The Golden Horde: a Mongol Khanate Founded in the 13th Century

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and eventually Turkicized khanate founded in the 13th century and originating as the Mongol Empire's northwestern division. It became a functionally distinct khanate after the Mongol Empire was fragmented after 1259. The Ulus of Jochi is another name for the Kipchak Khanate. After Batu Khan, the Golden Horde's founder, died in 1255. His dynasty lasted until 1359, when Nogai's intrigues sparked a partial civil war in the late 1290s. The Horde's military might reach its pinnacle during Uzbeg Khan's reign (1312–1331), who converted to Islam. At its peak, the Golden Horde's realm stretched from Siberia and Central Asia to portions of Eastern Europe, as of the Urals to the Danube in the westward and from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea in the southern, while adjoining the Caucasus Mountains and the Ilkhanate's lands. In 1359, the khanate underwent horrific internal political unrest before briefly reuniting under Tokhtamysh. However, soon after Timur, the founder of the Timurid Empire, invaded in 1396, the Golden Horde broke up into smaller Tatar khanates, which gradually lost strength. The Horde began to disintegrate towards the beginning of the 15th century. It was only mentioned to as the "Great Horde" by 1466. Numerous mostly Turkic-speaking khanates arose within its borders. The northern vassal state of Muscovy was able to free itself from the "Tatar Yoke" at the boundless stand on the Ugra River in 1480 as a result of these internal battles. The remaining remains of the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate and the Kazakh Khanate lasted until 1783 and 1847.

Golden Horde's name is a partial calque of Russian Zolotaja Orda, which is supposedly a partial calque of Turkic Altan Orda. It is suspected to have been enthused by the golden colour of the Mongol tents in wartime, or an real golden tent used by Batu Khan or Uzbek Khan or bestowed by the Slavic tributaries to describe the Khan's great wealth. The Turkic word orda means "headquarters," in this case the Khan's headquarters, which is the khanate's capital, but it can also refer to the khanate as a whole. The name "Golden Horde" was not used expressly by Russian chroniclers until the 16th century to designate this particular successor khanate of the Mongol Empire. The word was initially attributed to the Ulus of Batu, located on Sarai, in the Russian chronicle History of Kazan in 1565. The khanate was known as the "Ulus of Jochi" or "Khanate of the Qipchaq" in contemporary Persian, Armenian, and Muslim sources and records from the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries the Yuanshi and the Jami' al-tawarikh. In Russian chronicles, the eastern or left-wing or left hand was referred to as the Blue Horde, but it was referred to as the White Horde in Timurid sources. Western academics have chosen to use the terminology of the Timurid sources and refer to the left flank as the White Horde. However, Otemish Hajji, a Khwarezm historian, referred to the left-wing as the Blue Horde. Because he was familiar with the khanate empire's oral traditions, it seems likely that the Russian storytellers were correct and that the khanate itself referred to the left-wing as the Blue Horde. The khanate's right-wing, based in Batu's home town of Sarai and dominated the ulus, was referred to as the White Horde. The terms Golden Horde, Blue Horde, and White Horde, on the other hand, have never been seen in Mongol texts.

The Mongol Empire was divided into appanages by Genghis Khan's four sons, although the Empire remained undivided under the supreme Khan. The eldest, Jochi, died six months before Genghis Khan. Jochi's eldest sons, Batu Khan, who became ruler of the Blue Horde, and Orda Khan, who became the leader of the White Horde, were awarded the westernmost areas inhabited by the Mongols, which comprised what is now southern Russia and Kazakhstan. Batu began an attack westward in 1235 with the renowned general Subutai, conquering the Bashkirs first and marching on to Volga Bulgaria in 1236. In 1237, he conquered some of modern-day Ukraine's southern steppes, causing many Cumans to flee westward. When the Merkits took refuge among the Kypchaks and Cumans under Jochi and Subutai in 1216–1218, the Mongol war against them had already begun. By 1239, the Crimean peninsula had been mostly cleared of Cumans, and it had become one of the Mongol Empire's extensions. The Crimean Cumans' remains persisted in the Crimean mountains, where they eventually mixed with other ethnic groups to become the Crimean Tatar people. While his cousins Mongke, Kadan, and Guyuk proceeded southwards into Alania, Batu began the Mongol invasion of Rus' and spent three years subjugating old Kievan Rus' princes. The Mongols continued west, ravaging Poland and Hungary, culminating in Mongol victory at Legnica and Mohi, using the Cumans' migration as a casus belli. Ogedei Khan, on the other hand, died in the Mongolian homeland in 1241. Batu abandoned his siege of Vienna but chose to remain near the Volga River rather than return to Mongolia. Orda, his brother, returned to help with the succession. The Mongol forces would never go so far west again. Batu founded his capital at Sarai, dominating the lower stretch of the Volga River, on the location of the Khazar city of Atil, in 1242, after retreating through Hungary, destroying Pest in the process and subjugating Bulgaria. Shiban, Batu and Orda's younger brother, had been given his huge ulus east of the Ural Mountains along the Ob and Irtysh Rivers not long before. While the Mongolian language was probably widely spoken at Batu's court, few Mongol manuscripts written in the Golden Horde's domain have survived, possibly due to widespread illiteracy.

Batu Khan

In 1242, when the Great Khatun Toregene called Batu to the kurultai to pick the future Emperor of the Mongol Empire, he declined and instead lingered by the Volga River. Despite Batu's excuses that he was suffering from old age and illness, it appears that he did not support Guyuk Khan's candidacy. During the Mongol takeover of Eastern Europe, GUyuk and Buri, a grandson of Chagatai Khan, had fought fiercely with Batu at a victory banquet. In 1246, he sent his brothers to the kurultai, and the new Mongol Khagan was elected. Mongke was elected Great Khan in 1251 with the help of Batu. Mongke, as the new Great Khan, initiated a purge of his opponents after learning of a conspiracy to depose him. Aristocrats, officials, and Mongol commanders have died in numbers ranging from 77 to 300. Batu rose to prominence in the Mongol Empire due to his friendship with Mongke, who secured the realm's unity. From Afghanistan to Turkey, the Batu, Mongke, and other royal lines shared rule. Mongke's census takers were free to work in Batu's domain. Mongke conducted a census of the Mongol Empire, which included Iran, Afghanistan, Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Central Asia, and North China, between 1252 and 1259. While China's census was completed in 1252, Novgorod, in the extreme northwest, did not have its population recorded until the winter of 1258–59.

