Ulugh Muhammad (1405–1445; ; tt-Cyrl, Олуг Мөхәммәт, translit=Oluğ Möxəmmət; written as Ulanus by orientalists) was a medieval

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

statesman, Gengisid, 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 ...

(before 1436), ruler of Crimea (1437), and the founder of the

Khanate of Kazan The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...

, which he ruled from 1438-1445. He was the son of the oglan Ichkile Hassan and the cousin of

Tokhtamysh Tokhtamysh ( kz, Тоқтамыс, tt-Cyrl, Тухтамыш, translit=Tuqtamış, fa, توقتمش),The spelling of Tokhtamysh varies, but the most common spelling is Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamısh, Toqtamysh, ''Toqtamış'', ''Toqtamıs'', ''Toktamy ...

. He received the nickname "Ulugh", meaning older or large, in contrast to another Muhammed who was called "Kichi", meaning younger or small. Ulugh Muhammad was Khan of the

in 1419-1423, 1426, 1428. In 1428-1432 he waged a stubborn struggle for possession of the Ulug Ulus with the representatives of a minor branch of the Tukaytimurids (one of the branches of the Gengisids). After being defeated, Ulugh Muhammad escaped to Volga Bulgaria vilayet in 1423. With the support

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

, Ulugh Muhammad was able to regain the throne of the Golden Horde in 1426. He succeeded in spreading the power of the Horde to

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

and established friendly relations with the Ottoman Sultan

Murad II Murad II ( ota, مراد ثانى, Murād-ı sānī, tr, II. Murad, 16 June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451. Murad II's reign was a period of important economic deve ...

. Ulugh Muhammad sent an embassy to Egypt in 1428-1429. In 1431 the son and grandson of the ruler of Moscow,

Dmitriy Donskoy Saint Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( rus, Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й, Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry (12 October 1350 – 1 ...

came to the court to Ulugh Muhammad in order to reach a decision about princely succession. Ulugh Muhammad ruled in favour of the grandson, Vasiliy II .

Family

Ulugh Muhammad was most likely the son of

Jalal ad-Din khan Jalal al-Din or Jalāl ad-Dīn ( Persian: ; Tatar: ''Cäläletdin''; Kazakh: ''Jäleläddin''; Polish: ''Dżalal ad-Din'') (1380–1412) was the Khan of the Golden Horde in 1411–1412. He was the son of Tokhtamysh, Khan of the Golden Horde until ...

and the grandson of

, although he may have been descended from Hassan Jefai, a relative of Tokhtamysh. Either way, he was 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 ...

and therefore of

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 , ...

. Ulugh Muhammad's son Mustafa died fighting near Ryazan in 1444. His son

Qasim Khan Qasím Khan (or ''Qasim of Kasimov'') (died 1469) was the first khan of the Tatar Qasim Khanate, from 1452 to his death in 1469. He was the son of Kazan khan Oluğ Möxämmäd. He participated in the battles of Belyov in 1437 and of Suzdal in ...

went to collect ransom after the battle of Suzdal, entered Russian service and in 1452 founded the

Qasim Khanate Qasim Khanate or Kingdom of Qasim or Khanate of Qasım ( tt-Cyrl, Касыйм ханлыгы/Касыйм патшалыгы; russian: Касимовское ханство/Касимовское царство, ''Kasimovskoye khanstvo/Kasimo ...

. His son

Mäxmüd of Kazan Mäxmüd Khan (pronounced ); in Russian chronicles ''Махмутек (Makhmutek);'' ?-1466) was the Khan of the Khanate of Kazan from 1445-1466. He was the eldest son of Oluğ Möxämmäd, and is reputed to be one of the Khanate's founders. M� ...

succeeded him.

Golden Horde

Ulugh Muhammad first came to power following the death of

Yeremferden Jabbār Berdi (Jabbār-Bīrdī) ( fa, ; tt-Latn, Cäbbär Birde; the name is rendered as Yeremferden in some western sources), was a khan of the Golden Horde, reigning twice, in 1414–1415 and 1416–1417. Ancestry Jabbār Berdi was a son of ...

. His main competitor for control of the Horde was his cousinBosworth, Clifford Edmund, ''The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual'', p. 253. Edinburgh University Press, 2004.

