[6][b] 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.

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.

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.

[13][16] With the ascendance of the Aq Qoyunlu ruler, Uzun Hasan, he imposed tribute upon Gilan, bringing the Caspian littoral under his grasp.

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.

[20] 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.

[21] The ruler of Shaft, Amira Sa'id Shafti, refused to submit to Fuman in 1477–8, 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.

[24] 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.

[26] 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.

'Abbas undermined Kar-Kiyan influence in Mazandaran by suggesting a partition that favoured Eshaqvand interests, by aligning himself with Alvand Beg, intercepting Isma'il's convoy on its way to Ardabil, and joining Mir Shams al-Din to take over Parastak.

[35] Around this time, in 1507, Shaykh Najm al-Din Rashti was appointed to the office of vakil and was placed in charge of mediating and guiding negotiations in Gilan on behalf of Isma'il.

[36] Amira Hesam al-Din's hatred and contempt for the sayyids of Lahijan meant he refused to make peace, disregarding even Isma'il's direct orders.

The Shah even had to call the rebels to order in 1505, and the royal army came to Gilan, but he relented after only being able to conquer Kuchisfahan before bad weather conditions deterred him from further action.

It was subsequently arranged through Shaykh Najm al-Din Rashti that Kuchisfahan would be recognised as Eshaqvand, as the price of peace, which Khan Ahmad vehemently refused.

The invading Eshaqvand army marched forth and occupied Lahijan for seven days, taking advantage of the now-bankrupted Kar-Kiya, who were brought to utter ruin.

[40] With the death of Rashti in 1509–10, Khan Ahmad I seized the opportunity and following an elaborate visit to the Shah in June 1510, bearing plenty of gifts, he was granted governorship over all the Velayat-e Dar al-Marz.

[43] In 1516, Hesam al-Din met his demise, succeeded by his son Amira Dubbaj, who followed in his father's steps, holding an immense disdain for the Safavids.

Troops were gathered from Mazandaran, Rustamdar and Eastern Gilan, and, knowing that he didn't stand a chance, desperately sent envoys to Isma'il's court in Sultaniyya, and begged for Khan Ahmad I to intervene on his behalf.

He journeyed to the court to make his submission clear, was granted the title of Muzzafar Sultan, and the expedition was halted at the cost of 5000 tuman; a year later, Shah Isma'il decided to wed his daughter to Amira Dubbaj in 1520.

Still, these appeasing measures did not sway Dubbaj, who established contacts with the Ottoman Sultan Sulayman the Magnificent after he had bet on the wrong horse in the Qizilbash Civil War early in Tahmasp's reign, which spread into Gilan.

He supported the Ustajlu against the Takkalu, and exacerbated the situation by imprisoning Qazi Jahan, Tahmasp's vizier who was sent to negotiate peace between the two factions.

[44][45][46][38] During the Ottoman Invasion of Persia, Amira Dubbaj chose to support the sultan, Sulayman and joined him at Khoy with an army 8,000 strong in 1534.

On his return, he found his entrance to Gilan barred by his former subordinate, Amira Hatim of Kuhdum, who briefly seized control over Dubbaj's lands.

[46][38] Seizing the opportunity, a certain Sultan Muhammad of Kuhdum, who had succeeded Hatim, invaded and re-established his control over Rasht, which along with Bia-pas in general, was in anarchy.

The people disliked this arrangement and therefore, governance over the region was handed over to Amira Shahrukh, a relative of the Eshaqvand dynasty who was invited in 1543–4 to rule over Fuman.