A new look at the history of the Golden Horde from the point of view of Independence

Abstract

The article discusses the problems of the Islamic religion in relation to the internal political events of the state in the early period of the history of the Golden Horde. For almost two centuries of Golden Horde historiography, this issue has not been considered for various reasons. In the historiography of Tsarist Russia, there was not enough evidence, and in the Soviet historiography, for ideological reasons, it was not considered. In this regard, we are trying to solve this problem based on written sources in various languages that have been included in the scientific circulation related to the history of the Golden Horde. Based on the principles of civilizational methodology, which began to be applied in the humanities back in the period of independence, the author approaches some issues of the history of the Golden Horde in a new way. In the history of the Golden Horde, the sudden death of Baty Khan’s heirs, Sartak and Ulagshi, who could not sit on the official throne, remains a mystery for many, the author, based on written sources, proves that Baty Khan’s brother Berke Khan was behind him, and the main reason was a religious factor. Also, analyzing the events that led to the beginning of the wars between the official Khan – Toktai and the ruler of Ulus Nogai in the West, which took place in the history of the Golden Horde in the last decade of the XIII century, proves that it is also based on the Islamic factor. The next issue considered by the author is the death of Toktai Khan’s son Elbasy for unknown reasons and the conversion of Uzbek Khan to Islam. Through written sources, the author also proves that there is an Islamic factor behind these events, which left a deep mark on the history of the Golden Horde. Key words: Golden Horde, Berke Khan, Nogai ulus, religious factor.