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{{Short description|Timurid sultan, astronomer and mathematician (1394–1449)}}
{{About||the city district of Tashkent, Uzbekistan|Mirzo Ulugbek|the town|Ulugbek (town)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Ulugh Beg
| image        = Mirza Ulugh Beg 150.jpg
| image_size   = 
| reign        = 13 March 1447 – 27 October 1449
| caption      = Statue of Mirza Ulugh Beg
| birth_name   = Mirza Muhammad Taraghay
| birth_date   = 22 March 1394
| birth_place  = [[Sultaniyeh]], [[Timurid Empire]] (now [[Zanjan Province]], Iran)
| death_date   = 27 October 1449  (aged 55)
| death_place  = [[Samarkand]], [[Timurid Empire]] (now [[Samarqand Region]], [[Uzbekistan]])
| death_cause  = 
| burial_place = [[Gur-e-Amir]] [[Samarkand]] in the Mausoleum of [[Timur]]
| occupation   = [[Astronomer]], [[mathematician]], [[political leader]] and [[Monarch|ruler]]
| title        = [[Mirza (noble)|Mirza]], [[Sultan]]
| term         = 
| succession   = Amir of the [[Timurid Empire]]
| predecessor  = [[Shah Rukh]]
| successor    = [[Abdal-Latif Mirza]]
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
*Aka Begi Begum
*Sultan Badi al-mulk Begum
*Aqi Sultan Khanika
*Husn Nigar Khanika
*Shukur Bi Khanika
*Rukaiya Sultan Agha
*Mihr Sultan Agha
*Sa'adat Bakht Agha
*Daulat Sultan Agha
*Bakhti Bi Agha
*Daulat Bakht Agha
*Sultanim Agha
*Sultan Malik Agha}}
| issue        = [[Abdal-Latif Mirza]]
| father       = [[Shah Rukh]]
| mother       = [[Gawhar Shad]]
| religion     = [[Islam]]
| dynasty      = [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]]
}}
{{Campaignbox Second Timurid Succession Crisis}}
[[File:Ulugh Beg Observatory 02.jpg|thumb|Ulugh Beg Observatory]]
[[File:Ophiuchus - miniature from the "Kitāb ṣuwar al-kawākib al-ṯābita".jpg|thumb|[[Ophiuchus]], miniature from the manuscript of ''[[The Book of Fixed Stars]]'' commissioned by Ulugh Beg. Probably Samarkand, {{circa|1430–1440}}. [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]]]
'''Mīrzā Muhammad Tarāghāy bin Shāhrukh''' ({{langx|chg|میرزا محمد تراغای بن شاهرخ}}; {{langx|fa|میرزا محمد طارق بن شاهرخ}}), better known as '''Ulugh Beg''' ({{langx|fa|الغ‌بیگ}}; 22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449),{{efn|Ulugh or Үлэг in Cyrillic probably meant "the eldest" in Mongolian language}} was a [[Timurid Empire|Timurid]] [[sultan]], as well as an [[Islamic astronomy|astronomer]] and [[Islamic mathematics|mathematician]].  

Ulugh Beg was notable for his work in astronomy-related mathematics, such as [[trigonometry]] and [[spherical geometry]], as well as his general interests in the arts and intellectual activities.<ref name="auto4">Science in Islamic civilisation: proceedings of the international symposia: "Science institutions in Islamic civilisation", & "Science and technology in the Turkish and Islamic world"[https://books.google.com/books?id=ki3YAAAAMAAJ&q=ulugh+beg+cultural+centre+observatory]</ref><ref name="auto1"> Ulugh Beg, OU Libraries, Britannica Academic</ref> It is thought that he spoke five languages: [[Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Chagatai language|Chaghatai Turkic]], [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], and a small amount of [[Mandarin language|Chinese]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Samarkand: Ulugh Beg's Observatory |url=https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/cities/uz/samarkand/obser.html |website=Depts.washington.edu |access-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-date=June 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609022216/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/cities/uz/samarkand/obser.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During his rule (first as a governor, then outright) the [[Timurid Empire]] achieved the cultural peak of the [[Timurid Renaissance]] through his attention and patronage. [[Samarkand]] was captured and given to Ulugh Beg by his father [[Shah Rukh]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ulugh Beg and His Observatory|url=https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/cities/uz/samarkand/obser.html|website=University of Washington|access-date=May 2, 2023|archive-date=June 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609022216/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/cities/uz/samarkand/obser.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ulugh Beg|url=https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Ulugh_Beg/|website=MacTutor|access-date=May 2, 2023|archive-date=June 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607075616/https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Ulugh_Beg/|url-status=live}}</ref>

