Shah Muhammad (died 5 August 1433) was a 15th century

Qara Qoyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, Eng ...

prince, second son 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) ...

and a governor of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Early years

According to

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

historian

Ibn Taghribirdi Jamal al-Din Yusuf bin al-Amir Sayf al-Din Taghribirdi ( ar, جمال الدين يوسف بن الأمير سيف الدين تغري بردي), or Abū al-Maḥāsin Yūsuf ibn Taghrī-Birdī, or Ibn Taghribirdi (2 February 1411— 5 June 1470; ...

, he grew up in

Erbil Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. Hu ...

around Christian community.

Tenure

His tenure in

is considered as uneventful by historians. He was appointed to this post in 1410 or 1411 by his father. His son, Shah Ali was his subordinate ruling around

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

. After strengthening his position, he attacked

Shahrizor Shahrizor or Shahrazur () is a region part of Kurdistan Region, Iraq situated in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate and west of Avroman. Shahrizor is a fertile plain watered by the tributaries of Tandjaro river which flows to Diyala and Tigris rivers. ...

in 1413, ruled by Muhammad Sāru Turkman. After defeating him, he put Saru Turkman in Hit castle prison, while taking his family to Baghdad. He attacked

Shushtar Shushtar ( fa, شوشتر; also Romanized as Shūshtar and Shūstar and Shooshtar) is a city and capital of Shushtar County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately from Ahvaz, the centre of the province. ...

in June-July 1415 and defeated last remnants of

Jalayirids The Jalayirid Sultanate was a culturally Persianate, Mongol Jalayir dynasty which ruled over Iraq and western Persia after the breakup of the Mongol khanate of Persia in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p.3: ...

, but failed to end their reign elsewhere. He supported his father in his attacks against

Timurids The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Turco-Mongol empire ...

in 1414 but started to act independently in 1417, collecting his own taxes. He went as far as claiming his father went crazy in 1420, not supporting him against Shahrukh. Despite that he travelled to Nakhchivan at the time of his father's death, he didn't claim the sultanate, but instead supported

Qara Iskander Qara Iskandar ( az, قارا اسکندر, italic=no; ) ruled the Qara Qoyunlu or Black Sheep Turcoman tribe from 1420 to 1436. His struggles with the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh show that he was a brave leader, but he was not able to continue develo ...

in his struggle to throne. His son Shah Ali soon rebelled against him and Muhammad was soon deposed by his brother Ispend in 1421 and sent into exile to

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 ...

. Using Qara Qoyunlu infighting, Uvais II of

attacked and captured Baghdad for a while. Shah Muhammad reacted by attacking and recapturing the city on 3 May 1422, while Uvais was killed by Ispend. Ispend retreated to

Dujail Dujail ( ar, الدجيل; alternate spelling: Ad Dujayl) is a town in Saladin Governorate, Iraq. It is situated about north of Baghdad, and has approximately 100,000 inhabitants, who are mostly Shia. It was the site of the 1982 Dujail Massacre, ...

sometime, leaving Baghdad to Muhammad. But this time Shah Ali attacked and harassed Ispend. Ispend finally forced Shah Muhammad out of Baghdad on 9 April 1433.

Exile and death

He is reported to have visited

Kadhimiya Kadhimiya ( ar, ٱلْكَاظِمِيَّة, al-Kāẓimiyyah, ) or Kadhimayn (, ) is a northern neighbourhood of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It is about from the city's center, on the west bank of the Tigris. 'Kadhimiya' is also the name of on ...

with his second son Shah Budaq, gathering loyal forces to himself and later conquering

and

, presumably from his own son Shah Ali. Although he captured

Baqubah Baqubah ( ar, بَعْقُوبَة; BGN: Ba‘qūbah; also spelled Baquba and Baqouba) is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate. The city is located some to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. In 2003 it had an estimated populati ...

, he didn't manage to reconquer Baghdad. His army was routed by Ispend and he was again forced to seek support elsewhere. He was murdered on orders of Baba Haji Hamadani - governor of GaverudMuḥaddis̲, Mīr Hāshim (1982). Tārīkh-i Qizilbāshān istory of Qizilbashes(in Persian). Tehrān : Bihnām. p. 16 while his son Shah Ali fled to

Religion

Muhammad was described as 'a godless unbeliever', 'an atheist' and a convert to Christianity by

References

{{reflist 1433 deaths Government officials of the Qara Qoyunlu