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Rustam Mirza (1381 – 1424/25) was a Timurid prince and a grandson of the
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n conqueror
Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...
by his eldest son
Umar Shaikh Mirza I Mu'iz-ud-din Umar Shaikh Mirza (1356 – February 1394) ( fa, عمر شیخ میرزا) was a member of the Timurid dynasty and a son of its founder, the Central Asian conqueror Timur. Known for being a skilled soldier, Umar Shaikh was one o ...
. Never ruling as an independent monarch, Rustam Mirza is primarily associated with his governance over the city of Isfahan, which he gained and lost multiple times in the power struggles following Timur's death.


Early life and background

Rustam was born in 1381 and was the only son of
Umar Shaikh Mirza I Mu'iz-ud-din Umar Shaikh Mirza (1356 – February 1394) ( fa, عمر شیخ میرزا) was a member of the Timurid dynasty and a son of its founder, the Central Asian conqueror Timur. Known for being a skilled soldier, Umar Shaikh was one o ...
by his wife, Qutlugh Tarkhan Agha. His father, the eldest of the four sons of
Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...
, died in 1394 when Rustam was about thirteen years old. Rustam later became involved in the military, being active during the final decade of his grandfather's life. When his half-brother Pir Muhammad earned Timur's ire, Rustam was given the former's position as governor of Fars. After his brother returned to their grandfather's good graces in 1402, Rustam was transferred to the rule of Isfahan.


Timurid wars

Following Timur's death in 1405, a power struggle erupted amongst his descendants, though the sons of Umar Shaikh were at least nominally now under the suzerainty of their uncle
Shah Rukh Shah Rukh or Shahrukh ( fa, شاهرخ, ''Šāhrokh'') (20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447. He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynas ...
. Rustam, still governor of Isfahan, allied himself with his cousin Umar, son of
Miran Shah Mirza Jalal-ud-din Miran Shah Beg (1366 – 20 April 1408), commonly known as Miran Shah ( fa, میران شاہ), was a son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire. During his father's reign, Miran Shah was init ...
. The two princes launched a campaign against Umar's brother Abu Bakr, successfully raiding his baggage train. In April 1406, they allied themselves with Rustam's brothers Pir Muhammad and Iskandar and launched a combined assault against Abu Bakr. However, the latter emerged victorious and pursued his relations, laying siege to Isfahan in June/July. Rustam, despite being in the city at the time, does not appear to have been involved in its defence, possibly due to being incapacitated as a result of illness. Instead, the resistance was led by one of the prince's close advisers,
Qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...
Ahmad Sa'idi, who managed to forestall Abu Bakr, resulting in the siege being abandoned. In 1406/07, Rustam gave refuge to a fugitive Iskandar, who had recently escaped incarceration by Pir Muhammad. Pir Muhammad attacked Isfahan, though upon failing to capture it, ravaged the surrounding lands by destroying crops, burning houses and breaking dams. In retribution for this assault, Rustam and Iskandar laid siege to Pir Muhammad's capital of
Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
, though they were similarly unsuccessful. Instead, they resolved to plunder eastern Fars, from Niriz to Darabjirdb, an act in which they were aided by some of their brother's renegade followers, including several governors. Angered, Pir Muhammad pursued the two princes, with the goal of launching another assault on Isfahan. However, Rustam and Iskandar had previously been forced to leave the city due to a plague epidemic. The two armies instead met near the meadow of
Gandoman Gandoman ( fa, گندمان, also Romanized as Gandomān; also known as Qal‘eh Ganduman and Qal‘eh-ye Gandomān (Persian: قَلعِۀ گَندُمان), both meaning "Fort Gandoman") is a city and capital of Gandoman District, in Borujen Cou ...
and in the ensuing battle, Rustam and Iskandar were defeated. The two fled east, with Rustam seeking refuge with Shah Rukh in
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 Safē ...
.


Later life and death

By 1412, Pir Muhammad had died and much of his former lands were now under the control of Iskandar. Rustam was invited to retake Isfahan by Qadi Ahmad Sa'idi, who had been governing the city for some years. However, as a result of intrigues among his
amir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
s, Rustam was soon convinced to have Sa'idi killed. The latter, along with his son, was invited to a feast celebrating
Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's com ...
, where both were assassinated. The city's population was angered by the murder and swiftly turned against the prince, inviting Iskandar to take control of the city. Though Rustam attempted to fight his brother, without the city's support he was unable to resist and was forced to flee once more. He first headed to
Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
to seek the aid of
Qara Yusuf ''Abu Nasr'' Qara Yusuf ibn Mohammad Barani ( az, Qara Yusif ; c. 1356 – 1420) was the ruler of the Qara Qoyunlu dynasty (or "Black Sheep Turkomans") from c.1388 to 1420, although his reign was interrupted by Tamerlane's invasion (1400–1405 ...
of the Qara Qoyunlu, though when this proved fruitless, he again returned to Shah Rukh in Herat. When Shah Rukh marched against Iskandar in 1414/15 after the latter revolted, Rustam and their other brother Bayqara accompanied their uncle in his baggage train. Upon Iskandar's defeat, control of Isfahan was returned to Rustam, as well as custody of his renegade brother, whom he subsequently had blinded. Rustam, more cautious than his brothers, proved himself to be faithful to Shah Rukh. When Iskandar once more rose in rebellion, now alongside Bayqara, in 1415, Rustam aided in its suppression by having the former executed. Later, he led his troops into modern-day
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
in support of his uncle against Qara Yusuf's son
Jahan Shah ''Muzaffar al-Din'' Jahan Shah ibn Yusuf (1397 in Khoy or 1405 in Mardin – 30 October or 11 November 1467 in Bingöl) ( fa, جهان شاه; az, Cahanşah ) was the leader of the Qara Qoyunlu Oghuz Turkic tribal confederacy in Azerbaijan and Ar ...
. Rustam died in 1424/25 and was followed in quick succession by two sons. However, Firuz Shah, Shah Rukh's supreme army commander, later had Rustam's followers expelled and instead transferred the rule of Isfahan to his own brother.


Family


Wives and concubines

*Makhdum Sultan: daughter of his cousin Pir Muhammad, later remarried to Rustam's brother Sayyid Ahmad *Sa'adat Sultan: daughter of Ghiyas ud-din Tarkhan *Dilshad Qipchaq *Isan Mughal *Bakht Sultan: daughter of Haji Khawaja Sirjaban


Issue

By Makhdum Sultan *Pir Muhammad: married Khurshid Biki, his maternal cousin; had issue *Sultan Jalal ud-din: married Bikijan Agha, a great-granddaughter of Rustam's brother Pir Muhammad; had issue By Sa'adat Sultan *Alim Shaikh *Sultan Ali (1404 – 1423); had issue By Dilshad Qipchaq *Usman (1399 – 1424/25); had issue *Ja'far By Isan Mughal *Muhammad Qachulay *Suyurghatmish By Bakht Sultan *Muhammad Sultan


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rustam Mirza Timurid dynasty 1381 births