Suleiman Mirza (son of Tahmasp I)

Suleiman Mirza (Persian: سلیمان میرزا‎, Soleymān Mirzā‎; b. 28 March 1554, Nakhchivan – d. 2 November 1576) was a Safavid prince. The son of king Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576) by his Circassian wife Sultan-Agha Khanum, he functioned several years as an official, serving as the governor (hakem) of Shiraz (1555–1557/58, under a laleh) and Mashhad (1567–1573, under a laleh as well). His full sister was Pari Khan Khanum, and his Circassian uncle Shamkhal Sultan – both extremely pivotal figures in Safavid affairs during the latter half of the 16th century. During the last few years of Tahmasp I's life, when a protracted competition for the throne, as well as much jockeying for position by the rival factions was evident, a number of Qizilbash chiefs in 1574 openly supported Suleiman Mirza in order for him to succeed Tahmasp to the throne. When his half-brother Ismail Mirza Safavi (who succeeded as Ismail II) was enthroned on 22 August 1576, the latter ordered for the systematic murder or blinding of any prince of royal blood who could become the center of a conspiracy against him. As a result of this, Suleiman Mirza was killed on 2 November 1576 by the order of his own half-brother. He was buried at the Shrine of Imamzadeh Hossein in Qazvin, the then royal capital.