Nawruz Beg (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: محمد نوروز بیگ;

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 ...

/ Kypchak: نوروز بک; died 1360) was

Khan Khan may refer to: * Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name * Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

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 ...

, a division of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

, in 1360.

Biography

Nawruz Beg succeeded to the throne after the murder of his predecessor Qulpa and the latter's two sons, in February 1360. Nawruz Beg's antecedents are uncertain. Many modern authors simply repeat his claim to have been a son of

Jani Beg Jani Beg ( Persian: جانی بیگ, Turki/ Kypchak: جانی بک; died 1357), also known as Janibek Khan, was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 until his death in 1357. He succeeded his father Öz Beg Khan. Reign With the support of his mo ...

, but the reputable medieval author Khwandamir explicitly indicates that Nawruz Beg was a ''pretended son'' of Jani Beg. A contemporary Venetian notary act claims that Nawruz Beg pretended to be a son of Öz Beg without any justification: "quam dici fuisse filium Usbech sine aliqua meritone." Similarly, the most accurate collections 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 ...

d genealogies (like the ''Muʿizz al-ansāb'') do not include Nawruz Beg among Jani Beg's offspring (or anywhere else). Jani Beg's son

Berdi Beg Berdi Beg or Berdibek ( Turki/ Kypchak: بیردی بک; Persian: محمد بیردی بیگ; – 1359) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1357 to 1359, having succeeded his father Jani Beg. Berdi Beg was the last khan to rule before the beginni ...

is said to have slaughtered no less than 12 of his closest kinsmen, including an 8-month-old brother, making it unlikely that Nawruz Beg could have been another son of Jani Beg. According to some scholars, the apparently identical roles attributed in the sources to Nawruz Beg and a certain Bazarchi (Bazarčī), a descendant of Jochi's son Tangqut (both consorts of

Taydula Khatun Taydula Khatun (Turki/ Kypchak and ; died 1360) was a queen consort of the Mongol Golden Horde as the wife of Öz Beg Khan () and possibly Nawruz Beg Khan (1360). She was also the mother of the khans Tini Beg () and Jani Beg (), and the grandmo ...

, both eliminated by Khiḍr Khan), imply that Nawruz Beg and Bazarchi were in fact the same individual. Nawruz Beg had a son named Timur (Tīmūr); similarly, Bazarchi is given a son Timur Malik; neither of these has any relation to the famous

Tamerlane Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...

. Following the death of

Ivan II of Moscow Ivan II Ivanovich the Fair (; 30 March 1326 – 13 November 1359) was Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1353 to 1359. Until that date, he had ruled the towns of Ruza, Ruzsky District, Moscow Oblast, Ruza and Zvenigorod. He was the ...

in November 1359, several Russian princes made their way to the Khan's court to seek investiture with the grand princely throne of

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

. Nawruz Beg awarded the diploma of investiture (''yarliq'') to Prince Andrey Konstantinovich of

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

, who ceded it to his brother

Dmitry of Suzdal Dmitry Konstantinovich (; 1323–1383) was Prince of Suzdal and Grand Prince of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal from 1365. He took the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir from his son-in-law, Dmitry Donskoy, from 1360 to 1363.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 ...

, Khiḍr.Howorth 1880: 182; Safargaliev 1960: 113-114; Gaev 2002: 18-19; Počekaev 2010: 147-148. Nawruz Beg's reign was part of the beginning of the

anarchy Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can ...

in which over 25 khans followed each other in rapid succession on the throne of the Golden Horde in 20 years, many of them concurrent, and wielding little effective authority. Some of khans reigned only

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

, while supreme military rulers ruled de facto;

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 ...

being the most capable and famous of these.

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 ...

Batu Khan Batu Khan (–1255) was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire established after Genghis Khan's demise. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His '' ulus'' ruled over the Kievan ...

Toqoqan Toqoqan was a member of the ruling family of the Mongol Empire. He was a son of the khan of the Golden Horde, Batu. Through his father, he was also a great-grandson of the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan. Though Toqoqan never reigned himself, many ...

Mengu-Timur Mengu-Timur ( ) or Möngke Temür (; died 1280) was a son of Toqoqan Khan (himself the son of Batu) and Köchu Khatun of Oirat, the daughter of Toralchi Küregen and granddaughter of Qutuqa Beki. Mengu-Timur was a khan of the Golden Horde, ...

*Toghrilcha * Öz Beg *

*(pretended) Nawruz Beg (claimed to be son of Öz Beg according to contemporary Venetian notary, or of Jani Beg according to eastern sources)

References

Sources

* Gaev, A. G., "Genealogija i hronologija Džučidov," ''Numizmatičeskij sbornik'' 3 (2002) 9-55. * Grekov, B. D., and A. J. Jakubovskij, ''Zolotaja orda i eë padenie''. Moscow, 1950. * Grigoriev, A. P., "Zolotoordynskie hany 60-70-h godov XIV v.: hronologija pravlenii," ''Istriografija i istočnikovedenie stran Azii i Afriki'' 7 (1983) 9-54. * Howorth, H. H., ''History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century.'' Part II.1. London, 1880. * Karpov, S. P., "Načalo smuty v Zolotoj Orde i perevorot Navruza," ''Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie'' 6 (2018) 528-536. * May, T., ''The Mongol Empire''. Edinburgh, 2018. * Počekaev, R. J., ''Cari ordynskie: Biografii hanov i pravitelej Zolotoj Ordy''. Saint Petersburg, 2010. * Safargaliev, M. G., ''Raspad Zolotoj Ordy.'' Saransk, 1960. * Thackston, W. M. (trans.), ''Khwandamir, Habibu's-siyar. Tome Three.'' Cambridge, MA, 1994. * Vernadsky, G., ''The Mongols and Russia'', New Haven, 1953. * Vohidov, Š. H. (trans.), ''Istorija Kazahstana v persidskih istočnikah.'' 3. ''Muʿizz al-ansāb.'' Almaty, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nawruz Beg 1361 deaths Khans of the Golden Horde 14th-century monarchs in Europe Year of birth unknown

Biography

Genealogy

See also

References

Sources