Murad Beg (also Sultan Murad) was the last
sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
of the
Aq Qoyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu ( az, Ağqoyunlular , ) was a culturally Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two tribal confederations: Akkoyunlu (Wh ...
from 1497 to 1508. After losing his kingdom to the
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 ...
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 ...
(), he fled to
Diyar Bakr
Diyar Bakr ( ar, دِيَارُ بَكرٍ, Diyār Bakr, abode of Bakr) is the medieval Arabic name of the northernmost of the three provinces of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Mudar and Diyar Rabi'a. According to the m ...
, where he was eventually killed by Shah Ismail's
Qizilbash
Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, the ...
soldiers at the end of 1514.
Reign
Civil war in the Aq Qoyunlu realm
Born in 1483, he was a son of
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
Ya'qub Beg
Yaqub b. Uzun Hasan ( fa, یعقوب بن اوزون حسن) or Abū al-Muẓaffar Yaʿqūb Bahādur Ḫān, commonly known as Sultan Ya'qub ( fa, سلطان یعقوب; az, Sultan Yaqub ) was the ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu from 1478 until his deat ...
() and Gawhar-Sultan Khanum, the daughter of the
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 ...
Farrukh Yasar
Farrukh Yasar ( fa, فرخ یسار) was the last independent Shirvanshah of Shirvan (1465–1500). In 1500, the first Safavid ruler, Ismail I, decisively defeated and killed Farrukh Yasar during his conquest of the area. Descendants of Farrukh ...
(). Residing in
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 ...
, Sultan Murad (who was 7 years old at that time) was summoned by the rebel commanders Ayba-Sultan Bayandur and Qasim Beg Purnak, who wanted to make him the figurehead of their government. When the news reached the Aq Qoyunlu ruler
Ahmad Beg
Ahmad Göde or Gövde Ahmad ( az, Gödək Əhməd; fa, احمد گوده; tr, Göde Ahmed), born Sultanzade Ahmed and commonly known as Ahmad Beg or Sultan Ahmad, was a ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu.
Ahmad was a grandson of Uzun Hasan and Mehmed ...
(r. 1497), he raised a large army and marched towards the rebels. On 13–14 December 1497, a battle ensured near the city of
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
, where the forces of Ayba-Sultan Bayandur and Qasim Beg Purnak defeated the numerically superior army of Ahmad Beg, who was killed.
In the spring of 1498, while Ayba-Sultan was on his way to the capital
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 welcome Sultan Murad, he was met by opposition by his officers, whom he subsequently expelled. He then dislodged Sultan Murad's Shirvani escort, and had the latter imprisoned in a fortress 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 ...
. In order to strengthen his position more, Ayban-Sultan married Sultan Murad's mother. He now became the strongest person in the Aq Qoyunlu realm once again, and had
Alvand Beg
Alvand Mirza was a Aq Qoyunlu prince, who was a contender for the throne between 1497 and 1504/5.
Life
He was son of Yusuf Bayandur, who was the grandson of Uzun Hasan. In 1478 he was appointed as the governor of Shiraz. In 1498, Alvand was ent ...
enthroned in Tabriz. After Ayban-Sultan was killed in a battle in May–June 1499 with the Aq Qoyunlu prince Muhammadi, Sultan Murad was freed by Ayban-Sultan's brother Güzel Ahmad Bayandur (who govnered Maragha) and cousin Farrukhsad. Together, they fled to Qasim Beg Purnak in the southern Iranian region of
Fars. They subsequently deposed the
Afshar governor of the provincial capital
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
and installed Sultan Murad there.
War with Shah Ismail I
In the winter of 1502 or 1503, the
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 ...
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 ...
() contacted Sultan Murad, who was in control over Fars and
Persian Iraq
Persian Iraq, also uncommonly spelled Persian Irak ( fa, عراقِ عجم ''Erāq-e Ajam(i)''; ar, عراق العجم Irāq al-'Ajam'' or Irāq 'Ajami''), is a historical region of the western parts of Iran.
The region, originally known ...
, albeit mostly nominally. In reality, his governors ruled freely. The provinces were in disarray due to ceaseless war, famine, plague, and oppression by the Aq Qoyunlu dignitaries. Ismail reminded Sultan Murad of the common lineage that the Safavids and Aq Qoyunlu shared, and offered him part of Persian Iraq in exchange for compliance, or war would occur.
Although some of Murad's men advocated peace, the latter marched towards Ismail (whose army totalled 12,000) at head of 70,000 men, but was defeated near the city of
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 ...
on 21 June 1503, losing 10,000 men and his ''
amir al-umara'' (supreme commander) Güzel Ahmad. Ismail soon invaded Fars, capturing Shiraz on 24 September 1503 and entrusting it to Elyas Beg Dhu'l-Qadar, whose family would occupy the office for almost 50 years.
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 th ...
, Fars, and most of Persian Iraq was now under Safavid rule, while the Timurid rebel and ruler 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 appro ...
, Muhammad Husayn Mirza, had made an alliance with Ismail. Meanwhile, Murad fled to the city of
Mar'ash, and would later be killed in
Ruha
In Mandaeism, Rūha ( myz, ࡓࡅࡄࡀ, lit=spirit/breath; also known as Namrūs or Hiwat (Ewath; myz, ࡏࡅࡀࡕ)) is the queen of the World of Darkness (''alma ḏ-hšuka'') or underworld. She rules the underworld together with her son Ur ...
,
Diyar Bakr
Diyar Bakr ( ar, دِيَارُ بَكرٍ, Diyār Bakr, abode of Bakr) is the medieval Arabic name of the northernmost of the three provinces of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Mudar and Diyar Rabi'a. According to the m ...
by Shah Ismail's
Qizilbash
Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, the ...
soldiers at the end of 1514. In the words of the 16th-century Safavid chronicler Qazi Ahmad Qomi, after Sultan Murad's death "the line of the Aq Qoyunlu sultans was severed."
Offspring
Sultan Murad was survived by several of his offsprings. He had two sons with the daughter of Ala al-Dawla, Hasan and Ya'qub, but nothing is known about them. He also had a daughter, Jan Agha Khanum, who would eventually marry the Safavid governor-general 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 ...
and guardian of the Safavid prince
Abbas,
Ali-Qoli Khan Shamlu (died 1589).
References
Sources
*
*
*
{{Aq Qoyunlu leaders
Aq Qoyunlu rulers
15th-century monarchs in the Middle East
16th-century monarchs in the Middle East
1483 births
1514 deaths