When historians analyze the reasons for success Tatar-Mongol yoke, among the most important and significant reasons they name the presence of a powerful khan in power. Often the khan became the personification of strength and military might, and therefore he was feared by both the Russian princes and representatives of the yoke itself. Which khans left their mark on history and were considered the most powerful rulers of their people.

The most powerful khans of the Mongol yoke

During the entire existence of the Mongol Empire and the Golden Horde, many khans changed on the throne. Rulers changed especially often during the Great Zamyatna, when the crisis forced brother to go against brother. Varied internecine wars and regular military campaigns have confused the family tree a lot Mongol khans, however, the names of the most powerful rulers are still known. So, which khans of the Mongol Empire were considered the most powerful?

Genghis Khan because of the mass of successful campaigns and the unification of lands into one state.
Batu, who managed to completely subjugate Ancient Rus' and form the Golden Horde.
Khan Uzbek, under whom the Golden Horde achieved its greatest power.
Mamai, who managed to unite the troops during the great turmoil.
Khan Tokhtamysh, who made successful campaigns against Moscow and returned Ancient Rus' to the captive territories.

Each ruler deserves special attention, because his contribution to the history of the development of the Tatar-Mongol yoke is enormous. However, it is much more interesting to talk about all the rulers of the yoke, trying to restore the family tree of the khans.

Tatar-Mongol khans and their role in the history of the yoke

Khanates of the Golden Horde. Golden Horde. Story

He divided all his possessions among his sons. Eldest son Jochi, inherited a huge expanse of land from the headwaters of the Syr Darya to the mouths of the Danube, which, however, still had to be largely conquered. Jochi died before the death of his father and his lands came into the possession of five sons: Horde, Batu, Tuk-Timur, Sheiban and Teval. The Horde stood at the head of the tribes roaming between the Volga and the upper reaches of the Syr Darya; Batu received the western possessions of the Jochi ulus as his inheritance. The last khans of the Golden Horde (from 1380) and the khans of Astrakhan (1466 - 1554) came from the Horde clan; the Batu family ruled the Golden Horde until 1380. The possessions of Khan Batu were called the Golden Horde, the possessions of the Khan of the Horde - the White Horde (in Russian chronicles the Blue Horde).

Golden Horde and Rus'. Map

We know relatively little about the reign of the first Khan Batu. He died in 1255. He was succeeded by his son Sartak, who, however, did not rule the Horde, since he died on the way to Mongolia, where he went to obtain approval for the throne. The young Ulakchi, appointed as Sartak's successor, also soon died and then Batu's brother Berkay or Berke (1257 - 1266) ascended the throne. Berkay was followed by Mengu-Timur (1266 – 1280 or 1282). Under him, Jochi’s grandson, Nogai, who dominated the Don steppes and partially captured even the Crimea, gained significant influence on the internal affairs of the Khanate. He is the main sower of unrest after the death of Mengu-Timur. After civil strife and several short reigns, in 1290 the son of Mengu-Timur Tokhta (1290 - 1312) seized power. He enters into a fight with Nogai and defeats him. In one of the battles, Nogai was killed.

Tokhta's successor was the grandson of Mengu-Timur Uzbek (1312 - 1340). The time of his reign can be considered the most brilliant in the history of the Golden Horde . The Uzbek was followed by his son Janibek (1340 – 1357). Under him, the Tatars no longer sent their own Baskaks to Rus': the Russian princes themselves began to collect tribute from the population and take them to the Horde, which was much easier for the people. Being a zealous Muslim, Janibek, however, did not oppress those who professed other religions. He was killed by his own son Berdibek (1357 – 1359). Then turmoil and a change of khans begin. Over the course of 20 years (1360 - 1380), 14 khans were replaced in the Golden Horde. Their names are known to us only thanks to the inscriptions on the coins. At this time, a temnik (literally the chief of 10,000, generally a military leader) Mamai rises in the Horde. However, in 1380 he was defeated by Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo Field and was soon killed.

History of the Golden Horde

After the death of Mamai, power in the Golden Horde passed to the descendant of Jochi’s eldest son, Horde (some news, however, call him a descendant of Tuk-Timur) Tokhtamysh(1380 – 1391). Batu's descendants lost power, and the White Horde united with the Golden Horde. After Tokhtamysh, the darkest period begins in the history of the Golden Horde. The struggle begins between the Tokhtamyshevichs and the henchmen of the great Central Asian conqueror Timur. The enemy of the first was the Nogai military leader (temnik) Edigey. Having great influence, he constantly interferes in civil strife, replaces khans and finally dies in the fight with the last Tokhtamyshevich on the banks of the Syr Darya. After this, khans from other clans appear on the throne. The Horde is weakening, its clashes with Moscow are becoming less and less frequent. The last khan of the Golden Horde was Akhmat or Seyyid-Ahmed. The death of Akhmat can be considered the end of the Golden Horde; his numerous sons, who stayed on the lower reaches of the Volga, formed Khanate of Astrakhan, which never had political power.

The sources for the history of the Golden Horde are exclusively Russian and Arab (mainly Egyptian) chronicles and inscriptions on coins.

