Golden Horde

The Golden Horde (Mongolian: Зүчийн улс, Züchii-in Uls; Tatar Cyrillic: Алтын орда, Latin: Altın Orda; Russian: Золотая Орда, Zolotaya Orda) was a Mongol and later Turkic khanate that was established in the 13th century and formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire. The khanate is also known as the Kipchak Khanate or as the Ulus of Jochi.

After the death of Batu Khan in 1255, the prosperity of his dynasty lasted for a full century until 1359, though the intrigues of Nogai did invoke a partial civil war in the late 1290s. The Horde's military power peaked during the reign of Uzbeg (1312–41), who adopted Islam. The territory of the Golden Horde at its peak included most of Eastern Europe from the Urals to the right banks of the Danube River, extending east deep into Siberia. In the south, the Golden Horde's lands bordered on the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, and the territories of the Mongol dynasty known as the Ilkhanate.

The khanate had begun to experience violent internal political disorder in 1359, before it was briefly reunited under Tokhtamysh in 1381. However, soon after the 1396 invasion of Tamerlane, it broke into smaller Tatar khanates that declined steadily in power. At the start of the 15th century the Horde began to fall apart. By 1433 it was simply referred to as the Great Horde. On its territories appeared numerous predominantly Turkic-speaking khanates. These internal struggles allowed the northern vassal state of Muscovy to rid itself of the "Tatar Yoke" at the Great stand on the Ugra river in 1480. The remnants of the khanate, known as the Great Horde, persisted until 1502.