In 1395, he was recorded as having engaged the Qara Qoyunlu forces for several days, in reward for which he was awarded lands by Timur. However in 1398, he was captured by Qara Yusuf, who had him imprisoned on Akdamar Island whilst he ransacked his lands.[10] By the time of Timur's death in 1405 and the subsequent weakening of Timurid authority, Shir had switched allegiance to Qara Yusuf.[11] Though he seems to have disliked the Turkomans, he is recorded to have acted as an intermediary during a dispute between them and the Shirvanshahs.[12] By 1412, Izz al-Din Shir had begun surrendering his rule to his son, Malik Muhammad, on account of his advanced age. However, he still appears to have been the Hakkari ruler de jure, with Armenian scribes continuing to refer to Malik Muhammad under his father's name.[13]