In the mid-13th century, one of Genghis Khan's grandsons, Kublai Khan, moved his headquarters to Beijing, founding the Yuan dynasty. The rest of the Mongol Empire was nominally subordinate to the Great Khan in Karakorum. One of Genghis Khan's sons, Chagatai (Jaghatai), received the lands of most of Central Asia, and Genghis Khan's grandson Hulagu owned the territory of Iran, part of Western and Central Asia and Transcaucasia. This usul, allocated in 1265, is called the Hulaguid state after the name of the dynasty. Another grandson of Genghis Khan from his eldest son Jochi, Batu, founded the state of the Golden Horde. History of Russia, A.S. Orlov, V.A. Georgieva 2004 - from 56.

The Golden Horde is a medieval state in Eurasia, created by Turkic-Mongol tribes. Founded in the early 40s of the 13th century as a result of the conquered campaigns of the Mongols. The name of the state came from the magnificent tent that stood in its capital, sparkling in the sun. The Golden Horde: myths and reality. V L Egorov 1990 - from 5.

Initially, the Golden Horde was part of the huge Mongol Empire. The khans of the Golden Horde in the first decades of its existence were considered subordinate to the supreme Mongol khan in Karakorum in Mongolia. The Horde khans received a label in Mongolia for the right to reign in the Ulus of Jochi. But, starting in 1266, the Golden Horde khan Mengu-Timur for the first time ordered his name to be minted on coins instead of the name of the All-Mongol sovereign. From this time the countdown of the independent existence of the Golden Horde begins.

Batu Khan founded a powerful state, which some called the Golden Horde, and others the White Horde - the khan of this Horde was called the White Khan. The Mongols, often called Tatars, were a small minority in the Horde - and they soon disappeared among the Cuman Turks, adopting their language and giving them their name: the Cumans also began to be called Tatars. Following the example of Genghis Khan, Batu divided the Tatars into tens, hundreds and thousands; these military units corresponded to clans and tribes; a group of tribes united into a ten-thousandth corps - tumen, in Russian, “darkness” Magazine “History of the State” February 2010 No. 2 article “Golden Horde” from 22.

As for the now familiar name “Golden Horde,” it began to be used at a time when not a trace remained of the state founded by Khan Batu. This phrase first appeared in the “Kazan Chronicler”, written in the second half of the 16th century, in the form “Golden Horde” and “Great Golden Horde”. Its origin is connected with the khan's headquarters, or more precisely, with the khan's ceremonial yurt, richly decorated with gold and expensive materials. This is how a 14th century traveler describes it: “An Uzbek sits in a tent called a golden tent, decorated and outlandish. It consists of wooden rods covered with gold leaves. In the middle is a wooden throne, covered with gilded silver leaves, its legs are made of silver, and its top is strewn with precious stones.”

There is no doubt that the term “Golden Horde” existed in Rus' in colloquial speech already in the 14th century, but he never appears in the chronicles of that period. Russian chroniclers proceeded from the emotional load of the word “golden,” which was used at that time as a synonym for everything good, bright and joyful, which could not be said about the oppressor state, and even populated by “filthy ones.” That is why the name “Golden Horde” appears only after time erased all the horrors of Mongol rule. Big Soviet encyclopedia, A M Prokhorov, Moscow, 1972 - p. 563

The Golden Horde covers a vast territory. It includes: Western Siberia, Northern Khorezm, Volga Bulgaria, Northern Caucasus, Crimea, Dasht-i-Kipchak (Kipchak steppe from the Irtysh to the Danube). The extreme southeastern limit of the Golden Horde was South Kazakhstan (now the city of Taraz), and the extreme northeastern limit was the cities of Tyumen and Isker in Western Siberia. From north to south, the Horde extended from the middle reaches of the river. Kama to Derbent. This entire gigantic territory was quite homogeneous in landscape terms - it was mainly steppe. The capital of the Golden Horde was the city of Sarai, located in the lower reaches of the Volga (sarai in Russian means palace). The city was founded by Batu Khan in 1254. Destroyed in 1395 by Tamerlane. The settlement near the village of Selitrennoye, left over from the first capital of the Golden Horde - Sarai-Batu ("city of Batu"), is striking in its size. Spread over several hillocks, it stretches along the left bank of the Akhtuba for more than 15 km. It was a state consisting of semi-independent usuls, united under the rule of the khan. They were ruled by Batu's brothers and the local aristocracy. History of Russia, A.S. Orlov, V.A. Georgieva 2004 - from 57

If we evaluate the total area, the Golden Horde was undoubtedly the largest state of the Middle Ages. Arab and Persian historians of the XIV-XV centuries. summed up its size in figures that amazed the imagination of contemporaries. One of them noted that the length of the state extends to 8, and the width to 6 months of travel. Another slightly reduced the size: up to 6 months of travel in length and 4 in width. The third relied on specific geographical landmarks and reported that this country extends “from the Sea of Constantinople to the Irtysh River, 800 farsakhs in length, and in width from Babelebvab (Derbent) to the city of Bolgar, that is, approximately 600 farsakhs” Golden Horde : myths and reality. V L Egorov 1990 - from 7.

