Kurdujin Khatun (prior to 1273–1338) was an

Ilkhanid The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

princess, ruler of Kerman in 1295–1296 and of

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

in 1319–1338

Life

She was born to

Abish Khatun Abish Khatun () — was the 9th and last ruler of the Salghurids of Shiraz from 1264 to 1282. Life as princess She was born in Shiraz around 1259/1260 to Salghurid Atabeg Sa'd II ( ca) and Turkan Khatun - daughter of Mahmudshah, Atabeg of Yazd. ...

and

Möngke Temür Möngke Temür ( or ) or Dudu Mengtemu ( Manchu: ;遼寧省檔案館『滿州實錄上函』 ) (1370–1433) was a Jurchen chieftain of the Odoli tribe, one of the three tribes of the lower Sunggari river valley in Manchuria. In the 1380s the t ...

, the son of

Hulagu Khan Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of We ...

First Marriage

Her marriage to Suyurgatmish of Kerman, a Khitan ruler, helped her new husband to gain many allies, including Suqunjaq Noyan (governor of Iraq), Khuzestan, and Qutui Khatun, the mother of

Tekuder Ahmed Tekuder ( Mongolian: ''Tegülder'', meaning “perfect”; fa, تکودر) (c.1246 10 August 1284), also known as Sultan Ahmad (reigned 1282–1284), was the sultan of the Persian-based Ilkhanate, son of Hulegu and brother of Abaqa. He w ...

. Suyurgatmish was confirmed as the new ruler of Kerman by Tekuder in 1282. Kurdujin further extended her influence when she inherited her mother's estate in 1286. However, after

Gaykhatu Gaykhatu ( Mongolian script:; ) was the fifth Ilkhanate ruler in Iran. He reigned from 1291 to 1295. His Buddhist baghshi gave him the Tibetan name Rinchindorj () which appeared on his paper money. Early life He was born to Abaqa and Nukdan ...

's coronation, the political climate suddenly changed and

Padishah Khatun Safwat al-Din Khatun (1256–1295), otherwise known as Padishah Khatun, was the ruler of Kirman from 1292 until 1295 as a member of the Mongol vassal Qutlugh-Khanid dynasty in Persia. Life She was born in 1256, as the youngest da ...

, who became the ruler of Kerman, imprisoned Suyurgatmish. Kurdujin helped her husband to escape, but he was captured and executed on 21 August 1294.

Struggle against Padishah Khatun

Kurdujin Khatun was able to get her revenge when

Baydu Baydu (Mongolian script:; ) (died 1295) was the sixth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate division in Iran. He was the son of Taraqai, who was in turn the fifth son of Hulagu Khan.Stevens, John. ''The history of Persia. Containing, the lives and ...

, the son-in-law of Suyurgatmish ascended to throne. Baydu demanded that Padishah Khatun come to his coronation ceremony. After gathering allies, Kurdujin invaded Kerman and besieged the city. Around the same time, some of Padishah Khatun's emirs changed loyalties to Kurdujin. These included Emir Timur, Emir Shadi, Emir Mubarek and her own nephew Nasrat al-Din Yulukshah. Padishah Khatun finally surrendered the city and sent the keys to Kurdujin. Padishah was imprisoned and later was accused of treason. Kurdujin Khatun was able to obtain the order to execute Padishah Khatun from

, thanks to her stepdaughter Shah Alam. Padishah was executed on the spot near Kushk-e Zar in June/July 1295. After her victorious entrance, Kurdujin Khatun ruled Kerman. However she was soon replaced by

Muzaffar al-Din Mohammad Muzaffar al-Din Mohammad was the penultimate Qutlugh-Khanids, Qutlughkhanid ruler of Kerman. Life He was the son of Muzaffar al-Din Hajjaj. He succeeded Kurdujin Khatun as hereditary ruler of Kerman on the order of Ghazan in 1295/1296. One of hi ...

, Muzaffar al-Din Hajjaj's son in 1295, on order of

Ghazan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of ...

, the new Ilkhan.

Later Life

She lived a quiet life in

for some time. She gave refuge to her stepson Qutb al-Din Shah Jahan in 1306 when he was depraved of ruling Kerman by Öljeitü. In 1319 she ruled

in her own right on the order of Abu Said. She died in 1338 and was succeeded by her niece Sultan Khatun in Shiraz.

