The third son born to the founder of the Safavid dynasty Shāh Ismāʿīl, Alqās Mīrzā (b. 10 Safar 922/15 March 1516) was probably mothered by Khān Begī Khānum, herself a descendent of the Aq Qoyunlu amīr Ṣūfī Khān Mauṣillū, of the Ṣūfi-Khalīliyya tribe. For unknown reasons Alqās Mīrzā was overshadowed by his other brothers (Sām Mīrzā, Bahrām Mīrzā) and, after an unimpressive stint as ruler of Āstarābād, was named governor of Shīrvān in Shawwāl 944/March 1538, displacing the indigenous ruler Shāh Rukh Shīrvānshāhī (d. 953/1546). Shīrvān