The main population of the Golden Horde were Kipchaks, Bulgars and Russians.

Throughout the 13th century, the Caucasian border was one of the most turbulent, since the local peoples (Circassians, Alans, Lezgins) were not yet completely subjugated to the Mongols and offered stubborn resistance to the conquerors. The Tauride Peninsula also formed part of the Golden Horde from the beginning of its existence. It was after inclusion in the territory of this state that it received a new name - Crimea, after the name of the main city of this ulus. However, the Mongols themselves occupied in the 13th - 14th centuries. only the northern, steppe part of the peninsula. Its coast and mountainous regions at that time represented a number of small feudal estates, semi-dependent on the Mongols. The most important and famous among them were the Italian city-colonies of Kafa (Feodosia), Soldaya (Sudak), Chembalo (Balaclava). In the mountains of the southwest there was a small principality of Theodoro, the capital of which was the well-fortified city of Mangup. Great Soviet Encyclopedia, A. M. Prokhorov, Moscow, 1972 - p. 563.

Relations with the Mongols of the Italians and local feudal lords were maintained thanks to brisk trade. But this did not in the least prevent the Sarai khans from attacking their trading partners from time to time and considering them as their own tributaries. To the west of the Black Sea, the border of the state stretched along the Danube, without crossing it, to the Hungarian fortress of Turnu Severin, which blocked the exit from the Lower Danube Lowland. “The northern borders of the state in this area were limited by the spurs of the Carpathians and included the steppe spaces of the Prut-Dniester interfluve History of Russia 9-18 centuries, V I Moryakov higher education, Moscow, 2004- p. 95.

It was here that the border of the Golden Horde with the Russian principalities began. It passed approximately along the border between steppe and forest-steppe. The border between the Dniester and Dnieper stretched in the area of modern Vinnitsa and Cherkasy regions. In the Dnieper basin, the possessions of the Russian princes ended somewhere between Kiev and Kanev. From here the border line went to the area of modern Kharkov, Kursk and then went to the Ryazan borders along the left bank of the Don. To the east of the Ryazan principality, from the Moksha River to the Volga, there was a forest area inhabited by Mordovian tribes.

The Mongols had little interest in territories covered with dense forests, but despite this, the entire Mordovian population was completely under the control of the Golden Horde and constituted one of its northern uluses. This is clearly evidenced by 14th-century sources. In the Volga basin during the 13th century. the border passed north of the Sura River, and in the next century it gradually shifted to the mouth of the Sura and even south of it. The vast region of modern Chuvashia in the 13th century. was completely under Mongol rule. On the left bank of the Volga, the Golden Horde borderland stretched north of the Kama. Here were the former possessions of Volga Bulgaria, which turned into component The Golden Horde without any hint of autonomy. The Bashkirs who lived in the middle and southern Urals also formed part of the Mongol state. They owned in this area all the lands south of the Belaya River Golden Horde and its fall Greeks B. D. Yakubovsky A. Yu. 1998 - from 55.

The Golden Horde was one of the most largest states of its time. At the beginning of the 14th century, she could field an army of 300 thousand. The heyday of the Golden Horde occurred during the reign of Khan Uzbek (1312 - 1342). In 1312, Islam became the state religion of the Golden Horde. Then, like other medieval states, the Horde experienced a period of fragmentation. Already in the 14th century, the Central Asian possessions of the Golden Horde separated, and in the 15th century, the Kazan (1438), Crimean (1443), Astrakhan (mid-15th century) and Siberian (late 15th century) khanates stood out History of Russia, A. S. Orlov, V. A. Georgieva 2004 - from 57.

History of the Golden Horde.

Education of the Golden Horde.

Golden Horde It began as a separate state in 1224, when Batu Khan came to power, and in 1266 it finally left the Mongol Empire.

It is worth noting that the term “Golden Horde” was coined by the Russians, many years after the Khanate collapsed - in the middle of the 16th century. Three centuries earlier, these territories were called differently, and there was no single name for them.

Lands of the Golden Horde.

Genghis Khan, Batu’s grandfather, divided his empire equally between his sons - and in general its lands occupied almost the entire continent. Suffice it to say that in 1279 the Mongol Empire stretched from the Danube to the coast of the Sea of Japan, from the Baltic to the borders of present-day India. And these conquests took only about 50 years - and a considerable part of them belonged to Batu.

Dependence of Rus' on the Golden Horde.

In the 13th century, Rus' surrendered under the pressure of the Golden Horde.. True, it was not easy to cope with the conquered country; the princes sought independence, so from time to time the khans made new campaigns, ravaging cities and punishing the disobedient. This went on for almost 300 years - until in 1480 the Tatar-Mongol yoke was finally thrown off.

Capital of the Golden Horde.

The internal structure of the Horde was not very different from the feudal system of other countries. The empire was divided into many principalities, or uluses, ruled by minor khans, who were subordinate to one great khan.

Capital of the Golden Horde during the time of Batu it was in the city Saray-Batu, and in the 14th century it was moved to Saray-Berke.

Khans of the Golden Horde.

