Murād Khan ( fa, , tt-Latn, Murad Xan), called ''Amurat'' and ''Murut'' in Russian sources, and sometimes Murīd/Mürid, Burut, and Murdād in eastern sources, was Khan of at least part of the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
from 1361 to 1363.
Origins
Murād, or more fully Ḥājjī Murād, was the brother of
Khiḍr Khan, the son of Mangqutai, son of Töle Buqa, son of Qadaq, son of
Shiban
Shiban (Sheiban) or Shayban ( mn, Шибан, ''Shiban'', also spelled ''Siban''; uz, Shaybon / Шайбон) was a prince of the early Golden Horde. He was a grandson of Genghis Khan, the fifth son of Jochi and a younger brother of Batu Khan w ...
, son of
Jochi
Jochi Khan ( Mongolian: mn, Зүчи, ; kk, Жошы, Joşy جوشى; ; crh, Cuçi, Джучи, جوچى; also spelled Juchi; Djochi, and Jöchi c. 1182– February 1227) was a Mongol army commander who was the eldest son of Temüjin (aka G ...
, and originated from the
Ulus of Shiban in the eastern part of the Golden Horde, according to the information of the ''Tawārīḫ-i guzīdah-i nuṣrat-nāmah''. The variant ancestry supplied by some other sources is now considered inaccurate, for example the assertion of Muʿīn-ad-Dīn Naṭanzī (earlier known as the "Anonymous of Iskandar") that Murīd (i.e., Murād) was the son of Orda Shaykh (i.e.,
Ordu Malik
Ordu Malik (Ūrdū-Malik), ''Ardemelik'' in the Russian chronicles, also called ''Ordu Shaykh'' (Ūrdū-Šayḫ) by Naṭanzī, was briefly Khan of the Golden Horde in 1361, having replaced his rival Timur Khwaja.
Career
Ordu Malik appeared o ...
), or
Khwandamir
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, commonly known as Khvandamir (also spelled Khwandamir; 1475/6 – 1535/6) was a Persian historian who was active in the Timurid, Safavid and Mughal empires. He is principally known for his Persian universal history, the ...
, Ötemiš-Ḥājjjī, and one Russian chronicle, making Murād (whom they call Murdād, Burut, and Murut, respectively) the parricide son of Khiḍr Khan.
Rise to power
Murād's brother Khiḍr Khan made himself ruler of the Golden Horde in 1360. Threatened by the advance of a competitor,
Ordu Malik
Ordu Malik (Ūrdū-Malik), ''Ardemelik'' in the Russian chronicles, also called ''Ordu Shaykh'' (Ūrdū-Šayḫ) by Naṭanzī, was briefly Khan of the Golden Horde in 1361, having replaced his rival Timur Khwaja.
Career
Ordu Malik appeared o ...
, Khiḍr Khan was murdered by his own son
Timur Khwaja
Timur Khwaja ( fa, , tt-Latn, Timer Xuca) was briefly Khan of the Golden Horde in 1361, having succeeded his father Khiḍr Khan.
The forceful Khiḍr Khan, a descendant of Jochi's son Shiban according to the ''Tawārīḫ-i guzīdah-i nuṣr ...
in 1361. Murād might have claimed the throne in opposition to his parricide nephew, but it was Timur Khwaja who took over at the capital
Sarai. However, the uncle and nephew were both threatened by the continued advance of Ordu Malik from the east, and of
Mamai
Mamai (Mongolian Cyrillic: Мамай, tt-Cyrl, Мамай, translit=Mamay; 1325?–1380/1381) was a powerful military commander of the Golden Horde. Contrary to popular misconception, he was not a khan (king), but a warlord and a kingmaker ...
from the west. Timur Khwaja was expelled and killed after several weeks on the throne, while Ordu Malik seized Sarai, only to hold it for about a month, before he was killed and succeeded by the pretended
Kildi Beg, still in 1361. At some point during these developments, Murād established himself as khan at Gülistan (Tsarevskoe gorodishche just northwest of
Tsarev). This appears to have remained the base of his authority, and it was from here that he issued his coinage. In August or September 1362, Murād fought a battle against Kildi Beg and emerged victorious, and his rival was killed. Before Murād could take over Sarai, however, the city was seized by Mamai and his puppet khan
ʿAbdallāh. Subsequent events are confused, but it seems Murād expelled ʿAbdallāh from Sarai in Mamai's absence, only to lose the city immediately to another
Jochi
Jochi Khan ( Mongolian: mn, Зүчи, ; kk, Жошы, Joşy جوشى; ; crh, Cuçi, Джучи, جوچى; also spelled Juchi; Djochi, and Jöchi c. 1182– February 1227) was a Mongol army commander who was the eldest son of Temüjin (aka G ...
d prince,
Khayr-Pūlād (or Mīr-Pūlād). While the latter retained Sarai, the rest of the Golden Horde was divided between Murād and ʿAbdallāh, and both courts sought to win the loyalty and tribute of the vassal
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n princes. Desperate for revenue, Murād granted the diploma of investiture (
yarlik
A jarlig ( mn, зарлиг, zarlig; russian: ярлык, ''jarlyk'', also transliterated yarlyk in Russian and Turkic, or even more correctly yarlıq, and the Tatar: yarlığ) is an edict or written commandant of Mongol and Chinggisid rulers' ...
