Where the golden horde originated. History of the Golden Horde. The influence of the Golden Horde on the world political arena and its decline

At what stage of education do schoolchildren usually get acquainted with the concept of the "Golden Horde"? Grade 6, of course. The history teacher tells the children how the Orthodox people suffered from foreign invaders. One gets the impression that in the thirteenth century Russia experienced the same brutal occupation as in the forties of the last century. But is it really worth it to 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" (grade 6, textbook) is not the only source on this topic. There are other, more fundamental works of researchers. Let's take an adult look at a rather long period of time in the history of our homeland.

The beginning of the Golden Horde

Europe first met Mongol nomadic tribes in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. The troops of Genghis Khan reached the Adriatic and could successfully advance further - to Italy and to But the dream of the great conqueror came true - the Mongols were able to scoop up water from the Western Sea with a helmet. Therefore, the army of many thousands returned to their steppes. For another twenty years, the Mongol Empire and feudal Europe existed without colliding in any way, as if in parallel worlds. In 1224, Genghis Khan divided his kingdom among his sons. This is how the Ulus (province) of Jochi appeared - the most western in the empire. If we ask ourselves what the Golden Horde is, then 1236 can be considered the starting point of this state formation. 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 at that time. Ulus is an administrative unit in the great and it was dependent on the central government. However, Khan Batu (in the Russian chronicles Batu) in 1254 moved his capital to the Lower Volga region. There he set up a capital. Khan founded the large city of Saray-Batu (now a place near the village of Selitrennoye in the Astrakhan region). In 1251, a kurultai took place, where Mongke was elected emperor. Batu arrived in the capital Karakorum and supported the heir to the throne. Other applicants were executed. Their lands were divided between Mongke and 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 translation from Turkic.

Years of the Golden Horde

Demonstration of loyalty to Khan Mongke served Batu a good service. His ulus received great autonomy. But the state acquired full 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. Volga Bulgaria, North Khorezm, Western Siberia, Desht-i-Kipchak (steppes from the Irtysh to the Danube), the North Caucasus and Crimea were part of this overgrown ulus. In terms of area, the state formation can be compared with the Roman Empire. Its southern edge was Derbent, and its northeastern border was Isker and Tyumen in Siberia. In 1257, a 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 made it possible for the khan to attract Arab artisans and traders from Central Asia and the Volga Bulgars to his side.

The Golden Horde reached its peak 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. The campaign of Tamerlane (1395) drove the last nail into the lid of 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 (early years of the 15th century), Kazan, Crimean, Astrakhan, Uzbek, the Central government remained and continued to be considered supreme. But the days of the Golden Horde are over. The power of the successor became more and more nominal. This state was called the Big 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, being absorbed

Rus and Ulus Jochi

Slavic lands were not part of the Mongol Empire. What is the Golden Horde, the Rus could judge only by the extreme western 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 in certain periods were of a different nature - from partnership to openly slavish. But in most cases it was a typically feudal relationship between a feudal lord and a vassal. Russian princes came to the capital of the Jochi ulus, the city of Sarai, and brought 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 the first in subordination was the shortcut to the Vladimir-Suzdal reign. From this, during the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the center of all Russian lands shifted. It was the city of Vladimir.

"Terrible" Tatar-Mongol yoke

The history textbook for the sixth grade depicts the misfortunes that the Russian people endured under the invaders. However, not everything was so sad. The princes first used the 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 ulus Jochi - their liege. This was called the "Horde exit". If the payment was delayed, the bakauls arrived and collected the taxes themselves. But at the same time, the Slavic princes ruled over the people, and his life went on 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 state system, then there is no single 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 army of the conquerors was assimilated among the conquered population. Already at the beginning of the XIV century, the Russians called the Horde "Tatars". The ethnographic composition of this empire was very diverse. Alans, Uzbeks, Kipchaks and other nomadic or sedentary peoples constantly lived here. Khans in every possible way encouraged the development of trade, crafts and the construction of cities. There was no discrimination based on nationality or religion. In the capital of the ulus - Sarai - in 1261 an Orthodox bishopric was even formed, the Russian diaspora was so numerous here.

