Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza (
Chagatai/ fa, ابوالقاسم بابر میرزا بن بایسنقر بیگ), was a
Timurid ruler in
Khurasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
(1449–1457). He was the son of
Ghiyath-ud-din Baysunghur ibn Shah Rukh Mirza, and thus a great-grandson of
Amir Timur.
Babur was one of the many people involved in the succession struggle that took place during Shah Rukh's last years. Together with Khalil Sultan (a great-great-grandson of
Timur
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...
), he plundered the baggage-train of the army and then made his way to Khurasan. Meanwhile,
Ulugh Beg
Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh ( chg, میرزا محمد طارق بن شاہ رخ, fa, میرزا محمد تراغای بن شاہ رخ), better known as Ulugh Beg () (22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as ...
also invaded Khurasan in 1448 in an attempt to defeat
Ala al-Dawla Mirza
Rukn-ud-din Ala al-Dawla Mirza, also spelt Ala ud-Dawla and Ala ud-Daula, (1417 – 1460) was a Timurid prince and a grandson of the Central Asian ruler Shah Rukh. Following his grandfather's death, Ala al-Dawla became embroiled in the ens ...
, who held
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...
. Ulugh Beg defeated him at
Tarnab and took
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...
, while his son
Abdal-Latif Mirza
Abdal-Latif Mirza (c. 1420 – 9 May 1450) was the great-grandson of Central Asian emperor Timur. He was the third son of Ulugh Beg, Timurid ruler of Transoxiana (modern Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and parts of Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kaza ...
conquered Herat. Ala al-Dawla Mirza fled to south-western
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
. However, Ulugh Beg felt
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
, where he had already ruled for decades, to be more important, and soon left the area. On the way back, Babur sent a force that inflicted heavy losses on his army.
With a
power vacuum
In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has r ...
now in Khurasan, Babur quickly seized control. Mashad and Herat fell to him in 1449. Ala al-Dawla Mirza occasionally raided the area but was not a significant factor. Together with Ulugh Beg and
Sultan Muhammad (who gained control of central
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
), Babur became one of the three important Timurid rulers. This balance of power was soon upset by Sultan Muhammad, who invaded Khurasan. The campaign started out badly for Babur, with a defeat at Mashad in March 1450 convinced him to cede parts of his territory. However, Babur soon recovered and took Sultan Muhammad prisoner, and then executed him. He then marched to
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
to take control of Sultan Muhammad's lands.
At this point,
Jahan Shah of the
Black Sheep Turkmen
The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...
ended his loyalty to the Timurids. He quickly put
Qum
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
and
Saveh
Saveh ( fa, ساوه, translit=Sāveh, also transliterated as ''Sāwa'') is a city in Markazi Province of Iran. It is located about southwest of Tehran. As of 2011, the city had a population of 259,030 people.
History
In the 7th century BC it ...
to siege. Babur began to march against him but was forced to return to Herat, due to the overwhelming superiority of the Black Sheep's armies and a plot hatched against him by Ala al-Dawla Mirza. Most of Persia was taken from the Timurids by 1452, with the exception of
Abarquh, which was conquered by the Black Sheep in 1453. While
Kirman was temporarily conquered some time later and a few attempts were made to seize
Ray
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (gr ...
, Persia as a whole was never retaken by the Timurids.
In 1454, Babur invaded Transoxiana, then under the control of
Abu Sa'id Mirza
Abu Sa'id Mirza ( Chagatay/ fa, ابو سعید میرزا; 14248 February 1469) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire during the mid-fifteenth century.
Born a minor prince of the Timurid dynasty, Abu Sa'id quickly established himself as the most ...
in retaliation for the latter's seizure of
Balkh
), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001
, pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia
, pushpin_relief=yes
, pushpin_label_position=bottom
, pushpin_mapsize=300
, pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...
. He quickly laid siege to
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
. The conflict between the two soon ended, however, with the
Oxus River
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
agreed to as the border. This remained in effect until Babur's death in 1457. He was succeeded by his son
Mahmud
Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''.
Siam Mahmud
*Mahmood (singer) (born 19 ...
.
Personal life
Babur had three consorts:
[John E Woods, ''The Timurid Dynasty'' (1990), p. 46]
*Daulat Sultan Begum, daughter of Abu Sa'id Darughe, mother of Sultan Mahmud Mirza;
*Begi Jan Agha, daughter of Khudaidad;
*Kanizak Begi Agha, mother of a daughter;
References
*Peter Jackson (1986). ''The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume Six: The Timurid and Safavid Periods''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza
1422 births
1457 deaths
Timurid monarchs
Herat
People from Herat