The Golden Horde was formed in the Middle Ages, and it was a truly powerful state. Many countries tried to maintain good relations with him. Cattle breeding became the main occupation of the Mongols, and they knew nothing about the development of agriculture. They were fascinated by the art of war, which is why they were excellent horsemen. It should be especially noted that the Mongols did not accept weak and cowardly people into their ranks.
In 1206, Genghis Khan became Great Khan, whose real name was Temujin. He managed to unite many tribes. Possessing strong military potential, Genghis Khan and his army defeated the Tangut Kingdom, Northern China, Korea and Central Asia. Thus began the formation of the Golden Horde.
It existed for about two hundred years. It was formed on the ruins and was a powerful political entity in Desht-i-Kipchak. The Gold Horde appeared after the death of the heir to the empires of nomadic tribes in the Middle Ages. The goal that the formation of the Golden Horde set for itself was to take possession of one branch (northern) of the Great Silk Road.
Eastern sources say that in 1230 a large detachment consisting of 30 thousand Mongols appeared in the Caspian steppes. This was an area of nomadic Polovtsians, they were called Kipchaks. Thousands of people went to the West. Along the way, the troops conquered the Volga Bulgars and Bashkirs, and after that they captured the Polovtsian lands.
Genghis Khan assigned Jochi to the Polovtsian lands as an ulus (region of the empire) to his eldest son, who, like his father, died in 1227. Complete victory over these lands was won by the eldest son of Genghis Khan, whose name was Batu. He and his army completely subjugated the Ulus of Jochi and stayed in the Lower Volga in 1242-1243.
During these years it was divided into four divisions. The Golden Horde was the first of these to be a state within a state. Each of the four had its own ulus: Kulagu (this included the territory of the Caucasus, the Persian Gulf and the territories of the Arabs); Jaghatay (included the area of present-day Kazakhstan and Central Asia); Ogedei (it consisted of Mongolia, Eastern Siberia, Northern China and Transbaikalia) and Jochi (the Black Sea and Volga regions). However, the main one was the ulus of Ogedei. Mongolia had the capital of the common Mongol Empire - Karakorum. All state events took place here; the leader of the Kagan was the main person of the entire united empire.
The Mongol troops were distinguished by their belligerence; they initially attacked the Ryazan and Vladimir principalities. Russian cities again turned out to be targets for conquest and enslavement. Only Novgorod survived. In the next two years, Mongol troops captured all of what was then Rus'. During the fierce hostilities, he lost half of his army.
The Russian princes were divided during the formation of the Golden Horde and therefore suffered constant defeats. Batu conquered Russian lands and imposed tribute on the local population. Alexander Nevsky was the first who managed to come to an agreement with the Horde and temporarily suspend hostilities.
In the 60s, a war broke out between the uluses, which marked the collapse of the Golden Horde, which the Russian people took advantage of. In 1379, Dmitry Donskoy refused to pay tribute and killed the Mongol commanders. In response to this, the Mongol Khan Mamai attacked Rus'. It began in which the Russian troops won. Their dependence on the Horde became insignificant and the Mongol troops left Rus'. The collapse of the Golden Horde was completely completed.
The Tatar-Mongol yoke lasted for 240 years and ended with the victory of the Russian people, however, the formation of the Golden Horde can hardly be overestimated. Thanks to the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the Russian principalities began to unite against a common enemy, which strengthened and made the Russian state even more powerful. Historians assess the formation of the Golden Horde as an important stage in the development of Rus'.
At what stage of education do schoolchildren usually become familiar with the concept of the “Golden Horde”? 6th grade, of course. A history teacher tells children how the Orthodox people suffered from foreign invaders. One gets the impression that in the thirteenth century Rus' experienced the same brutal occupation as in the forties of the last century. But is it worth it to so blindly draw parallels between the Third Reich and the medieval semi-nomadic state? And what did the Tatar-Mongol yoke mean for the Slavs? What was the Golden Horde for them? “History” (6th grade, textbook) is not the only source on this topic. There are other, more thorough works of researchers. Let's take an adult look at a fairly long period of time in the history of our native fatherland.
The beginning of the Golden Horde
Europe first became acquainted with the Mongolian nomadic tribes in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. Genghis Khan's troops reached the Adriatic and could successfully advance further - to Italy and to Italy. But the dream of the great conqueror came true - the Mongols were able to scoop up water from the Western Sea with their helmet. Therefore, an army of thousands returned to their steppes. For another twenty years, the Mongol Empire and feudal Europe existed without colliding, as if in parallel worlds. In 1224, Genghis Khan divided his kingdom between his sons. This is how the Ulus (province) of Jochi appeared - the westernmost in the empire. If we ask ourselves what the Golden Horde is, then the starting point of this state formation can be considered the year 1236. It was then that the ambitious Khan Batu (son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan) began his Western campaign.
What is the Golden Horde
This military operation, which lasted from 1236 to 1242, significantly expanded the territory of the Jochi ulus to the west. However, it was too early to talk about the Golden Horde then. An ulus is an administrative unit in a great one and it was dependent on the central government. However, Khan Batu (in Russian chronicles Batu) in 1254 moved his capital to the Lower Volga region. There he established the capital. Khan founded the large city of Sarai-Batu (now a place near the village of Selitrennoye in the Astrakhan region). In 1251, a kurultai was held, where Mongke was elected emperor. Batu came to the capital Karakorum and supported the heir to the throne. Other contenders were executed. Their lands were divided between Mongke and the Chingizids (including Batu). The term “Golden Horde” itself appeared much later - in 1566, in the book “Kazan History”, when this state itself had already ceased to exist. The self-name of this territorial entity was “Ulu Ulus”, which means “Grand Duchy” in Turkic.
Years of the Golden Horde
Showing loyalty to Mongke Khan served Batu well. His ulus received greater autonomy. But the state gained complete independence only after the death of Batu (1255), already during the reign of Khan Mengu-Timur, in 1266. But even then, nominal dependence on the Mongol Empire remained. This enormously expanded ulus included Volga Bulgaria, Northern Khorezm, Western Siberia, Dasht-i-Kipchak (steppes from the Irtysh to the Danube itself), the Northern Caucasus and Crimea. In terms of area, the state formation can be compared with the Roman Empire. Its southern outskirts were Derbent, and its northeastern limits were Isker and Tyumen in Siberia. In 1257, his brother ascended the throne of the ulus (ruled until 1266). He converted to Islam, but most likely for political reasons. Islam did not affect the broad masses of the Mongols, but it gave the khan the opportunity to attract Arab artisans and traders from Central Asia and the Volga Bulgars to his side.
The Golden Horde reached its greatest prosperity in the 14th century, when Uzbek Khan (1313-1342) ascended the throne. Under him, Islam became the state religion. After the death of Uzbek, the state began to experience an era of feudal fragmentation. Tamerlane's campaign (1395) drove the last nail into the coffin of this great but short-lived power.
End of the Golden Horde
In the 15th century the state collapsed. Small independent principalities appeared: the Nogai Horde (the first years of the 15th century), Kazan, Crimean, Astrakhan, Uzbek. The central government remained and continued to be considered supreme. But the times of the Golden Horde are over. The power of the successor became increasingly nominal. This state was called the Great Horde. It was located in the Northern Black Sea region and extended to the Lower Volga region. The Great Horde ceased to exist only at the beginning of the sixteenth century, having been absorbed
Rus' and Ulus Jochi
The Slavic lands were not part of the Mongol Empire. What the Golden Horde is, the Russians could only judge from the westernmost ulus of Jochi. The rest of the empire and its metropolitan splendor remained out of sight of the Slavic princes. Their relations with the Jochi ulus at certain periods were of a different nature - from partnership to outright slavery. But in most cases it was a typically feudal relationship between feudal lord and vassal. Russian princes came to the capital of the Jochi ulus, the city of Sarai, and paid homage to the khan, receiving from him a “label” - the right to govern their state. He was the first to do this in 1243. Therefore, the most influential and first in subordination was the label for the Vladimir-Suzdal reign. Because of this, during the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the center of all Russian lands shifted. The city of Vladimir became it.