He built the great [[Ulugh Beg Observatory]] in Samarkand between 1424 and 1429. It was considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world at the time and the largest in [[Central Asia]].<ref name="auto4"/> Ulugh Beg was subsequently recognized as the most important observational astronomer from the 15th century by many scholars.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-2/cam6.html|title=The Legacy of Ulugh Beg {{!}} Central Asian Monuments {{!}} Edited by H. B. Paksoy {{!}} CARRIE Books|website=Vlib.iue.it|access-date=2018-12-02|archive-date=May 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519141139/http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-2/cam6.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> He also built the [[Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand|Ulugh Beg Madrasah]] (1417–1420) in Samarkand and [[Bukhara]], transforming the cities into cultural centers of learning in [[Central Asia]].<ref>The global built environment as a representation of realities: By author:A.J.J. Mekking [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qi3NPTlVX0QC&pg=PA121]</ref>

However, Ulugh Beg's scientific expertise was not matched by his skills in governance. During his short reign, he failed to establish his power and authority. As a result, other rulers, including his family, took advantage of his lack of control, and he was subsequently overthrown and assassinated.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ulugh Beg |url=https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Ul%C5%ABgh-Beg/74183 |website=The University of Oklahoma Libraries |publisher=Britannica Academic |access-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-date=September 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919033423/https://login.libraries.ou.edu/login?service=https%3A%2F%2Flogin.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu%2Flogin%3Fqurl%3Dezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly9hY2FkZW1pYy5lYi5jb20vbGV2ZWxzL2NvbGxlZ2lhdGUvYXJ0aWNsZS9VbCVDNSVBQmdoLUJlZy83NDE4Mw-- |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Early life ==
He was a grandson of the great conqueror and king, [[Timur]] (Tamerlane) (1336–1405), and the oldest son of [[Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty)|Shah Rukh]], both of whom came from the Turkicized Mongol [[Barlas]] tribe of [[Transoxiana]] (now [[Uzbekistan]]).<ref>[[Encyclopædia Britannica]], "[http://search.eb.com/eb/article-7271 Timur] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701122200/https://academic.eb.com/ |date=July 1, 2023 }}", Online Academic Edition, 2007. Quotation: "Timur was a member of the Turkicized Barlas tribe, a Mongol subgroup that had settled in Transoxania..."</ref> His mother was a noblewoman named [[Gawhar Shad]], daughter of a member of the representative Turkic<ref>V. V. Bartold. ''Улугбек и его время'' [''Ulug Beg and his time'']. [[St Petersburg]] (1918). p. 37.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opklare.ru/m/ulugbek_-_biografiya|script-title=ru:Улугбек - Биография|title=Ulug Beg – Biografiya|website=Opklare.ru|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=November 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113233719/http://www.opklare.ru/m/ulugbek_-_biografiya|url-status=live}}</ref> tribal aristocracy, Ghiyasuddin Tarkhan. 

Ulugh Beg was born in [[Sultaniyeh]] during his grandfather's invasion of [[Persia]]. He was given the name ''[[Mirza (noble)|Mīrzā]] Muhammad Tāraghay''. Ulugh Beg, the name he was most commonly known by, was not truly a personal name, but rather a [[moniker]], which can be loosely translated as "Great Ruler" (compare modern Turkish ''[[wikt:ulu|ulu]]'', "great", and ''[[wikt:bey|bey]]'', "chief") and is the [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] equivalent of [[Timur]]'s Perso-Arabic title ''Amīr-e Kabīr''.<ref name="EI">B. F. Manz, "Tīmūr Lang", in ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'', Online Edition, 2006</ref> 

As a child he wandered through a substantial part of the Middle East and [[India]] as his grandfather expanded his conquests in those areas. After Timur's death, Shah Rukh moved the empire's capital to [[Herat, Afghanistan|Herat]] (in modern [[Afghanistan]]). Sixteen-year-old Ulugh Beg subsequently became the governor of the former capital of Samarkand in 1409. In 1411, he was named the sovereign ruler of the whole of [[Transoxiana|Mavarannahr]].

