The Eshaqvand dynasty (), also known as the Eshaqiyyeh (), was a local dynasty ruling in Western Gilan (Bīa-pas), which is west of the Sefid-Rud River. The dynasty survived well into the Safavid era, when both it and its eastern counterpart, the Kar-Kiya, were removed. The Eshaqvand were Shafi'i Sunnis, who claimed descent from the Sasanians or from Isaac.
Geographic reach The Eshaqvands had their home in the district of Fuman. Said district was bounded on the north by Gaskar, the Murdab and Tulam; on the east by Shaft and the Pasi Khan River; on the south by Masouleh and Shaft's mountains; and by Masal on the west. Similar to its counterpart in Eastern Gilan, Lahijan, Fuman was generally viewed as the town which held the most sway in Bia-pas. The local rulers enjoyed a high income due to the silk trade, and the city, according to Mowstafi was large and the centre of a rich district producing abundant wheat, rice, and silk. It served as the capital of Bia-pas administratively until Jamshid Khan transferred the capital of the region to Rasht in 1572–73, when it surpassed Fuman in importance.
Early Years and consolidation of Bīa-pas In the period before the Kar-Kiya arrival, Gilan was divided among many different figures. The Eshaqvands, based in Fuman, were one of the many powers in Gilan. The district of Shaft was a dependency of Fuman. The Eshaqvands and the rulers of Gaskar to the north often fought.
Towards the arrival of the Kar-Kiya in 766 (1364–65), the domains of Amira Dubbaj, then ruler of Fuman, encompassed Masouleh, Fuman and Tulam. The Kar-Kiya, when they entered the scene, began enticing the Zaydi minority west of the Sefid-Rud to revolt, which created discontent between Sunni petty rulers and their population. This culminated in Lasht-e Nesha's case with the ousting of its local ruler, and its incorporation into the growing sayyid dynasty. The town had a primarily Zaydi population and would prove to later be a bone of contention between the Eshaqvands and Kar-Kiya. What followed was the collapse of the Isma'ilwand rulers of Kuchisfahan, and the Anuzwand rulers of Kuhdum, greatly threatening Fuman.
This threat would lead to the two's first confrontation in 1387 when both the Tijaspis and Eshaqvands chose to counter and attack the Kar-Kiya's interests in Kuhdum. In their rapid expansion, the Kar-Kiya had also acquired Tarom and Qazvin, which caught the deadly eye of Timur, who at the time was occupied combatting other adversaries. Thus, once he was able to turn his attention west, a heated letter exchange would eventually lead to the sayyids having to return to the territory that they had held for seven years. While this secured the Kar-Kiya from Timur's wrath, it emboldened the cornered dynasties of Bia-pas. When Kuhdum was invaded, many sayyids were either taken hostage or killed, much angering Sayyid 'Ali Kiya, who led his armies towards Rasht.
Amira Dubbaj would contribute to the crushing defeat of the Kar-Kiya in the following Battle of Rasht in August–September 1389, along with other rulers of Bia-pas. Sayyid 'Ali Kiya, the ambitious conqueror, was dead on the battlefield, his realm was left in disarray, and his dynasty was forced to retreat to Tonekabon for a time. Relations, however, would soon break down between the members of the successful coalition, and the Eshaqvands would clash with its neighbouring ruling dynasty of Rasht, the Tijaspis, around five or six months later. With the retreat of the Kar-Kiya, Amira Dubbaj realised that he had inadvertently inflated the power of Rasht, and so shifted his alliances and strategy, causing conflict. This would allow for Amira Dubbaj to invite the Kar-Kiya back into Gilan, to retake possession of Lahijan and Ranikuh, checking his eastern neighbour.
Additionally, Amira Dubbaj would quarrel with Amira Sasan, ruler of Gaskar, advancing to Gurab-i Gaskar, but was surprised and imprisoned, released on payment of 300 mans of silk and 100 kharwars of Iskandarani cotton goods.
Amira Dubbaj would support Sayyid Hadi Kiya in his bid for Lahijan, artificially rebalancing power in his favour across the river, but soon, Sayyid 'Ali Kiya's sons would rise up against their uncle, initiating a period of internal strife. The Eshaqvands involved themselves in the conflict, even supporting Sayyid Husayn Kiya in his bid for Lahijan. It would lead to an administrative restructure once the Kar-Kiya rebounded, where the children of Sayyid 'Ali Kiya would divide their land among themselves.
Facing the Timurids, Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu In 1403, Timur would send an expedition to Gilan, which he wished to subjugate. The rulers of Rasht and Lahijan came together to stop the expedition and negotiate, to prevent utter ruin from reaching Gilan. They agreed to pay a tribute of silk, horses, and cows to Timur and would continue doing so until the untimely death of the conqueror, in 1405.
Approximately in 1409–10, Amira Dubbaj would pass away, and his son, Ala'u'd-Din would succeed him. He was in turn succeeded by his son, also named Amira Dubbaj in 1433–34, whose son, also named Ala'u'd-Din, would perish in 1440–41, following interference in Bia-pish. Therefore, when Amira Dubbaj II followed his son in death, another Amira Ala'u'd-Din took power. Meanwhile, Rasht was undergoing a succession crisis between father and son, Falaku'd-Din and Amira Muhammad. Amira Ala'u'd-Din would seize power in Rasht on behalf of Amira Muhammad as his father left to undergo a pilgrimage to Makkah. Falaku'd-Din was forced to flee to Kuhdum upon his return but was compelled to surrender by the Eshaqvands, who handed him over to his son, who immediately hanged him. Instigated by Amira Ala'u'd-Din, during the reign of Nāṣer Kiya in Lahijan, various members of the Kar-Kiya family rose up against him, which he was only able to suppress with the assistance of the rivalling Tijaspi Amira Muhammad's help, allowing Nāṣer to expel his brother and shore up his sovereignty. For two years, a certain Husamu'd-Din, cousin of Amira Ala'u'd-Din, possessed power in place of Amira Ala'u'd-Din within Fuman, before he died in the mountains of Tarom. Meanwhile, Amira Ala'u'd-Din, who hid from the powerful Amira Muhammad Tijaspi of Rasht, retook power from Husamu'd-Din in May 1459 and put Amira Muhammad to death after he had fled to and returned from Shirvan in the wake of an invasion from across the Sefid-Rud. Amira Muhammad had left a boy named Tijasp in power but had returned following the boy's removal, and ended up in the custody of the Eshaqvands, who, with his death, would permanently take over Rasht in 1460.
