A Tajik dynasty that ruled the Khorasan/Herat region as vassals first of the Mongol Empire and then the Ilkhanate, founded by Shams al-Din Muhammad I after the Mongol conquests devastated the region.
Grew increasingly independent as the Ilkhanate fragmented in the 14th century, until the last Kart ruler, Ghiyath al-Din Pir 'Ali, was defeated and executed by Timur in 1381, ending the dynasty and absorbing Herat into the Timurid Empire.
Standard scholarly reference covering the Mongol-era Iranian/Khorasani vassal dynasties, including the Karts of Herat, within the broader Ilkhanid political framework.