Abdallah Mirza

Who was Abdallah Mirza?

‘Abdallah Mirza was a short-lived ruler of the Timurid Empire, which encompassed the territory shared by present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, along with substantial areas of India, Mesopotamia and Caucasus.

As a member of the Timurid dynasty, Abdallah Mirza was a great-grandson of Timur, a grandson of Shahrukh Mirza and a son of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza. Granted the governorship of Fars by his grandfather, Abdallah Mirza found his position threatened by his cousin Sultan Muhammad bin Baysonqor during the 1447 succession crisis which followed Shah Rukh's death, and was forced to abandon the province. As a supporter of Ulugh Beg, he was imprisoned 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, 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-ud-Daulah Mirza bin Baysonqor did not seriously threaten him, but a rising initiated by Abu Sa'id Mirza, whose home base, at the time, was in Bukhara, proved to be fatal. Marching from Tashkent to Samarkand with the support of the Uzbeks, Abu Sa'id Mirza defeated Abdallah Mirza and executed him in 1451, taking his place on the throne.