Berke

Mongke Khan appointed his son Sartaq Khan when Batu died in 1256. Sartaq died as soon as he returned from the Great Khan's court in Mongolia. Under the regency of Boragchin Khatun, the infant Ulaghchi succeeded him. All of the Rus' princes were summoned to Sarai by the Khatun to renew their patents. Andrey travelled to Sarai in 1256 to seek forgiveness. He was reappointed as Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal once more. Ulaghchi died soon after, and Berke, Batu Khan's younger brother, was crowned as Khan of the Golden Horde in 1258 after converting to Islam. Daniel of Galicia publicly defied the Mongols in 1256, driving them out of northern Podolia. In 1257, he withstood Mongol assaults on Ponyzia and Volhynia headed by Prince Kuremsa and despatched an expedition to take Kiev. Despite initial victories, a Mongol force led by Boroldai invaded Galicia and Volhynia in 1259 and gave Daniel an ultimatum. Daniel agreed and demolished the city walls. Berke conducted a series of brutal attacks on Lithuania and Poland in 1259 and sought the submission of Hungarian King Bela IV and French King Louis IX in 1259 and 1260. The Teutonic Order suffered terrible losses in his assault on Prussia in 1259 or 1260. When allegations reached the Curia in the 1260s that the Lithuanians collaborated with the Mongols, they were most likely tributary. Mongol agents began conducting censuses in the princes of the Rus. The far northwest city of Novgorod was not counted until the winter of 1258–1259. In Novgorod, there was a revolt against the Mongol census, but Alexander Nevsky ordered the city to comply with the census and taxes. Berke approved the construction of a church at Sarai in 1261.

Toluid Civil Conflict

Following the death of Mongke Khan in 1259, the Toluid Civil War erupted between Kublai Khan and Ariq Boke. At the same time, the Ilkhanate's Hulagu Khan backed Kublai, Berke allied with Ariq Boke. Berke manufactured coins in Ariq Boke's name, according to evidence, although he remained militarily neutral. After defeating Ariq Boke in 1264, he willingly accepted Kublai's kingdom. Some White Horde elites, however, joined Ariq Boke's rebellion.

Berke–Hulagu Combat

Mongke sent Hulagu's expedition to Iran with the Jochid and Chagatayid families. Berke's influence may have persuaded his brother Batu to postpone Hulagu's operation, unaware that it would result in the Jochid predominance in the area being eliminated for several years. The Golden Horde sent a substantial Jochid delegation to Hulagu's Middle Eastern expedition in 1256 or 1257 during the reign of Batu or his first two successors. Hulagu was accused of witchcraft and sorcery by one of the Jochid princes who joined Hulagu's army. Hulagu executed Berke after gaining permission from him. Two more Jochid princes died suspiciously after that. Hulagu refused to share his battle spoils with Berke as Genghis Khan had requested according to Muslim traditions. Berke was a devout Muslim who had a strong friendship with Al-Musta'sim, the Abbasid Caliph who Hulagu had assassinated in 1258. Hulagu's state, the Jochids felt, obliterated their existence in the Transcaucasus. Berke's rage grew due to these occurrences, and a war between the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate erupted in 1262. When Kayqubad II, the younger brother of the former Seljuk Sultan Kaykaus II, was jailed in the Byzantine Empire, he appealed to Berke. There was also an Egyptian envoy imprisoned there. In 1264, Nogai invaded the Empire with the help of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. The Mongol-Bulgarian army was within striking distance of Constantinople by the next year. Michael VIII Palaiologos was forced to release Kaykaus and pay homage to the Horde by Nogai. Berke assigned Kaykaus Crimea and forced him to marry a Mongol woman. Hulagu died in February 1265, and Berke died the next year in Tiflis, forcing his army to retire. Chagatai's grandson Alghu had already been named Chagatayid Khan, the ruler of Central Asia, by Ariq Boke. He conquered the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. Alghu defeated the Golden Horde appanages in Khorazm when the Muslim aristocracy and Jochid retainers in Bukhara professed their loyalty to Berke. In 1252, Alghu demanded that Hulagu attack the Golden Horde, accusing Berke of purging his family. He and Hulagu murdered all of the Golden Horde's retainers and slaved their families in Bukhara, sparing only the Great Khan Kublai's troops. Alghu declared war on Berke when he pledged allegiance to Kublai, capturing Otrar and Khorazm. Berke had lost control of Transoxiana, even if the left bank of Khorazm would later be retaken. Berke marched past Tiflis in 1264 to confront Hulagu's successor Abaqa, but he died along the way.

Mengu-Timur

Berke had no sons. Therefore Kublai selected Batu's grandson Mengu-Timur to succeed his uncle Berke. Mengu-Timur, on the other hand, secretly backed the Ogedeid prince Kaidu against Kublai and the Ilkhanate. Following Ghiyas-ud-din Baraq's defeat, a peace contract was signed in 1267, handing Kaidu and Mengu-Timur one-third of Transoxiana. When a group of princes working for Kublai in Central Asia mutinied and arrested two Qaghan sons in 1268, they were transferred to Mengu-Timur. One of them, Kublai's favourite, Nomoghan, was based in Crimea. For a brief period, Mengu-Timur fought Hulagu's successor Abagha, but the Great Khan Kublai forced them to sign a peace deal. In Persia, he was allowed to take his share. In 1271, Nogai, acting independently of the Khan, stated his wish to ally with the Baibars. Mengu-Timur applauded Abagha when Baraq was defeated by the Ilkhanate in 1270, although he was planning a joint raid on the Ilkhanate by the Mamluks of Egypt. In 1267, Mengu-Timur issued a jarliq document exempting the clergy of the Russian Empire from all taxes and granting the Genoese and Venetians sole trading rights in Caffa and Azov. At the same time, several of Mengu-relatives Timur's converted to Christianity and resided among the Rus. One of them was a prince named Tsarevich Peter of the Horde, who settled in Rostov. Although Nogai invaded the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire in 1271, the Khan dispatched envoys to establish an amicable relationship with Michael VIII Palaiologos. They sought peace and married one of his daughters, Euphrosyne Palaiologina, to Nogai. Mengu-Timur commanded the Grand Prince of Rus to allow German merchants unrestricted passage through his domains. Novgorod merchants were likewise free to travel across the Suzdal domains as a result of this proclamation. When the Danes and Livonian Knights attacked the Novgorod Republic in 1269, Mengu Timur kept his word, and the Khan's great basqaq, Amraghan, and many Mongols aided the Rus' army formed by Grand Duke Yaroslav. The Germans and Danes were so terrified that they gave gifts to the Mongols and left the Narva region. The Mongol Khan's authority extended to Rus' realms, and a census was held in all Rus' cities, including Smolensk and Vitebsk, in 1274–1275. Mengu-Timur conducted an offensive against the Alans north of the Caucasus in 1277. In 1278, the Rus joined the Mongol army, which captured the Alans' fortified fortress of Dadakov.