“Terrible” Tatar-Mongol yoke
The history textbook for the sixth grade depicts the misfortunes that the Russian people suffered under the occupiers. However, not everything was so sad. The princes first used Mongol troops in the fight against their enemies (or pretenders to the throne). Such military support had to be paid for. Then, in the days of the princes, they had to give part of their income from taxes to the khan of the Jochi ulus - their lord. This was called the “Horde exit.” If the payment was delayed, the bakauls arrived and collected taxes themselves. But at the same time, the Slavic princes ruled the people, and their life continued as before.
Peoples of the Mongol Empire
If we ask ourselves the question of what the Golden Horde is from the point of view of the political system, then there is no clear answer. At first it was a semi-military and semi-nomadic alliance of Mongol tribes. Very quickly - within one or two generations - the striking force of the conquering army was assimilated among the conquered population. Already at the beginning of the 14th century, Russians called the Horde “Tatars.” The ethnographic composition of this empire was very heterogeneous. Alans, Uzbeks, Kipchaks and other nomadic or sedentary peoples permanently lived here. The khans encouraged the development of trade, crafts and the construction of cities in every possible way. There was no discrimination based on nationality or religion. In the capital of the ulus - Sarai - an Orthodox bishopric was even formed in 1261, so numerous was the Russian diaspora here.
GOLDEN HORDE(Altyn Urda) state in northeastern Eurasia (1269–1502). In Tatar sources - Olug Ulus (Great Power) or Ulus Jochi, named after the founder of the Jochi dynasty, in Arabic - Desht-i-Kipchak, in Russian - Horde, Kingdom of the Tatars, in Latin - Tartary.
The Golden Horde was formed in 1207–1208 on the basis of Jochi Ulus - lands allocated by Genghis Khan to Jochi's son in the Irtysh region and Sayan-Altai. After the death of Jochi (1227), by the decision of the All-Mongol kurultai (1229 and 1235), Khan Batu (son of Jochi) was proclaimed ruler of the ulus. During the Mongol wars, by 1243, the Ulus of Jochi included the territories of Desht-i-Kipchak, Dasht-i-Khazar, Volga Bulgaria, as well as the Kyiv, Chernigov, Vladimir-Suzdal, Novgorod, Galician-Volyn principalities. By the middle of the 13th century, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Serbia were dependent on the khans of the Golden Horde.
Batu divided the Golden Horde into Ak Orda and Kok Orda, which were divided into left and right wings. They were divided into uluses, tumens (10 thousand), thousands, hundreds and tens. The territory of the Golden Horde was connected by a single transport system - the yam service, which consisted of yams (stations). Batu appointed his elder brother Ordu-idzhen as the ruler of the Kok Horde, their other brothers and sons (Berke, Nogai, Tuka (Tukai)-Timur, Shiban) and representatives of the aristocracy received smaller possessions (departments - il) within these uluses with the rights of suyurgals. At the head of the uluses were ulus emirs (ulusbeks), at the head of smaller fiefs - tumenbashi, minbashi, yozbashi, unbashi. They carried out legal proceedings, organized the collection of taxes, recruited troops and commanded them.
At the end of the 1250s, the rulers achieved a certain independence from the great kagan of the Mongol Empire, which was reflected in the appearance of the tamga of the Jochi clan on the coins of Khan Berke. Khan Meng-Timur managed to achieve complete independence, as evidenced by the minting of coins with the name of the khan and the kurultai of the khans of the uluses of Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedei in 1269, which delimited their possessions and legitimized the collapse of the Mongol Empire. At the end of the 13th century, 2 political centers were formed in Ak Orda: Beklyaribek Nogai ruled in the Northern Black Sea region, and Khan Tokta ruled in the Volga region. The confrontation between these centers ended at the turn of the 13th-14th centuries with the victory of Tokta over Nogai. The supreme power in the Golden Horde belonged to the Jochids: until 1360, the khans were the descendants of Batu, then - Tuka-Timur (with interruptions, until 1502) and the Shibanids in the territory of the Kok Horde and Central Asia. Since 1313, only Muslim Jochids could be khans of the Golden Horde. Formally, the khans were autocratic monarchs, their name was mentioned in Friday and holiday prayers (khutba), they sealed the laws with their seal. The executive body of power was the divan, which consisted of representatives of the highest nobility of the four ruling families - Shirin, Baryn, Argyn, Kipchak. The head of the divan was the vizier - olug karachibek, he led the fiscal system in the country, was in charge of legal proceedings, internal and foreign policy affairs, and was the commander-in-chief of the country's troops. At the kurultai (congress), the most important state issues were decided by representatives of 70 noble emirs.
The highest layer of the aristocracy consisted of Karachibeks and Ulusbeks, the sons and closest relatives of the khan - oglans, sultans, then - emirs and beks; military class (knighthood) - bahadurs (batyrs) and Cossacks. Locally, taxes were collected by officials - darugabeks. The main population consisted of the tax-paying class - kara halyk, who paid taxes to the state or feudal lord: yasak (main tax), various types of land and income taxes, duties, as well as various duties, such as the supply of provisions to the troops and authorities (barn mali), yamskaya (ilchi-kunak). There were also a number of taxes on Muslims in favor of the clergy - gosher and zakat, as well as tribute and taxes on conquered peoples and the non-Muslim population of the Golden Horde (jizya).
The army of the Golden Horde consisted of personal detachments of the khan and the nobility, military formations and militias of various uluses and cities, as well as allied troops (up to 250 thousand people in total). The nobility consisted of a cadre of military leaders and professional warriors - heavily armed cavalrymen (up to 50 thousand people). The infantry played a supporting role in the battle. Firearms were used in the defense of fortifications. The basis of field battle tactics was the massive use of heavily armed cavalry. Her attacks alternated with the actions of horse archers, who hit the enemy from a distance. Strategic and operational maneuvers, envelopments, flank attacks and ambushes were used. The warriors were unpretentious, the army was distinguished by maneuverability, speed and could make long marches without losing combat effectiveness.
The largest battles:
- battle near the city of Pereyaslavl of the emir Nevryuy with the Vladimir prince Andrei Yaroslavich (1252);
- capture of the city of Sandomierz by the troops of Bahadur Burundai (1259);
- the battle of Berke on the Terek River with the troops of the Ilkhan ruler of Iran, Hulagu (1263);
- battle of Tokty on the Kukanlyk River with Nogai (1300);
- capture of the city of Tabriz by the troops of Khan Janibek (1358);
- the siege of the city of Bolgar by the troops of Beklyaribek Mamai and the Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy (1376);
- Battle of Kulikovo (1380);
- capture of Moscow by Khan Toktamysh, Beklyaribek Idegei (1382, 1408);
- battle of Khan Toktamysh with Timur on the Kondurcha River (1391);
- battle of Khan Toktamysh with Timur on the Terek River (1395);
- the battle of Idegei with Toktamysh and Prince Vitovt of Lithuania on the Vorskla River (1399);
- battle of Khan Ulug-Muhammad.
On the territory of the Golden Horde there were more than 30 large cities (including the Middle Volga region - Bolgar, Dzhuketau, Iski-Kazan, Kazan, Kashan, Mukhsha). More than 150 cities and towns were centers of administrative power, crafts, trade, and religious life. Cities were governed by emirs and hakims. The cities were centers of highly developed crafts (iron, weapons, leather, woodworking), glassmaking, pottery, jewelry production and trade with the countries of Europe, the Near and Middle East flourished. Transit trade with Western Europe in silk and spices from China and India was developed. Bread, furs, leather goods, captives, and livestock were exported from the Golden Horde. Luxury goods, expensive weapons, fabrics, and spices were imported. In many cities there were large trade and craft communities of Jews, Armenians (for example, the Armenian colony in Bolgar), Greeks and Italians. The Italian city-republics had their own trading colonies in the Northern Black Sea region (Genoese in Cafe, Sudak, Venetian in Azak).
The capital of the Golden Horde until the 1st third of the 14th century was Sarai al-Makhrus, built under Khan Batu. Inside the Golden Horde settlements, archaeologists have identified entire craft quarters. From the 1st third of the 14th century, Sarai al-Jadid, built under Uzbek Khan, became the capital of the Golden Horde. The main occupation of the population was agriculture, gardening and cattle breeding, beekeeping, and fishing. The population not only supplied themselves with food, but also exported it.
The main territory of the Golden Horde is the steppes. The steppe population continued to lead a semi-nomadic life, engaging in cattle breeding (sheep and horse breeding).