== Science ==
The young ruler set out to turn the city into an intellectual center for the empire. Between 1417 and 1420, he built a ''[[Madrasah|madrasa]]'' ("university" or "institute") on [[Registan|Registan Square]] in Samarkand (currently in [[Uzbekistan]]), and he invited numerous [[Islamic astronomy|Islamic astronomers]] and [[Islamic mathematics|mathematicians]] to study there. The ''madrasa'' building still survives. Ulugh Beg's most famous pupil in [[astronomy]] was [[Ali Qushji|Ali Qushchi]] (died in 1474). [[Qadi Zada al-Rumi]] was the most notable teacher at Ulugh Beg's madrasa and [[Jamshid al-Kashi]], an astronomer, later came to join the staff.<ref name="auto"/>  

=== Astronomy ===
[[File:A model of Ulug Beg obsrvatory in the Uzbek National Muzeum.jpg|thumb|A model of Ulug Beg observatory in the Uzbek National Muzeum - the central partition hosted the huge [[sextant]]. ]]
Astronomy piqued Ulugh Beg's interest when he visited the [[Maragheh observatory|Maragheh Observatory]] at a young age. This observatory, located in [[Maragheh]], Iran, is where the well-known astronomer [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]] practised.<ref name="auto2"/>

In 1428, Ulugh Beg built an enormous [[observatory]], similar to [[Tycho Brahe]]'s later [[Uraniborg]] as well as [[Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf|Taqi al-Din]]'s [[Constantinople Observatory of Taqi ad-Din|observatory in Constantinople]]. Lacking [[telescope]]s to work with, he increased his accuracy by increasing the length of his [[sextant (astronomical)|sextant]]; the so-called ''Fakhri'' [[Sextant (astronomical)|sextant]] had a radius of about {{convert|36|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} and the [[Angular resolution|optical separability]] of 180" (seconds of arc). The [[Fakhri sextant]] was the largest instrument at the observatory in Samarkand (an image of the sextant is on the side of this article). There were many other astronomical instruments located at the observatory, but the Fakhri sextant is the most well-known instrument there. The purpose of the Fakhri sextant was to measure the transit altitudes of the stars. This was a measurement of the maximum altitude above the horizon of the stars. It was only possible to use this device to measure the declination of celestial objects.<ref name="auto3">{{cite book | last = Krisciunas | first = Kevin | editor-last = Paksoy | editor-first = Hasan Bulent | date = 1992 | title = Central Asian Monuments | chapter = The Legacy of Ulugh Beg | publisher = Isis Press | place = Istanbul | chapter-url = http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-2/cam6.html | via = Carrie Books | access-date = June 27, 2006 | archive-date = May 19, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190519141139/http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-2/cam6.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> The image, which can be found in this article, shows the remaining portion of the instrument, which consists of the underground, lower portion of the instrument that was not destroyed. The observatory built by Ulugh Beg was the most pervasive and well-known observatory throughout the Islamic world.<ref name="auto"/>

With the instruments located in the observatory in Samarkand, Ulugh Beg composed a star catalogue consisting of 1018 stars, which is eleven fewer stars than are present in the star catalogue of [[Ptolemy]]. Ulugh Beg utilized dimensions from [[Al Sufi|al-Sufi]] and based his star catalogue on a new analysis that was autonomous from the data used by Ptolemy.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Star Catalogues of Ptolemaios and Ulugh Beg |url=https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2012/08/aa19596-12.pdf |publisher=Astronomy & Astrophysics |access-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725201053/https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2012/08/aa19596-12.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Throughout his life as an astronomer, Ulugh Beg came to realize that there were multiple mistakes in the work and subsequent data of Ptolemy that had been in use for many years.<ref name="auto1"/>

Using it, he compiled the 1437 ''[[Zij-i-Sultani]]'' of 994 [[star]]s, generally considered the greatest [[star catalogue]] between those of [[Ptolemy]] and [[Tycho Brahe]], a work that stands alongside [[Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi]]'s ''[[Book of Fixed Stars]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nakamura |first1=Tsuko |title=The 28-Xiu constellations in East Asian calendars and analysis of their observation dates |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/726490237/28-Xiu-Constellations-Nakamura-Unproofed |access-date=October 29, 2024 |page=10 |date=2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=McCarthy |first1=Dennis D. |title="Reference Systems. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z09gDwAAQBAJ&q=1437&pg=PP1 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |access-date=October 29, 2024 |page=156 |date=2020|isbn=978-1-5081-7700-5 }}</ref> The serious errors which he found in previous Arabian star catalogues (many of which had simply updated Ptolemy's work, adding the effect of [[precession of the equinoxes|precession]] to the longitudes) induced him to redetermine the positions of 992 fixed stars, to which he added 27 stars from [[Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi]]'s catalogue ''[[Book of Fixed Stars]]'' from the year 964, which were too far south for observation from Samarkand. This catalogue, one of the most original of the Middle Ages, was first edited by [[Thomas Hyde]] at Oxford in 1665 under the title ''Jadāvil-i Mavāzi' S̱avābit'', {{lang|la|sive, Tabulae Long. ac Lat. Stellarum Fixarum ex Observatione Ulugh Beighi}} and reprinted in 1767 by [[Gregory Sharpe|G. Sharpe]]. More recent editions are those by [[Francis Baily]] in 1843 in Vol. XIII of the ''Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society'', and by [[Edward Ball Knobel]] in ''Ulugh Beg's Catalogue of Stars, Revised from all Persian Manuscripts Existing in Great Britain, with a Vocabulary of Persian and Arabic Words'' (1917).

