Uwais Khan ibn Sher Ali also referred to as Sultan Vais Khan, was the Moghul Khan of Mughalistan; (first from 1418 to 1421 C.E. and again from 1425 to 1429 C.E.). He was the nephew of Sher Muhammad. In English, his name has been variously spelled and pronounced as either Awais, Owais or Vais.[1][2]
Finally, Uwais Khan, after a long and rapid march, surprised Sher Muhammad in his camp at midnight in one of these confrontations. The assailants were four hundred strong. When the alarm was raised, Sher Muhammad threw himself into a ditch, while Uwais Khan, surrounding the camp, searched till dawn for Sher Muhammad, slaying all whom he met. Yet, notwithstanding their search and the violence they used towards the people in the camp, no trace of Sher Muhammad was to be found. When day broke Uwais Khan left. Then Sher Muhammad came out of the ditch, and his men having again collected round him, he set out in pursuit of Uwais Khan, who managed to save himself after many narrow escapes. In fine, this hostility continued between them until the natural death of Sher Muhammad, whereupon Uwais Khan succeeded as Moghul Khan of Moghulistan.[2]
Moghul - Oirat Wars
Uwais Khan showed himself to be religiously inclined; he was moreover distinguished among his race for his bravery. Since he had forbidden the Moghuls to attack Muslims, he made war against what he called infidelOirats; and though he was frequently defeated by them, he persisted in hostilities against them. He was twice taken prisoner by them.
Battle of Ming Lak
The first occasion was in a battle at a place called Ming Lak, where the Khan, having been seized, was led before Esen Taishi. Esen Taishi felt that if Uwais Khan really was a descendant of Genghis Khan, he would not do him obeisance, but would look upon him as an inferior. So when the Khan was brought in, Esen Taishi dismounted and advanced towards the Khan with great respect. But the Khan turned away his face and did not raise his hand to shake with his rival. Esen Taishi was then convinced, and treating the Khan with much honor, set him at liberty. Uwais Khan, on being asked afterwards why he had not done obeisance to Esen Taishi replied:
If he (Esen Taishi) had treated me in a lordly manner, I should, out of fear for my life, have approached him with reverence. But since he came towards me with bowed head, it occurred to me that the hour of my martyrdom had arrived; and it is not fitting for a Musulmán to do homage to an infidel, or to countenance his actions, therefore I did not salute him.[2]
Battle of Kabaka
On another occasion, he fought a battle with this same Esen Taishi at a spot called Kabaka, on the confines of Moghulistan. Here, too, he suffered defeat. His horse being shot under him by an arrow, the Khan was obliged to continue on foot. He was on the point of being captured, when Amir Sayyid Ali Dughlat, dismounting from his horse, gave it to the Khan, while he threw himself with his face on the ground. The Oirats, thinking him dead, shot an arrow near his head. When they came near enough, the Amir contrived to lay hold of one of them, who happened to be a man of some distinction, and lifting him up by his coat, turned him from side to side as a shield against the arrows, running all the while by the side of the Khan's bridle, so that it was impossible to shoot an arrow at the Amir. In this way he continued fighting and carrying the man by his clothes for a whole farsakh or 3 miles, till they came to the River Ailah. He then threw the Oirats into the water, and seizing the bridle of the Khan's horse, entered the stream, which came up to his chest. Several men were drowned. The Khan's horse began to swim, while the Amir held up its head, and thus safely conducted the Khan, mounted and armed, across the river. Many men were drowned on that day. It is related that the Khan had with him, on that occasion, two cousins, Hasan Sultan, who wore red armour, and Luqman Sultan, who wore blue. They were both drowned on entering the stream. Amir Sayyid Ali, keeping hold of the Khan's bridle with one hand, did his best to save these two men with the other, but could not reach them. The Khan declared he could distinguish their red and blue jackets deep down in the water. Uwais Khan gave Amir Sayyid Ali Dughlat five presents —one for each of the following acts.
He had given his horse to the Khán and had himself remained on foot.
He had used him as a shield for a whole farsakh or approximately 3 miles.
He had brought the Khan fully armed and mounted across the River Ailah.
