Shamkhal Sultan

Shamkhal Sultan, was an important Kumyk noble of the second half of the 16th century in the Safavid Empire.

Biography Family Shamkhal Sultan, alongside his sister Sultan-Agha Khanum, was from a prominent Dagestan-origin Kumyk Shamkhal family from within the Safavid Empire. Sultan-Agha Khanum was married to king Tahmasp I, having a daughter known as Pari Khan Khanum, and a son known as Suleiman Mirza.

Career Shamkhal Sultan appears prominently on the political scene at the same time as his niece, Pari Khan Khanum, who was the daughter of his sister Sultan-Agha Khanum and king Tahmasp I. He participated actively in Pari Khan Khanum's political designs and acted for a time as her spokesman, and during their presence, the Safavid political sphere was dominated by ethnic Circassians, amongst the other factions that joined Shamkhal Sultan and his cousin. He was executed shortly after his niece's own assassination in 1578.