Tughlugh Timur

Tughlugh Timur Khan (also Tughluq Tömür or Tughluk Timur) (1329/30-1363) was the Khan of Moghulistan from c. 1347 and Khan of the whole Chagatai Khanate from c. 1360 until his death. Esen Buqa (a direct descendant of Chagatai Khan) is believed to be his father. His reign is known for his conversion to Islam and his invasions of Transoxiana.

After the Chagatayid Qazan Khan was killed in 1346, the Chagatai Khanate underwent a transformation. In the west (Transoxiana), the mostly Turko-Mongol tribes, led by the Qara'unas amirs, seized control. In order to maintain a link to the house of Genghis Khan, the amirs set several of his descendants on the throne, though these khans ruled in name only and had no real power.

The eastern part of the khanate, meanwhile, had been largely autonomous for several years as a result of the khans' weakening power. This eastern portion (most of which was known as "Moghulistan") was, in contrast to Transoxiana, primarily inhabited by Mongols and was largely Buddhist and Shamanist.

The most powerful family in the eastern part of the khanate during this time was a Mongol one, that of the Dughlat amirs. The Dughlats held several important towns as vassals to the khans, including Kashgar, Aksu, Yarkand, and Khotan. In around 1347, the Dughlat amir Bulaji, after seeing the situation in Transoxiana, decided to raise a khan of his own choosing. His choice fell on Tughlugh Timur, who was at that time little more than an adventurer.

Tughlugh was converted by a Muslim cleric Mauláná Arshad-ud-Din, who unwittingly trespassed on the game-preserves of Tughlugh. Tughlugh ordered the cleric before him and demanded to know the reason for the cleric's interference with his hunting. The cleric answered that he wasn't aware that he was trespassing. At this point, Tughlugh noticed that the cleric was Persian, and Tughlugh said that "a dog was worth more than a Persian." The cleric responded, "Yes, if we had not the true faith, we should indeed be worse than dogs." Puzzled, Tughlugh ordered the cleric to explain the "true faith"; thus was Tughlugh taught the doctrines of Islam. Thereafter, Tughlugh embraced Islam. This act resulted in the amirs of Moghulistan doing the same, although the general population of the region was slower in converting. According to an account He received circumcision, and on the same day 160,000 people shaved their heads and confessed Islam.

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