Formation of the state of the Golden Horde
As a result of the campaigns of Batu Khan in the 40s of the XIII century, the Golden Horde arose on the territory of the Jochi ulus in Eastern Europe. The Golden Horde included Crimea, the Caucasus up to Derbend, Northern Khorezm, the peoples of the Volga and Kama regions - Bulgars, Mordovians, Kypchagi-Pechenegs.
The main part of the population and troops were the tribes of the Turks, and therefore the state was called Turkic. Starting from the XIV century, the official firmans of the khans of the Golden Horde were composed in the Turkic language. Russian principalities were not part of the Golden Horde, but were in vassal dependence. The capital of the Golden Horde first became the city of Sarai-Baty, founded by Batu Khan not far from present-day Astrakhan. In the second half of the 13th century, the capital was moved to the city of Saray-Berke (not far from present-day Volgograd). The largest feudal lords of this state were members of the khan's family. They were followed by noyons, or in Türkic - beks. Privileged persons exempted from paying taxes in favor of the state were called “tarkhans”. The firms issued by the khans about land ownership and about exemption from compulsory work were called “labels”. One of the largest feudal lords of the Golden Horde, Nogai Khan, subjugated the lands of the Northern Black Sea region, the Crimea and territories up to the lowlands of the Danube River. Another brother of Batu Khan, Berke, converted to Islam, but only Khan Uzbek (1313-1342) declared Islam the official religion.
At the head of the Golden Horde was a ruler called "khan". Under him, the supreme advisory body, the Majlis, functioned, and a sofa was organized. Beks and emirs were in charge of state affairs, and viziers and naibs were in charge of individual regions. Special officials of the khan - Baskaks controlled local rulers, collected taxes in kind and in money.

After the death of Jani bek (1357), as a result of internal strife in the Golden Horde until 1380, more than 25 khans were replaced. In the 60s of the XIV century, the tendencies of independence intensified in Khorezm and Astrakhan.
Taking advantage of the weakening of the Golden Horde, Poland and Lithuania seized its Dnieper lands. The Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy defeated Khan Mamai in the battle on the Kulikovo field in 1380. With the help of Emir Timur, Tokhtamysh (1380-1395) came to power, who in 1382 captured and burned Moscow. But Tokhtamysh also coveted the lands of Timur himself, for which he was defeated by him on the banks of the Terek River in 1395. Saray-Berke was captured. The eastern regions of the Golden Horde became part of the Timurid state.
In the first half of the 15th century, independent states were formed - the Kazan and Astrakhan Khanates on the Volga, the Nogai Horde between the Volga and Irtysh, the Crimean Khanate, and in the second half of the 15th century, the West Siberian Khanate. The Golden Horde Khan Ahmed, at the instigation of the Polish king Casimir IV, in 1472 made a campaign against the Moscow principality that had come out of obedience, but to no avail. In 1480, Akhmed Khan and Moscow Prince Ivan III met on the Ugra River. The Polish king was unable to help Ahmed Khan. Due to the onset of cold weather, Ahmed Khan was forced to retreat, and the Nogais killed him. Thus, Russia emerged from its vassal dependence on the Golden Horde. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Golden Horde finally disintegrated.

In the middle of the 13th century, one of Genghis Khan's grandsons, Khubilai, moved his headquarters to Beijing, founding the Yuan Dynasty. The rest of the Mongol state was nominally subordinate to the great khan in Karakorum. One of the sons of Genghis Khan - Chagatay (Jagatay) received the lands of most of Central Asia, and the grandson of Genghis Khan Hulagu owned the territory of Iran, part of Western and Central Asia and Transcaucasia. This usul, isolated in 1265, is called the state of the Hulaguids by the name of the dynasty. Another grandson of Genghis Khan from his eldest son Jochi - Batu founded the state of the Golden Horde History of Russia, A.S. Orlov, V.A. Georgiev 2004 - from 56.

The Golden Horde is a medieval state in Eurasia, created by the Turkic-Mongol tribes. Founded in the early 40s of the 13th century as a result of the conquered campaigns of the Mongols. The name of the state comes from the magnificent Golden Horde tent, which stood in its capital, sparkling in the sun: myths and reality. In L Egorov 1990 - from 5.

Initially, the Golden Horde was part of the huge Mongol Empire. The khans of the Golden Horde in the first decades of its existence were considered subordinate to the supreme Mongol khan in Karakorum in Mongolia. In Mongolia, the Horde khans received a label for the right to reign in the Jochi Ulus. But, starting in 1266, the Golden Horde Khan Mengu-Timur for the first time ordered to strike his name on coins instead of the name of the All-Mongolian sovereign. From this time, the countdown of the independent existence of the Golden Horde begins.

