The Golden Horde – or Ulug Ulus (‘Great State’) – was originally a northwest sector of the Mongol Empire, which became one of four independent khanates after the fragmentation of the empire in 1259, led by the son of Ghengis Khan, Jochi.
Our Golden Horde polity begins in 1240 when Khan Batu, the grandson of Ghengis Khan, sacked and burned the city of Kiev, conquering and subjugating the region of the Russian steppe and its principalities.
The merging of the nomadic, shamanist, mongol-turkic Gold Horde, with the devoutly Christian and settled people of the Russian steppes, brought about many changes for both sides.
From the fourteenth century the Horde officially converted to Islam under the rule of Öz Beg (Uzbek) Khan
At its greatest extent, around 1330, the Golden Horde territory ran from the Carpathian Mountains to the steppes of Siberia, while the south bordered the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains and the Iranian territory of the Il-Khans.
[1]
[2]
[1]: “Golden Horde”. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VXQGWC6R
[2]: Atwood 2004: vii. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SJXN6MZD.
39 N |
Golden Horde |
Sarai Batu (also Sarai or Saray or Old Sarai) | |
Sarai Berke (also New Sarai or New Saray) |
Ulug Ulus | |
Kipchap Khanate | |
Ulus of Jochi |
ru_golden_horde alliance with uz_timurid_emp | 1370 CE 1395 CE |
ru_golden_horde nominal allegiance to cn_yuan_dyn |
Preceding: Mongol Empire (mn_mongol_emp) [secession] |
inferred Transitional (Present -> Absent) |
Transitional (Absent -> Present) |
inferred Transitional (Present -> Absent) |
Present |
inferred Transitional (Present -> Absent) |
Present |
inferred Transitional (Present -> Absent) |
Present |
Present |
Unknown |
Present |
Transitional (Absent -> Present) |
Present |
Transitional (Present -> Absent) |
Present |
Present |
Unknown |
Year Range | Golden Horde (ru_golden_horde) was in: |
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The first Golden Horde capital was established by Batu Khan on the lower banks of the Volga River. Under the reign of Berke Khan, the capital was moved upstream and renamed. In the fourteenth century the capital of Sarai was described as a typical Muslim city, having running water, mosques, meddress’ (higher learning), palaces, merchants’ quarters and inns for travellers. [1] [2]
[1]: Halperin 1987: 26. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VCPWVNM.
[2]: Schamiloglu 2018: 23. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4DIB5VCX
The first Golden Horde capital was established by Batu Khan on the lower banks of the Volga River. Under the reign of Berke Khan, the capital was moved upstream and renamed. In the fourteenth century the capital of Sarai was described as a typical Muslim city, having running water, mosques, meddress’ (higher learning), palaces, merchants’ quarters and inns for travellers. [1] [2]
[1]: Halperin 1987: 26. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VCPWVNM.
[2]: Schamiloglu 2018: 23. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4DIB5VCX
It was not until the sixteenth-century that the name Golden Horde was given to this independent entity of the Mongols. Prior to this they were referred to as Dasht-I Qifchaq¸ ‘Qipchaq Steppe’, or Ulus (realm) of Jochi, the ancestor of the Golden Horde khans. . [1]
[1]: Atwood 2004: 201. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SJXN6MZD.
It was not until the sixteenth-century that the name Golden Horde was given to this independent entity of the Mongols. Prior to this they were referred to as Dasht-I Qifchaq¸ ‘Qipchaq Steppe’, or Ulus (realm) of Jochi, the ancestor of the Golden Horde khans. . [1]
[1]: Atwood 2004: 201. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SJXN6MZD.
It was not until the sixteenth-century that the name Golden Horde was given to this independent entity of the Mongols. Prior to this they were referred to as Dasht-I Qifchaq¸ ‘Qipchaq Steppe’, or Ulus (realm) of Jochi, the ancestor of the Golden Horde khans. . [1]
[1]: Atwood 2004: 201. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SJXN6MZD.
Öz Beg (Uzbek) Khan is considered to be the greatest ruler of the Golden Horde. During his reign the polity reached the height of its power and Islam became the official state religion. The khan’s court was full of scholars, theologians, mathematicians and astronomers. During the reign of his son and successor, Jani Beg Khan, the Black Death hit the Horde. Jani Beg was later assassinated in 1357. As the Golden Horde would not return to its height of power again, the end of Öz Beg’s reign is considered to mark the beginning of the decline and gradual disintegration of the Golden Horde. [1] [2] [3]
[1]: “Golden Horde”. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VXQGWC6R
[2]: Halperin 1987: 27. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VCPWVNM.