For the peoples of the Golden Horde, the official and spoken language was the Turkic language. Later, on its basis, a Turkic literary language was formed - Volga Turki. Works of ancient Tatar literature were created on it: “Kitabe Gulistan bit-Turki” by Saif Sarai, “Mukhabbat-name” by Khorezmi, “Khosrov va Shirin” by Qutb, “Nahj al-Faradis” by Mahmud al-Sarai al-Bulgari. Volga Turkic functioned as a literary language among the Tatars of Eastern Europe until the mid-19th century. Initially, office work and diplomatic correspondence in the Golden Horde were carried out in the Mongolian language, which was replaced by Turkic in the 2nd half of the 14th century. Arabic (the language of religion, Muslim philosophy and law) and Persian (the language of high poetry) were also common in the cities.
Initially, the khans of the Golden Horde professed Tengrism and Nestorianism, and among the Turko-Mongol aristocracy there were also Muslims and Buddhists. The first khan to convert to Islam was Berke. Then the new religion began to actively spread among the urban population. By that time, the population in the Bulgar principalities had already professed Islam.
With the adoption of Islam, there was a consolidation of the aristocracy and the formation of a new ethnopolitical community - the Tatars, uniting the Muslim nobility. It belonged to the Jochid clan-tribal system and was united by the socially prestigious ethnonym “Tatars”. By the end of the 14th century it had spread widely among the population throughout the country. After the collapse of the Golden Horde (1st half of the 15th century), the term “Tatars” designated the military-service Turkic-Muslim aristocracy.
Islam in the Golden Horde became the state religion in 1313. The head of the clergy could only be a person from the Sayyid clan (descendants of the Prophet Muhammad from his daughter Fatima and Caliph Ali). The Muslim clergy consisted of muftis, mukhtasibs, qadis, sheikhs, sheikh-masheikhs (sheikhs above sheikhs), mullahs, imams, hafiz, who carried out worship and legal proceedings in civil cases throughout the country. Schools (mektabs and madrassas) were also administered by the clergy. In total, more than 10 remains of mosques and minarets are known on the territory of the Golden Horde (including in the Bolgar and Yelabuga settlements), as well as madrassas, hospitals and khanakas (dwellings) attached to them. An important role in the spread of Islam in the Volga region was played by Sufi tariqats (orders) (for example, Kubrawiyya, Yasawiyya), which had their own mosques and khanqah. State policy in the field of religion in the Golden Horde was based on the principle of religious tolerance. Numerous letters from the khans to the Russian patriarchs about the exemption of all types of taxes and duties have been preserved. Relationships were also built with Armenian Christians, Catholics and Jews.
The Golden Horde was a country of developed culture. Thanks to the extensive system of mektebs and madrassas, the country's population learned to read and write and the canons of Islam. The madrasah had rich libraries and schools of calligraphers and book copyists. Objects with inscriptions and epitaphs testify to the literacy and culture of the population. There was an official historiography, preserved in the works of “Chingiz-name”, “Jami at-tawarikh” by Rashidaddin, in the genealogies of rulers and folklore tradition. Construction and architecture, including white stone and brick construction, and stone carving, have reached a high level.
In 1243, the Horde army launched a campaign against the Galicia-Volyn principality, after which Prince Daniil Romanovich recognized himself as a vassal of Batu. Nogai's campaigns (1275, 1277, 1280, 1286, 1287) were aimed at imposing tribute and military indemnity on the Balkan countries and Poland. Nogai's campaign against Byzantium ended with the siege of Constantinople, the ruin of Bulgaria and its inclusion in the sphere of influence of the Golden Horde (1269). The war, which broke out in 1262 in the Ciscaucasia and Transcaucasia, continued intermittently until the 1390s. The heyday of the Golden Horde occurred during the reign of the khans Uzbek and Janibek. Islam was declared the official religion (1313). During this period, on the crest of economic growth, a unified system of managing the empire, a huge army, and borders were stabilized.
In the middle of the 14th century, after a 20-year internecine war (“Great Jammy”), natural disasters (drought, flooding of the Lower Volga region by the waters of the Caspian Sea), and plague epidemics, the collapse of a single state began. In 1380, Toktamysh won the khan's throne and defeated Mamai. The defeats of Toktamysh in the wars with Timur (1388–89, 1391, 1395) led to ruin. Idegei's reign was marked by successes (the defeat of the troops of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt and Toktamysh on the Vorskla River in 1399, the campaign against Transoxiana in 1405, the siege of Moscow in 1408). After the death of Idegei in the battle with the sons of Toktamysh (1419), the united empire disintegrated, and Tatar states arose on the territory of the Golden Horde: the Siberian Khanate (1420), the Crimean Khanate (1428), and the Kazan Khanate (1438). The last fragment of the Golden Horde in the Lower Volga region was the Great Horde, which disintegrated in 1502 as a result of the defeat of the descendants of Khan Ahmad by the troops of the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey.
The Golden Horde played a big role in the formation of the Tatar nation, as well as in the development of the Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Nogais, Uzbeks (Turks of Transoxiana). The Golden Horde traditions played a huge role in the formation of Muscovite Rus', especially in the organization of state power, the management system and military affairs.
Khans of Ulus Jochi and the Golden Horde:
- Jochi (1208–1227)
- Batu (1227–1256)
- Sartak (1256)
- Ulakchi (1256)
- Berke (1256–1266)
- Mengu-Timur (1266–1282)
- Tuda-Menggu (1282–1287)
- Tula-Buga (1287–1291)
- Toqta (1291–1313)
- Uzbek (1313–1342)
- Tinibek (1342)
- Janibek (1342–1357)
- Berdibek (1357–1339).
Khans of the “Great Jammy” period.
The Golden Horde has long been reliably associated with the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the invasion of nomads and a dark streak in the history of the country. But what exactly was this state entity?
Start
It is worth noting that the name familiar to us today arose much later than the very existence of the state. And what we call the Golden Horde, in its heyday, was called Ulu Ulus (Great Ulus, Great State) or (state of Jochi, people of Jochi) after the name of Khan Jochi, the eldest son of Khan Temujin, known in history as Genghis Khan.
Both names quite clearly outline both the scale and origin of the Golden Horde. These were very vast lands that belonged to the descendants of Jochi, including Batu, known in Rus' as Batu Khan. Jochi and Genghis Khan died in 1227 (possibly Jochi a year earlier), the Mongol Empire by that time included a significant part of the Caucasus, Central Asia, Southern Siberia, Rus' and Volga Bulgaria.
The lands captured by the troops of Genghis Khan, his sons and commanders, after the death of the great conqueror, were divided into four uluses (states), and it turned out to be the largest and strongest, stretching from the lands of modern Bashkiria to the Caspian Gate - Derbent. The Western campaign, led by Batu Khan, expanded the lands under his control to the west by 1242, and the Lower Volga region, rich in beautiful pastures, hunting and fishing grounds, attracted Batu as a place for residence. About 80 km from modern Astrakhan, Sarai-Batu (otherwise Sarai-Berke) grew up - the capital of Ulus Jochi.
His brother Berke, who succeeded Batu, was, as they say, an enlightened ruler, as far as the realities of that time allowed. Berke, having adopted Islam in his youth, did not instill it among the subject population, but under him diplomatic and cultural ties with a number of eastern states significantly improved. Trade routes running by water and land were actively used, which could not but have a positive impact on the development of the economy, crafts, and arts. With the approval of the khan, theologians, poets, scientists, and skilled craftsmen came here; moreover, Berke began to appoint visiting intellectuals, not well-born fellow tribesmen, to high government posts.
The era of the reign of the Khans of Batu and Berke became a very important organizational period in the history of the Golden Horde - it was during these years that the state administrative apparatus was actively formed, which remained relevant for many decades. Under Batu, simultaneously with the establishment of the administrative-territorial division, the possessions of large feudal lords took shape, a bureaucratic system was created and a fairly clear taxation was developed.
Moreover, despite the fact that the khan’s headquarters, according to the custom of their ancestors, roamed the steppes for more than half a year together with the khan, his wives, children and a huge retinue, the power of the rulers was as unshakable as ever. They, so to speak, set the main line of policy and resolved the most important, fundamental issues. And the routine and particulars were entrusted to officials and the bureaucracy.