In 1437, Ulugh Beg determined the length of the [[sidereal year]] as 365.2570370...<sup>d</sup> = 365<sup>d</sup> 6<sup>h</sup> 10<sup>m</sup> 8<sup>s</sup> (an error of +58&nbsp;seconds). In his measurements over the course of many years he used a 50&nbsp;m high [[gnomon]]. This value was improved by 28&nbsp;seconds in 1525 by [[Nicolaus Copernicus]], who appealed to the estimation of [[Thabit ibn Qurra]] (826–901), which had an error of +2&nbsp;seconds. However, Ulugh Beg later measured another more precise value of the [[tropical year]] as 365<sup>d</sup> 5<sup>h</sup> 49<sup>m</sup> 15<sup>s</sup>, which has an error of +25&nbsp;seconds, making it more accurate than Copernicus's estimate which had an error of +30&nbsp;seconds. Ulugh Beg also determined the Earth's [[axial tilt]] as 23°30'17" in the [[sexagesimal]] system of degrees, minutes and seconds of arc, which in decimal notation converts to 23.5047°.<ref>L. P. E. A. Sédillot, ''Prolégomènes des tables astronomiques d'OlougBeg: Traduction et commentaire'' (Paris: Firmin Didot Frères, 1853), pp.&nbsp;[https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_z-glhcBS2I8C#page/n129/mode/1up 87] & [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_z-glhcBS2I8C#page/n295/mode/1up 253].</ref>

=== Mathematics ===
In [[Islamic mathematics|mathematics]], Ulugh Beg wrote accurate [[Trigonometry|trigonometric]] tables of [[Sine and cosine|sine]] and [[tangent]] values correct to at least eight decimal places.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ulugh Beg (1393 - 1449)|url=http://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Ulugh_Beg.html|website=mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk|access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref>

== Foreign relations ==
Once Ulugh Beg became governor of [[Samarkand|Samarqand]], he fostered diplomatic relations with the [[Yongle Emperor|Yongle emperor]] of the [[Ming dynasty]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Bretschneider |first=Emil |title=Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & co., ltd |year=1910 |volume=2 |location=London, UK |pages=262}}</ref> In 1416, Ming envoys [[Chen Cheng (Ming dynasty)|Chen Cheng]] and Lu An presented [[silk]] and silver stuffs to Ulugh Beg on behalf of the Yongle emperor.<ref name=":0" /> In 1419, The Timurid sent his own emissaries, Sultan-Shah and Muhammad Bakhshi, to the Ming court.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Naqqash |first=Ghiyathuddin |title='Report to Mirza Baysunghur on the Timurid Legation to the Ming Court at Peking' in A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art |publisher=Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture |year=1989 |location=Massachusetts |pages=280 |translator-last=Thackston |translator-first=W. M.}}</ref> Ulugh Beg's emissaries came across [[Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh]] and other envoys representing Shah Rukh, [[Baysunghur|Prince Baysunghur]], and other Timurid authorities in Beijing; however, they stayed at separate hostelries.<ref>{{Cite book |translator=K. M. Maitra | last=Abru  | first=Hafiz  | others=Introduction by L. Carrington Goodrich|title=A Persian Embassy to China, Being an Extract from Zubdatu't Tawarikh of Hafiz Abru |orig-year=1934 | publisher= Paragon Book Reprint | edition=1970 reprint|location=(Lahore, Pakistan) New York City |pages=63–64}}</ref> Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh even saw the Yongle emperor riding a black [[horse]] with white feet which had been gifted by Ulugh Beg.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Naqqash |first=Ghiyathuddin |title=Report to Mirza Baysunghur on the Timurid Legation to the Ming Court at Peking in A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art |publisher=Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture |year=1989 |location=Massachusetts |pages=295}}</ref> 