Dual Khanship

In 1281, Mengu-Timur was succeeded by his Muslim brother Töde Mongke. Nogai Khan, on the other hand, had become powerful enough to rule on his own. As a result, the Golden Horde was ruled by two khans. Töde Mongke made peace with Kublai, returning his kids to him and acknowledging his power. The Yuan dynasty and the Ilkhanate made peace with Nogai and Köchü, Khan of the White Horde and son of Orda Khan. According to Mamluk historians, Töde Mongke wrote the Mamluks a letter urging that they fight the unbelieving Ilkhanate, their mutual enemy. This suggests he was interested in Azerbaijan and Georgia, both of which were ruled by the Ilkhans. Nogai attacked Bulgaria and Lithuania ruthlessly in the 1270s. In 1279, he barricaded Michael Asen II inside Drăstăr, murdered the rebellious ruler Ivailo in 1280, and pushed George Terter I to escape to the Byzantine Empire in 1292. During the Mongol invasion of Bulgaria in 1284, Saqchi fell under Mongol dominion, and coins bearing the Khan's name were produced. Smilets was crowned Emperor of Bulgaria by Nogai. As a result, Smilets' reign has been regarded as the pinnacle of Mongol rule in Bulgaria. When a local boyar ousted him in 1295, the Mongols launched a new invasion to safeguard their pupil. In 1287, Nogai forced Serbian King Stefan Milutin to accept Mongol sovereignty by kidnapping his son, Stefan Dečanski. Vlachs, Slavs, Alans, and Turco-Mongols existed in modern-day Moldavia during his authority. At the same time, Nogai's power grew significantly in the Golden Horde. Some Rus' leaders, such as Dmitry of Pereslavl, who he backed, declined to visit the Töde Mongke's court in Sarai, while Dmitry's brother Andrey of Gorodets sought help from Töde Mongke. Dmitry's struggle for the great ducal throne drew Nogai's pledge of support. Andrey reclaimed his dues to Vladimir and Novgorod after learning of this and returned to Gorodets. He returned with Töde Mongke's Mongol forces and captured Vladimir from Dmitry. Dmitry reacted by retaking his territories with the help of Mongol warriors from Nogai. In 1285, Andrey led a Mongol army to Vladimir under the command of a Borjigin ruler, but Dmitry repelled them. Mengu-Timur converted to Islam and left state activities in 1283. According to legend, the Khan was said to be mentally sick and only cared about priests and sheikhs. Talabuga and Nogai invaded Hungary in 1285. While Nogai conquered Slovakia, Talabuga became stranded north of the Carpathian Mountains. Talabuga's warriors became enraged and instead sacked Galicia and Volynia. Talabuga and Nogai stormed Poland in 1286 and destroyed it. Talabuga defeated Töde Mongke after his return. Invasion efforts by Talabuga's army against the Ilkhanate were failed in 1288 and 1290.

Talabuga grew bitter of Nogai on a punitive expedition against the Circassians, believing that Nogai had failed to offer him appropriate support during Hungary and Poland's invasions. Talabuga challenged Nogai but was overthrown in a coup in 1291 and replaced by Toqta. Toqta received complaints from certain Rus princes concerning Dmitry. Mikhail Yaroslavich was summoned to Sarai to appear before Nogai, but Daniel of Moscow refused. To punish such recalcitrant peasants, Toqta ordered a punitive expedition to Rus' and Belarus in 1293, led by his brother Dyuden. Dmitry was forced to surrender when the latter sacked fourteen important cities. This autonomous move irritated Nogai, who sent his wife to Toqta in 1293 to remind him who was in control. Nogai sent an army to Serbia in the same year, forcing the monarch to recognize himself as a vassal. Kelmish, a son of Kublai's niece, married Nogai's daughter, a Qongirat general of the Golden Horde. Kelmish's family enraged Nogai because her Buddhist son loathed his Muslim daughter. As a result, he demanded that Toqta deliver Kelmish's husband to him. Toqta was already irritated by Nogai's independent conduct about Rus' lords and foreign merchants. Toqta declined and waged war on Nogai as a result. In their first encounter, Toqta was defeated. Caffa and Soldaia were the targets of Nogai's troops, who looted both cities.

Toqta returned two years later, killing Nogai at the Kagamlik, near the Dnieper, in 1299. Toqta's son had troops stationed in Saqchi and along the Danube to the Iron Gate. Chaka of Bulgaria, Nogai's son, first fled to the Alans, then to Bulgaria, where he temporarily ruled as Emperor before being assassinated by Theodore Svetoslav on Toqta's instructions. The Golden Horde withdrew its support from Kaidu, the head of the House of Ögedei after Mengu-Timur died. Kaidu attempted to regain control of the Golden Horde by endorsing Kobeleg, his candidate, against Bayan, Khan of the White Horde. Bayan requested assistance from the Yuan dynasty and the Ilkhanate to prepare a coordinated attack on the Chagatai Khanate led by Kaidu and his number two Duwa after receiving military backing from Toqta. The Yuan court, on the other hand, was unable to provide immediate military assistance.

