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Paper long abstract:

In the middle of his Divan, Shibani Khan (d. 1510), the founder of the Chingisd-Shibanid Uzbek state, pauses to mention the arrival of a loving letter to his wife, Hanzade Begum, from her now exiled brother, Zahir al-Din Babur (d. 1526). Shibani Khan's relationships with his relatives, especially with his brother Mahmud Khan, occupy a significant place not only in his Divan, but also in several other works dedicated to Shibani Khan and other early Timurids and Chinggisid-Uzbeks. Indeed, as if to challenge some of these authors, especially Haydar Dughlat, who implies an enmity between him and his brother by pointing out the former's lack of emotional response on hearing of the latter's death, Shibani Khan movingly express his deep affection for Mahmud Khan in in his Divan. Similarly, Babur's autobiographical text, Baburnama, offers a unique window into the complex web of kinship and familial relationships among various lines and lineages belonging to the Houses of Sahib Qiran (Timur) and Chinggis Khan in the late 15th and early 16th century. Babur's description of, on the one hand, his love and affections for his relatives, especially his sisters and brother, and the other, his frustrations with them provide us with important insights about the complex political and emotional relationships between Central Asian royalty and their siblings and other relatives. As these few examples demonstrate, the relationships between royal sisters and brothers within the larger network of uncles, aunts, nephews, and other relatives figure significantly in the historical writings of the early 16th century.

While Turco-Mongol dynastic family politics and practices, especially their implications for succession, inheritance and political authority, have been a staple of historical inquiry, the emotional relationships between siblings have received far less attention. This paper attempts to explore the affective universe of Turco-Mongol dynastic families, especially the complex world of sibling relations, and the emotional dynamics of intra and inter familial relationships among the various branches of the houses of Timur and Chinggis Khan in the early 16th century. What does a close analysis of sibling relations reveal about the changes in Turco-Mongol dynastic family culture, practices and politics in the early 16th century? How did princely brothers and sisters relate to each other? What political and emotional bonds, obligations and expressions were expected of them? How were sibling relations understood and performed? How did hierarchies of age, gender and status mediate the complex web of kinship relations?