Urus Khan

Urus Khan was the eighth Khan of the White Horde and a disputed Khan of the Blue Horde; he was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. Urus himself was the direct ancestor of the khans of the Kazakh Khanate.

Ancestor of Urus

The genealogy of Urus, according to the Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh (or JĀMEʿ AL-TAWĀRIḴ, "The Compendium of Chronicles ", or Universal History", the definitive contemporary work of the physician, historian, and Ilkhanate Vizier Rashid-al-Din Hamadani) was as follows: Genghis Khan - Jochi - Toqa-Timur - Knots-Timur - Hoja - Badik - Urus. However, Munedjimbashi says he was a descendant of Orda Khan, the eldest son of Jochi and brother of Tuqa-Timur.

Career

Little, if anything is known of Urus' life except that he was indeed a very powerful Khan, confident enough to make war on the great Tamerlane to demand the extradition of his nephew Toqtamish (who had tried to overthrow him). He was driven back to the steppe by Tamerlane and died shortly afterwards. Urus is credited as the ancestor of khans of the Kazakhs.

Urus Khan is credited with the rebuilding of Sygnak, the capital of the left wing of the Jochid Ulus (the Golden Horde).

Family

Urus was a son of Chimtay, the previous Khan of the White Horde, and the uncle of Toqtamysh. Urus is known to have had at least three sons, Qutlugh Buga, who died just a few months before Urus, Toqtaqiya, who succeeded him, and Timur-Malik, who succeeded the latter.

References