sentences:  His failure to impose his rule across Persia made Mahmud depressed and suspicious.He was also concerned about the loyalty of his own men, since many Afghans preferred his cousin Ashraf Khan.In February 1725, believing a rumour that one of Sultan Husayn's sons, Safi Mirza, had escaped, Mahmud ordered the execution of all the other Safavid princes who were in his hands, with the exception of Sultan Husayn himself.