Berke
| Berke Khan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Burkhan Khaldun, Mongolia |
| Died | 1266 Kura River, Azerbaijan |
| Spouse |
|
| House | Borjigin |
| Dynasty | Golden Horde |
| Father | Jochi |
| Religion | Islam |
Berke Khan (died 1266) (also Birkai; Mongolian: Бэрх хаан, Tatar: Бәркә хан) was the ruler of the Golden Horde (division of the Mongol Empire) who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Horde from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde (West) and was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the Mongol Empire. He allied with the Egyptian Mamluks against another Mongol khanate based in Persia, the Ilkhanate. Berke supported Ariq Böke in the Toluid Civil War, but did not intervene militarily in the war.
Berke is a name used by both Turkic peoples and Mongols. In the Mongolian language "Berkh" literally means "strong". "Berk" also has many meanings like "solid", "powerful", and "in power" in the Old Turkic language.
Berke was one of the sons of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan. Berke was present, with several of his brothers, at the inauguration of his uncle Ögedei as Great Khan in 1229.
In 1236, Berke joined his brothers Orda, Sinkur, and Siban and an assortment of cousins under the leadership of Batu Khan. The vast army, comprising some 150,000 soldiers, marched from Siberia and into the territory of the Muslim Volga Bulgars and Kipchaks, whom they subdued. Batu and Subutai sent Berke to the country north of the Caucasus to conquer the Kipchaks there. Next they devastated the principalities of Ryazan and Suzdal in 1237, and marched further into Russia. During the winter of 1238-39, Berke defeated the Kipchaks and imprisoned the chief of the Merkits. He afterwards subdued the steppe watered by the Kuma and the Terek.
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