Abdallah Mirza is a great-grandson of Timur, a grandson of Shahrukh Mirza and a son of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza.
Granted the governorship of Fars by his grandfather, Abdallah Mirza had found his position threatened by his cousin Sultan Muhammad bin Baysonqor during the 1447 succession crisis which followed Shah Rukh's death, and was forced to abandon the province.
As a supporter of Ulugh Beg, he had been imprisoned by 'Abd al-Latif following the latter's rise to power.
When 'Abd al-Latif was murdered, Abdallah had been released and made ruler of Samarkand, for which he has been forced to lavish money upon the troops that support him.
Despite this, he does not enjoy widespread popularity.
During his relatively brief reign, a revolt created by Sultan Muhammad's brother Ala-ud-Daulah Mirza bin Baysonqor did not seriously threaten him, but a rising initiated by Abu Sa'id Mirza, whose home base, at the time, was in Bukhara, proves to be fatal.
Abū Saʿīd Mirza, the great-grandson of Timur, the grandson of Miran Shah, and the nephew of Ulugh Beg, is the grandfather of Babur, by his son Umar Sheikh Mirza, who will found of the Mughal Empire in South Asia.
As a young man, his ancestry makes him a principal in the century long struggle for the remnants of Timur's empire waged between Timur's descendants, the Black Sheep Turkmens, and the White Sheep Turkmens (1405–1510).
He had raised an army but failed to gain a foothold in Samarkand or Bukhara (1448–1449); establishing his base at Yasi, he had conquered much of Turkestan in 1450.
Marching from Tashkent in June 1451, he captures Samarkand with the aid of the Uzbek Turks under Abūl-Khayr Khān, thus securing rulership of the eastern part of Timur's Empire, Transoxiana.
Abu Sa'id Mirza executes Abdallah in 1451, taking his place on the throne, then quickly moves his forces into the city and locks the gates, leaving Abu'l-Khayr and the Uzbeks outside.
To avoid reprisal, Abu Sa'id presents the Uzbeks with many presents and riches.
