Nawruz Beg was a son of Jani Beg and Khan of the Blue Horde. He succeeded to the throne after murdering his brother Qulpa, though like his brothers, his reign lasted a year before he himself died; the cause of his death is unknown. Nawruz Beg's death precipitated the period of anarchy in which over twenty khans succeeded in the Horde (the first of them was Khidr) or in various parts of the Horde, many of them concurrent, and having no real claim to the throne. Some of khans reigned only de jure; supreme military rulers ruled de facto; Mamai being the most capable and famous of these.