Recognizing the weakness of Timurid authority in Herat, Jahan Shah of Kara Koyunlu invaded & took the city on June 28, 1458, which was then occupied by Ibrahim Mirza's father Ala al-Dawla Mirza.[2] But Abu Sa'id Mirza could not tolerate this occupation. After Jahan Shah had taken Herat, he was in a tough position and unable to keep it due to pressures from within his kingdom of Kara Koyunlu plus the increasing threat from Uzun Hasan of Aq Qoyunlu. He was obliged to negotiate the borders of his state with Abu Sa'id Mirza and after negotiations Jahan Shah decided to return territorial demarcation to Shah Rukh's times.[2] Thus, Khurasan, Mazandaran and Jurjan were returned to the Timurids and Abu Sa'id Mirza returned and took Herat a second time on December 22, 1458.[2]
While leaving the territory, however, the Turkmens ravaged Khurasan and when Abu Sa'id Mirza arrived to take Herat the people were frightened.[1] So in order to ease their fears, he sent back the major portion of his army towards Bukhara.[1] His rival claimants to the Kingdom of Samarkand, namely, Ala al-Dawla Mirza, his son Ibrahim Mirza and Sultan Sanjar Mirza seeing his position weakened decided to form an alliance and take this opportunity to destroy him once and for all.[1] They planned to meet at Sarakhs and from there move forward to attack Herat.[citation needed]
When Abu Sa'id Mirza received intelligence of this advance, he set out to meet this threat head on despite being numerically outnumbered and sent for reinforcements.[1]
Battle
The battle of Sarakhs was fought when the vanguard of Ala al-Dawla Mirza, Ibrahim Mirza and Sultan Sanjar Mirza appeared between Marv and Sarakhs.[1] Battle lines were drawn and a pitched battle ensued. Reinforcements arrived for Abu Sa'id Mirza at the right time under Amir Ali Farsi and Amir Syed Asil with the help of whom he defeated his enemies.[1] Amir Ali Farsi and Amir Syed Asil were sent in pursuit of Ala al-Dawla Mirza and Ibrahim Mirza, who had fled to Mazniyan whereas Sultan Sanjar Mirza was captured and was executed.[1]
Ibrahim Mirza died in 1460 and Ala al-Dawla Mirza died in 1461, ending all opposition to a sole Timurid ruler in Transoxiana.[1]
Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh, better known as Ulugh Beg, was a Timurid sultan, as well as an astronomer and mathematician.
Muzaffar al-Din Jahan Shah ibn Yusuf ) was the leader of the Qara Qoyunlu Oghuz Turkic tribal confederacy in Azerbaijan and Arran who reigned c. 1438 – 1467. During his reign he managed to expand the Qara Qoyunlu's territory to its largest extent, including Eastern Anatolia, most of present-day Iraq, central Iran, and even eventually Kerman. He also conquered neighbouring states. He was one of the greatest rulers of the Qara Qoyunlu. He was also allegedly fond of drinking and entertainment. During his reign Jahan Shah had the Gökmedrese and Muzafferiye theological schools constructed in his capital city Tabriz.
Sultan Husayn Bayqara Mirza was the Timurid ruler of Herat from 1469 until May 4, 1506, with a brief interruption in 1470.
‘Abdullah Mirza was a short-lived ruler of the Timurid Empire, which encompassed the territory shared by present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, along with substantial areas of India, Mesopotamia and Caucasus.
Ibrahim Mirza was a Timurid ruler of Herat in the fifteenth century. He was the son of Ala al-Dawla Mirza, a great-grandson of Timur.
Yadgar Muhammad Mirza was the Timurid ruler of Herat in opposition to Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqarah for 6 weeks of 1470.
Abu Sa'id Mirza was the ruler of the Timurid Empire during the mid-fifteenth century.
Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza, 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 of Amir Timur.
Badi' al-Zaman Mirza was a Timurid ruler of Herat from 1506 to 1507. He was the son of Husayn Bayqarah, who was a great-great-grandson of Timur.
The Battle of Qarabagh was fought on February 4, 1469, between Aq Qoyunlu under Uzun Hasan, and the Timurids of Samarkand under Abu Sa'id Mirza, resulting in the latter's defeat, imprisonment and execution. After the battle, the Timurids forever lost any hopes of gaining Iraq or Iran back into their kingdom.
