Chagatai Khanate

The Chagatai Khanate was also known as the Dumdadu Mongγol Ulus (the Middle Mongolian Empire). For example, Giovanni de' Marignolli, who visited Yuan dynasty in the 1340s, referred to Almaliq (the capital of the Chagatai Khanate) as "Almalek of the Middle Empire (Imperium Medium)". In addition, the Catalan Atlas of 1375 refers to the area corresponding to Chagatai Khanate as "Imperium Medorum", a possible alternate name of "Imperium Medium". In addition to the Latin sources mentioned above, Ibn Battuta records in Arabic that "His country [is in] the middle between the four of the powerful kings on the earth, i.e., King of Great Mongol, King of India, King of Iraq and King Özbeg". This description suggests that the Chagatai Khanate was called the "Middle Empire" because it was located exactly in the middle of Eurasia.

A potential self-designation Dumdadu Mongγol Ulus ('Middle Mongolian Empire') has been discovered in a damaged Uighur script document excavated from Turfan. A reading [dum]dadu mongγol ulus, as first proposed by Ligeti (1971), is supported by Matsui Dai . He argues this reading based on the example of "Middle Empire (Imperium Medium)". Matsui proposed that "it seems probable that Du’a or his descendants took the brand-new official state name Dumdadu Mongγol Ulus in order to affirm that their polity was renewed, as did the emperor Qubilai, who in 1271 adopted the official state name Dai Ön Yeke Mongγol Ulus.

When Genghis Khan died in 1227, his son Chagatai Khan inherited the regions roughly corresponding to the defunct Qara Khitai Empire: Issyk-Kul, Ili River, Chu River, Talas River, Transoxania, and the Tarim Basin. Chagatai was not fully independent in his khanate however and still received orders from Karakorum. When he dismissed the governor of Transoxania, Mahmud Yalavach, Ögedei Khan reinstated Mahmud, whose dynasty continued to administer the region even after the death of Chagatai. In 1238 there was a Muslim uprising in Bukhara, but Mahmud's son Mas'ud crushed it the next year before Mongol troops were able to arrive, thereby saving the populace from Mongol vengeance.

Chagatai Khan died in 1242 and was succeeded by his grandson Qara Hülegü. He was too young to rule independently so the widowed khatun Ebuskun ruled as regent in his place. In 1246, Güyük Khan replaced him with one of his uncles, Yesü Möngke.

Yesü Möngke came to power because he was a personal friend of Güyük Khan. He was a drunkard who left the affairs of the state to his wife and minister Beha ad-Din Marghinani. In 1252 he was deposed by Möngke Khan, who installed Qara Hülegü again.

Qara Hülegü died on his way home and was succeeded by his son Mubarak Shah.

Mubarak Shah was too young to rule and state affairs were managed by his mother Orghana. In 1260, Ariq Böke replaced Mubarak Shah with Alghu, a grandson of Chagatai Khan. Alghu rebelled against Ariq Böke upon securing power and defected to Kublai Khan's side in the Toluid Civil War. Ariq Böke attacked him and while Alghu experienced initial success in fending off Ariq Böke's army, was forced to flee to Samarkand in 1263. Ariq Böke devastated the Ili region in his absence. Alghu was able to recruit a new army with the aid of Orghana and Mas'ud Yalavach. He then went on to defeat an invasion by Kaidu and drive out Ariq Böke, who surrendered to Kublai in 1264. Alghu died in 1265 and Orghana placed her son, Mubarak Shah, on the throne once again.

Mubarak Shah was the first Chagatai khan to be converted to Islam. His rule was cut short by his cousin Ghiyas-ud-din Baraq, who deposed him with the support of Kublai Khan.

Ghiyas-ud-din Baraq came into conflict with Kublai Khan on the administration of the Tarim Basin. Baraq drove out an agent sent by Kublai to govern the region and when Kublai sent a detachment of 6,000 horsemen, Baraq met them with 30,000 men, forcing them to retreat. Baraq also came into conflict with Kaidu, who enlisted the Golden Horde khan Mengu-Timur in attacking Baraq. With a Golden Horde army of 50,000 at his back, Kaidu forced Baraq to flee to Transoxania. In 1267, Baraq accepted peace with Kaidu, and relinquished the territory east of Transoxania. Kaidu then coerced Baraq into invading the Ilkhanate. Baraq attacked first, defeating Prince Buchin, the governor of Khorasan, and brother of Abaqa Khan. Abaqa rushed from Azerbaijan and defeated Baraq near Herat on 22 July 1270, forcing him to retreat. On the way back he fell from his horse and was crippled so he spent the winter in Bukhara where he died not long after. He converted to Islam before his death.

