Baysonqor Mirza
Timurid ruler of Samarkand (1495–1497), son of Sultan Mahmud Mirza; lost his throne in the struggle with Babur and his brother Sultan Ali, was killed at Hisar, and wrote ghazals under the pen name Adili.
- Occupation:
- Historical figure, Politician, Writer
- Nickname:
- Adili
- Born:
- 1477 — August 17, 1499
- Father:
- Sulton Mahmud Mirzo
Biography
Baysonqor Mirza was born in 1477 into the Timurid dynasty, a son of Sultan Mahmud Mirza and a grandson of Abu Sa’id Mirza. His father first gave him Bukhara to govern.
After his father died in 1495 the nobles of Samarkand made him ruler of the city. His reign (1495–1497) was turbulent: in that year he repelled an attack on Samarkand by the Moghul khan Mahmud, and in 1496 he had to fight for power against his brother Sultan Ali Mirza, to whom Bukhara later passed.
In 1497 Babur took Samarkand after a siege of about seven months, and Baysonqor fled to Hisar, to Khusrau Shah. Khusrau Shah, who had at first backed him, withdrew his support after unsuccessful attempts to recapture Samarkand.
On 17 August 1499, at the crossing of the Aubaj river near Hisar, Baysonqor Mirza was strangled with a bowstring on Khusrau Shah’s orders.
He also wrote poetry under the pen name Adili. Babur noted in his memoirs that the mirza composed well and that his ghazals were so widespread in Samarkand that few houses were without them.
Career
Life path
- 1477Birth
Born into the family of Sultan Mahmud Mirza of the Timurid dynasty.
- before 1495Governor of Bukhara
His father gave him Bukhara to govern.
- 1495Accession in Samarkand
After his father’s death he was made ruler and repelled the Moghul khan Mahmud’s attack on the city.
- 1496Struggle with Sultan Ali Mirza
Had to defend his power against his brother.
- 1497Loss of Samarkand
Babur took Samarkand after a siege of about seven months; Baysonqor fled to Hisar.
- 1497–1499At Hisar with Khusrau Shah
Tried to recover Samarkand, but Khusrau Shah ceased to back him.
- 1499Death
Killed near Hisar on 17 August on Khusrau Shah’s orders.
Legacy
Baysonqor Mirza took part in the struggles for the throne in the last decades of Timurid rule in Transoxiana: his defeat led to Samarkand passing to Babur. His poetry is known mainly from Babur’s testimony that his ghazals were widely circulated in Samarkand.
Era: Last years of Timurid rule in Transoxiana, late 15th century- Death of Sultan Mahmud Mirza; Baysonqor takes power in Samarkand (1495)
- Babur besieges and takes Samarkand (1497)
- Baysonqor Mirza killed at Hisar (1499)