Batu Khan founded a powerful state, which some called the Golden Horde, while others called the White Horde - the khan of this Horde was called the White Khan. The Mongols, who were often called Tatars, were an insignificant minority in the Horde - and soon they dissolved among the Polovtsian Turks, adopting their language and giving them their name: the Polovtsians also began to be called Tatars. Following the example of Genghis Khan, Batu divided the Tatars into tens, hundreds and thousands; these military units corresponded to clans and tribes; a group of tribes united in a ten-thousandth corps - tumen, in Russian, "darkness" "History of the State" magazine February 2010 №2 article "Golden Horde" from 22.

As for the now familiar name "Golden Horde", it began to be used at a time when not a trace remained of the state founded by Khan Batu. For the first time this phrase appeared in the “Kazan Chronicler”, written in the second half of the 16th century, in the form “Golden Horde” and “Great Golden Horde”. Its origin is associated with the khan's headquarters, or rather, with the khan's ceremonial yurt, richly decorated with gold and expensive materials. Here is how the traveler of the XIV century describes it: “An Uzbek sits in a tent, called a golden tent, decorated and outlandish. It consists of wooden rods covered with gold leaf. In the middle of it is a wooden throne, lined with silver gilded leaves, its legs are made of silver, and the top is strewn with precious stones. "

There is no doubt that the term “Golden Horde” was common in Russia in colloquial speech already in the XIV century, but it never appears in the annals of that period. Russian chroniclers proceeded from the emotional load of the word "golden", which was used at that time as a synonym for everything good, bright and joyful, which could not be said about the oppressor state, and even inhabited by the "filthy". That is why the name “Golden Horde” appears only after time has erased all the horrors of Mongol rule. Great Soviet Encyclopedia, AM Prokhorov, Moscow, 1972 - from 563

The Golden Horde covers a vast territory. It includes: Western Siberia, Northern Khorezm, Volga Bulgaria, Northern Caucasus, Crimea, Desht-i-Kipchak (Kipchak steppe from Irtysh to Danube). The extreme southeastern limit of the Golden Horde was South Kazakhstan (now the city of Taraz), and the extreme northeastern limit was the city of Tyumen and Isker in Western Siberia. From north to south, the Horde stretched from the middle reaches of the river. Kama to Derbent. This entire gigantic territory was quite homogeneous in terms of landscape - it was mainly a steppe. The capital of the Golden Horde was the city of Sarai, located in the lower reaches of the Volga (a barn in Russian means a palace). The city was founded by Khan Batu in 1254. Destroyed in 1395 by Tamerlane. The settlement near the village of Selitrenny, left over from the first capital of the Golden Horde - Saray-Batu ("the city of Batu"), is striking in its size. Spread on several hills, it stretches along the left bank of the Akhtuba for more than 15 km. It was a state that consisted of semi-independent usuls, united under the rule of the khan. They were ruled by the Batu brothers and the local aristocracy. History of Russia, A.S. Orlov, V.A. Georgieva 2004 - from 57

If we evaluate the total area, then the Golden Horde was undoubtedly the largest state of the Middle Ages. Arab and Persian historians of the XIV - XV centuries. in total, they reported on its size in numbers that boggled the imagination of contemporaries. One of them noted that the length of the state stretches for 8 months, and the width for 6 months. Another slightly reduced the size: up to 6 months of travel in length and 4 - in width. The third relied on specific geographical landmarks and reported that this country stretches “from the Sea of ​​Constantinople to the Irtysh River, 800 Farsakhs in length, and from Babelebvab (Derben-ta) to the city of Bolgar, that is, approximately 600 Farsakhs” Golden Horde : myths and reality. In L Egorov 1990 - from 7.

The main population of the Golden Horde were Kipchaks, Bulgars and Russians.

Throughout the 13th century, the Caucasian border was one of the most restless, since the local peoples (Circassians, Alans, Lezgins) had not yet been completely subordinated to the Mongols and offered stubborn resistance to the conquerors. The Tauride Peninsula has also been part of the Golden Horde since the beginning of its existence. It was after being included in the territory of this state that it received a new name - Crimea, after the name of the main city of this ulus. However, the Mongols themselves occupied in the 13th - 14th centuries. only the northern, steppe, part of the peninsula. Its coastline and mountainous regions represented at that time a number of small feudal possessions, semi-dependent on the Mongols. The most important and famous among them were the Italian colonial cities of Kafa (Feodosia), Soldaya (Sudak), Chembalo (Balaklava). In the mountains of the south-west there was a small principality of Theodoro, whose capital was the well-fortified city of Mangup Great Soviet Encyclopedia, AM Prokhorov, Moscow, 1972 - from 563.

