Tughlugh Timur Khan (also Tughluq Tömür or Tughluk Timur) (1312/13–1363) was the Khan of
Moghulistan
Moghulistan (from fa, , ''Moghulestân'', mn, Моголистан), also called the Moghul Khanate or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate (), was a Mongol breakaway khanate of the Chagatai Khanate and a historical geographic area north of the Teng ...
from c. 1347 and Khan of the whole
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate, or Chagatai Ulus ( xng, , translit=Čaɣatay-yin Ulus; mn, Цагаадайн улс, translit=Tsagaadain Uls; chg, , translit=Čağatāy Ulusi; fa, , translit=Xânât-e Joghatây) was a Mongol and later Turkicized kha ...
from c. 1360 until his death.
Esen Buqa (a direct descendant of
Chagatai Khan
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) ...
) is believed to be his father.
His reign is known for his conversion to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and his invasions of
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
.
Background
After the Chagatayid
Qazan Khan was killed in 1346, the
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate, or Chagatai Ulus ( xng, , translit=Čaɣatay-yin Ulus; mn, Цагаадайн улс, translit=Tsagaadain Uls; chg, , translit=Čağatāy Ulusi; fa, , translit=Xânât-e Joghatây) was a Mongol and later Turkicized kha ...
underwent a transformation. In the west (Transoxiana), the mostly
Turko-Mongol
The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century, among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongol elites of these Khanates eventually a ...
tribes, led by the
Qara'unas
The Qara'unas or Negüderi were a Mongol people who settled in Afghanistan after moving from Turkestan and Mongolia.
Foundation
The word Qarauna derived from the Mongolian word ''Qara'' meaning black in Mongolian. At first they were subjects ...
amirs, seized control. In order to maintain a link to the house 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
, ...
, the amirs set several of his descendants on the throne, though these khans ruled in name only and had no real power.
The eastern part of the khanate, meanwhile, had been largely autonomous for several years as a result of the khans' weakening power. This eastern portion (most of which was known as "Moghulistan") was, in contrast to Transoxiana, primarily inhabited by
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
and was largely
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
Shamanist
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
.
The most powerful family in the eastern part of the khanate during this time was a Mongol one, that of the Dughlat amirs. The Dughlats held several important towns as vassals to the khans, including
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
,
Aksu,
Yarkand
Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous ...
, and
Khotan
Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become ...
. In around 1347, the Dughlat amir Bulaji, after seeing the situation in Transoxiana, decided to raise a khan of his own choosing. His choice fell on Tughlugh Timur, who was at that time little more than an adventurer.
Conversion to Islam
Tughlugh was converted by 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 ...
cleric Mauláná Arshad-ud-Din, who unwittingly trespassed on the game-preserves of Tughlugh. Tughlugh ordered the cleric before him and demanded to know the reason for the cleric's interference with his hunting. The cleric answered that he wasn't aware that he was trespassing. At this point, Tughlugh noticed that the cleric was
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, and Tughlugh said that "a
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
was worth more than a Persian." The cleric responded, "Yes, if we had not the true faith, we should indeed be worse than dogs." Puzzled, Tughlugh ordered the cleric to explain the "true faith"; thus was Tughlugh taught the doctrines of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. Thereafter, Tughlugh embraced Islam. This act resulted in the amirs of Moghulistan doing the same, although the general population of the region was slower in converting. According to an account ''He received circumcision, and on the same day 160,000 people shaved their heads and confessed Islam.''
Khanship
Meanwhile, in Transoxiana the Qara'unas lost their status as de facto leaders of the Chagatai ulus; they were replaced by
Buyan Suldus
Buyan Suldus (died 1362) was chief of one segment of the Suldus clan of Taichuud tribe during the 1350s and 1360s, and was chief amir of the Chagatai ''ulus'' for a short time after 1358.
Although did not control the entire Suldus tribe, Buyan wa ...
, an easygoing and ineffective amir. Tughlugh Timur judged that he would face little resistance in Transoxiana and invaded in March 1360. As predicted, most of the tribal amirs declared their support for him; those that didn't (notably
Hajji Beg
Hajji Beg Barlas, Hajji Beg or, Hajji Barlas (Persian: حاجی بیگ بارلاس, b. Early 14th Centuryd. 1361) was a leader of the Barlas tribe. he was the immediate predecessor in this role to his nephew Timur, who later founded the Timurid ...
of the
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/ ...
tribe) decided to flee. The Moghuls decided to find someone else to administer Hajji Beg's former territories; they agreed on Hajji Beg's young nephew
Timur
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 ...
