The Middle Ages - the time of the formation of many nationalities and the formation of their statehood. This process is characteristic not only of European countries, but also of Asian ones. The Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan, created by him in a short time, dominated the Eurasian continent for more than two hundred years.
After its collapse, several state entities remained , one of which is the White Horde. In the post-Mongol period, the process of uniting nomadic and sedentary tribes took place on its territory, thus laying the foundations of the modern Kazakh nation.
Headquarters, tribe, public education
The word "horde" is familiar to everyone from school. Many dramatic events of Russian history of the 13th-15th centuries are associated with it. For a long time, Russian princes were forced to pay tribute to the khans of the Golden Horde, the Mongol-Tatar state that occupied a vast territory.
This fragment of Genghis Khan's empire stretches from the Aral Sea to the Black Sea and from Iran to the Ural Mountains. More often than not, by the word "horde" we mean state formation among the Turkic peoples. Nevertheless, there are other meanings.
For example, the horde is a gathering place for kindred nomads, as well as the nomadic tribes themselves, the army or the headquarters of the khan. In addition, in the Russian language, the Turkic word eventually acquired an allegorical meaning with a negative connotation. So, we often call an unorganized crowd or a random crowd of people a horde.
Why golden?
In 1206, representatives of the Mongol tribes elected Temujin as their head. Since that time, he began to be called Genghis Khan, that is, the chosen one of heaven. Over the next twenty years, his name will terrify the peoples of Asia and Europe.
According to the Mongolian tradition, even during his lifetime, Genghis Khan divided the conquered lands between his sons. The eldest of them, Jochi, took possession of the largest ulus, the center of which was in the Lower Volga region.
Later, these territories became known as the Golden Horde. Its borders, mentioned at the beginning of the article, were finally determined after the Western campaign of Batu, the son of Jochi, undertaken by him in 1236-1242.
There are several hypotheses regarding the origin of the name Golden Horde. This is, first of all, the ancient tradition that the descendants of Genghis Khan were called the “golden race”.
On the other hand, Ibn Battuta, a medieval Arab traveler, noted that the tents of the khans were covered with plates of gilded silver. Hence, the state education itself could get its name.
However, there is a third hypothesis, according to which the Golden Horde after the collapse of the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan occupied a central, that is, a “golden” or middle position.
White and Blue
In the medieval chronicles of the East, dating back to the reign of the sons of Jochi, new names appear: Ak Orda and Kok Horde. Over the past two centuries, historians have been arguing about the terminology and geographical location of these territorial units that once formed the Golden Horde.
Today it is more or less likely to state that the possessions of Jochi were shared by his sons: Horde-Eden and Sheybani. The first received the Irtysh, Semirechye and steppe regions adjacent to the Kentau and Ulutau mountains. This ulus was called Ak (White) Horde.
Sheybani inherited the Aral Sea steppes, the Yaik interfluve, the lower Syr Darya. His possessions were called the Kok (Blue) Horde. Nevertheless, we note that scarce and contradictory historical information is often interpreted by scientists in the opposite way.
Therefore, some researchers believe that the Ulus of the Horde-Eden was called the Blue Horde, while Sheybani ruled White. One way or another, but the possessions of the latter in the 14th century were annexed to the lands of the elder brother. From that moment on, the new state, called Ak Orda, occupied almost the entire territory of modern Kazakhstan.
Evidence of Russian chroniclers
As you know, medieval Russia was repeatedly subjected to the Golden Horde invasions. In the annals of that period there were references to both the raids themselves and the neighboring states. In particular, the name Blue Horde is repeatedly found in them.
The source from which the chroniclers drew information was the stories of Russian ambassadors who visited Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde. The information they reported, including vague geographic data, was scrupulously recorded in the chronicles.
It is noteworthy that the term White Horde, unlike the Blue, is not found in medieval annals. Perhaps for the reason that its territory at that time did not border with the Russian principalities.
State formation
The history of the White Horde dates back to the 13th century, when Jochi divided his ulus between his sons. The tendency towards independence among the senior Eugene and his descendants manifested itself almost immediately.
It created its own tax system, a staff of clerks, established a postal service, received foreign embassies, and minted coins. However, the ulus of Ejen gained complete independence from the central authority only after the collapse of the Golden Horde.
In the XIV century, the White Horde occupied a vast territory: from the Irtysh to the Syr Darya and from Tyumen to Karatal. It was inhabited by Turkic-speaking tribes and assimilated descendants of the Mongols. Kypchak-Kazakh became the state language. In the capital, the city of Sygnak, there was a khan's headquarters and an army was based.
Stages of Political Development
In general, there are three periods in the history of the White Horde. The first covers the years from 1224 to 1250, that is, from the moment of its foundation to the time when local rulers remained subordinate to the Golden Horde khans.
The second period is the longest - from 1250 to 1370. During this time, the White Horde sought to gain independence, interfering in the internecine strife of the central government. In the end, she succeeded under Urus Khan, who finally separated her possessions from the Golden Horde.
The final, third period (1370-1410) marked the decline of statehood. At the end of the XIV century, Tamerlan, the Great Emir, and the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh supported by him undertook a series of aggressive campaigns against the White Horde.
Ruin and internal strife weakened the ruling dynasty, leading the state to inevitable collapse. In the 20s of the XV century, the Abulkhair Khanate and the Nogai Horde formed on the territory of the White Horde.
Public Administration of the White Horde
The highest power in the state was represented by the khan, a descendant of the Horde Ejen, the grandson of Genghis Khan. He relied on a large nomadic nobility - the leaders of tribes and clans. The next social stage was occupied by emirs, beks, bais, bahadurs and other ordinary nomads, as well as sedentary people called "karasha".
The territory of the White Horde was divided into destinies led by oglans. In cities such as Sauran, Sygnak, Zharkent, Iasi, crafts and trade developed. Although pastures formally continued to be considered community property in nomadic areas, in reality they belonged to nobles who owned huge herds.
In land relations, the gift of ownership gradually began to prevail. The feudal lords received as a gift from the khans of the land as a recognition of special merits, mainly military. The governors of the oglans ran the granted cities or land districts in exchange for civil and military service. In the XIV-XV centuries, the land received as a gift began to be inherited.
Trace in the history of Kazakhstan
The Mongol conquest of the steppe peoples had a definite positive effect. The formation of a centralized state and the implementation of reforms corresponding to new historical conditions are associated with it.
After the collapse of the Genghis Khan empire, the Golden Horde (the White Horde, as one of its parts) played a decisive role in the consolidation of ethnic groups that inhabited the territory of modern Kazakhstan. In fact, this was the next stage on the path to the formation of the Kazakh nationality.
The proof of this is the creation of her own state. Soon after the collapse of the Ak Orda, the sovereign Kazakh Khanate (XV century) was formed on its territory.