Nawruz Beg ( fa, , tt-Latn, Möxämmät Näwrüzbäk) was a Khan of the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
, who reigned in 1360.
Nawruz Beg succeeded to the throne after the murder of his predecessor
Qulpa
Qulpa (Qūlpā, sometimes read as ''Qulna'' (Qūlnah); ''Kulpa'' and ''Askulpa'' in Russian chronicles, and ''Colbadinus Cam'' in a contemporary Venetian document), was Khan of the Golden Horde from August 1359 to February 1360. He came to the th ...
and the latter's two sons, in February 1360. Nawruz Beg's antecedents are uncertain. Many modern authors simply repeat his claim to have been a son of
Jani Beg
Jani Beg ( fa, , tt-Latn, Canibäk), also known as Djanibek Khan, was a Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357, succeeding his father Öz Beg Khan.
Reign
With the support of his mother Taydula Khatun, Jani Beg made himself khan after eli ...
, but the reputable medieval author
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 ...
explicitly indicates that Nawruz Beg was a ''pretended son'' of Jani Beg. A contemporary Venetian notary act claims that Nawruz Beg pretended to be a son of
Öz Beg without any justification: "quam dici fuisse filium Usbech sine aliqua meritone." Similarly, the most accurate collections 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 ...
d genealogies (like the ''Muʿizz al-ansāb'') do not include Nawruz Beg among Jani Beg's offspring (or anywhere else). Jani Beg's son
Berdi Beg
Berdi Beg or Berdibek ( fa, , tt-Latn, Möxämmät Bärdibäk) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1357 to 1359, having succeeded his father Jani Beg. Berdi Beg was the last khan to rule before the beginning of a long cycle of civil wars in the ...
is said to have slaughtered no less than 12 of his closest kinsmen, including an 8-month-old brother, making it unlikely that Nawruz Beg could have been another son of Jani Beg. According to some scholars, the apparently identical roles attributed in the sources to Nawruz Beg and a certain Bazarchi (Bazarčī), a descendant of Jochi's son Tangqut (both consorts of
Taydula Khatun, both eliminated by
Khiḍr Khan), imply that Nawruz Beg and Bazarchi were one and the same individual. Nawruz Beg had a son named Timur (Tīmūr); similarly, Bazarchi is given a son Timur Malik; neither of these has any relation to the famous
Tamerlane
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
.
Following the death of
Ivan II of Moscow
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...
in November 1359, several Russian princes made their way to the Khan's court to seek investiture with the grand princely throne of
Vladimir
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
. Nawruz Beg awarded the diploma of investiture (''yarliq'') to Prince Andrej Konstantinovič of
Nižnij Novgorod, who ceded it to his brother
Dmitrij Konstantinovič of Suzdal'.
Later in 1360, perhaps in June, Nawruz Beg was deposed and executed, along with his son Timur and Taydula Khatun, by a descendant 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 ...
's son
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 ...
,
Khiḍr.
[Howorth 1880: 182; Safargaliev 1960: 113-114; Gaev 2002: 18-19; Počekaev 2010: 147-148.]
Nawruz Beg's reign was part of the beginning of the
anarchy
Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...
in which over 25 khans followed each other in rapid succession on the throne of the Golden Horde in 20 years, many of them concurrent, and wielding little effective authority. Some of khans reigned only
de jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
, while supreme military rulers ruled
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
;
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 ...
being the most capable and famous of these.
Genealogy
*
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
*
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 ...
*
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 Khan. ...
*
Toqoqan
Toqoqan was a member of the ruling family of the Mongol Empire. He was a son of the Khan of the Golden Horde, Batu. Through his father, he was also a great-grandson of the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan. Though Toqoqan never reigned himself, many su ...
*
Mengu-Timur
Munkh Tumur or Möngke Temür ( mn, ᠮᠦᠨᠺᠬᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ, Мөнхтөмөр; russian: Мангутемир, Mangutemir) (?–1280), son of Toqoqan Khan and Köchu Khatun of Oirat (daughter of Toralchi Küregen and granddaughter of Qu ...
*Toghrilcha
*
Öz Beg
*
Jani Beg
Jani Beg ( fa, , tt-Latn, Canibäk), also known as Djanibek Khan, was a Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357, succeeding his father Öz Beg Khan.
Reign
With the support of his mother Taydula Khatun, Jani Beg made himself khan after eli ...
*(pretended) Nawruz Beg (claimed to be son of Öz Beg according to contemporary Venetian notary, or of Jani Beg according to eastern sources)
See also
*
List of Khans of the Golden Horde
References
* 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.
* Grigoriev, 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.
* Karpov, S. P., "Načalo smuty v Zolotoj Orde i perevorot Navruza," ''Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie'' 6 (2018) 528-536.
* 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.
* Thackston, W. M. (trans.), ''Khwandamir, Habibu's-siyar. Tome Three.'' Cambridge, MA, 1994.
* 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:Nawruz Beg
1361 deaths
Khans of the Golden Horde
14th-century monarchs in Europe
Year of birth unknown