Dughlats

The Dughlat clan (Mongolian: Dolood/sevens, Doloo/seven; Middle Mongolian: Doluga, Dolugad; Dulğat and in Kazakh language) was a Mongol (later Turko-Mongol) clan that served the Chagatai khans as hereditary vassal rulers of the several cities of the western Tarim Basin from the 14th century until the 16th century. The most famous member of the clan, Mirza Muhammad Haidar, was a military adventurer, historian, and the ruler of Kashmir (1541–1551). His historical work, the Tarikh-i Rashidi, provides much of the information known about the family.

The Dughlat tribe is mentioned as having supported Genghis Khan during his creation of the Mongol Empire in the early 13th century. Rashid al-Din Hamadani identifies the Dughlad (Dughlat) as a minor tribe of the Mongols. At an early date the entire tribe moved out of Mongolia and eventually settled in the area comprising the ulus of Chagatai Khan.

In the mid-14th century the authority of the Chagatai khans underwent a sudden decline. In the western part of the khanate (specifically Transoxiana and the bordering provinces), the khans had become rulers in name only, with real power in the hands of the local Turko-Mongol amirs after 1346. In the eastern provinces (spec. the Tarim Basin and the area that was to become Moghulistan) the authority of the khans in Transoxiana was virtually nonexistent. As a result, power there was in the hands of the local lords and tribal chiefs.

By this time the Dughlats had become one of the most eminent clans in the eastern regions. Chief among their holdings were the towns Aksu, Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khotan Their influence allowed them to select a Genghisid khan of their own choosing. In 1347, according to the Tarikh-i Rashidi, the Dughlat Amir Bulaji raised a certain Tughlugh Timur to the khanship and recognized his authority. The new khan, despite owing his throne to the Dughlats, was a man of strong character and maintained effective control of Moghulistan. He also converted to Islam, an act that was copied by the Dughlats (one of whom, Amir Tulik, had been secretly converted even before the khan's adoption of the faith).

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