Golden Horde
Golden Horde اولوغ اولوس Ulug Ulus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| c. 1225–1502 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Territories of Golden Horde in 1300 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Nomadic empire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Middle Mongol, Kipchak Turkic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion |
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| Government | Semi-elective monarchy, later hereditary monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Khan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
• c. 1225 | Jochi (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1226–1280 | Orda Khan (White Horde) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1242–1255 | Batu Khan (Blue Horde) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1379–1395 | Tokhtamysh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1459–1465 | Mahmud bin Küchük (Great Horde) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1481–1502 (last) | Sheikh Ahmed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Late Middle Ages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Established | c. 1225 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Blue Horde and White Horde united | 1379 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Disintegrated into Great Horde | 1466 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1480 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Sack of Sarai by the Crimean Khanate | 1502 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1310 | 6,000,000 km2 (2,300,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Pul, som, dirham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Golden Horde, or Ulus of Jochi, self-designated as Ulug Ulus (lit. 'Great State' in Turkic), was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century, originating from the northwestern part of the Mongol Empire. After the division of the Mongol Empire in 1259, it became a functionally independent khanate. It is also known as the Kipchak Khanate, and replaced the earlier, less organized Cuman–Kipchak confederation.
It originally consisted of the lands bequeathed to Jochi (d. 1225). It grew greatly in size under Batu Khan, the founder of the Blue Horde. After Batu's death in 1255, his dynasty flourished for a full century, until 1359, though the intrigues of Nogai instigated a partial civil war in the late 1290s. The Horde's military power peaked during the reign of Özbeg Khan (1312–1341), who adopted Islam. The territory of the Golden Horde at its peak extended from Siberia and Central Asia to parts of Eastern Europe from the Urals to the Danube in the west, and from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea in the south, while bordering the Caucasus Mountains and the territories of the Mongol dynasty known as the Ilkhanate.
The khanate experienced a period of great political instability known as the Great Troubles (1359–1381), before it briefly reunited under Tokhtamysh (1381–1395). However, soon after the 1396 invasion of Timur, the founder of the Timurid Empire, the Golden Horde broke into smaller khanates which declined steadily in power.
By the start of the 15th century, the Horde had begun to fall apart. By 1466, it was being referred to simply as the "Great Horde". Within its territories there emerged numerous predominantly Turkic khanates. These internal struggles allowed Moscow to formally rid itself of the "Tatar yoke" at the Great Stand on the Ugra River in 1480, which traditionally marks the end of Mongol rule over Russia. The Crimean Khanate and the Kazakh Khanate, the last remnants of the Golden Horde, survived until 1783 and 1847 respectively, when they were conquered by the expanding Russian state.