[[File:Timurids. Ulugh Beg I. AH 850-853 AD 1447-1449. AR Tanka (25.5mm, 5.53 g, 3h). Herat mint. Dated AH 852 AD 1448-9.jpg|thumb|Coinage of Ulugh Beg, dated AH 852 (1448–49). [[Herat]] mint.]]
Ulugh Beg led two major campaigns against his neighbours. This first one took place in 1425 and was directed against [[Moghulistan]] and its ruler [[Sher Muhammad|Shir Muhammad]]. He was victorious but the impact of the campaign was limited and Shir Muhammad remained in power. A year later, [[Baraq (Khan of Golden Horde)|Baraq]], Khan of the [[Golden Horde]] and former protégé of Ulugh Beg, laid claim to Timurid possessions around the Syr Darya, including the town of [[Sighnaq]]. In response to that, in 1427 Ulugh Beg, accompanied by his brother [[Muhammad Juki|Muhummad Juki]], marched against Baraq. In a hill close to Sighnaq the Timurid army was surprised by a smaller enemy force but was soundly defeated. The humiliation suffered at the hands of Baraq was to have a lasting effect on Ulugh Beg. His campaign against the Golden Horde would be the last he would undertake against a neighbouring power. The armies he later sent against them would not win any resounding victories and by the end of his reign his territories would be raided by his northern and easterly foes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=bluedomes |date=2025-03-18 |title=Ulugh Beg: a short biography |url=https://bluedomes.net/2025/03/18/ulugh-beg-a-short-biography/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Blue Domes |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1439, the [[Emperor Yingzong of Ming|Zhengtong emperor]] ordered an artist to produce a painting of a black horse with white feet and a white forehead that had been sent by Ulugh Beg.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Bretschneider |first=Emil |title=Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & co., ltd |year=1910 |volume=2 |location=London, UK |pages=263}}</ref> Six years later, the Ming emperor sent a letter to Ulugh Beg in order to express his gratitude for all the "[[Tributary system of China|tribute]]"  from Samarqand.<ref name=":1" />  The emperor sent "vessels made of gold and jade, a spear with a [[dragon]]'s head, a fine horse with saddle, and variegated gold-embroidered silk stuffs" to Ulugh Beg, as well as silk stuffs and garments for the Timurid prince's family.<ref name=":1" />

== War of succession and death ==
[[Image:Tomb of Tamerlane.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Ulugh Beg's headstone at the foot of Timur's in the [[Gur-e-Amir]]]]
In 1447, upon learning of the death of his father [[Shah Rukh]], Ulugh Beg went to [[Balkh]]. Here, he heard that [[Ala al-Dawla Mirza|Ala al-Dawla]], the son of his late brother [[Baysunghur]], had claimed the rulership of the [[Timurid Empire]] in [[Herat]]. Consequently, Ulugh Beg marched against Ala al-Dawla and met him in battle at [[Bala Murghab|Murghab]]. He defeated his nephew and advanced toward Herat, massacring its people in 1448. However, [[Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza]], Ala al-Dawla's brother, came to the latter's aid and defeated Ulugh Beg.<ref name="auto3"/>{{fv|date=May 2026}}

Ulugh Beg retreated to Balkh where he found that its governor, his oldest son [[Abdal-Latif Mirza]], had [[Revolt of Abdal-Latif Mirza|rebelled against him]]. Another civil war ensued.<ref name="auto3"/> Abdal-Latif recruited troops to meet his father's army on the banks of the [[Amu Darya]] river. However, Ulugh Beg was forced to retreat to Samarkand before any fighting took place, having heard news of turmoil in the city. Abdal-Latif soon reached Samarkand and Ulugh Beg involuntarily surrendered to his son. Abd-al-Latif released his father from custody, allowing him to make [[Hajj|pilgrimage]] to [[Mecca]]. However, he ensured Ulugh Beg never reached his destination, having him, as well as his brother Abdal-Aziz assassinated in 1449.<ref>{{cite web |title=ʿABD-AL-LAṬĪF MĪRZĀ – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abd-al-latif-mirza-sultan-timurid-ruler-in-samarqand-1449-50 |website=Iranicaonline.org |language=en |access-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-date=November 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127095239/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abd-al-latif-mirza-sultan-timurid-ruler-in-samarqand-1449-50 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>''The history of Persia. Containing, the lives and memorable actions of its kings from the first erecting of that monarchy to this time; an exact Description of all its Dominions; a curious Account of India, China, Tartary, Kermon, Arabia, Nixabur, and the Islands of Ceylon and Timor; as also of all Cities occasionally mention'd, as Schiras, Samarkand, Bokara, &c. Manners and Customs of those People, Persian Worshippers of Fire; Plants, Beasts, Product, and Trade. With many instructive and pleasant digressions, being remarkable Stories or Passages, occasionally occurring, as Strange Burials; Burning of the Dead; Liquors of several Countries; Hunting; Fishing; Practice of Physick; famous Physicians in the East; Actions of Tamerlan, &c. To which is added, an abridgment of the lives of the kings of Harmuz, or Ormuz. The Persian history written in Arabick, by Mirkond, a famous Eastern Author that of Ormuz, by Torunxa, King of that Island, both of them translated into Spanish, by Antony Teixeira, who liv'd several Years in Persia and India; and now render'd into English.''</ref><ref>Jonathan L. Lee, ''The "Ancient Supremacy": Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731'' (1996), p. 21</ref> 

