The Qara'unas or Negüderi were the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

who settled in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

after moving from

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

and

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Foundation

The word Qarauna derived from the Turkic word ''Qara'' meaning black in Mongolian. At first they were subjects of the

Great Khan Khagan or Qaghan ( Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of imperial ...

and served as ''tamnas'' or ''tamachis'' in

. The Great Khan appointed their leaders from non-

Chingisid The Chinggisids were the descendants of Genghis Khan, also known as Chinggis Khan, and his first wife Börte. The dynasty, which evolved from Genghis Khan's own Borjigin tribe, ruled the Mongol Empire and its successor states. The "Chinggisid pr ...

generals such as Dayir and Mungudei. In 1238, they settled near

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to face the military forces of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

. In the 1250s their leader was

Sali Noyan Sali Noyan also known as ''Sali Bahadur'' or Sali the Brave, was an important Mongol general of Möngke Khan, Khagan of the Mongol Empire. He was instrumental in the 13th century CE, in keeping control over most of Afghanistan where a permanent ga ...

who was of Tatar origin.

Möngke Khan Möngke Khan (also Möngke Khagan or Möngke; 11 January 120911 August 1259) was the fourth khagan of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251 to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to im ...

ordered

and his tamna soldiers to join Hulegu's army in 1253. In 1260,

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 Baval, the father of

Nogai Khan Nogai, or Noğay ( Kypchak and Turki: نوغای; also spelled Nogay, Nogaj, Nohai, Nokhai, Noqai, Ngoche, Noche, Kara Nokhai, and Isa Nogai; died 1299/1300) was a general and kingmaker of the Golden Horde. His great grandfather was Jochi, son o ...

, was executed on the orders of Hulegu Khan after gaining permission from

Berke Berke Khan (died 1266/1267; also Birkai; Turki/ Kypchak: برکه خان, , ) was a grandson of Genghis Khan from his son Jochi and a Mongol military commander and ruler of the Golden Horde, a division of the Mongol Empire, who effectively c ...

who was the 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 ...

. Soon after that, Kuli and Tutar, also Golden Horde princes, died under suspicious circumstances.

soldiers who served Hulgeu feared for their lives and began to move to the Kipchak Steppes via

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

while others moved through Syria to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Angered, Hulegu punished many soldiers of the Golden Horde for the defeat of Ain Jalut. The Mongol general Baiju was executed as well. To the east, the flight of Jochid troops into Afghanistan in significant numbers led to the creation of the

Negudar Negudar (also known as ''Nikudar'' or ''Neguder'') was a Mongol general under Berke, and a Golden Horde Noyan. With many other Golden Horde generals, he embraced Islam in the late 13th century. He subsequently took the Muslim name of Ahmad Khan. ...

i (Nikudari) Mongols or Qara'unas in 1262. Berke ordered general Neguder to carry out raids in the eastern part of the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

. Some historians refer to the Qara'unas as Neguderis. This term was derived from the name of Negudar.

Mongol Empire

Although some scholars claim that the Qara'unas did not owe allegiance to any khanate in the 1290s, it is also claimed that the Qara'unas were largely brought under the

Chagatai Khanate The Chagatai Khanate, also known as the Chagatai Ulus, was a Mongol and later Turkification, Turkicized khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan, and his descendants and successors. At its height in the l ...

during the reign of

Alghu Alghu (died 1265 or 1266) was the khan of the Chagatai Khanate (1260–1265/6). He was the son of Baidar and the grandson of Chagatai Khan. Biography In 1260 Alghu was appointed as head of the ''ulus'' of the Chagatai Khanate by the Great Khan ...

in 1262. As a result of wars between the Mongol khanates, the Qara'unas deserted Hulegu and captured Sali bahadur. While a majority of Qara'unas were ruled by Chagatai princes, there was another group in Khorasan which formed the eastern border for

Abagha Abaqa Khan (27 February 1234 – 4 April 1282, , "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler (''Ilkhan'') of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Lady Yesünčin and the grandson of Tolui, he reigned from 1265 t ...

Khan. He appointed former Chagatai Khan Mubarak Shah their leader.

Duwa Duwa (; died 1307), also known as Du'a, was Khan of the Chagatai Khanate (1282–1307). He was the second son of Baraq. He was the longest reigning monarch of the Chagatayid Khanate and accepted the nominal supremacy of the Yuan dynasty as ...

recalled his cousin Abdullah and appointed his son

Qutlugh Khwaja Qutlugh Khwaja ( Chagatai and Persian: قتلغ خواجه; d. 1299/1300) was a son of Duwa, the Mongol khan of Chagatai Khanate, a division of the Mongol Empire. He became a chief of the Qara'unas in Afghanistan after Abdullah was recalled by th ...

a governor there in 1299. The descendants of Duwa ruled the Qara'unas after that. Oljeitu reasserted his ancestors' claim on Afghanistan and repelled the Qara'unas in 1314. Another Chagatai prince

Yasa'ur Yasa'ur (died 1320) was a Chagatai prince who launched a revolt against the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id. He was the son of Chübei, grandson of Alghu Khan, and a great-great-grandson of Chagatai Khan. Yasa'ur had originally resided within the Chagatai '' ...

was given lands in Afghanistan by the latter

Ilkhan Il Khan (also ''il-khan'', ''ilkhan'', ''elkhan'', etc.), in Turkic languages and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title ''khan'' with the prefix ''el/il'', from the word ''ulus'' – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', ' ...

