The Golden Horde

Golden Horde Ulus of Jochi
Зүчийн улс
Nomadic empire Division of the Mongol Empire (until 1313/68)
1240s–1502
Flag of the Golden Horde, as shown in the Catalan Atlas (other sources illustrate that the Golden Horde was known for the yellow color of the khan's flag and trappings.)
Capital		Sarai Batu
Languages		Mongolian (official language since the inception of the Golden Horde, used in chancery) Turkic (Kipchak) (especially the western Kipchak dialects, this language spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of the Black Sea steppe who were non-Mongol Turks, and those in the Khan's army. Shift from Mongol to Turkic occurred in the 1350s, or earlier, also used in chancery)
Religion		Tengrism Shamanism Christianity Tibetan Buddhism (1240s–1313) Islam (1313–1502)
Government		Semi-elective monarchy, later hereditary monarchy
Khan
•	1226–1280	Orda Khan (White Horde)
•	1242–1255	Batu Khan (Blue Horde)
•	1379–1395	Tokhtamysh
•	1435–1459	Küchük Muhammad (Great Horde)
•	1481–1498, 1499–1502	Shaykh Ahmad
Legislature		Kurultai
Historical era		Late Middle Ages
•	Established after the Mongol invasion of Rus'	1240s
•	Blue Horde and White Horde united	1379
•	Disintegrated into Great Horde	1466
•	Last remnant subjugated by the Crimean Khanate	1502
Area
•	1310	6,000,000 km2 (2,300,000 sq mi)
Currency		Pul, Som, Dirham
Preceded by Succeeded by Mongol Empire Cuman-Kipchak Confederation Volga Bulgaria Crimean Khanate Qasim Khanate Khanate of Kazan Kazakh Khanate Astrakhan Khanate Khanate of Sibir Khanate of Khiva Timurid Empire Nogai Khanate
Today part of		Georgia  Kazakhstan  Kyrgyzstan  Moldova  Russia  Tajikistan  Turkmenistan  Ukraine  Uzbekistan

The Golden Horde (Mongolian: Алтан Ордын улс Altan Ordīn uls; Russian: Золотая Орда, tr. Zolotaja Orda; Tatar: Алтын Урда Altın Urda) was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire after 1259 it became a functionally separate khanate. It is also known as the Kipchak Khanate or as the Ulus of Jochi.

After the death of Batu Khan (the founder of the Golden Horde) in 1255, his dynasty flourished for a full century, until 1359, though the intrigues of Nogai did instigate a partial civil war in the late 1290s. The Horde's military power peaked during the reign of Uzbeg (1312–1341), who adopted Islam. The territory of the Golden Horde at its peak included most of Eastern Europe from the Urals to the Danube River, and extended 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 experienced violent internal political disorder beginning in 1359, before it briefly reunited (1381-1395) under Tokhtamysh. However, soon after the 1396 invasion of Timur, the founder of the Timurid Empire, the Golden Horde broke into smaller Tatar khanates which declined steadily in power. At the start of the 15th century the Horde began to fall apart. By 1466 it was being referred to simply as the "Great Horde". Within its territories there emerged 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 Crimean Khanate and the Kazakh Khanate, the last remnants of the Golden Horde, survived until 1783 and 1847 respectively.