and
Mughal empires A son of
Bahram Mirza (the youngest son of
Ismail I, the first
Safavid shah of
Iran), Soltan Hosayn Mirza had two brothers,
Ibrahim Mirza and
Badi-al Zaman Mirza. His date and place of birth are unknown, but he was older than Ibrahim. Contemporary chronicler
Hasan Beg Rumlu records that in 1553, during the
Ottoman–Safavid War, Soltan Hosayn fought the
Ottomans in
Kurdistan. The Safavid shah (Soltan Hosayn's uncle)
Tahmasp I, betrothed one of his daughters to him, though the two never married. In 1543,
Humayun, the
Mughal emperor, fled from
India to the court of Tahmasp I after losing his realm to
Sher Shah Suri, the founder of the
Sur Empire, and facing his brothers' rebellions. With the Safavid aid, he conquered the city of
Qandahar (now in modern-day
Afghanistan) in 1545, and then expelled the Safavid army, despite his previous promise to cede the city to the shah. Humayun's death in 1556 and the weakening of Mughal power in the region gave Tahmasp an opportunity to seize Qandahar in 1558. Soltan Hosayn, who played a major role in the conquest, was awarded with the governorship of the city. He also had control over
Zamindawar and
Garmsir. Tahmasp died in 1576 and was succeeded by his son,
Ismail II. According to Safavid astrologer
Jalal al-Din Yazdi (d. 1618), Soltan Hosayn declared himself the King of Qandahar, struck coins and had a (Friday sermon) to be read in his name when he heard the news of Tahmasp's death. Ismail put Ali-Qoli Mirza, one of the Soltan Hosayn's sons, under house arrest. In 1577, Soltan Hosayn suddenly died. Contemporary chronicles give different causes for his death;
Iskandar Beg Munshi (1561/62–1633/34) states it was from natural causes; Mirza Beg Junabadi (d. 1625/26) writes that Soltan Hosayn committed suicide when he was informed that Ismail had sent an assassin after him, and according to
Afushta'i Natanzi (), Soltan Hosayn was murdered by the agents of Badi-al Zaman Mirza, who wished to extend his power from his
appanage in
Sistan to Qandahar. Badi-al Zaman was later killed on Ismail's order and Qandahar was granted to Fulad Khalifa of the
Shamlu tribe, despite Soltan Hosayn's wish to pass his lands onto his sons. Ismail ordered Ali-Qoli Mirza to be
blinded, however he underwent so much pain that Ismail was forced to order his death. == Family ==