Khan Tokhtamysh: the government and the campaign against Moscow

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 among its predecessors. In Russian history, he is known as the organizer of the campaign against Moscow in 1382, which ended with the terrible devastation of the city and the burning of his village.

Accession

After his father was killed, the future Khan Tokhtamysh fled to Timur in 1376, who at that time ruled 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 failed every time. When his opponent died, Khan Tokhtamysh in 1378 overthrew his weak successor and became the ruler of one of the parts of the already begun by that time disintegrate the Horde state. 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 Timur's help, he became the ruler of the newly united state and helped restore the prestige of power. In addition, with him began the revival of a number of Volga Horde towns.

The situation in Russia

Immediately after the accession, Khan Tokhtamish sent ambassadors to the Russian princes with the news about this and demand to come to him in a bid for the passage of the traditional ritual of getting labels for the principalities and bringing tribute. Specific rulers followed the new khan, however Moscow Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy refused. The fact is that after the Battle of Kulikovo the situation in the Russian lands has changed: the victory over the Mongol-Tatars made Moscow the center of the unification of Russian lands. This largest event raised the question of the formation of a unified Russian state. This alignment of forces changed the Moscow-Horde relations, which the new Khan could not reconcile. After two years he began preparations for a march to Moscow.

Attack on the capital

The ruin of Moscow by the Khan Tokhtamysh in 1382 was one of the most terrible episodes in Russian history. This blow particularly struck his contemporaries because he happened so soon after the memorable victory on the Kulikovo field. Before moving to the capital, the Tatars approached the Nizhny Novgorod land, whose ruler, wishing to protect his possessions from devastation, gave him his sons. The Ryazan prince, also wanting to take a blow from his patrimony, sent the Tatars to the river ways, by which they reached the main city. Then Dmitry Donskoy, along with his cousin and the closest aide, went to the Moscow region to collect troops, in order to repel the enemy.

Invasion

The ruin of Moscow by the Khan Tokhtamysh became possible only because of his cunning. For several days, the residents of the capital and the Lithuanian troops that came to their aid were fighting back from the attackers and would surely have won if the conqueror had not been deceived: he assured the Muscovites that he had come only to take the traditional tribute, and in that case If he receives it, he will immediately depart from the city walls. Residents believed and opened the gate. Then the Khan made a terrible devastation in the city and burned the posad, after which he plundered a part of the towns near Moscow. The campaign of Khan Tokhtamysh to Moscow ended with his retreat after one of his detachments was defeated by the troops of Vladimir Serpukhovsky.

Effects

The results of this terrible attack were terrible. In the city, about twenty-four thousand people died, this was about half of the total population of the capital. The surrounding towns and villages were burnt and looted. The prince on his return immediately took active measures to eliminate these consequences. He paid money for the burial of the dead, in addition, helped restore the destroyed settlements. The attack of Tokhtamysh Khan became a serious blow for his contemporaries, but he did not stop the already begun process of unification of lands around Moscow. Nevertheless, after this event, the Moscow prince was forced to send his son to the bet, and then came himself, paid a two-year tribute and achieved a label on the Grand Duke's throne. The Tver land was recognized as independent of the Vladimir principality.

The struggle for power

Ordynsky Khan Tokhtamysh began to fight with his former patron Timur since 1388. Fearing that the latter would capture part of Transcaucasian and West Iranian lands, he seized part of this territory. However, in the 1390s, his opponent won two major victories over him, and he subsequently had to wage a constant battle with Tamerlane's henchmen. After a while he fled to the Lithuanian prince, who decided to use it to defeat the Tatars. He succeeded in the battle in 1399, but the new powerful ruler Yedigei defeated him, after which Tokhtamish began to incline to peace with his former patron, who, however, died six years later, and the khan was finally defeated and killed in 1405.

Despite the devastation that he caused in the Russian lands, the unification process continued. The successors of Dmitry Donskoi were much less regarded with the Golden Horde rulers, and soon the khan's power generally became nominal. This continued until 1480, when under Ivan III the Tatar-Mongol yoke was overthrown definitively.