Kildi Beg

Kildi Beg (Turki/Kypchak: کلدی بک; died 1362) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1361 to 1362, having replaced his rival Ordu Malik. The origins and identity of the khan who reigned under the name Kildi Beg pose problems. A prince of this name was a son of Iran Beg, son of Khan Öz Beg, according to the comprehensive genealogical compendium Muʿizz al-ansāb. He was apparently killed during the purge of the royal family by his cousin, Khan Berdi Beg, in 1357: according to the Čingīz-Nāmah, Khan Kildi Beg's authenticity was called into question precisely because the real Kildi Beg had been killed by Berdi Beg. According to Muʿīn-ad-Dīn Naṭanzī, moreover, Khan Kildi Beg was an impostor who claimed to be a son of Khan Jani Beg, whereas the genuine prince would have been Jani Beg's brother's son and would not have needed to claim his uncle as father to legitimize himself. An additional complication with Kildi Beg is that a number of eastern sources insert him between the reigns of Berdi Beg and Nawruz Beg, i.e., in 1359–1360, at the same point in time when, according to western sources, the khan was Qulpa, unknown to the eastern sources. In the Čingīz-Nāmah, the pretended Kildi Beg is said to have been raised to the throne by Taydula Khatun, the widow of Öz Beg, who had been spurned by her first choice as khan and consort, Khiḍr Khan. When Kildi Beg's authenticity was questioned and he was not obeyed, he was replaced with Bazarchi (possibly identical with the familiar Nawruz Beg). It would seem that this pretended Kildi Beg corresponds to Qulpa, who reigned between Berdi Beg and Nawruz Beg. Muʿīn-ad-Dīn Naṭanzī (earlier known as the "Anonymous of Iskandar") also placed a pretended Kildi Beg immediately after Berdi Beg, as a...