Īl Beg ( Kypchak and

Turki Chagatai (, ), also known as Turki, Eastern Turkic, or Chagatai Turkic (), is an extinct Turkic language that was once widely spoken across Central Asia. It remained the shared literary language in the region until the early 20th century. It was ...

: ایل بیک) was an ephemeral khan of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

in 1374, during a period of civil war. The westernmost portion of the Golden Hode was under the control of the

beglerbeg ''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the Il ...

Mamai Mamai (Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian Cyrillic: Мамай, ; 1325?–1380/1381) was a powerful Turco-Mongol tradition, Turko-Mongol military commander in Beylerbey rank of the Golden Horde from Kiyat clan. Contrary to popular misconcep ...

and his puppet khan Muḥammad-Sulṭān, while the easternmost portion was under the control of

Urus Khan Urus Khan ( Kypchak: اوروس خان; also known as ''Muḥammad-Urūs'' Turki/ Persian: محمد اروس, ''Orys'', ''Arys'', ''Yrys'', ''Orys Khan''; ; died 1377) was the eighth Khan of the White Horde and a disputed Khan of the Blue Hord ...

. There is very little information about this ruler, but his name is found or rationalized in several different forms (including Ay Beg, Alp Beg, Īlbān, Èlbek).

Ancestry

Īl Beg was a descendant of

Jochi Jochi (; ), also spelled Jüchi, was a prince of the early Mongol Empire. His life was marked by controversy over the circumstances of his birth and culminated in his estrangement from his family. He was nevertheless a prominent Military of the ...

's son

Shiban Shiban (; ), Siban () or Shayban (; ) was a prince of the early Golden Horde, a division of the Mongol Empire. He was a grandson of Genghis Khan, the fifth son of Jochi and a younger brother of Batu Khan who founded the Golden Horde. His des ...

. The ''Muʿizz al-ansāb'' and the ''Tawārīḫ-i guzīdah-i nuṣrat-nāmah'' give his descent as follows:

Chinggis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

- Bahadur - Jochi-Buqa - Bādāqūl - Ming-Tīmūr - Īl-Bīk.

Biography

It is not clear whether Īl Beg was at the head of the

Ulus Ulus may refer to: Places * Ulus, Bartın, a district in Bartin Province, Turkey * Ulus, Beşiktaş, neighborhood in Beşiktaş, Istanbul Province, Turkey *Ulus, Ankara, an important quarter in central Ankara, Turkey ** Ulus (Ankara Metro), an und ...

of Shiban when he made his bid for the throne of the Golden Horde. The later khan of

Khwarazm Khwarazm (; ; , ''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 east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by th ...

and historian Abu'l-Ghāzī seems to list Īl Beg as the eldest son of Ming-Tīmūr, himself the only son of Bādāqūl. Īl Beg's brother Pūlād is identified with the Khayr-Pūlād (or Mīr-Pūlād), who had reigned briefly in parts of the Golden Horde in 1362–1365. A nephew, Ḥasan Beg, had ruled briefly in 1368-1369. Judging by the coinage, it would appear that Īl Beg made his bid for the throne from

Saray-Jük Saray-Jük ( Turki/ Kypchak and Persian: سرایجوق, ''Sarāyjūq''; , ''Kışı Sarai''; , ''Sarayçıq''), was a medieval city on the border between Europe and Asia. It was located 50 km north Atyrau on the lower Ural River, near the ...

on the lower Ural, and therefore on the eastern edge of the core territory of the Golden Horde, perhaps in 1373.

Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732–808 Hijri year, AH) was an Arabs, Arab Islamic scholar, historian, philosopher and sociologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages, and cons ...

refers to Īl Beg (whom he calls Ay-Bak Khān) as a regional ruler, like several of his rivals. As a Shibanid, Īl Beg was presumably not disinclined to compete with his

Tuqa-Timur Tuqa-Temür (also ''Toqa-Temür'' and ''Toghai-Temür'', in the Perso-Arabic orthography of the sources rendered ''Tūqā-Tīmūr'' or ''Tūqāy-Tīmūr'') was the thirteenth and youngest or penultimate son of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan ...

id rivals for control of parts or all of the polity. When

and Ḥājjī Cherkes of Astrakhan disputed possession of the Lower Volga in 1373–1374, Īl Beg briefly acquired control over the traditional capital of the Golden Horde, Sarai, in 1374; Ibn Khaldun indicates that Īl Beg displaced Ḥājjī Cherkes. But Īl Beg's manpower resources were inadequate to maintain control over Sarai, while his original power base required its own protection, under his nephew, Pūlād's son ʿArab Shāh. Meanwhile, the

, whose protégé Muḥammad-Sulṭān had been expelled from Sarai by Urus Khan in the first place, had regrouped. Mamai now attacked and defeated Īl Beg, terminating his reign at Sarai. Since Īl Beg is not heard of again, it is assumed that he perished in the conflict, something that seems to be corroborated by Ibn Khaldun's phrasing. Saray-Jük remained the base of his nephew, ʿArab Shāh. However, it was Īl Beg's son Qāghān Beg who would be the first to reclaim Īl Beg's throne.

Descendants

According to the ''Muʿizz al-ansāb'', Īl Beg had four sons: Tawakkul-Khwāja, Ilyās-Ughlān, Uch-Qūrūqtā, and Qāghān-Bīk, who later assumed the throne.Vohidov 2006: 42.

Genealogy

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

*Bahadur *Jochi-Buqa *Bādāqūl *Ming-Tīmūr *Īl Beg

References

* Desmaisons, P. I. (transl.), ''Histoire des Mongols et des Tatares par Aboul-Ghâzi Béhâdour Khân'', St Petersburg, 1871–1874. * Gaev, A. G., "Genealogija i hronologija Džučidov," ''Numizmatičeskij sbornik'' 3 (2002) 9-55. * Howorth, H. H., ''History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century''. Part II.1. London, 1880. * Počekaev, R. J., Cari ordynskie: Biografii hanov i pravitelej Zolotoj Ordy. Saint Petersburg, 2010a. * Počekaev, R. J., ''Mamaj: Istorija “anti-geroja” v istorii'', Sankt-Peterburg, 2010b. * Sabitov, Ž. M., ''Genealogija "Tore"'', Astana, 2008. * Sagdeeva, R. Z., ''Serebrjannye monety hanov Zolotoj Ordy'', Moscow, 2005. * Seleznëv, J. V., ''Èlita Zolotoj Ordy'', Kazan', 2009. * Tizengauzen, V. G. (trans.), ''Sbornik materialov, otnosjaščihsja k istorii Zolotoj Ordy. Izvlečenija iz arabskih sočinenii'', republished as ''Istorija Kazahstana v arabskih istočnikah''. 1. Almaty, 2005. * Tizengauzen, V. G. (trans.), ''Sbornik materialov otnosjaščihsja k istorii Zolotoj Ordy. Izvlečenija iz persidskih sočinenii'', republished as ''Istorija Kazahstana v persidskih istočnikah''. 4. Almaty, 2006. * Vohidov, Š. H. (trans.), ''Istorija Kazahstana v persidskih istočnikah''. 3. ''Muʿizz al-ansāb''. Almaty, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Il Beg 1374 deaths 14th-century Mongol khans Year of birth unknown Khans of the Golden Horde Khans of the White Horde

Ancestry

Biography

Descendants

Genealogy

See also

References