Sari, on the Tejen river where the forested foothills meet the Caspian plain, has been the seat of the second Bavandid line since the early twelfth century.
The Khwarazmian emir Sutash sacked and burned it in 590 AH (1194), and in 595 AH (1199) he marched on it again during the plot of Ardashir's vassals; the king held it. It is the court town of the kingdom, with the royal palace, the Friday mosque and the markets of the eastern plain.
Who holds it
- Name
- Husam al-Dawla Ardashir I
- Title
- Shah of Mazandaran
- Since
- 568 AH (1173)
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
Ardashir I in person (his capital)
How things stand that morning
Bavandid capital.
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
Persian-speaking Tabari townsmen and the court; Shi'i and Sunni (proportions not pinned); Jews are recorded in Tabaristan's towns in general (not pinned for Sari in 1200).
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 palace (state after the burning of 1194 not pinned).
Trade and crafts
Silk and fine cloths of Tabaristan, rice and citrus of the plain, timber; market for the eastern plain and the mountain districts.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Ibn Isfandiyar via Madelung for the events; the town itself thinly described.
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.