caption father dynasty death_date predecessor successor mother burial_place religion title birth_date spouse issue image article_title name reign
coin minted during the reign of mohammad khodabandeh tahmasp i safavid 1595 or 1596 -lrb- aged 63 or 64 -rrb- ismail ii abbas i sultanum begum mawsillu lat long inline , title -- > twelver shi'a islam shahanshah of persia 1532 khayr al-nisa begum hamza , abu talib , abbas i mohammen xudabende sefevid.jpg mohammad khodabanda
 sultan mohammad shah 11 february 1578 -- october 1587
mohammad khodabanda

mohammad khodābandeh or khudābanda , also known as mohammad shah or sultan mohammad -lrb- , born 1532 ; died 1595 or 1596 -rrb- was shah of persia from 1578 until his overthrow in 1587 by his son abbas i .
he was the fourth safavid shah of iran and succeeded his brother , ismail ii .
khodabanda was the son of shah tahmasp i by a turcoman mother , sultanum begum mawsillu , and grandson of ismail i , founder of the safavid dynasty .
after the death of his father in 1576 mohammad was passed over in favour of his younger brother ismail ii .
mohammad suffered from an eye affliction that rendered him nearly blind , and so in accordance with persian royal culture could not contend for the throne .
however , following ismail ii 's short and bloody reign mohammad emerged as the only heir , and so with the backing of the qizilbash tribes became shah in 1578 .
mohammad 's reign was marked by a continued weakness of the crown and tribal infighting as part of the second civil war of the safavid era .
an important figure in the early years of mohammad 's reign was his wife khayr al-nisa begum , who helped secure her husband 's reign .
however her efforts to consolidate central power brought about opposition from the powerful qizilbash tribes , who had her murdered in 1579 .
mohammad has been described as `` a man of refined tastes but weak character '' .
as a result mohammad 's reign was characterised by factionalism , with major tribes aligning themselves with mohammad 's sons and future heirs .
this internal chaos allowed foreign powers , especially the rivalling and neighboring ottoman empire , to make territorial gains , including the conquest of the old capital of tabriz in 1585 .
mohammad was finally overthrown in a coup in favour of his son shah abbas i.
