When
Abu Sa'id Mirza died, his much reduced
Timurid Empire was divided among four of his sons: •
Sultan Ahmed Mirza, King of
Samarkand,
Bukhara and
Hissar (or "Hisor," not to be confused with
Hissar, India) •
Umar Shaikh Mirza II, King of
Ferghana •
Sultan Mahmud Mirza, King of
Balkh •
Ulugh Beg Mirza II, King of
Kabul and
Ghazni Mirza Ulugh Beg, Babur's paternal uncle, the Timurid ruler of Kabul and Ghazni, had died in the year 1501 CE, leaving his son
Abdal-Razzak Mirza, who was still young, in charge of the country. But power was usurped by one of his ministers,
Shirim Zikr. A conspiracy, headed by
Muhammad Qasim Beg and
Yunis Ali, was formed against the minister which succeeded in killing him and capturing the seat of government. However, anarchy reigned in the region and the power vacuum was filled by one
Mukim Beg Arghun. He was the son of
Dhul-Nun Beg Arghun and brother of
Shah Beg Arghun. Mukim availing himself of this situation of things, marched without orders from the Garmsir, which he held for his father, who in turn served
Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara and appeared suddenly before
Kabul, which opened its gates.
Dhul-Nun Beg Arghun, without professing to approve of the proceedings of Mukim, sanctioned his retaining possession of his conquest.
Abdal-Razak Mirza had retired among the hills, and was still making ineffectual efforts for the recovery of his capital, when Babur himself escaping the Uzbek,
Shaybani Khan, entered the territories of
Khusroe Shah.
Shaybani Khan had conquered
Samarkand and
Bukhara,
Ferghana and
Uratippa,
Tashkent and
Shahrukhiya;
Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara governed
Khorasan;
Khusroe Shah still held
Hissar,
Khotlan,
Kunduz, and
Badakhshan; and
Dhul-Nun Beg Arghun, though he acknowledged
Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara, had almost independent power in
Kandahar and
Zamindawar,
Farah,
Nimruz,
Helmand, the Garmsir, and great part of
Sistan, and the country south of Kandahar. During
Babur's travels through
Khusroe Shah's territories, the Moghuls in Khusroe's service including his brother deserted him and joined Babur. With this army he marched on Kabul and besieged the city. ==Siege==