Khan Tokhtamysh was the son of one of the influential Horde princes. His reign was marked by the revival of the Golden Horde power, which was greatly shaken as a result of numerous strife under his predecessors. In Russian history, he is known as the organizer of a trip to Moscow in 1382, which ended in the terrible devastation of the city and the burning of its posad.
Accession
After his father was killed, the future Khan Tokhtamysh fled in 1376 to Timur, who at that time reigned in one of the Central Asian states. Over the next two years, with the help of his patron, he attempted to overthrow the ruler, who executed his father, but each time he failed. When his opponent passed away, Khan Tokhtamysh in 1378 overthrew his weak successor and became the ruler of one of the units of the Horde state that had already begun to break up by that time. The following year, he invaded those possessions that were controlled by Mamai and managed to capture all the Horde lands, including the capital. After the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, with the help of Timur, he became the ruler of the newly united state and helped restore the prestige of power. In addition, under him began the revival of a number of Volga Horde cities.
The situation in Russia
Immediately after the reign, Khan Tokhtamysh sent ambassadors to the Russian princes with the news of this and a demand to come to his headquarters to undergo the traditional ritual of receiving labels on the principalities and bringing tribute. The specific rulers followed the new khan, but the Moscow Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy refused. The fact is that after the Battle of Kulikovo, the situation in the Russian lands changed: the victory over the Mongol-Tatars made Moscow the center of the unification of Russian lands. This major event raised the question of the formation of a single Russian state. This alignment of forces changed the Moscow-Horde relations, which the new khan could not accept. After two years, he began preparations for a campaign in Moscow.
Assault on the capital
The ruin of Moscow by Khan Tokhtamysh in 1382 was one of the worst episodes in Russian history. This blow particularly struck contemporaries in view of the fact that it happened so soon after a memorable victory on the Kulikovo field. Before moving to the capital, the Tatars approached the Nizhny Novgorod land, whose ruler, wanting to protect their possessions from devastation, gave him their sons. The Ryazan prince, also wanting to divert the blow from his patrimony, sent the Tatars to the river routes, along which they reached the main city. Then Dmitry Donskoy, together with his cousin and closest assistant, went to the centers near Moscow to collect troops in order to repulse the enemy.
Invasion
The ruin of Moscow by Khan Tokhtamysh became possible only thanks to his cunning. Within a few days, the inhabitants of the capital and the Lithuanian troops who came to their aid fought off the attackers and would have won if the conqueror had not deceived: he assured the Muscovites that he had come only to take a traditional tribute even in that case If he receives it, he will immediately depart from the walls of the city. Residents believed and opened the gates. Then the khan made a terrible devastation in the city and burned a posad, after which he plundered part of the cities near Moscow. Khan Tokhtamysh’s campaign in Moscow ended with his retreat after one of his troops was defeated by the troops of Vladimir Serpukhov.
Effects
The results of this terrible attack were terrible. About twenty-four thousand people died in the city, which amounted to about half of the total population of the capital. Nearby cities and villages were burned, looted. On his return, the prince immediately took active measures to eliminate these consequences. He paid money for the burial of the dead, in addition, contributed to the restoration of the destroyed settlements. The raid of Khan Tokhtamysh was a serious blow for contemporaries, but he did not stop the process of unification of lands around Moscow that had already begun . Nevertheless, after this event, the Moscow prince was forced to send his son to the headquarters, and then he arrived, paid a two-year tribute and got a label on the princely throne. Tver land was recognized as independent from the Principality of Vladimir.
Power struggle
The Horde Khan Tokhtamysh from 1388 began to fight with his former patron Timur. Fearing that the latter would seize part of the Transcaucasian and West Iranian lands, he seized part of this territory. However, in the 1390s, his adversary won two major victories over him, and he subsequently had to wage a constant struggle with the proteges of Tamerlane. After some time, he fled to the Lithuanian prince, who decided to use it in order to defeat the Tatars. He succeeded in the battle in 1399, but the new strong ruler Edigey defeated him, after which Tokhtamysh began to lean towards peace with his former patron, who, however, died six years later, and the khan was finally defeated and killed in 1405.
Despite the devastations that he carried out in Russian lands, the unification process continued. The successors of Dmitry Donskoy were much less reckoned with the Golden Horde rulers, and soon the power of the khan generally became nominal. This continued until 1480, when under Ivan III the Mongol-Tatar yoke was finally overthrown.