Shamkhal Sultan

Shamkhal Sultan, was an important Kumyk noble of the second half of the 16th century in the Safavid Empire.

Family
Shamkhal Sultan, alongside his sister Sultan-Agha Khanum, were from a prominent Dagestan Origin Kumyk Shamkhal family from within the Safavid Empire. Sultan-Agha Khanum was married to king Tahmasp I, having one daughter known as Pari Khan Khanum, and a son known as Suleiman Mirza.

Career
Shamkhal Sultan appears prominently on the political scene during the same time as his niece, Pari Khan Khanum, who was born by his sister Sultan-Agha Khanum and king Tahmasp I. He participated actively in Pari Khan Khanum's political designs and acted for a time as her spokesman, and during their presence, the Safavid political sphere was dominated by ethnic Circassians, amongst the other factions that joined Shamkhal Sultan and his cousin. He was executed shortly afterward his niece's own assassination in 1578.