Baraq's four sons and two sons of Alghu rebelled against Kaidu in the wake of Baraq's death, but they were continually defeated. Kaidu enthroned Negübei as the khan in Transoxania. When Negübei rebelled, he was killed and replaced with another khan, Buqa Temür in 1274. It is uncertain when Buqa Temür died, but after that, Baraq's son Duwa was enthroned as khan. Meanwhile, Abaqa invaded Transoxania in 1272 and sacked Bukhara, carrying off 50,000 captives.

In 1275, Duwa joined Kaidu in the war against the Yuan dynasty but were repelled. In 1297, Duwa invaded the Punjab and devastated the region, but was defeated. Several invasions of the Delhi Sultanate also occurred but none were able to make any headway. In September 1298, Duwa captured Temür Khan's son-in-law, Korguz, and put him to death, but immediately after that suffered a disastrous defeat by Yuan forces. In 1301 they were defeated again in an attack on Karakorum and Kaidu died during the retreat.

After Kaidu's death in 1301, both Duwa and Kaidu's son Chapar recognized Yuan authority in 1303. However Duwa threw off his allegiance to Chapar. Both the Yuan dynasty and Duwa attacked Chapar, forcing him to surrender his territory to Duwa in 1306. Meanwhile, Prince Turghai invaded the Delhi Sultanate in 1303 and looted the Delhi region. In 1304 they invaded again but suffered a crushing defeat. Duwa died soon after and was succeeded by his son Könchek, who ruled only for a year and a half before he died. One of Buqa Temür's brothers, Taliqu, seized power, but Duwa's family rebelled and killed him at a banquet. Duwa's younger son Kebek became khan. Kebek invaded the Delhi Sutunate again in 1305, looting the Multan region, but suffered a defeat on the way back. Chapar took advantage of the political turmoil to attack Kebek but was defeated and fled to the Yuan dynasty. Another kuriltai was held in the Chagatai Khanate, which elected another of Duwa's sons, Esen Buqa I, who took the throne ceded by Kebek. In 1315, Esen Buqa invaded the Ilkhanate in support of Duwa's grandson, Dawud Khoja, who had set himself up in eastern Afghanistan. He defeated an Ilkhanate army on the Murgab and reached as far as Herat, but was forced to retreat when the Yuan dynasty attacked him from the east. The Yuan army devastated the Issyk-Kul region. In 1315 the Chagatayid prince Yasa'ur defected to the Ilkhanate, only to rebel, taking Khorasan. Both Chagatai and Ilkhanate forces attacked Yasa'ur. He was killed as he fled. Esen Buqa I died in 1318, at which point Kebek returned to power. He made peace with the Ilkhanate and the Yuan dynasty and reigned until 1325.

Kebek was succeeded by his three brothers in succession. Eljigidey and Duwa Temür each reigned for only a few months. Tarmashirin (1326–1334) converted to Islam and raided the Delhi Sultanate, reaching as far as Delhi. Tarmashirin was brought down by an anti-Muslim rebellion of the eastern tribes. A son of Duwa, Changshi, was enthroned in 1335. One of his sons was baptized.

Pope Benedict XII appointed the Franciscan bishop Richard of Burgundy to Almalik in 1339. But during the reign of 'Ali-Sultan, Islam fully absorbed the Chagatai Mongols and 'Ali persecuted non-Muslim religions. He is the one who ordered the extermination of the Franciscan congregation at Almaliq, and the killing of six Franciscan monks in 1339 (including bishop Richard of Burgundy, Pascal of Spain, Raymond of Provence and three others), as depicted in the 1342 painting The Martyrdom of the Franciscans, by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.

Giovanni de' Marignolli, a papal legate, arrived in the Ili valley the following year on his way to the Yuan dynasty. He built a church and baptized some people during his stay, and the presence of Christianity lasted until the end of the Mongol era.

The khanate became increasingly unstable in the following years and split in two during the 1340s. Transoxania was ruled by Qazan Khan ibn Yasaur. In 1346 a tribal chief, Amir Qazaghan, killed Qazan and set up Danishmendji as puppet khan. Danishmendji was killed off a year later and replaced with Bayan Qulï. Qazaghan made Herat a tributary in 1351. He was assassinated in 1357 and was succeeded by his son Abdullah, who killed Bayan Qulï in 1358. This aroused the anger of local lords such as Hajji Beg, the uncle of Tamerlane. Hajji drove out Abdullah to the Hindu Kush, where he died. From then on the Chagatayid khans of Transoxania served as nothing more but figureheads until it was annexed by the Timurid Empire. The Timurids likewise continued to portray descendants of Chaghatai khans as khans (i.e. rulers) but in reality they were confined in their castles with no authority. They were political prisoners in Samarkand.