Berke's successor, Mengu-Timur, entered into an alliance with the other two heirs of Genghis Khan's empire, and all three recognized each other as completely independent but friendly sovereigns. After his death in 1282, a political crisis arose in the Ulus of Jochi, since the heir was very young, and Nogai, one of Mengu-Timur’s main advisers, actively sought to gain, if not official, then at least actual power. For some time he succeeded in this, until the matured Khan Tokhta got rid of his influence, which required resorting to military force.
Rise of the Golden Horde
Ulus Jochi reached its peak in the first half of the 13th century, during the reign of Uzbek Khan and his son Janibek. Uzbek built a new capital, Sarai-al-Jedid, promoted the development of trade and quite actively propagated Islam, not disdaining to punish rebellious emirs - regional governors and military leaders. It is worth noting, however, that the bulk of the population was not obliged to profess Islam; this concerned mainly high-ranking officials.
He also very strictly controlled the Russian principalities that were then subject to the Golden Horde - according to the Litsevoy chronicle, nine Russian princes were killed in the Horde during his reign. So the custom of princes summoned to the khan’s headquarters for proceedings to leave a will gained even more solid ground.
Uzbek Khan continued to develop diplomatic ties with the most powerful states at that time, acting, among other things, in the traditional way of monarchs - establishing family ties. He married the daughter of the Byzantine emperor, gave his own daughter to the Moscow prince Yuri Danilovich, and his niece to the Egyptian sultan.
At that time, not only the descendants of the soldiers of the Mongol Empire lived on the territory of the Golden Horde, but also representatives of the conquered peoples - Bulgars, Cumans, Russians, as well as people from the Caucasus, Greeks, etc.
If the beginning of the formation of the Mongol Empire and the Golden Horde in particular went mainly through an aggressive path, then by this period the Ulus of Jochi had turned into an almost completely sedentary state, which had extended its influence over a significant part of the European and Asian parts of the mainland. Peaceful crafts and arts, trade, the development of sciences and theology, a well-functioning bureaucratic apparatus were one side of statehood, and the troops of the khans and the emirs under their control were another, no less important. Moreover, the warlike Genghisids and the top of the nobility continually conflicted with each other, forming alliances and conspiracies. Moreover, holding conquered lands and maintaining the respect of neighbors required a constant display of military force.
Khans of the Golden Horde
The ruling elite of the Golden Horde consisted mainly of Mongols and partly Kipchaks, although in some periods educated people from Arab states and Iran found themselves in administrative positions. As for the supreme rulers - khans - almost all holders of this title or applicants for it either belonged to the clan of Genghisids (descendants of Genghis Khan), or were connected with this very extensive clan through marriage. According to custom, only the descendants of Genghis Khan could be khans, but ambitious and power-hungry emirs and temniks (military leaders close in position to the general) continually sought to advance to the throne in order to place their protégé on it and rule on his behalf. However, after the murder in 1359 of the last of the direct descendants of Batu Khan - Berdibek - taking advantage of the disputes and infighting of the rival forces, an impostor named Kulpa managed to seize power for six months, posing as the brother of the late khan. He was exposed (however, the whistleblowers were also interested in power, for example, the son-in-law and first adviser of the late Berdibek, Temnik Mamai) and killed along with his sons - apparently, to intimidate possible challengers.
Separated from the Ulus of Jochi during the reign of Janibek, the Ulus of Shibana (west of Kazakhstan and Siberia) tried to consolidate its positions in Saray-al-Jedid. More distant relatives of the Golden Horde khans from among the eastern Jochids (descendants of Jochi) were also actively engaged in this. The result of this was a period of turmoil, called the Great Rebellion in Russian chronicles. Khans and pretenders replaced each other one after another until 1380, when Khan Tokhtamysh came to power.
He descended in a direct line from Genghis Khan and therefore had legitimate rights to the title of ruler of the Golden Horde, and in order to back up his right with force, he entered into an alliance with one of the Central Asian rulers - the “Iron Lame” Tamerlane, famous in the history of conquests. But Tokhtamysh did not take into account that a strong ally could become a most dangerous enemy, and after his accession to the throne and a successful campaign against Moscow, he opposed his former ally. This became a fatal mistake - Tamerlane, in response, defeated the Golden Horde army, captured the largest cities of Ulus-Juchi, including Sarai-Berke, walked with an “iron heel” through the Crimean possessions of the Golden Horde and, as a result, caused such military and economic damage that became the beginning the decline of a hitherto strong state.
Capital of the Golden Horde and trade
As already mentioned, the location of the capital of the Golden Horde was very favorable in terms of trade. The Crimean possessions of the Golden Horde provided mutually beneficial shelter for the Genoese trading colonies, and sea trade routes from China, India, Central Asian states and southern Europe also led there. From the Black Sea coast it was possible to get along the Don to the Volgodonsk portage, and then by land to the Volga coast. Well, the Volga in those days, as many centuries later, remained an excellent waterway for merchant ships to Iran and the continental regions of Central Asia.
Partial list of goods transported through the possessions of the Golden Horde:
- fabrics – silk, canvas, cloth
- wood
- weapons from Europe and Central Asia
- corn
- jewelry and precious stones
- furs and leather
- olive oil
- fish and caviar
- incense
- spices
Decay
The central government, weakened during the years of unrest and after the defeat of Tokhtamysh, could no longer achieve the complete subjugation of all previously subject lands. The governors ruling in remote destinies grasped the opportunity to get out from under the hands of the Ulus-Juchi government almost painlessly. Even at the height of the Great Jam in 1361, the eastern Ulus of Orda-Ezhen, also known as the Blue Horde, separated, and in 1380 it was followed by the Ulus of Shibana.
In the twenties of the 15th century, the process of disintegration became even more intense - the Siberian Khanate was formed in the east of the former Golden Horde, a few years later in 1428 - the Uzbek Khanate, ten years later the Kazan Khanate separated. Somewhere between 1440 and 1450 - the Nogai Horde, in 1441 - the Crimean Khanate, and last of all, in 1465 - the Kazakh Khanate.
The last khan of the Golden Horde was Kichi Mukhamed, who ruled until his death in 1459. His son Akhmat took the reins of government already in the Great Horde - in fact, only a small part remaining from the huge state of the Chingizids.
Coins of the Golden Horde
Having become a sedentary and very large state, the Golden Horde could not do without its own currency. The state's economy was based on a hundred (according to some sources, one and a half hundred) cities, not counting many small villages and nomadic camps. For external and internal trade relations, copper coins - pulas and silver coins - dirhams were issued.
Today, Horde dirhams are of considerable value for collectors and historians, since almost every reign was accompanied by the release of new coins. By the type of dirham, experts can determine when it was minted. Pools were valued relatively low, moreover, they were sometimes subject to a so-called forced exchange rate, when the coin was worth less than the metal used for it. Therefore, the number of pools found by archaeologists is large, but their value is relatively small.
During the reign of the khans of the Golden Horde, the circulation of their own, local funds in the occupied territories quickly disappeared, and their place was taken by Horde money. Moreover, even in Rus', which paid tribute to the Horde but was not part of it, pools were minted, although they differed in appearance and cost from those of the Horde. Sumy was also used as a means of payment - silver ingots, or more precisely, pieces cut from a silver rod. By the way, the first Russian rubles were made in exactly the same way.
Army and troops
The main strength of the Ulus-Juchi army, as before the creation of the Mongol Empire, was the cavalry, “light in march, heavy in attack,” according to contemporaries. The nobility, who had the means to be well equipped, formed heavily armed units. Lightly armed units used the fighting technique of horse archers - after inflicting significant damage with a volley of arrows, they approached and fought with spears and blades. However, impact and crushing weapons were also quite common - maces, flails, six-fingers, etc.
Unlike their ancestors, who made do with leather armor, at best reinforced with metal plaques, the warriors of Ulus Jochi for the most part wore metal armor, which speaks of the wealth of the Golden Horde - only the army of a strong and financially stable state could arm itself in this way. At the end of the 14th century, the Horde army even began to acquire its own artillery, something that very few armies could boast of at that time.
