Hushang of Shirvan

Hushang (Persian: هوشنگ) was the Shirvanshah from 1372/73 to 1382.

Hushang
Miniature depicting Hushang being shown the Farhad u Shirin by its author Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Arif Ardabili. Stored in the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.
Shirvanshah
Reign	c. 1372 – 1382
Predecessor	Kavus I
Successor	Ibrahim I
Died	1382
Dynasty	Kasranid
Father	Kavus
Religion	Sunni Islam

Life

He was the son and successor of Kavus, under whom the Shirvanshah kingdom came under the rule of the Jalayirid Sultanate (1335–1432). Hushang himself was brought up in court of Shaykh Uways as a hostage and was released as soon as his father died.^[1]

He didn't resist and possibly preferred guerilla warfare against Shah Mansur who was tasked with conquering Shirvan as a part of Shah Shoja Mozaffari's invasion of Azerbaijan in 1375.^[2] He continued to mint coins with legends mentioning Jalayirid overlords like Shaikh Hussain Jalayir and Ahmad Jalayir throughout his reign. According to Munejjimbashi, he reconciled brothers who escaped to Arran in fear of the powerful 'Adil Aqa, the governor of Ray.^[3]

Hushang was killed by his subjects in 1382, thus marking the end of the Kasranid branch of the dynasty.^[4] He was succeeded by Ibrahim I (r. 1382–1417), his cousin.^[4] This marked the start of the Darbandi line.^[5]

Legacy

The poet Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Arif Ardabili dedicated his Persian masnavi (poem written in rhyming couplets) Farhad u Shirin to Hushang.^[6] A miniature copy depicting this event is stored in the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.^[7]