Aq Qoyunlu in Gilan With the ascendance of the Aq Qoyunlu ruler, Uzun Hasan, he imposed tribute upon Gilan, bringing the Caspian littoral under his grasp. Following this, he would tip the balance firmly in favour of the Kar-Kiya, giving them the power to make decisions in both East and West Gilan, under the condition that at least 40 kharvar or 60 mann (of Tabriz) of silk was secured as tribute from the West alone. The Aq Qoyunlu proved to have no interest in directly administering the region at the time, but with the death of Uzun Hasan and the ascension of Ya'qub, control over the Caspian littoral grew in importance. Ya'qub relied on silk revenues from the territory, but this also coincided with the period where control over and tribute from the region came seriously under threat, primarily from the Kar-Kiya who supervised the region in Uzun Hasan's reign. On several occasions, Ya'qub was forced to step in himself, such as when he intervened following the defeat of Kuhdum against the Kar-Kiya at Manjil in 1482. Following the ultimate weakening of the empire after the death of Ya'qub, relations between Gilanis and Aq Qoyunlu were permanently ruined when Ayebeh Soltan, sent by Rostam Beg, massacred and "made minarets out of the Gilanis’ heads," in Qazvini's words. Like many other occasions, the Eshaqvand and Kar-Kiya rivalry was also reflected in their support of different candidates in the bid for the Aq Qoyunlu imperial throne. The Eshaqvands backed Alvand Beg, while their adversaries supported Muhammadi.
By 1475–76, the Eshaqvands had eliminated the Tijaspis of Rasht. This happened after Falaku'd-Din had attempted to reinstate the Tijaspis, but had failed, dying in prison in 1475–76. Additionally, in 1476, when the ruler of Kuhdum refused to comply with Eshaqvand orders, he was met with military attack and carnage. In this year, Amira Ala'u'd-Din would pass away, bringing up the question of succession. His son Amira Dubbaj refused to take up his father's title, and so the people chose to tender their allegiance to another Amira Dubbaj b. Husamu'd-Din. However, this was short-lived, as with the assistance of Sultan Muhammad of Bia-pish, Amira Ishaq seized power in 1477–78. Amira Ishaq and Sultan Muhammad's successor, Mirza 'Ali, chose to make an effort to repair the relationship between the two dynasties, the latter giving his sisters' hand in marriage to the former in 1489. The ceremony brought with it the exchange of gifts and food and much celebration and reconciliation. The ruler of Shaft, Amira Sa'id Shafti, refused to submit to Fuman in 1477–78, and so Muhammad of Lahijan sent troops to expel and remove him on behalf of the Eshaqvands, and also as supreme governors of Gilan at the time. Also at this time, the former tyrannical ruler of Kuhdum, Amira Rustam, attempted to re-seize power, after the death of Uzun Hasan, but was jointly driven out by both rulers of Lahijan and Fuman. After a second attempt, this time with troops requested from Ya'qub in 1482, Kuhdum was divided between Fuman and Lahijan.
Relations however soon took a turn for the worse and soured upon Ya'qub Aq Qoyunlu's death in 1490. The sudden power vacuum encouraged both powers to seek territory outside of the mountainous capsule of Gilan, making conflict inevitable. Amira Ishaq was the first to take advantage of the opportunity, moving to Rahmatabad to prepare to advance on Tarom and Shamiran Fortress. This alarmed the Kar-Kiya, who quickly sent envoys, and secured Shamiran for themselves. Soon, in one of the few occasions where West and East Gilan would come together, some 40,000 men were summoned to counter a Mazandarani enemy in the Mar'ashi sayyid Mir Shams al-Din, before the commander sent by the Eshaqvands, 'Abbas, an adept politician, began sabotaging the coalition, foreseeing that Bia-pas may become the next victim of the Kar-Kiya. Thus, he brokered an agreement where Mazandaran was divided, Barforush Deh coming under Mir ‘Abdulkarim Mazandarani and Amol and Sari remaining in the hands of Mir Shams al-Din, serving Eshaqvand interests well.
Under the Safavids
The would-be Isma'il I would arrive in Gilan in 1494, following the death of his brothers. He was first sent to the governor of Gaskar, before transferring himself to Rasht, then under the Eshaqvands. He stayed with Amira Ishaq, who supervised him, before ending his brief stay and moving to stay with the Kar-Kiya in Lahijan. Isma'il refused to stay long with Amira Ishaq, which his advisors had arranged for him to do, probably because he believed he could not trust a Sunnite, readily accepting the invitation to relocate to Lahijan. The advent of Isma'il in Gilan brought a new phase in the rivalry between the Eshaqvands and Kar-Kiya, so much so that for the first time since their formation, the Kar-Kiya resorted to fratricide, disregarding the respect for the family's sayyid status.
Resumption of Conflict in Gilan