Ghiyas - ud - din Baraq Baraq was a khan of the Chagatai Khanate ( 1266 – 1271 ) . He was the son of Yesünto ' a , and a great - grandson of Chagatai Khan . A convert to Islam , he took the name Ghiyas - ud - din . Background . Baraq ' s family had moved to China following his father ' s exile by the Great Khan Möngke Khan for his support of the house of Ögedei Khan . Baraq grew up in the camp of Kublai Khan and gained distinction there . Early 1260s . Sometime in the early 1260s he traveled to Central Asia , and earned the trust of Mubarak Shah . When the latter was again enthroned as Chagatai Khan in 1266 , Baraq gained support among the army for a coup , and deposed Mubarak Shah in September of that year . Almost immediately , he repudiated the authority of the Kublai as Great Khan . He removed Kublai ' s representative of Chinese Turkestan , replacing him with one of his own governors . His vastly superior army prevented Kublai ' s officers from expelling him , and Khotan was ravaged by his forces . Nevertheless , Kublai Khan sent him a grant in 1268 , in an effort to end the conflict and focus on Kaidu . When Kaidu advanced towards Baraq , the latter set a trap for the invader ' s troops on the bank of the Jaxartes , and defeated his forces . In the next battle , however , Kaidu defeated Baraq near Khujand with the assistance of Mengu - Timur , the Khan of the Golden Horde who sent 3 tumens under his uncle Berkhe - Chir . Transoxiana was then ravaged by Kaidu . Baraq fled to Samarkand , then Bukhara , plundering the cities along the way in an attempt to rebuild his army . These actions alarmed Kaidu , who did not want the region to be further devastated . Kaidu also needed to free up his army for a potential conflict with Kublai . Peace was therefore proposed , and Baraq was pressured by the governors of the sedentary areas of the khanate , Mas ' ud Beg and Daifu , to accept . He did , and peace was declared , although sources conflict on the time and location . Rashid al - Din claims that the meeting took place in the spring of 1269 in Talas , while Wassaf writes that it took place around 1267 to the south of Samarkand . In any case , two - thirds of Transoxiana were granted to Baraq , while the other third went to Kaidu and Mengu - Timur . Kaidu also gained control of the region around Bukhara . Neither side gained control of the cities ; the direct administration of these instead devolved to Mas ' ud Beg , while Baraq and Kaidu agreed to reside only in the deserts and mountains . Baraq was displeased with the agreement ; when Kaidu was preoccupied with Mengu - Timur ' s attempt to take his portion of Transoxiana , Baraq sent troops to reoccupy Bukhara in violation of the truce . He also later attempted to plunder both Samarkand and Bukhara , and Mas ' ud Beg was hard - pressed to prevent this . Still , when he decided to attack the Ilkhanate in order to gain significant pasture , Kaidu agreed , as the Ilkhan Abaqa was an ally of Kublai . Kaidu provided troops for Baraq ' s invasion of the Ilkhanate , which began in 1269 or 1270 . Qipchaq , who had been the one to initially approach Baraq requesting peace , and Chabat , a grandson of Güyük Khan , were among the representatives of Kaidu within Baraq ' s army . Baraq persuaded a Chaghadaid commander under the service of Abaqa , Tegüder , to revolt , and himself defeated the Ilkhan ' s forces in Khurasan . Soon afterward , Qipchaq entered into an argument with Baraq ' s general Jalayirtai , and used this as an excuse to head back to Kaidu . Baraq sent his brother , and later Jalayirtai , to recover Qipchaq , but without success . Soon , Chabat also abandoned the army , though much of his forces were crushed by Baraq ' s son in Bukhara . Baraq ' s protests to Kaidu were ineffective ; the latter even entered into friendly relations with Abaqa . Defeat . Having sent much of his troops against the deserters , Baraq suffered a large defeat at Herat on July 22 , 1270 against the Ilkhan . Wounded , he fled back to Bukhara , while many of his troops deserted to the enemy . He sent a letter to Kaidu , blaming Qipchaq and Chabat for his loss and requesting assistance . Kaidu sent a large force in response . When Baraq ' s lieutenants had neutralized the rebels , he wrote that the assistance was no longer necessary , but Kaidu ' s force continued to approach , with the intention of destroying the power of the Chaghadaids . His army surrounded Baraq ' s camp , but upon reaching the camp realized that Baraq had died during the previous night . Most of Baraq ' s generals then submitted to Kaidu ' s authority . Wassaf , in contrast , claims that Baraq ' s generals had abandoned him while he was alive , and that Baraq had no choice to submit to Kaidu , who poisoned him . Only a month later , Kaidu had himself crowned Khan and reserved the right to appoint the head of the Chagatai Khanate , a power he retained for the rest of his life . The Chagatai Khans thus became puppets of Kaidu for the next thirty years . His sons , however , would continue to fight Kaidu ' s authority for a long time after Baraq ' s death . Genealogy . In " Baburnama " , Babur described the genealogy of his maternal grandfather Yunas Khan as : " Yunas Khan descended from Chaghatai Khan , the second son of Chingiz Khan ( as follows , ) Yunas Khan , son of Wais Khan , son of Sher - ' ali Aughlon , son of Muhammad Khan , son of Khizr Khwaja Khan , son of Tughluq - timur Khan , son of Aisan - bugha Khan , son of Dawa Khan , son of Baraq Khan , son of Yesuntawa Khan , son of Muatukan , son of Chaghatai Khan , son of Chingiz Khan "