Jahan Shah

Early life Jahan Shah was the son of Qara Yusuf. He had several brothers, some of whom ruled the Qara Qoyunlu before him: Pirbudag (r. 1411–1418), Ispend bin Yusuf, Iskander (r. 1421–1429, 1431–1436), Abu Said (r. 1430). Jahan Shah was sent to retake Soltaniyeh and Qazvin just before his father's death.

During the reign of Qara Iskander

Around 1420 Jahan Shah was traditionally said to have married a daughter of Alexios IV of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene. In this account, part of the agreement was that Alexius would continue paying to the Qara Qoyunlu the tribute that Trebizond had formerly paid to Timur. During the reign of his brother Qara Iskander (1420–36), as a potential rival to the throne, Jahan Shah's life was not safe and he took refuge with his other brother Ispend who was ruling Baghdad. In 1436 he obtained the help of the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh to defeat Qara Iskander and seize the throne for himself. Having been helped to power by Shah Rukh he ruled at first as a vassal of the Timurids. He was also adopted by Goharshad Begum and crowned on 19 April 1438, along with taking the epithet "Muzaffar al-Din".

Campaigns against Georgia In 1440, King Alexander I of Georgia refused to pay tribute to Jahan Shah. In March Jahan Shah responded by invading Georgia with 20,000 troops, destroyed the city of Samshvilde and sacked Tbilisi before returning to Tabriz. He was accompanied by Shaykh Ibrahim, father of future Shaykh Junayd. He also mounted a second military expedition against Georgia in 1444. His forces met those of Alexander's successor, King Vakhtang IV at Akhaltsikhe, but the fighting was inconclusive and Jahan Shah returned to Tabriz once more.

Conquest of Baghdad Jahan Shah's brother Ispend, who had ruled over Baghdad and its environs for twelve years, died in 1445 and he bequeathed the government of the state to his nephew Alvand Mirza since his son Fulad Mirza was too young at the time. However most of the emirs preferred Fulad. He decided to organise a military expedition against Baghdad with the backing of some of the emirs, who had sought refuge with him. After a siege of seven months, Baghdad was captured on 9 June 1446. However, he retook lands he lost from Mirza Babur.

In 1452–1453, Jahan Shah seized the opportunity of the death of Sultan Muhammad bin Baysonqor, Timurid Governor of Fars, to further expand East and South, taking Savah, Qumm, Isfahan, Shiraz and Yazd. He was seconded by his son Pīr Būdāq, who became governor of Shiraz.

In the summer of 1458, Jahan Shah advanced as far as Herat, leading to the occupation of Herat for six months, but finally had to turn back because of a revolt by his son Hasan Ali and also because Abu Said's march on Tabriz.

Hasan Ali was kept in Maku prison for a while for his rebellious nature. He was defeated in winter 1458. Pirbudag later rebelled and was joined by Hasan Ali in Fars. Pirbudag was spared after the intervention of his mother, Khatun Jan Baygum, and was replaced in Shiraz by Diyaʾ al-Din Yusuf, another son of Jahan Shah. Pirbudag was sent to govern Baghdad, while Qasim Beg was assigned to Kerman and Hasan Ali was imprisoned again. However, Pirbudag again rebelled, now controlling Baghdad. He was defeated in 1464 and was executed by Mirza Muhammad.

Conflict with the Aq Qoyunlu Conflict with Jahangir

From around 1447 Jahan Shah was involved in a struggle against the Ak Koyunlu who had always been sworn enemies of the Qara Qoyunlu. First of these battles happened when Alvand Mirza rebelled and fled to Jahangir, chief of Ak Koyunlu. Jahan Shah demanded his rebellious nephew, but Jahangir refused to hand him over. Jahan Shah invaded Erzincan and sent his commander – Rustem beg to subdue Jahangir. Hopeless Jahangir sent his mother Sara Khatun to Mamluk Egypt while Jahan Shah started to support his half-brother Sheikh Hasan. While Sheikh Hasan was killed by Uzun Hasan, brother of Jahangir; Jahan Shah hastened to offer peace to the Ak Koyunlu in return for their submission. Jahangir accepted and also wed his daughter to Mirza Muhammad.

Conflict with Uzun Hasan Uzun Hasan did not acknowledge his elder brother's submission and rebelled against him, capturing Amid in 1457. Jahangir fled to Jahan Shah. Uzun Hasan was also supported by Safavids, their leader Shaykh Junayd being brother-in-law to Uzun Hasan. Junayd had earlier been displaced as head of the Safavid order, with Jahan Shah's backing, by his uncle Shaykh Jafar.

