Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur (Abulghazi Bahadur) (1603-1663/4)

by Andrew Brooke (see Chinese Translation)

Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur (also known as Abulgazi Bahadur Khan, Abu’l-Ghāzi Khān, see other alternative names) was born in Urgench (in today's Uzbekistan) in 1603. His father was the Shaibanid ruler of the Khanate of Khiva, Arab Mohammad Khan. He must have spent his childhood in Urgench and Kāṯ (the old capital of Chorasmia by the Oxus/Āmu Daryā river, today's Beruniy, Uzbekistan), ruling in the latter as his father’s deputy.

His father’s assassination triggered a war of succession between his sons, and after gaining the upper hand, Abulgazi was forced into exile in Isfahan, where he spent several years. He is believed to have become acquainted there with Persian and Arabic histories of the Mongols and the Turks, if not beforehand at the time of his education.

He became ruler of Khiva again in 1644, until abdicating a few years before his death in favour of his son Anusa Mohammed. His reign was marked by several campaigns against the tribes and khans of the region, events that are chronicled in his history.

He composed two books: One a genealogy of the Turcomans entitled Šaǰara-ye terākema, which draws heavily from the histories of the Persian historian Rashiduddin (Rashīd al-Dīn). The second, the subject of this entry, was Shajare-i Turk, a history of the Turks and his dynasty, which was completed by his son after his death.

Abulgazi’s second work is a significant piece of Chagatai literature, while its value as a historical account is less clear. The information about Chinggis Khan and his descendants contains inaccuracies, and it is believed that he composed the book mostly from his memory of Persian and Arab histories on the subject, mixed with anecdotes received through the years. In its preface Abulgazi professes possession of three virtues—warfare, poetry, and a genealogical knowledge of the Turks and Tartars. He divides his book into the following sections:

1. From Adam to Moghul Khan

2. From Moghul Khan to Chinggis Khan

3. From the birth of Chinggis Khan to his death

4. History of Ögödei Khan, third son of Chinggis, and of those sons and descendants of Chinggis who ruled in Mongolia.

5. History of the descendants of Chagatai Khan, who ruled in Transoxiana and Kashgar

6. History of the descendants of Tolui, who ruled in Persia

7. History of the descendants of Jochi, who ruled the Kipchak Khanate

8. History of the descendants of Shiban who ruled in Transoxiana, Crimea, and over the Khazakhs.

9. History of the descendants of Shiban who ruled in Khwarezm.

The last may be of the greatest immediate interest, its subject closer to him in time, and indeed its latter parts a chronicle of his own reign, which was completed by his son after his death. Useful knowledge of Central Asian movements and politics can be gleaned from it.

The book became influential in Europe after a translation was produced by Swedish officers in exile in central Russia, from a manuscript purchased from a local merchant. Thence, translations into Russian, German, French, and other languages followed. A modern edition of the text was published at Kazan University in about 1825, and soon thereafter by Baron Desmaisons, who translated it into French and published his French edition in the 1870’s.