At what stage of training do schoolchildren usually get acquainted with the concept of the Golden Horde? Grade 6, of course. A history teacher tells 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 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 subject. There are other, more thorough works of researchers. Let us take an adult look at a rather long time period in the history of our native country.
The beginning of the Golden Horde
Europe first became acquainted with the 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 Western Europe. But the dream of the great conqueror came true - the Mongols were able to scoop up water from the West Sea with a helmet. And so the army of many thousands returned to its steppes. For another twenty years, the Mongol empire and feudal Europe existed without any collision, as if in parallel worlds. In 1224, Genghis Khan divided his kingdom between his sons. Thus appeared Ulus (province) Juchi - the most western 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 (the son of Jochi and the grandson of Genghis Khan) began his Western campaign.
What is the Golden Horde
This military operation, which lasted from 1236 to 1242, markedly expanded the territory of the Jochi Ulus to the west. However, it was still too early to talk about the Golden Horde. The ulus is an administrative unit in the great empire of Genghis Khan, and it was dependent on central authority. However, Khan Batu (in the Russian chronicles Batu) in 1254 moved his capital to the Lower Volga region. There he set up the capital. Khan founded the large city of Saray-Batu (now a place near the village of Selitrennoe in the Astrakhan region). Kurultai took place in 1251, where Munke 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 Munke and Genghisides (including Batu). The term "Golden Horde" appeared much later - in 1566, in the book "Kazan History", when this state itself already ceased to exist. The self-name of this territorial formation was “Ulu Ulus”, which means “Grand Duchy” in Turkic.
Years of the Golden Horde
Showing loyalty to Khan Munke served Batu well. His ulus received great autonomy. But the state gained 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. The structure of this exorbitantly expanded ulus included Volga Bulgaria, Northern Khorezm, Western Siberia, Desht-i-Kipchak (steppes from the Irtysh to the Danube), the North Caucasus and Crimea. The area of public education can be compared with the Roman Empire. Its southern edge was Derbent, and the northeastern limit was Isker and Tyumen in Siberia. In 1257, Batu’s brother Berke Khan ascended the throne of the ulus (reigned 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 craftsmen and merchants from Central Asia and the Volga Bulgars.
The Golden Horde reached its peak in the 14th century, when the Uzbek Khan ascended the throne (1313-1342). 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.
The End of the Golden Horde
In the XV century, the state collapsed. Small independent principalities appeared: the Nogai Horde (early years of the 15th century), Kazan, Crimean, Astrakhan, Uzbek, Siberian Khanates. Central authority remained and continued to be considered supreme. But the days of the Golden Horde have passed. The successor power became more and more nominal. This state was called the Great Horde. It was located in the Northern Black Sea Region and extended to the Lower Volga. The Great Horde ceased to exist only at the beginning of the sixteenth century, being absorbed by the Crimean Khanate.
Russia and Ulus Jochi
Slavic lands were not part of the Mongol Empire. What is the Golden Horde, Rusich could only judge 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 at certain periods were of a different nature - from partnerships to frankly slavish. But in most cases, it was a typically feudal relationship between the feudal lord and the vassal. Russian princes came to the capital of the Juchi ulus, the city of Saray, and brought homage to the khan, receiving from him a "label" - the right to govern their state. The first to do this was in 1243, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Therefore, the most influential and the first in subordination was a label on the Vladimir-Suzdal reign. From this during the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the center of all Russian lands shifted. It became the city of Vladimir.
The "terrible" Tatar-Mongol yoke
A sixth-grade history textbook depicts the misfortunes that the Russian people suffered 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). You had to pay for such military support. Then, in times of vassal dependence, the princes had to give part of their income from taxes to the khan of the Jochi ulus - his lord. This was called the "Horde exit." If the fee was delayed, the bacaules arrived, who charged the taxes themselves. But at the same time, the Slavic princes ruled the people, and his life flowed as before.
Peoples of the Mongol Empire
If we ask ourselves what the Golden Horde is from the point of view of the political system, then there is no definite answer. At first it was a paramilitary and semi-nomadic union of the Mongol tribes. Very quickly - within one or two generations - the shock force of the conquering troops assimilated among the conquered population. Already at the beginning of the XIV century, Russians called the Horde “Tatars”. The ethnographic composition of this empire was very heterogeneous. Alans, Uzbeks, Kipchaks and other nomadic or sedentary peoples constantly lived here. The khans strongly encouraged the development of trade, crafts and city building. There was no discrimination based on nationality or religion. In the capital of the ulus - Sarai - in 1261 even an Orthodox bishopric was formed, the Russian diaspora was so numerous here.