Madelung), on Hosam-al-dawla Ardashir after Ibn Esfandiar
- G. Le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate (1905), chs. on Tabaristan, Gilan, Jurjan, Qumis and Quhistan
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.