Most famous Khans of the Golden Horde- these are those from whom Rus' suffered the most damage and ruin, among them:

Batu, from which the Tatar-Mongol name began
Mamai, defeated on the Kulikovo field
Tokhtamysh, who went on a campaign to Rus' after Mamai to punish the rebels.
Edigei, who made a devastating raid in 1408, shortly before the yoke was finally thrown off.

Golden Horde and Rus': the fall of the Golden Horde.

Like many feudal states, the Golden Horde eventually collapsed and ceased to exist due to internal turmoil.

The process began in the middle of the 14th century, when Astrakhan and Khorezm separated from the Horde. In 1380, Rus' began to rise, having defeated Mamai on the Kulikovo Field. But the biggest mistake of the Horde was the campaign against the empire of Tamerlane, who dealt a mortal blow to the Mongols.

In the 15th century, the Golden Horde, once strong, split into Siberian, Crimean and Kazan Khanate. Over time, these territories were subject to the Horde less and less, in 1480 Rus' finally emerged from under oppression.

Thus, years of existence of the Golden Horde: 1224-1481. In 1481, Khan Akhmat was killed. This year is considered to be the end of the existence of the Golden Horde. However, it completely collapsed during the reign of his children, at the beginning of the 16th century.

History of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde (Ulus Jochi, Ulug Ulus)

1224 — 1483

Ulus Jochi ca. 1300

Capital

Saray-Batu
Saray-Berke

Largest cities

Saray-Batu, Kazan, Astrakhan, Uvek, etc.

Languages)

Golden Horde Turks

Religion

Tengrism, Orthodoxy (for part of the population), from 1312 Islam

Square

OK. 6 million km²

Population

Mongols, Turks, Slavs, Finno-Ugrians and other peoples

Title and boundaries

Name "Golden Horde" was first used in Rus' in 1566 in the historical and journalistic work “Kazan History,” when the state itself no longer existed. Until this time, in all Russian sources the word "Horde" used without the adjective "golden". Since the 19th century, the term has been firmly established in historiography and is used to refer to the Jochi ulus as a whole, or (depending on the context) its western part with its capital in Sarai.

In the Golden Horde proper and eastern (Arab-Persian) sources, the state did not have a single name. It was usually designated by the term “ulus”, with the addition of some epithet ( "Ulug Ulus") or the name of the ruler ( "Ulus Berke"), and not necessarily the current one, but also the one who reigned earlier ( "Uzbek, ruler of the Berke countries", “ambassadors of Tokhtamyshkhan, sovereign of the land of Uzbekistan”). Along with this, the old geographical term was often used in Arab-Persian sources Desht-i-Kipchak. Word "horde" in the same sources it denoted the headquarters (mobile camp) of the ruler (examples of its use in the meaning of “country” begin to be found only in the 15th century). Combination "Golden Horde" meaning “golden ceremonial tent” is found in the description of the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta in relation to the residence of the Uzbek Khan. In Russian chronicles, the concept of “Horde” usually meant an army. Its use as the name of the country has become constant since the turn of the 13th-14th centuries; before that time, the term “Tatars” was used as the name. In Western European sources, the names “country of Komans”, “Comania” or “power of the Tatars”, “land of the Tatars”, “Tataria” were common.

The Chinese called the Mongols “Tatars” (tar-tar). Later, this name penetrated into Europe and the lands conquered by the Mongols began to be called “Tataria”.

The Arab historian Al-Omari, who lived in the first half of the 14th century, defined the borders of the Horde as follows:

“The borders of this state from Jeyhun are Khorezm, Saganak, Sairam, Yarkand, Jend, Saray, the city of Majar, Azaka, Akcha-Kermen, Kafa, Sudak, Saksin, Ukek, Bulgar, the region of Siberia, Iberia, Bashkyrd and Chulyman...

Batu, medieval Chinese drawing

[ Formation of Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde)

Separation Mongol Empire Genghis Khan between his sons, carried out by 1224, can be considered the emergence of the Ulus of Jochi. After Western campaign(1236-1242), led by Jochi’s son Batu (in Russian chronicles, Batu), the ulus expanded to the west and the Lower Volga region became its center. In 1251, a kurultai was held in the capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum, where Mongke, the son of Tolui, was proclaimed great khan. Batu, "eldest of the family" ( aka), supported Möngke, probably hoping to gain full autonomy for his ulus. Opponents of the Jochids and Toluids from the descendants of Chagatai and Ogedei were executed, and the possessions confiscated from them were divided between Mongke, Batu and other Chingizids who recognized their power.

Rise of the Golden Horde

After Batu's death, his son Sartak, who was at that time in Mongolia, at the court of Munke Khan, was to become the legal heir. However, on the way home, the new khan unexpectedly died. Soon, the young son of Batu (or son of Sartak), Ulagchi, who was proclaimed khan, also died.

