Alvand Mirza (Qara Qoyunlu)

Alvand Mirza was a member of the Qara Qoyunlu dynasty, the son of Iskandar Kara, the ruler of Mosul, Diyarbakir, and Asadabad. The people from the marriage of his son Pirguli Beg and Khadija Begim, the granddaughter of Jahan Shah from Yusif Mirza, founded the Indian branch of the Qara Qoyunlu dynasty.

Early life
Alvand Mirza was appointed to rule Mosul during his uncle Jahan Shah's reign. Mirza rebelled against the latter and was forced to flee to the Aq Qoyunlu, then under the rule of Jahangir Beg. Jahan Shah demanded that his rebellious nephew be handed over to him, but Jahangir Beg refused. Jahan Shah then invaded Erzincan and sent his grandnephew, Rustem Beg, to subdue Jahangir Beg. Hopelessly, Jahangir Beg sent his mother Sara Khatun to Mamluk Egypt, while Jahan Shah started to support his half-brother Sheikh Hasan. Sheikh Hasan was killed by Uzun Hasan, brother of Jahangir Beg; Jahan Shah quickly offered peace to Aq Qoyunlu, in return for accepting their submission. Jahangir Beg accepted and also wed his daughter to Jahan Shah's son Mirza Muhammad.

In Timurid service
Upon the Aq Qoyunlu's submission, Alvand Mirza left for Shiraz with his son Pirguli in a bid to join the Timurid ruler Babur. He was made a commander in the Timurid army and joined Babur in a siege of Samarkand in 1454. He was sent by Babur to conquer Sistan and Kirman. After defeating Jahan Shah's generals Amir Bayazid and Shahsevar Beg, they were soon followed by his son Mirza Yusuf. Clashes stopped after Babur's death on 25 March 1457, followed by Jahan Shah's conquest of Khorasan.

Again in Jahan Shah's service
After Jahan Shah's capture of Herat, Alvand resubmitted to his uncle in hopes of retaining Kirman. Jahan Shah however, only granted him Asadabad. Mirza Yusuf's daughter Khadija Begum was wed to Pirguli Beg. Alvand left Kirman to Jahan Shah's general Mansur Beg Turkman. Alvand Mirza died here after living in Asadabad for two years. After his death, his son Pirguli Beg succeeded him.

Family
He had two sons:

Pirguli Beg was married to Jahanshah's granddaughter Khadija Begim. The line of the Qara Qoyunlu family founded by this marriage formed the future Indian branch of the dynasty. Descendants of this family migrated to India in the 16th century, where they created the state of the Gutbshahs. The founder of the dynasty, Sultangulu Beg Baranli, was born in Hamadan province. He was a Turkman belonging to the Karagoyunlu dynasty and descended from Kara Yusif. In the 16th century, he migrated to Delhi with his uncle Allahgulu, some friends and family. Later, he went to the Deccan in the south, where he began to serve the Muslim sultan Mahmood Shah Bahmani II. After the death of Safdar Jang, he was succeeded by his son Shuja ad-Dawla or Jalaladdin Mirza Heydar Khan.
 * Pirquli Beg - married to Khadija Begum (granddaughter of Jahan Shah)
 * Allahquli Beg