Qazan Khan ibn Yasaur

Qazan (d. 1346) was khan of the Chagatai Khanate from c. 1343 until his death.

Biography

Qazan was the son of Yasa'ur, a Chagataiid prince who had revolted in the 1310s. Upon his ascension to the throne, he attempted to increase his power within the "ulus". These measures provoked the anger of the nobility, who threw their support behind the Qara'unas Amir Qazaghan. The two went to war in 1345; Qazan defeated Qazaghan in a battle north of the Iron Gates. Defeated and wounded, Qazaghan withdrew, but Qazan decided to spend the winter at his palace at Qarshi, allowing Qazaghan to rebuild his forces. In the next year he again fought Qazan's army and this time defeated it; Qazan was killed during the battle. [Grousset, p. 342]

Qazan's death marked the end of the effective power of the house of Chagatai within Transoxiana (except for a brief period from 1360 until 1363); the amirs seized control of the "ulus" and the khans ruled in name only. [Manz, p. 43] The next khan, Danishmendji, was a puppet of Qazaghan, who became the effective leader of the "ulus".

Notes

References

*Grousset, Rene. "The Empire of the Steppes: a History of Central Asia". Trans. Naomi Walford. Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, NJ, 1970. ISBN 0813513049

*Manz, Beatrice Forbes. "The Rise and Rule of Tamberlane." Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1989. ISBN 0521633842