With the death of Shah Rukh in 1447 began the long drawn out Second Timurid Succession Crisis. His only surviving heir was his son Ulugh Beg who was at that time viceroy of Central Asia at Samarkand. Gawhar Shad and Abdal-Latif Mirza were with Shah Rukh when he died on his way back to Khurasan from Iran. 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 in order to take Balkh from his nephews. Balkh belonged to Ulugh Beg's brother Muhammad Juki 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.
During the Second Timurid Succession Crisis, the sons of Baysunghur; Ala al-Dawla Mirza and Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza had acted in cognizance and blocked Abdal-Latif Mirza's chances of uniting with his father Ulugh Beg. Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza had taken Mazandaran and Jurjan whereas Ala al-Dawla Mirza had taken Mashad thereby surrounding Abdal-Latif Mirza at Nishapur. On April 20, 1447, Ala al-Dawla Mirza's army surprised and attacked the city of Nishapur. Abdal-Latif Mirza was defeated and imprisoned whereas, Gawhar Shad and the Tarkhans were freed. They then marched towards Sadabad, Nishapur where Ala al-Dawla Mirza met Gawhar Shad and together they marched with the army towards Herat. At Herat, Abdal-Latif Mirza was kept in the fort of Iktiyar-al-Din. The army of Khurasan now marched against Ulugh Beg towards Samarkand.
Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza, a Timurid ruler in Khorasan, invaded other parts of the region in the winter of 1448–1449 that were held by the Timurids of Samarkand, led by Ulugh Beg. Abdul-Qasim Babur Mirza was victorious and ruled over the area until his death in 1457.
While Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza was away from Herat crushing the revolt of Amir Hendugha in Asterabad, Ala al-Dawla Mirza, his older brother, managed to escape from prison in Herat and went straight to his youngest brother Sultan Muhammad Mirza's province of Fars seeking his protection. Sultan Muhammad Mirza and Ala al-Dawla Mirza then marched with a large army and invaded Khurasan in 1449. This was the same time as the revolt of Abdal-Latif Mirza in Balkh against his father Ulugh Beg at Samarkand. While the father and son were busy facing off at the Amu Darya in the north, the Baysonqor brothers were about to engage in battle in Khurasan. Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza marched to face his brothers in battle and the two armies met at Farhadgerd. Sultan Muhammad Mirza and Ala al-Dawla Mirza defeated Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza who fled to the castle of Omad. Sultan Muhammad Mirza entered Herat and freed Ibrahim Mirza son of Ala al-Dawla Mirza. Abdal-Latif Mirza, who before the battle had sent an envoy to Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza professing peace during his revolt against his father Ulugh Beg, now congratulated Sultan Muhammad Mirza in taking Herat. But Sultan Muhammad Mirza was saddened by Ulugh Beg's defeat at Dimishq and his murder en route to Makkah by his son; however, he decided not to pursue a war in Transoxiana and instead wanted to concentrate on his holdings in Iraq-i-Ajam, Fars and now Khurasan as well.
Abu Sa'id Mirza occupied Herat on July 19, 1457. But he had to immediately abandon the city in order to deal with the Balkh revolt by the sons of Abdal-Latif Mirza, one of whom he killed in battle while the other Juki Mirza escaped to the steppes in the north under the protection of Abul-Khayr Khan, the Khan of the Uzbek principality of Tura, a part of the empire of Desht-i Kipchak region that lies to the east of Ural mountains.
Sultan Mahmud Mirza was a prince of Timurid branch of Transoxiana, son of Abu Sa'id Mirza.
Rukn-ud-din Ala al-Dawla Mirza, also spelt Ala ud-Dawla and Ala ud-Daula, 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 ensuing succession struggle. Though he initially possessed a strategic advantage, he was eventually overtaken by his more successful rivals. Ala al-Dawla died in exile after numerous failed attempts to gain the throne.
Muhammad Juki Mirza 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 in 1445, predeceasing Shah Rukh by two years.
Abu Bakr Tihrani was an Iranian secretary, who served under the Timurid, Qara Qoyunlu, and Aq Qoyunlu dynasties in the 15th century. Initially serving in the provincial divan of the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh, Tihrani shifted his allegiance to the rising Qara Qoyunlu leader Jahan Shah, whom he accompanied in his campaigns. However, with the downfall of the Qara Qoyunlu and the rise of the Aq Qoyunlu leader Uzun Hasan, Tihrani eventually joined the latter in April 1469, becoming one of his close companions. He played an influential role in the correspondence of the Aq Qoyunlu, and also became their court historian, composing the Kitab-i Diyarbakriyya in 1473/4, the main account of the Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu. The last mention of Tihrani is in 1481; he probably died not longer after.
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