Although he had hold of the Khan, he twice stretched out his hand to save drowning men.
In consideration of these five actions, he gave the Amir five Aymāqs as a reward.
Turkát.
Hibat Shirá Sut.
Uzbeg, a tribe of Khotan.
Darugha, also a tribe of Khotan.
Kukanit, also a tribe of Khotan.
Battle of Turfan
Uwais Khan had another combat with Esen Taishi, in the vicinity of Turfan, and was again defeated and taken prisoner. Esen Taishi said to the Khan on his being brought before him:
This time I will only set you free, on your giving me your sister Makhtum Khanim, as a ransom[2]
There being no help for it, Makhtum Khanim was given to him, and the Khan was set at liberty. It is commonly reported that the Khan had sixty-one engagements with the Oirats, only once was he victorious; on every other occasion he was put to rout.[2]
Personal life
MaulanaKhwaja Ahmad said that the Khan was a very powerful man, and that he used, every year, to go hunting wild camels in the country round Turfan, Tarim Basin, Lop Desert and Katak. When he killed a camel he would skin it with his own hands, and take the wool to his mother Sultan Khatun; the Khatun would spin it and make it into shirts and breeches for him, which he wore with sumptuous robes outside. In Turfan water is very scarce, and it was the Khan himself who irrigated the land. He did not get his water from any stream, but having dug a deep well, drew from it a supply of water for irrigation.
We have often seen the Khan, during the hot season, with the help of his slaves, drawing water from the well in pitchers [kuzah], and pouring it himself over the land. His agriculture was carried out on such a small scale, that the produce of it never attained the value of an ass's load; but this served him for a yearly supply of food.[2]
Although Uwais Khan eventually made Turfan his main base of residence he was forced to leave this city under attacks of Oirats, who previously captured Beshbalik and Kumul, and move to Ilibalik in Ili River Valley. He had two sons: eldest Yunus Khan, who was 13 years old during his death, and youngest Esen Buqa Khan. He also had a daughter, who was married to the Timurid prince Abdul Aziz Mirza, son of Ulugh Beg.[3]
He was a disciple of MaulanaMuhammad Kashani, who in turn was a disciple of Khwaja Hasan, and Khwaja Hasan was a disciple of Qutb-i-Masnad Arshad KhwajaBaha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Being a king did not prevent Uwais Khan from passing his time in such studies as theology. His reign was fairly prosperous. It was during his reign that Amir Khudaidad went on a pilgrimage to Makkah. Moghul records state that Amir Khudaidad performed coronation of six Moghul Khans, from Khizr Khoja to Uwais Khan. After the departure of Amir Khudaidad for Makkah,the accession of Mir Muhammed Shah to his father's rank and titles was achieved.[2]
Death
Satuq Khan was a Chagatai Khan as he was one of those men upon whom Amir Timur had conferred the title of Khan but had confined him like his other Chagatai family members inside Hiyat-i-Khan (Walls of Khan) in Samarkand. Hiyat-i-Khan was a large place and each division of it had a separate name. One of them was the Hauz-i-Bostan-i-Khan (the reservoir of the Khan's garden), where Amir Timur placed another Chagatai Khan named Soyurghatmïsh Khan on whose name he was ruling the Chagatai Khanate. After Soyurghatmïsh Khan's departure to Iraq (or his death), Sultan Mahmud Khan was appointed as the Khan and placed into the Hiyat-i-Khan in his stead. All the mandates of Amir Timur bear the name of these two Khans but in essence the Chagatai Khanate ceased to exist and was replaced by the Timurid Empire.[2]
However, this practice of placing Chagatai Khans as nominal rulers continued till Ulugh Beg's reign who placed Satuq Khan as the new Khan. The mandates of Ulugh Beg bear the name of Satuq Khan. Eventually Ulugh Beg removed Satuq Khan from the Hiyat-i-Khan, and put someone else in his place, whom he also made Khan. He then sent Satuq Khan into Moghulistan to counter the legitimacy of the Chagatai Khans of that region and to place his own man in charge there, if possible.[2]
