Qarinvand dynasty

Qarinvand dynasty
550s–11th-century
Map shows Qarinvands region during the Qarin I of Bavands.
Map shows Qarinvands region during the Qarin I of Bavands.
CapitalLafur
Common languagesPersian
Caspian languages
Religion
Zoroastrianism
Islam
GovernmentHereditary military regime
Ispahbadh 
• mid 6th-century
Karin
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
550s
• Disestablished
11th-century
Preceded by
Sasanian Empire

The Qarinvand dynasty (also spelled Karenvand and Qarenvand), or simply the Karenids, was an Iranian dynasty that ruled in parts of Tabaristan (Mazandaran) in northern Iran from the 550s until the 11th-century. They considered themselves as the inheritors of the Dabuyid dynasty, and were known by their titles of Gilgilan and Ispahbadh. They were descended from Sukhra, a Parthian nobleman from the House of Karen, who was the de facto ruler of the Sasanian Empire from 484 to 493. The Qarinvand dynasty is also considered to be the one of the last Zoroastrian dynasties before the rise of the Islamic Iranian dynasties