Abdullah (died c. 1359) was the leader of the

Qara'unas The Qara'unas or Negüderi were a Mongol people who settled in Afghanistan after moving from Turkestan and Mongolia. Foundation The word Qarauna derived from the Mongolian word ''Qara'' meaning black in Mongolian. At first they were subject ...

(1358–1359) and the ruler of the Chagatai ''ulus'' (1358). He was the son of

Amir Qazaghan Qazaghan (died 1358) was the amir of the Qara'unas (1345 at the latest – 1358) and the effective ruler of the Chagatai ''ulus'' (1346–1358). The following opinions were expressed about the ethnic origin of the Qazaghan: 1) Vasily Bartold wrot ...

. After Qazaghan had taken control of the Chagatai ''ulus'' in around 1346, he appointed Abdullah as governor of Samarkand. During his father's lifetime, Abdullah led an expedition against

Khwarazm Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ea ...

, although Qazaghan had been against it. When the latter died in 1358 Abdullah succeeded him. Unlike his father, he had an active interest in the tribes of the northern part of the ''ulus''. Qazaghan, whose power base had been in the southern portion of the ''ulus'', had tended to leave the northern tribes alone; Abdullah was not content to do the same. The northern tribes bitterly resented his attempts to curtail their power. Abdullah's decision to keep his capital in Samarkand proved to be his undoing. The Barlas and

Suldus The Tayichiud (Mongolian Cyrillic: Тайчууд, Taichuud) was one of the three core tribes of the Khamag Mongol confederation on the Mongolian Plateau during the 12th century, founded by Ambaghai Khan in 1148 CE, and finally ended with Sultan ...

tribes, both located near the city, hated the prospect of a strong Qara'unas presence in their immediate vicinity. Together the leaders of the Barlas and Suldus,

Hajji Beg Hajji Beg Barlas, Hajji Beg or, Hajji Barlas ( Persian: حاجی بیگ بارلاس, b. Early 14th Centuryd. 1361) was a leader of the Barlas tribe. he was the immediate predecessor in this role to his nephew Timur, who later founded the Timurid ...

and

Buyan Suldus Buyan Suldus (died 1362) 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. Although did not control the entire Suldus tribe, Buyan wa ...

, revolted and drove Abdullah out of power; he returned to the territories of the Qara'unas and died soon afterwards. The victorious parties often cited Abdullah's treatment of

Bayan Quli Bayan may refer to: Eduational Institutions * Bayan Islamic Graduate School, Chicago, IL Places *Bayan-Aul, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan *Bayan Mountain, an ancient mountain name for part of Tarbagatai Mountains at Kazakhstan in Qing Dynasty period *B ...

as a pretext for their revolt. Bayan Quli had been Qazaghan's puppet khan; soon after Qazaghan's death Abdullah desired Bayan Quli's wife and had him executed. In any case, Buyan Suldus was installed as amir of the ''ulus'', while both Abdullah's brothers and

Shah Temur Shah Temur (died 1358) 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 install ...

, who had been raised by Abdullah to the khanship following Bayan Quli's execution, were killed.

References

*Manz, Beatrice Forbes, ''The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane''. Cambridge University Press, 1989, . Mongol Empire people 1359 deaths Mongol Empire Muslims Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Date of death unknown Place of death missing 14th-century rulers in Asia Chagatai Khanate 1350s in the Mongol Empire {{Asia-bio-stub