With the death of
Shah Rukh
Shah Rukh or Shahrukh ( fa, شاهرخ, ''Šāhrokh'') (20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447.
He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynas ...
in 1447 began the long drawn out
Second Timurid Succession Crisis. His only surviving heir was his son
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 ...
who was at that time viceroy of Central Asia at
Samarkand.
Gawhar Shad
Gawhar Shad ( fa, , Gawaršād; meaning "joyful jewel" or "shining jewel"; alternative spelling: Gohar Shād; died 19 July 1457) was the chief consort of Shah Rukh, the emperor of the Timurid Empire.
Life
She was the daughter of Giāth ud-Din ...
and
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 ...
were with Shah Rukh when he died on his way back to
Khurasan from
Iran
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 ...
. Abdal-Latif Mirza became the commander of his grandfather's army and in conjunction with his father Ulugh Beg began operations against his cousins. As soon as Ulugh Beg heard of his father's death, he mobilized his forces and reached
Amu Darya
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 ...
in order to take
Balkh from his nephews. Balkh belonged to Ulugh Beg's brother
Muhammad Juki
Muhammad Juki Mirza (1402 – 1445) was a Timurid prince and a son of the Central Asian ruler Shah Rukh. He served as one of his father's military commanders and may have been favoured as his preferred successor. However, he died of illness ...
who died in 1444. Balkh was divided among his sons
Mirza Muhammad Qasim and
Mirza Abu Bakr. However, Mirza Abu Bakr took his older brothers' possessions when Shah Rukh Mirza died. Ulugh Beg summoned Abu Bakr to his court and promised him his daughter in marriage. But while there he had him convicted of plotting against him and imprisoned at Kok Serai in Samarkand where he was later executed. Ulugh Beg then marched on Balkh and took that province unopposed.
Aftermath
The taking of Balkh was a clear signal for all that Ulugh Beg did not recognise the rights of any of his nephews. Next operations though, would be difficult since the other nephews of Ulugh Beg were hardened warriors and sons of his now deceased yet famously able brother
Baysunghur Mirza. They were
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 ensu ...
stationed at
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 ...
;
Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza
Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza ( Chagatai/ fa, ابوالقاسم بابر میرزا بن بایسنقر بیگ), was a Timurid ruler in Khurasan (1449–1457). He was the son of Ghiyath-ud-din Baysunghur ibn Shah Rukh Mirza, and thus a great-grandson ...
who was at that time in Shah Rukh's army when he died and when Abdal-Latif Mirza took over as commander to which Babur Mirza reacted by plundering the
Urdu Bazar (Camp Market) with Khalil Sultan and made a dash for Herat to come under his brother's protection; And finally
Sultan Muhammad Mirza who was at Luristan in hiding after his failed revolt against Shah Rukh Mirza but since returned to
Fars.
References
{{reflist
External links
"Khorasan / Khwarazm (Transoxiana / Sogdia / Sogdiana)" ''The History Files'', UK
Timurid civil wars
Conflicts in 1447
1447 in Asia