Rise To Power
Amir Vali was the son of Shaykh 'Ali Hindu, who had been a supporter of the Ilkhanid claimant Togha Temür and had served as his governor in Astarabad. In 1353 Togha Temür was murdered by the Sarbadars, who annexed Astarabad. Vali avoided the slaughter of Togha Temür's adherents and sought refuge with the neighboring Jauni Kurban tribe.
The Sarbadar state soon descended into civil war, and Amir Vali decided to take advantage of the situation. He moved to Mazandaran, which he used as a staging point to launch raids into the region of Astarabad. The city at that time was ill-equipped to handle such attacks, as many of the Sarbadar forces haddeparted to partake in the civil war. In order to recruit supporters, he claimed to be acting in the name of Togha Temür's son Luqman. By the time Luqman had arrived on the scene, however, Vali had apparently decided to rule in his own name, told Luqman to depart, and sent into exile his relatives and supporters. Furthermore, he declared for the Shi'a in order to gain the support of the Shi'as of Mazandaran against the then-Sunni Sarbadars. s After overwhelming a Sarbadar garrison near Astarabad, Amir Vali successfully fought three armies sent to subdue him, including one led by the Sarbadar leader Hasan Damghani himself. In 1356, after the defeat of the first army sent against him, he conquered Astarabad itself. He then expanded, taking Bistam and Damghan from the Sarbadars in around 1360.
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