Sultan Mahmud ibn Nizam al-Din Yahya
Encyclopedia
Sultan Mahmud was the last Mihrabanid malik
of Sistan
, from c. 1495 until c. 1537.
and the sister of the Timurid
Sultan Abu Sa'id
.
Nizam al-Din Yahya had died in 1480, having lost most of Sistan to the Timurids; his territories were restricted to the mountainous region bordering Baluchistan
. The inheritance fell to Sultan Mahmud's half-brother Shams al-Din Muhammad
, but the latter quickly proved himself incapable of ruling; as a result Sultan Mahmud ended up assuming effective control of the government. He planned to recapture Sistan and marched on the capital Shahr-i Sistan
, but was defeated by the Timurid army and nearly drowned while crossing the Helmand River
.
A change in the Timurid leadership of Sistan, combined with local appeals for the Mihrabanids to return, prompted Sultan Mahmud and Shams al-Din Muhammad to try again to reconquer the province. This time they were successful, and the brothers moved into Shahr-i Sistan. The joint administration did not last for long, however, as the local lords and military commanders grew increasingly dissatisfied with Shams al-Din Muhammad. Eventually the latter was deposed and Sultan Mahmud was formally made malik.
Muhammad Shaybani
put an end to Timurid rule in Khursasan and occupied Herat
. Muhammad Shaybani then sent an army under the command of his nephew Shah Mansur Bakhshi to take over Sistan. Sultan Mahmud, following the advice of his advisers, abandoned the capital and made his way to the borderlands near Makran
, where it would be difficult for the Uzbeks to engage them. He spent the next two years there waiting for an opportunity to strike against the Uzbeks.
By the autumn of 1510 Sultan Mahmud judged it wise to mount an offensive; crossing the Helmand, his army was able to surprise and defeat the Uzbeks and their local allies. Shah Mansur Bakhshi was killed and the Mihrabanids were able to reoccupy Shahr-i Sistan. At approximately the same time, the Safavids had invaded Khursasan and defeated Muhammad Shaybani and his army. Sultan Mahmud decided to make his submission to the Safavid shah Isma'il
and set out for Herat, where the shah was residing. He became a vassal of Isma'il, after which he was eventually allowed to return to Sistan.
As a Safavid vassal, Sultan Mahmud was required to initiate the use of the Shi'a rites in Sistan, a move that was deeply unpopular in the traditionally Sunni province. He also had to accept the presence of a Qizilbash army in Sistan, and of a wakil, or representative of the shah, named Mir Pir Quli. The wakil remained in Sistan for ten years. During this time Sultan Mahmud moved out of Shahr-i Sistan and set himself up in the fortress of Taraqun. A program to repair several other fortresses in the province was also begun.
By c. 1537 the Safavid shah Tahmasp
decided to gain fuller control over Sistan. He sent a wakil to the province and gave him direct control over four districts. Sultan Mahmud disliked these changes and abandoned Sistan for India
, where he was received by the Mughal Emperor Humayun
and given the governorship of Lahore
for five years. At the end of this time he returned to Iran
and spent a year at the court of the Safavid Shah in Qazvin
, where he died in around 1543. Although there were members of the Mihrabanid family that survived him, Sistan was henceforth controlled by Safavid wakils.
Malik
Malik is an Arabic word meaning "king, chieftain".It has been adopted in various other, mainly Islamized or Arabized, Asian languages for their ruling princes and to render kings elsewhere. It is also sometimes used in derived meanings...
of Sistan
Sistan
Sīstān is a border region in eastern Iran , southwestern Afghanistan and northern tip of Southwestern Pakistan .-Etymology:...
, from c. 1495 until c. 1537.
Biography
sultan Mahmud was the son of Nizam al-Din YahyaNizam al-Din Yahya
Nizam al-Din Yahya was the Mihrabanid malik of Sistan from 1438/9 until his death. He was the son of Shams al-Din 'Ali.-Biography:...
and the sister of the Timurid
Timurid Dynasty
The Timurids , self-designated Gurkānī , were a Persianate, Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol descent whose empire included the whole of Iran, modern Afghanistan, and modern Uzbekistan, as well as large parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the...
Sultan Abu Sa'id
Abu Sa'id (Timurid dynasty)
Abū Saʿīd b. Muḥammad b. Mīrānshāh b. Timūr , was a Timurid Empire ruler in what is today parts of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Afghanistan and member of the Timurid dynasty....
.
Nizam al-Din Yahya had died in 1480, having lost most of Sistan to the Timurids; his territories were restricted to the mountainous region bordering Baluchistan
Balochistan (region)
Balochistan or Baluchistan is an arid, mountainous region in the Iranian plateau in Southwest Asia; it includes part of southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and southwestern Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch tribes, Iranian peoples who moved into the area from the west...
