Great Horde facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Great Horde اولوغ اوردا Uluğ Orda
15th century–1502
Territories of the Great Horde
Status	Khanate
Capital	Sarai
Common languages	Kipchak languages
Religion	Sunni Islam
Government	Hereditary monarchy
Khan
• 1459-1465	Mahmud bin Küchük
• 1481-1502	Sheikh Ahmed (last)
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Established	Mid 15th century
• Great Stand on the Ugra River	1480
• Sack of Sarai by the Crimean Khanate	June 1502
Preceded by Succeeded by Golden Horde Crimean Khanate Astrakhan Khanate
Today part of	Kazakhstan Russia

The Great Horde (اولوغ اوردا, Uluğ Orda) was a country that existed from the mid-1400s to 1502. It was a leftover part of the powerful Golden Horde. Its main city was Sarai, located on the lower Volga River.

Over time, two other countries, the Khanate of Astrakhan and the Khanate of Crimea, broke away from the Great Horde. These new countries were often enemies of the Great Horde. Many years later, people in Russia said that when the Great Horde's army retreated at the Great Stand on the Ugra River in 1480, it marked the end of their rule over Russia. This period was known as the "Tatar yoke".

How the Golden Horde Broke Apart (1419–1433)

The Golden Horde was a huge empire that started to weaken in the 1300s. It had periods of great confusion and fighting. A leader named Tokhtamysh brought it back together in the 1390s. But an invasion by Timur made it weak again.

When Edigu, the last leader to unite the Horde, died in 1419, the Golden Horde finally broke apart. It split into several smaller states. These included the Nogai Khanate, the Kazan Khanate, and later the Kasimov Khanate. Each of these new countries claimed to be the true heir of the Golden Horde.

The Great Horde was based in the Golden Horde's old capital, Sarai. Its land was controlled by four main tribes. At first, it was just called the Orda, meaning "Horde." But as more groups formed, it became important to tell them apart. That's why people started calling it the "Great Horde" in the 1430s. This name likely reminded people of the Golden Horde's past power.

Early Leaders: Küchük Muhammad and Sayid Ahmad I (1433–1459)

From the 1430s, two khans, Küchük Muhammad and Sayid Ahmad I, shared power in Sarai. During their rule, the Horde lost control of Crimea. A leader named Hacı I Giray took over Crimea in 1449. This event made the Crimean Khanate independent. It also started a long rivalry between Crimea and the Great Horde.

In 1438, Küchük Muhammad forced Ulugh Muhammad out of the Golden Horde's main lands. Ulugh Muhammad then moved east and founded the Khanate of Kazan.

During this time, the Great Horde tried to make the Russian people pay taxes. They attacked Russian lands in 1449, 1450, 1451, and 1452. These attacks led to a response from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This powerful country allied with the Crimean Khanate.

In 1453, Sayid Ahmad invaded Poland-Lithuania. This happened after some Lithuanian nobles, unhappy with Polish rule, offered him gifts. In 1455, the Crimeans attacked Sarai again. Sayid Ahmad had to run away to Kiev. But he was captured there and died in prison. The Tatars also raided Podolia in 1457 and Muscovy in 1459. The Tatars won in Podolia, but the Muscovites won in 1459.

Reigns of Mahmud and Ahmed (1459–1481)

Küchük Muhammad's son, Mahmud bin Küchük, became khan in 1459. But in 1465, his brother Ahmed Khan bin Küchük took power from him. Mahmud then went to Astrakhan and started his own country, the Astrakhan Khanate. This created another rivalry between the two khanates. Eventually, Ahmed's family would rule Astrakhan in 1502.

In 1469, Ahmed attacked and killed Abu'l-Khayr Khan of the Uzbeks. In 1470, Ahmed organized an attack against Moldavia, the Kingdom of Poland, and Lithuania. However, Moldavian forces led by Stephen the Great defeated the Tatars at the battle of Lipnic on August 20, 1470.

By the 1470s, Muscovy had stopped paying taxes to Sarai. But they still had diplomatic ties. In 1474 and 1476, Ahmed demanded that Ivan III of Russia accept him as his ruler. In 1480, Ahmed launched a military campaign against Moscow. This led to a standoff between the two armies, known as the Great Stand on the Ugra River. Ahmed decided the conditions were not good and retreated. This event officially ended the "Tatar yoke" over Russia. On January 6, 1481, Ahmed was killed by Ibak Khan and Nogays near the Donets River.

Final Years: Great Horde vs. Crimean Khanate (1486–1502)

From 1486 to 1491, the Great Horde fought against the Crimean Khanate. The Crimean Khanate had become a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire in 1475. Prince Ivan III of Muscovy sided with the Crimean khan Meñli I Giray. Meanwhile, Casimir IV Jagiellon of Lithuania and Poland allied with the Great Horde.

This conflict led to the Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1487–1494). It ended with a peace treaty and a marriage. Alexander Jagiellon of Lithuania married Helena of Moscow.

From 1500 to 1502, the same two alliances fought another war. This happened after some Lithuanian princes joined Muscovy. Ivan III declared war on Alexander, claiming his daughter Helena was forced to become Catholic. This was against their marriage agreement. At the same time, the Crimean Khanate took over what was left of the Great Horde. They sacked Sarai in 1502.

The Great Horde finally disappeared. Lithuania lost its ally against Moscow. Lithuania and Muscovy agreed to a truce in 1503. This gave Muscovy more land. Sheikh Ahmed, the last khan of the Horde, sought safety in Lithuania. He died in prison in Kaunas sometime after 1504. Some sources say he was released in 1527.

Economy and Trade

Like the Golden Horde before it, the Great Horde made most of its money from trade. They collected fees and taxes from goods moving along the lower Volga River. However, the khans in Sarai controlled fewer and fewer lands. They lost the southwestern Russian areas to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. By the 1470s, their old ally, Muscovy, also stopped paying them taxes.

By the second half of the 1400s, the Great Horde struggled to protect trade on the lower Volga. A merchant named Afanasy Nikitin wrote about his travels in 1466–1468. He said he had no problems sailing the Volga until bandits attacked and robbed his group near Astrakhan.

A diplomat named Ambrogio Contarini had his property taken in Astrakhan in 1475–1476. He had to pay a large amount to get it back. Contarini described the land between Astrakhan and Muscovy as a "continual desert." There were no places to buy food or water. He even saw camels and horses that seemed to have been left behind by a caravan that likely had trouble.

Ahmad Khan started raiding merchant groups carrying valuable goods. He did this to make up for lost income. But this made trade in the region even more unstable. The Great Horde also raided nearby countries for more goods. They attacked the border with Muscovy from the late 1440s. In 1460, the Sarai khan attacked Ryazan for the same reason. In 1472, Ahmad Khan, allied with Lithuania, burned down the town of Aleksin. They crossed the Oka River but were pushed back.

Khans of the Great Horde

• Küchük Muhammad (1435-1459)
• Mahmud bin Küchük (1459-1465)
• Ahmed Khan bin Küchük (1465-1481)
• Murtaza Khan (co-ruler with Sheikh Ahmed) (1481-1498)
• Murtaza Khan (1498-1499)
• Sheikh Ahmed (1499-1502)

Family Tree

Other Uses of the Name

The Crimean Khanate saw itself as the true heir of the Golden Horde. They even called their rulers "khans of the Great Horde, the Great State and the Throne of the Crimea."