[3]: Khakimov and Favereau 2017: 460. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QL8H3FN8
Timur formed a long-term military alliance with Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde to secure his northern frontier, aiding Tokhtamysh’s rise to power. The alliance collapsed after Tokhtamysh’s rebellions (1385–1395). [Morgan 1991, pp. 179-181]
While Kublai Khan (r. 1260–1294) claimed the title of Great Khan, other major Mongol ulus (successor states) recognized this claim largely in name but governed themselves autonomously. Over time, the Golden Horde operated as de facto independent state. They often acknowledged Yuan precedence formally yet conducted their own foreign policies and minting. [Morgan 1991, pp. 136-157]
People.“The size of the Horde’s population can be approximately calculated by a widely used method: the numerical strength of the army, known from the sources, is multiplied by 4 or 5. It is believed that upon full military mobilisation, some 3/4 or 4/5 of the total population of the nomads—women, children, feeble old men and horseless poor—stayed at home.” [1] Therefore the estimated population of the Golden Horde is around 400,000 – 600,000 inhabitants by the end of this period. [2]
[1]: Khakimov and Favereau 2017: 829. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QL8H3FN8
[2]: Trepavlov 2016: 427. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/PUGWXUCR
levels. Types of settlements varied between regions as the nomadic Horde conquered and settled in regions which had towns and villages. [1] [2] [3] [4] : 1. Capital city (Sarai) :: 2. Major cities (Astrakhan, Ükek, Bulğar) ::: 3. Towns :::: 4. Villages ::::: 5. Hamlets :::::: 6. Nomadic camps
[1]: Halperin 1987: 35, 36, 77, 84. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VCPWVNM.
[2]: Atwood 2004: 36. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SJXN6MZD.
[3]: Khakimov and Favereau 2017: 150. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QL8H3FN8
[4]: Schamiloglu 2018: 19. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4DIB5VCX
levels.With the official conversion to Islam in the fourteenth century came the change of the religious structure in the Golden Horde. [1] There is no official structure or hierarchy in the religion of Islam. Though there are scholars and preachers (imams).
[1]: Halperin 1987: 26. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VCPWVNM.
levels.“Characteristic of the Jochid Ulus army was the designation of a military service class chosen primarily from among the Horde’s social elite. The Jochids formed its upper crust, followed by ulus begs and darugh begs, then emirs in command of thousands, hundreds, and dozens, to whom the title beg also applied.. Commanders from the Jochi clan were known as oghlans on the army’s right and Left wings… Therefore, most scholars agree that the organizational structure of the military consisted of a rigid hierarchy based on the decimal system, in which tens were the smallest units and a tumen of ten thousand warriors—the largest unit.” [1] : 1. Khan :: 2. ulus begs and darugh begs ::: 3. Emirs :::: 4. Military Governor (Voevoda) ::::: 5. Commander (Noyan) :::::: 6. Soldiers and horsemen.
[1]: Khakimov and Favereau 2017: 259-260. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QL8H3FN8
levels. [1] [2] Prior to Islamic conversion : 1. Khan (head of state) :: 2. Family Council (quriltai) :: 2.1. Commander in chief / Deputy to the Khan (beglerbegi) :: 2.2. Vizier ::: 3. Ulus khans (a minor khan within each state, ulus, of the wider empire) :::: 4. Ulus Emirs ::::: 5. Lesser administrative posts. After Islamic conversion With the official conversion to Islam in the fourteenth century came the adoption of the Persian diwan system of governance. [3] _Regions with direct administration_ : 1. Khan :: 2. Central Council ::: 3. Vizier (head of the treasury) :::4. Baskaki (local official, tax collector, supervisor, military commander) (changed to darugi in the fourteenth century) ::::: 5. Lesser administrative posts. _Regions with local administration_ The Golden Horde chose not to have direct administration in Russian or Armenia-Georgia due to the expense, and so allowed local rulers, such as princes, to administer the region. Although they initially had resident Mongol officials (baskaki) in Russia, this was later changed so that envoys (posoly) relayed direct orders from the Khan to the local Russian princes. [4] : 1. Khan :: 2. Posoly (official envoys, important aristocrats) ::: 3. Local nobility (e.g. a foreign prince) :::: 4. Lesser administrative posts.
[1]: Atwood 2004: 205. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SJXN6MZD.
[2]: Halperin 1987: 26, 30-39. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VCPWVNM.
[3]: Halperin 1987: 26, 36-39. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VCPWVNM.
[4]: Halperin 1987: 30-31, 34. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VCPWVNM.