Yasa'ur (died 1320) was a Chagatai prince who launched a revolt against the

Ilkhan Il Khan (also ''il-khan'', ''ilkhan'', ''elkhan'', etc.), in Turkic languages and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title ''khan'' with the prefix ''el/il'', from the word ''ulus'' – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', ' ...

Abu Sa'id. He was the son of Chübei, grandson of Alghu Khan, and a great-great-grandson of

Chagatai Khan Chagatai Khan (; – 1242) was a son of Genghis Khan and a prominent figure in the early Mongol Empire. The second son of Genghis's wife Börte, Chagatai was renowned for his masterful knowledge of Mongol custom and law, which he scrupulously ...

. Yasa'ur had originally resided within the Chagatai ''ulus''. In 1314 he participated in a campaign against the Ilkhanate, together with the Chagatai Khan's brother

Kebek Kebek (died 1325/1326) was Khan of the Chagatai Khanate from 1309 until 1310, and again from c. 1318 until his death. Early life Kebek was the son of Duwa, who was the Khan from 1282 until 1307. Duwa sent several expeditions to the Delhi S ...

and a Neguderi prince Daud Khwaja (a son of

Qutlugh Khwaja Qutlugh Khwaja ( Chagatai and Persian: قتلغ خواجه; d. 1299/1300) was a son of Duwa, the Mongol khan of Chagatai Khanate, a division of the Mongol Empire. He became a chief of the Qara'unas in Afghanistan after Abdullah was recalled by th ...

) who had been expelled from his territories by the Ilkhan the previous year. Their forces defeated the Ilkhan army near the banks of the Murgab River; they then marched to

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

. The Ilkhan Öljeitü then set off with an army for the east, while the Chagataiid forces were recalled by the khan Esen Buqa. Around this time Yasa'ur, who had been accused by Kebek of cooperated with the Ilkhanid forces during the invasion, defected to Öljeitü. His forces engaged in battle with the Chagataiid troops; an Ilkhanid army that had crossed the

Oxus The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

joined the fighting and secured victory for Yasa'ur. He, escorted by the Ilkhanid force, entered Khorasan; Öljeitü then allowed him to take control of the pasture lands of the Badghis. Öljeitü died in 1316 and was succeeded as Ilkhan by his son Abu Sa'id. Yasa'ur initially pledged loyalty to the new Ilkhan, but was apparently uncooperative with Ilkhanid authorities. In early 1319 he openly revolted against Abu Sa'id, invading the province of

Mazandaran Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari, Iran, Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is border ...

. This revolt coincided with an invasion by

Uzbeg Khan The Uzbeks () are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak minorities, and also form minority ...

, forcing the Ilkhanids to defend against two attacks simultaneously. Amir Husain (the father of

Hasan Buzurg Shaikh Hasan (), also known as "Hasan Buzurg" ("Hasan The Great"), Hassan the Jalair or Hassan-e Uljatâï was the first of several de facto independent Jalayirid rulers of Iraq and central Iran. Early years He was born to Amir Husain Jalayir ...

, who founded the

Jalayirid The Jalayirid Sultanate () was a dynasty of Mongol Jalayir origin, which ruled over modern-day Iraq and western Iran after the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p. 3: "From then until ...

dynasty in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

) was sent to deal with Yasa'ur. The Amir Coban, overestimating the strength of Yasa'ur, also planned to march against the Chagataiid prince at the head of a 20,000-strong army, but eventually decided to defend against Uzbeg's forces. Amir Husain's approach caused Yasa'ur to retreat from Mazandaran. From Tus he then sent a force to take

, whose ruler, the Kartid Giyath al-Din, had declared his loyalty to the Ilkhanids. The siege of Herat was unsuccessful, however, as upon hearing of the approach of the Ilkhanid army Yasa'ur withdrew into southern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. In the following year, he was killed by Kebek, who had recently become Chagatai Khan and who deemed Yasa'ur to still be a threat. Yasa'ur's personal troops eventually formed the basis of the Yasa'uri, a group that gained influence within the Chagatai ''ulus'' in the mid-fourteenth century.

References

*J. A. Boyle (1968). ''The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume Five: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yasaur Generals of the Mongol Empire 14th-century Mongols 1320 deaths Year of birth unknown