Qamar ud-Din (also known as Kamaruddin) was a Mongol ruler of Moghulistan between 1368 and 1392. He belonged to the Dughlat clan of Mongol warlords.
Under Tughlugh Timur, both amirs Tuluk and Bulaji had held the office of ulus beg. After the death of Bulaji the office was given to his son Khudaidad. This was contested by Bulaji's brother, Qamar ud-Din, who desired to be ulus beg himself. His request for the office to be transferred to him was refused by Tughlugh Timur; consequently after the latter's death Qamar ud-Din revolted against Tughlugh Timur's son Ilyas Khoja Khan. He was likely responsible for the death of Ilyas Khoja; most of the family members of Tughlugh Timur were also killed. Qamar ud-Din proclaimed himself khan (the only Dughlat ever to do so) and, although he did not gain the support of many of the amirs[1], managed to maintain his position in Moghulistan.[2]
Qamar ud-Din's reign consisted of a series of wars with Timur, the amir of Transoxiana. Qamar ud-Din's forces unable to defeat Timur, but at the same time Timur was incapable of decisively defeating the Moghuls, who were able to retreat into the barren steppe country of Moghulistan. During a fresh invasion by Timur and his army in 1390, however, Qamar ud-Din disappeared. His disappearance enabled a Chagatayid, Khizr Khoja, to gain control of Moghulistan.[3]
Qamar ud-Din's disappearance had left his nephew Khudaidad the senior member of the Dughlat family. According to the Tarikh-i Rashidi, Khudaidad had been an early supporter of Khizr Khoja and had hid him from Qamar ud-Din during the latter's purge of members of the house of Chagatai. Khudaidad's power rapidly increased and he became a king-maker in the years after Khizr Khoja's death[4]. He also divided Aksu, Khotan, and Kashgar and Yarkand amongst his family members[5]; this division of territory lasted until the time of Mirza Aba Bakr.
| Preceded by Ilyas Khoja |
Moghul Khan 1368-1392 |
Succeeded by Khizr Khoja |