Sultan Mahmud ibn Nizam al-Din Yahya
| Sultan Mahmud | |
|---|---|
| Malik of Mihrabanid dynasty | |
| Reign | c. 1495–c. 1537 |
| Predecessor | Shams al-Din Muhammad |
| Successor | Safavid rule |
| Born | Unknown Sistan |
| Died | c. 1537 Qazvin |
| House | Mihrabanid |
| Father | Nizam al-Din Yahya |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Sultan Mahmud (c. 1464 – c. 1543) was the last Mihrabanid malik of Sistan, from c. 1495 until c. 1537.
Sultan Mahmud was the son of Nizam al-Din Yahya and the sister of the Timurid Sultan Abu Sa'id.
Nizam al-Din Yahya had died in 1480, having lost most of Sistan to the Timurids; his territories were restricted to the mountainous region bordering Baluchistan. The inheritance fell to Sultan Mahmud's half-brother Shams al-Din Muhammad, but the latter quickly proved himself incapable of ruling; as a result Sultan Mahmud ended up assuming effective control of the government. He planned to recapture Sistan and marched on the capital Shahr-i Sistan, but was defeated by the Timurid army and nearly drowned while crossing the Helmand River.
A change in the Timurid leadership of Sistan, combined with local appeals for the Mihrabanids to return, prompted Sultan Mahmud and Shams al-Din Muhammad to try again to reconquer the province. This time they were successful, and the brothers moved into Shahr-i Sistan. The joint administration did not last for long, however, as the local lords and military commanders grew increasingly dissatisfied with Shams al-Din Muhammad. Eventually the latter was deposed and Sultan Mahmud was formally made malik.
In 1507 the Shaybanid Uzbek Muhammad Shaybani put an end to Timurid rule in Khursasan and occupied Herat. Muhammad Shaybani then sent an army under the command of his nephew Shah Mansur Bakhshi to take over Sistan. Sultan Mahmud, following the advice of his advisers, abandoned the capital and made his way to the borderlands near Makran, where it would be difficult for the Uzbeks to engage them. He spent the next two years there waiting for an opportunity to strike against the Uzbeks.
By the autumn of 1510 Sultan Mahmud judged it wise to mount an offensive; crossing the Helmand, his army was able to surprise and defeat the Uzbeks and their local allies. Shah Mansur Bakhshi was killed and the Mihrabanids were able to reoccupy Shahr-i Sistan. At approximately the same time, the Safavids had invaded Khursasan and defeated Muhammad Shaybani and his army. Sultan Mahmud decided to make his submission to the Safavid shah Isma'il and set out for Herat, where the shah was residing. He became a vassal of Isma'il, after which he was eventually allowed to return to Sistan.
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