Chagatai Khan (
Mongolian: ''; Čaɣatay''; mn, Цагадай, translit=Tsagadai; chg, , ''Čaġatāy''; ug, چاغاتاي خان, ''Chaghatay-Xan''; zh, 察合台, ''Chágětái''; fa, , ''Joghatây''; 22 December 1183 – 1 July 1242) was the second son of
Genghis Khan and
Börte. He inherited most of what are now five
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...
n states after the death of his father. He was also appointed by Genghis Khan to oversee the execution of the
Yassa, the written code of law created by Genghis Khan.
Under Genghis Khan
Very little is known about Chagatai's earlier life. He was the second son of
Genghis Khan and
Börte. Chagatai was considered hot-headed and somewhat temperamental by his relatives, because of his attitude of non-acceptance of
Jochi as a full-brother. He was the most vocal about this issue among his relations. He was assigned 4
mingghans (led by
Qarachar of
Barlas
The Barlas ( mn, Barulās, script=Latn;Grupper, S. M. ‘A Barulas Family Narrative in the Yuan Shih: Some Neglected Prosopographical and Institutional Sources on Timurid Origins.’ Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 8 (1992–94): 11–97 Chagatay/ ...
, Kököchü of
Baarin, Müge of
Jalairs and Idiqudai Noyan) and an appanage around
Altai Mountains in 1206 by his father.
He joined
the invasion of Jin Empire in 1211 with Jochi and
Ögedei, capturing several cities and invading
Shaanxi and
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...
in 1213, also plundering
Yanggu. Later Chagatai appeared at
campaign against Khwarazmian Empire with his father and brothers, capturing
Otrar in 1218,
Samarkand in 1220,
Urgench in March-April 1221. The Urgench campaign was noticeably harder because Chagatai and Jochi failed to co-operate.
After this incident Ögedei was appointed commander of the besieging forces and Chagatai was given task of maintaining communication between Mongol forces with building bridges and restoring roads. He returned to his father's side during his siege of
Talaqan
Taloqan (Persian, also transcribed Taleqan or Taluqan) is the capital of Takhar Province, in northeastern Afghanistan. It is located in the Taluqan District. The population was estimated as 196,400 in 2006.
In 2021, the Taliban gained contro ...
.
Chagatai was greatly affected when his son
Mutukan was killed during the
siege of Bamiyan in 1221.
He was present at
the battle where
Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu was defeated near the
Indus River. He later commanded the rear guard during
conquest of Western Xia.
During reign of Ögedei and Töregene
Chagatai succeeded Genghis Khan in his domains in what came to be known as
Chagatai Khanate in 1227 with its capital in
Almaliq city, in the valley of the
Upper Ili, near the site of the present
Kulja, and consequently in the extreme east of his dominion. According to
Edward Ross, "his reason for fixing it in that remote position, instead of at
Bukhara or
Samarkand, was probably one of necessity. His Mongol tribesmen and followers—the mainstay of his power—were passionately fond of the life of the steppes." As the eldest surviving son and head of the house, he was present at the enthronement ceremony of
Ögedei on 13 September 1229 and supported his reign. Ögedei in his turn sent
Güyük as Chagatai's ward. Although
Rashidaddin claimed that Chagatai died shortly before Ögedei,
Juvayni told of further activities of Chagatai, such as strong support to regency of
Töregene. However, he soon died.
Administration
His known viziers include Vajir, Baha al-Din Marghinani and Habash Amid. Vajir was described as
Turkish,
Uyghur and
Khitan by different authors. He was employed by Qushuq Noyan from Jalayir tribe to court of Chagatai. Having written a book about history of Mongol Empire, he was regarded highly by Chagatai. He even let him to execute one of his daughters-in-law in charges of adultery. After Chagatai's death, Vajir was executed for treason alongside Chagatai's physician Majd al-Din, since his widow Yesülün charged them with poisoning of Chagatai. Habash Amid was a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
Khwarazmian from
Otrar and a secretary originally. He was assigned to Chagatai in 1218 and survived the purge thanks to his support for
Qara Hülegü
Qara Hülegü (died 1252) was head of the ''ulus'' of the Chagatai Khanate (1242 - 1246, 1252).
He was the son of Mö'etüken (killed during the 1221 siege of Bamiyan), favored son of Chagatai Khan. He was nominated by Chagatai Khan, as well ...
. Baha al-Din Marghinani also survived Chagatai, being a friend of his son
Yesü Möngke
Yesü Möngke (, died 1252) was head of the ''ulus'' of the Chagatai Khanate (1246 or 1247-1252).
Biography
He was the fifth son of Chagatai Khan and Yesülün Khatun. In or around 1246, he was appointed as khan of the Chagatai Khanate by his ...
although he was purged later.
