Sufi dynasty

[4] The dynasty had several genealogical links to the Borjigin imperial family; it was descended from a brother of Genghis Khan's chief empress Börte, and both the paternal grandfather and great-grandfather of Naghday were the sons of Mongol princesses.

[1] The first Sufid ruler Husain Sufi, a son of Naghday,[8] was a member of the Onggirat, a constituent tribe of the White Horde.

Husain Sufi took control of Urgench and the rest of the northern part of Khwarezm; coins in the province were minted for him beginning in 1364.

At the time of the seizure of Kath and Khiva Transoxiana had lacked a ruler who could respond, but by 1369 Timur had unified the region under his rule.

Timur, who maintained a puppet Chagatai khan, felt strong enough to demand the return of Kath and Khiva from Husain Sufi in the early 1370s.

[1] This time Urgench was besieged; Yusuf Sufi died in the middle of the siege and Timur demanded the city's surrender.

[14] In the 15th century Khwarezm was usually controlled by the Timurids, although it on occasion fell into the hands of the khans of the Golden Horde as well as the Uzbeks.