Umar Shaikh Mirza II (; 1456–1494) was the Timurid ruler of the

Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...

. He was the fourth 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 emperor 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 ...

in what is now

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

and eastern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. His first wife and chief consort was Qutlugh Nigar Khanum, a princess of the

Chagatai Khanate The Chagatai Khanate, also known as the Chagatai Ulus, was a Mongol and later Turkification, Turkicized khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan, and his descendants and successors. At its height in the l ...

and daughter of

Yunus Khan Yunus Khan (b. 1416 – d. 1487) ( Chagatai and Persian: یونس خان), was Khan of Moghulistan from 1462 until his death in 1487. He is identified by many historians with Ḥājjī `Ali (, Pinyin: ''Hazhi Ali''; Chagatai and Persian ...

Moghulistan Moghulistan, also called the Moghul Khanate or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, was a Muslims, Muslim, Mongol, and later Turkic peoples, Turkic breakaway khanate of the Chagatai Khanate and a historical geographic area north of the Tian Shan, Teng ...

. Umar Shaikh had two other wives and had three sons and five daughters from his wives. His eldest son was Babur Mirza from his wife Qutlugh Nigar Khanum. His sons from this other two wives were Jahangir Mirza II and Nasir Mirza. His eldest son Babur Mirza founded 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 ...

in 1526 and was the first Mughal Emperor of India. Umar Shaikh died in a freak accident in Aksi fort, North Fergana, on 10 June 1494. It occurred when he was in his

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...

, which was built at the edge of the building, collapsed, thus making eleven-year-old Babur the ruler of Fergana. His son Babur describes him as a devout Muslim who never neglected the 5 daily prayers.

Family

His mother

Umar Shaikh's mother was not explicitly named in any historical sources, including the ''

Baburnama The ''Bāburnāma'' (; ) is the memoirs of Babur, Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur (1483–1530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur. It is written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as ''Türki'' "Turkic ...

'', his son

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

's autobiography. This was somewhat unusual, as Babur provided the maternal ancestry for many of his prominent relatives. However, Babur did refer multiple times to a certain Shah Sultan Begum (d. 1501) in a way that suggested she was Umar Shaikh's mother. This identification is one that is used by historians. Shah Sultan Begum's own background was never stated. However, Khwand Amir, the

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

of Babur's uncle Sultan Mahmud, referred to Umar Shaikh as "the own younger brother" of Mahmud and Sultan Ahmed. If this wording were interpreted to say that they were full brothers, this would mean that Shah Sultan Begum was mother to all three rulers, and thus the daughter of Aurdu-Bugha Tarkhan

Arghun Arghun Khan ( Mongolian Cyrillic: Аргун; Traditional Mongolian: ; c. 1258 – 10 March 1291) was the fourth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate division, from 1284 to 1291. He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a de ...

, who is known to have been Ahmad and Mahmud's maternal grandfather.

Consorts

He had a total of seven consorts: * Qutlugh Nigar Khanum (m.1475), daughter of

and Aisan Daulat Begum; *Ulus Agha (div.), daughter of Khwaja Hussein Beg; *Fatima Sultan Agha, daughter of one of the begs of Mogul Tumans; *Makhdum Sultan Begum, known as Karaguz Begum; *Umid Aghacha, a concubine who died before Mirza; *Yun Sultan Aghacha, a Moghul concubine; *Agha Sultan Aghacha, another concubine;

Children

;Sons He had three sons: *

- with Qutlugh Nigar Khanum; * Jahangir Mirza II (1485 - 1508) - with Fatima Sultan Agha; * Nasir Mirza (1487 - 1515) - with Umid Aghacha ;Daughters He had six daughters: *A stillborn daughter - with Ulus Agha; * Khanzada Begum (1478 - 1545) - with Qutlugh Nigar Khanum; *Mihr Banu Begum (born 1481) - with Umid Aghacha; *Shahr Banu Begum (1491 - 1542) - with Umid Aghacha, married to Junaid Barlas; *Yadgar Sultan Begum (born 1494) - with Agha Sultan Aghacha, married to Abdul Latif Sultan, son of Hamza Sultan; *Rukaiya Sultan Begum (1494 - 1528) - with Makhdum Sultan Begum, married to Jani Beg Sultan

Death

Umar died on 10 June 1494 at age 37 after the building which he was in collapsed. He was succeeded by his son, Babur.

Notes

References

*{{cite web , quote=On the occasion of the birth of Babar Padishah (the son of Omar Shaikh) , url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/rash1.html , title=Mirza Muhammad Haidar , publisher=

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, work=Silk Road Seattle , access-date=2006-11-07 People from Samarkand Timurid monarchs 1456 births 1494 deaths