Golden Horde
The Golden Horde is best known as that part of the Mongol empire that ruled the lands we now know as Russia from approximately 1237 to 1359. Originally, however, it consisted of those lands that Genghis Khan (1165–1227) bequeathed to his son Jochi (flourished 1184–1225). These consisted of the territories west of the Irtysh River (in modern Kazakhstan) and Khwarizm (in present-day Uzbekistan).
During the reign of Ogodei Khan (d. 1240/1241), the successor of Genghis Khan, the realm exploded in size. In 1237, Jochi's son Batu (reigned 1227–1255), assisted by Genghis Khan's famous general Sabutai (d. 1279), led a large army westward. They destroyed the Bulgar state, pacified the numerous Turkic tribes of the steppes, and conquered Russia's cities. In 1240, Mongol armies invaded Hungary and Poland. As news spread of the ferocity of the Mongol attack, Europe trembled in anticipation of an invasion that never came. In 1241, Ogodei Khan died and the Mongol armies withdrew to elect a new khan.
Batu established the Golden Horde, as his territory was known, as a semi-dependent part of the Mongol empire. The origins of the name Golden Horde are uncertain. Some scholars believe that it refers to the camp of Batu and the later rulers of the Horde. In Mongolian, Altan Orda refers to the Golden Camp or Horde. The golden color (altan) also connoted imperial status.
Batu died in 1255 and the next significant ruler of the Golden Horde was his brother Berke (1255–1267). Berke had converted to Islam and focused most of his energies against the Il-Khans of Persia. He completed an alliance with the Mamluks of Egypt, who also were enemies of the Il-Khans. The Il-Khanate collapsed in 1334.
The golden age of the Golden Horde occurred between 1313 and 1341, during the rule of Oz Beg (Uzbek) Khan. During this period, the Golden Horde reached its pinnacle in terms of wealth, trade, influence, and military might. Also during this period Oz Beg Khan forced the conversion of the Golden Horde to Islam. During the mid-fourteenth century, however, the Golden Horde weakened as it, like much of the world, suffered from bubonic plague, civil wars, and ineffective rulers.
Toqtamish (reigned 1379–1391, 1392–1395) restored the Golden Horde to some of its former glory, but he also became embroiled in a series of wars with the Turkic conqueror Timur (Tamerlane; reigned 1369–1404). Timur emerged victorious; Toqtamish died in obscurity. The cities of Sarai and New Sarai were sacked and the trade routes never recovered from Tamerlane's predations. With the death of Toqtamish, the Golden Horde went into a downward spiral and eventually fragmented. By the mid-fifteenth century, it had shattered into the Crimean khanate, the Astrakhan khanate, the Siberian khanate, the Kazan khanate, the Nogai Horde, and the Great Horde.
Mongol Empire
Further Reading
Fennell, John. (1983) The Crisis of Medieval Russia, 1200– 1304. New York: Longman.
Halperin, Charles J. (1985) Russia and the Golden Horde: The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
——. (1986) The Tatar Yoke. Columbus, OH: Slavica.
Hartog, Leo de. (1996) Russia and the Mongol Yoke: The History of the Russian Principalities and the Golden Horde, 1221–1502. London: British Academic Press.
Morgan, David. (1986) The Mongols. New York: Blackwell.
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