Hajji Beg
Encyclopedia
Hajji Beg Barlas was a leader of the Barlas
tribe.
Hajji Beg is first mentioned in 1358 or 1359, when he participated in the overthrow of the Qara'unas
‘Abdullah, who was effectively in control of the southern Chagatai Khanate
. 'Abd Allah, who had recently taken power, was young and inexperienced, and his move to Samarkand
threatened Hajji Beg, whose territories were centered in the nearby city of Kish. Together with another tribal leader named Buyan Suldus
, Hajji Beg removed him from power and killed his puppet khan Shah Temur
. Buyan Suldus was then raised to 'Abd Allah's former position of amir.
Buyan Suldus' refusal to enforce his authority, as well as a continuing state of chaos within the Chagatai ulus, led to the Khan of Moghulistan
, Tughlugh Timur
, to invade in 1360. Most of the Chagatai leaders did not oppose the invasion; many of them took the opportunity to pillage each other's lands. The Yasa'ur Hajji Mahmudshah, whose tribe bordered the Barlas, decided to raid their territory with a Moghul army. Hajji Beg decided at first to resist, but seeing that the Moghuls were much stronger, he fled to Khorasan
.
During his retreat, Hajji Beg was accompanied by a member of a prominent Barlas family, Timur
. When they reached the Oxus River, Timur asked to return to Kish so that he could maintain order within the Barlas region. Timur's prominent standings within the Barlas and with several members of the Moghul elite, however, resulted in Tughlugh Temur's appointing him as the ruler of the Barlas region. Timur then aligned himself with tribal leaders that were hostile to Hajji Beg, eventually throwing his support behind Amir Husayn, a nephew of 'Abd Allah and the current leader of the Qara'unas. In the meantime, the Moghuls abandoned the region and headed back to Moghulistan.
Soon afterwards, Hajji Beg returned to the Chagatai ulus in an effort to regain control of the Barlas. He went to the ruler of the Jalayir
, Bayazid, and together they attacked the Yasa'uri. When Timur heard of this, he moved his army in support of the Yasa'uri. The two sides met in battle, and while its outcome is disagreed upon, it caused the Barlas emirs as well as the army to defect back to Hajji Beg. As a result, Timur was constrained to submit to Hajji Beg. The Barlas and Jalayir then again attacked the Yasa'uri and defeated them; this victory secured Hajji Beg's position as leader of his tribe.
In the spring of 1361 Tughlugh Timur again invaded the ulus. Knowing that both Bayazid Jalayir and Buyan Suldus had decided to pledge their allegiance to the khan, Hajji Beg planned to do so as well. Tughlugh Timur's execution of Bayazid, however, prompted him to change his mind. He went to Kish to gather troops, and then crossed the Oxus into Khurasan, but there he was killed by a group of Turks
. Tughlugh Timur then gave Timur command of Kish a second time, but he would lose it soon afterwards.
Barlas
The Barlas were a Mongol - later Turkicized - nomadic confederation in Central Asia and the chief tribe of the Timurids who ruled much of Central Asia, Iran, and South Asia in the Middle Ages.- Origins :According to the Secret History of the Mongols, written during the reign of Ögedei Khan, the...
tribe.
Hajji Beg is first mentioned in 1358 or 1359, when he participated in the overthrow of the Qara'unas
Qara'unas
Qaraunas, or Neguderis, or Nikudari, were a Mongol group that settled in Afghanistan and east of Iran.- Foundation :...
‘Abdullah, who was effectively in control of the southern Chagatai Khanate
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
. 'Abd Allah, who had recently taken power, was young and inexperienced, and his move to Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
threatened Hajji Beg, whose territories were centered in the nearby city of Kish. Together with another tribal leader named Buyan Suldus
Buyan Suldus
Buyan Suldus 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....
, Hajji Beg removed him from power and killed his puppet khan Shah Temur
Shah Temur
Shah Temur was khan of the Chagatai Khanate for a period in 1358.In 1358 ‘Abdullah, who had recently succeeded Qazaghan to the powerful position of amir of the ulus, executed his father’s puppet khan Bayan Quli and installed Shah Temur in his place...
. Buyan Suldus was then raised to 'Abd Allah's former position of amir.
Buyan Suldus' refusal to enforce his authority, as well as a continuing state of chaos within the Chagatai ulus, led to the Khan of Moghulistan
Moghulistan
Moghulistan or Mughalistan is a historical geographic unit in Central Asia that included parts of modern-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Chinese Autonomous Region of Xinjiang...
, Tughlugh Timur
Tughlugh Timur
Tughlugh Timur was the Khan of Moghulistan from c. 1347 and Khan of the whole Chagatai Khanate from c. 1360 until his death. He is believed to be the son of Esen Buqa...
, to invade in 1360. Most of the Chagatai leaders did not oppose the invasion; many of them took the opportunity to pillage each other's lands. The Yasa'ur Hajji Mahmudshah, whose tribe bordered the Barlas, decided to raid their territory with a Moghul army. Hajji Beg decided at first to resist, but seeing that the Moghuls were much stronger, he fled to Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
.
During his retreat, Hajji Beg was accompanied by a member of a prominent Barlas family, Timur
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
. When they reached the Oxus River, Timur asked to return to Kish so that he could maintain order within the Barlas region. Timur's prominent standings within the Barlas and with several members of the Moghul elite, however, resulted in Tughlugh Temur's appointing him as the ruler of the Barlas region. Timur then aligned himself with tribal leaders that were hostile to Hajji Beg, eventually throwing his support behind Amir Husayn, a nephew of 'Abd Allah and the current leader of the Qara'unas. In the meantime, the Moghuls abandoned the region and headed back to Moghulistan.
Soon afterwards, Hajji Beg returned to the Chagatai ulus in an effort to regain control of the Barlas. He went to the ruler of the Jalayir
Jalayir
Jalayir is one of the Darliqin Mongol tribes according to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's Jami' al-tawarikh. After the Mongol conquest in the 13th century many Jalayirs spread over Central Asia and the Middle East. Jalayirs are one of the founding tribes of Mongolia's largest ethnic group Khalkha....
, Bayazid, and together they attacked the Yasa'uri. When Timur heard of this, he moved his army in support of the Yasa'uri. The two sides met in battle, and while its outcome is disagreed upon, it caused the Barlas emirs as well as the army to defect back to Hajji Beg. As a result, Timur was constrained to submit to Hajji Beg. The Barlas and Jalayir then again attacked the Yasa'uri and defeated them; this victory secured Hajji Beg's position as leader of his tribe.
In the spring of 1361 Tughlugh Timur again invaded the ulus. Knowing that both Bayazid Jalayir and Buyan Suldus had decided to pledge their allegiance to the khan, Hajji Beg planned to do so as well. Tughlugh Timur's execution of Bayazid, however, prompted him to change his mind. He went to Kish to gather troops, and then crossed the Oxus into Khurasan, but there he was killed by a group of Turks
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
. Tughlugh Timur then gave Timur command of Kish a second time, but he would lose it soon afterwards.