Abdullah Khan II Uzbek khan from the Sheybanid dynasty. Country: Uzbekistan

Biography of Abdullah Khan II

Abdullah Khan II was an Uzbek khan from the Shaybanid dynasty. He was born in 1533 or 1534 in the town of Afarinkent, in the Samarkand region, to the Shaybanid Iskander, son of Janibek, son of Khodji Muhammad, son of Abulhair Khan. After the death of Shaybanid Abdulaziz Khan, a struggle for the throne ensued. Abdullatif Khan, who ruled in Samarkand, placed his two grandsons, Shayban Khan Yar-Muhammad Sultan and Burhan Sultan, on the throne in Bukhara. However, after Abdullatif Khan's death in 1551, Barak Khan, who ruled Tashkent, took over Samarkand and established himself as Nauruz Ahmad Khan. He was proclaimed the supreme khan of the Uzbeks. Abdullah Sultan, a representative of the side branch of the Shaybanids and the ruler of Kermin at the time, led a struggle against him. He was aided by his uncle, the ruler of Balkh, Pir Muhammad Khan. In 1556, Nauruz Ahmad, who indulged in unrestrained drunkenness, died during one of his riots. After his death, Pir Muhammad Khan was proclaimed the supreme ruler. In 1557, Abdullah Sultan, with the help of Sufi sheikhs, seized Bukhara and became its ruler. In 1561, he became bold enough to proclaim his father Iskander as the supreme khan of all Uzbeks, who previously ruled Kermin and Miankale. Abdullah's father was an ordinary and non-militant man, more occupied with religious rituals, so he entrusted the governance of the state to his son Abdullah Sultan. Abdullah set himself the goal of uniting all four estates of the Shaybanids - Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Balkh - into a single state. This took many years. Only by 1582, he managed to recreate the unified state of the Shaybanids. He had to wage a long war against the Tashkent possessions - the sons of Nauruz Ahmad - Baba Khan and Dervish Bek. He suffered several defeats in this war, but eventually prevailed. He then subjugated Fergana and, after a long siege, took Balkh in 1573. In 1574, his possessions were joined by Shahrisabz, Karshi, and Hisar. In 1576, he repelled the enemies in Samarkand and took Tashkent. Some Kazakh sultans, such as Shigai and his son Taukel, served as vassals to Abdullah Khan. In 1582, Abdullah Khan led a campaign into the Desht-i-Kipchak, killed Baba Khan, and captured his fortresses of Shahruhiya, Sayram, and Akhangaran. In 1583, his son Abd al-Mumin captured and looted Meshed. In the same year, after the death of his father, Abdullah was proclaimed the khan of all Uzbeks, and his state was called the Bukhara Khanate.