Hassan Kuchak

Hasan Kuchak, also Hasan-i Kucek (حسن کوچک), (c. 1319 – December 15, 1343) was a Chupanid prince during the 14th century. He is credited with setting up a nearly independent Chupanid state in northern Persia during the struggles taking place in the aftermath of the Ilkhanate.

Life

Rise to power

Hasan's father, Timurtash, was executed by the Mamelukes in 1328. The son's rise to power began three years after the death of the last powerful Ilkhan, Abu Sa'id. The Jalayirids under Hasan Buzurg had recently mastered western Persia, putting a puppet Muhammed Khan on the Ilkhan throne in 1336. Hasan attempted to unify the fragmented Chobanid family. Claiming his father was alive, he used a slave named Qara Jari (a possible offspring of Hasan's grandfather Coban) to impersonate him. The widow of Timurtash was even married to him. Mameluk Sultan Al-Nasr Muhammad, who had ordered Timurtash' execution, attempted to expose the fraud, but without much success. The Chobanids rallied to him; several of them (such as Pir Hosayn) defected from Hasan Buzurg's service. Together, they defeated Hasan Buzurg in Alataq on July 16, 1338. Muhammed Khan was executed, and the region around Tabriz was occupied.

Challenges

At this point, Qara Jari attempted to get rid of Hasan Kucek and take power for himself, but fled when the effort failed. Following this, Hasan raised Sati Beg, sister of Abu Sa'id and widow of Coban, to the Ilkhanid throne in the summer of 1338. When Togha Temur, another claimant to the throne, invaded from Khurasan in the winter of 1339 at the behest of Hasan Buzurg, the Chobanid offered Sati's hand to him in marriage. Using this to receive letters of assurance from Togha Temur, Hasan Kucek forwarded these to the Jalayirids. Hasan Buzurg, feeling betrayed, stopped his advance in support of Togha, and the latter was forced to retreat in July 1339.

In the meantime, Hasan Kucek found a new suitable puppet in the form of Suleiman Khan, whom he forced Sati Beg to marry in May 1339. Hasan decided to march against the Jalayirids again. Supported by Pir Hosayn, as well as his uncle Surgan, he defeated the Jalayirids on June 26, 1340, in the Zarrinarüd valley near Maraga. Surgan was made governor of Iraq.

During Hasan Kucek’s reign, not all of the Chobanids remained loyal. Surgan, unhappy with the treatment of Sati Beg (who was his mother), defected to Hasan Buzurg. An alliance was formed between the two, soon joined by the ruler of Diyarbakr, as well as Sultan Al-Nasr. Hasan Kucek, however, managed to lure him out of the alliance, and the Mameluks soon abandoned their support. Still, Surgan began to plot with Togha Temur, who sent his brother Amir Shaikh 'Ali Kavon to invade Iraq. These forces were defeated by Hasan Kucek's brother Malek Asraf in the latter half of 1341, and Surgan was soon imprisoned.

Around the same time, several of the Chobanids became embroiled in a conflict concerning Fars. Malek Asraf, along with his cousin Pir Hosayn and his uncle Yagi Basti, were involved in a conflict that also included the Injuids, the owners of the area, and the Jalayirids. The conflict split the Chobanids, and Pir Hosayn was arrested and executed in Tabriz in 1342. Yagi Basti and Malek Asraf met up in Baghdad; realizing the danger of the two individuals, Hasan Kucek caused Malek Asraf to flee to Georgia, and then convinced Hasan Buzurg to abandon his support for him. Still, the two were back in Fars in the following year.

Death and after

Hasan Kucek was murdered by his wife near the end of 1343, ostensibly because she feared that her marital infidelity would be discovered. As Hasan Kucek left no successor, Malek Asraf and Yagi Basti, along with Surgan, split the Chobanid lands, though Malek eventually became sole ruler.