Family
Chagatai had two principal wives along other wives and concubines:
* Yesülün Khatun — daughter of Qata Noyan of
Khongirads (cousin of
Börte)
*#
Mutukan — killed during
siege of Bamyan in 1221
*## Baiju
*##
Büri
Büri ( -, , , d.1252) was a son of Mutukan and a grandson of Chagatai Khan.
Life
Under Ögedei
According to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, Büri's mother was a wife of Chagatai Khan's slave. She was a beauty and Mutukan was attracted by her while ...
(d. 1252) — a commander in
Mongol invasion of Europe
*##
Yesünto'a
*##
Qara Hülegü
Qara Hülegü (died 1252) was head of the ''ulus'' of the Chagatai Khanate (1242 - 1246, 1252).
He was the son of Mö'etüken (killed during the 1221 siege of Bamiyan), favored son of Chagatai Khan. He was nominated by Chagatai Khan, as well ...
(b. before 1221) — khan (1242-1246; 1252)
*# Belgeshi (c.1209 - c.1222) — died shortly after
Mutukan
*#
Yesü Möngke
Yesü Möngke (, died 1252) was head of the ''ulus'' of the Chagatai Khanate (1246 or 1247-1252).
Biography
He was the fifth son of Chagatai Khan and Yesülün Khatun. In or around 1246, he was appointed as khan of the Chagatai Khanate by his ...
— khan (1246–1252)
* Tögen Khatun — sister of Yesülün Khatun
* Sevinch Khatun — daughter of
Buraq Hajib Buraq Hajib, also spelt Baraq Hajib (died 1234), Mernissi, Fatima; Mary Jo Lakeland (2003). The forgotten queens of Islam. Oxford University Press. . was a Khitan who founded the Qutlugh-Khanid dynasty in the southern Persian province of Kirman t ...
*
Ebuskun Ebuskun served as regent for the Central Asian Mongol Empire from 1242 until 1246 during the minority of her son Qara Hülëgü.
She was the spouse of Mütügen, eldest son of Jagatai and grandson of Jenghiz Khan. She became a widow in 1221.
Wh ...
— only attested in
Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat's ''Tarikh-i-Rashidi'', probably same as Yesülün
* Children by concubines
*# Mochi Yebe — eldest son, wasn't given high regard by Chagatai, son-in-law of
Batu Khan
Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis K ...
, controlled territory on the left bank of the
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...
*#*
Tekuder —
Ilkhanate commander in
Georgia
*#* Ahmad — a commander under
Baraq
*#* Tekshi — he had a son called Tabudughar and grandson: Toghan, Hoqolqu, Qoriqtai and Qutluq-Temür.
*#* Nom-Quli
*#* Bük-Buqa
*#* Temüder
*#* Qotan
*#* Cheche
*#* Chichektü — had sons: Shadban and Qushman
*#* Ishal — had sons: Qan Buqa and Uladai
*#* Toghan — had sons: Qoriqtai, Bük-Buqa, Nom-Quli
*# Sarban
*## Qushiqi — Commander in
Mongol conquest of Song China
*##
Negübei
Negübei was a khan of the Chagatai Khanate (1271–1272?). He was the son of Sarban.
In 1271 Negübei was appointed by Kaidu as head of the Chagatai Khanate. A year after his enthronement, however, he rebelled against his master, possibly i ...
— khan (1271-1272)
*#
Baidar — A commander in
Mongol invasion of Europe
*##
Alghu — khan (1260-1265)
*# Baiju
*## Mochi (c.1279) — commander of
Qara'unas
*### Abdullah (c.1279-1298) — commander of
Qara'unas
Legacy
According to
Rashidaddin, he was a just and competent ruler.
Minhaj-i-Siraj Juzjani also considered him to be dignified and open hearted.
Muslims viewed Chagatai Khan with negativity and hostility because Chagatai Khan strictly enforced Mongol Yasa law against Islamic Shariah law banning Halal animal slaughter and Islamic prayer ritual ablution as well as the Islamic legal system.
The
Chagatai language takes its name from him, as well as people surnamed
Chughtai
The Chughtai Moghols or Chughtai Mughals ( chg, Çağatay Moghul, ur, ) are descendants and followers of Chaghtai Khan (the second son of Genghis Khan and the founder of Chaghtai Khanate) in South Asia (modern-day Pakistan). They migrated to th ...
, city of
Joghatai
Joghatai ( fa, جغتائ, also Romanized as Joghatāy and Jaghatāi) is a city and capital of Joghatai County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. It is named after Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡ ...
in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
Ciğatay village in
Azerbaijan.
Ancestry
References
Sources
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chagatai Khan
1183 births
1242 deaths
Chagatai khans
13th-century monarchs in Asia
Founding monarchs
Sons of emperors