Pir Muhammad

Pir Muhammad Mirza ( – 22 February 1407) was a Timurid prince and briefly succeeded as Amir of the Timurid Empire from 1405 to 1407, after the death of his grandfather Timur the Lame. He was the son of Jahangir Mirza who was the actual successor to the throne but had died before his father. Next in line was Umar Shaikh Mirza I but he too died. This left Timur with only two living sons: Shah Rukh, whom Timur considered too meek to rule, and Miran Shah, who suffered from both mental difficulties after a fall from his horse, and gout. Timur felt that neither of his sons were capable of ruling so he named Pir Muhammad as his successor. In the fall of 1397 he led the first wave of Timurids into India, and was invested with the rulership of Multan. However, none of Pir Muhammad's relatives supported him following Timur's death. He was unable to assume command in Samarkand. He went into battle twice against Khalil Sultan, his cousin and fellow claimant to the throne, but was defeated. He was allowed to remain in his lands. However, six months later he was murdered by his vizier Pir Ali Taz in 1407. Shah Rukh would eventually win the succession war.