- Tarmashirin
Tarmashirin Khan (ruled 1331AD - 1334AD) was the khan of the
Chagatai Khanate following Duwa Timur.Tarmashirin is famous for his campaign in
India in 1327 before he was enthroned. He destroyed every army on his way toDelhi . The Delhi Sultan gave him a large tribute to spare his life. Also, he unsucessfully invaded theIlkhanate .He was the second ruler of the Chagatai Khanate to convert to
Islam ,Mubarak Shah having been the first. He took the name Ala-ad-din after becoming a Muslim. His conversion to Islam did not go down well with hisMongol nobles, who were overwhelminglyShamanist /Buddhist (Buddhist traces can be detected in Tarmashirin's own name itself, which is a corruption of theSanskrit word "dharmashri"). Tarmashirin was accused of abandoning the traditional Mongol code of conduct,Yassa , and was deposed in the horde's annualkurultai . He was killed later in flight nearSamarkand .Muslim sources have always portrayed Tarmashirin in a very favorable light owing to his seminal effort in bringing Islam into inner Asia. The famous Muslim traveler and writerIbn Batuta had visited Tarmashirin during his travel through Tarmashirin's realms.Reference:
*The Chaghadaids and Islam: the conversion of Tarmashirin Khan (1331-34). "The Journal of the American Oriental Society", October 1, 2002. Biran
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