General Peace

Between 1300 and 1303, there was a severe drought in the Black Sea region. However, the difficulties were quickly resolved, and conditions in the Golden Horde quickly improved under Toqta's leadership. Following Nogai Khan's fall, his troops either fled to Podolia or remained in Toqta's service, eventually forming the Nogai Horde. Maria, an unlawful daughter of Andronikos II Palaiologos, helped Toqta form the Byzantine-Mongol alliance. Toqta was said to be quite Christian-friendly, according to a story that reached Western Europe. Toqta, on the other hand, remained an idol-worshiper (Buddhism and Tengerism), according to Muslim observers, and showed favour to religious leaders of all religions, albeit he preferred Muslims. He asked that Ilkhan Ghazan and his successor, Oljeitu, return to Azerbaijan, but he was turned down. Then he went to Egypt for help against the Ilkhanate. Toqta appointed his man as ruler of Ghazna, but the people expelled him. In 1294, Toqta sent a peace mission to the Ilkhan Gaykhatu, and the truce was generally maintained until 1318. Ambassadors from the Mongol kings of Central Asia and the Yuan presented Toqta with a comprehensive peace proposal in 1304. All yams and commercial networks across the Mongol khanates reopened once Toqta accepted the rule of Yuan emperor Temür Öljeytü. At the conference in Pereyaslavl, Toqta announced the general peace among the Mongol khanates to the Rus' rulers. Some of Toqta's coins had 'Phags-pa writing in addition to Mongolian script and Persian characters, indicating that Yuan influence had grown in the Golden Horde. In 1307, Toqta detained the Italian citizens of Sarai and besieged Caffa. Toqta's anger with the Genoese slave trade of his subjects, who were usually sold as soldiers to Egypt, was reportedly the cause. The Mongols pillaged Caffa in 1308. Tensions between the princes of Tver and Moscow got severe during Toqta's late reign. Daniel of Moscow captured Kolomna from the Principality of Ryazan, which sought protection from Toqta. In 1301 however, Daniel was able to defeat both Ryazan and Mongol forces. Yury of Moscow, his successor, also captured Pereslavl-Zalessky. Toqta suggested abolishing the Grand Principality of Vladimir's special status and putting all Rus' princes on an equal footing. Toqta resolved to personally visit northern Rus' to resolve the princes' disagreement, but he became ill and died whereas crossing the Volga in 1313.

Öz Beg Khan

In 1313, when Öz Beg Khan ascended to the throne, he declared Islam to be the national religion. In 1314, he erected a huge mosque in the Crimean city of Solkhat and outlawed Buddhism and Shamanism among the Mongols of the Golden Horde. By 1315, Öz Beg had Islamicized the Horde and assassinated Jochid princes and Buddhist lamas who opposed his religious policies. During the rule of Öz Beg, commerce caravans were unmolested, and the Golden Horde was in the general order. Sarai was a great and magnificent city with vast avenues and fine markets where Mongols, Alans, Kypchaks, Circassians, Rus', and Greeks all had their neighbourhoods when Ibn Battuta arrived in 1333. Merchants had exclusive access to a walled section of the city. Berke and his predecessors had established an alliance with the Mamluks, which Öz Beg perpetuated. In Cairo, he maintained cordial connections with the Mamluk Sultan and his shadow Caliph. Tulunbay, a Jochid princess, married Al-Nasir Muhammad, Sultan of Egypt, in 1320. Tulunbay, according to Al-Nasir Muhammad, was an imposter, not a genuine Chingissid princess. He divorced her in 1327 or 1328, and she married one of al-Nasir Muhammad's commanders. In 1334 or 1335, when Öz Beg learnt of the divorce, he issued an angry message. Al-Nasir Muhammad claimed she had died and presented his ambassadors with a forged legal document as proof, although Tulunbay was still alive and would not die until 1340. In 1318, 1324, and 1335, the Golden Horde led by Abu Sa'id invaded the Ilkhanate. Because the Ilkhan and the Mamluk Sultan contracted a peace contract in 1323, Öz Beg's ally Al-Nasir hesitated to fight Abu Sa'id. After re-establishing diplomatic relations with the Yuan dynasty in 1326, Öz Beg began sending tributes. He earned 24,000 dings in Yuan paper cash every year from the Jochid appanages in China starting in 1339. In their haste to choose a leader after Abu Sa'id's death, the Ilkhanate's senior-beys contacted Öz Beg, but the latter declined after speaking with his senior emir, Qutluq Timür. Beginning in 1319, Öz Beg attacked Thrace with about 300,000 men in support of Bulgaria's fight against Byzantium and Serbia. Between 1320 to 1341, the Golden Horde ravaged the Byzantine Empire under Andronikos II Palaiologos and Andronikos III Palaiologos until the Byzantine port of Vicina Macaria was seized. After Öz Beg married Andronikos III Palaiologos' illegitimate daughter, Bayalun's friendly relations with the Byzantine Empire were established briefly. She was granted permission to visit her father in Constantinople in 1333, but she never returned, ostensibly due to her dread of being compelled to convert to Islam. In 1324 and 1337, Öz Beg's forces pillaged Thrace for 40 days and 15 days, capturing 300,000 people. In 1330, Öz Beg dispatched 15,000 troops to Serbia, but they were defeated. Basarab I of Wallachia declared independence from the Hungarian throne in 1330, with the support of Öz Beg. The Grand duke Mikhail Yaroslavich defeated the party at Novgorod in 1316 with the help of Öz Beg. While Mikhail was asserting his authority, Yury of Moscow ingratiated himself with Öz Beg, appointing him chief of the Rus' princes and marrying him to his sister, Konchak. Yury returned with a military of Mongols and Mordvins after three years at Öz Beg's court. Mikhail defeated Yury in December 1318 after ravaging the towns of Tver, and his new bride and the Mongol general Kawgady were captured. Konchak, who converted to Christianity and took Agatha's name, died while she was still in Tver. Mikhail's opponents told Öz Beg that he poisoned the Khan's sister and revolted against him. On November 22, 1318, Mikhail was summoned to Sarai and executed. Yuri was promoted to Grand Duke once more. In 1320, Yuri's brother Ivan aided Mongol general Akhmyl in suppressing a mutiny in Rostov. Dmitry, Mikhail's son, travelled to Sarai in 1322, seeking vengeance for his father's murder, and convinced the Khan that Yury had appropriated a considerable percentage of the Horde's lawful tribute. Yury was brought to the Horde for a trial, but Dmitry assassinated him before the investigation could be completed. Dmitry was likewise executed by the Horde eight months later for his crime. Aleksandr Mikhailovich was given the title of Grand Duke. In 1327, the baskak Shevkal, Öz Beg's cousin, arrived in Tver with a considerable entourage from the Horde. They set their shop in Aleksander's palace. Shevkal was rumoured to be plotting to seize the crown and convert the city to Islam. When the Mongols tried to abduct a horse from a priest named Dyudko on August 15, 1327, he shouted out for help, and a mob slaughtered the Mongols. Shevkal and the rest of his guards were set ablaze. Following the tragedy in Tver, Öz Beg began to support Moscow as the primary Rus' state. Ivan I Kalita was made grand prince and given the authority to collect taxes from other Rus' potentates. Öz Beg also dispatched Ivan as the commander of a 50,000-strong army to punish Tver. However, Aleksander was granted a pardon in 1335 when Moscow requested that he and his son Feoder be quartered at Sarai on the Khan's instructions on October 29, 1339. Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania took control of Kiev in 1323 and appointed his brother Fedor as the prince, but the principality continued to pay homage to the Khan. The Lithuanians under Fedor incorporated the Khan's baskak in their escort during a few years. In 1314, Öz Beg reissued a decree, most likely given by Mengu-Timur, permitting the Franciscans to proselytize. After his ascension, Öz Beg allowed the Christian Genoese to settle in Crimea, but when the Genoese clashed with the Turks in 1322, the Mongols sacked their garrison, Sudak. In the other towns, Genoese merchants were not harassed. Pope John XXII asked Öz Beg to rebuild the Roman Catholic churches devastated in the area. In 1339, Öz Beg signed a new trade pact with the Genoese, allowing them to restore Caffa's walls. He gave the Venetians permission to construct a settlement at Tanais on the Don in 1332. When Ibn Battuta visited Sudak in 1333, he discovered a largely Turkish populace.

