Amir Taraghai

Amir Taraghai
The Greatest of Great Shikhikhutug, Noyan
File:Barlas borjigin 7.png
Born	1305 C.E From Barlas Tribe, in Trasnoxiana Chagatai-Khanate
Died	1360 C.E in Transoxiana Chagatai-Khanate The ( Aged of 55 years old )
Burial	Green City Today ( Uzbekistan )
Spouse	Tekina Khatun
Issue	son : Timur
Full name Muhammad Amir Taraghai Beg-Khagan Barlas Noyan bin Burgul Barlas Noyan
House	Barlas Tribe
Father	Burgul Barlas Noyan
Religion	Buddhism, later Islam
Occupation	Social Minister of Chagatai-Khanate

Amir Taraghai, also known as Taragay (1305–1360 C.E). He was the father of the Mongol-conqueror Timur and the son of Burgul Noyan. He was a family member of the Barlas Clan in the start of the 14th Century. He was the first Barlas tribe member who accepted Islam, converting from Buddhism. He was the greatest of all social administrators of the Mongol Empire in the Chagatai-Khanate and the army's court leader.

Biography

Taraghai was born in 1305 C.E in the Mongol Empire, Chagatai-Khanate, Transoxiana, in the Barlas Clan. He was the son of the head of the tribe, Governor of Transoxiana, and military commander of the Chagatai-Khanate, Burgul Barlas Noyan. According to the Timur-zafarnama, Amir Taraghai was very faithful and religious. At the time of his birth, the Mongol Empire was in stagnation, with many wars and battles happening''

Kebek invaded the Delhi Sultanate again in 1305, looting the Multan region, but suffered a defeat on the way back. Chapar took advantage of the political turmoil to attack Kebek but was defeated and fled to the Yuan dynasty. Another kuriltai was held in the Chagatai Khanate, which elected another of Duwa's sons, Esen Buqa I, who took the throne ceded by Kebek. In 1315, Esen Buqa invaded the Ilkhanate in support of Duwa's grandson, Dawud Khoja, who had set himself up in eastern Afghanistan. He defeated an Ilkhanate army on the Murgab and reached as far as Herat, but was forced to retreat when the Yuan dynasty attacked him from the east. The Yuan army devastated the Issyk-Kul region. In 1315, the Chagatayid prince Yasa'ur defected to the Ilkhanate, only to rebel, taking Khorasan. Both Chagatai and Ilkhanate forces attacked Yasa'ur. He was killed as he fled. Esen Buqa I died in 1318, at which point Kebek returned to power. He made peace with the Ilkhanate and the Yuan dynasty and reigned until 1325. Kebek was succeeded by his three brothers in succession. Eljigidey and Duwa Temür each reigned for only a few months. Tarmashirin (1326–1334) converted to Islam and raided the Delhi Sultanate, reaching as far as Delhi. Tarmashirin was brought down by an anti-Muslim rebellion of the eastern tribes. A son of Duwa, Changshi, was enthroned in 1335. One of his sons was baptized. Pope Benedict XII appointed the Franciscan Richard of Burgundy to Almalik in 1339 but he was killed by Muslims in the Ili region. Giovanni de' Marignolli, a papal legate, arrived in the Ili valley the following year on his way to the Yuan Empire. He built a church and baptized some people during his stay but the presence of Christianity did not last much longer after his departure. The khanate became increasingly unstable in the following years and split in two during the 1340s. Transoxania was ruled by Qazan Khan ibn Yasaur. In 1346 a tribal chief, Amir Qazaghan, killed Qazan and set up Danishmendji as puppet khan. Danishmendji was killed a year later and replaced with Bayan Qulï. Qazaghan made Herat a tributary in 1351. He was assassinated in 1357 and was succeeded by his son Abdullah, who killed Bayan Qulï in 1358.

The Beginning :

The Chagatai-Khanate ruler was appointed to his father Burgul in his noyan rank. Taraghai was very educated. Amir Taraghai's birth name was Amir Taraghai Barlas. After his father's death, he shifted to the place Kesh, today in Uzbekistan, Sharisabz. Taraghai was working as an Administrator, the greatest social minister of the Chagatai-Khanate. He had so much high respect in his place; he was a warrior and leader of his small trained army. The Chagatai Khan promoted him to the army's court leadership. He had many different uncles, brothers, and cousins. One of his uncles' names'' was Hajji Beg, and he was the Governor of Transoxiana and head of the Barlas tribe, but Amir Taraghai was not ruling his clans and the cities by governorship; rather, Taraghai was a Barlas tribe family member. Taraghai was reasonably wealthy and influential.

