When it comes to the place of the Ulus of Jochi in the history of Kazakh statehood, they usually talk a lot about the policies of the khans and sultans who descended from Kerey and Zhanibek, after Jochi. The director of the Scientific Institute for the Study of the Ulus of Jochi, Zhaksylyk Sabitov, believes that in our history, which begins with the Saks and Huns, the personality of the ruler of the Golden Horde, Berke, is not adequately assessed, Kazinform reports.

At the international scientific and practical conference "The Origins of Kazakh Statehood - from Khan Jochi to Our Times" held in Astana, the scientist supported his opinion with specific facts.

We offer readers a story (in abbreviated form) about these times and events, written down from the words of the scientist, which he presented in a report at the National Military-Patriotic Center.

The Path of the Ulus of Jochi

The report is dedicated to the events that took place in the Golden Horde in 1255-1265. Basically, this is the political activity of Berke, one of the rulers of the Golden Horde, who actually played a big role in preserving the Golden Horde so that the ulus could prosper in the future. 
Since the beginning of its existence, the Ulus of Jochi has gone through several stages. The first period begins in 1206. At this time, the Ulus of Jochi was formed on the territory of modern Mongolia. In 1224, the Ulus of Jochi migrated from Mongolia to the territory of modern Kazakhstan. In fact, Jochi Khan became the ruler of Desht-i-Kypshak. From this date, we celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Ulus of Jochi. 
Since it was a huge country, the central power at the headquarters of Genghis Khan wanted to divide it into several uluses, that is, according to the principle of "divide and rule."When Jochi died, Batu and Orda Yezhen were appointed co-rulers in his place. This was convenient for governing the Ulus of Jochi from the center. 

After his campaign to the West, Batu took power in Desht-i-Kypshak completely into his own hands. In addition, he effectively became a co-ruler of the empire of Genghis Khan. In 1255, Batu died and, as Jamal al-Karshi wrote, all power in the Ulus of Jochi passed to the center. If earlier the Ulus of Jochi could protect its interests as an independent political entity, then after Batu's death the situation changed. 

The center appointed Batu's son, Sartak, to rule the Ulus of Jochi. But on the way to the capital Sarai, he was poisoned. Many researchers write that he was poisoned by order of the central horde. Sartak's young son, Ulaksha, was appointed in his place. But since he was under the tutelage of Burakchi, the wife of Khan Batu, this actually weakened the regional power, because few people obeyed them, on the other hand, this power could not resist the center.

Kublai's Cunning

From the moment power passed to a minor child under the tutelage of his mother, a political crisis began in the Ulus of Jochi. In 1259, decisive events occurred - two rulers died at once. One of them was the ruler of the Mongol Empire Monke, the second was Ulakshy, the ruler of the Ulus of Jochi.
If earlier the ruler of the ulus was appointed by the khan of the central horde, now there was no such khan. Accordingly, the question arises - who to choose. Burakchi did not have enough influence to hold a kurultai within the ulus. She was unable to unite the elite of the Ulus of Jochi. At this time, Berke entered the political scene.

Berke had the blood of three khan families at once. He was the natural son of Jochi from his wife Khan-Sultan. And Khan-Sultan was the daughter of Khorezmshah Muhammad. Thus, Berke descended from the rulers of the Oghuz and Kipshaks. Berke was a Muslim since childhood, his mother wrote about this in a letter to her older brother Jalaluddin. Of course, Berke was able to use this aspect very effectively for political purposes. 

In 1259, he came to Sarai from his exile in Syganak. Since 1255, the political struggle here has intensified. At this time, 5 uluses were formed in the Mongol Empire. In particular, it was unclear who the ruler of the Ulus of Jochi was. Although Berke was an influential commander, he was not formally recognized as a ruler. Because, firstly, no one appointed him. In addition, he was not the son, but the brother of Batu. 

At this time, Arykbuga (Mongol state) and Kubylai (Chinese state) fought among themselves for central power.Berke, as the son of the eldest son of Genghis Khan, was a contender for the title of "senior khan". Thanks to this, there was an opportunity to gain authority to influence the decision of who would now rule the Mongol Empire. But Kublai exacerbated the political games, as a result of which the crisis within the Ulus of Jochi intensified. Kublai opposes the Ulus of Jochi with the remaining 4 uluses. It can be said that everyone except Arykbug participated in this game. Kublai concludes an agreement according to which the Ulus of Jochi is divided in half. The western part is taken by Hulagu (Ulus of Elkhan), the eastern part - by Khaidu (ulus of Shagatai). Thus, the troops of Iran and Central Asia were to unite. In addition, Kublai's spies set the Russian princes against Berke and organized an uprising. Half of the elite of the Golden Horde went over to Hulagu's side. Ulaksha's mentor, Burakchi, writes a letter to Hulagu, expressing her support. Berke was left between two advancing armies, a rebellion in the rear, and betrayal at headquarters.

The Union of Beibarys and Berke

When Berke began to gather an army, his luck began to turn. Arykbuga attacked Hulagu, and the main part of the army headed to the center. At this time, Burakchi's letter fell into Berke's hands, she was seized and, accused of treason, sentenced to death. She was sewn into a sack and sent on a "journey" along the Volga to the Caspian Sea.

After this, active work began. Berke himself was a great political figure, he attended the kurultais and understood that if he did not take power now, then nothing would work out. He called up everyone into the army, starting with boys over 12 years old.In January 1262, he sent an army assembled with great difficulty against Hulagu. A great battle took place that decided the fate of the 13th century. Thanks to this battle, Berke saved the Golden Horde from disintegration. Without Berke, there would have been no Golden Horde. And without the Golden Horde, the Kazakh people would not exist in their current form. Because this period had a strong influence on our history.

After these events, Berke was forced to reconsider his position, which was that it was necessary to conduct policy based on the consent of the uluses of the Mongol Empire. But, realizing that he was left alone in geopolitical terms, he switched to a multilateral policy. Therefore, he began to think about confronting Hulagu and Kublai together with other states. This situation prompted him to seek an alliance with Sultan Baybars, who ruled Egypt. Previously, Baybars wrote letters to Berke 3-4 times, but since Berke was at war with Hulagu, he ignored these letters. In general, Berke had reasons to be cold towards Baybars. Because Baybars killed Sultan Kutuz, who was Berke's cousin - their mothers were sisters. After defeating Hulagu, Berke decided that it would be right to enter into an alliance with Baybars. 

It can be said that the creation of an alliance between Berke and Baybars saved the Golden Horde. In fact, Berke's activities from 1259 to 1266 helped the Golden Horde survive, despite the fact that other uluses of the Mongol Empire were against it. The Golden Horde achieved independence, but Berke himself did not receive the title of khan. Therefore, his successor Mengu Temir became the first khan of the Golden Horde. In 1269, a kurultai was held on the Talas River and the collapse of the Mongol Empire was officially recognized. Therefore, in 2019 we celebrated the 750th anniversary of the Golden Horde. Thus, the statehood preserved by Berke continued until the statehood of today's independent Kazakhstan.

As previously reported, Duken Masimkhanuly, Director of the R. B. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies, believes that without Genghis Khan and the Ulus of Jochi, Central Asia could have become Arabic-Persian-speaking.

 

Author

Danagul Karbaeva