Amir Khusraw Shah

In the late 15th century, the Timurid Empire was fragmenting, and Qunduz (modern Kunduz in northern Afghanistan) became the seat of an independent emirate under Amir Khusraw Shah. Amir Khusraw Shah was originally a Qipchaq Turkic general serving the Timurids.

Qunduz on a modern map from Google. Hisar (modern Hisor in Tajikistan) lies north of Kunduz, across the Amu Darya River, in what is now western Tajikistan. Hisaar is roughly 200–250 km (125–155 miles) north-northwest of Kunduz.

Babur, the first Mughal emperor, gained an army "because of the collapse of a noble who, amid tough competition, was an outstandingly nasty man. Khusrau Shah, formerly a retainer of one of Babur's relations, had taken Kunduz, murdered one of Babur's cousins (Baysunghur Mirza, a famous poet) and blinded another (the lover from Samarkand, his ward). He was unpopular even among his own people, many thousands of whom, faced with sustained attacks from Uzbeks, defected from him to an ambitious princeling with a decent reputation and a lineage that gave him a claim to Kabul. Khusrau Shah was beheaded by the Uzbeks; Babur, with his new following in tow, virtually walked into Kabul."
-The Economist, 2010, Wine & Tulips in Kabul

Khusraw Shah’s rise: In 1497 (902 AH), taking advantage of the turmoil after the death of Sultan Mahmud Mirza (Babur’s uncle) and the rivalries among Timurid princes, Khusraw Shah proclaimed his autonomy. As the Timurid governor of Kunduz and Hissar, he broke away and declared himself independent ruler (Amir) of Qunduz.

He established his administration in Kunduz, apparently without claiming a royal title – he retained the title Amir (commander/governor), even as his name “Khusraw Shah” implied royalty. His governance likely relied on the existing Timurid administrative framework: local garrisons in the fortress of Kunduz and nearby strongholds like Hisar-i Shadman (Hisor), which he controlled and used as mints for his coinage.

Persia (Post-Mongol). Amir of Qunduz. Civic coinage temp. Amir Kushraw. AH 902-910 / AD 1497-1505. Æ 2 Dinars (25mm, 9.15g, 6h). Figural type; dated AH907 above Hisar حصار, Hisar mint, Legend "Zarb-e do dinār Ḥisār" “struck two dinars, Hisar.” ضربِ دو دینار حصار Album 3009; Zeno 7967.

Khusraw Shah’s rise was swift and ruthless. He took over Kunduz and the surrounding region by ousting or sidelining Timurid loyalists. In 1497 he gave refuge to Babur’s cousin Baysunghur Mirza (a Timurid prince) who fled Samarkand’s internecine conflict – only to murder Baysunghur and blind another Timurid prince who was in his custody. This eliminated potential rivals but earned Khusraw infamy.

The Death fo Kushraw Shah: By 1505–1506, Amir Khusraw Shah's political fortunes had irreversibly declined. Having earlier submitted to Babur in the Andarab Valley after mass desertions among his forces, Khusraw withdrew to Khurasan, only to attempt a return the following year in a last effort to reclaim Qunduz and Badakhshan.

The campaign was poorly timed: the Uzbek leader Muhammad Shaybani Khan, though temporarily distracted, still controlled the region’s strategic centers. Khusraw’s forces were swiftly defeated, and he was captured by the Uzbeks. In accordance with contemporary martial custom, he was executed, and his severed head was reportedly sent to Shaybani Khan as a token of loyalty by the capturing commander.

Kushraw Shah's defeat marked the final extinguishing of Timurid-aligned resistance in northeastern Afghanistan and cleared the way for Babur to consolidate his authority in the region.

The Uzbeks  (or Shaybānids) were Sunni Muslims, and although often viewed as "nomadic invaders," they saw themselves as legitimate heirs to Mongol-Turkic sovereignty in Central Asia. They traced their ruling lineage to Shayban, a grandson of Jochi (Genghis Khan’s eldest son), hence the dynastic name Shaybānid. Muhammad Shaybani Khan (c. 1451–1510), a descendant of Shayban, emerged as their unifier and military genius.

Coins of Qunduz: Culturally, the Persianate Timurid legacy likely persisted under Khusraw’s rule. For example, coinage from Kunduz suggests a blend of Islamic and local artistic motifs. Khusraw Shah struck his own coins – mainly copper 2-dinar pieces – which bore Persian inscriptions and an image of a deer or antelope on the obverse.

The local minting of currency under Khusraw is evidence of a functioning economy and administrative structure in Kunduz during his reign. The use of an animal motif was unusual in Islamic coinage and may reflect a regional aesthetic or a symbol of Kunduz (possibly alluding to local fauna or a Timurid artistic convention). These coins are today prized for their artistic design and historical significance, indicating a degree of cultural “vibrancy” in Kunduz’s economic life.

Trade and economy: Qunduz was strategically positioned at the crossroads of important trade routes linking Central Asia, Khorasan, and northern India. As part of historic Tokharistan/Bactria, the region had a long legacy of commerce on the Silk Road. Kunduz lay on the route between Balkh and Badakhshan towards Kabul. During Khusraw’s time, caravan trade likely continued to flow through Kunduz when political conditions allowed.

Caravans carrying Chinese silks, Persian cloth, and Indian spices would have passed nearby, and Kunduz’s rulers could tax this trade. One key local export was Badakhshan’s lapis lazuli and other gems: Badakhshan (to the east of Kunduz) was the world’s primary source of lapis lazuli, and this precious stone traveled west to Herat and east towards India.

1605-1615 Idealised portrait of the Mughal emperor Babur, seated on chair reading book. Ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper. Perhaps by Aqā Rizā Haravi, c.1605-10, in the British Museum.

Conclusion: The Shaybānid Uzbeks filled the vacuum in Central Asia left by the colapse of the Timurid under internal fragmentation and external pressure. Babur, displaced from his homeland after his defeat in 1501 by Shaybani Khan outside Samarkand, turned south and eventually conquered India (founding the Mughal Empire in 1526).

References:

• Wine & Tulips in Kabul, Dec 16th 2010, The Economist

• Memoirs of Babur by Timur (Tamerlane), Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur (1483-1530)

• Babur, Baburnama (memoires) – trans. Thackston (Wheeler M.), and commentary on Babur’s early career

• Babur. The Babur-nama in English (Memoirs of Babur). Translated by Annette S. Beveridge. Vol. 1. London: Luzac & Co. for the Royal Asiatic Society, 1912.

• Marcia Jackson, The Economist and Babur, the First Moghul Emperor, 2010, via SlidePlayer.

A book that I have been unable to obtain so far: Le tresor monetaire de Qunduz.  R. Curiel and G. Fussman (1965) 93 p. 60 pl. Mémoires de la Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan (MDAFA) XX