Berke (1257-1266), Batu’s brother, became the ruler of the ulus. Berke converted to Islam in his youth, but this was, apparently, a political step that did not entail the Islamization of large sections of the nomadic population. This step allowed the ruler to gain the support of influential trading circles in urban centers Volga Bulgaria and Central Asia, to attract educated Muslims to the service. During his reign it reached significant proportions. urban planning, Horde cities were built up with mosques, minarets, madrassas, and caravanserais. First of all, this applies to Saray-Batu, the capital of the state, which at this time became known as Saray-Berke (there is a controversial identification of Saray-Berke and Saray al-Jedid) . Having recovered after the conquest, the Bulgars became one of the most important economic and political centers ulus.

Great minaret Bulgar Cathedral Mosque, whose construction began shortly after 1236 and was completed at the end of the 13th century

Berke invited scientists, theologians, poets from Iran and Egypt, and artisans and merchants from Khorezm. Trade and diplomatic ties with the countries of the East have noticeably revived. Highly educated people from Iran and Arab countries began to be appointed to responsible government posts, which caused discontent among the Mongolian and Kipchak nomadic nobility. However, this dissatisfaction has not yet been openly expressed.

During the reign of Mengu-Timur (1266-1280), the Ulus of Jochi became completely independent of the central government. In 1269, at a kurultai in the valley of the Talas River, Munke-Timur and his relatives Borak and Khaidu, rulers Chagatai ulus, recognized each other as independent sovereigns and entered into an alliance against the Great Khan Kublai Khan in case he tried to challenge their independence.

Tamga of Mengu-Timur, minted on Golden Horde coins

After the death of Mengu-Timur, a political crisis began in the country associated with the name of Nogai. Nogai, one of the descendants of Genghis Khan, held the post of beklyarbek, the second most important in the state, under Batu and Berke. His personal ulus was located in the west of the Golden Horde (near the Danube). Nogai set as his goal the formation of his own state, and during the reign of Tuda-Mengu (1282-1287) and Tula-Buga (1287-1291), he managed to subjugate a vast territory along the Danube, Dniester, and Uzeu (Dnieper) to his power.

With the direct support of Nogai, Tokhta (1298-1312) was placed on the Sarai throne. At first, the new ruler obeyed his patron in everything, but soon, relying on the steppe aristocracy, he opposed him. The long struggle ended in 1299 with the defeat of Nogai, and the unity of the Golden Horde was again restored.

Fragments of tiled decoration of the palace of Genghisid. Golden Horde, Saray-Batu. Ceramics, overglaze painting, mosaic, gilding. Selitrennoye settlement. Excavations of the 1980s. State Historical Museum

During the reign of Khan Uzbek (1312–1342) and his son Janibek (1342–1357), the Golden Horde reached its peak. The Uzbek proclaimed Islam the state religion, threatening the “infidels” with physical violence. The revolts of the emirs who did not want to convert to Islam were brutally suppressed. The time of his khanate was characterized by strict reprisals. Russian princes, going to the capital of the Golden Horde, wrote spiritual wills and paternal instructions to their children in case of their death there. Several of them were actually killed. Uzbek built a city Saray al-Jedid(“New Palace”), paid a lot of attention to the development of caravan trade. Trade routes became not only safe, but also well-maintained. The Horde conducted brisk trade with the countries Western Europe, Asia Minor, Egypt, India, China. After Uzbek, his son Janibek, whom Russian chronicles call “kind,” ascended the throne of the khanate.

"The Great Jam"

Battle of Kulikovo. Thumbnail from "Tales of the Massacre of Mamayev"

WITH From 1359 to 1380, more than 25 khans changed on the Golden Horde throne, and many uluses tried to become independent. This time in Russian sources was called the “Great Jam.”

During the lifetime of Khan Dzhanibek (no later than 1357), the Ulus of Shiban proclaimed its own khan, Ming-Timur. And the murder of Khan Berdibek (son of Janibek) in 1359 put an end to the Batuid dynasty, which caused the emergence of a variety of contenders for the Sarai throne from among the eastern branches of the Jochids. Taking advantage of the instability of the central government, a number of regions of the Horde for some time, following the Ulus of Shiban, acquired their own khans.

The rights to the Horde throne of the impostor Kulpa were immediately questioned by the son-in-law and at the same time the beklyaribek of the murdered khan, Temnik Mamai. As a result, Mamai, who was the grandson of Isatai, an influential emir of the times of Uzbek Khan, created an independent ulus in the western part of the Horde, right up to the right bank of the Volga. Not being Chingizid, Mamai had no rights to the title of khan, so he limited himself to the position of beklyaribek under the puppet khans from the Batuid clan.

Khans from Ulus Shiban, descendants of Ming-Timur, tried to gain a foothold in Sarai. They really failed to do this; the khans changed with kaleidoscopic speed. The fate of the khans largely depended on the favor of the merchant elite of the cities of the Volga region, which was not interested in the strong power of the khan.

Following the example of Mamai, other descendants of the emirs also showed a desire for independence. Tengiz-Buga, also the grandson of Isatay, tried to create an independent ulus on the Syrdarya. The Jochids, who rebelled against Tengiz-Buga in 1360 and killed him, continued his separatist policy, proclaiming a khan from among themselves.

