Dzhanibek

Year of birth unknown; died 1357. Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357, son and successor of Khan Uzbek (Oz Beg).

Dzhanibek gained the throne after murdering two of his brothers. He interfered regularly in the internal affairs of the Russian principalities and Lithuania. The Muscovite grand princes Semen Ivanovich the Proud and Ivan II Ivanovich the Red were greatly dependent on him. In order to consolidate his authority within the Golden Horde, Dzhanibek began implanting Islam. It was during his reign that the process of feudal splintering commenced in the Horde. In 1356, Dzhanibek carried out a campaign in Azerbaijan, seized Tebriz, and placed a deputy in charge of it. Soon after, however, a revolt flared up in Tebriz and power passed to Dzhelairid, of the Chingisid branch, which was hostile to Dzhanibek. On the trip back to the Horde, Dzhanibek perished.