Chagatai Khanate - End of Chagatayid Rule in Transoxiana

End of Chagatayid Rule in Transoxiana

Duwa left behind numerous sons, many of whom became khans themselves. Included among these are Kebek (1309, 1318–1326), who instituted a standardization of the coinage and selected a sedentary capital (at Qarshi), and Tarmashirin (1326–1334), who converted to Islam and raided the Sultanate of Delhi in India. The center of the khanate was shifting to its western regions, i.e. Transoxiana. Tarmashirin, however, was brought down by a rebellion of the tribes in the eastern provinces and the khanate became increasingly unstable in the following years. In 1346 a tribal chief, Qazaghan, killed the Chagatai khan Qazan during a revolt.

Qazan's death marked the end of effective Chagatayid rule over Transoxiana. Administration of the region fell into the hands of the local tribes (which were mostly Turkic or Turko-Mongol) who were loosely allied with one another. In order to legitimatize their rule, they maintained a member of the house of Genghis Khan on the throne, but these khans were no more than puppets. Using the disintegration, Janibeg Khan of the Golden Horde asserted Jochid dominance over the Chagatai Khanate, attempting to unite 3 khanates of the Mongol Empire. But the Jochids lost Azerbaijan to the Jalayirids and the Chagataids expelled his administrators after his death in 1357.

The only serious attempt to restore Chagatayid rule in Transoxiana came from Tughlugh Timur (who will be discussed below), who invaded Transoxiana twice and attempted to neutralize the power of the tribes. He was unsuccessful, however, and died soon afterwards. When his army departed the region, control of Transoxiana was contested by two tribal leaders, Amir Husayn (the grandson of Qazaghan) and Timur or Tamerlane. Timur eventually defeated Amir Husayn and took control of Transoxiana (1369–1405).

Like his predecessors, Timur maintained a puppet khan on the throne to legitimatize his rule, but his khans were members of the house of Ögedei, not descendants of Chagatai. For over three decades, Timur used the Chagatai lands as the base for extensive conquests, conquering Herat in Afghanistan, Shiraz in Persia, Baghdad in Iraq, and Damascus in Syria. After defeating the Ottoman Turks at Angora, Timur died in 1405 while marching on China. After his death his successors, the Timurids, are also reported to have had their own shadow khans until the mid-15th century. Nevertheless, the Chagatai legacy lived on; Timur's troops were called Chagatais, and the literary language used the Timurids and their Moghul neighbors to the east was called Chagatai Turkic.