Shams al-Din 'Ali (born c. 1387; died 1438 or 1439) was the Mihrabanid

malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...

Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...

from 1419 until his death. He was the son of Qutb al-Din Muhammad.

Biography

During his father's lifetime, Shams al-Din 'Ali entered the service of the Timurid

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 ...

as a military commander. In 1414–15 he led the Mihrabanid army and assisted Shah Rukh's forces in putting down a rebellion in Fars. He was also active at home, putting down a revolt in northern Sistan against Mihrabanid authority. When Qutb al-Din died in February 1419 the Mihrabanids and the amirs of Sistan decided to proclaim Shams al-Din as his successor. Shams al-Din traveled to Shah Rukh's court and was confirmed as malik of Sistan. In 1420 the Timurid summoned him to assist in a campaign against 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 ...

Turkmen. Shah Rukh defeated the army of the Turkmen leader

Qara Iskander Qara Iskandar (; ) ruled the Qara Qoyunlu or Black Sheep Turkoman (ethnonym), Turcoman tribe from 1420 to 1436. His struggles with the Timurid dynasty, Timurid ruler Shah Rukh show that he was a brave leader, but he was not able to continue develo ...

and occupied

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

in 1421. Shams al-Din was named governor of

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

, a post which he held for two years. When he returned to Sistan, Shams al-Din vigorously worked to repair the damage caused by Shah Rukh's invasion of the province during Qutb al-Din's reign. In addition to building irrigation canals, he began the construction of a new city intended to serve as his capital at the end of 1422. Shams al-Din worked on this project for several years; in the midst of this he participated in Shah Rukh's 1434 campaign against the Qara Qoyunlu and returned two years later with builders, masons and carvers from Tabriz to assist in building the city.Bosworth, p. 459. The name of this city was B.r.k. or Mirak. At the same time, Shams al-Din's brother Shah Jalal al-Din became known for founding schools, charities and religious institutions, which drew several prominent scholars to Sistan. Shams al-Din died in 1438 or 1439 and was succeeded by his son Nizam al-Din Yahya.

Notes

References

*Bosworth, C.E. ''The History of the Saffarids of Sistan and the Maliks of Nimruz (247/861 to 949/1542-3)''. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 1994. *Roemer, H. R. "The Successors of Timur." ''The Cambridge History of Iran Volume 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods.'' Edited by Peter Jackson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shams al-Din Ali ibn Qutb al-Din Mihrabanids 1380s births 1430s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 14th-century Iranian people 15th-century Iranian people