Tulun Beg Khanum (Tūlūn-Bīk Ḫānum, died 1386), was a princess 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 ...
during the second half of the 14th century. Exceptionally for this political formation, she served as female monarch and had her name inscribed on coins minted in 1370-1371 at
Sarai and
Mokhshi. It appears that she served as a stopgap ruler, appointed by the
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 Seljuk ...
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 f ...
to reign between the death of his protégé Khan
ʿAbdallāh (1361-1370) and his next protégé, Khan
Muḥammad-Sulṭān (1371-1379). At the end of 1371 or the beginning of 1372, Mamai replaced Tulun Beg on the throne with the young Muḥammad-Sulṭān. The origins and identity of Tulun Beg Khanum are not stated expressly, but she has been identified plausibly as the otherwise unnamed daughter of Khan
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 G ...
, who was married to the kingmaker Mamai. This would make Tulun Beg the last monarch of the Golden Horde demonstrably descended from
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. ...
. Following his defeat by the Russians at
Kulikovo
Kulikovo Field (russian: Куликово поле, or Kulikovo Pole; lit. "snipes' field") is a field near Yepifan, Tula Oblast in Russia where the Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380 and was won by prince Dmitri, who became known ...
in 1380, Mamai was defeated by a new Khan of the Golden Horde,
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 ...
, and fled to the
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 ...
, where he was murdered in late 1380 or early 1381 by agents of Tokhtamysh, after being turned out by the local
Genoese and by his own governor. Even before Mamai's death, his harem fell into Tokhtamysh's hands after the
Battle of the Kalka, and Tulun Beg married the new Khan Tokhtamysh. He treated the corpse of his former rival Mamai with honor and extended his protection over Mamai's family. Tulun Beg appears to have been implicated in an obscure plot against Tokhtamysh in 1386, and was executed. In the words of the Russian ''Rogožsk Chronicle'', "This same year, Tsar Tokhtamysh himself killed his own Tsaritsa, named Tovlunbek." Related to these events may be the unexplained appearance of coins with the name of the long-dead Berdi Beg, Tulun Beg's father, in this period.
[Počekaev 2010a: 165, 313, n. 356; idem. 2010b: 224, n. 297.]
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 s ...
*
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
*
Uzbeg Khan
The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak min ...
*
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 el ...
*
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 G ...
*Tulun Beg Khanum
References
* Bosworth, C. E., The New Islamic Dynasties, New York, 1996.
* 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.
* Mirgaleev, I. M., ''Političeskaja istorija Zolotoj Ordy perioda pravlenija Toktamyš-hana'', Kazan', 2003.
* Počekaev, R. J., ''Cari ordynskie: Biografii hanov i pravitelej Zolotoj Ordy''. Saint Petersburg, 2010a.
* Počekaev, R. J., ''Mamaj: Istorija “anti-geroja” v istorii'', Sankt-Peterburg, 2010b.
* Sidorenko, V. A., "Hronologija pravlenii zolotoordynskih hanov 1357-1380 gg.," ''Materialov po arheologii, istorii i ètnografii Tavrii'' 7 (2000) 267-288.
* Tizengauzen, V. G. (trans.), ''Sbornik materialov, otnosjaščihsja k istorii Zolotoj Ordy. Izvlečenija iz arabskih sočinenii'', republished as ''Istorija Kazahstana v arabskih istočnikah''. 1. Almaty, 2005.
* Varvarovskij, J. E., ''Ulus Džuči v 60-70-e gody XIV veka'', Kazan', 2008; posthumously published version of author's dissertation ''Raspad Ulusa Džuči v 60-70-e gody XIV veka (po dannym pis'mennyh istočnikov i numizmatiki'', Kazan', 1994.
{{Mongol Empire
Mongol khans
Mongol rulers
14th century in Iran
14th-century Mongolian people
14th-century women rulers
Women of the Mongol Empire