Jani Beg

Tini Beg, Öz Beg's eldest son, reigned briefly from 1341-42 before his younger brother Jani Beg ascended to the throne. Jani Beg attempted but failed to take Caffa from the Genoese in 1344. Instead, he forged a trading deal with Venice in 1347. Due to stronger links with the Mamluk Sultanate, the slave trade flourished. Sarai experienced population growth as a result of increased affluence and increased demand for products. As the population of the region grew, the capital became the epicentre of a huge Muslim Sultanate. The Black Death in 1340s was a key contributor to the Golden Horde's economic decline. In 1345, it struck Crimea, killing about 85,000 people.

Jani Beg backed Moscow against Lithuania and Poland, abandoning his father's Balkan ambitions. Military missions against Lithuania and Poland were funded by Jani Beg, a joint Mongol-Rus military commander. Because Volhynia was part of Lithuania, his army marched against Poland in 1344 with auxiliaries from Galicia–Volhynia. However, in 1349, a Polish-Hungarian force occupied Galicia–Volhynia, and the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia was finally conquered and integrated into Poland. The connection of vassalage between the Galicia–Volhynia Rus' and the Golden Horde ended with this act. A Mongol-Russian army attacked Polish land and the city of Lublin in 1352. In 1357, Casimir III the Great, the King of Poland, bowed to the Horde and paid tribute to prevent further conflict. Jani Beg dispatched the seven Mongol lords to support Poland. Jani Beg established Jochid control over the Chagatai Khanate and seized Tabriz in 1356, putting an end to Chobanid authority in the city. Jani Beg boasted that he controlled three uluses of the Mongol Empire after accepting the surrender of the Jalayirids. But, on his way back from Tabriz, Jani Beg was assassinated by his son, Berdi Beg. The Golden Horde rapidly lost Azerbaijan to the Jalayir king Shaikh Uvais after Jani Beg's assassination in 1357.

Great Difficulties

In 1359, Berdi Beg was assassinated by his brother Qulpa in a coup. Qulpa's two boys were Christians with the Russian names Michael and Ivan, which infuriated the Golden Horde's Muslim population. Nawruz Beg, Qulpa's brother, rose against the Khan in 1360 and killed him and his sons. Some grandees invited a descendant of Shiban, the 5th son of Jochi, to usurp the throne in 1361. Khidr revolted against Nawruz, who was betrayed by his subordinate and given over to be executed. In the same year, Khidr was assassinated by his son, Timur Khwaja. Timur Khwaja ruled for only five weeks until being deposed by the heirs of Öz Beg Khan. Bulat Temir, Keldi Beg in Sarai in Volga Bulgaria, and Abdullah in Crimea separated the Golden Horde in 1362.

Meanwhile, after the Battle of Blue Waters in 1363, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania attacked the Golden Horde's western tributaries and seized Kiev and Podolia. Mamai, a formidable Mongol general, helped Abdullah but failed to capture Sarai, which was ruled by two additional khans, Murad and Aziz. Abdullah died in 1370, and Mamai installed Muhammad Bolaq as puppet khan. Mamai had to deal with a revolt in Nizhny Novgorod as well. Muscovite troops encroached on the Bulgar land of Arab-Shah, Bulat Temir's son, who surprised them and beaten them on the banks of the Pyana River. However, due to the arrival of another Mongol general from the east, Arab-Shah could not take advantage of the situation. Mamai despatched an army against Dmitri Donskoy, who beat the Mongol forces at the Battle of the Vozha River in 1378, encouraged by the news of Muscovite defeat. In 1380, Mamai hired Genoese, Circassian, and Alan mercenaries to assault Moscow once more. The Battle of Kulikovo followed, and Mongol armies were defeated once more. Urus Khan had established a court in Sighnaq by 1360. Urus, which Turkish means Russian, was given to him, possibly because Urus-mother Khan's was a Russian princess. On that basis, he was willing to press his claims against Russia. Urus marched west in 1372 and took Sarai. Tokhtamysh, his nephew and lieutenant, left him and fled to Timur for help. Tokhtamysh launched an attack on Urus, killing his son Kutlug-Buka, but he was defeated and escaped to Samarkand. Edigu, another general, fled Urus and moved over to Timur shortly after. In 1376, Timur personally assaulted Urus, but the campaign ended in a draw. Urus died the following year, and his son, Timur-Melik, replaced him. Timur-Melik quickly lost Sighnaq to Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamysh took Sarai in 1378. By the 1380s, the Shaybanids and Qashan were attempting to overthrow the Khan.

