The title of Mir (from the Arabic amir, 'Prince' or, sometimes, 'Commander') was not inherited, as is still regularly stated - for example, on the relevant wikipedia article - but awarded. The idea that Mir 'Ali Shir came by the title because he belonged to the aristocracy is erroneous - unfortunately, because this assertion was first made by the otherwise magisterial V. V. Bartol'd, it has stuck.
It is more likely Mir 'Ali Shir acquired the handle after being appointed an amir of the divan-i a'la, or turk divani, the branch of the state administration dealing with the Turco-Mongolian tribes and military affairs, in 876/1472 [Khwandamir, II, fol. 159]. Also known as the divan-i buzurg or tuvaji divani, this stood as a counterpart to the sart divani or divan-i mal, which dealt with the Persian (or Tajik) population [Subtelny, 'Bakhshi and Beg', p803].
Mir 'Ali Shir's origins were slightly more prosaic; he was from a family of Uighur scribes (bakhshis) that had faithfully served the Timurid dynasty for several generations [Dughlat, II, fol. 90]. Additionally, Mir 'Ali Shir shared a bond of foster-brotherhood (kukultashi) with Sultan Husayn Mirza 'Bayqara' (r. 873/1469-911/1506) of Herat [Subtelny, 'Mir Ali Shir', pp90-93].
References
V. V. Bartol’d, ‘Mīr Alī Shīr’, Four Studies on the History of Central Asia, trans. by V. and T. Minorsky, 3 vols (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1962–63), III (1962), 1-72.
Khwandamir, Habibu’s-Siyar: Tome Three, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 24, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1994).
Mirza Haydar Dughlat, Tarikh-i-Rashidi: A History of the Khans of Moghulistan, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 38, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1996).
Subtelny, M. E., ‘Alī Shīr Navā’ī: Bakshī and Beg’, in Eucharisterion: Essays Presented to Omeljan Pritsak on his 60th Birthday by his Colleagues and Students, ed. by I. Ševčenko and F. E. Sysyn, Harvard Ukrainian Studies, 3-4/2 (1979-80), 797-807.
Subtelny, M. E., ‘Mīr Alī Shīr Nawā’ī’, EI², VII (1993), 90-93.
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