Ulugh Muhammad

Ulugh Muhammad or Muhammad Khan (1405–1445; Chagatai, Volga Türki, and Persian: الغ محمد; Kypchak/Cuman: محمد خان; written as Ulanus by orientalists) was a medieval Tatar statesman, Genghisid, Khan of the Golden Horde (before 1436), ruler of Crimea (1437), and the founder of the Khanate of Kazan, which he ruled from 1438–1445. He was the son of the oglan Ichkile Hassan and the cousin of Tokhtamysh. He received the nickname Ulugh, meaning 'older' or 'large', in contrast to Küchük Muhammad, meaning 'younger' or 'small'. Ulugh Muhammad was Khan of the Golden Horde in 1419–1423, 1426, and 1428. In 1428–1432 he waged a stubborn struggle for possession of the Golden Horde (Ulug Ulus) with the representatives of a minor branch of the Tukaytimurids (one of the branches of the Gengisids). After being defeated, Ulugh Muhammad escaped to Volga Bulgaria vilayet in 1423. With the support of Vytautas, Ulugh Muhammad was able to regain the throne of the Golden Horde in 1426. He succeeded in spreading the power of the Horde to Crimea and established friendly relations with the Ottoman Sultan Murad II. Ulugh Muhammad sent an embassy to Egypt in 1428–1429. In 1431 the son and grandson of the ruler of Moscow, Dmitry Donskoy came to the court to Ulugh Muhammad in order to reach a decision about princely succession. Ulugh Muhammad ruled in favour of the grandson, Vasiliy II .