Ulugh Beg II

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Ulugh Beg Mirza II
Timurid Mirza
Timurid Ruler of Kabul and Ghazni
Reign1469 – 1502
Predecessor Abu Sa'id Mirza
SuccessorAbdur Razaq Mirza
Timurid Governor of Kabul and Ghazni
Governorship1461 – 1469
Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza
BornUlugh Beg Mirza
Timurid Empire
Diedc. 1502
Timurid Empire Kabul
(Present-day Afghanistan)
Burial
Abdur Razaq Mausoleum, Ghazni
(Present-day Afghanistan)
Issue Abdur Razaq Mirza
Miran Shah Mirza
Biki Begum
Bibi Zarif
Names
Mughith-ud-din Ulugh Beg Mirza II bin Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza bin Sultan Muhammad Mirza bin Mirza Miran Shah bin Shuja-ud-din Muhammad Timur Barlas [1]
Regnal name
Ulugh Beg II
Dynasty Timurid Dynasty
Father Abu Sa'id Mirza
Religion Sunni Islam

Ulugh Beg Mirza II also known as Ulugh Beg Kabuli [2] (d. 1502) was the Ruler of the Timurid Empire of Kabul and Ghazni from 1469 to 1502. [3] he was the son of Abu Sa'id Mirza who was also the Ruler of Timurid Empire and Great-Grandson to the Timur who founded the Timurid Dynasty, his Nephew Babur founded Moghul Empire in South Asian Subcontinent in 1526 AD.

Contents

Reign

Born the fourth son of the Timurid Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza, Ulugh Beg was given the cities of Kabul and Ghazni by his father, governing first as a prince and then, after Abu Sa'id's death, as an independent monarch. [4] [5] His elder brothers, Ahmad Mirza and Mahmud Mirza, were given the rule of Samarqand and Badakhshan respectively, while another brother, Umar Shaikh Mirza, received Farghana. The latter became the father of Babur, who later founded the Mughal Empire. [4]

Ulugh Beg had a long and stable reign, [6] during which Kabul became a cultural centre. The discovery of a number of books from his library, including a copy of the Shahnameh , confirms the activity of a royal scriptorium during his reign. The elaborate frontispiece of one manuscript suggests that illuminators, calligraphers, and possibly painters were attached to Ulugh Beg's court. He also had a love of gardens, which was noted by his nephew Babur who had inherited this trait. The names of some of those he had commissioned have been recorded, such as the Bagh-e Behesht (Garden of Paradise) and the Bostan-Sara (Home of Orchards). [7]

During his reign, the Pashtun Yusufzai tribe first arrived in Kabul. Some traditions state that the group had lent their support to Ulugh Beg, who in turn highly favoured them. However, during the last quarter of the 15th century, relations between the tribe and the ruler became strained. Eventually, with the assistance of the Gugyani tribe, Ulugh Beg allegedly had many of the tribal leaders assassinated. [8] Orientalist Annette Beveridge records the following story regarding Ulugh Beg and the head of the Yusufzai, Malik Sulaiman: [9]

One day a wise man of the tribe, Shaikh Usman saw Sulaiman sitting with the young Mirza (Ulugh Beg) on his knee and warned him that the boy had the eyes of Yazid and would destroy him and his family as Yazid had destroyed that of the Prophet. Sulaiman paid him no attention and gave the Mirza his daughter in marriage. Subsequently, the Mirza, having invited the Yusufzai to Kabul, treacherously killed Sulaiman and 700 of his followers. They were killed at the place called Siyah-sang near Kabul; it is still known as the Grave of the Martyrs. Their tombs are revered and that of Shaikh Usman in particular.

Alternatively, another account states that after the Yusufzais migrated to Kabul, they resorted to banditry alongside a number of other tribes. This reached such an extent that Ulugh Beg subsequently had the group expelled from the region. [10]

Death and succession

Abdur Razaq Mausoleum, c. 1924 Ulugh Beg Mausoleum.jpg
Abdur Razaq Mausoleum, c.1924

Ulugh Beg died in 1502 and was likely buried in the Abdur Razaq Mausoleum in Ghazni. Though the tomb is named for his son, Abdur Razaq's short reign of only a year makes it unlikely that he had the opportunity to order its construction. It is instead more probable that the tomb was originally built by Ulugh Beg for his own use, with Abdur Razaq being interred in it later. [6] [11]

Abdur Razaq, who was still in his minority at the time of his father's death, was quickly usurped by one of his ministers. A tumultuous period followed, which only ended with Muhammad Mukim Arghun, Ulugh Beg's son-in-law, taking control of Kabul. [12] [13] Finally, Ulugh Beg's nephew Babur, seeing Muqim as a usurper, drove out the latter and captured the city for himself in 1504, pensioning off his cousin Abdur Razaq with an estate. It was from here that Babur later launched his invasion of the Indian subcontinent. [14] [15]

Issue

[18]

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References

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