Eventually, Ulugh Beg's reputation was rehabilitated by his nephew, [[Abdallah Mirza]] (1450–1451), who placed his remains at Timur's feet in the [[Gur-e-Amir]] in Samarkand,<ref>Ahmad Hasan Dani, Akhmadali Askarovich Askarov, Sergeĭ Pavlovich Gubin, ''Rediscovery of the civilization of Central Asia: integral study of silk roads, roads of dialogue, steppe route expedition in USSR'' (1991), p. 82</ref> where they were found by [[Soviet]] archaeologists in 1941.

==Marriages==
Ulugh Beg had sixteen consorts:
* Aka Begi, daughter of [[Muhammad Sultan Mirza]] bin [[Jahangir Mirza (Timurid Prince)|Jahangir Mirza]] and Khan Sultan Khanika, mother of Habiba Sultan known as Khanzada Begum and another Khanzada Begum;
* Sultan Badi al-mulk Begum, daughter of [[Khalil Sultan]] bin [[Miran Shah]] and Shad Malik Agha;
* Aqi Sultan Khanika, daughter of Sultan [[Sultan Mahmud (Chagatai)|Mahmud Khan Ogeday]];
* Husn Nigar Khanika, daughter of [[Shams-i-Jahan|Shams-i-Jahan Khan Chaghatay]];
* Shukr Bi Khanika, daughter of [[Darwish (Golden Horde)|Darwīsh]] Khan of the Golden Horde;
* Rukaiya Sultan Agha, an Arlat lady, and mother of [[Abdal-Latif Mirza]], Ak Bash Begum and Sultan Bakht Begum;
* Mihr Sultan Agha, daughter of Tukal bin Sarbuka;
* Sa'adat Bakht Agha, daughter of Bayan Kukaltash, mother of Qutlugh Turkhan Agha;
* Daulat Sultan Agha, daughter of Khawand Sa'id;
* Bakhti Bi Agha, daughter of Aka Sufi Uzbek;
* Daulat Bakht Agha, daughter of Sheikh Muhammad Barlas;
* Sultanim Agha, mother of Abdul Hamid Mirza and Abdul Jabrar Mirza;
* Sultan Malik Agha, daughter of Nasir-al-Din, mother of Ubaydullah Mirza, Abdullah Mirza and another Abdullah Mirza;
* A daughter of [[Abu'l-Khayr Khan]], khan of [[Uzbek Khanate]];
* Khutan Agha;
* A daughter of Aqila Sultan;
<ref>{{harvtxt|Woods|1990|pp=43–45}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:1987 CPA 5876.jpg|thumb|Ulugh Beg and his astronomical observatory scheme, depicted on the 1987 USSR stamp. He was one of Islam's greatest astronomers during the Middle Ages. The stamp says "Uzbek astronomer and mathematician Ulugbek" in Russian.]]
[[Image:Ulugh Beigh crater 4189 h1.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The [[Ulugh Beigh (crater)|Ulugh Beigh crater]] on the Moon, named for Ulugh Beg.<ref>{{Citation|last=image|first=James Stuby based on NASA|title=English: Ulugh Beigh, on the moon|date=2015|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ulugh_Beigh_crater_4189_h1.jpg|access-date=2018-12-02|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308175646/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ulugh_Beigh_crater_4189_h1.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
* The crater, [[Ulugh Beigh (crater)|Ulugh Beigh]], on the [[Moon]], was named after him by the German astronomer [[Johann Heinrich von Mädler]] on his 1830 map of the Moon.<ref>{{Citation|last=image|first=James Stuby based on NASA|title=English: Ulugh Beigh, on the moon|date=2015|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ulugh_Beigh_crater_4189_h1.jpg|access-date=2018-12-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ulugh Beg |url=https://www.perthobservatory.com.au/ancient-astronomers/ulugh-beg#:~:text=He%20also%20measured%20the%20solar,build%20permanently%20mounted%20astronomical%20instruments. |website=Perth Observer |access-date=October 29, 2024 |date=August 25, 2016 |archive-date=October 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241023173711/https://perthobservatory.com.au/ancient-astronomers/ulugh-beg#:~:text=He%20also%20measured%20the%20solar,build%20permanently%20mounted%20astronomical%20instruments. |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[2439 Ulugbek]], a [[Asteroid belt|main-belt]] [[asteroid]] which was discovered on 21 August 1977 by [[N. Chernykh]] at [[Nauchnyj]], was named after him.
