Qushji

The Qushji were the family of Shaykh 'Ali b. 'Ali Qushji, governor of Khurasan for the Ilkhanate, seated at Esfarayen. When Ilkhan Abu Sa'id died in 1335, Shaykh 'Ali led efforts to persuade the princes of eastern Iran to accept Togha Temür, a descendant of Genghis Khan's brother Qasar, as Ilkhan.

He directed the khan's government and tax policies, which made him unpopular with the local amirs. In the spring of 1337 he accompanied Togha Temür on an expedition to western Iran, but Arghun Shah of the Ja'un-i Qurban and the lord of Kuhistan withdrew at Bistam.

After the Jalayirid Hasan Buzurg defeated the army near Soltaniyeh, Arghun Shah seized Shaykh 'Ali during the retreat and executed him in July 1337, sending his head to the victor.