Culture
The era of the Golden Horde did not leave any special cultural achievements for humanity. Nevertheless, this state originated as the seizure of sedentary peoples by nomads. The own cultural values of any nomadic people are relatively simple and pragmatic, since there is no possibility of building schools, creating paintings, inventing a method of making porcelain, or erecting majestic buildings. But having largely switched to a settled way of life, the conquerors adopted many of the inventions of civilization, including architecture, theology, writing (in particular, the Uyghur writing for documents), and the more subtle development of many crafts.
Russia and the Golden Horde
The first serious clashes between Russian troops and Horde troops date back approximately to the beginning of the existence of the Golden Horde as an independent state. At first, Russian troops tried to support the Polovtsians against a common enemy - the Horde. The Battle of the Kalka River in the summer of 1223 brought defeat to the poorly coordinated squads of Russian princes. And in December 1237, the Horde entered the lands of the Ryazan region. Then Ryazan fell, followed by Kolomna and Moscow. Russian frosts did not stop the nomads, hardened in campaigns, and at the beginning of 1238 Vladimir, Torzhok and Tver were captured, there was a defeat on the Sit River and a seven-day siege of Kozelsk, which ended with its complete destruction - along with its inhabitants. In 1240, the campaign against Kievan Rus began.
The result was that the remaining Russian princes on the throne (and alive) recognized the need to pay tribute to the Horde in exchange for a relatively quiet existence. However, it was not truly calm - the princes, who intrigued against each other and, of course, against the invaders, in the event of any incidents, were forced to appear at the khan’s headquarters to report to the khan about their actions or inactions. By order of the khan, the princes had to bring their sons or brothers with them as additional hostages of loyalty. And not all princes and their relatives returned to their homeland alive.
It should be noted that the rapid seizure of Russian lands and the inability to overthrow the yoke of the invaders was largely due to the disunity of the principalities. Moreover, some princes were able to take advantage of this situation to fight their rivals. For example, the Principality of Moscow strengthened by annexing the lands of two other principalities as a result of the intrigues of Ivan Kalita, Prince of Moscow. But before this, the Tver princes sought the right to a great reign by all means, including the murder of the previous Moscow prince right at the khan's headquarters.
And when, after the Great Jame, internal turmoil began to increasingly distract the disintegrating Golden Horde from pacifying the rebellious principalities, the Russian lands, in particular, the Moscow Principality, which had strengthened over the past century, began to increasingly resist the influence of the invaders, refusing to pay tribute. And what is especially important is to act together.
At the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, the united Russian forces won a decisive victory over the army of the Golden Horde led by Temnik Mamai, sometimes mistakenly called the khan. And although two years later Moscow was captured and burned by the Horde, the rule of the Golden Horde over Russia came to an end. And at the beginning of the 15th century, the Great Horde also ceased to exist.
Epilogue
To summarize, we can say that the Golden Horde was one of the largest states of its era, born thanks to the militancy of nomadic tribes, and then disintegrated due to their desire for independence. Its growth and flourishing occurred during the reign of strong military leaders and wise politicians, but, like most aggressive states, it lasted relatively short-lived.
According to a number of historians, the Golden Horde not only had a negative impact on the life of the Russian people, but also unwittingly helped the development of Russian statehood. Under the influence of the culture of rule brought by the Horde, and then to counteract the Golden Horde, the Russian principalities merged together, forming a strong state, which later turned into the Russian Empire.
Introduction
The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of the Middle Ages, whose possessions were located in Europe and Asia. Its military power constantly kept all its neighbors in suspense and was not challenged by anyone for a very long time. Monarchs of even distant countries sought to establish friendly relations with her and support them with all their might. The most enterprising merchants traveled vast distances to get to its capital, which was rightfully known as the largest trading base between East and West. Travelers and trade caravans spread all over the world, true stories and incredible legends about the peoples who inhabited the Golden Horde, their unique customs and nomadic life, the wealth and power of the khans who ruled here, countless herds of cattle and endless steppes, where you could not meet a single person for weeks. one man. True and fictional stories about the huge state of nomads continued to exist even after its disappearance. And today interest in it has not waned, and its history has long been studied in many countries. But still, in assessing many political and everyday aspects of the life and history of the Golden Horde, the most opposing opinions are encountered. And besides, to this day there exists in scientific works and educational literature, and simply in the most common perception of history, a whole series of misconceptions or established stereotypes associated with the Golden Horde. This applies to its territory and borders, the name of the state, the presence of cities, the development of culture, the relationship between the concepts of “Mongols” and “Tatars”, some moments of political history, etc. Most of the widespread cliches about the Golden Horde arose in the last century, and their existence is associated solely with neglect of the study of this largely unique state. The obvious and sharply negative role of the Golden Horde in the history of Rus' is what first strikes the eye when reading any source that reveals their relationship. As a result, a situation was created in science where, for the most part, it was not so much the Golden Horde itself that was studied, but its influence on Rus' and their relationships. Moreover, even this side was often limited to a set of the most general judgments and declarative statements, always supported by well-known quotes from the works of K. Marx. But Marx’s emotionally deep and politically precise thoughts would sound even more vivid if they were supplemented by a variety of specific historical facts, events and figures. As for the study of the Golden Horde itself, the dominant view here was that it was an oppressor state that did not deserve the attention of Soviet historians. Editors showed particular caution and vigilance when publishing stories on Golden Horde themes. Any positive fact in relation to the Mongol state seemed unthinkable and was questioned. It cannot be said that the Golden Horde became a taboo topic in science, but it was clearly undesirable. The political situation also left its mark on this, when in the 60s Mao Zedong attributed all the Mongol conquests of the 13th century. to the Chinese state, extending its western borders to the Danube, although China itself was conquered by Genghis Khan and his sons, and for many years was under the rule of the Mongols. But in spite of everything, the Golden Horde theme was and remained one of the traditional ones in Russian pre-revolutionary and then Soviet historical science. Without knowledge of the history and ways of development of a huge, powerful, in many ways unusual and, in the full sense of the word, bloodthirsty state (only a few years of its existence were peaceful!), it is impossible to understand many aspects of the formation and growth of medieval Rus', it is impossible to fully assess the course of events in European politics in the 13th— XV centuries
Rus' during the Golden Horde.
Mongol conquest of Rus'.
When the morning sun peeked out from behind the peaks of distant mountains, the shamans harmoniously struck the tambourines. The long rows of people gathered in anticipation began to move. The worshipers took off their hats, unbuttoned and threw belts around their necks and began to bow towards the sunrise. So, according to the established ritual, the next kurultai (congress of the nobility) began in Karakorum - the capital of the Mongol Empire. It was 1235. At the call of the main khan Ogedei, the son and successor of Genghis Khan1 on the Mongol throne, governors and military commanders gathered from all over the huge power. The ruling elite had to discuss plans for further action.
By that time, the Mongols had already captured Southern Siberia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan, part of China, and Iran. All conquered lands were annexed to various uluses - appanage khanates, which Genghis Khan once gave to his sons. He gave the northwest territories to his first-born, Jochi. Jochi himself by 1235. was no longer alive, but his children grew up. They wanted to rule their father's ulus and expand its borders, subjugating neighboring peoples. Now Jochi’s eldest sons - Ordu and Batu (Batu) - also came to the kurultai.
Supreme Khan Ogedei reminded the participants of the kurultai that Genghis Khan once ordered Jochi to organize a campaign against the “Orosuts and Cherkisyuts,” i.e. to Rus' and the North Caucasus. Death prevented him from fulfilling his father's will. “Now it is the duty of the Mongolian nobility,” said Ogedei, “to carry out this will of Genghis Khan.” But the peoples of Eastern Europe are very strong and numerous. Therefore, Ulus Jochi alone is not enough, and the entire empire is obliged to help Ord and Batu in this war.
It should be noted that the main reasons for the campaigns of conquest were:
Conquest of new pastures;
The Kurultai sentenced: Batu will stand at the head of the army, because the conquered lands will join him. The inheritance of his elder brother Ordu had by that time been formed on the territory of Kazakhstan. Secondly, all other uluses of the Mongol Empire had to allocate one warrior from every ten. Thirdly, since Batu did not yet have experience in long battles, Genghis Khan’s old comrade-in-arms, commander Subedei, was appointed chief military commander.
The actual strength of Batu's army was about 200 thousand nomads, of which up to 130 thousand acted directly against Rus'. The Mongols defeated the nomadic Cumans who lived in the steppes between the Urals and the Don; occupied Volga Bulgaria (a state located on the territory of present-day Tataria and Chuvashia). Late autumn 1237 Batu and Subedey led their army to the Russian borders.
