MurÃÂd Khan (Turki/Kypchak: àñÃÂï îçÃÂ; ; called Amurat and Murut in Russian sources, and sometimes Murëd, Mürid, Burut, and MurdÃÂd in eastern sources) was Khan of at least part of the Golden Horde from 1361 to 1363.
MurÃÂd, or more fully ḤÃÂjjë MurÃÂd, was the brother of Khiá¸Âr Khan, the son of Mangqutai, son of Töle Buqa, son of Qadaq, son of Shiban, son of Jochi, and originated from the Ulus of Shiban in the eastern part of the Golden Horde, according to the information of the TawÃÂrëḫ-i guzëdah-i nuá¹£rat-nÃÂmah. The variant ancestry supplied by some other sources is now considered inaccurate, for example the assertion of Muÿën-ad-Dën Naá¹Âanzë (earlier known as the "Anonymous of Iskandar") that Murëd (i.e., MurÃÂd) was the son of Orda Shaykh (i.e., Ordu Malik), or Khwandamir, ÃÂtemià ¡-ḤÃÂjjjë, and one Russian chronicle, making MurÃÂd (whom they call MurdÃÂd, Burut, and Murut, respectively) the parricide son of Khiá¸Âr Khan.
MurÃÂd's brother Khiá¸Âr Khan made himself ruler of the Golden Horde in 1360. Threatened by the advance of a competitor, Ordu Malik, Khiá¸Âr Khan was murdered by his own son Timur Khwaja in 1361. MurÃÂd might have claimed the throne in opposition to his parricide nephew, but it was Timur Khwaja who took over at the capital Sarai. However, the uncle and nephew were both threatened by the continued advance of Ordu Malik from the east, and of Mamai from the west. Timur Khwaja was expelled and killed after several weeks on the throne, while Ordu Malik seized Sarai, only to hold it for about a month, before he was killed and succeeded by the pretended Kildi Beg, still in 1361. At some point during these developments, MurÃÂd established himself as khan at Gülistan (Tsarevskoe gorodishche just northwest of Tsarev). This appears to have remained the base of his authority, and it was from here that he issued his coinage. In August or September 1362, MurÃÂd fought a battle against Kildi Beg and emerged victorious, and his rival was killed. Before MurÃÂd could take over Sarai, however, the city was seized by Mamai and his puppet khan ÿAbdallÃÂh. Subsequent events are confused, but it seems MurÃÂd expelled ÿAbdallÃÂh from Sarai in Mamai's absence, only to lose the city immediately to another Jochid prince, Khayr-Pà «lÃÂd (or Mër-Pà «lÃÂd). While the latter retained Sarai, the rest of the Golden Horde was divided between MurÃÂd and ÿAbdallÃÂh, and both courts sought to win the loyalty and tribute of the vassal Russian princes. Desperate for revenue, MurÃÂd granted the diploma of investiture (yarlik) with the Grand Principality of Vladimir to the 11-year-old Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow in 1362, However, Mamai induced Dmitrij of Moscow and his regent, Metropolitan Aleksey, to recognize Mamai's protégé ÿAbdallÃÂh as suzerain in 1363. When this happened, MurÃÂd granted the investiture with the Grand Principality of Vladimir to Dmitry Konstantinovich of Suzdal instead. But the Muscovites forced Dmitry of Suzdal to come to terms and renounce his claims. MurÃÂd did not have a chance to retaliate, before he died in the winter of 1363.
According to the often unreliable Muÿën-ad-Dën Naá¹Âanzë, MurÃÂd's beglerbeg was IlyÃÂs, the son of the former beglerbeg Mogul Buqa, who had perished due to the machinations of Kildi Beg. MurÃÂd was enamored of IlyÃÂs' son, and determined to kill the father and promote the son in his place. When MurÃÂd shared this design with his wife in secret, she betrayed it to IlyÃÂs, who preempted the khan and killed him. MurÃÂd's death is dated to the winter of 1363âÂÂ1364. What happened at MurÃÂd's court at Gülistan after his death is not entirely clear: he may have been succeeded by a certain Pà «lÃÂd Khwaja (perhaps the same as Khayr Pà «lÃÂd), possibly a distant cousin and fellow descendant of Shiban, son of Jochi, but his first coins are dated to late 1364; by 1365, Pà «lÃÂd Khwaja had been succeeded by ÿAzëz Shaykh, also apparently a distant cousin of MurÃÂd's as a fellow descendant of Shiban, son of Jochi.