. By his complaisance toward the Buyantu Ayurbawda Khan of the Yuan and the Ilkhan Oljeitu,

Kebek Kebek (died 1325/1326) was Khan of the Chagatai Khanate from 1309 until 1310, and again from c. 1318 until his death. Early life Kebek was the son of Duwa, who was the Khan from 1282 until 1307. Duwa sent several expeditions to the Delhi S ...

reoccupied the territory peacefully. Esenbuqa and Tarmashirin were all military governors of the Qara'unas who later became Chagatai Khans. This military group had participated in all Mongol invasions of India after 1241.

Rise to power and decline

Serving under the Khans, they gained confidence from them. Qara'unas were the main force for the campaigns in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

. Neguderis wintered around

Ghazna Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...

and summered in Ghur and Garchistan. According to

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

, they were mixed with Indians and Turks, because these soldiers were unable to reach

to find

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

wives. After the death of Qazan Khan, the Chagatai Khanate split into two parts until it was temporarily reunited under

Tughlugh Timur Tughlugh Timur Khan ( Chagatai and Persian: تغلق تیمور خان; also Tughluq Tömür or Tughluk Timur; 1312/13–1363) was the Khan of Moghulistan from and Khan of the whole Chagatai Khanate from c. 1360 until his death. Esen Buqa (a d ...

(1347–1363). Chagatai Mongol fell under the control of semi-nomadic oboghs: the Arlat in the west, the

Barlas The Barlas (;Grupper, S. M. 'A Barulas Family Narrative in the Yuan Shih: Some Neglected Prosopographical and Institutional Sources on Timurid Origins'. Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 8 (1992–94): 11–97 Chagatay language, Chagatay/ ''Barlās'' ...

in the center, and the

Jalayir Jalair (; ; ), also Djalair, Yyalair, Jalayir, is one of the Darliqin Mongol tribes according to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's ''Jami' al-tawarikh''.They lived along the Orkhon River in modern day Central Mongolia.History of Mongolia, Volume II, 2003 ...

in the north, and two non-tribal military groups, the Qara'unas and the Qa'uchin. While the Mongols in Moghulistan, the eastern part of the Chagatai Khanate, called their western counterparts in Transoxiana Qara'unas (blacks or mixed breed), the western Chagatayid called the Mongols of Moghulistan Jete (bandits). The western part of the khanate was under the control of Qara'unas such as

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

Qazaghan and his son ‘Abdullah. But Suldus and Barlas nobles revolted against their rule in 1359. With the Mongol (Moghul) invasion in 1360, the Qarauna ascendancy failed. In 1362

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 ...

(Temur, Timur) rejoined the Qara'unas under Qazaghan's grandson, Husayn. They freed Transoxiana from the Mongols of

Moghulistan Moghulistan, also called the Moghul Khanate or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, was a Muslims, Muslim, Mongol, and later Turkic peoples, Turkic breakaway khanate of the Chagatai Khanate and a historical geographic area north of the Tian Shan, Teng ...

, whom they considered unruly bandits in the next year. But in 1365 the Moghuls invaded again. The Qarauna and Barlas forces were defeated. Quickly after the Khan's fail, Timur and Husayn recovered. They co-ruled Transoxiana and installed a puppet khan. Husayn decided to build himself a permanent capital and urban base on the site of

Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...

in Afghanistan and

, ruined since the time of

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 ...

, but now to be developed as an anti-

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

. When the ambitious Temur finally revolted in 1370 at the head of his coalition, Husayn had little support left and was easily defeated and killed. Temur fully subjugated the Qara'unas in the 1380s. During the reign of Temur (d.1405), Qara'unas formed a huge part of his army. According to

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

in Baburnama, they still spoke Mongolian in the mountains of Ghazni in the late 15th century.

Modern descendants

The Nikudari are (or were; Weiers notes that his informants were not aware of this term anymore) a population group of Afghanistan of Mongolic origin. They are distinct from them in that the Hazara do not exhibit any Mongolic linguistic peculiarities. The Nikudari, on the other hand, used to speak Moghol which is probably extinct now. Their tribal name hails from their former military leader,

, who according to Morgan was a general of the

,Morgan, David (2007 986: ''The Mongols''. Malden: Blackwell Publishing: 95 but according to the research of Weiers that Morgan fails to quote was a leader of rebels against

Hulegu Khan Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ar ...

References

Citations

Sources

; Cited sources * * * ; Other sources * Amitai-Preiss, ''Reuven. The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War'", 1998. * Nicolle, David. ''The Mongol Warlords'' Brockhampton Press, 1998. * Rashid al-Din, Universal history * Saunders, J.J. ''The History of the Mongol Conquests'', Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1971, . {{Mongol_Yastan Ethnic groups in Afghanistan Medieval history of Afghanistan History of the Mongol Empire Mongol peoples