There are many rulers in world history who have made a name for themselves with their glory and world-class deeds. One of them is Sultan Giyasiddin Muhammad Uzbek Khan (1283-1341). He was a descendant of Jōchi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, during whose reign Islam was recognized as the state religion of the Golden Horde. The rule of the Uzbek Khan is mentioned as the period when the power of the Golden Horde reached its peak. The Quran of Uzbek Khan, which is kept in the manuscript collection of the Sulaymaniyah Library in Turkey, is proof of these ideas.
This Quran was announced by Professor Emek Ushenmez of Istanbul University at the VIII International Congress "The Heritage of Great Ancestors - the Foundation of the Third Renaissance," held by the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan and the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan on August 23-26 this year in Tashkent and Samarkand.
"The manuscript of the Quran written by Badr al-Khamadani for the ruler of the Golden Horde, Uzbek Khan, is kept in the manuscript collection of the Sulaymani Library of Turkey. The manuscript is written in the reich script, the cream-colored leaves are beautifully decorated with golden water. Another noteworthy feature of the manuscript written during Ramadan 1318 is that the number of verses is indicated by letters corresponding to numbers," Emek Ushenmez said.
Who, when, and for what purpose brought this ancient manuscript to Turkey?
It turned out that the manuscript was brought to Istanbul as a trophy from the Crimean War by Khalil Pasha, the vizier of the Conqueror Sultan Mehmet. The book itself provides information about when it was copied.
The Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan and the Turkish Department of Manuscripts have reached an agreement to publish a facsimile copy of the Uzbek Khan's Quran.
Is Uzbek Khan the ancestor of Uzbeks?
Of course, there are many people who advocate such an idea. Of course, this idea did not arise for nothing. Many scientists also try to confirm this idea. In this regard, Rustam Jabborov, Scientific Secretary of the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, expressed the following opinions:
Mirzo Ulugbek writes in his work "History of the Turt Ulus": "Hazrat Sayid Ota, may Allah's mercy and blessings be upon him, and those who accompanied Sultan Muhammad Uzbek Khan to Maverannahr were asked: "Who is this man?" Because their leader and king was Uzbek Khan, they were called "Uzbeks." For this reason, people who came to Mawarannahr from that time began to be called "Uzbeks." The people who remained in the Kipchak steppes became "Kalmyks."
As can be seen from these and other excerpts, "Uzbeks" were not only the descendants of Uzbek Khan, but also the people who were subject to him. Some of them entered Maverannahr during the reign of Uzbek Khan, and others during the reign of Shaybani Khan. Later, the term "Uzbek" was also used in relation to the local population, as the Khanates of our country were dominated mainly by the descendants of the Dashti Kipchak khans.
However, some experts argue that this name existed even before Uzbek Khan and even before Chingiz Khan. In particular, sources contain information that in 1115-1116, a general named Uzbek ruled the Mosul region of Iraq. Sultan Muzaffar Özbek (1210-1225) was also the last representative of the Turkic dynasty of the Eldeniz dynasty that ruled Azerbaijan. Herman Vámbéry writes that this ethnonym means "bey to himself." According to other speculations, the name "uzbek" originates from the name of the ancient Turkic tribe of Oghuz, more precisely, it is an abbreviation of the words "oghuz bek."
Indeed, it is incorrect to associate the name of the Uzbek people with the name of only one ruler, and its history spans several thousand years.
