The Golden Horde is best known as that part of the Mongol Empire established in Russia.

Originally, however, it consisted of the lands Genghis Khan (1165-1227) bequeathed to his son
Jochi (1184-1225): the territories west of the Irtysh River (modern Kazakhstan) and Khwarazm
(consisting of parts of modern Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan). Jochi, however, did not have the
opportunity to expand his realm as he died in 1225, two years prior to his father's death.

During the reign of the successor of Genghis Khan, Ogodei Khan (d.1240/41), the Jochid Ulus or
realm greatly expanded in size. In 1237, Jochi's son Batu (1227-1255), assisted by the famous
Mongol general Subedei, led a large army westward. In route they destroyed the Bulgar khanate
on the Volga River, pacified the numerous Turkic tribes of the steppes, and conquered the
Russian cities. Then in 1240, Mongol armies invaded Hungary and Poland, winning victories
over the knights of Europe at Mohi in Hungary and Liegnitz in Poland. As news spread of the
ferocity of the Mongols, Europe trembled in anticipation of an attack that never came. In 1241
Ogodei Khan died, which forced the Mongol armies to withdraw to Russia in order to elect a
new khan.

Despite an intense rivalry with Güyük Khan, Ogodei's son, Batu established the Golden Horde as
a semi-independent 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 palace. Altan (golden) was also
the color connoting imperial status. Other sources mention that Batu had a golden tent, and it is
from this that the Golden Horde received its name. While this legend is persistent, no one is
positive of the origin of the term. In most contemporary sources, the Golden Horde was referred
to as the Khanate of the Qipchaq as the Qipchaq Turks comprised the majority of the nomadic
population in the region (the Ulus Jochid).

Batu died in 1255, and the next significant ruler was his brother Berke (1255-1267) who had
converted to Islam and focused most of his energies against the Il-Khans of Persia. His
conversion marked the first time an important leader among the Mongols abandoned the
traditional shamanistic religion. Hulegu, the founder of the Mongol Il-Khanate, had sacked
Baghdad in 1258 and killed the Caliph of Islam. Berke forged an alliance with the Mamluks of
Egypt who were also enemies of the Il-Khans. The war with the Il-Khans lasted until the final
collapse of the Il-Khanate in 1334.

The third ruler was Mongke Temur (1266-1279), who continued much as his predecessors did:
warring against the Il-Khans. In addition, the Golden Horde increasingly dominated trade and
was the most powerful state in Europe, often exerting its influence with threats of invasion into
Poland and Hungary, or through its vassal, Bulgaria. After Mongke Temur's death, many of the
khans became puppets controlled by generals, such as Nogai (d. 1299).

Between 1313 and 1341 during the rule of Uzbek Khan, the Golden Horde reached its pinnacle
in terms of wealth, trade, influence, and military might. Uzbek Khan also forced the conversion
of the Golden Horde to Islam, thus the cities of Sarai and New Sarai emerged as major Muslim
centers. During the middle of the fourteenth century, however, the Golden Horde weakened as it
suffered-like much of the world-from bubonic plague, civil wars, and ineffectual rulers (between
1357 and 1370, eight khans ruled). It is even thought that bubonic plague spread to Europe after
the Mongols laid siege to the port of Kaffa on the Crimean peninsula in 1346. After their own
forces were stricken with plague, the Mongols catapulted their corpses over the walls into Kaffa.
The ships that left Kaffa and returned to Italy carried the disease.

In addition to their wars with the Il-Khanate, the Golden Horde dominated the Russian
principalities. Although much has been written about an oppressive Mongol Yoke, the Russians
also reaped numerous advantages in terms of trade and protection, and eventually supplanted the
Golden Horde as the dominant power in the steppes of Asia. Indeed, even after the initial
invasion in the thirteenth century, the Russians viewed the Mongols as a preferred alternative to
the Swedish or German crusaders existing on their western border. While the Mongols
sometimes exacted onerous demands, they more or less left the Russians to their own devices.
The German crusaders, surely would have forced conversion to Catholicism upon the Russians
had they prevailed. The Russians' first victory was against Mamai, a general who usurped the
throne of the Golden Horde. Although he sacked Moscow in 1380, he was later defeated at the
battle of Kulikovo. The Russians claimed it as a major victory; but, in reality, it accomplished
little as Toqtamish (1383-1391) also defeated Mamai in 1383, and then proceeded to sack
Moscow again.

Toqtamish may have been able to restore the Golden Horde to its former glory-he did reunite it-
but he became embroiled in a series of wars with Tamerlane (1369-1404) who emerged
victorious and sacked Sarai and New Sarai. The trade routes never recovered from these
disruptions, and Toqtamish died in obscurity in 1391. With the death of Toqtamish, the Golden
Horde went into a downward spiral and eventually fragmented. By the middle of the 15th
century, the Golden Horde had shattered into the Crimean Khanate, the Astrakhanate, the Sibir
Khanate, Kazan Khanate, the Nogai Horde and the Great Horde. The final death knell came in
1480 when the Muscovites on the Ugra River defeated the Great Horde. Although the Golden
Horde ended, several inner Asian nations still trace their origins to it. The Uzbeks, the Kazakhs,
and, of course, the numerous Tatars of Kazan and Crimea perceive themselves as descendents of
the Golden Horde. Indeed, some scholars view the rise of Moscow and the Russian Empire as an
heir to the legacy of the Golden Horde.

Dr. Timothy May

Assistant Professor of History
Young Hall
North Georgia College and State University