Muhammad Shaybani
In the meantime, both Sultan Ahmad and Omar Shaikh died in 1494; their brother Sultan Mahmud ruled Samarkand for a six months but he died as well and the city passed to his son Baysunkur. Mahmud Khan attempted to wrest Samarkand from Baysunkur, but the Timurids were victorious on the battlefield. Having failed to take Transoxiana himself, Mahmud Khan decided to support Muhammad Shaybani, whose forces sharply increased from 3,000 to 50,000. The Uzbeks took Samarkand in 1501, but soon turned against his Moghul supporters. With Muhammad Shaybani threatening Mahmud Khan, Ahmad Alaq came from the east and the two brothers advanced against the Uzbeks. They were, however, defeated in the Battle of Akhsi, 1503 and taken prisoner. Muhammad Shaybani let them go but retained the Moghul soldiers and seized control of Tashkent.