Rus' at that time consisted of several separate principalities and lands. The first battle on the Kalka River (May 31, 1223), in which the troops of several Russian princes were completely defeated, did not lead to unity in the face of the coming danger. That defeat was perceived as a sad episode, a random raid by an unknown people who disappeared as quickly as they appeared. And now these “unknown languages” were moving to Rus' in huge numbers.
The first to worry was the Ryazan prince Yuri Igorevich, whose possessions bordered on the nomadic steppes. He sent for help to Vladimir and Chernigov, but did not meet with understanding there. On December 21, 1237, after a five-day siege and assault using rams and throwing weapons, Ryazan fell. The city was burned, some of the inhabitants were exterminated, and some were carried away. During January, the Mongols devastated the Ryazan principality. Russian troops suffered another defeat - near Kolomna.
Despite the rather slow progress (due to the difficulties of the winter road and Russian resistance), Batu's army was approaching Vladimir. Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich retired to the forests of the upper Volga region, where he began to gather troops of vassal princes. The capital, left almost unprotected, was subjected to a three-day siege, and on February 7, 1238. The Mongols entered the city. Soon there were ruins in its place. From here Batu and his military commander Subedei sent troops in 3 directions. One part moved against the grand ducal army. The nomads managed to quietly approach the positions of Yuri Vsevolodovich and unexpectedly attacked his battle camp on the Sit River. In March 1238 the army was destroyed, and the prince himself died.
The second part destroyed cities and villages in the forest Trans-Volga region; one of the detachments even reached Vologda. The third army moved in the North-Western direction, towards the Novgorod borders. Batu almost reached Novgorod, but it was spring. River floods threatened to cut off the Mongol army from the steppe, already weakened by the struggle with the population of North-Eastern Rus'. The Mongols turned around on a wide front and rushed south. The entire territory of Rus', which was covered by this spring offensive, was devastated and depopulated.
By the summer of 1238 The Mongol army retreated to the Wild Field. But the conquest of Rus' was not completed. After all, the southern principalities remained unconquered - Kiev, Galicia-Volyn. In the autumn of 1240 Batu and Subedei set out on a new campaign. The story also repeated itself as in the north: each principality faced the enemy alone. The Mongols first took Chernigov, and the last stronghold of the defense of Kyiv was destroyed on December 6, 1240.
Following this, it was the turn of the Volyn lands. The southwestern principalities were subjected to brutal pogroms and plunder. Only the most impregnable fortresses were able to survive. With the arrival of spring, the battles moved to the territory of Hungary and Poland. Mongol troops reached the borders of the Holy Roman Empire and Italy. However, Europe, frightened at first, was preparing to confront Bath with united forces. And the number of his troops was too small to hold such vast territories. Moreover, according to the will of Genghis Khan, Batu was to limit himself in the west to the conquest of Rus', which now remained in the rear of the Mongols. Taking advantage of the death of Ogedei in distant Karakorum, under the pretext of the need for his presence in the elections of a new sovereign, Batu announced his return to the Volga steppes. Jochi's rule spread throughout the conquered Volga region, Northern Black Sea region, Northern Caucasus and Moldova. These lands were considered the part where Batu and his descendants were to rule.
Thus, the Ulus of Jochi began to be divided into 2 parts: in one of them - west of the Ural River to the Danube - Batu was the khan; in the other - in the east - in Kazakhstan and Western Siberia - there was the Khanate of Ordu, his elder brother. The Russians called the Mongol state the Horde. Since the 16th century, in the Russian language, the name “Golden Horde” has been assigned to it (after the name of the khan’s ceremonial tent, since one of the literal meanings of the word “horde” is the khan’s headquarters, camp).
The Batu invasion was not a simple predatory raid of nomads. The Mongolian nobility sought not only to profit from the riches of Rus', but also to subjugate the Russian principalities to their power and include them in their empire. The fragmentation of Russian lands played a key role in preventing the invasion of the conquerors from being repelled. A long era has begun in the history of Russia, which is characterized by the ancient name “yoke”2 (yoke).
State structure of the Golden Horde.
Territory of the Golden Horde.
First there are two important points to note. Firstly, the territory of the state did not remain stable, changing throughout the entire period of its existence; it either decreased or increased again. Secondly, the specificity of the Golden Horde borders was that all the surrounding peoples tried to settle as far as possible from the areas inhabited by the Mongols out of complete concern for their own safety. As a result, “empty places” arose along the perimeter of the Golden Horde nomads, or, using the modern term, neutral zones. In landscape terms, they usually represented transitional forest-steppe areas. As a rule, they were used alternately by one side or the other for economic and fishing purposes. For example, if in the summer the Golden Horde grazed cattle here, then in the winter the Russians hunted. True, it should be noted that such neutral zones were especially characteristic only for the 13th century. - the period of greatest military aggressiveness of the Mongols. In the XIV century. they are gradually beginning to be assimilated by the sedentary peoples surrounding the Golden Horde.
Building power in the Golden Horde.
From the first year of its existence, the Golden Horde was not a sovereign state, and the khan who led it was also not considered an independent ruler. This was due to the fact that the domains of the Jochids, like other Mongol princes, legally constituted a single empire with a central government in rakoruma. The kaan located here, according to one of the articles of Genghis Khan’s yasa (law), had the right to a certain part of the income from all the territories conquered by the Mongols. Moreover, he had possessions in these areas that belonged to him personally. The creation of such a system of close interweaving and interpenetration was associated with an attempt to prevent the inevitable disintegration of a huge empire into separate independent parts. Only the central Karakoram government had the authority to decide the most important economic and political issues. The strength of the central government, which, due to the remoteness of its location, rested, perhaps, only on the authority of Genghis Khan, was still so great that the khans of Batu and Berke continued to adhere to “the path of sincerity, humility, friendship and unanimity” in relation to Karakorum.
But in the 60s of the 13th century. An internecine struggle broke out around the Karakoram throne between Kublai Kublai and Arig-Buga. The victorious Kublai moved the capital from Karakorum to the territory of conquered China in Khan Balik (present-day Beijing). Mengu-Timur, who ruled the Golden Horde at that time and supported Arig-Bugu in the struggle for supreme power, hastened to take advantage of the opportunity that presented itself and did not recognize Kublai’s rights as the supreme ruler of the entire empire, since he left the capital of its founder and abandoned the indigenous yurt to the mercy of fate. all Chingizids - Mongolia. From that moment on, the Golden Horde gained complete independence in resolving all issues of foreign policy and internal nature, and the so carefully guarded unity of the empire founded by Genghis Khan suddenly exploded, and it fell to pieces.
Administrative structure of the Golden Horde
However, by the time the Golden Horde acquired full political sovereignty, naturally, it already had its own internal state structure, and it was sufficiently established and developed. It is not surprising that in its main features it copied the system introduced in Mongolia by Genghis Khan. The basis of this system was the army decimal calculation of the entire population of the country. In accordance with the army division, the entire state was divided into right and left wings.
In the Jochi ulus, the right wing formed the possessions of Khan Batu, stretching from the Danube to the Irtysh. The left wing was under the rule of his elder brother Khan of the Horde. It occupied lands in the south of modern Kazakhstan along the Syr Darya and to the east of it. According to ancient Mongolian tradition, the right wing was called Ak-Orda (White Horde), and the left wing was called Kok-Orda (Blue). From the above it follows that the concepts of “Golden Horde” and “Ulus of Jochi” in territorial and state-legal relations are not synonymous. Ulus of Jochi after 1242 was divided into two wings, which formed the independent possessions of two khans - Batu and the Horde. However, throughout its history, the khans of the Kok-Orda maintained a certain (largely purely formal) political dependence in relation to the khans of the Golden Horde (Ak-Orda). In turn, the territory under the rule of Batu was also divided into right and left wings. In the initial period of the existence of the Golden Horde, the wings corresponded to the largest administrative units of the state. But by the end of the 13th century. they turned from administrative into purely army concepts and were preserved only in relation to military formations.
