Principality of Fergana

Last updated
Principality of Fergana
1469–1503
Timurid States 1496 AD.png
Timurid states in 1496 AD
Capital Fergana
Official languages Chagatai Turkic
Religion
Islam
GovernmentMonarchy
Emir  
 1469–1494
Umar Shaikh Mirza II
 1494–1497
Babur
 1497–1504
Jahangir Mirza II
History 
 Established
8 February 1469
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Blank.png Timurid Empire
Uzbek Khanate Blank.png

The Principality of Fergana was a Timurid principality in Transoxiana (now Uzbekistan) based in the city of Fergana. The principality was ruled by Umar Shaikh Mirza II, and his sons, Babur and Jahangir Mirza II.

Contents

The principality was established following the death of Abu Sa'id Mirza and the division of his empire among his sons. Umar Shaikh's line ruled the principality for more than three decades from 1469 to 1504.

History

Umar Shaikh

Abu Sa'id Mirza had re-united the Timurid Empire with the help of the Uzbek chief Abu'l-Khayr Khan, following its first division in 1449. However, he was killed by the White Sheep Turkomen and the Timurid Empire was divided once again in 1469. Umar Shaikh received Fergana upon the division of the Timurid Empire in 1469. Umar Shaikh died in a freak accident in Aksi fort, North Fergana, on 10 June 1494. It occurred when he was in his dovecote, which was built at the edge of the building, collapsed, thus making eleven-year-old Babur the ruler of Fergana. [1]

Babur

In 1494, eleven-year-old Babur became the ruler of Fergana, in present-day Uzbekistan, after Umar Sheikh Mirza died "while tending pigeons in an ill-constructed dovecote that toppled into the ravine below the palace". [2] During this time, two of his uncles from the neighbouring kingdoms, who were hostile to his father, and a group of nobles who wanted his younger brother Jahangir to be the ruler, threatened his succession to the throne. [3] His uncles were relentless in their attempts to dislodge him from this position as well as from many of his other territorial possessions to come. [4] Babur was able to secure his throne mainly because of help from his maternal grandmother, Aisan Daulat Begum, although there was also some luck involved. [3]

Most territories around his kingdom were ruled by his relatives, who were descendants of either Timur or Genghis Khan, and were constantly in conflict. [3] At that time, rival princes were fighting over the city of Samarkand to the west. In 1497, he besieged Samarkand for seven months before eventually gaining control over it. [5] He was fifteen years old and for him the campaign was a huge achievement. [3] Babur was able to hold the city despite desertions in his army, but he later fell seriously ill.

Jahangir

Meanwhile, a rebellion back home, approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) away, amongst nobles who favoured his brother, made Jahangir Mirza II the ruler of Fergana. [5] As Babur was marching to recover it, he lost Samarkand to a rival prince, leaving him with neither. [3] He tried to reclaim Fergana, but lost the battle there and, escaping with a small band of followers, he wandered the mountains of central Asia and took refuge with hill tribes. By 1502, he had resigned all hopes of recovering Fergana; he was left with nothing and was forced to try his luck elsewhere. [6] [7] The principality was lost to the Uzbeks in 1504.

List of emirs

PortraitNameReign
Umar Shaykh Mirza, 1875-1900.jpg Umar Shaikh Mirza II 1469–1494
Idealized portrait of Babur (1483-1530) in Persian style, painted circa 1605-1615 in India (British Museum 1921,1011,0.3).jpg Babur 1494–1497
Jahangir Mirza II 1497–1503

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References

Citations

References

  1. Abraham Eraly (17 September 2007). Emperors Of The Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Moghuls. Penguin Books Limited. p. 18. ISBN   978-93-5118-093-7.
  2. "Babur, the first Moghul emperor: Wine and tulips in Kabul". The Economist. 16 December 2010. pp. 80–82. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Eraly 2007, pp. 18–20.
  4. Lal, Ruby (2005). Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World. Cambridge University Press. p. 69. ISBN   0-521-85022-3. It was over these possessions, provinces controlled by uncles, or cousins of varying degrees, that Babur fought with close and distant relatives for much of his life.
  5. 1 2 Ewans, Martin (2002). Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics . HarperCollins. pp.  26–27. ISBN   0-06-050508-7. Babur, while still in his teens, conceived the ambition of conquering Samarkand. In 1497, after a seven months' siege, he took the city, but his supporters gradually deserted him and Ferghana was taken from him in his absence. Within a few months he was compelled to retire from Samarkand ... Eventually he retook Samarkand, but was again forced out, this time by an Usbek leader, Shaibani Khan ... Babur decided in 1504 to trek over the Hindu Kush to Kabul, where the current ruler promptly retreated to Kandahar and left him in undisputed control of the city.
  6. Mahajan, V.D. (2007). History of medieval India (10th ed.). New Delhi: S Chand. pp. 428–29. ISBN   978-81-219-0364-6.
  7. Eraly 2007, pp. 21–23.