Mohammad Khodabanda

Mohammad Khodabanda (also spelled Khodabandeh; , born 1532; died 1595 or 1596), was the fourth Safavid shah of Iran from 1578 until his overthrow in 1587 by his son Abbas I. Khodabanda had succeeded his brother, Ismail II. Khodabanda was the son of Shah Tahmasp I by a Turcoman mother, Sultanum Begum Mawsillu, and grandson of Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty. After the death of his father in 1576, Khodabanda was passed over in favour of his younger brother Ismail II. Khodabanda had an eye affliction that rendered him nearly blind, and so in accordance with Persian Royal culture could not contend for the throne. However, following Ismail II's short and bloody reign Khodabanda emerged as the only heir, and so with the backing of the Qizilbash tribes became Shah in 1578. Khodabanda's reign was marked by a continued weakness of the crown and tribal infighting as part of the second civil war of the Safavid era. An important figure in the early years of Khodabanda's reign was his wife Khayr Al-Nisa Begum, who helped secure her husband's reign. However her efforts to consolidate central power brought about opposition from the powerful Qizilbash tribes, who had her murdered in 1579. Khodabanda has been described as "a man of refined tastes but weak character". As a result, Khodabanda's reign was characterised by factionalism, with major tribes aligning themselves with Khodabanda's sons and future heirs. This internal chaos allowed foreign powers, especially the rivalling and neighboring Ottoman Empire, to make territorial gains, including the conquest of the old capital of Tabriz in 1585. Khodabanda was finally overthrown in a coup in favour of his son Shah Abbas I. Early life Born as Soltan-Mohammad Mirza in Tabriz, he was named titular governor of Herat at the age of four, shortly after the city was recovered from the Uzbeks in 1537. The real power was his lala (tutor-mentor), the Qizilbash amir Muhammad Sharaf al-Din Oghli Takkalu, who was responsible for the massive public works in the 1540s which brought irrigations complexes, gardens, shrines and other public buildings to Herat. These efforts met with the approbation of Shah Tahmasp, and attracted to the city poets, illustrators and calligraphers, with whom Soltan-Mohammad became acquainted.