Relations with the Mongols of the Italians and local feudal lords were maintained through lively trade. But this did not in the least prevent the Sarai khans from attacking their trading partners from time to time and considering them as their own tributaries. To the west of the Black Sea, the state border stretched along the Danube, without crossing it, to the Hungarian fortress Turnu Severin, which closed the exit from the Lower Danube lowland. “The northern borders of the state in this area were limited by the spurs of the Carpathians and included the steppe areas of the Prut-Dniester interfluve. History of Russia 9-18c, VI Moryakov higher education, Moscow, 2004- p. 95.

It was here that the border of the Golden Horde with the Russian principalities began. It passed approximately along the border of the steppe and forest-steppe. Between the Dniester and the Dnieper, the border stretched in the area of ​​modern Vinnitsa and Cherkasy regions. In the Dnieper basin, the possessions of the Russian princes ended somewhere between Kiev and Kanev. From here the border line went to the area of ​​modern Kharkov, Kursk and then went out to the Ryazan limits along the left bank of the Don. To the east of the Ryazan principality, from the Moksha River to the Volga, stretched a forest area inhabited by Mordovian tribes.

The Mongols were of little interest in the territories covered with dense forests, but, despite this, the entire Mordovian population was completely under the control of the Golden Horde and constituted one of its northern uluses. Sources of the XIV century testify to this with all the concreteness. In the Volga basin during the XIII century. the border ran north of the Sura River, and in the next century it gradually shifted to the mouth of the Sura and even south of it. A vast area of ​​modern Chuvashia in the XIII century. was completely ruled by the Mongols. On the left bank of the Volga, the Golden Horde borderland stretched north of the Kama. The former possessions of the Volga Bulgaria were located here, which turned into an integral part of the Golden Horde without any hints of autonomy. The Bashkirs who lived in the middle and southern Urals were also part of the Mongol state. They owned in this area all the lands south of the White Golden Horde River and its fall Grekov B. D. Yakubovsky A. Yu. 1998 - from 55.

The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of its time. At the beginning of the 14th century, she could put up a 300 thousand army. The heyday of the Golden Horde falls on the reign of Khan Uzbek (1312 - 1342). In 1312 Islam became the state religion of the Golden Horde. Then, like other medieval states, the Horde experienced a period of fragmentation. Already in the 14th century, the Central Asian possessions of the Golden Horde separated, and in the 15th century Kazan (1438), Crimean (1443), Astrakhan (mid-15th century) and Siberian (late 15th century) khanates emerged History of Russia, A.S. Orlov, V. A. Georgiev 2004 - from 57.

The phenomenon of the Golden Horde still causes serious controversy among historians: some consider it a powerful medieval state, according to others, it was part of the Russian lands, and for others it did not exist at all.

Why the Golden Horde?

In Russian sources, the term "Golden Horde" appears only in 1556 in the "Kazan history", although among the Turkic peoples this phrase occurs much earlier.

However, the historian GV Vernadsky claims that in the Russian chronicles the term "Golden Horde" was originally called the tent of Khan Guyuk. The Arab traveler Ibn Battuta wrote about this, noting that the tents of the Horde khans were covered with plates of gilded silver.
But there is another version according to which the term "golden" is synonymous with the words "central" or "middle". This is exactly the position occupied by the Golden Horde after the collapse of the Mongol state.

As for the word "horde", in Persian sources it meant a mobile camp or headquarters, later it was used in relation to the whole state. In ancient Russia, an army was usually called a horde.

Boundaries

The Golden Horde is a fragment of the once mighty empire of Genghis Khan. By 1224, the Great Khan divided his vast possessions between his sons: one of the largest uluses with the center in the Lower Volga region went to the eldest son, Jochi.

The borders of the Jochi ulus, later the Golden Horde, were finally formed after the Western campaign (1236-1242), in which his son Batu participated (in Russian sources Batu). In the east, the Golden Horde included the Aral Lake, in the west - the Crimean peninsula, in the south it was adjacent to Iran, and in the north it rested against the Ural Mountains.

Device

The judgment of the Mongols as purely nomads and pastoralists should probably become a thing of the past. The vast territories of the Golden Horde required reasonable management. After the final separation from Karakorum, the center of the Mongol Empire, the Golden Horde is divided into two wings - western and eastern, and each has its own capital - in the first Sarai, in the second - the Horde-Bazar. In total, according to archaeologists, the number of cities in the Golden Horde reached 150!

After 1254, the political and economic center of the state completely passes into Sarai (located near modern Astrakhan), whose population at the time of its heyday reached 75 thousand people - a fairly large city by medieval standards. Here, minting of coins is being established, pottery, jewelry, glass-blowing crafts, as well as smelting and metal processing are developing. Sewerage and water supply were installed in the city.