Salchen, the third grandson of the same Isatay and at the same time the grandson of Khan Janibek, captured Hadji-Tarkhan. Hussein-Sufi, son of Emir Nangudai and grandson of Khan Uzbek, created an independent ulus in Khorezm in 1361. In 1362, the Lithuanian prince Olgierd seized lands in the Dnieper basin.

The turmoil in the Golden Horde ended after Genghisid Tokhtamysh, with the support of Emir Tamerlane from Transoxiana in 1377-1380, first captured uluses on the Syrdarya, defeating the sons of Urus Khan, and then the throne in Sarai, when Mamai came into direct conflict with Moscow Principality (defeat at Vozha(1378)). Tokhtamysh in 1380 defeated those gathered by Mamai after the defeat in Battle of Kulikovo remnants of troops on the Kalka River.

Board of Tokhtamysh

During the reign of Tokhtamysh (1380-1395), the unrest ceased, and the central government again began to control the entire main territory of the Golden Horde. In 1382 he made a campaign against Moscow and achieved the restoration of tribute payments. After strengthening his position, Tokhtamysh opposed the Central Asian ruler Tamerlane, with whom he had previously maintained allied relations. As a result of a series of devastating campaigns of 1391-1396, Tamerlane defeated the troops of Tokhtamysh, captured and destroyed Volga cities, including Sarai-Berke, robbed the cities of Crimea, etc. The Golden Horde was dealt a blow from which it could no longer recover.

Collapse of the Golden Horde

In the sixties of the 13th century, important political changes took place in life. former empire Genghis Khan, which could not but affect the nature of Horde-Russian relations. The accelerated collapse of the empire began. The rulers of Karakorum moved to Beijing, the uluses of the empire acquired actual independence, independence from the great khans, and now rivalry intensified between them, acute territorial disputes arose, and a struggle for spheres of influence began. In the 60s, the Jochi ulus became involved in a protracted conflict with the Hulagu ulus, which owned the territory of Iran. It would seem that the Golden Horde had reached the apogee of its power. But here and within it, the process of disintegration, inevitable for early feudalism, began. The “splitting” of the state structure began in the Horde, and now a conflict arose within the ruling elite.

In the early 1420s it was formed Khanate of Siberia , in the 1440s - the Nogai Horde, then Kazan (1438) and Crimean Khanate(1441). After the death of Khan Kichi-Muhammad, the Golden Horde ceased to exist as a single state.

Formally, the main one among the Jochid states continued to be considered Great Horde. In 1480, Akhmat, Khan of the Great Horde, tried to achieve obedience from Ivan III, but this attempt ended unsuccessfully, and Rus' was finally freed from Tatar- Mongol yoke . At the beginning of 1481, Akhmat was killed during an attack on his headquarters by Siberian and Nogai cavalry. Under his children, at the beginning of the 16th century, the Great Horde ceased to exist.

Government structure and administrative division

According to the traditional structure of nomadic states, the Ulus of Jochi after 1242 was divided into two wings: right (western) and left (eastern). The right wing, which represented the Ulus of Batu, was considered the eldest. The Mongols designated the west as white, which is why Batu's Ulus was called the White Horde (Ak Horde). The right wing covered the territory of western Kazakhstan, the Volga region, North Caucasus, Don, Dnieper steppes, Crimea. Its center was Sarai.

The left wing of the Jochi Ulus was in a subordinate position in relation to the right; it occupied the lands of central Kazakhstan and the Syr Darya valley. The Mongols designated the east in blue, so the left wing was called the Blue Horde (Kok Horde). The center of the left wing was Orda-Bazar. Batu's elder brother Orda-Ejen became the khan there.

The wings, in turn, were divided into uluses, which were owned by the other sons of Jochi. Initially there were about 14 such uluses. Plano Carpini, who traveled to the east in 1246-1247, identifies the following leaders in the Horde, indicating the places of nomads: Kuremsu on the western bank of the Dnieper, Mauzi on the eastern steppes, Kartan, married to Batu’s sister, in the Don steppes, Batu himself on the Volga and two thousand people on two banks of the Urals. Berke owned lands in the North Caucasus, but in 1254 Batu took these possessions for himself, ordering Berke to move east of the Volga.

At first, the ulus division was characterized by instability: possessions could be transferred to other persons and change their boundaries. At the beginning of the 14th century, Uzbek Khan carried out a major administrative-territorial reform, according to which the right wing of the Jochi Ulus was divided into 4 large uluses: Saray, Khorezm, Crimea and Dasht-i-Kipchak, led by ulus emirs (ulusbeks) appointed by the khan. The main ulusbek was the beklyarbek. The next most important dignitary is the vizier. The other two positions were occupied by particularly noble or distinguished feudal lords. These four regions were divided into 70 small estates (tumens), led by temniks.

The uluses were divided into smaller possessions, also called uluses. The latter were administrative-territorial units of various sizes, which depended on the rank of the owner (temnik, thousand's manager, centurion, foreman).

The capital of the Golden Horde under Batu became the city of Sarai-Batu (near modern Astrakhan); in the first half of the 14th century, the capital was moved to Sarai-Berke (founded by Khan Berke (1255-1266), near modern Volgograd). Under Khan Uzbek Saray-Berke was renamed Saray Al-Jedid.

