The Golden Horde was a Mongol-led Islamic khanate that existed from 1240 to 1502 in Russia and Eastern Europe. It was founded by Batu, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, and consisted of Mongols and Turkic peoples. The Golden Horde conquered much of Asia and subjugated Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Kazakhstan for centuries. The empire fell apart in the 1340s due to infighting and the Black Death. Muscovite Russians finally freed themselves from Horde control in 1480.
The Golden Horde is a Russian name for the Islamic khanate that existed from 1240 to 1502 in Russia and Eastern Europe (modern-day Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus). The Golden Horde was founded in 1240 by Batu, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, one of the greatest land conquerors in history. Genghis and his nephew Batu were Mongols from what is now Mongolia. Within a few decades Genghis, his sons and two grandsons had conquered much of Asia.
The Golden Horde consisted of Mongols and numerous Turkic peoples whom Batu conscripted after conquering them. In 1235, Batu and the great general Subedei swept westward from the Central Asian steppe region, conquering Bashkirs (in the southern Urals) and Volga Bulgaria in 1236. In 1237, he conquered the Ukraine, then moved north to begin the historic Mongol invasion of Rus, an invasion that would shape the region culturally and socially for centuries to come. After his victory, he spent three years subduing the local Russians, then moved west to destroy the armies of Hungary and Poland. This is regarded as one of the greatest military victories of all time and marked the extreme western limit of Mongol expansion. Shortly after the victory, Batu had to return east to deal with a succession crisis caused by the death of his uncle, Great Khan Ogedei.
Although Batu eventually died, his plans to conquer Europe never materialized, the Golden Horde continued to subjugate Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Kazakhstan for centuries. The Golden Horde were early adopters of Islam, the majority were Turks, with the leaders being the descendants of Batu’s original Mongol warriors. These people were known as Tatars by native Russians, and many Russians today have Tatar blood in them.
The capital of the Golden Horde empire, Sarai Berqe, grew into one of the largest cities in the medieval world, with over 600,000 inhabitants. Due to low literacy levels, much of the activity in this period and area is poorly documented. In the 1340s, the empire began to slowly fall apart, succumbing to extensive infighting and massive losses to the Black Death that was sweeping Eurasia at the time. In 1480, Muscovite Russians finally managed to free themselves from Horde control, annexing their territories and setting the stage for today’s Russia, dominated by ethnic Russians.
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