nomadic confederation · Central Asia and the Steppe

Qara'unas

1260 CE – 1370 CE (approx.)

A Mongol military confederation of the Afghan borderlands, raiders of India and Persia who became kingmakers in the Chagatai lands.

Origins

The Qara'unas originated in Mongol garrison troops stationed in what is now Afghanistan in the mid-13th century, including contingents left by the general Negüder, after whom they were also called Negüderis. By the 1260s they formed an independent force in the region of Ghazni and Balkh.

Rule and society

They were a nomadic warrior confederation of mixed Mongol and Turkic origin, organised in tumens under their own commanders. They raided the Ilkhanate, Kerman and Fars, and launched repeated invasions of the Delhi Sultanate in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. They later formed a major component of the Chagatai Khanate's western forces.

Decline and legacy

Their leader Qazaghan dominated the Western Chagatai Khanate from 1346 until his murder in 1358. His grandson Amir Husayn was overthrown by Timur in 1370, and the Qara'unas were absorbed into the Timurid army.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Qara'unas. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/qaraunas
MLA
“Qara'unas.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/qaraunas. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Qara'unas.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/qaraunas.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Qara'unas’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/qaraunas (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