Army

The overwhelming part of the Horde army was cavalry, which used traditional combat tactics in battle with mobile cavalry masses of archers. Its core were heavily armed detachments consisting of the nobility, the basis of which was the guard of the Horde ruler. In addition to the Golden Horde warriors, the khans recruited soldiers from among the conquered peoples, as well as mercenaries from the Volga region, Crimea and North Caucasus. The main weapon of the Horde warriors was the bow, which the Horde used with great skill. Spears were also widespread, used by the Horde during a massive spear strike that followed the first strike with arrows. The most popular bladed weapons were broadswords and sabers. Impact-crushing weapons were also common: maces, six-fingers, coins, klevtsy, flails.

Lamellar and laminar metal armor were common among Horde warriors, and from the 14th century - chain mail and ring-plate armor. The most common armor was the Khatangu-degel, reinforced from the inside with metal plates (kuyak). Despite this, the Horde continued to use lamellar shells. The Mongols also used brigantine type armor. Mirrors, necklaces, bracers and leggings became widespread. Swords were almost universally replaced by sabers. Since the end of the 14th century, cannons have been in service. Horde warriors also began to use field fortifications, in particular, large easel shields - chaparres. In field battles they also used some military-technical means, in particular crossbows.

Population

The Golden Horde was inhabited by: Mongols, Turkic (Cumans, Volga Bulgars, Bashkirs, Oguzes, Khorezmians, etc.), Slavic, Finno-Ugric (Mordovians, Cheremis, Votyaks, etc.), North Caucasian (Alans, etc.) and other peoples. The bulk of the nomadic population were Kipchaks, who, having lost their own aristocracy and the previous tribal division, Assimilated-Turkicized [source not specified 163 days] relatively few in number [source not specified 163 days] Mongolian elite. Over time, the name “Tatars” became common to most Turkic peoples of the western wing of the Golden Horde.

It is important that for many Turkic peoples the name “Tatars” was only an alien exoethnonym and these peoples retained their own self-name. The Turkic population of the eastern wing of the Golden Horde formed the basis of the modern Kazakhs, Karakalpaks and Nogais.

Trade

Ceramics of the Golden Horde in the collection State Historical Museum.

Large centers of mainly caravan trade were the cities of Sarai-Batu, Sarai-Berke, Uvek, Bulgar, Hadji-Tarkhan, Beljamen, Kazan, Dzhuketau, Madzhar, Mokhshi, Azak (Azov), Urgench and others.

Genoese trading colonies in Crimea ( captaincy of Gothia) and at the mouth of the Don were used by the Horde for trading cloth, fabrics and linen, weapons, women's jewelry, jewelry, precious stones, spices, incense, furs, leather, honey, wax, salt, grain, forest, fish, caviar, olive oil.

The Golden Horde sold slaves and other booty captured by Horde troops during military campaigns to Genoese merchants.

From the Crimean trading cities trade routes began, leading both to southern Europe, and to Central Asia, India and China. Trade routes leading to Central Asia and Iran passed along the Volga.

External and internal trade relations were ensured by the issued money of the Golden Horde: silver dirhams and copper pools.

Rulers

In the first period, the rulers recognized the primacy of the great kaan of the Mongol Empire.

Jochi, son of Genghis Khan, (1224 - 1227)
Batu (c. 1208 - c. 1255), son of Jochi, (1227 - c. 1255), orlok (jehangir) Yeke Mongol of Ulus (1235 -1241)
Sartak, son of Batu, (1255/1256)
Ulagchi, son of Batu (or Sartak), (1256 - 1257) under the regency of Borakchin Khatun, widow of Batu
Berke, son of Jochi, (1257 - 1266)
Munke-Timur, son of Tugan, (1266 - 1269)

