Uthman is the khan's son and heir.
What he holds in his own right in 1200 is not recorded. As khan he will ride with Tayangu at Andkhud (1204), turn to Muhammad of Khwarazm when the gurkhan refuses him a bride, submit to Khwarazm (1210), rebel and be executed (1212). He, like his father, writes Persian verse.
Who he is
- Name
- Uthman b. Ibrahim
- Title
- Heir to the khanate of Samarkand; as khan later styled Sultan al-Salatin and Ulugh Sultan in the sources
- Since
- Heir in 1200; khan from 1201, 1202 or 601/1204 (sources differ)
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- Son of Ibrahim b. Husayn; cousin of Taj al-Din Bilge Khan of Otrar. He later seeks a Qara Khitai princess (refused) and marries Khan Sultan, daughter of Muhammad of Khwarazm (about 1210).
- Confidence
- medium
TDV 'Karahanlilar'; Iranica 'Ilak-Khanids'; Barthold, Turkestan, pp. 377, 380, 385, 390, 393.
Overlord
His father the khan, and above him the gurkhan
What it holds
- Not pinned: no appanage is recorded for him in 1200
How it was acquired
Birth.
Allies and rivals
His cousin Bilge Khan of Otrar; later the gurkhan's general Tayangu (1204) and then Muhammad of Khwarazm (1207-12).
How things stand that morning
Heir at his father's court; his holding is not pinned.
Threats
- Rival Qarakhanid kinsmen at his father's death
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1201-1204Succeeds his father as khan of Samarkand.Depends on: Ibrahim's death. Stopped by: A rival kinsman backed by the gurkhan.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Well attested as khan after 1204; nothing is recorded of him in 1200.
On the map: No land drawn: his holding in 1200 is not recorded.
Primary sources for Khanate of Samarkand
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The History of the World Conqueror, Ata-Malik Juvayni (1252 to 1260). Written for the Mongols but with a long retrospective on the powers they destroyed. Read online
- History of the Liao, chapter 30, on the Western Liao, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1344). The only Chinese official notice of the Qara Khitai, a few pages at the end of juan 30. Read online
- History of the World Conqueror: the Qara Khitai (Gur Khans) and the Uyghurs of Beshbaliq, Ala al-Din Ata-Malik Juvayni (begun about 1252 to 1253, ends with 1260). Juvayni's chapters on the Uyghur kingdom (its origin legend, Beshbaliq and Qocho, and the idiqut Barchuq's murder of the Qara Khitai resident before his submission to Chinggis Khan in 1209) and on the Gur Khans of the Qara Khitai are the fullest Muslim account of the Tarim and Zhetysu around 1200: the gurkhan Zhilugu's court at Balasagun, his tax collectors in the oasis towns and in Samarkand, his relations with the Khwarazmshah Tekish and then Muhammad, and the arrival of the Naiman prince Kuchlug in 1208. Read online
- Dictionary of Countries, Yaqut al-Hamawi (1224 to 1228, at Aleppo). An alphabetical gazetteer of every place Yaqut had read of or seen: he travelled as a bookseller's agent through Syria, Iraq, Persia, Khurasan and Khwarazm (about 1213 to 1220) and settled in Aleppo. Read online
- Journey to the West of the Perfected Changchun (Qiu Chuji), Li Zhichang (李志常) (about 1228, from the journey of 1220 to 1224). A dated eyewitness itinerary across the steppe and the Tarim twenty years after 1200: the Kereyit country and the Ongud frontier, the Naiman mountains, the Uyghur towns of Beshbaliq and the Tarim with their Buddhist and Christian communities, Almaliq of the Qarluq, and Samarkand. Read online
Sources and studies
- TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi, 'Karahanlilar'
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'Ilak-Khanids'
- W. Barthold, Turkestan down to the Mongol Invasion (1928)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.