Filters:
Group: Samaria, Roman province of
People: Mohammed Khodabanda
Topic: Bunker Hill, Battle of
Location: Rimini Emilia-Romagna Italy

Mohammed Khodabanda

4th Safavid Shah of Persia
Years: 1532 - 1596

Mohammed Khodābande or Khudābanda, also known as Mohammed Shah or Sultan Mohammed(born 1532; died 1595/6; reigned 1578-1587), is the fourth Safavid Shah of Iran.

He is the son of Shah Tahmasp I by a Turcoman mother, Sultanum Bekum Mawsillu.

When his father dies in 1576 Mohammed is passed over in favor of his younger brother Ismail II because his poor eyesight renders him nearly blind.

On Ismail's death, the Qizilbash army factions choose Mohammed as the next shah for want of a better candidate.

Mohammed is gentle but weak-willed and his reign is marked by fighting among court factions and the Qizilbash.

This allows Iran's main enemy, the Ottoman Empire, to seize Iranian territory, including the major city of Tabriz.

Mohammed is finally overthrown in a coup and replaced by his son Shah Abbas I.