'Abdullah Mirza (after 1410 – June 1451) was a short-lived ruler of the

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...

, which encompassed the territory shared by present-day

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, along with substantial areas of India,

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

and

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. As a member of the

Timurid dynasty The Timurid dynasty, self-designated as Gurkani (), was the ruling dynasty of the Timurid Empire (1370–1507). It was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim dynasty or Barlās clan of Turco-Mongol originB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of I ...

, Abdullah Mirza was a great-grandson of

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

, a grandson of

Shah Rukh Shah Rukh or Shahrukh Mirza (, ''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 dynasty in 1370 ...

and a son of Ibrahim Sultan.

Governor of Fars (1435-1447)

Abdullah Mirza was Governor of Fars from 1435 to 1447, succeeding to his father Ibrāhim b. Shāhrukh who had held the position from 1415-1435, after the first Timurid Governor of the region Iskandar Sulṭān b. ‘Umar Shaykh (1409-1415). Granted the governorship of Fars by his grandfather

, Abdullah Mirza found his position threatened by his cousin Sultan Muhammad during the 1447 succession crisis which followed Shah Rukh's death, and was forced to abandon the province. Weakened by these conflicts, western Iran was soon conquered first by the

Qara Qoyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu (, ; ), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, English Black Sheep, Turkmen tribal federation tha ...

under

Jahan Shah Muzaffar al-Din Jahan Shah ibn Yusuf (; ; 1397 in Khoy or 1405 in Mardin – 30 October or 11 November 1467 near Bingöl) or Abu al-Muzaffar Jahan Shah was the leader of the Qara Qoyunlu Oghuz Turkic tribal confederacy in Azerbaijan (Iran), Azer ...

circa 1452.

Art of the book

Various important works were created during the governorship of Abdullah Mirza in Shiraz, Fars: * ''Shahnama'' 1437, Shiraz (Leiden University Libraries, Or. 494) * ''Khamsa'' and ''Divan'' of Khwaju Kirmani, 1438, Shiraz (Sackler, S1986.34) * ''Tarikh-i Jahangushay'', 1438, Shiraz * ''Shahnama'' 1441, Shiraz. * ''Shahnama'', 1444, Shiraz * ''Khamsa'' of Nizami, 1443-46, Abarkuh near Shiraz (Princeton University, Ms. 77 G)

Timurid emperor (1450-51)

As a supporter of

Ulugh Beg Mīrzā Muhammad Tarāghāy bin Shāhrukh (; ), better known as Ulugh Beg (; 22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as well as an astronomer and mathematician. Ulugh Beg was notable for his work in astronomy-related ma ...

, Abdullah Mirza was imprisoned in 1450 by 'Abd al-Latif following the latter's rise to power. When 'Abd al-Latif was murdered, he was released and made ruler of

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

, for which he was forced to lavish money upon the troops that supported him. Despite this, he did not enjoy widespread popularity. During his relatively brief reign, a revolt created by Sultan Muhammad's brother Ala al-Dawla Mirza did not seriously threaten him, but a rising initiated by

Abu Sa'id Mirza Abu Sa'id Mirza ( Chagatay/; 14248 February 1469) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire during the mid-fifteenth century. Born a minor prince of the Timurid dynasty, Abu Sa'id quickly established himself as the most prominent among his warring re ...

, whose home base, at the time, was in

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

, proved to be fatal. Marching from

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

to Samarkand with the support of

Abu'l-Khayr Khan Abu'l-Khayr Khan (Turki/Cuman language, Kypchak and Persian language, Persian: ابو الخیر خان; –1468), also known as Bulgar Khan, was Khan (title), Khan of the Uzbek Khanate from 1428 to 1468, which united the nomadic Central Asian t ...

, Abu Sa'id Mirza defeated Abdullah Mirza and executed him in 1451, taking his place on the throne.

Sources

*Roemer, H. R. (1986). "The Successors of Timur". ''The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods.'' Ed. Peter Jackson. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press.

References

Timurid monarchs Timurid wars of succession Executed monarchs People from Fars province 15th-century births 1451 deaths 15th-century executions Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Date of death unknown {{Mirza-stub