Throughout most of his rule Shahrukh provided a precious period of peace and prosperity for his subjects, but his last years were difficult. The problems which led to rebellion and then to the collapse of order on his death were those which plagued most governments of the medieval Middle East. At the center, the need to choose a successor strained relations among the royal family and their servitors. Bureaucratic corruption had grown beyond acceptable limits and efficient tax collection was hampered by abuses both at the center and in the provinces. As older and experienced governors died it became harder to retain power in the provinces and this situation was made dangerous by the constant political activity of indigenous leaders. When Shahrukh became seriously ill in 847–48/1444 disturbances arose throughout the realm, and his grandson Sultan Muhammad b. Baysunghur began a rebellion which required military action. It was on the campaign against him that Shahrukh died, and his death opened a struggle for power which brought the death of most of the major contestants and the loss of western Iran. All of these events involved several segments of the population, and, when we examine the actions and successes of Sultan Muhammad, we see a pattern of interlocking political activities involving Iranian and Turco-Mongolian leaders, dynasty and emirs, emirs and viziers. What is illustrated here is both the fragility of central government and the involvement of provincial populations in politics which affected the center.