Changshi Khan

Born: Unknown Died: c. 1342 Reigned: 1338-1342 Khanate: Chagatai Khanate Title: Khan of the Chagatai Khanate

Overview

Changshi Khan was a Chagatai ruler who governed during the accelerating fragmentation of the khanate following the violent end of Buzan Khan's reign. His four-year tenure was a period of deepening division between the eastern and western portions of the khanate, with the two halves drifting toward permanent separation. He is poorly documented in historical sources and left no significant legacy beyond maintaining a nominal claim to the Chagatai title.

Rise to Power

Changshi Khan came to power around 1338 in the aftermath of Buzan Khan's death. The specific circumstances of his selection are not well documented. By this point the Chagatai succession was sufficiently disrupted that new rulers were emerging through a combination of military force, factional support, and Chingisid lineage claims rather than any coherent succession norm.

Rule and Achievements

Changshi Khan's four-year reign was a period of continued decline:

• He governed a khanate that was effectively splitting into an eastern nomadic realm and a western sedentary realm
• The western Transoxianian territories were increasingly influenced by local Muslim rulers and Timurid predecessors who would eventually absorb the region
• The eastern territories were developing their own separate political identity
• He maintained the Chagatai title and the formal unity of the khanate without having the power to enforce genuine unity

He was replaced or died around 1342, bringing Yesun Temür Khan briefly to power before the khanate's formal division.

Legacy

Changshi Khan is one of the most obscure rulers in Chagatai history, a figure whose reign is noted in sources primarily to fill the chronological gap between more prominent rulers. His tenure is significant only as evidence of the khanate's continued formal existence during a period when genuine unity had already been lost. The formal split into Moghulistan and the western Chagatai Khanate was imminent at the time of his reign.