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 Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī (, ''Kamal-ud-Din Abd-ur-Razzaq ibn Ishaq Samarqandi''; 7 November 1413 – August 1482) was a Persian Timurid chronicler and Islamic scholar. He was for a while the ambassador of Shah Rukh, the Timurid dynasty ruler o ...

, she was the daughter of Shaikh Awais Jalayir of the Jalairid Sultanate in Iraq. Another author, Shabankara'i, presented her as the daughter of Hasan Bozorg and

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 ...

. While most of the Medieval authors such as

Al-Maqrizi Al-Maqrīzī (, full name Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī, ; 1364–1442) was a medieval Egyptian historian and biographer during the Mamluk era, known for his interest in the Fat ...

and

Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali Ibn al-ʿImād () (1623-1679), full name ʿAbd al-Ḥayy bin Aḥmad bin Muḥammad ibn al-ʿImād al-ʿAkarī al-Ḥanbalī Abū al-Falāḥ (), was a Syrian Muslim historian and faqih of the Hanbali school. Life Born in the Al-Salihiyah, Dama ...

, as well as modern authors like (1866-1947), Mehmet Zihni (1845-1913) and

Bahriye Üçok Bahriye Üçok (1919 – 6 October 1990) was a Turkish people, Turkish academic of theology, left-wing politician, writer, columnist, and women's rights activist whose assassination in 1990 remains unresolved. Early life and education Born in ...

believed her to be the daughter of Shaikh Hussain Jalayir.

Marriages

Barquq

According to Shabankara'i, she was first married to Sayf ad-Din Barquq of the Egyptian

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 ...

in 1393. The marriage was arranged by his uncle Ahmad Jalayir as an alliance between Iraq and Egypt against

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

. The marriage was arranged during a journey she made with her uncle to Cairo, when Barquq was allegedly astonished by her beauty and asked for her hand, and when her uncle returned to Iraq, she remained, while Egypt sent support of the Egyptian armies to assist Iraq against Timur. The marriage was reportedly happy from Barquq's point of view, as he was said to have loved her greatly. Tandu, however, did not like life in Egypt and suffered from homesickness, and eventually, Barquq allowed her to return to Iraq.

Shah Walad

In Iraq, she eventually married her cousin, Shah Walad Jalayir, heir of Ahmad. However, Ahmad was killed by Qara Yusuf in 1410, who sent his son Shah Muhammad to capture

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 ...

, where Shah Walad recently rose to the throne.

Rule

Bakhshāyesh, the military governor of Baghdad, soon offered Tandu to her daughter to marry her. Bakhshāyesh recently rose in power after killing rival emirs in Baghdad. However, he was killed on his wedding night. According ''Tarikh al-Ghiyathi'', it was Tandu who ordered the murder. Tandu then started a rumor that his uncle Ahmad was actually 'hidden' and would come back to save his people soon, ordering Baghdad people to celebrate for 3 days. While using opportunity, she fled the city with Walad's 6 children and went to

Wasit Wasit (, ) was an early Islamic city in Iraq. It was founded in the 8th century by the Umayyad viceroy of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, to serve as the region's seat and as the garrison of the Syrian troops who enforced Umayyad rule there. It was ...

and then

Shushtar Shushtar () is a city in the Central District of Shushtar County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately from Ahvaz, the centre of the province ...

. Strengthening in Shushtar, Basra and Wasit, Tandu reportedly took power herself as ruler, and remained in power for eight years with Mahmud and Uvais II. Nevertheless, Jalayirid power was not secure, thus she submitted to Shahrukh to keep

Khuzistan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

in control. Hanbali relates that "The '' khutba'' was said in her name from the pulpits and money was coined in her name until her death in . Her son took power after her." According to Fatema Mernissi, Tindu was one of Muslim female rulers who met the Muslim criteria of sovereignty.

References

Sources

* {{Cite book , last=Üçok , first=Bahriye , title=İslam Devletlerinde Kadın Hükümdarlar , publisher=Bilge Kultur Sanat , year=1965 , location=

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, language=tr , author-link=Bahriye Üçok 15th-century Mongol khans 15th-century women monarchs Women from the Mongol Empire Jalayirids 1419 deaths