View source for Mahmud Khan (Moghul Khan)

'''Sultan Mahmud Khan''' (died 1508) ({{lang-ug|محمود خان|}}), was Khan of [[Tashkent]] (1487–1502 or 1503) and of the Moghuls of western [[Moghulistan]] (1487–1508). He was the eldest son of [[Yunus Khan]]. He was born in 1462, his mother was Shah Begum, daughter of [[Badakhshan]] prince Lali ([[Sultan Muhammad (Badakhshan)|Shah Sultan Muhammad Badakhshi]]), who claimed his descent from [[Alexander the Great]] and gave one of his six daughters to Yunus Khan in marriage, pleasing his request.

Upon his father's death, Mahmud Khan succeeded him in Tashkent and western Moghulistan (present [[Kyrgyzstan]]), while his brother [[Ahmad Alaq]] had already taken control of eastern Moghulistan (present [[Xinjiang]], China)

Mahmud Khan had to defend Tashkent from the [[Timurids]] [[Sultan Ahmad]] of [[Samarkand]] and Omar Shaikh of [[Ferghana]], who resented the loss of the city to Yunus Khan a few years before. Mahmud Khan successfully thwarted their efforts to take Taskhent, and during his fight with Sultan Ahmad gained the defection of one of the men fighting under him, the [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] [[Muhammad Shaybani]]. As a reward to Muhammad Shaybani, Mahmud Khan  gave him land in [[Russian Turkestan]] in 1488 (which was named "[[Uzbekistan]]" and eventually evolved into the present country with that name). This move, however, upset the [[Khazak Horde|Khazaks]], who were enemies of the Uzbeks. Although the Moghuls were traditionally friends with the Khazaks, they went to war with each other, and Mahmud Khan  was defeated.

Mahmud Khan  maintained close and friendly relations with Dughlat Amir Muhammad Husain Mirza and gave his sister Khub Nigar Khanim in marriage to him in 1490, contracting an alliance. Their son was [[Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat]], famous historian and future ruler of [[Kashmir]], born in Tashkent in 1500.

In the meantime, both Sultan Ahmad and Omar Shaikh died in 1494; their brother [[Sultan Mahmud (Timurid)|Sultan Mahmud]] ruled Samarkand for a six months but he died as well and the city passed to his son Baysunkur. Mahmud Khan attempted to wrest Samarkand from Baysunkur, but the Timurids were victorious on the battlefield. Having failed to take [[Transoxiana]] himself, Mahmud Khan decided to support Muhammad Shaybani, whose forces sharply increased from 3,000 to 50,000. The Uzbeks took Samarkand in 1501, but soon turned against his Moghul supporters. With Muhammad Shaybani threatening Mahmud Khan, Ahmad Alaq came from the east and the two brothers advanced against the Uzbeks. They were, however, defeated in the [[Battle of Akhsi]], 1503 and taken prisoner. Muhammad Shaybani let them go but retained the Moghul soldiers and seized control of [[Tashkent]].

Shortly after the defeat, Ahmad Alaq died and his realm fell to his sons. Mahmud Khan invaded from the west with the remnants of his followers, but ignored the towns, settling in the steppes of Moghulistan. Here he lived a difficult life for five years, before deciding to present himself before Muhammad Shaybani, in the hope that he would show some favor to him. Muhammad Shaybani, however, had the khan and all of his five sons killed on the bank of [[Syr Darya]] river near [[Khujand]] in 1508.

{{S-start}}
{{S-bef | before=[[Yunus Khan]]}}
{{S-ttl | title=[[Chagatai Khans|Moghul Khan]] | years=1487–1508}}
{{S-aft | after=[[Mansur Khan (Moghul Khan)|Mansur Khan]] (in western Moghulistan)}}
{{End}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmud Khan}}
[[Category:1462 births]]
[[Category:1508 deaths]]
[[Category:Chagatai khans]]
[[Category:Uyghurs]]
[[Category:Descendants of Genghis Khan]]