lands in the structure of Golden Horde in the period of state formation (1242-1266)
The period of State formation in the history of the Golden Horde was in the reign of Batu and Berke. During of Batu's governing were distributed land holdings (ulus) in accordance with military posts, established of the state apparatus, aimed solely at collecting taxes and tribute, established a system of political power over nations that, geographically were not members of the Golden Horde. At first it belonged to Russia.
However, when all the power of the army and the magnificence of the Khan's Golden Horde of the court in political terms was not an independent state, and was part of a unified empire, run from the Karakorum. This dependence is expressed by:
• Mandatory expulsion and sending taxes and tributes.
• Khans of the Golden Horde could not claim the Grand Dukes of Vladimir on the table, and could appoint the lords of smaller ranks. New Khan on the throne of Golden Horde also was approved in the Karakorum.
• Do not have the right to put his name on the Golden Horde coins.
• Do not have the right to establish diplomatic relations with other states, as well as the reception of their representatives and maintaining correspondence with foreign sovereigns.
Batu Khan laid the foundation for the Golden state, based upon solely on the usual nomadic tradition establishing by the Yasa of Genghis Khan. In full accordance with the Karakorum line at the maximum extraction of income from the subject population, it begins to emerge and develop state fiscal officials. The period of Batu – the only peaceful period in the history of the Golden Horde, this will undoubtedly allow focusing its main efforts on the creation of internal political and economic structure.
There is more information about Batu-khan:
Batu (ca. 1206–1255) a Mongol prince, the second son of Juji' – Genghis Khan’s eldest son. Batu commanded the army that conquered the northeastern Rus’ principalities (1237–1238) and subsequently that conquered the southern Rus’ principalities and invaded Eastern Europe (1240–1241). Batu was the first khan to rule in the Khanate of Kipchak (Ulus of Juji; Desht-i-Kipchak), which he is credited with having founded. His father, Juji, to whom the lands had been granted “as far as Mongol hooves trod” in the western part of the Mongol Empire (i.e., west of the Irtysh River), died before ruling there. Batu is also credited with building the city of Saray (Old Saray, Saray- Batu) on the Akhtuba channel of the lower Volga River. Batu was present at the quriltai that chose Ugedei as qaghan in 1229 and most likely also at the quriltai of 1234, which planned the campaign against the Kipchaks, as well as the quriltai of 1237, which planned the campaign against the Rus’ principalities and Eastern Europe. Disagreements over Batu’s leadership developed during the campaigns in Rus’ and Eastern Europe (1237–1241).
Güyüg, a son of Ugedei, and Büri, a grandson of Chagatai, challenged Batu’s authority, possibly on the basis of the questionable legitimacy of Batu’s father. When Ugedei died in 1241, Batu opposed and apparently managed to delay the elevation of Güyüg to become Khan until 1246. Claiming ill health, Batu refused to attend any quriltais. His presence at the quriltai was needed to give legitimacy to Ugedei’s successor because, after Chagatai’s death in 1242, Batu was considered aqa – i.e., senior-ranking member of the Genghisids. When Güyüg was declared Khan by a quriltai despite Batu’s absence (although Batu was ostensibly represented by his five brothers), he mounted a campaign against Batu but died on the way to Batu’s ulus in 1248.
This time Batu succeeded in getting a quriltai of 1251 to select his own candidate, Möngke, who was the son of Tulyi (Genghis Khan’s youngest son). Batu had apparently reached agreement with Sorghaqtani, the widow of Tulyi, thus forming an alliance of Jujids and Tulyids against the Ugedeids. Möngke and Batu then launched a joint attack on the Ugedeids and their supporters, the Chagataids. As a result of Batu’s role in elevating Möngke to being Khan and in helping him to consolidate his hold on that position, Batu had a relatively free hand in ruling his own khanate.
The sky worshiper, Batu followed a policy of religious toleration, but seems not to have been pleased by the conversion of his brother Berke to Islam, for, according to William Rubruck, Batu changed Berke’s yurt to the eastern part of the Khanate beyond the Volga River to reduce his contacts with Muslims, which he thought harmful. The Mongol and Turkic sources refer to Batu as a saint, which means “good” or “wise”, and in the Rus’ sources before ca. 1448, Batu is depicted as “a powerful tsar” to whom the Rus’ princes had to pay obeisance. After 1448, the Russian sources increasingly depict Batu as a cruel plunderer and enslaver of the Rus’ land.
Death of Batu in 1256 led to the first in the Golden Horde battle for the possession of the throne. Governor of the state in 1257 became the younger brother of Batu – Berke. Winning Berke was largely facilitated by the support of his candidacy by Muslim merchants, attracted by the Golden administration as a tax-farmers tribute. At the same time, he found support for the Muslim clergy of KKhwarezm, who wanted to see on the throne not a pagan, but a supporter of the Muslim religion. New Khan took the throne at the age of about 50. Age of Berke was quite stormy and eventful, both in the inner life of the state and in the foreign policy arena.
• New Khan in his youth was converted to Islam and, therefore, immediately after accession to the throne declared Islam the state religion. This caused resistance nomadic aristocracy. Meanwhile, Khan began to pursue vigorously Islamization of the country. He invited from Iran to Egypt, priests, known theologians and scholars. At the same time from KKhwarezm were delivered new parties of artisans, builders and artists. Thanks to their labors the cities of the Golden Horde dramatically change their appearance.
• When Berke began the process of disintegration of the Mongol Empire. Berke's striving to transform ulus Juji as an independent state. It was reflected in coinage.When the Golden Horde was dependent on the native yurt, as it was when Batu, Golden coin minted with the name of the Great Khan Mengu. Berke also minted coins with the name of the great khan Arigbuga. But as soon as Kubilai Khan became the Great Khan, Berke refused to mint coins with the name of the Great Khan, which was tantamount to a denial of the supreme power of Kubilai. At the same time the independence of the ulus was not recognized by the rest of the Mongol princes, so Berke was minted the coins with the name of the last caliph Nasir al-din, emphasizing that he Berke recognized only the spiritual power of the caliphs.
• During the reign of Berke in 1263 began a war with their relatives – the Khulaguids who settled in Iran. Both branches of a single clan Genghisids not share a very rich and very attractive for nomadic province of Azerbaijan. In the heated struggle Golden Horde was supported by Mamluk Egypt, fearing the expansion of Khulaguids in the direction of their possessions. Throughout the conflict, none of the parties failed to achieve decisive advantage, even though the Golden Horde was able to capture the capital of Iran, Tabriz. Berke himself died in 1266 under Tbilisi during one of the campaigns against Khulaguids.
During Batu and Berke's reign Golden Horde not only fully took shape as a state with all attributes of power and social structure, but also entered into steady economic relations with Asian and European countries, as well as developed strategic directions for foreign policy interests. We can say that in the subsequent history of the state continued deepening and developing all aspects of its internal and foreign policy lay down by the founders.
There is more information about Berke-khan:
Berke, Khan of the Kipchak Khanate from 1257 to 1267. He was a grandson of Genghis Khan, third son of Juji, and younger brother of Batu. William Rubruck tells us that Berke converted to Islam but does not provide a date. This evidence conflicts with that of the Persian historian Juzjani, who says Berke was raised from infancy as a Muslim. It also conflicts with the evidence of Abu ’l-Ghazi, who says that Berke adopted Islam after he became khan. In this regard, William has been generally taken