) with the Grand Principality of Vladimir to the 11-year-old
Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow in 1362, However, Mamai induced Dmitrij of Moscow and his regent, Metropolitan
Aleksey
Alexey, Alexei, Alexie, Aleksei, or Aleksey (russian: Алексе́й ; bg, Алексей ) is a Russian and Bulgarian male first name deriving from the Greek ''Aléxios'' (), meaning "Defender", and thus of the same origin as the Latin Al ...
, to recognize Mamai's protégé ʿAbdallāh as suzerain in 1363. When this happened, Murād granted the investiture with the Grand Principality of Vladimir to
Dmitry Konstantinovich of Suzdal instead. But the Muscovites forced Dmitry of Suzdal to come to terms and renounce his claims. Murād did not have a chance to retaliate, before he died in the winter of 1363.
Death
According to the often unreliable Muʿīn-ad-Dīn Naṭanzī, Murād's
beglerbeg
''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit= bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Selj ...
was Ilyās, the son of the former beglerbeg Mogul Buqa, who had perished due to the machinations of Kildi Beg. Murād was enamored of Ilyās' son, and determined to kill the father and promote the son in his place. When Murād shared this design with his wife in secret, she betrayed it to Ilyās, who preempted the khan and killed him. Murād's death is dated to the winter of 1363–1364. What happened at Murād's court at Gülistan after his death is not entirely clear: he may have been succeeded by a certain Pūlād Khwaja (perhaps the same as
Khayr Pūlād), possibly a distant cousin and fellow descendant of Shiban, son of Jochi, but his first coins are dated to late 1364; by 1365, Pūlād Khwaja had been succeeded by
ʿAzīz Shaykh, also apparently a distant cousin of Murād's as a fellow descendant of Shiban, son of Jochi.
[Sidorenko 2000: 285; Gaev 2002: 28; Sagdeeva 2005: 71; Počekaev 2010: 128 thinks ʿAzīz Shaykh succeeded Murād directly.]
Genealogy
*
Genghis Khan
*
Jochi
Jochi Khan ( Mongolian: mn, Зүчи, ; kk, Жошы, Joşy جوشى; ; crh, Cuçi, Джучи, جوچى; also spelled Juchi; Djochi, and Jöchi c. 1182– February 1227) was a Mongol army commander who was the eldest son of Temüjin (aka G ...
*
Shiban
Shiban (Sheiban) or Shayban ( mn, Шибан, ''Shiban'', also spelled ''Siban''; uz, Shaybon / Шайбон) was a prince of the early Golden Horde. He was a grandson of Genghis Khan, the fifth son of Jochi and a younger brother of Batu Khan w ...
* Qadaq
* Töle Buqa
* Mangqutai
*Murād Khan
See also
*
List of Khans of the Golden Horde
References
Notes
Sources
* Gaev, A. G., "Genealogija i hronologija Džučidov," ''Numizmatičeskij sbornik'' 3 (2002) 9-55.
* Grekov, B. D., and A. J. Jakubovskij, ''Zolotaja orda i eë padenie''. Moscow, 1950.
* Grigor'ev, A. P., "Zolotoordynskie hany 60-70-h godov XIV v.: hronologija pravlenii," ''Istriografija i istočnikovedenie stran Azii i Afriki'' 7 (1983) 9-54.
* Howorth, H. H., ''History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century.'' Part II.1. London, 1880.
* Judin, V. P., ''Utemiš-hadži, Čingiz-name'', Alma-Ata, 1992.
* May, T., ''The Mongol Empire''. Edinburgh, 2018.
* Počekaev, R. J., ''Cari ordynskie: Biografii hanov i pravitelej Zolotoj Ordy''. Saint Petersburg, 2010.
* Safargaliev, M. G., ''Raspad Zolotoj Ordy.'' Saransk, 1960.
* Sagdeeva, R. Z., ''Serebrjannye monety hanov Zolotoj Ordy'', Moscow, 2005.
* Seleznëv, J. V., ''Èlita Zolotoj Ordy'', Kazan', 2009.
* Sidorenko, V. A., "Hronologija pravlenii zolotoordynskih hanov 1357-1380 gg.," ''Materialov po arheologii, istorii i ètnografii Tavrii'' 7 (2000) 267–288.
* Thackston, W. M. (trans.), ''Khwandamir, Habibu's-siyar. Tome Three.'' Cambridge, MA, 1994.
* Tizengauzen, V. G. (trans.), ''Sbornik materialov otnosjaščihsja k istorii Zolotoj Ordy. Izvlečenija iz persidskih sočinenii'', republished as ''Istorija Kazahstana v persidskih istočnikah''. 4. Almaty, 2006.
* Vernadsky, G., ''The Mongols and Russia'', New Haven, 1953.
* Vohidov, Š. H. (trans.), ''Istorija Kazahstana v persidskih istočnikah.'' 3. ''Muʿizz al-ansāb.'' Almaty, 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murad Khan
1363 deaths
Khans of the Golden Horde
14th-century monarchs in Europe
Mongol Empire Muslims
Year of birth unknown