Dawlat Berdi Dawlat Berdi ( fa, ; died 1432), also known as Devlet Berdi, was a Khan of the Golden Horde who reigned from 1419 to 1421, and again from 1428 to his death in 1432. He was the son of Jabbar Berdi and a descendant of Berke Khan. Life His first ...

, the son of Yeremferden. For much of his reign Ulugh Muhammad controlled Sarai, and was therefore seen as the most legitimate ruler within the Horde, although Sarai was captured by his rival after the

Siege of Sarai The siege of Sarai (July - August 1420) was a siege of Sarai, the nominal capital of the Golden Horde. Background After the death of Yeremferden both Dawlat Berdi and Olugh Mokhammad sought control of the Golden Horde. Berdi, who was Yeremferd ...

in 1420 and held by him for two years. In 1422 Baraq Khan defeated both Ulugh Muhammad and Dawlat and drove them out of the country. While Dawlat remained in

, Ulugh Muhammad fled to the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

and pled for assistance from

Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

. With this assistance, he was able to march on Baraq and recapture Sarai. After regaining control over the Khanate, Ulugh Muhammad marched on Crimea, where Dawlat Berdi had re-established himself following Baraq's defeat and death. After a series of indecisive skirmishes his invasion was cut short due to the death of Vytautas, which forced Ulugh Muhammad to concentrate his forces on Lithuania, where he supported

Sigismund Kęstutaitis Sigismund Kęstutaitis ( lt, Žygimantas I Kęstutaitis, pl, Zygmunt Kiejstutowicz; 136520 March 1440) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name, while his pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was ...

against

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund K� ...

in the fight for the Lithuanian throne. Švitrigaila, in turn, supported

and later

Sayid Ahmad I Sayid Ahmad I ( fa, ) was a khan of the Golden Horde from 1427 or 1433 until 1455. Unlike the last five of six khans, Ahmad was a younger son of Tokhtamysh. Breakup of the Horde While he died before the Horde dissolved, historians believe that ...

, as did Vasili II of Moscow.

Kazan

Ulugh Muhammad lost control of the Golden Horde in 1436 and fled to Crimea. He quarreled with the Crimeans, led a 3000-man army north and took the border town of

Belyov Belyov (russian: Белёв) is a town and the administrative center of Belyovsky District in Tula Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Oka River. Population: 13,180 (2018); History As is the case with many other towns in the former Up ...

. In 1437 Vasili II of Moscow sent a large army against Ulugh Muhammad under the command of

Dmitry Shemyaka Dmitriy Yurievich Shemyaka (Дмитрий Юрьевич Шемяка in Russian) (died 1453) was the second son of Yury of Zvenigorod by Anastasia of Smolensk and grandson of Dmitri Donskoi. His hereditary patrimony was the rich Northern to ...

, but they were defeated at the

Battle of Belyov ) , date = 5 December 1437 , result = Tatar victory , combatant1 = Grand Duchy of Moscow , combatant2 = Faction of the Golden Horde , commander1 = Knyaz Dmitry Shemyaka, Knyaz Dmitry Krasny , commander2 = Khan Ulugh Muhamma ...

. Ulugh Muhammad subsequently moved to Volga and in 1438 captured

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

, separating it from the Golden Horde. In 1439 he raided Russia and burned

Kolomna Kolomna ( rus, Колóмна, p=kɐˈlomnə) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva River, Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Populati ...

and the outskirts of Moscow. Nothing is known of his life from 1439-1444, but in 1444–45 Ulugh Muhammad occupied

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

and marched on Murom. Vasili II counterattacked in 1445 but was defeated and captured at the

Battle of Suzdal The Battle of Suzdal or the Battle of the Kamenka River was fought on July 7, 1445, between Russians under Vasily II and Tatar troops of Oluğ Möxämmäd, who invaded the principality of Nizhny Novgorod. The Russians were defeated by troops of b ...

, only to be ransomed. Ulugh Muhammad died a few months later, possibly murdered by his son Mäxmüd.

Genealogy

*Tuqa Timur *Ureng-Timur *Saricha *Tulaq Timur *Tuqa Timur *Toq Timur *Ali-Bek Tula Timur *Hassan Toq Timur *Ulugh Muhammad (1437–1446)

Children

* Yakub * Yousuf * Mostafa *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulugh Muhammad Khans of the Golden Horde Khanate of Kazan 15th-century monarchs in Europe Year of birth unknown 1445 deaths