Yunus Khan

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Yunus Khan (c. 1416–1487) was Khan of Moghulistan from 1462 until his death. He was the eldest son of Uwais Khan.

When Uwais Khan was killed in 1428, the Moghuls were split as to who should succeed him. Although Yunus Khan was his eldest son, the majority favored Yunus' younger brother, Esen Buqa. As a result he and his supporters fled to Ulugh Beg, the Timurid ruler of Transoxiana, who however imprisoned the group. He gave Yunus Khan to his father, Shah Rukh, who treated him well, and who sent him to learn under Maulana Sharaf ud-Din Yazdi. Yunus Khan spent several years learning under the Maulana in Yazd, in the process becoming one of the most educated Moghuls. After the Maulana died he wandered for some time before settling on Shiraz as a home.

In 1456 Abu Sa'id, who had become the ruler of Transoxiana, sent for Yunus Khan. Abu Sa'id had become annoyed with the frequent raids that the Moghuls under Esen Buqa made into his territory. He raised Yunus to the khanship and sent him with an army to Moghulistan to oppose his brother. Yunus Khan quickly gained the support of several amirs, but when he moved to take the town of Kashgar he was met by the army of Esen Buqa, and in the ensuing battle was defeated. Soon afterwards he retreated from Moghulistan and returned to the court of Abu Sa'id, who gave him territory around Lake Issyk-Kul. After a while Yunus Khan again entered Moghulistan and gained the support of the amirs, but was unable to make any substantial gains in the country against Esen Buqa.

In 1462 Esen Buqa died, and the Moghuls were divided over whether to support Yunus or Esen Buqa's son, Dost Muhammad, who took up residence in Aksu. The amir of Kashgar supported Dost Muhammad, but the amir of Yarkand supported Yunus Khan, and expelled the former from Kashgar, but he died after only a few years and Dost Muhammad plundered Kashgar. In 1468 or 1469, however, Dost Muhammad died and Yunus Khan seized Aksu. Dost Muhammad's son, Kebek Sultan, was whisked away to Turfan, where he ruled for a few years.

Yunus Khan maintained relations with the Khazak Horde and the Timurids. As a consequence of his alliance with the Khazaks, he made an enemy out of the rival Uzbeks. In 1468 the Uzbeks under Shaikh Haidar came into conflict with the Moghuls; they were defeated and Shaikh Haidar was killed, breaking Uzbek power until the rise of Muhammad Shaibani.

Yunus' dealings with the Timurids were more complex. After Abu Sa'id was killed by the White Sheep Turkmen in 1468, his realm was split between his sons. Sultan Ahmad ruled over Samarkand, Omar Shaikh became the ruler of Ferghana, and Sultan Mahmud took Badakhshan. Sultan Ahmad's governor of Tashkent, Shaikh Jamal Khar, was invited by the Moghul amirs to usurp power. The amirs were apparently upset over Yunus' desire to reside in the towns and abandon the traditional nomad style. Shaikh Jamal imprisoned the khan and for a year the Moghuls submitted to him, but eventually he was killed and Yunus Khan was restored, after promising not to live in the towns. Shortly afterwards, he learned that Kebek Sultan had been killed by his followers, allowing him to take control of all of Moghulistan.

After Shaikh Jamal was killed, Yunus Khan actively participated in the affairs of the Timurids. He married off his daughters to Sultan Ahmad, Omar Shaikh and Sultan Mahmud, and kept on friendly terms with Omar Shaikh, who frequently relied on him for assistance against Sultan Ahmad and gave him territory to reside in during the winters. In 1484 Yunus Khan took advantage of the conflict between Sultan Ahmad and Omar Shaikh and took Tashkent. His decision to live in the city upset the Moghuls, and many of them left for Moghulistan under Yunus' son Ahmad Alaq. Yunus Khan was also unable to prevent the rise of the Dughlat Mirza Aba Bakr, who had earlier taken Yarkand, Khotan and Kashgar from other members of his family, and defeated Yunus Khan's attempts to quell him.

Yunus Khan died in Taskhent after a long illness. He was succeeded in Tashkent by his eldest son, Sultan Mahmud, while the Moghuls in the east followed Ahmad Alaq.

Preceded by Esen Buqa II

Moghul Khan 1462–1487

Succeeded by Sultan Mahmud and Ahmad Alaq