The Golden Horde, or ulus Jochi, is one of the largest states that have ever existed on the territory of present-day Russia. It was also partially located in the territories of modern Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It existed for more than two centuries (1266-1481; other dates of its origin and fall are also accepted).
The "Golden" Horde was not called at that time
The term "Golden Horde" in relation to the khanate, depending on which ancient Russia turned out to be, was coined retroactively by Moscow scribes of the 16th century, when this Horde no longer existed. This is a term of the same order as Byzantium. Contemporaries called the Horde, to which Russia paid tribute, simply the Horde, sometimes the Great Horde.
Russia was not part of the Golden Horde
Russian lands were not included directly into the Golden Horde. The khans confined themselves to recognizing the vassal dependence of the Russian princes on them. At first, attempts were made to collect tribute from Russia with the help of the khan's administrators - the Baskaks, but in the middle of the 13th century the Horde khans abandoned this practice, making the Russian princes themselves responsible for collecting tribute. Among them, they singled out one or more, who were given a label for the great reign.
The oldest princely throne in North-Eastern Russia at that time was Vladimirsky. But along with it, Tver and Ryazan, and also, at one time, Nizhny Novgorod acquired the significance of an independent great reign during the period of the Horde domination. The Grand Duke of Vladimir was considered the main responsible for the receipt of tribute from all over Russia, and other princes fought for this title. Over time, however, the Vladimir throne was entrenched in the dynasty of Moscow princes, and the struggle for it was already taking place within it. At the same time, the Tver and Ryazan princes became responsible for the receipt of tribute from their principalities and entered into vassal relations directly with the khan.
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The Golden Horde was a multinational state
The book name of the main people of the Horde - "Mongolo-Tatars" or "Tatar-Mongols" - invented by German historians in the 19th century, is historical nonsense. Such a people never really existed. The impulse that gave rise to the "Mongol-Tatar" invasion was apparently based on the movement of the peoples of the Mongol group. But in their movement, these peoples carried numerous Turkic peoples with them, and quite soon the Turkic element became predominant in the Horde. We do not even know the Mongolian names of the khans, starting from Genghis Khan himself, but only Turkic.
At the same time, the peoples known today among the Turks were formed only at that time. So, although, apparently, back in the 13th century, some of the Turks called themselves Tatars, the people of the Volga Tatars began to form only after the separation of the Kazan Khanate from the Golden Horde in the middle of the 15th century. The Uzbeks were named after the Khan Uzbek, who ruled the Horde in 1313-1341.
Along with the nomadic Turkic population in the Golden Horde, there was a large sedentary agricultural population. First of all, these are the Volga Bulgarians. Further, on the Don and the Lower Volga, as well as in the steppe Crimea, there lived the descendants of the Khazars and numerous peoples who were part of the long-vanished Khazar Kaganate, but in some places still preserved the urban way of life: Alans, Goths, Bulgars, etc. There were also Russian brodniks among them., who are considered the predecessors of the Cossacks. In the extreme north-west of the Horde, the Mordovians, Mari, Udmurts, and Permian Komi were subordinate to the Horde.
The Golden Horde arose as a result of the division of the empire of the great khan
The preconditions for the independence of the Golden Horde arose even under Genghis Khan, when, before his death, he divided his empire between his sons. The lands of the future Golden Horde were received by his eldest son Jochi. Campaigns to Russia and Western Europe were undertaken by the grandson of Genghis Khan Batu (Batu). The final section took shape in 1266 under Batu's grandson Khan Mengu-Timur. Until this moment, the Golden Horde recognized the nominal dominion of the great khan, and the Russian princes went to bow for a label not only to Sarai on the Volga, but also to the distant Karakorum. After that, they limited themselves to a trip to the nearest Sarai.
Tolerance in the Golden Horde
During the great conquests, the Turks and Mongols worshiped traditional tribal gods and were tolerant of different religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism. Quite a great importance in the Golden Horde, including at the khan's court, was the "heretical" branch of Christianity - Nestorianism. Later, during the reign of Khan Uzbek, the ruling elite of the Horde converted to Islam, however, even after that, the Horde retained freedom of religion. So, until the 16th century, the Sarai episcopate of the Russian Church continues to operate, and its hierarchs even try to baptize some of the members of the khan's family.
Civilized lifestyle
The possession of a large number of cities of the conquered peoples contributed to the spread of urban civilization in the Horde. The capital itself has ceased to roam, and settled in one place - in the city of Sarai on the Lower Volga. Its location has not been established, since the city was destroyed during the invasion of Tamerlane at the end of the XIV century. The new Shed has not reached its former splendor. The houses in it were built from adobe bricks, which explains its fragility.
In the Horde, roads for tsarist messengers and foreign ambassadors were kept in good condition, replacement horses were kept ready for them (the Russian words "yam" and "coachman" from there). The Horde patronized foreign merchants and trade. Lying was considered one of the worst crimes in the Horde.
The royal power in the Horde was not absolute
The Khan of the Horde, who was called tsar in Russia, was not an unlimited ruler. He depended on the advice of the traditional nobility, as did the Turks from time immemorial. Attempts by the khans to strengthen their power led to the "great blasphemy" of the XIV century, when the khans became a plaything in the hands of the highest military leaders (temniks) who actually fought for power. Mamai, defeated on the Kulikovo field, was not a khan, but a temnik, and only part of the Horde obeyed him. Only with the accession of Tokhtamysh (1381) the power of the khan was restored.
The Golden Horde disintegrated
The Troubles of the XIV century did not pass without a trace for the Horde. She began to disintegrate and lose control over the subject territories. During the 15th century, the Siberian, Uzbek, Kazan, Crimean, Kazakh Khanates and the Nogai Horde separated from it. Moscow stubbornly adheres to the vassalage to the khan of the Great Horde, but in 1480 he perishes as a result of the attack of the Crimean khan, and Moscow, willy-nilly, has to become independent.
Kalmyks are not related to the Golden Horde
Contrary to the common misconception, the Kalmyks are not descendants of the Mongols who came with Genghis Khan to the Caspian steppes. Kalmyks moved here from Central Asia only in the late 16th - early 17th centuries.
Yaroslav Butakov