Tokhtamysh

In 1381, Tokhtamysh attacked Mamai, who had recently lost to Muscovy, and destroyed him, briefly restoring the Golden Horde as a major regional force. Mamai fled to the Genoese, who promptly executed him. Tokhtamysh dispatched an emissary to the Rus' nations to restore their tributary status, but the envoy only got as far as Nizhny Novgorod before being halted. Tokhtamysh seized all the boats on the Volga to ferry his army over and launched the Siege of Moscow in1382, which fell three days later under a false ceasefire. The following year, most Rus' princes paid tribute to the Khan once more and received patents from him. In the following year, Tokhtamysh annihilated the Lithuanian army in Poltava. Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Władysław II Jagiełło II Jagieo accepted his authority and promised to pay tribute in exchange for a grant of Rus' territory. Tokhtamysh attacked Azerbaijan in 1386, elated by his victory, and took Tabriz. He had money minted in Khwarezm with his name on it, and he despatched envoys to Egypt to negotiate an alliance. Timur dispatched an army into Azerbaijan in 1387 and fought the Golden Horde's armies indecisively. Tokhtamysh attacked Transoxania and made it as far as Bukhara, but they could not conquer the city and were forced to retreat. Invading Khwarezm and destroying Urgench was Timur's retaliation. With a vast army of Russians, Bulgars, Circassians, and Alans, Tokhtamysh assaulted Timur on the Syr Darya in 1389. The conflict ended in a stalemate. Timur amassed a 200,000-strong army and destroyed Tokhtamysh at the Battle of the Kondurcha River in 1391. Timur's allies Temür Qutlugh and Edigu conquered the Golden Horde's eastern half. Tokhtamysh reappeared in 1394, wreaking havoc on the Shirvan region. At the Combat of the Terek River in 1395, Timur defeated Tokhtamysh's army, burned his capital, looted Crimean trade hubs, and exiled the most skilled craftsmen to his capital Samarkand. Timur's army advanced as far north as Ryazan before retreating.

Edigu

Timur designated Temür Qutlugh as Khan of Sarai, with Edigu as his co-ruler and Koirijak as the White Horde's sovereign. In exchange for suzerainty over the Rus' domains, Tokhtamysh fled to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and begged Vytautas for help in retaking the Golden Horde. At the Combat of the Vorskla River in 1399, Vytautas and Tokhtamysh fought Temür Qutlugh and Edigu. The Golden Horde triumph secured Kiev, Podolia, and some lower Bug River valley areas. Around 1405, Tokhtamysh died in obscurity in Tyumen. Jalal al-Din, his son, went to Lithuania and fought against the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald. Temür Qutlugh died in 1400, and Edigu approved the election of his cousin Shadi Beg as Khan. Edigu focused on strengthening the Golden Horde after defeating Vytautas. He prohibited the sale of Golden Horde subjects as slaves in other countries. Slavery was reinstated later, although only Circassians were permitted to be sold. As a result, Circassian recruits made up the majority of Mamluks in the 15th century. Edigu took advantage of Timur's death in 1405 by seizing Khwarezm a year later. Edigu gradually reclaimed the eastern Rus' tributaries from 1400 to 1408, except for Moscow, which he failed to capture in a siege but destroyed the surrounding territory. Smolensk fell to Lithuania as well. Shadi Beg attempted to overthrow Edigu but was beaten and forced to flee to Astrakhan. Pulad succeeded Shadi Beg, who died in 1410 and was succeeded by Temur Khan, Temür Qutlugh's son. In 1411, Temur Khan turned on Edigu and forced him to escape to Khwarezm. Jalal al-Din, who had returned from Lithuania and briefly taken the throne, deposed Temur the following year. Khwarezm was seized by Timurid Shah Rukh in 1414. Edigu retreated to Crimea, where he conducted raids on Kiev and attempted to ally Lithuania to reclaim the Horde. In 1419, Edigu was killed in a battle with one of Tokhtamysh's sons.

Khanate of Sibir

The Khanate of Sibir was controlled by a dynasty in 1405 in Chimgi-Tura with Taibuga. The Uzbek Khan Abu'l-Khayr Khan controlled the khanate after his death in 1428. When he died in 1468, the khanate divided in two, with the Shaybanid Ibak Khan in Chimgi-Tura and the Taibugid Muhammad in Sibir, where the khanate gets its name.

Uzbek Khanate

The Golden Horde effectively ceased to exist in 1419. Ulugh Muhammad was the Golden Horde's official Khan, but his authority was limited to the Volga's lower banks, where Tokhtamysh's other son Kepek also governed. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to whom Ulugh Muhammad looked for protection, replaced the Golden Horde's influence in Eastern Europe. However, the Golden Horde's political condition did not improve. Barak Khan, Urus Khan's grandson, attacked the ruling khans in the west in 1422. Ulugh, Kepek, and another pretender, Dawlat Berdi, were beaten within two years. Ulugh Muhammad escaped to Lithuania, Kepek attempted but failed to establish himself in Odoyev and Ryazan, and Dawlat took advantage of the circumstances to conquer Crimea. In 1427, Barak repulsed Ulugh Beg's invasion but was killed the next year. The Uzbek Khanate was formed by his successor, Abu'l-Khayr Khan.

Nogai Horde

Musa bin Waqqas, an Edigu descendent, was ruled by Saray-Jük as an independent khan of the Nogai Horde by the 1440s.

Khanate of Kazan

Dawlat Berdi was driven out of Crimea by Ulugh Muhammad. At the same time, Khan Hac I Giray went to Lithuania to seek assistance from Vytautas. Ulugh Muhammad aided Vytautas in his campaign against Pskov in 1426. Despite the Golden Horde's low position, Yury of Zvenigorod and Vasily Kosoy went to Ulugh Muhammad's court in 1432 to apply for a grand-ducal patent. Ulugh Muhammad was deposed by Sayid Ahmad I, a son of Tokhtamysh, a year later. Ulugh Muhammad retreated to the upper Oka River village of Belev, where he clashed with the Grand Duchy of Muscovy. Moscow's Vasily II tried to expel him but was defeated at the Battle of Belyov. Ulugh Muhammad ascended to the throne of Belev. Ulugh Muhammad remained a powerful figure in Muscovy, capturing Gorodets in 1444. Ulugh Muhammad invaded Vasily II at Murom in 1445, and he asked him to award him a patent for the throne. At the Battle of Suzdal on July 7, Vasily II was defeated and taken prisoner by Ulugh Muhammad. Ulugh Muhammad's condition was precarious despite his triumph. The Golden Horde had vanished, and with only 10,000 warriors, Alexander could not extend his advantage against Moscow. Vasily II was later released for a ransom of 25,000 rubles. Ulugh Muhammad was unfortunately assassinated by his son, Mäxmüd of Kazan, who fled to the middle Volga region and established the Khanate of Kazan in 1445. Mäxmüd deployed an army against Muscovy in 1447, but they were defeated.

Crimean Khanate

Hac I Giray captured Crimea from Ahmad I in 1449 and established the Crimean Khanate. The Crimean Khanate regarded itself as the legal heir to the Golden Horde and Desht-i Kipchak and referred to themselves as khans of the Great Horde, the Great State, and the Crimean Throne.