Marriage Life

Amir Taraghai married an Iranian-Persian girl, Tekina Khatun. She was related to the Yasa'uri tribe, whose lands bordered that of the Barlas Tribe. Tekina Khatun was from a Royal family; she was a direct descendant of the Pishdadian Dynasty from the legendary hero King Manuchehr. Tekina Khatun was the mother of Amir Timur, the son of Amir Taraghai.

Before his son Timur's Birth :

Amir Taraghai saw in a dream that an angel in human form came to him and gave him a sword. Taraghai twirled the sword, his eyes opened, and he woke up. The next day, he went to the local area and met with the Mosque Imam, Shaikh Zainuddin. He was a Master of Islam who advised Muslims on life.

Amir Taraghai told him all the stories of what happened to him in his dream.

Shaikh Zainuddin asked him: "What time did it happen?"

Amir Taraghai said to him: "The morning time."

Shaikh Zainuddin said to him: "Your dream means the Creator, Allah, will give you a son who will use the sword of power to conquer the Earth."

The next year, on 9 April 1336, in Transoxiana, Barlas Clan, Kesh, Amir Taraghai's son was born. Now Amir Taraghai went to Imam Shaikh Zainuddin to describe his son's name; he gave it up. Shaikh Zainuddin said you give your son the name Timur, meaning Iron. Amir Taraghai named him (Full name: Shujauddin Muhammad Amir Timur Beg-Khagan Barlas). The miracle of his son Timur was that he was writing with both his left and right hands. Amir Taraghai admitted Timur to a Madrasah for learning Islamic education in his childhood. Timur's master, Mullah'' Ali Baig, taught Timur the Quran Sharif, but Timur was intelligent; he memorized everything, and Mullah Ali Baig said to Taraghai, "Your son is fast at learning." At the age of 7, Taraghai admitted Timur to another Madrasah for education. Shaikh Samsuddin told Amir Taraghai that his son had memorized the Quran Sharif. Amir Taraghai was proud of his son's future. Amir Taraghai trained Timur in fighting and Leadership (Swordfight, Horseriding, Archery, etc.). Amir Taraghai was famous for his son Timur.

Administration

Amir Taraghai was the greatest of all social ministers in the Mongol Empire by way of the Chagatai-Khanate; he was a social worker in the Mongol Empire in his young age, adult age, and old age. He was a Minister of the Chagatai-Khanate. His father, Burgul Barlas Noyan, was the Governor of Transoxiana and military commander with the title of Noyan of the Chagatai-Khanate, but Amir Taraghai did not succeed to his father's posts. His uncle Hajji Beg succeeded upon his death one year later. He was not a governor or head of the clan; he was a great social minister and one of the family members of the Barlas tribe. He was also working in an army post in wartime; he was the Leadership of the Chagatai-Khanate army's court, and he had a personal small army to protect his house. In addition to this, the great Amir Hamid Kereyid of Moghulistan is stated as a friend of Taraghai.

Militaryship & Career

Amir Taraghai's father, Burgul Noyan, was a successful military commander and governor. His father trained him in fighting and leadership to lead the armies'', and Taraghai became a warrior in his young age. Later, he became the Social Minister of the Chagatai-Khanate. His achievement was that he was a great worker, and the Chagatai Khan highly respected him for his honor. The Chagatai Khan gave him a promotion and the army's court leadership for barrack construction, joining the armies, training them, and all court work. Amir Taraghai achieved the wealthy power of his sources.

Religious

Amir Taraghai was very religious and faithful. His father, family, and house were Buddhist, but later he converted to Islam, and his house and many tribes followed. Taraghai was reading all religions and books, then he saw that Islam was the religion of peace; he chose to read Islam, accepted it, and was the first member of his clan who accepted the monotheistic religion of Islam in his young age. Worshiping the one and only God, he prayed five times, and he observed Sunnat, Fard, Wajib, and Makruh. He grew a beard and covered his head with a turban by following Prophet Muhammad's rules and Sunnats.

The history was changing; Amir Taraghai accepted Islam and he was a Muslim, and his son Timur was a Muslim''; if he did not accept Islam, Timur would have no chance of being a Muslim in his future.

Ancestry

Genealogical Relationship between Taraghai and Chenghis Khan.

