QÃÂghÃÂn Beg (Turki/Kypchak: ÃÂçúçàèé; ) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1375 to 1377. He held the traditional capital Sarai during a period of civil war among rival contenders for the throne. Throughout his reign, the westernmost portion of the Golden Horde was under the control of the beglerbeg Mamai and his puppet khan Muḥammad-Sulá¹ÂÃÂn, while the easternmost portion was under the control of Urus Khan and then his sons.
QÃÂghÃÂn Beg was a descendant of Jochi's son Shiban. The Muÿizz al-ansÃÂb and the TawÃÂrëḫ-i guzëdah-i nuá¹£rat-nÃÂmah give his descent as follows: Chinggis Khan - Jochi - Shiban - Bahadur - Jochi-Buqa - BÃÂdÃÂqà «l - Ming-Tëmà «r - êl-Bëk - QÃÂghÃÂn-Bëk.
QÃÂghÃÂn Beg's uncle Khayr Pà «lÃÂd (or Mër Pà «lÃÂd) had reigned briefly in parts of the Golden Horde in 1362âÂÂ1365, as had a cousin, Ḥasan Beg, in 1368âÂÂ1369. QÃÂghÃÂn Beg's father êl Beg ruled from Saray-Jük on the lower Ural in 1373âÂÂ1374, and briefly seized the Golden Horde's traditional capital Sarai in 1374, before perishing in the struggle to hold it against the beglerbeg Mamai. According to Ibn Khaldun, QÃÂghÃÂn Beg (whom he calls Karë KhÃÂn), who may have been present with his father at Sarai, fled to his family lands east of the Ural. During his sojourn at Sarai, êl Beg had left Saray-Jük in the hands of his nephew, Khayr Pà «lÃÂd's son ÿArab ShÃÂh. The cousins cooperated and, having regrouped, QÃÂghÃÂn Beg seized control of Sarai late in 1375, expelling from it yet another rival, the Tuqa-Timurid Urus Khan, who was ruler of the former Ulus of Orda and had taken Sarai in 1374. Unlike several of his predecessors, QÃÂghÃÂn Beg maintained himself at Sarai long enough to mint coins there.
QÃÂghÃÂn Beg was also able to intervene in the affairs of the Russian principalities, vassals of the Golden Horde. In this endeavor, he was competing with Mamai and his puppet khan Muḥammad-Sulá¹ÂÃÂn. The grand princes Dmitrij Ivanoviàof Moscow and Dmitrij Konstantinoviàof Nià ¾nij Novgorod, having recently broken with Mamai, recognized QÃÂghÃÂn Beg as their suzerain, perhaps seeking favors from a ruler they perceived to be more amenable and less dangerous than Mamai. Accordingly, when QÃÂghÃÂn Beg instructed the two grand princes to make the governor of Bolghar, Asan (Ḥasan), submit to his authority in 1376, they readily set out on a campaign. This was successful, but the Russian rulers offended QÃÂghÃÂn Beg by extorting additional large sums for themselves from the vanquished. The enraged khan, lacking sufficient forces of his own, asked his cousin ÿArab ShÃÂh to punish the Russian grand princes. ÿArab ShÃÂh obliged, and set out against the two Dmitrijs, who joined forces to defend themselves. However, before the army of ÿArab ShÃÂh could engage with them, and in the temporary absence of the Muscovites, Mamai succeeded in surprising and routing the Nià ¾egorodians at the P'jana river, and proceeded to sack and burn Nià ¾nij Novgorod in 1377. Unwilling to miss the opportunity to inflict his intended vengeance on the Russians and plunder them, or to allow Mamai to reassert his suzerainty over them,ÿArab ShÃÂh proceeded with his campaign. Taking advantage of the confused and weakened state of the Russian princes, he successfully raided and plundered the territories of Nià ¾nij Novgorod and Rjazan', even capturing the latter's capital in the autumn of 1377. QÃÂghÃÂn Beg did not, however, enjoy his triumph long. In late 1377, he was induced to abdicated in favor of his victorious and effective cousin ÿArab ShÃÂh. With ÿArab ShÃÂh on the throne of Sarai, QÃÂghÃÂn Beg was not only left alive, but appears to have been given rule over the Shibanid homelands to the east.
According to the ÃÂingëz-NÃÂmah, the Tuqa-Timurid prince Tokhtamysh sought refuge with QÃÂghÃÂn Beg from his cousin, the aggressive Urus Khan, a common enemy. Neither realizing that Urus had just died (in 1377), QÃÂghÃÂn Beg granted Tokhtamysh lands at the estuary of the Tana (Don). Tokhtamysh attempted to incite QÃÂghÃÂn Beg to a common campaign against Mamai, but after initially inclining to action, QÃÂghÃÂn Beg decided against it. Disappointed by QÃÂghÃÂn Beg, Tokhtamysh left, but not before receiving generous presents and many horses from ÿArab ShÃÂh. Subsequently, assisted by his protector Timur (Tamerlane), Tokhtamysh overthrew Urus Khan's heirs and made himself ruler of the former Ulus of Orda in 1379. He then demanded the submission of QÃÂghÃÂn Beg, who cautiously responded that he had to receive instructions to do so from his overlord, ÿArab ShÃÂh. Tokhtamysh accordingly advanced on Sarai, demanding ÿArab ShÃÂh's submission, which he received. Recognized as khan at Sarai and eliminating Mamai, Tokhtamysh showed generosity to both QÃÂghÃÂn Beg and ÿArab ShÃÂh, rewarding QÃÂghÃÂn Beg with the same lands at the Tana estuary that he had previously given Tokhtamysh, and allowing ÿArab ShÃÂh to rule the Ulus of Shiban. QÃÂghÃÂn Beg died, therefore, some time after 1380.
According to the TawÃÂrëḫ-i guzëdah-i nuá¹£rat-nÃÂmah, QÃÂghÃÂn Beg had a son, Maḥmà «d KhwÃÂja, who later ruled in Sibir and the Golden Horde in 1428âÂÂ1430.