Sultan Mahmud Mirza (
Chagatai and ; 1453 – January 1495) was a
Timurid prince from the branch of
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
. He was the second son of
Abu Sa'id Mirza
Abu Sa'id Mirza ( Chagatay/; 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 prominent among his warring re ...
, the ruler of the
Timurid Empire
The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...
.
Biography
His father gave him the government of
Hisar and
Termez in 1459 (according to Babur ), but lost them to
Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara, who, according Babur, defeated him in two major battles: at Astarabad in 1459, and at Chikman (Sarai) near Andikhud around 1465, after which Mahmud Mirza retreated to Herat. His father restored him in 1466. His father then made an expedition to
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
in 1468, but was defeated in the winter of 1468 to 1469 and was taken prisoner and was executed on 5 February 1469.
Sultan Mahmud then marched on
Herat
Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in 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 (''Se ...
with the support of Qambar Ali Beg, Governor of Hisar, who had accompanied Abu Sa'id to Iraq and had returned. Mahmud entered that city with an army on 16 March, but when
Prince Husayn Baykara of another branch of the Timurids, who had the help of the Uzbeks, approached, he had to withdraw and Baykara proclaimed himself Sultan of Herat on 24 March 1469. Mahmud's brother
Sultan Ahmed Mirza, who had been proclaimed ruler of Samarkand, marched from the capital determined to reconquer Herat, but after a discussion with his brother Mahmud, who had arrived in Samarkand, withdrew. Then Amir Khusraw and Qambar Ali Shah, with the consent of Sultan Ahmed Mirza, took Mahmud to
Hisar to rule there and after 1497, he dominated the territories south of Quhqa (Quhlugha) from the Kohtin Mountains to the
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...
mountain range, including
Termez,
Chaghaniyan, Hisan,
Khuttalan,
Kunduz
Kunduz (; ; ) is a city in northern Afghanistan and the capital of Kunduz Province. The city has an estimated population of about 268,893 as of 2015, making it about the List of cities in Afghanistan, seventh largest city of Afghanistan, and the ...
and
Badakhshan.
In 1470, Sultan Mahmud Mirza of
Hisar and
Umar Shaikh Mirza II of Andijan (Fergana) allied to attack Samarkand but through the mediation of a religious leader they agreed to make peace. 1471 the hakim of Balkh, Ahmad Mushtak (or Mushtaq), known as Khoja Ahrar, revolted against
Sultan Husayn Baykara and Mahmud went to support the revolt in Balkh in person. Hussain Baykara besieged Balkh for four months. It is not known when Baykara recovered Balkh.
In 1479 his brother Mirza Abu Bakr died, and he took control of Badakhshan, Kunduz, Khuttalan and Caghaniyan. Upon the death of his other brother
Sultan Ahmed Mirza of Samarkand in the middle of July 1494, less than two months after the death of another brother,
Umar Shaikh Mirza II of Andijan and
Ferghana Valley (8 June 1494), Sultan Mahmud Mirza was presented to Samarkand and proclaimed Sultan, as his brother left no surviving sons. Sultan Mahmud Mirza ruled for six months, dying of disease in January 1495 aged 43. Within eight months, three brothers had died.
According to Babur, he had led two
holy wars against
Kafiristan, south of Badakhshan, and for this was called ''Sultan Mahmud Ghazi''. The emirs began to dispute power using the princes, the sons of Umar Shaykh (among whom the young famous
Babur, later founder of the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
) and the sons of Mahmud Mirza.
Death and aftermath
Sultan Mahmud Mirza died in 1495. His son
Baysonqor Mirza ascended the throne at Samarkand.
Family
Consorts
Mahmud had seven consorts:
*Khanzada Begum, daughter of Mir Buzurg of Termez;
*Pasha Begum, daughter of Ali Sher Beg, an amir of Kara Koyunlu, and widow of Muhammadi Mirza Aqqoyunlu;
*Khanzada Begum, granddaughter of Mir Buzurg, the daughter of a brother of Khanzada Begum;
*
Sultan Nigar Khanum, daughter of
Yunus Khan;
*Zuhreh Begi Agha, an Uzbek, and Mahmud's principle concubine;
*Mother of Rajab Sultan Begum;
*Mother of Mohib Sultan Begum;
Sons
He had five sons:
*Sultan Masud Mirza (son of Khanzada Begum)
*Baysonqor Mirza (son of Pasha Begum);
*
Sultan Ali Mirza (son of Zuhra Begi Agha);
*Husayn Mirza (died at the age of thirteen, son of the second Khanzada Begum);
*Sultan Ways Mirza known as Mirza Khan (son of Sultan Nigar Khanum);
Daughters
He had eleven daughters:
*Khanzada Begum, married firstly to
Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat, married secondly to Sayyid Muhammad Mirza (daughter of the second Khanzada Begum);
*Ak Begum (daughter of the second Khanzada Begum);
*Ai Begum, married to Jahangir Mirza, brother of Babur (daughter of the second Khanzada Begum);
*Bega Begum, married to Haider Mirza, son of
Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara (daughter of the second Khanzada Begum);
*
Zainab Sultan Begum, married to
Babur (daughter of the second Khanzada Begum);
*A daughter, married to Malik Muhammad Mirza, son of Manuchihr Mirza son of
Sultan Muhammad Mirza (daughter of Pasha Begum);
*Makhdum Sultan Begum (daughter of Zuhra Begi Agha);
*Rajab Sultan Begum (daughter of a concubine);
*Mohib Sultan Begum (daughter of a concubine);
*Two unnamed others daughters by Pasha Begum. It is possible that these are Saliha and Dildar Begum, two wives of Babur, but Saliha's existence and Dildar's ancestry are both a matter of debate.
Ancestry
References
History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volum 4, Unesco* ʻUbayd Allāh ibn Maḥmūd Aḥrār
The letters of Khwāja ʻUbayd Allāh Aḥrār and his associates* Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlt
A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia: The Tarikh-I-Rashidi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmud Mirza, Sultan
1450s births
1495 deaths
Timurid monarchs
15th-century monarchs in Asia
People from Samarkand