Qasim Khanate

Qasim Khan, one of Ulugh Muhammad's sons, fled to Moscow, where Vasily II granted him the Qasim Khanate.

Kazakh Khanate

In 1458, Janibek Khan and Kerei Khan-led 200,000 of Abu'l-Khayr Khan's troops east to the Chu River. Esen Buqa II of Moghulistan approved them pasture lands. They took control of most Abu'l-Khayr Khan's supporters after he died in 1467, and the Kazakh Khanate was born.

Great Horde

Sayid Ahmad was deposed by the Khan Küchük Muhammad in 1435. He launched an attack on Ryazan and was routed by Vasily II's soldiers. Sayid Ahmad kept raiding Muscovy, and in 1449 he launched a direct attack on Moscow. He was beaten, though, by Muscovy's ally Qasim Khan. Küchük Muhammad attacked Ryazan in 1450 but was defeated by a joint Russo-Tatar army. Sayid Ahmad attempted and failed to retake Moscow in 1451. In 1459, Küchük Muhammad was replaced by his son Mahmud bin Küchük, and the Golden Horde became known as the Great Horde. In 1465, Mahmud's brother Ahmed Khan bin Küchük replaced him. Ahmed assassinated and killed the Uzbek Abu'l-Khayr Khan in 1469. Ahmed planned an attack on Moldavia, the Kingdom of Poland, and Lithuania in the summer of 1470. At the Battle of Lipnic on August 20, Moldavian forces led by Stephen the Great beat the Tatars. Ahmed claimed that Ivan III of Russia recognize the Khan as his master in 1474 and 1476. In 1480, Ahmed prepared a military operation against Moscow, culminating in the Great Stand on the Ugra River, a battle between two opposing armies. Ahmed deemed the situation undesirable and withdrew. The "Tatar Yoke" over Rus' territories came to an end with this incident. At the entrance of the Donets River, Ahmed was murdered by Ibak Khan, the prince of the Khanate of Sibir, and Nogays on January 6, 1481. Ahmed's sons could not maintain the Great Horde. In 1487–1491, they assaulted the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, reaching as far as Lublin in eastern Poland before succumbing at Zaslavl. The Crimean Khanate, which had become a client state of the Ottoman Empire in 1475, sacked Sarai in 1502 and subdued the Great Horde. Sheikh Ahmed, the last Khan of the Horde, died in prison in Kaunas sometime after 1504 after taking sanctuary in Lithuania. He was liberated from the Lithuanian prison around 1527, according to various sources.

Astrakhan Khanate

After 1466, Mahmud bin Küchük's successors ruled as khans of the Astrakhan Khanate in Astrakhan.

Russian Conquests

The Khanate of Kazan was taken in 1552, the Khanate of Astrakhan in 1556, and the Khanate of Sibir in 1582 by the Russian Tsardom. Throughout the 16th and initial 17th centuries, the Crimean Tatars wreaked havoc in southern Russia, Ukraine, and even Poland, but they could not overcome Russia or conquer Moscow. The Khanate of Crimea survived under Ottoman protection until it was captured by Catherine the Great on April 8, 1783. It was by far the most long-lived of the Golden Horde's successor nations.

The Rus' publics, Armenians, Georgians, Circassians, Alans, Crimean Greeks, Crimean Goths, Bulgarians, and Vlachs were all subjects of the Golden Horde. However, the Golden Horde's goal in conquered areas was to enlist soldiers and collect taxes from its inhabitants. Thus, the Golden Horde did not exercise direct authority over the people they conquered in most situations.

Eastern Europe

While the Mongols generally did not rule the Eastern European areas they acquired directly, they did so in the Principalities of Pereyaslavl, Kiev, and Podolia, where they completely supplanted the native administration with their direct power. The rulers of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, the Principality of Smolensk, the Principality of Chernigov, and the Principality of Novgorod-Seversk were kept. However, they had to deal with Mongol agents who enforced recruitment and tax collection. After 1260, the Novgorod Republic was exempt from Mongol agents' presence, but it still had to pay taxes. The Mongols censored Rus' territory in 1245, 1258, 1259, 1260, 1274, and 1275,. There were no more censuses after that. Some locations, such as Tula, became the private property of individual Mongols, such as Khatun Taidula, Jani Beg's mother. The Khan had to grant the Rus' prince a patent for his throne, after which the Khan dispatched an ambassador to establish the prince on his throne. From the time of Öz Beg Khan, the Khan appointed a commissioner to live in each of the Rus' princes' capitals. Mongol rule weakened in the late 13th century, allowing some Rus' lords to act as Khan's agents and collect taxes. By the 14th century, all of the grand dukes were collecting taxes on their own, and the common people were no longer dealing with Mongol overlords while their rulers were reporting to Sarai. Galicia was conquered by the Kingdom of Poland in 1349, ending Mongol rule. After Berdi Beg died in 1359, the Golden Horde fell into disarray, resulting in a two-decade-long political crisis. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Golden Horde in the Battle of Blue Waters in 1363, conquering Kiev and Podolia. The payment of tribute and taxes by Rus' subjects to the dwindling Golden Horde reduced dramatically after 1360. Nizhny Novgorod revolted in 1374 and massacred an envoy sent by Mamai. The Grand Duchy of Moscow was permitted of Mongol control for a brief period after Dmitry Donskoy's victory over Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, until Tokhtamysh re-established Mongol suzerainty over Moscow two years later with the Invasion of Moscow in 1382. In the following year, Tokhtamysh annihilated the Lithuanian army in Poltava. The Outstanding Duke of Lithuania and the Sovereign of Poland Władysław II Jagiełło accepted his authority and promised to pay tribute in exchange for a grant of Rus' territory. At the Combat of the Terek River in 1395, Timur defeated Tokhtamysh's army, burned his capital, looted Crimean trade hubs, and exiled the most skilled craftsmen to his capital Samarkand. Timur's army advanced as far north as Ryazan before retreating. In exchange for suzerainty over the Rus' domains, Tokhtamysh fled to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and begged Vytautas for help in retaking the Golden Horde. At the Combat of the Vorskla River in 1399, Vytautas and Tokhtamysh fought Temür Qutlugh and Edigu. The victory of the Golden Horde won Kiev, Podolia, and some areas in the lower Bug River valley for the Horde. Around 1405, Tokhtamysh died in obscurity in Tyumen. Jalal al-Din, his son, went to Lithuania and fought against the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald. Except for Moscow, which he failed to conquer in a siege but destroyed the surrounding countryside, Edigu gradually reclaimed control of the eastern Rus' tributaries from 1400 to 1408, Lithuania took control of Smolensk. The Golden Horde quickly crumbled after Edigu's death in 1419, but it kept some power throughout Eastern Europe. Although Ulugh Muhammad contributed troops to Vytautas' campaign against Pskov in 1426, Yury of Zvenigorod and Vasily Kosoy nevertheless went to Ulugh Muhammad's court in 1432 grand-ducal patent, despite the Horde's diminished size. Ulugh Muhammad was deposed a year later and escaped to Belev on the upper Oka River, where he clashed with Vasily II of Moscow, whom he defeated twice in battle. Vasily II was kidnapped by Ulugh Muhammad in 1445 and ransomed for 25,000 rubles. In the same year, Ulugh Muhammad was assassinated by his son, Mäxmüd of Kazan, who escaped to the middle Volga region and formed the Khanate of Kazan. Mäxmüd deployed an army against Muscovy in 1447, but they were defeated. Qasim Khan, another of Ulugh Muhammad's sons, went to Moscow, where Vasily II granted him the Qasim Khanate. Küchük Muhammad and Sayid Ahmad, both khans, attempted to reclaim control of Moscow. Küchük Muhammad assaulted Ryazan and was soundly defeated by Vasily II's army. Sayid Ahmad kept raiding Muscovy, and in 1449 he launched a direct attack on Moscow. He was beaten, though, by Muscovy's ally Qasim Khan. Küchük Muhammad attacked Ryazan in 1450 but was defeated by a joint Russo-Tatar army. Sayid Ahmad attempted and failed to retake Moscow in 1451. The Great Horde's ruler, Ahmed Khan bin Küchük, planned an invasion on Moldavia, the Kingdom of Poland, and Lithuania in the summer of 1470. At the Battle of Lipnic on August 20, Moldavian forces led by Stephen the Great beat the Tatars. Ahmed claimed that Ivan III of Russia recognize the Khan as his master in 1474 and 1476. In 1480, Ahmed prepared a military operation against Moscow, culminating in the Great Stand on the Ugra River, a battle between two opposing armies. Ahmed deemed the situation undesirable and withdrew. The "Tatar Yoke" over Rus' territories came to an end with this incident.

