Bavand dynasty The Bavand dynasty ( also spelled Bavend ) , or simply the Bavandids , was an Iranian dynasty that started in 665 , as an independent group of rulers , most of their time reigning over Mazandaran in what is now northern Iran . The dynasty ended in 1349 . The Bavand name apparently comes from Bav , son of Kawus , son of Kavadh I , the Sasanian Emperor . As the story goes , Kawus , who was the elder son of Kawad , was passed over in favour of his younger brother Khosrau I Ausherwan , as the former was accused of Mazdakite sympathies . He was , however , reinstated in his position as the governor of Padishkhwargar , the name given to the northern satrapies of the Sasanian realm , consisting of Azerbaijan , Gilan , Tabaristan and Qumis , according to Mar ' ashi . Whatever their origin , it seems that in the chaos that followed the fall of the Sasanians to the Arab Muslims , the descendants of Bav managed to carve themselves a semi - independent kingdom in the regions to the south of the Caspian Sea . Probably because of their royal blood , they were successful in gaining the upper hand in the region and established their rule over other local clans and dynasties , including the Paduspanids and the Karenids . The early Bavandis were obviously Zoroastrian , but they later converted to Islam , as is attested to be the case for Karen son of Shahriar , the ninth ruler of the dynasty . They probably accepted the Zaidi branch of Shi ' ism and became major supporters of the Zaidi and other Shi ' ite movements . We know that Bavandis , along with other Tabari and Dailamite dynasties , recognised the overlordship of Alavids such as Al - Utrush and assisted them in their struggles against the Caliphate . Another interpretation can be that the Bavandis used the influence of the Alavids among the common people in order to further their own agenda against the caliphal central rule . The history of the Bavandis is detailed in the works of Ibn Isfandiar and Mar ' ashi which belong to the genre of local histories that gained popularity in Iran after 1000 AD . We know that they were related to the Ziyarid dynasty , through the marriage of Mardanshah , the father of Ziyar , to the daughter of one of the Bavandi kings . The prominence of the Bavandi kings apparently continued throughout the Seljuq and Mongol period . One of their greatest kings , Shah Ghazi Rostam , is reported to have seriously defeated the Ismailis who were gaining prominence in Tabaristan and to have made significant progress in consolidating power in the Caspian provinces . After the Mongol conquest , the Bavandis continued to rule as local strongmen of Tabaristan and sometimes Dailam . Their power was finally brought down around 1350 when Afrasiab of the Jalaviyeh dynasty , themselves an off - shoot of the Bavandis , managed to kill Fakhroldoleh Hasan , the last of the mainline Bavandi kings . Divisions of the Bavandis . The Bavandi rule , which lasted from ca . AD 665 - 1350 , was commonly divided to three periods . The first is the " Ispahbed " period , lasting until 1028 . This is the period in which the dynasty seems to have been rather autonomous and quite influential in Tabaristan and Dailam , although they often acknowledged the overlordship of the Samanids or occasionally , the Ziyarids . However , with the death of the last Ispahbed , the dynasty became temporarily defunct . In 1062 , a Bavandi prince re - found the dynasty , this time becoming known as " Kings of the Mountains " indicating the extent of the rule of the Bavandis in the highlands of Tabaristan . The greatest ruler of this stage was the aforementioned Shah Ghazi Rostam . The Kings of the Mountains became extinct in 1210 , probably as a result of competition with the Ismailis and other local dynasties . During the chaos caused by the Mongol conquest of Iran , another branch of the dynasty was founded ca . 1240 which continued until 1350 when the last king of it was killed by Afrasiab of the Jalaviyeh dynasty . This stage is called " Kindkhwariyeh " by the local historians . However , the above divisions might be the result of the mixing of the history of the Bavandis with that of the Paduspanis , a neighbouring clan who ruled over the area of Royaan ( or Alamdeh ) and Kojur and were similarly descended from the Sasanians . It is quite possible that the last stage above , that of the Kindkhwariyeh , was actually a Paduspani takeover of the Bavandi lands . This is also quite possible as it will explain the efforts of Afrasiab of the Jalaviyeh dynasty in defeating the Kindkhwariyeh , as the Jalaviyeh were themselves a branch of the Bavandis .