In the east, the powerful Dughlats enthroned a son of Esen Buqa I, Tughlugh Timur as khan of Moghulistan in 1347. In 1350, Tughlugh converted to Islam. Hajji split Transoxania with Bayan Selduz but they were unable to stabilize the realm and it fell into disarray. In 1360, Tughlugh invaded Transoxania and conquered it. Hajji Beg fled in the face of overwhelming power. The future conqueror Timur entered Tughlugh's service and was appointed ruler of Shahr-i Sebz. After Tughlugh left Transoxania, Hajji Beg returned in force, only to be driven away again by Tughlugh. Hajji Beg was killed near Sebzewar. Tughlugh expanded his territory into Afghanistan by defeating Amir Husayn. Thus the Chagatai Khanate was restored under Tughlugh.

Following Tughlugh's death in 1363, Timur and Amir Husayn took over Transoxiana. Timur and Amir Husayn forced Tughlugh's successor Ilyas Khoja out of Transoxania, and then Timur eliminated Amir Husayn as well, gaining mastery over Transoxiana (1369–1405). Like his predecessors, Timur maintained a puppet khan (Soyurgatmish) on the throne to legitimize his rule, but his khans were members of the house of Ögedei rather than descendants of Chagatai.

Ilyas Khoja attacked Timur in 1364 and defeated him on the north bank of the Syr Darya. He then besieged Samarkand but suffered harsh attrition due to an epidemic so that by the next year he was forced to retreat from Transoxania. The Dughlat Qamar-ud-din Khan Dughlat rebelled and killed Ilyas Khoja in 1368, taking the throne for himself. Ilyas Khoja's brother Khizr Khoja fled to Turpan where he set up his own independent realm and converted the last Uyghurs there to Islam. In 1375, Timur invaded Moghulistan, looting the Ili region. Qamar retaliated by raiding Fergana until Timur put him to flight. Timur fell into an ambush and barely escaped, retreating to Samarkand. Timur attacked again in 1376 and 1383 but both times failed to capture the Moghul khan. In 1389 Timur attacked Khizr Khoja instead and forced him to flee into the Gobi Desert. In 1390 Timur invaded Moghulistan and once again failed to find Qamar, but Qamar, having fled, was never heard of again. Khizr Khoja returned to Moghulistan and assumed power once more. He gave his daughter in marriage to Timur and made peace with him in 1397. Khizr Khoja died in 1399 and was succeeded by his three sons in succession: Shams-i-Jahan (1399–1408), Muhammad Khan (1408–1415), and Naqsh-i-Jahan (1415–1418). Upon Khizr Khoja's death, Timur took the opportunity to send another army to pillage Moghul lands.

Uwais Khan came to power in 1418. During his reign he waged war on the Oirats and was taken prisoner by their leader Esen Taishi. Due to Uwais' royal lineage, Esen Taishi treated him with respect and released him. Uwais suffered two more defeats against the Oirats and was captured a second time. He was let go after sending his sister as hostage to Esen Taishi's family. Uwais died in 1429. Two factions supporting his two sons Yunus Khan and Esen Buqa II quarreled over the throne with Esen Buqa II emerging as the victor. Yunus fled to Samarkand. Under Esen Buqa II, the powerful Dughlat Sayyid Ali, who had helped him to the throne, became very influential and held both Kucha and Kashgar. In 1451, Esen Buqa II raided the northern border of the Timurid Empire.

The Timurid ruler Abu Sa'id Mirza schemed to split the Moghuls in two, so he summoned Yunus in 1456 and supported his authority in the Ili region. Yunus tried to conquer Kashgar but was repelled by Sayyid Ali and Esen Buqa II. Esen Buqa II died in 1462. His son Dost Muhammad was an inexperienced 17 year old. He plundered the territory of the Dughlats. By the time he died in 1469, his realm was in general revolt. Yunus took advantage of the situation to capture the Moghul capital Aksu. Dost Muhammad's young son Kebek Sultan was taken to Turpan, where he was proclaimed khan. Four years later, he was put to death by his followers and brought to Yunus.

The Chagatai Mongols remained mostly nomadic in their mode of government and did not settle down in urban centers until the late 15th century. The Mongols of the Chagatai Khanate treated the urban dwellers of Transoxiana and the Tarim Basin as dependencies.