, who had submitted to them. This, incidentally, was the first step in Timur's rise to power as amir of the
Timurid Empire
The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Turco-Mongol empire ...
.
The Moghuls soon left Transoxiana after a dispute ensued amongst their amirs. In 1361, however, Tughlugh Timur and his army rode into the region for the second time. This time the khan seems to have decided to depose the Transoxianan amirs and centralize power in his own hands. He executed several amirs, including
Amir Bayazid
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremo ...
and Buyan Suldus, while Hajji Beg, who had returned following the departure of the Moghuls in 1360, again retreated. When the Qara'unas Amir Husayn opposed him, Tughlugh Timur invaded his extensive territories located south of the
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin language, Latin name or Greek ) is a major rive ...
and defeated him in battle. Amir Husayn fled; the Moghul army advanced as far south as
Kunduz
, native_name_lang = prs
, other_name =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline = Kunduz River valley.jpg
, imagesize = 300
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, image_ ...
in pursuit of him and plundered the region.
Having destroyed the power of the Transoxianan amirs and reunified the Chagatai Khanate, Tughlugh Timur appointed his son
Ilyas Khoja
Ilyas Khoja (died 1368) was Khan in Transoxiana (1363) and Khan of Moghulistan from 1363 to 1368. He was the son of Tughlugh Timur.
Biography
In 1363, Tughlugh Timur, who had recently taken control of Transoxiana and had executed many of its loc ...
as viceroy of Transoxiana and departed for Moghulistan.
Unlike
'Ali-Sultan
Ali Khalil, also known as Ali-Sultan , was the khan (r.1342/1343) of the Chagatai Khanate. He was a descendant of Qadan, son of the second Great Khan Ögedei.
'Ali attacked the ordo (palace) of Yesun Temur and usurped the throne. He was the ...
who murdered the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
missionaries, Tughlugh Timur appears to have been tolerant towards other religions and intellectuals and shared his Chagatayid and Yuan predecessors' interests in
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. In around 1363 he invited the
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
an
lama
Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...
, Rol-pai Dorji, who was going back from the court of the
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
headquartered in Dadu (modern Beijing). However, the latter politely declined the invitation due to the distance and the Khan's conversion to Islam.
During his reign, the Moghuls (Persian designation of Mongols) still preserved their Mongol identity and spoke in Mongolian language.
Not long after this he died at the age of 34. His tomb is located in
Almaliq. His conquest of Transoxiana proved to be short-lived, as Amir Husayn and Timur quickly wrested it from Ilyas Khoja.
Genealogy of Chaghatai Khanate
In Babr Nama written by
Babur
Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...
, Page 19, Chapter 1; described genealogy of his maternal grandfather Yunas Khan as:
"Yunas Khan descended from Chaghatal Khan, the second
son of Chlngiz Khan (as follows,) Yunas Khan, son of Wais
Khan, son of Sher-'ali Aughldn, son of Muhammad Khan, son
of Khizr Khwaja Khan, son of Tughluq-timur Khan, son of
Aisan-bugha Khan, son of Dawa Khan, son of Baraq Khan,
son of Yesuntawa Khan, son of Muatukan, son of Chaghatal
Khan, son of Chingiz Khan"
Chagatai Khanate
[Mirza Muhammad Haidar. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi: A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia.Trans. Edward Denison Ross]
References
*
Grousset, René. ''The Empire of the Steppes: a History of Central Asia.'' Trans. Naomi Walford. Rutgers University Press, 1970. .
*
Mirza Muhammad Haidar
Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat Beg (Persian: میرزا محمد حیدر دولت بیگ c. 1499/1500 – 1551) was a Chagatai Turco-Mongol military general, governor of Kashmir, and a historical writer, He was a Turkic speaking Dughlat prince w ...
. ''The Tarikh-i-Rashidi: A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia.''Trans.
Edward Denison Ross
Sir Edward Denison Ross (6 June 1871 – 20 September 1940) was an orientalist and linguist, specializing in languages of the Middle East, Central and East Asia. He was the first director of the University of London's School of Oriental Studies ( ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timur, Tughlugh
1363 deaths
Chagatai khans
Converts to Islam
Mongol Empire Muslims
Year of birth uncertain
14th-century Mongol rulers
1687 disestablishments
States and territories established in 1225
Turkic rulers