Uwais Khan was in Issyk Kul, at Bakabulung. MaulanaKhwaja Ahmad narrated the incident of the arrival of Satuq Khan's troops that:
Khwaja Abdul-Karim, my cousin, who was on very intimate terms with Uwais Khan , used to relate that one Friday, just before the service, Uwais Khan, who had performed his ablutions and had been shaved, came to me and asked: ‘Of what is my head, in its present state of cleanliness, worthy?’ I replied: ‘A jewelled crown.’ He said: ‘No, it is worthy of martyrdom.’ He had scarcely uttered those words when a messenger came running up, to say that Satuq Khan had arrived. Uwais Khan immediately ordered them to sound the drums, while he himself began to put on his armour. The men who were near at hand quickly gathered round him, and they set out to meet the enemy. There was a stream running between them. When the two forces came in contact, the Khán himself charged forward, and wished to make his horse jump the stream, but the horse sank up to his head [in the mud] on the bank of the river. One of the servants of Mir Muhammad Shah (Jakir by name) was such a good archer that he had not a single rival in the whole tribe, and for this reason the Khan had begged him of Mir Muhammad Shah, for his own service. At the moment when the Khan fell from his horse, Jakir arrived on the spot, and mistaking the Khan for one of the enemy, aimed an arrow at the waist of the Khan, who on being struck rolled over on his back. Then Jakir recognized the Khan, and threw himself upon him. When the news reached Satuq Khan, he set out for the spot and, on his arrival, lay the Khan's head upon his breast, but the last breath of life had fled.[2]
In Babr Nama written by Babur, Page 19, Chapter 1; described genealogy of his maternal grandfather Yunas Khan as:
"Yunas Khan descended from Chaghatai Khan, the second son of Chingiz Khan (as follows,) Yunas Khan, son of Wais Khan, son of Sher-'ali Aughlon, son of Muhammad Khan, son of Khizr Khwaja Khan, son of Tughluq-timur Khan, son of Aisan-bugha Khan, son of Dawa Khan, son of Baraq Khan, son of Yesuntawa Khan, son of Muatukan, son of Chaghatai Khan, son of Chingiz Khan"
The Chagatai Khanate, or Chagatai Ulus was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan, and his descendants and successors. At its height in the late 13th century the khanate extended from the Amu Darya south of the Aral Sea to the Altai Mountains in the border of modern-day Mongolia and China, roughly corresponding to the area once ruled by the Qara Khitai.
Esen (1407–1454), was a powerful Oirat taishi and the de facto ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty between 12 September 1453 and 1454. He is best known for capturing the Emperor Yingzong of Ming in 1449 in the Battle of Tumu Fortress and briefly reuniting the Mongol tribes. The Four Oirat reached the peak of their power under his rule.
Tughlugh Timur Khan (1312/13–1363) was the Khan of Moghulistan from c. 1347 and Khan of the whole Chagatai Khanate from c. 1360 until his death. Esen Buqa is believed to be his father. His reign is known for his conversion to Islam and his invasions of Transoxiana.
Ahmad Alaq was the Khan of Eastern Moghulistan from 1487 to 1504. He was the second son of Yunus Khan. His mother was Shah Begum, fourth daughter of Badakhshan prince Lali.
Esen Buqa I was Khan of the Chagatai Khanate. He was the son of Duwa.
Hajji Beg Barlas was a leader of the Barlas tribe, he was the immediate predecessor in this role to his nephew Timur, who later founded the Timurid Empire, he was the great-great-grandson Qarachar Barlas his lineages tracing as Hajji Beg the son of Burlaki Barlas the son of Nemule Barlas the son of Yesunte Mongke Barlas the son of Darughachi Qarachar Barlas, Hajji Barlas was the Mongol Military Commander, he was given Hajji title of his surname because he pilgrimages to Mecca his real name "Saif al-din Barlas", and get the Beg title was given for his Chieftain or Head-Leader of Barlas Clan.
Esen Buqa II was Khan of Moghulistan from 1429 until his death. He was the younger son of Uwais Khan.