. The inheritance fell to Sultan Mahmud's half-brother Shams al-Din Muhammad
Shams al-Din Muhammad
Shams al-Din Muhammad was the Mihrabanid malik of Sistan from 1480 until around the end of the 15th century. He was the eldest son of Nizam al-Din Yahya.-Biography:...
, but the latter quickly proved himself incapable of ruling; as a result Sultan Mahmud ended up assuming effective control of the government. He planned to recapture Sistan and marched on the capital Shahr-i Sistan
Zaranj
Zaranj or Zarang is a border town in south-western Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 49,851 people as of 2004. It is the capital of Nimruz province and is situated next to Milak, Iran. It is linked by highways with Lashkar Gah to the east, Farah to the north and Zabol in Iran to the...
, but was defeated by the Timurid army and nearly drowned while crossing the Helmand River
Helmand River
The Helmand River is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primarily watershed for the endorheic Sistan Basin....
.
A change in the Timurid leadership of Sistan, combined with local appeals for the Mihrabanids to return, prompted Sultan Mahmud and Shams al-Din Muhammad to try again to reconquer the province. This time they were successful, and the brothers moved into Shahr-i Sistan. The joint administration did not last for long, however, as the local lords and military commanders grew increasingly dissatisfied with Shams al-Din Muhammad. Eventually the latter was deposed and Sultan Mahmud was formally made malik.
Relations with the Uzbeks and Safavids
In 1507 the Shaybanid UzbekUzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
Muhammad Shaybani
Muhammad Shaybani
Abu 'I-Fath Muhammad , known in later centuries as Shaybani Khan , was a khan of the Uzbeks who continued consolidating various Uzbek tribes and laid foundations for their ascendance in Transoxiana. of Genghis Khan through his grandson Shayban and considered the Timurids as usurpers of the...
put an end to Timurid rule in Khursasan and occupied Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
. Muhammad Shaybani then sent an army under the command of his nephew Shah Mansur Bakhshi to take over Sistan. Sultan Mahmud, following the advice of his advisers, abandoned the capital and made his way to the borderlands near Makran
Makran
The present day Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh, Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The present day Makran derived its name from Maka, a satrap of Achaemenid Empire....
, where it would be difficult for the Uzbeks to engage them. He spent the next two years there waiting for an opportunity to strike against the Uzbeks.
By the autumn of 1510 Sultan Mahmud judged it wise to mount an offensive; crossing the Helmand, his army was able to surprise and defeat the Uzbeks and their local allies. Shah Mansur Bakhshi was killed and the Mihrabanids were able to reoccupy Shahr-i Sistan. At approximately the same time, the Safavids had invaded Khursasan and defeated Muhammad Shaybani and his army. Sultan Mahmud decided to make his submission to the Safavid shah Isma'il
Ismail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
and set out for Herat, where the shah was residing. He became a vassal of Isma'il, after which he was eventually allowed to return to Sistan.
As a Safavid vassal, Sultan Mahmud was required to initiate the use of the Shi'a rites in Sistan, a move that was deeply unpopular in the traditionally Sunni province. He also had to accept the presence of a Qizilbash army in Sistan, and of a wakil, or representative of the shah, named Mir Pir Quli. The wakil remained in Sistan for ten years. During this time Sultan Mahmud moved out of Shahr-i Sistan and set himself up in the fortress of Taraqun. A program to repair several other fortresses in the province was also begun.
Last Years
Local discontent with the Qizilbash and Mir Pir Quli prompted Sultan Mahmud to bribe them to abandon Sistan for the border regions; as a result Safavid influence over Sistan was temporarily lessened. By this time, however, the malik had become tired of ruling. He attempted to transfer power to his son-in-law Malik Yahya but this move failed, and the deaths of several Mihrabanid family members left him without anyone to succeed him. Eventually he gave over effective control of the government to a man of unknown connection with the Mihrabanid family, Amir Muhammad-i Mahmud, and gave himself up to a life of pleasure in Taraqun. These events contributed to a weakening of the central government: robbers became a problem and at least one local official revolted against Mihrabanid rule.By c. 1537 the Safavid shah Tahmasp
Tahmasp
Tahmasp is the name of two Safavid shahs of Persia:*Tahmasp I *Tahmasp II...
decided to gain fuller control over Sistan. He sent a wakil to the province and gave him direct control over four districts. Sultan Mahmud disliked these changes and abandoned Sistan for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where he was received by the Mughal Emperor Humayun
Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...
and given the governorship of Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
for five years. At the end of this time he returned to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and spent a year at the court of the Safavid Shah in Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
, where he died in around 1543. Although there were members of the Mihrabanid family that survived him, Sistan was henceforth controlled by Safavid wakils.