Sarai was a multinational city - here the Mongols, Russians, Tatars, Alans, Bulgars, Byzantines and other peoples lived peacefully. The Horde, being an Islamic state, tolerated other faiths. In 1261, a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church appeared in Sarai, and later a Catholic bishopric.

The cities of the Golden Horde are gradually turning into large centers of caravan trade. Everything from silk and spices to weapons and precious stones can be found here. The state is actively developing its trade zone: caravan routes from the Horde cities lead both to Europe and Russia, as well as to India and China.

Horde and Russia

In Russian historiography, for a long time, the main concept that characterizes the relationship between Russia and the Golden Horde was "yoke". We were painted terrible pictures of the Mongol colonization of Russian lands, when wild hordes of nomads destroyed everyone and everything on their way, and those who survived were turned into slavery.

However, there was no term “yoke” in the Russian chronicles. It first appears in the works of the Polish historian Jan Dlugosz in the second half of the 15th century. Moreover, the Russian princes and Mongol khans, according to the researchers, preferred to negotiate rather than expose the lands to ruin.

LN Gumilev, by the way, considered the relationship between Russia and the Horde a beneficial military-political alliance, and N.M. Karamzin noted the most important role of the Horde in the rise of the Moscow principality.

It is known that Alexander Nevsky, having enlisted the support of the Mongols and insured his rear, was able to expel the Swedes and Germans from northwestern Russia. And in 1269, when the crusaders were besieging the walls of Novgorod, a Mongol detachment helped the Russians repel their attack. The Horde sided with Nevsky in his conflict with the Russian nobility, who in turn helped her resolve inter-dynastic disputes.
Of course, a significant part of the Russian lands was conquered by the Mongols and levied tribute, but the scale of the devastation is probably greatly exaggerated.

The princes who wished to cooperate received so-called "labels" from the khans, becoming, in fact, the Horde governors. The burden of duty for the lands controlled by the princes was significantly reduced. No matter how humiliating vassal dependence was, it still preserved the autonomy of the Russian principalities and prevented bloody wars.

The Church was completely freed by the Horde from paying tribute. The first label was issued to the clergy - Metropolitan Kirill Khan Mengu-Temir. History has preserved for us the words of the khan: "We gave favor, priests and monks and all poor people, but with a right heart they pray to God for us, and for our tribe without sorrow, bless us, but not curse us." The label ensured freedom of religion and the inviolability of church property.

GV Nosovsky and AT Fomenko in "New Chronology" put forward a very bold hypothesis: Russia and the Horde are one and the same state. They easily transform Batu into Yaroslav the Wise, Tokhtamysh into Dmitry Donskoy, and the capital of the Horde Sarai is transferred to Veliky Novgorod. However, the official history of this version is more than categorical.

Wars

Without a doubt, the Mongols were best at fighting. True, they took for the most part not by skill, but by number. The conquered peoples - Polovtsy, Tatars, Nogays, Bulgars, Chinese and even Russians - helped the armies of Genghis Khan and his descendants to conquer the space from the Sea of ​​Japan to the Danube. The Golden Horde was unable to keep the empire within its former limits, however, it cannot be denied militancy. The maneuverable cavalry, numbering hundreds of thousands of horsemen, forced many to surrender.

For the time being, it was possible to maintain a fragile balance in relations between Russia and the Horde. But when the appetites of the temnik Mamai were played out in earnest, the contradictions between the parties resulted in the legendary battle on the Kulikovo field (1380). Its result was the defeat of the Mongol army and the weakening of the Horde. This event ends the period of the "Great Hush", when the Golden Horde was in a fever from civil strife and dynastic troubles.
The confusion ceased and power was strengthened with the accession to the throne of Tokhtamysh. In 1382 he again went to Moscow and resumed the payment of tribute. However, exhausting wars with the more combat-ready army of Tamerlane, in the end, undermined the former might of the Horde and for a long time discouraged the desire to make aggressive campaigns.

In the next century, the Golden Horde gradually began to "crumble" into pieces. So, one after another, the Siberian, Uzbek, Astrakhan, Crimean, Kazan Khanates and the Nogai Horde appeared within its borders. The weakening attempts of the Golden Horde to carry out punitive actions were suppressed by Ivan III. The famous "Standing on the Ugra" (1480) did not develop into a large-scale battle, but finally broke the last Horde Khan Akhmat. Since that time, the Golden Horde has formally ceased to exist.