Jahan Shah set out from Tabriz with a great army on 16 May 1466, and came to the basin of Lake Van. While there, he was furious to learn that Uzun Hasan was raiding his lands with 12,000 cavalry. Meanwhile, Uzun Hasan, suspecting that Jahan Shah was planning to attack him, had carefully guarded the mountain passes. Envoys went back and forth between them, but because of Jahan Shah's heavy demands, an agreement could not be reached. Having advanced as far as Muş, Jahan Shah had to postpone his attack because of the onset of winter. As his troops began to complain, he decided to withdraw to a winter residence. Uzun Hasan caught his army by surprise and totally defeated them in a sudden attack. Mirza Yusuf and Mirza Muhammad were captured on 30 October or 11 November 1467 at the Battle of Chapakchur. Jahan Shah was killed in battle while fleeing, and with his death the great era of Qara Qoyunlu history came to an end. He was succeeded by his son Hasan Ali. Jahan Shah was buried in the southern part of the Blue Mosque, Tabriz.

Legacy

In the year 1462, Abd al-Razzaq described Jahan-shah's rule in the following terms: "Owing to the benevolent administration (husn-i 'inayat va lutf-i atifat) of Mirza Jahan-shah, Azarbaijan was a highly thriving state. That well-meaning sovereign was anxious to practice justice, to secure prosperity of the country, and to treat his subjects honourably. The capital, Tabriz, by its numerous population and the prevalence of tranquility, emulated Egypt (misr-i jami). The rumours of the good behaviour of that felicitous king spread throughout the world. The inhabitants of his God-protected kingdom, indifferent to the arrows of events, enjoyed peace".

Jahan Shah, along with being a poet, promoted culture, learning and architecture. Using the pseudonym Haqiqi, Jahan Shah wrote poetry in Azerbaijani Turkic and Persian. In 1447 a daughter of Jahan Shah married Na'im al-Din Ni'matullah II, a fifth-generation descendant of the famous mystic Shah Nimatullah Vali.

Architecture Jahan Shah is known for several architectural contributions through western Iran. The Northern Iwan of Darb-e Imam is attributed to him. He commissioned and dedicated the monument in 1453, two years after conquering the city. The gate is considered as "a masterpiece of tile decoration", and "among the finest specimens of such work in Persia".

Jahanshah is also known for renovation work on the Eastern entrance iwan of the Jameh Mosque of Yazd in 1457. The portal has a central dedication in the name of Jahanshah: "the structure of this lofty arch (taf) was restored during the reign of . . . Abu'l-Muzaffar Sultan Jahanshah, Nizam al Dawlah wa'l-Din al-Hajj Qanbar, in Dhu'l-Hijjah 861." It is thought that the contribution was specifically related to the muqarnas of the portal.

The Blue Mosque in Tabriz was started through a foundation established by the wife of Jahanshah, Khatun Jan Baygum. The mosque was completed in 1465, but the mausoleum extension south of the mosque was completed later during the reign of the Āq Qoyunlu, into the 1480s CE. Hasan Ali's mother was another, unnamed wife; Khatun Jan is described in the chronicles as Hasan Ali's stepmother. although Kuršanskis treats the identification as uncertain.

Sons Contemporary depiction of Pir Budaq, son of Jahan Shah, as Governor of Shiraz. Shiraz miniature, Pirbudag – governor of Isfahan and Fars, then Baghdad. Killed by Mirza Muhammad. Hasan Ali – succeeded his father. Muhammadi Mirza (also Mirza Muhammad) – son-in-law to Jahangir Beg, captured at the Battle of Chapakchur in 1467 and executed. Mirza Yusuf – captured at the Battle of Chapakchur in 1467 and blinded. Executed by Ughurlu Muhammad on 22 October 1469. Abu'l-Qasim Mirza (Qasim Beg) Farrukhzad Mirza Diyaʾ al-Din Yusuf – governor of Shiraz from 1460 to 1464; he was succeeded there by Mirza Yusuf.

Daughters

Saliha Khatun Habiba Khatun Dawlat Sultan – named in a 1471 waqf record as the sister of Mirza Yusuf. Tutuq 'Ismat, married to Sultan Muhammad, Timurid ruler An unnamed daughter married Na'im al-Din ibn Habib al-Din ibn Burhan al-Din ibn Ni'matullah, a descendant of Nimatullah Vali.

References and notes