In the period following the collapse of the Mongol Ilkhanate and the emergence of the Turkmans and Timurids as the Ilkhans’ successors in Iran and Iraq, the city of Baghdad came under the authority of the Jalayirids, one of a handful of short-lived 14th century dynasties claiming to be the legitimate successors to the Chinggisid Mongols. Although Baghdad was the primary city under Jalayirid rule, it was also a center of opposition and resistance to the Jalayirid sultans, particularly during the reign of Sultan Ahmad b. Shaykh Uvays (r. 1382-1410). Through an examination of narrative sources written for the Jalayirids, Timurids and Mamluks, this paper illustrates how the local notables of Baghdad were able to maintain control over the affairs of their city by challenging the authority of the Jalayirid sultans. The a‘y?n carried on organized resistance by appealing to alternative sources of military power (i.e. rival amirs and dynastic rulers), while couching their opposition in terms of justice and piety. The paper thus is an attempt to reconsider the history of the post-Mongol 14th century through the lens of the interests and actions of the urban elites, rather than from the perspective of the sultans and the amirs, which is most thoroughly represented in the narrative sources for the period.