Sarai did brisk business with the Genoese trade emporiums of Soldaia, Caffa, and Azak on the Black Sea coast. In the Mediterranean, Mamluk Egypt had been the Khans' long-time trading partner and ally. In 1261, Berke, the Khan of Kipchak, allied with the Mamluk Sultan Baibars to fight the Ilkhanate.

A Modification in Trade Routes

The natural trade route was down the Volga to Serai, where it crossed the east-west route north of the Caspian, and then down the west side of the Caspian to Tabriz, Persian Azerbaijan, where it crossed the wider east-west route south of the Caspian. Berke broke with the Il-Khan Hulagu Khan around 1262. This resulted in multiple wars on the west bank of the Caspian, most of which the Horde lost. The Horde built trading cities along the northern route due to the disruption of trade and conflict with Persia. They also allied with Egypt's Mamluks, who were the Il-foes. Khan's The Genoese based in Crimea conducted out trade between the Horde and Egypt. Slaves for the Mamluk army were an essential element of this commerce. A dispute with the Genoese in 1307 and a Mumluk-Persian peace in 1323 harmed trade. The Ilkhanate began to crumble in 1336, causing trade to shift north. Pegolotti recorded the voyage north of the Caspian in 1340. The black disease swept across Europe after a Horde siege of the Genoese Crimean port of Kaffa in 1347. Tamerlane razed the Horde's commerce towns in 1395-96. Many towns vanished as a result of the lack of an agricultural hinterland, and trade went south.

The Sanchi'ud, Keniges, Uushin, and Je'ured clans were allotted to Jochi by Genghis Khan. Sanchi'ud, Hongirat, Ongud, Keniges, Jajirad, Besud, Oirat, and Je'ured noyans held significant posts at the court or elsewhere 14th century. In the left-wing of the Ulus of Jochi, there were four Jalayir mingghans. The Golden Horde's population was mostly made up of Turks and Mongols who eventually converted to Islam and lesser groups of Finno-Ugrians, Sarmato-Scythians, Slavs, and Caucasians. Cumans, Volga Bulgars, Turkic Kipchaks, Khwarezmians, and others made up most of the Horde's population. The Horde became Turkified and lost its Mongol character over time, but the upper class was descendants of Batu's original Mongol troops. The Tatars were the term given to them by Russians and Europeans. Russians kept this common name for this group until the twentieth century. While most of this group identified themselves by their ethnic or tribal names, the majority also identified as Muslims. After the Horde disintegrated, most of the population, both agricultural and nomadic, adopted the Kypchak language, which evolved into regional languages of Kypchak tribes. From Sarai Batu and subsequently Sarai Berke, Batu's successors ruled the Golden Horde, which spanned the Volga River and the Carpathian Highlands to the Danube River's mouth. From the Ural River to Lake Balkhash, Orda's ancestors governed the region. In the Tatar portions of Novgorod, Tver, and Moscow, censuses recorded Chinese residential quarters.

Inner Association

Qiyat, Manghut, Sicivut, and Qonqirat were four Mongol clans descending from the Golden Horde's nobility. The Khan was their supreme ruler, selected by the kurultai from Batu Khan's successors. Prince of Princes was the title given to the prime minister, who was also ethnically Mongol. The viziers were the ministers. Local rulers, known as basqaqs, were in charge of collecting taxes and dealing with public unrest.

In most cases, the civil and military government was not separated. As a result, Sarai grew into a vast, rich metropolis, and the Horde became a passive rather than nomadic culture. The capital was moved upstream to Sarai Berqe in the early 14th century, and it grew to be one of the greatest cities in the medieval world, with 600,000 residents.

Provinces

The Mongols adopted Genghis Khan's preference for decimal arrangements. There were ten governmental divisions within the Golden Horde, according to legend. The Golden Horde was broken into different factions: the Blue Horde (Kok Horde) and the White Horde (Ak Horde). White Horde included the realms of the princes of the left hand Ulus Shiban, Ulus Tok-Timur, Taibugin Yurt, and Ulus Ezhen Horde, while Blue Horde included the Pontic-Caspian steppe, Volga Bulgaria, and Khazaria.