Marriages

She had many marriages throughout her life: # Suyurgatmish (ended in 1294) – Ruler of Kerman # Amir Taj al-Din Satilmish, formerly a supporter of

Kutlugh Turkan Kutlugh Turkan (c.1208/1213 – 1283), was a ruler of Kirman from 1257 until 1282. Early life Different accounts exist regarding her early life. According to "History of Qara-Khitai Shahs" (''Tāriḵ-e šāhi-e Qarāḵtāʾiān'') by anony ...

. # Toghai, a

basqaq ''Darughachi'' (Mongol form) or ''Basqaq'' (Turkic form) were originally designated officials in the Mongol Empire that were in charge of taxes and administration in a certain province. The plural form of the Mongolian word is ''darugha''. They ...

who was Satilmish's nephew that arrived at Fars in 1320. # Amir Chupan (ended in 1327) with whom she had 3 sons: #* Siukshah #*

Yagi Basti Yagi Basti (d. c. 1344) was a member of the Chobanid family and the ruler of Shiraz for a part of 1343. He was the son of Amir Chupan by his second wife. Career Like most of the other Chobanids, Yagi Basti threw his support behind his nephew Hasan ...

#* Nowruz Abu Said promised to marry her to Ghiyath-uddin ibn Rukn-uddin, the

Kartid The Kart dynasty, also known as the Kartids ( fa, آل کرت), was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Tajik origin closely related to the Ghurids, that ruled over a large part of Khorasan during the 13th and 14th centuries. Ruling from their capital ...

ruler of Herat, but

Baghdad Khatun Baghdad Khatun ( fa, بغداد خاتون; died 16 December 1335) (lit. Queen Baghdad), was a Chobanid princess, the daughter of Chupan. She was the Empress consort of the Ilkhanate as the wife of Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan. Family Baghdad Khatun w ...

prevented this move.

Legacy

She was mentioned in works of historian

Wassaf Wassaf or Vassaf ( fa, عبدالله ابن فضل‌الله شرف‌الدین شیرازی) Abdallah ibn Faḍlallah Sharaf al-Din Shīrāzī (''fl.'' 1265–1328) was a 14th-century Persian historian of the Ilkhanate. Waṣṣāf, sometimes ...

, who praised her for being charitable. She also founded the Madrasa-i Shahi (Royal College) in Shiraz.

Ancestors

{{ahnentafel , collapsed=no , align=center , title=Ancestors of Kurdujin Khatun , boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; , boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; , boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; , boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; , boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; , 1= 1. Kurdujin Khatun , 2= 2.

Mengü Temür Mengü is a common masculine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Mengü" means "eternal", "without a beginning", and/or "having no beginning". Real people * Mengü Timur, khan of the Golden Horde in 1266–1280.. * Tuda Mengü, khan of the Gold ...

, 3= 3.

, 4= 4.

, 5= 5. Oljai Khatun , 6= 6. Sa'd II , 7=7. Turkan Khatun , 8= 8.

Tolui Tolui (also Toluy, Tului; , meaning: "the mirror"; – 1232) was a Mongol khan, the fourth son of Genghis Khan by his chief khatun, Börte. At his father's death in 1227, his ''ulus'', or territorial inheritance, was the Mongol homelands on t ...

, 9= 9.

Sorghaghtani Beki Sorghaghtani Beki ( mn, Сорхагтани Бэхи/ ; ) or Bekhi ('' Bek(h)i'' is a title), also written Sorkaktani, Sorkhokhtani, Sorkhogtani, Siyurkuktiti ( – 1252), posthumous name Empress Xianyi Zhuangsheng (), was a Keraite princess an ...

, 10=10. Torolchi of Oirats , 11=11. Checheikhen , 12= 12. Qutlugh Khan Abu Bakr , 13= , 14=14. Alauddawla Mahmud Shah , 15=15. Yaqut Turkan , 16= 16. Genghis Khan , 17= 17.

Börte Börte (simply Borte, also Börte Üjin; Mongolian: ; Cyrillic: Бөртэ үжин; c. 1161–1230) was the first wife of Temüjin, who became Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. Börte became the head of the first Court of Genghis ...

, 18=18. Jakha Gambhu , 19= , 20=20. Quduqa Beki , 21= , 22=22. Genghis Khan , 23=23.

, 24= 24. Sa'd I , 25= , 26= , 27= , 28=28. Qotb al-Din Abu Mansur , 29= , 30=30.

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 ...

, 31=

References

13th-century births 1338 deaths Mongol rulers Women of the Mongol Empire Borjigin Ilkhanate 14th-century women rulers Chobanids 13th-century Mongolian women 14th-century Mongolian women Qutlugh-Khanids