Bahram Mirza () 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, governor of

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

, Gilan and

Hamadan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') ( Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ha ...

. He is also known to be a calligrapher, painter, poet, musician and patron of arts.

Life

He was born in 1517 to

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 ...

and his Turcoman wife

Tajlu Khanum Tajlu Khanum ( fa, تاجلو خانم) or Tajli Begum (), also known by her title of Shah-Begi Khanum (), was a Turkoman princess from the Mawsillu tribe and principal consort of Ismail I. Family While Italian writer Angiolello and Irania ...

in meadows of Surluq near

Maragha Maragheh ( fa, مراغه, Marāgheh or ''Marāgha''; az, ماراغا ) is a city and capital of Maragheh County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Maragheh is on the bank of the river Sufi Chay. The population consists mostly of Iranian Azerb ...

, a place Ismail loved to spend time as his youngest son. He was a full brother of future shah

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 ...

. His public service started in 1530 when he was just 13 years old by an appointment to Khorasan governorate with Ghazi Khan Takalu as his guardian or ''lala'' with capital province of

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

. This experience proved very hard for the young prince as he had to face Ubaydullah Khan of

Shaybanids The Shibanids or Shaybanids ( fa, سلسله شیبانیان) or more accurately the Abu'l-Khayrid-Shibanids were a Persianized''Introduction: The Turko-Persian tradition'', Robert L. Canfield, Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective, ed. Robert L. ...

. However, as soon as Ubaydullah retreated, Tahmasp arrived in Khorasan in 1533 to fight against Uzbeks. Bahram accompanied his brother in central flank in the battle near

Jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

. However, since Takalu contingents fled from the battle, governorship of Khorasan was revoked from Ghazi Khan Takalu and Bahram Mirza by Tahmasp, who granted it to another brother Sam Mirza. He participated in Ottoman-Safavid war with

Alqas Mirza 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 prince and the second son of king (shah) Ismail I (r. 1501–1524). ...

in 1534 where he proved his military valour. After a while, he was named governor of Gilan by Tahmasp who planned to annex lands of Karkiya Hasan (father of

Khan Ahmad Khan Khan Ahmad Khan ( Gilaki/ fa, خان احمد خان), was the last king of the Karkiya dynasty in Gilan, ruling from 1538 to 1592. In 1591, the Safavid shah Shah Abbas (r. 1588–1629) asked Khan Ahmad Khan's daughter Yakhan Begum to marry his ...

). However, he couldn't manage to impose central authority and fled to

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...

after a while. According to Colin Mitchell, this led to disapproval of his brother. His next appointment was to governorate of

in 1546. This was also the place where he started to support many artists including

Dust Muhammad Dust Muhammad (or Doust Muhammad) was a Persian painter of miniatures, calligrapher, and art historian, active from about 1510 to 1564. Later in life he worked in India. Early career Dust Muhammad was born in Herat in the late 15th century, alth ...

, Rustam Ali (nephew of

Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād (c. 1455/60 – 1535), also known as Kamal al-din Bihzad or Kamaleddin Behzād ( fa, کمال‌الدین بهزاد), was a Persian painter and head of the Persian miniature#Artists and technique, royal ateliers in Herat ...

) and

Budaq Monshi Qazvini Budaq Monshi Qazvini ( fa, دال منشی قزوینی), was a Persian composer of the ''Jawaher al-akbar'', a general history of a considerable part of the Persianate realm, and representative of the Safavid financial cabinet during the reign of ...

. He joined yet another war later, this time against his half-brother Alqas who was supporter by

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. However, Alqas sacked Hamadan while capturing Bahram's family too. It was Bahram who obtained surrender of Alqas in 1549 in

Marivan Mariwan ( fa, مريوان; ) also known as Qale Marīvān - "Fort Marivan"; formerly, Dezhe Shahpur (Persian: دِژ شاهپور), also Romanized as Dezhe Shāhpūr and Dezhe Shapoor) is a town in – and the capital of – Marivan Cou ...

. He died on 11 October 1549.

Family

Bahram's only known wife was Zaynab Sultan Khanum, sister of certain Imaduddin Shirvani. She was the mother of his son, Ibrahim Mirza. She died at Qazvin in October 1570, and was buried in Mashhad. Had at least three sons: * Hussayn Mirza (d. 1576) — Governor of

Sistan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan (N ...

(1555-1557),

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

(1557-1576),

Zamindawar Zamindawar is a historical region of Afghanistan. It is a very large and fertile valley the main sources for irrigation is the Helmand River. Zamindawar is located in the greater territory of northern Helmand Province, Helmand and encompasses the ap ...

and

Garmsir Garmsir ( ps, ګرمسير; from Persian گرمسیر, meaning "hot place") is the center of Garmsir District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is situated on the eastern bank of the Helmand River on at 714 m altitude and 63 km southwest ...

(1558-1566) *

Ibrahim Mirza Prince Ibrahim Mirza, Solṭān Ebrāhīm Mīrzā, in full Abu'l Fat'h Sultan Ibrahim Mirza ( fa, ابوالفتح سلطان ابراهیم میرزا) (April 1540 – 23 February 1577) was a Persian prince of the Safavid dynasty, who was a favo ...

— Governor of

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...

(1555-1562/1565-1567),

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

(1562), Qa’en (1562-1565),

Sabzawar Sabzwār ( fa, سبزوار) is a town and the center of the Sabzwar District, Herat Province, Afghanistan. It is located at at 1,066 m altitude on the Harut River. The Sabzwar Air Base is located about 15 miles northeast of the town. S ...

(1567-1574), Grand Master of Ceremonies (1574-1577) and Keeper of the Royal Real (Mohrdār) (1576-1577) *

Badi-al Zaman Mirza Safavi Badi-al Zaman Mirza Safavi was a Safavid prince, who was the son of prominent military leader Bahram Mirza Safavi, who was the youngest son of Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid empire. Badi-al Zaman had two brothers named Ibrahim Mirza and Su ...

— Governor of

(1558-1577)

Life

Family

References

Further reading