Amir Taraghai was the direct descendant of the 11th-century Mongol warlord Tumanay Khan (birth name: Tumbinai Setsen) through his father, a male-line ancestor he shared with Genghis Khan. Tumanay Khan's son Khadjuli was his 5th great-grandfather. Tumanay's great-great-grandson (Qarachar Noyan, 1166–1256 C.E.), advisor, minister, and Temujin Baghatur military commander in 1194–1229 C.E., was given the honorary title of Great Noyan. Amir Taraghai's great-great-grandfather Qarachar and Genghis Khan were cousins. Amir Taraghai was the great-great-grandnephew of Genghis Khan and Genghis Khan was the great-great-granduncle of Amir Taraghai, or 1st great-granduncle. He was of both Barlas and Borjigin clan family because his 1st great-grandfather Qarachar was from the Borjigin clan. But Qarachar Noyan created the Barlas Tribe in 1229 C.E. in Central Asia, Transoxiana, who later assisted the latter's son Chagatai in the governorship of Transoxiana. In the same year, 1229 C.E., he changed the clan and Qarachar settled his family in Transoxiana from his old home in Mongolia, and Qarachar Barlas's son Ichil Barlas completely settled there and spoke some Chagatai language. In the 4 generations of Qarachar Noyan, changes occurred. Amir Taraghai did not speak the Mongolian language; he spoke the Chagatai-Turkic language because he lived in Central Asia, where the majority were Turkic subgroup peoples. Amir Taraghai's mother tongue was Chagatai-Turk, but his ancestors for 4 generations spoke the Mongol language. His great-great-grandfather Qarachar Noyan achieved great sources (The Great Darughachi, meaning in Mongol form Даругачи, the governor of the state). Qarachar's reign of governorship (1229–1256) was a long term in his life, making a great administration. Qarachar Noyan married Chagatai Khan's daughter. As his bloodline was connected with Genghis Khan, Amir Taraghai could claim the title Khan, but he did not choose the title Khan because it caused more bloodshed related to Genghis Khan. The more distant ancestor of Taraghai, Tumanay Khan, was Bodonchar in the 10th-century Mongol warlord era in 900+ A.D. He was the founder of the Borjigin tribe, and both Amir Taraghai and Genghis Khan trace their ancestry to (Bodonchar 941–980+ C.E.). Amir Taraghai claimed himself a direct descendant of Genghis Khan; not only he, but all his fathers, grandfathers, and all ancestors claimed it, and Taragay said to Timur, "We are truly Genghis Khan's descent."

References

1. Grousset 1970, pp. 341–2.
2. Grousset 1970, p. 331.
3. Beatrice Forbes Manz, Tamerlane and the Symbolism of Sovereignty (1988), p. 116
4. Tamerlane and The Jews By Michael Shterenshis
5. Mu'izz al-Ansab, Folio. 97a
6. Hist Afghanistan V 1 & 2, Volume 1 By Percy Sykes
7. Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi, Zafarnama (1424-1428), p. 75
8. Imaging Sound: An Ethnomusicological Study of Music, Art, and Culture in ...By Bonnie C. Wade, Professor of Music Bonnie C Wade
9. A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultunat (A.D. 1206-1526), ed. by Mohammad Habib and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami People's Publishing House, 1970 - India
10. Harry N. Abrams, Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years, 600-1600 (2005), p. 196
11. Martin Bernard Dickson, Michel M. Mazzaoui, Vera Basch Moreen, Intellectual studies on Islam: essays written in honor of Martin B. Dickson (1993), p. 97
12. Franklin Mackenzie, The Ocean and the Steppe: The Life and Times of the Mongol Conqueror Genghis Khan, 1155-1227 (1963), p. 322
13. Michael Biran, Chinggis Khan: Selected Readings (2012), ch. 5
14. Mansura Haidar, Indo-Central Asian relations: from early times to medieval period (2004), p. 126
15. Amir Timur Beg (1336-1396): English Rendering of Molana Sharf-ud-din Ali Yezdi's Persian Zafarnamah, Volume 1 Sharaf al-Dīn ʻAlī Yazdī
16. The Akbar Nāma of Abu-l-Fazl: History of the Reign of Akbar Including an Account of His Predecessors, Volume 1 Abū al-Faz̤l ibn Mubārak Ess Ess Publications, 1977 - South - Asia

Sources

B.F. Manz, The rise and rule of Tamerlan, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1989, p. 28: "... We know definitely that the leading clan of the Barlas tribe traced its origin to Qarachar Barlas, head of one of Chaghadai's regiments ... These then were the most prominent members of the Ulus Chaghadai: the old Mongolian tribes — Barlas, Arlat, Soldus and Jalayir ..." This article "Amir Taraghai" is from Simple English Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Amir Taraghai.

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