Battle of Sarakhs (1459)

Battle of Sarakhs

Khurasan Province in Iran where the battle took place

Date	March, 1459
Location	Sarakhs, Khurasan, Iran
Result	Decisive Timurids of Samarkand Victory

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

Battle of Sarakhs took place in March 1459, at a location between Merv and Sarakhs.

It was fought between the Timurids of Samarkand under Abu Sa'id Mirza and the confederacy of his rivals to Central Asian throne, the Timurids of Khurasan and Marv, namely; Ala-ud-Daulah Mirza bin Baysonqor, his son Ibrahim Mirza bin Ala-ud-Daulah and Sultan Sanjar Mirza.

Recognizing the weakness of Timurid authority in Herat, Jahan Shah of Kara Koyunlu invaded & took the city on June 28, 1458, which was then occupied by Ibrahim Mirza bin Ala-ud-Daulah's father Ala-ud-Daulah Mirza bin Baysonqor. But Abu Sa'id Mirza could not tolerate this occupation. After Jahan Shah had taken Herat he was in a tough position and unable to keep it due to pressures from within his kingdom of Kara Koyunlu plus the increasing threat from Uzun Hasan of Aq Qoyunlu. He was obliged to negotiate the borders of his state with Abu Sa'id Mirza and after negotiations Jahan Shah decided to return territorial demarcation to Shahrukh Mirza's times. Thus, Khurasan, Mazandaran and Jurjan were returned to the Timurids and Abu Sa'id Mirza returned and took Herat a second time on December 22, 1458.