Satuq Khan was first a Chagatai Khan in Timurid Empire set up as nominal Khan by Ulugh Beg and later replaced and sent in 1428 C.E. to overcome Timurid enemies, the Moghuls of Moghulistan by claiming his right as their Khan. He advanced and defeated the unprepared troops of Awais Khan in 1429 C.E. Awais Khan died while trying to cross a stream but was trapped in a quicksand and eventually struck by an arrow in confusion by his own soldier. Thus Satuq Khan became the new Moghul Khan from 1429 to 1434 C.E.
Yunus Khan, was Khan of Moghulistan from 1462 until his death in 1487. He is identified by many historians with Ḥājjī `Ali, of the contemporary Chinese records. He was the maternal grandfather of Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire.
Moghulistan, also called the Moghul Khanate or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, was a Mongol breakaway khanate of the Chagatai Khanate and a historical geographic area north of the Tengri Tagh mountain range, on the border of Central Asia and East Asia. That area today includes parts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and northwest Xinjiang, China. The khanate nominally ruled over the area from the mid-14th century until the late 17th century.
Sultan Said Khan ruled the Yarkent Khanate from September 1514 to July 1533. He was born in the late 15th century in Moghulistan, and he was a direct descendant of the first Moghul Khan, Tughlugh Timur, who had founded the state of Moghulistan in 1348 and ruled until 1363. The Moghuls were turkicized Mongols who had converted to Islam.
Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat was a ruler in South-Western part of present Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, an amir of the Dughlat tribe. In the middle of the fifteenth century, in 1465, he founded in Western Kashgaria a kingdom based at Yarkand, a fragment of Moghulistan. It included Khotan and Kashgar; he took Kashgar in 1480. He was the son of Saniz Mirza, son of Mir Sayyid Ali, the latter was amir in Kashgar who regained control of the city by Dughlat dynasty, having expelled Timurid local ruler in 1435.
The Dughlat clan was a Mongol clan that served the Chagatai khans as hereditary vassal rulers of several cities in western Tarim Basin, in modern Xinjiang, 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.
Qamar-ud-din Khan Dughlat was a Mongol ruler of Moghulistan between 1368 and 1392. He belonged to the Dughlat clan of Mongol warlords.
Yesünto'a was the third son of Mutukan, and grandson of Chagatai, founder of the Chagatai Khanate. His brothers were Yesü Möngke and Baidar. His nephew Alghu son of Baidar and his brother Yesu Mongke, both were the Khans of the Chagatai Khanate.
Khizr Khwaja Khan was the son of Tughlugh Timur and Khan of Moghulistan during the Chagatai Khanate, reigning from 1390 to 1399 AD.
Muhammad Khan was a son of Khizr Khoja and was Khan of Moghulistan from 1408 to 1415.
Mutukan was the eldest son of Chagatai Khan and through him a grandson of the founding Mongol khagan Genghis Khan. Mutukan (Mö'etüken) was killed during the siege of Bamiyan in 1221. His son was Yesü Nto'a. Yesu' Nto'a was the father of Baraq. Buraq Khan was khan of Moghulistan from 1266 to 1271.
Sher Ali Oglan was a son of Muhammad Khan of Moghulistan. According to Moghul historian Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat he was a wealthy prince. He never became Khan of Moghulistan but his son Uwais Khan was khan of Moghulistan.
The Yarkent Khanate, also known as the Yarkand Khanate and the Kashghar Khanate, was a Sunni Muslim Turkic state ruled by the Mongol descendants of Chagatai Khan. It was founded by Sultan Said Khan in 1514 as a western offshoot of Moghulistan, itself an eastern offshoot of the Chagatai Khanate. It was eventually conquered by the Dzungar Khanate in 1705.
↑ Vasilii Vladimirovitch Barthold, Four Studies on the History of Central Asia, Vol. 2 (1959), p. 142
↑ The Babur Nama in English, Zahiru'd-din Mubammad Babur Padshah Ghdzt, ANNETTE SUSANNAH BEVERIDGE
↑ The Tarikh-i-Rashidi: a history of the Moghuls of central Asia by Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat; Editor: N. Elias,Translated by Sir Edward Denison Ross,Publisher:S. Low, Marston and co., 1895
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