Shaykh Uways Jalayir () was the

Jalayirid The Jalayirid Sultanate () was a dynasty of Mongol Jalayir origin, which ruled over modern-day Iraq and western Iran after the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p. 3: "From then until ...

ruler of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

(1356–1374) and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

(1360–1374). He was the son of

Hasan Buzurg Shaikh Hasan (), also known as "Hasan Buzurg" ("Hasan The Great"), Hassan the Jalair or Hassan-e Uljatâï was the first of several de facto independent Jalayirid rulers of Iraq and central Iran. Early years He was born to Amir Husain Jalayir ...

and the Chobanid princess

Dilshad Khatun Dilshad Khatun (; died 27 December 1351), also Delshad, was a Chobanid princess. She was the wife of Ilkhan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, and after him Hasan Buzurg, the first ruler of the Jalayirid Sultanate, and the mother of his son and successor Sh ...

Rise to throne

Shortly after Shaykh Uways Jalayir succeeded his father, the old enemy of the Jalayirids, the Chobanids, were overrun by the forces 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 ...

under

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 ...

in 1357. Malek Asraf was executed, and

was conquered. Following Jani Beg's withdrawal from Azerbaijan, as well as his 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 ...

's similar abandonment of the region in 1358, the area became a prime target for its neighbors. Shaykh Uways Jalayir, who at first had recognized the sovereignty of the Blue Horde, decided to take the former Chobanid lands for himself, even as a former amir of Malek Asraf's named Akhi Juq attempted to keep the region in

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 ...

hands. Uvais conquered the area in August 1358, following a swift victory over remnants of Chobanids in a battle near Sitay mountain. In addition to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, he could now boast

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

as a large city under his control. He had certain problems with Genoese who tried to build a stronghold city's vicinity, which caused

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

to boycott the region. Unlike his predecessors who only claimed to be emirs of figurehead ilkhans, Shaykh Uways claimed regal titles like ''

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

'', '' khan'' and even ''

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', ' ...

''. Moving on, he sent his

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 ...

Ali Piltan towards Nakhchivan, where Akhi Juq was hiding. However, he was disastrously defeated on 28 January 1359, Uways had to retreat to Baghdad and lost Tabriz to Akhi Juq temporarily. Same year Muzaffarids conquered Tabriz and Mubariz al-Din Muhammad became the new ruler of the region, as well as a new rival. However this rivalry was cut short when the latter was blinded and imprisoned by his own son Shah Shuja. Uways was now master of Azerbaijan once again. Although Temürtas once campaigned to regain Chupanid territories, he was turned over to Uways by Khizrshah of

Ahlat Ahlat (; ) is a town in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. It is the seat of Ahlat District. During his reign, Shaykh Uways Jalayir sought to increase his holdings in

Iran 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 ...

. He became involved in the power struggles of the Muzaffarids, supporting Shah Mahmud in his efforts against his brother Shah Shuja. Shah Mahmud received support around 1363 in his conquest of

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

and later his son married one of Shaykh Uways Jalayir's daughters in 1369/70. In 1364, Shaykh Uways Jalayir campaigned against the Shirvanshah Kavus, but a revolt begun by the governor of Baghdad, Khwaja Murjan, forced him to return to reassert his authority. The revolt was supported by

Al-Ashraf Sha'ban Al-Ashraf Zayn ad-Din Abu al-Ma'ali Sha'ban ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (, better known as al-Ashraf Sha'ban ( or Sha'ban II, was a Turk Mamluk sultan of the Bahri dynasty in 1363–1377. He was a grandson of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (r. ...

of the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

. Although Uways managed to defeat Murjan, he was pardoned in the end, and was reinstated as governor eventually in 1367 until his death in 1374. In 1366, Shaykh Uways Jalayir marched against the Black Sheep Turkmen, defeating their leader Birdi Khwaja in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

and his brother Bayram Khwaja, at the battle of Mush. Later, he turned his attention toward

Shirvanshah The Shirvanshahs (Arabic/) were the rulers of Shirvan (in present-day Azerbaijan) from 861 to 1538. The first ruling line were the Yazidids, an originally Arab and later Persianized dynasty, who became known as the Kasranids (also referred t ...

Kavus again who had attacked Tabriz twice in the meantime. His emir Bayram Beg besieged

Shamakhi Shamakhi (, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving its name to th ...

for 3 months after which Kavus was jailed for another 3 months. He was pardoned and accepted to become Jalayirid vassal with his son Hushang being Uways' hostage until 1372. In 1367, his brother Amir Qasim died of consumption, while his favorite general Bayram Beg who subdued Shirvan also died of excessive drinking. Following year Uways also lost his wife Haji Mama Khatun. Tombstone of Shaykh Uways

End of reign

He tried to establish relations with

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

in 1369 unsuccessfully. In an effort to extend further east, he fought against Amir Vali, who ruled in

Astarabad Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the northeast of the national capital Tehran, and some a ...

, and defeated him in Ray in 1371. When his brother Amir Zahid died in Ujan after falling off the palace roof, however, he was forced to turn back. The governorship of Ray was trusted in the hands of a Qutlugh Shah, who was followed two years later by ‘Adil Aqa. Due to his campaigns, Shaykh Uways Jalayir spent much time in Iran, and he died in Tabriz on 10 October 1374; Baghdad, however, remained his capital. During his lifetime, the Jalayirid state reached its peak in power. In addition to his military adventures, which were considerable, he was known for his attempts to revive commercial enterprise, which had suffered heavily in the past years, in the region, as well as his patronage to the arts. His chronicler, Abu Bakr al-Qutbi al Ahri, wrote of Shaykh Uways Jalayir’ deeds in the ''Tarikh-i Shaikh Uvais''. Shaykh Uways Jalayir was succeeded by his son Shaikh Hasan Jalayir, however he was immediately assassinated on same day.

Children

He was married to Haji Mama Khatun (d. 1368) with whom he had several children: * Shaikh Hasan Jalayir (k. October 9, 1374) — married to a daughter of Qadi Shaykh Ali, leading ''

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

'' of Tabriz. * Shaikh Ali Jalayir — Governor of Baghdad ** Shah Walad Jalayir *** Sultan Mahmud Jalayir *** Sultan Awais Jalayir *** Sultan Muhammad Jalayir * Shaikh Hussain Jalayir (k. 1382 ) — succeeded as sultan in 1374 * Shaikh Bayazid Jalayir — ruler in Sultaniyeh * Sultan Ahmed Jalayir (d. 1410) — Governor of Ardabil, succeeded Hussain ** Ala-du-Daulah Jalayir *** Hussain bin Ala-ud-Daulah Jalayir *

Tandu Khatun Tandu Khatun () or ''Tindu Khatun'' () was a Jalayirid princess and sovereign of the Jalairid Sultanate in Iraq in 1411–1419. Background Her parentage is uncertain. According to Abd al-Razzaq Samarqandi, she was the daughter of Shaikh Awais ...

(Disputed)

Rise to throne

End of reign

Children

Ancestry

References

Sources

Further reading