The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division 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, and it replaced the earlier, less organized Cuman–Kipchak confederation.
Mamai was a powerful Mongol military commander of the Golden Horde. Contrary to popular misconception, he was not a khan (king), but was a kingmaker for several khans, and dominated parts or all of the Golden Horde for a period of almost two decades in the 1360s and 1370s. Although he was unable to stabilize central authority during the war of succession known as the Great Troubles, Mamai remained a remarkable and persistent leader for decades, while others came and went in rapid succession. His defeat in the Battle of Kulikovo marked the beginning of the decline of the Horde, as well as his own rapid downfall.
The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate, ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids, and known to the Mongols as Hülegü Ulus, was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm was officially known as the Land of Iran or simply Iran. It was established after Hülegü, the son of Tolui and grandson of Genghis Khan, inherited the West Asian and Central Asian part of the Mongol Empire after his brother Möngke Khan died in 1259.
The Chagatai Khanate, or Chagatai Ulus was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan, and his descendants and successors. At its height in the late 13th century the khanate extended from the Amu Darya south of the Aral Sea to the Altai Mountains in the border of modern-day Mongolia and China, roughly corresponding to the area once ruled by the Qara Khitai.
A Borjigin is a member of the Mongol sub-clan that started with Bodonchar Munkhag of the Kiyat clan. Yesugei's descendants were thus said to be Kiyat-Borjigin. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia until the 20th century. The clan formed the ruling class among the Mongols and some other peoples of Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Today, the Borjigid are found in most of Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and genetic research has shown that descent from Genghis Khan and Timur is common throughout Central Asia and other regions.
The names of people, battles, and places need to be spelled as they are on other articles title and then wikified.
Ariq Böke, the components of his name also spelled Arigh, Arik and Bukha, Buka, was the seventh and youngest son of Tolui and a grandson of Genghis Khan. After the death of his brother the Great Khan Möngke, Ariq Böke claimed the title of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and briefly took power while his brothers Kublai and Hulagu were absent from the Mongolian Plateau. When Kublai returned for an election in 1260, rival factions could not agree, and elected both claimants, Kublai and Ariq Böke, to the throne, resulting in the Toluid Civil War that fragmented the Mongol Empire. Ariq Böke was supported by the traditionalists of the Mongol Empire, while his brother Kublai was supported by the senior princes of North China and Manchuria.
Kaidu was a grandson of the Mongol khagan Ögedei (1185–1241) and thus leader of the House of Ögedei and the de facto khan of the Chagatai Khanate, a division of the Mongol Empire. He ruled parts of modern-day Xinjiang and Central Asia during the 13th century, and actively opposed his uncle, Kublai, who established the Yuan dynasty. Medieval chroniclers often mistranslated Kadan as Kaidu, mistakenly placing Kaidu at the Battle of Legnica. Kadan was the brother of Güyük, and Kaidu's uncle.
Berke Khan was a grandson of Genghis Khan from his son Jochi and a Mongol military commander and ruler of the Golden Horde 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. Following the Sack of Baghdad by Hulagu Khan, his cousin and head of the Mongol Ilkhanate based in Persia, he allied with the Egyptian Mamluks against Hulagu. Berke also supported Ariq Böke against Kublai in the Toluid Civil War, but did not intervene militarily in the war because he was occupied in his own war against Hulagu and the Ilkhanate.
The Sarbadars were a mixture of religious dervishes and secular rulers that came to rule over part of western Khurasan in the midst of the disintegration of the Mongol Ilkhanate in the mid-14th century. Centered in their capital of Sabzavar, they continued their reign until Khwaja 'Ali-yi Mu'ayyad submitted to Timur in 1381, and were one of the few groups that managed to mostly avoid Timur's famous brutality.
Alghu was the khan of the Chagatai Khanate (1260–1265/6). He was the son of Baidar and the grandson of Chagatai Khan.
Descent from Genghis Khan in East Asia is well documented by Chinese sources. His descent in West Asia and Europe was documented through the 14th century, in texts written by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani and other Muslim historians. With the advent of genealogical DNA testing, a larger and broader circle of people have begun to claim descent from Genghis Khan owing to dubious and imprecise haplogroup identifications. However, while many of Genghis Khan's agnates' resting places are known, none of their remains have been tested to prove or disprove these theories and debate continues.
Orghana was an Oirat princess of the Mongol Empire and Empress of the Chagatai Khanate. She was a daughter of Torolchi, chief of the Oirats and Checheyikhen, daughter of Genghis Khan. She served as regent in the name of her infant son from 1252 to 1261.
Timur, Temur, Temür, Temir, Teymur or Tömör is a masculine Turkic and Mongolic given name which literally means iron. It is a cognate of the Bosnian and Turkish name Demir. In Indonesian, timur translates to east, and symbolizes hope by the rising sun.
The Toluid Civil War was a war of succession fought between Kublai Khan and his younger brother, Ariq Böke, from 1260 to 1264. Möngke Khan died in 1259 with no declared successor, precipitating infighting between members of the Tolui family line for the title of Great Khan that escalated to a civil war. The Toluid Civil War, and the wars that followed it, weakened the authority of the Great Khan over the Mongol Empire and split the empire into autonomous khanates.
The division of the Mongol Empire began with the Toluid Civil War starting in 1260, after Möngke Khan died in 1259 in the siege of Diaoyu Castle with no declared successor, precipitating infighting between members of the Tolui family line for the title of khagan that escalated into a war. This civil war, along with the Berke–Hulagu war and the subsequent Kaidu–Kublai war, greatly weakened the authority of the great khan over the entirety of the Mongol Empire, and the empire fractured into four khanates: the Golden Horde in Eastern Europe, the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, the Ilkhanate in Iran, and the Yuan dynasty in China based in modern-day Beijing – although the Yuan emperors held the nominal title of khagan of the empire.
The Yuan dynasty ruled over the Mongolian Plateau, including both Inner and Outer Mongolia as well as part of southern Siberia, between 1271 and 1368. The Mongolian Plateau is where the ruling Mongol Borjigin clan of the Yuan dynasty came from, thus it enjoyed a somewhat special status during the Yuan dynasty, although the capital of the dynasty had been moved from Karakorum to Khanbaliq since the beginning of Kublai Khan's reign, and Mongolia had been converted into a regular province, known as the Lingbei Province, by the early 14th century.
The Great Troubles, also known as the Golden Horde Dynastic War, was a war of succession in the Golden Horde from 1359 to 1381.