Khans

Munke-Timur, (1269—1282)
There Mengu Khan, (1282 -1287)
Tula Buga Khan, (1287 -1291)
Ghiyas ud-Din Tokhtogu Khan, (1291 —1312 )
Ghiyas ud-Din Muhammad Uzbek Khan, (1312 —1341 )
Tinibek Khan, (1341 -1342)
Jalal ud-Din Mahmud Janibek Khan, (1342 —1357 )
Berdibek, (1357 -1359)
Kulpa, (August 1359 - January 1360)
Muhammad Nauruzbek, (January-June 1360)
Mahmud Khizr Khan, (June 1360 - August 1361)
Timur Khoja Khan, (August-September 1361)
Ordumelik, (September-October 1361)
Kildibek, (October 1361 - September 1362)
Murad Khan, (September 1362 - autumn 1364)
Mir Pulad khan, (autumn 1364 - September 1365)
Aziz Sheikh, (September 1365 -1367)
Abdullah Khan Khan of Ulus Jochi (1367 -1368)
Hasan Khan, (1368 -1369)
Abdullah Khan (1369 -1370)
Bulak Khan, (1370 -1372) under the regency of Tulunbek Khanum
Urus Khan, (1372 -1374)
Circassian Khan, (1374 - early 1375)
Bulak Khan, (beginning 1375 - June 1375)
Urus Khan, (June-July 1375)
Bulak Khan, (July 1375 - end of 1375)
Ghiyas ud-Din Kaganbek Khan(Aibek Khan), (end 1375 -1377)
Arabshah Muzzaffar(Kary Khan), (1377 -1380)
Tokhtamysh, (1380 -1395)
Timur Kutlug Khan, (1395 —1399 )
Ghiyas ud-Din Shadibek Khan, (1399 —1408 )
Pulad Khan, (1407 -1411)
Timur Khan, (1411 -1412)
Jalal ad-Din Khan, son of Tokhtamysh, (1412 -1413)
Kerim Birdi Khan, son of Tokhtamysh, (1413 -1414)
Kepek, (1414)
Chokre, (1414 -1416)
Jabbar-Berdi, (1416 -1417)
Dervish, (1417 -1419)
Kadir Birdi Khan, son of Tokhtamysh, (1419)
Haji Muhammad, (1419)
Ulu Muhammad Khan, (1419 —1423 )
Barak Khan, (1423 -1426)
Ulu Muhammad Khan, (1426 —1427 )
Barak Khan, (1427 -1428)
Ulu Muhammad Khan, (1428 )
Kichi-Muhammad, Khan of Ulus Jochi (1428)
Ulu Muhammad Khan, (1428 —1432 )
Kichi-Muhammad, (1432 -1459)

Beklyarbeki

Kurumishi, son of Orda-Ezhen, beklyarbek (1227 -1258) [source not specified 610 days]
Burundai, beklarbek (1258 -1261) [source not specified 610 days]
Nogai, great-grandson of Jochi, beklarbek (?—1299/1300)
Iksar (Ilbasar), son of Tokhta, beklyarbek (1299/1300 - 1309/1310)
Kutlug-Timur, beklyarbek (ca. 1309/1310 - 1321/1322)
Mamai, beklyarbek (1357 -1359), (1363 -1364), (1367 -1369), (1370 -1372), (1377 -1380)
Edigei, son Mangyt Baltychak-bek, beklarbek (1395 -1419)
Mansur-biy, son of Edigei, beklyarbek (1419)

Name and years of Khan's reign	His role in history
Genghis Khan (1206-1227)	Even before Genghis Khan, the Mongol yoke had its own rulers, but it was this khan who managed to unite all the lands and make surprisingly successful campaigns against China, Northern Asia and against the Tatars.
Ogedei (1229-1241)	Genghis Khan tried to give all his sons the opportunity to rule, so he divided the empire between them, but it was Ogedei who was his main heir. The ruler continued his expansion into Central Asia and Northern China, strengthening his position in Europe.
Batu (1227-1255)	Batu was only the ruler of the Jochi ulus, which later received the name Golden Horde. However, the successful Western campaign, the expansion of Ancient Rus' and Poland, made Batu national hero. He soon began to extend his sphere of influence over the entire territory of the Mongol state, becoming an increasingly authoritative ruler.
Berke (1257-1266)	It was during the reign of Berke that the Golden Horde almost completely separated from the Mongol Empire. The ruler emphasized urban development and improving the social status of citizens.
Mengu-Timur (1266-1282), Tuda-Mengu (1282-1287), Tula-Bugi (1287-1291)	These rulers did not leave much of a mark on history, but they were able to further isolate the Golden Horde and defend its rights to freedom from the Mongol Empire. The basis of the economy of the Golden Horde remained tribute from the princes of Ancient Rus'.
Khan Uzbek (1312-1341) and Khan Janibek (1342-1357)	Under Khan Uzbek and his son Janibek, the Golden Horde flourished. The offerings of the Russian princes regularly increased, urban development continued, and the residents of Sarai-Batu adored their khan and literally worshiped him.
Mamai (1359-1381)	Mamai was in no way related to the legitimate rulers of the Golden Horde and had no connection with them. He seized power in the country by force, seeking new economic reforms and military victories. Despite the fact that Mamai’s power grew stronger every day, problems in the state grew due to conflicts on the throne. As a result, in 1380 Mamai suffered a crushing defeat from Russian troops on the Kulikovo field, and in 1381 he was overthrown by the legitimate ruler Tokhtamysh.
Tokhtamysh (1380-1395)	Perhaps the last great khan of the Golden Horde. After the crushing defeat of Mamai, he managed to regain his status in Ancient Rus'. After the campaign against Moscow in 1382, tribute payments resumed, and Tokhtamysh proved his superiority in power.
Kadir Berdi (1419), Haji Muhammad (1420-1427), Ulu Muhammad (1428-1432), Kichi Muhammad (1432-1459)	All these rulers tried to establish their power during the period of the state collapse of the Golden Horde. After the start of the internal political crisis, many rulers changed, and this also affected the deterioration of the country’s situation. As a result, in 1480 Ivan III managed to achieve the independence of Ancient Rus', throwing off the shackles of centuries-old tribute.

As often happens, a great state falls apart due to a dynastic crisis. Several decades after the liberation of Ancient Rus' from the hegemony of the Mongol yoke, the Russian rulers also had to endure their own dynastic crisis, but that is a completely different story.