Kasranids

Yazid II of Shirvan was accepted as the last of the Mazyadid dynasty and first of the Kasranids. He fathered eight children, five of which are named according to Persian customs.{{sfn|Minorsky|1958|p=116}} The Kasranids managed to establish alliances with the Bagrationi dynasty by marriage and with the Emirate of Derbent (whose line they would eventually absorb into the crown). They survived main powers in the region, notably the Seljuqs, the Ilkhanate, the Chupanids, and lastly, the Jalayirids as a vassal or tributary state. Shirvanshah Hushang was the last member of Kasranids. They were succeeded by House of Derbent, which was a junior branch of the Kasranids itself. Shervashidze is thought to be an early junior branch of Kasranids.{{in lang|fr}} Les dynasties de la Caucasie chrétienne de l’Antiquité jusqu’au XIXe siècle ; Tables généalogiques et chronologiques, Rome, 1990.

Rulers are shown with crown. Notable dynastic alliances are shown.

{{Tree list}}

• 15px Yazid ibn Ahmad (991 – 1027) (m. a daughter of a ruler of Shabaran.{{sfn|Minorsky|1958|p=63; 87}})
• Anushirwan (d. {{circa|1025}})
• 15px Manuchihr I (1027 – 1034) (m. Sitt b. Fadl)
• Hormuzd, Tabasaranshah (d. 9 April 1065)
• 15px Ali II (1034 – 1043) (m. Sitt b. Fadl)
• 15px Qubad (1043 – 1049)
• Shamkuya (m. Abd al-Malik II of Derbent in December 1035, d. October 1067, Gulistan)
• Ahmad ibn Yazid
• 15px Ali III
• 15px Sallar (1050 – 1063) (m. a daughter of Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl)
• Guzdaham (d. 1072)
• 15px Fariburz I (1063 – 1096) (m. a daughter of Tokku of Sarir)
• 15px Manuchihr II (1096 – 1106)
• 15px Afridun I (1106–1120)
• 15px Manuchihr III (1120 – 1160) (m. Tamar)
• 15px Akhsitan I ({{circa|1160}} – 1204) (m. ‘Ismatu’d-Din Safwatud-Din Safwat’l-Islam)
• Fariburz
• Iljik
• Manuchihr ({{floruit|1188}})
• 15px Afridun II ({{circa|1160}})
• 15px Shahanshah ({{circa|1180}} – 1203)
• 15px Farrukhzad I ({{circa|1187-1203}} – 1225)
• 15px Garshasp (d. 1234)
• 15px Fariburz III (1225 – 1255)
• 15px Akhsitan II (1255 – 1260)
• 15px Farrukhzad II (1260 – {{circa|1282}})
• 15px Akhsitan III (1282 – 1294)
• Siamerk
• 15px Key Kavus I ({{circa|1294}} – 1397)
• 15px Key Qubad ({{circa|1317}} – 1348)
• 15px Kavus or Keykavus II (1348 – 1372)
• Nodar ({{floruit|1357}})
• 15px Hushang (1372 – 1382)
• Sultan Muhammad — ancestor of Darbandid branch, governor of Derbent, father of Ibrahim I of Shirvan
• Jalal al-Din Sultanshah ({{floruit|1226}})
• Rashid ({{floruit|1221-1225}})
• Ancestor of House of Sharvashidze
• Mamlan ibn Yazid (d. 24 February 1067)

{{Tree list/end}}

The Kasranid kings were patrons of arts. Malu castle was erected by order of Shirvanshah Salar. Siniggala mosque was one of the major works completed during the reign of Shirvanshah Fariburz. Pir Husayn Khanqah, one of the most unusual buildings of Shirvan architecture, was built under order of Shirvanshah Afridun I. The Gates of Baku were constructed during the reign of Shirvanshah Manuchehr III. His son, Akhsitan I continued building several castles and making reforms among Round tower of Mardakan, Quadrangular tower of Mardakan, Ramana Tower. He was also responsible for changing the capital from Shamakhy to Baku after a devastating earthquake in 1192 (it has remained a prominent city in the region and is now the capital of Azerbaijan).

Many poets, including Nizami, Khaqani, Arif Ardabili, Falaki Shirvani, Jamal Khalil Shirvani, lived in the court of Kasranids.

Ilgar Aliyev, an Azerbaijani writer, published an historical fiction novel The Secret and the Key in 2012, which alluded to the lives of Shirvanshah Manuchehr III and his family. The novel was dedicated to Nizami Ganjavi's 870th jubilee.{{in lang|az}} [http://azertag.az/xeber/Iki_abidenin_sirri_ve_achari_Sirr_ve_acharda-193339 İki abidənin sirri və açarı "Sirr və açarda" - Azertag.az] Aliyev claimed that Majnun was a son of Akhsitan I and Layla, a daughter of a wali of Baku. The novel goes on to claim that Nizami wrote Layla and Majnun in their honor and that the Maiden Tower was built in memory of Majnun. The novel received criticism because there is little historical evidence for these claims.{{in lang|az}} [http://www.anl.az/down/meqale/azerbaycan/azerbaycan_oktyabr2009/93321.htm A new legend of Maiden Tower, or misinterpreted facts? ]

The Kasranids are a playable dynasty in both Crusader Kings II and Crusader Kings III.

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Minorsky |first=Vladimir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GPMHVEt_wVUC |title=A History of Sharvān and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries |publisher=University of Michigan |year=1958 |isbn=978-1-84511-645-3 |pages=1–219}}

{{Shirvanshahs}}

Category:Shirvanshahs