Muhammad Juki

Muhammad Juki Mirza (1402–1445) was a Timurid prince and a son of the Central Asian ruler Shah Rukh. He served as one of his father's military commanders and may have been favoured as his preferred successor. However, he died of illness in 1445, predeceasing Shah Rukh by two years.

Life Born on 27 April 1402, Muhammad Juki was the youngest of the three sons of Shah Rukh by his empress consort, Gawhar Shad. Somewhat younger than his full brothers Ulugh Beg and Baysunghur, Muhammad Juki also appears to have held a lower status.

He began his military career with his father's first campaign against the Qara Qoyunlu in Azerbaijan in 1420-21, during which he is recorded to have led troops. In later years, he played an important part in Shah Rukh's major military expeditions and seems to have been a common presence at court. He appears to have performed the role of a sort of troubleshooter, often being sent on special missions requiring status and finesse, such as dealing with difficult local rulers and frontier regions.

While his brothers received appointments as provincial governors at a young age, he was only given his first posting in 1429-30, over the region of Khuttalan. Gawhar Shad kept Muhammad Juki excluded from positions of power, refusing him any influence in the divan, something which was bestowed on Ala al-Dawla as well as his other nephew Abdal-Latif.

Flag in the name of Timurid prince Muhammad Juki, from a copy of the Shahnama of Firdawsi, probably Herat, c. 1440.

Muhammad Juki, suffering from a lingering illness which may have been exasperated by Gawhar Shad's hostility, died in Sarakhs in 1445, predeceasing his father. His governorships of Khuttalan and Balkh passed to his sons Abu Bakr and Muhammad Qasim respectively.

Family Wives and concubines Mihr Nigar Khanum: daughter of Shams-i-Jahan, Khan of the Chagatai Khanate Bakht Dawlat Bulghan Mughul Khanum: daughter of Edigu Taj al-Islam Khan: daughter of Qara Osman, ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu

Issue By Mihr Nigar Khanum Suyurghatmish Tukal Khanum By Bakht Dawlat Muhammad Qasim (b.1422) Abu Bakr (1427 – 1448?) Sa'adat Sultan By Bulghan Mughul Ali (1423 – 1424) Qutlugh Sultan Zubayda Sultan