In the administrative structure of the state, the wings were replaced by a more convenient division into four main territorial units, headed by ulusbeks. These four uluses represented the largest administrative divisions. They were called Saray, Desht-i-Kipchak, Crimea, Khorezm. In the most general form, he described the administrative system of the Golden Horde back in the 13th century. G. Rubruk, who traveled the entire state from west to east. According to his observation, the Mongols “divided Scythia among themselves, which stretches from the Danube until sunrise; and every leader knows, depending on whether he has a larger or smaller number of people under his authority, the boundaries of his pastures, as well as where he should graze his flocks in winter, summer, spring and autumn. It is in winter that they descend south to warmer countries, and in summer they rise north to colder countries.” This sketch by the traveler contains the basis of the administrative-territorial division of the Golden Horde, defined by the concept of “ulus system”. Its essence was the right of nomadic feudal lords to receive from the khan himself or another large steppe aristocrat a certain inheritance - an ulus. For this, the owner of the ulus was obliged to field, if necessary, a certain number of fully armed soldiers (depending on the size of the ulus), as well as to perform various tax and economic duties. This system was an exact copy of the structure of the Mongol army: the entire state - the Great Ulus - was divided in accordance with the rank of the owner (temnik, thousand's manager, centurion, ten's manager) - into denominations of certain sizes and from each of them, in case of war, ten, hundred , a thousand or ten thousand armed warriors. At the same time, uluses were not hereditary possessions that could be transferred from father to son. Moreover, the khan could take away the ulus completely or replace it with another.
In the initial period of the existence of the Golden Horde, there were apparently no more than 15 large uluses, and rivers most often served as the borders between them. This shows a certain primitiveness of the administrative division of the state, rooted in old nomadic traditions. The further development of statehood, the emergence of cities, the introduction of Islam, and closer acquaintance with Arab and Persian traditions of governance led to various complications in the domains of the Jochids, with the simultaneous withering away of Central Asian customs dating back to the time of Genghis Khan. Instead of dividing the territory into two wings, as already mentioned, four uluses appeared, led by ulusbeks. Each of these four uluses was divided into a certain number of “regions”, which were uluses of feudal lords of the next rank. In total, the number of such “regions” in the Golden Horde in the 14th century. was about 70 in number of temniks.
Simultaneously with the establishment of the administrative-territorial division, the formation of the state administration apparatus took place. The period of reign of the khans Batu and Berke can rightfully be called organizational in the history of the Golden Horde. Batu laid the basic foundations of the state, which were preserved under all subsequent khans. The feudal estates of the aristocracy were formalized, an apparatus of officials appeared, the capital was founded, the Yamsk connection between all uluses was organized, taxes and duties were approved and distributed. The reign of Batu and Berke is characterized by the absolute power of the khans, whose authority was associated in the minds of their subjects with the amount of wealth they looted. Naturally, it was quite difficult for the khan, who was in constant motion, to manage the affairs of the state himself. This is also emphasized by sources that directly report that the supreme ruler “pays attention only to the essence of affairs, without going into the details of the circumstances, and is content with what is reported to him, but does not seek out details regarding collection and expenditure.”
Rus' and the Golden Horde: organization of power
The Russian people who fell under the rule of the conquerors had to learn to live in new conditions, under a new state system.
But before the whole system of Golden Horde rule was organized, relations of domination and subordination were established between Russia and the Golden Horde, immediately after the conquered, although they did not have time to develop into complete forms. Under 1243, in the same chronicle we read the entry: “Grand Duke Yaroslav (brother of Yuri Vsevolodovich, killed on the City River, and his successor on the Vladimir table) nominated the Tatars to the Batyevs, and sent his son Konstantin as ambassador to Kanovi. Batu almost gave Yaroslav great honor and let his men go and said to him: “Yaroslav! may you be old as all the princes in the Russian language.” Yaroslav returned to his land with great honor?” The Great Khan was not content with Constantine's visit; Yaroslav himself had to go to the banks of the Orkhon River to the khan's headquarters. In 1246, the famous Franciscan Plano Carpini, sent by the Pope at the head of a mission to the Mongol Khan in order to collect information regarding the Tatars, in whom the Europeans, frightened by the invasion of Vatu and Europe, became very interested, met the Russian prince Yaroslav in the horde. Plano Carpini in his report says, among other things, that the Tatars showed preference to him and Prince Yaroslav. In addition to the Vladimir-Suzdal land, Kyiv was also approved for Yaroslav. But Yaroslav himself did not go to Kyiv, and appointed boyar Dmitry Eykovich there as his governor. The Russian lands conquered by the Tatar army were not directly included in the Golden Horde.
Collection of tribute and establishment of power.
The Golden Horde khans viewed the Russian lands as politically autonomous, having their own power, but being dependent on the khans and obligated to pay them tribute - a “way out”. In addition to the “exit”, there were emergency payments - requests. If the khan needed funds for war, then he sent an unexpected “request” to Rus', which was also collected strictly. Enormous wealth was spent on gifts to the khan, his relatives, ambassadors, bribes to courtiers and bribery of Horde officials.
It was announced to the princes and the population that from now on the supreme ruler of Rus' was the head of the Mongol Empire, and direct control was exercised by Batu Khan. The Horde khan was given the name “tsar”3. The Russian feudal principalities became vassals to the khan. All the princes who survived the invasion had to come to Batu and receive from him a label - a letter of complaint, which confirmed his authority to govern the principality. Dependence on the khans was expressed in the fact that the Russian Grand Duke sat on his table with a “tsar's grant,” i.e., from the khan. This was done on behalf of the khan either by the Russian metropolitan or by the khan’s authorized representative. The prince, seated on the table on behalf of the khan, was at the same time placed under the control of the khan's power. This applies not only to the Grand Duke, but also to other princes. This control was carried out by the Baskaks. The Kursk baskak Akhmat held the baskachism of the Kursk prince, others - in other principalities.
But already from the end of the 13th century, or more precisely, from the first half of the 14th century, the Tatar Baskaks disappeared. The collection of Tatar tribute is entrusted to the Russian princes under the responsibility of the Grand Duke. The power of the khan in relation to these vassal princes was also formally expressed in the fact that these princes were established on their princely tables by the khans through the presentation of labels to them. The eldest among the princes, or the Grand Duke, also received a special label for the great reign. Everyone had to pay for the Tatar “exit”. For this purpose, the Tatars carried out population censuses. For the first census and collection of tribute, Batu sent Baskaks. A new census was carried out, as we have seen, in 1257 under Khan Berke, who sent special census takers for this purpose. These numbers, according to the testimony of the Laurentian Chronicle, appointed foremen, centurions, thousanders and temniks. In the 70s of the 13th century. there was a new census under Khan Mengu-Timur. The sources are unclear about the year of this census. Our chronicles do not mention other Tatar censuses, but in other sources we have indications of the continuation of this practice.
We do not know exactly how censuses were carried out for the purpose of collecting tribute before the Tatars, but we have completely accurate facts about the collection of tribute and units of taxation (“ralo”, “plough”, “plow”). The Tatars took advantage of these ready-made units of taxation.
Tatishchev reports that in 1275, Grand Duke Vasily Yaroslavich “brought the khan half a hryvnia from a plow, or from two workers, and that the khan, dissatisfied with the tribute, ordered the people in Russia to be re-enumerated again.” Here we apparently have an unsuccessful attempt by Tatishchev to explain the essence of the plow: the plow was hardly represented by two workers, but, of course, Tatishchev did not invent the plow here, but took it from a chronicle that has not reached us. In Khan Mengu-Timur's letter to the Russian metropolitans, written between 1270 and 1276, we have a list of duties that fell on the population of the conquered Russian lands, but from which the clergy were exempt.
We have the same, only slightly expanded list in the yarlyk of Khan Uzbek in 1313. Metropolitan Peter. Here we speak twice about the “afternoon”. In the label 1270-1276. they are also called harvesters of the plow, and it turns out that these pickers are not the khan’s, but the Russian princes. Only the clergy were spared from the “numbers” and the resulting obligation to pay tribute. This was the policy of the Tatar khans in relation to the church, which the khans quite rightly considered a political force and used in their interests. And the khans were not mistaken in this regard: the public prayer of the clergy for the khans introduced into the masses the idea of the need to submit to Tatar power.
In addition to tribute, the Tatars demanded certain duties from the Russian population, without which the Tatars could not exercise their power.
