Abu'l Ghazi Sultan Alqas Mirza ( fa, ابوالقاسم غازی سلطان القاص میرزا), better known as Alqas Mirza (; 15 March 1516 – 9 April 1550), was a

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

prince and the second son of king (

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

)

Ismail I Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...

(r. 1501–1524). In early 1546, with Ottoman help, he staged a revolt against his brother

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after t ...

(r. 1524–1576), who was king at the time.

Biography

Of the four sons that survived of Ismail I, Alqas was the second one. Sam Mirza was probably his full brother, while Bahram Mirza and (the future king) Tahmasp were brothers born by other mothers. In 1532/33, he was given the governorship of

Astarabad Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies app ...

by Tahmasp (by that time king), while Badr Khan Ustajlu was made his regent (''

lala Lala may refer to: Geography * Lala language (disambiguation) Places * Lala (Naples Metro), an underground metro station in Naples, Italy * Lala, Assam, a town in Assam, India * Lala, Ilam, a village in Ilam Province, Iran * Lala, Lanao del ...

''). In March 1538 Tahmasp I ordered Alqas with his regent to move against the rebel

Shirvanshah ''Shirvanshah'' ( fa, شروانشاه), also spelled as ''Shīrwān Shāh'' or ''Sharwān Shāh'', was the title of the rulers of Shirvan from the mid-9th century to the early 16th century. The title remained in a single family, the Yazidids, a ...

, and six months later he was appointed governor of

Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...

, where he remained for the next eight years. During the frequent Caucasian campaigns under Tahmasp's tenure, Alqas was ordered to attack the

Circassians The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia in ...

, who however defeated him. Afterwards, he was appointed governor of

Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is ...

(Darband). He started to openly revolt there, which included minting his own coins. Upon hearing of this, Tahmasp, at that time in a winter campaign in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, started to march upon Derbent. Alqas subsequently fled Derbent, to

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, while by early 1547, Tahmasp had already re-taken Derbent. As Crimea passed into Ottoman hands at that time, Alqas moved to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

by sea, arriving there towards the end of summer 1547. At Istanbul, he contacted the Ottoman sultan Suleiman, explaining his reason of departure from Iran, as well as his desire to return there as an Ottoman client. Upon hearing this, Suleiman hastily moved from

Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...

to meet the exiled Alqas, who promised strong Qizilbash support if Suleiman might help him, and he may have converted to

Sunnism Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Authority control 1516 births 1550 deaths Safavid princes Safavid generals Safavid governors of Astarabad Safavid governors of Derbent Safavid governors of Shirvan Iranian defectors Rebellions against Safavid Iran People executed by Safavid Iran 16th-century people of Safavid Iran

Biography

See also

References

Sources