*  The 2017 documentary ''The Man Who Unlocked The Universe'' is based on his life, with [[Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva]] as executive producer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Man Who Unlocked the Universe |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6680050/?ref_=ttfc_ov_i |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=www.imdb.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Documentary Feature "Ulugh Beg. The Man Who Unlocked The Universe" |url=https://lolakarimova.com/pages/documentary-feature-ulugh-beg-the-man-who-unlocked-the-universe |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=lolakarimova.com}}</ref>
* The [[dinosaur]] ''[[Ulughbegsaurus]]'' was named after him in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rieger |first1=Sarah |title=Newly discovered dinosaur predated tyrannosaurs — and at the time was a bigger apex predator |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ulughbegsaurus-1.6166455 |website=CBC |access-date=October 29, 2024 |date=September 7, 2021 |archive-date=January 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103055300/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ulughbegsaurus-1.6166455 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Exhumation==
Soviet anthropologist [[Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov|Mikhail M. Gerasimov]] reconstructed the face of Ulugh Beg through the analysis of the remains that were exhumed from his tomb in 1941.<ref>{{cite web |title=Facial Reconstruction, Nazis, and Siberia: The story of Mikhail Gerasimov |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/facial-reconstruction-nazis-and-siberia-the-story-of-mikhail-gerasimov |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en |date=25 January 2011 |access-date=February 25, 2026 |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310134846/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/facial-reconstruction-nazis-and-siberia-the-story-of-mikhail-gerasimov |url-status=live }}</ref> Like his grandfather Timurlane, Ulugh Beg is close to the Mongoloid type with slightly Europoid features.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UFtAAAAMAAJ&q=He+had+reconstructed+the+heads+of+Timur,+his+son+Shah+Rukh+and+grandson+Ulug+Beg,+with+the+first+a+Mongol+type,+while+Shah+Rukh,+the+son+of+a+Tajik+woman,+had+Europoid+features.+The+third+was+a+mixture+of+the+two,+with+the+Mongol+type|title=Greater Iran: A 20th-century Odyssey|first=Richard Nelson|last=Frye|date=January 5, 2019|publisher=Mazda|access-date=January 5, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9781568591773}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xqi0AAAAIAAJ&q=Sh%C4%81h+rukh+europoid|title=Ich suchte Gesichter|first=Mikhail Mikhaĭlovich|last=Gerasimov|date=January 5, 1971|publisher=J. B. Lippincott|access-date=January 5, 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> His father Shah Rukh had predominantly Caucasoid features, with no obvious Mongoloid feature.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UFtAAAAMAAJ&q=He+had+reconstructed+the+heads+of+Timur,+his+son+Shah+Rukh+and+grandson+Ulug+Beg,+with+the+first+a+Mongol+type,+while+Shah+Rukh,+the+son+of+a+Tajik+woman,+had+Europoid+features.+The+third+was+a+mixture+of+the+two,+with+the+Mongol+type|title=Greater Iran: A 20th-century Odyssey|first=Richard Nelson|last=Frye|date=March 22, 2005|publisher=Mazda|isbn=9781568591773|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xqi0AAAAIAAJ&q=Sh%C4%81h+rukh+europoid|title=The Face Finder|first=Mikhail Mikhaĭlovich|last=Gerasimov|date=March 22, 1971|publisher=J. B. Lippincott|via=Google Books}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Aryabhata]], ancient Indian astronomer
* [[Ulugh Beg Observatory]] and Museum
* [[Ulugbek Madrasa in Samarkand in Uzbekistan|Ulugh Beg Madrasa]] in Samarkand
* [[Ulugbek Madrasah (Bukhara)|Ulugh beg Madrasa]] in Bukhara

