Abd al-Aziz Khan
Shaybanid khan of Bukhara (1540–1550), son of Ubaydullah Khan, who reduced some taxes, founded a madrasa and a library, and wrote ghazals under the pen name Azizi.
- Occupation:
- Historical figure, Politician, Writer
- Real name:
- Abd al-Aziz Sultan ibn Ubayd Allah Khan
- Stage name:
- Azizi
- Born:
- c. 1513 — 1550
- Father:
- Ubaydullah Khan
Biography
Abd al-Aziz Khan was a member of the Shaybanid dynasty and the eldest son of Ubaydullah Khan. Sources give his year of birth variously, from 1511 to 1514; 1513 is the one most often taken. There is no agreement on his birthplace either: some sources name Bukhara, while the National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan names the Arquq locality in the Turkestan region. His mother was a daughter of one of the Kazakh sultans.
As a young man he took part in his father’s campaigns. In 1526–1527 he was appointed governor of Astarabad, fought in Khorasan, and in 1529 was in battle against the army of the Persian shah Tahmasp. After the conquest of Khwarazm in 1538 he governed Urgench, but when Din Muhammad Sultan arrived from Khorasan with his forces he had to withdraw to Bukhara.
After Ubaydullah Khan died in 1540, the Shaybanid state fell into dual rule: Abd al-Aziz reigned in Bukhara and Abd al-Latif Khan, the son of Kuchkunji Khan, in Samarkand. Abd al-Aziz did not recognise Abd al-Latif’s authority, and the dispute was settled by the Juybari shaykhs. He remained khan in Bukhara until 1550.
During his reign, with an eye to the welfare of his subjects, he abolished or reduced some taxes and tried to carry out economic reforms. In Bukhara he had a madrasa, a large library and the Taq-i Sarrafan with the neighbouring guzar mosque built, and the Magok-i Attari Mosque repaired; at the Baha al-Din Naqshband complex he built a two-storey khanqah (1544) and fenced the saint’s tomb with a walled enclosure. He began a new defensive wall around Bukhara, which Abdullah Khan II later finished. He kept up relations with the Ottoman Empire and China: in 1547 his envoys reached the court of the Ming emperor.
Abd al-Aziz was a patron of scholars and poets, a deeply devout man and a disciple of the Sufi shaykh Jalal (died 1549). He was known for his fine calligraphy and wrote ghazals in Turkic under the pen name Azizi. His library was reckoned among the largest and richest in the Near and Middle East.
Abd al-Aziz died in Bukhara in 1550 (sources give 14 or 16 May) and was buried beside his father in the Mir-i Arab Madrasa in Bukhara.
Career
Life path
- c. 1511–1514Birth
Born into the family of Ubaydullah Khan; sources differ on the year and place.
- 1526–1527Governor of Astarabad
Appointed governor of Astarabad after his father Ubaydullah Khan took the city.
- 1529Battle in Khorasan
Took part in his father’s campaigns in Khorasan, including a battle against the army of the Persian shah Tahmasp.
- 1538Governor of Khwarazm
Governed Urgench after the conquest of Khwarazm; returned to Bukhara when Din Muhammad Sultan’s forces arrived.
- 1540Accession in Bukhara
Became khan in Bukhara after his father’s death, while Abd al-Latif Khan ruled in Samarkand and the state fell into dual rule.
- 1544Khanqah at the Naqshband complex
Built a two-storey khanqah at the Naqshband shrine and enclosed the tomb.
- 1547Envoys to China
His envoys reached the court of the Ming emperor.
- 1550Death
Died in Bukhara and was buried beside his father in the Mir-i Arab Madrasa.
Legacy
Abd al-Aziz reigned in Bukhara for about ten years amid dual rule, eased taxation, built madrasas, mosques and a khanqah, and began a defensive wall around the city. A patron of scholars and poets, he wrote ghazals himself under the pen name Azizi, and his library was counted among the largest in the East.
Era: Shaybanid period, mid-16th century- Dual rule in the Shaybanid state: Abd al-Aziz in Bukhara, Abd al-Latif in Samarkand (1540)
- Abd al-Aziz’s envoys reach the court of the Ming emperor (1547)