Hamza Mirza (Persian: حمزه میرزا, romanized: Ḥamza Mīrzā; 4 September 1568 – 6 December 1586) was the Safavid crown prince of Iran during the reign of his father Mohammad Khodabanda (r. 1578–1587). His mother was Khayr al-Nisa Begum, a Mar'ashi princess from Mazandaran.[1]
He was born on 4 September 1568 (11 Rabi al-Awwal AH 976) in Herat was named after Muhammad's uncle Hamza.[2] He was appointed as governor of Herat by his grandfather Tahmasp I in 1573. However, upon complaint of his father, Hamza was relocated to Shiraz and was replaced by his infant brother Abbas.
Ismail II ordered execution of his brother and nephews in 1577, however died before the order could be carried out.[1] He was created crown prince officially at the behest of his mother in February 1578. Turkman and Takalu emirs played a significant role on his appointment and became principal supporters. He followed his mother to Karabakh right after Battle of Çıldır in 1578.
His mother's murder on 26 July 1579,[3] Hamza became a central figure in conflict between Ali-Qoli Khan Shamlu and his Shamlu–Ustajlu coalition who favored young Abbas against reigning shah Khodabanda. Mirza Salman Jaberi, his mother's supporter managed to have Hamza Mirza's vizier Hossein Beg Shamlu dismissed and took over the office himself in August 1580.[4] Meanwhile, sides came to an understanding only after 1581 and accepted Hamza as crown prince.[5]
Hamza Mirza was part of the Safavid army when Ottomans attacked Tabriz in 1585. However assassination of Amir Khan Mawsillu-Turkman, governor of Azerbaijan, allegedly under orders of Hamza Mirza - according to Hamza, Amir Khan obstructed his efforts to identify those responsible for his mother’s murder - caused a rift among the Qizilbash tribes.[1] Upon learning of the Ottoman forces' approach to Tabriz, Hamza Mirza requested help from the Takalu and Turkman tribes. However, many of the prominent commanders, such as Mohammad Khan Turkoman (governor of Kashan), Vali Khan Takalu (governor of Hamadan), and Masib Khan Sharaf al-Din Oghli Takalu (governor of Ray), who were resentful over the killing of Amir Khan, refused to obey his command and started open rebellion in support of his younger brother Tahmasp Mirza[1] on 21 February 1586. However, the rebellion was suppressed and Tahmasp Mirza was sent to be imprisoned in Alamut on 23 May 1586.[6]
For unclear reasons Hamza Mirza was stabbed to death in the Karabakh on the night 6 December 1586 in his camp by his own personal barber and was buried in Ardabil. After Hamza Mirza's death, his younger brother Abu Talib Mirza was appointed as the Safavid crown prince by the Qizilbash emirs.
Hamza Mirza initially married Oghlan Pasha Khanum, a granddaughter of Bahram Mirza in 1578. Hamza Mirza, upon the advice of Mirza Salman Jaberi, Tinatina, daughter of Alexander II of Kakheti in 1579[7] and Fakhrijan-Begum, daughter of Simon I of Kartli in 1582. Later in April 1582, Mirza Salman Jaberi, seeking closer ties to the royal family, married his own daughter Safiya Begum in marriage to Hamza Mirza.
According to Antonio de Gouvea, who quoted Simão de Moraes, Augustinian missionary stationed in Hormuz, Tinatina once convinced Hamza to convert to Christianity when he was gravely ill. However, according to Gouvea, this story was forged by an Armenian priest who met de Moraes. De Gouvea further claimed that Abbas told him that Hamza greatly favoured Christianity.[8]
His son Ismail Mirza was sent to Alamut upon Abbas's accession to the throne and was blinded in 1591. His younger son Haydar Mirza was sent as a hostage to Ottoman court in 1590 and died there in 1596.[9]