Ulugh Beg kept back his son's share of the treasury, and the son defeated him, had him sentenced, and let the emirs kill him on the road to Mecca

Ulugh Beg, grandson of Timur, governed Samarkand from 1409 and built a madrasa and an observatory there; his star catalogue of 1437 listed 994 stars. When his father Shah Rukh died in 1447 he became ruler. In 1448 he took Herat with the help of his elder son Abd al-Latif, then denied Abd al-Latif the share of the treasury due to him and credited the younger son, Abd al-Aziz, with the victory in the official proclamations. TDV adds that Ulugh Beg spent tax revenue on madrasas, libraries and the observatory instead of sharing it with his commanders, who turned to his son. Abd al-Latif raised an army and in September or October 1449 defeated his father outside Samarkand; Ulugh Beg's own commander shut the city gates against him. He surrendered. A court headed by a supporter of Abd al-Latif sentenced him and Abd al-Aziz to death for opposing the sharia. Ulugh Beg gave up his claim and asked to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. He was allowed to leave, and a day or two out of Samarkand the emirs killed him. Abd al-Aziz was murdered two days later. Abd al-Latif was himself assassinated soon after. Ulugh Beg was buried in the Gur-e Amir at Timur's feet; Soviet scientists found his remains there in 1941.