- Ai-Toghdï
Ai-Toghdï, also known as Shumla (d.
1174 /5) was the ruler ofKhuzestan from c.1155 until his death. [Bosworth, p. 171]Shumla was a member of the Avshar tribe of the
Oghuz Turks . In the mid-1150s he took advantage of the decline of theSeljuks and established his rule over Khuzestan. His authority was at first contested by the Seljuk prince Malik-Shah ibn Mahmud [Bosworth, p. 172 names this prince as "Malik-Shah b. Muhammad," but given the lack of any other mention of this person, as well as Bosworth's text in p. 176 ("Some amirs favoured Malik-Shah b. Mahmud, to whom Muhammad had latterly allocated the province of Fars; and though he managed to conquer part of this from Shumla...") I believed that Malik-Shah b. Mahmud was the correct name.] , who seized part of Khuzestan between1158 and1161 , but Shumla was eventually able to restore his authority over the entire province. [Bosworth, p. 172]During his reign Shumla frequently dealt with his neighbors. Besides being active in Seljuk affairs, he invaded the
Abbasid Caliphate in1167 and1173 /4 in an attempt to gain territory inIraq , but was expelled both times by the caliph's forces. He also invaded and temporarily occupiedFars in1169 after the discontented army of theSalghurid amirMuzaffar al-Din Zangi invited him to do so. [Bosworth, p. 172]Upon his death in
1174 or1175 , one of Shumla's sons succeeded him in Khuzestan. This son ruled until his death in1195 ; after he died the caliph Al-Nasir's vizier Mu'ayyaid al-Din Ibn Qassib invaded. He annexed the province and sent Shumla's grandsons toBaghdad . Khuzestan remained in the hands of the Abbasids until the Mongol invasion of 1258. [Bosworth, p. 172]Notes
References
*Bosworth, C.E. "The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000-1217)." "The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods." Edited by J.A. Boyle. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1968. ISBN 52106936X
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