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{MacTutor Biography|id=Ulugh_Beg|title=Ulugh Beg}}
* 1839. L. P. E. A. Sedillot (1808–1875). Tables astronomiques d’Oloug Beg, commentees et publiees avec le texte en regard, Tome I, 1 fascicule, Paris. A very rare work, but referenced in the Bibliographie generale de l’astronomie jusqu’en 1880, by J.
* 1847. L. P. E. A. Sedillot (1808–1875). Prolegomenes des Tables astronomiques d’Oloug Beg, publiees avec Notes et Variantes, et precedes d’une Introduction. Paris: F. Didot.
* 1853. L. P. E. A. Sedillot (1808–1875). Prolegomenes des Tables astronomiques d’Oloug Beg, traduction et commentaire. Paris.
* ''Le Prince Savant annexe les étoiles'', Frédérique Beaupertuis-Bressand, in Samarcande 1400–1500, La cité-oasis de Tamerlan : coeur d'un Empire et d'une Renaissance, book directed by Vincent Fourniau, éditions Autrement, 1995, {{ISSN|1157-4488}}.
* ''L'âge d'or de l'astronomie ottomane'', Antoine Gautier, in L'Astronomie, (Monthly magazine created by [[Camille Flammarion]] in 1882), December 2005, volume 119.
* ''L'observatoire du prince Ulugh Beg'', Antoine Gautier, in ''L'Astronomie'', (Monthly magazine created by [[Camille Flammarion]] in 1882), October 2008, volume 122.
* ''Le recueil de calendriers du prince timouride Ulug Beg (1394–1449)'', Antoine Gautier, in ''Le Bulletin'', n° spécial Les calendriers, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, juin 2007, pp.&nbsp;117–123. d
* Jean-Marie Thiébaud, ''Personnages marquants d'Asie centrale, du Turkestan et de l'Ouzbékistan'', Paris, éditions L'Harmattan, 2004. {{ISBN|2-7475-7017-7}}.

== Further reading ==
{{EB1911 poster|Ulugh Beg}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | editor = Thomas Hockey | display-editors = etal | last = Dalen | first = Benno van | title=Ulugh Beg: Muḥammad Ṭaraghāy ibn Shāhrukh ibn Tīmūr | encyclopedia = The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers | publisher=Springer | year = 2007 | location = New York | pages = 1157–9 | url=http://islamsci.mcgill.ca/RASI/BEA/Ulugh_Beg_BEA.htm | isbn=978-0-387-31022-0}} ([http://islamsci.mcgill.ca/RASI/BEA/Ulugh_Beg_BEA.pdf PDF version])

== External links ==
{{Commonscat|Ulugh Beg}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Ulugh Beg}}
* [https://bluedomes.net/2025/03/18/ulugh-beg-a-short-biography/ Ulugh Beg: a short biography] March 18. 2025
* [http://www.pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/samarkand/Observatory_Ulugbek_1.htm The observatory and memorial museum of Ulugbek]
* [http://pagetour.narod.ru/bukhara/bu/Ulugbek_Madrasah.htm Bukhara Ulugbek Madrasah]
* [http://www.pagetour.narod.ru/samarkand/Registan.htm Registan the heart of ancient Samarkand.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040830081820/http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Ulugh_Beg.html Biography by School of Mathematics and Statistics University of St Andrews, Scotland]
* [http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-2/cam6.html Legacy of Ulug Beg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519141139/http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-2/cam6.html |date=May 19, 2019 }}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/MeHtWABVSaaHNHl4ndc4rQ BBC's History of the World in 100 Objects, jade dragon cup], discusses its patronage by Ulugh Beg

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Timurid dynasty]]}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Shah Rukh]]}}
{{s-ttl|title = [[Timurid Empire]]|years = 1447–1449}}
{{s-aft|after = [[Abd al-Latif ibn Muhammad Taraghay Ulughbek|'Abd al-Latif]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Timurid Empire}}
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{{Islamic mathematics}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulugh Beg}}
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[[Category:Astronomers of the medieval Islamic world]]
[[Category:Independent scientists]]
[[Category:Mathematicians of the medieval Islamic world]]
[[Category:People from Herat]]
[[Category:Scientific instrument makers]]
[[Category:Timurid monarchs]]
[[Category:15th-century Muslims]]
[[Category:15th-century mathematicians]]
[[Category:15th-century astronomers]]
[[Category:15th-century monarchs in Asia]]
[[Category:15th-century murdered monarchs]]