Аңдатпа
Introduction. The conquest of Central Asia by Mongolian troops and their victory over the Khorezmians were completed in 1221. The subjugated lands passed to the second son of Genghis Khan — Chagatai, and the Chagatai Ulus was formed. The system of state structure in it was preserved similar to that which functioned in the Great Mongol Empire proper. The Ulus was headed by khan, the administrative apparatus consisted of viziers and was divided into right and left wings. In Turko-Mongol medieval states, viziers or noyons were representatives of clans and performed not only administrative but also military functions of power. Subsequently, they headed combat units — hundreds and thousands. Genghis Khan’s entourage included both the bureaucratic apparatus and his wives and offsprings, who played important political and economic roles. Sometimes wives performed regent functions during interregnum periods, especially when power was inherited by children at a young age. Women made a significant contribution to interstate relations through dynastic marriages. Goals. The research objective is to decipher information about Chagatai Khan and his entourage based on data from five copies of Muʿizz al-ansāb. These sources include messages about his status, period of rule, death, and his entourage — viziers and wives. Materials and methods. The article engages in a thorough process of gathering, interpreting, and scrutinizing various original documents. This work was based on analyses into five previously unknown copies of Muʿizz al-ansāb, one of which comes from the National Library of France, two copies are kept in the British Library in London (Great Britain), and two more — at the Maulana Azad Library, Aligarh Muslim University in India. The research methods include linguistic-relativistic analysis, on the basis of which the method of transmission and perception of text by its native speakers in a medieval environment is investigated. Comparative-contrastive analysis of factual information about Chagatai is used, and a historical-typological approach is applied. Results and conclusions. The work shall translate and analyze five copies of the original narrative, and deliver unique information about the life and activities of Khan Chagatai and his entourage. A comparison of data about Chagatai from the five copies of the Mu'izz al-Ansāb reveals similarities and significant discrepancies. All the lists confirm his years of reign; most of them date his death to 640 AH, while Indian no. 42 indicates 638 AH, which is most likely an error or a late insertion. London no. 467 and Indian no. 41 expand the geography of the Ulus (from the Uyghurs to Bukhara and Samarkand). Sufi vocabulary, an episode with Sheikh Muhammad, and a reference to Mirkhond’s Rawzat al-Safa indicate a late Islamization of the text. Chagatai’s entourage appears to be an ethnically diverse society, with an elite formed on the basis of merit and personal qualities. This data shall undoubtedly expand and supplement the existing knowledge about the Great Mongol Empire and about the Chagatai Ulus, in particular.