They divided the entire territory of the occupied country into tumens or darknesses - districts capable of fielding 10 thousand combat-ready men into the militia in case of war. The people in the tumens were distributed into thousands, hundreds and tens. In North-Eastern Rus', the conquerors formed 15 tumens; in southern Rus' - 14 tumens.
As we have already seen, the Tatar khans demanded, first of all, money and people from the conquered lands. Freeing the clergy from these duties and payments, the khans also freed them from the supply of soldiers, carts, and yam duty. Gathering warriors from conquered peoples is a common technique of the Tatar authorities. As for other duties where human power was directly used, here it is necessary, first of all, to point out the yam duty, which, apparently, did not immediately become natural. In the first label we know, “yam” means a type of tribute. But the Tatar khans also introduced “yams” as a duty to supply horses to Tatar ambassadors and officials. Its essence was that Rus' was included in the general system of routes and communications of the Mongol Empire. At certain distances along the roadways, stables and inns were built. The surrounding population served there and supplied horses. Such a point was called yam, and its servants were called yamchi4. The yamcha's task was to ensure the non-stop movement of messengers with the khan's orders, to keep them ready and present fresh horses to passing ambassadors and officials.
But, as mentioned above, the collection of tribute was carried out by Tatar officials for a relatively short time. Already from the end of the 13th century. this responsibility was assigned to the Russian princes. They themselves, in their own way, had to collect it and deliver it to the Horde. All princes must send their tributes, but the collected amounts are handed over to the treasury of the Grand Duke, who is responsible to the khan for the “exit”. The size of the “exit” was not stable. The amount of tribute varied depending on various circumstances: either the princes themselves, competing with each other for the great reign, threw in amounts, then the khans increased these amounts, guided by various considerations. We know some numbers. Grand Duke Vladimir Dmitrievich paid the “exit” of seven thousand rubles, the Nizhny Novgorod principality - one and a half thousand rubles, etc.
Another means of keeping Rus' in subjection was repeated Mongol raids. According to historians, in the second half of the 13th century the enemy invaded Russian borders fourteen times.
Relations of the Russian people with the Tatar-Mongolian people.
The Russian princes, for the most part, were aware of the power of the Golden Horde and tried for the time being to live peacefully with the conquerors. Under those conditions, this was the only way to protect one’s people, the population of one’s principality, from death or being driven into slavery. The beginning of such a conciliatory policy was laid by Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. His son Alexander Nevsky continued it. Prince Alexander repeatedly traveled to the Horde, visited Mongolia and managed to win over the Mongolian nobility. Since the khan was considered the sovereign of Rus', issues of priority in receiving labels were resolved at the Horde court. There were frequent intrigues between the princes, gifts to high-ranking Mongol officials, slander and slander of rivals. The government of the Golden Horde was interested in fanning these discords. Gradually, the khans became so confident in the obedience of Rus' and its princes that in the 14th century they recalled their representatives to collect tribute and bring it to the Horde. It was this right that later became the strongest weapon in the hands of such an intelligent and resourceful politician as the Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita. The Moscow authorities now have the opportunity to accumulate funds to attract supporters and intimidate opponents.
With the weakening of the Horde in the second half of the 14th century, the yoke became less severe. The steppe power, which began to fragment, could no longer organize large invasions of Rus', and the Russians learned to repel frequent raids by scattered nomadic detachments. An attempt at a punitive campaign against the Principality of Moscow in 1380. ended with the catastrophic defeat of the Horde troops on the Kulikovo field. True, two years later Khan Tokhtamysh still took Moscow by deception and burned it, but these were already the last decades of the relative unity and power of the Horde.
Two and a half centuries of the Horde yoke were not a continuous strip of adversity and deprivation for the Russian people. Viewing conquest as a necessary temporary evil, our ancestors learned to benefit from close relations with the Horde. The Russians adopted some fighting skills and tactical methods of operations from the Tatars. Something came to Russia from the Horde economy: the well-known word “customs” comes from the name of the Horde tax “tamga” (trade duty), and the word “money” itself came to us in those years from the East. Kaftan, shoe, cap - these and other items of clothing, along with their names, were adopted from their eastern neighbors. Yamskaya service on the roads of Russia survived the Golden Horde for several centuries.
Mixed marriages also contributed to the mutual penetration of cultures. Often our young men married Tatar women. Sometimes political calculations were also at work - after all, intermarrying with the Horde nobility or even with the khan himself was considered extremely prestigious. Later, Tatar nobles began to move to Russia after the fall of the Golden Horde and laid the foundation for such famous families as the Godunovs, Glinskys, Turgenevs, Sheremetyevs, Urusovs, Shakhmatovs.
Conclusion.
To summarize all of the above, it should be noted that before the aggressive campaigns, the Mongol nomadic tribes were at the stage of decomposition of the primitive communal system. By the beginning of the 13th century, the scattered Mongol tribes were united under the rule of Genghis Khan. During his campaigns of conquest, Genghis Khan managed to create a huge steppe empire, which had no equal in history.
In 1211 they conquered the lands of the Buryats, Yakuts, Kyrgyz and Uighurs. In 1217 - China. From 1219-1221 All of Central Asia was conquered. In 1220-1222. – Transcaucasia, Northern Caucasus. In 1236-1242. expeditions were organized to Volga Bulgaria, Rus', and Western Europe (Poland, Hungary, the Balkans, the Czech Republic).
The main reasons for the campaigns of conquest were:
The desire of the tribal nobility to enrich themselves;
Conquest of new pastures;
The desire to secure one's own borders;
Gaining control over trade routes;
Collection of tribute from conquered states.
The political dependence of Rus' on the Golden Horde was manifested in:
Russian princes were vassals;
The power of the Russian princes was monitored by the khans;
The princes were given labels - khan's letters, confirming their appointment;
Power was maintained through terror;
Economic dependence was manifested in the fact that they took not only tribute from the residents, but also plows, pits, and “fodder,” and they collected warriors and artisans.
The history of Russia can be studied as a single subject, or it can be divided into periods, indicating the characteristics of each of them. In this case, the most important milestone in Russian history will be the Mongol-Tatar invasion, which divided it into “pre-Mongol” and “post-Mongol” times. The Mongol-Tatar invasion and the Horde yoke that established itself after it radically changed the face of Ancient Rus' in political and cultural relations.
Of course, the cities did not move from their places, the rivers did not flow back; however, laws, the organization of power, the political map and even clothing, coins, the simplest household items - all this ceased to be the same as it was in the pre-Mongol era. Rus' was strongly influenced by Horde culture and adopted Horde political traditions and military customs.
Thus, the consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' can be characterized as follows:
State order was strengthened;
Weakening of princely strife;
Establishment of pit racing;
Mutual borrowing in the economy, everyday life and language;
The invasion and yoke threw the Russian lands back in their development;
The population has decreased.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the Golden Horde disintegrated in the 15th century into separate independent principalities, after the ruler of Central Asia, Timur, invaded the Ulus of Jochi three times. Although Timur did not annex the Horde to his empire, he completely plundered and weakened it. The largest principalities formed were the Crimean, Kazan, Siberian, Uzbek khanates and the Nogai Horde.
The Great Horde in the lower reaches of the Volga is formally considered the heir of the Golden Horde. The khans of the Great Horde continued to demand tribute from the Russian princes and tried to convince them to come for labels. In 1502 Ivan III's ally, the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, burned Sarai, and the last sovereign Khan, Akhmat, who fled to the steppe, was caught and slaughtered by the Nogai. Thus ended the existence of the Ulus of Jochi, one of the most extensive and powerful states of the Middle Ages.
Bibliography
"Encyclopedia for children. History of Russia: from the ancient Slavs to Peter the Great.” Volume 5, part 1. – Moscow, “Avanta+” 1995.
“History of Little Russia” - D.N. Batysh-Kamensky, Kyiv, 1993, Publishing House “Chas”
“Golden Horde: myths and reality” - V.L. Egorov, Moscow, 1990, Publishing House "Knowledge"
“The Golden Horde and its fall” - B.D. Grekov, A.Yu. Yakubovsky,
Moscow, 1950, Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences
1 Mongol title of supreme ruler, which was received by Temujin in 1206. for the unification of the Mongolian nomadic tribes.
2 Yoke - political and economic dependence
3 Previously, Russians only gave this title to the Byzantine emperor.
4 This is where the Russian word “coachman” comes from.