Accession of Abbas I

Timeline

1. 1578–1586Qazvin · IranMuhammad Khudabanda's failing eyesight and powerful ministers left Qizilbash factions taking turns backing princes. During defeats against the Ottomans, the more respected Crown Prince Hamza Mirza was assassinated, leaving the Qazvin court in a succession vacuum and giving the Khorasan faction its opportunity to march west.
2. 1587Mashhad–Qazvin route · KhorasanMurshid Quli Khan of the Ustajlu already controlled Abbas. After the Uzbeks pressed into Khorasan, he led the prince west along trade routes, absorbing Turkmen, Afshar, and Zul-Qadr tribes en route, growing from a few hundred horsemen to about two thousand, and entered Qazvin by late autumn.
3. 1587Qazvin royal palace · QazvinQazvin's populace and part of the garrison turned to support Abbas; after losing his commanders' loyalty around Qom, Khudabanda agreed to abdicate, handing the regalia to his son of about seventeen in the palace. Murshid received the office of vakil and became the most powerful figure at court.
4. 1589Khorasan front · KhorasanMurshid delayed relieving Herat, and Abbas allied with other Qizilbash leaders to remove him, ending the kingmaker's dominance. Only then did he truly rule in his own name, undertaking military and administrative reform after a humiliating peace with the Ottomans. The move to Isfahan is not covered here.