Baysunghur (Aq Qoyunlu)

Baysunghur was the ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu from 1490 to 1493. He was the son and successor of Ya'qub Beg. He had little power during his short reign, serving as a figurehead, while real power was in possession of his tutor and commander Sufi Khalil Beg Mawsilu in 1490–1492, and then under another commander, Sulayman Beg Bijan in 1492–1493. Baysunghur was killed in 1493 by his cousin Rustam Beg, who succeeded him. Background and early life Baysunghur was the eldest son of the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Ya'qub Beg and Gawhar-Sultan Khanum, the daughter of the Shirvanshah Farrukh Yasar. During the reign of his father, Baysunghur was allocated the funds of the southern Iranian province of Fars, which had received a special status under the Aq Qoyunlu. Furthermore, he was also put under the guardianship of the Turkoman military officer Sufi Khalil Beg Mawsilu, who had been given the governorship of Fars in 1478. Ya'qub became severely ill and died in December 24, 1490 in Qarabagh. A number of scholars believe that he was poisoned by his wife. His death marked the start of the decline of the Aq Qoyunlu. Reign At the time of Ya'qub's death, Sufi Khalil found himself in a favourable position as the head of the political and military preponderance in the winter quarters of Qarabagh. Supported by his Mawsillu kinsmen, he persuaded the Bayandur and Miranshahi princes to install Baysunghur on the throne. Now de facto ruler of the realm, Sufi Khalil had Ya'qub's chief of staff, Mirza Ali ibn Sultan-Khalil, captured and executed. This action alienated the Bayandur and Miranshahi, which led them to revolt against Baysunghur and Sufi Khalil. A bloody battle subsequently ensured in the royal camp, which led to the elimination of the Bayandur princes and officers, including Ya'qub's brother Masih Mirza. Ya'qub's nephew Rustam Beg was captured and imprisoned in the Alinjaq castle near the city of Nakhjavan, while Mahmud ibn Ughurlu Muhammad managed to escape to the province of Arabian Iraq, which was under Purnak control. In order to further consolidate his rule, Sufi Khalil now went against the rest of the administration of Ya'qub, including the powerful bureaucrat Qazi Isa Savaji, whose reforms hurt the economic support that the Turkoman military leaders enjoyed.