The exact year in which Izz al-Din Shir began his reign is uncertain. In 1384, he appears to have been allied with Sultan Ahmad of the Jalairid Sultanate. Sultan Ahmad, then threatened by both Qara Mahammad of the Qara Qoyunlu and Tokhtamysh, Khan of the Golden Horde, was led to safety by Shir through the latter's domains to the Jalairid capital of Baghdad.[4]