Under wings of the Zilant: a Golden horde timeline

[Ursogulos]

Ramadan 742 ( February 1342)
Sarai, Khanate of the Golden horde
sigh of relief

Tini Beg was tensed the entire night, not knowing whether the harbingers of death will bring him good news. Perhaps Allah knows what's best and he should quit being a scaredy-cat. This morning he'll finally see the result. But the suspense, as usual is killing him.

He was soon relieved of his stress as two soldiers entered the throne room carrying a hatch. One of them leaned over the box and humbly asked for the Khan's per mission to open the lid. Tini Beg acquiesced with a shrug, the previous tension all vanished from his features and was replaced instead by curiosity.

Opening the lid, the soldiers stepped back and allowed the khan to have a full view of the treacherous fiend who wished to end his life.

"No way, Jani beg? But why? This is outrageous! The web of conspiracy is much more spread than I thought. How many have been caught? " The khan asked the attending bey ( commander of forces).

" 10 so far have been caught alive and 2 were sent to Jahannam by our brave sentries as those fools tried to escape the law. It seems that his followers have now dispersed across the steppes as we speak , my khan. Allow me and we will track down those conspiring snakes be they in the palace of Khakan in China or in some infidel's court to the west."

Tini Beg sighed and spoke in an intimidating voice:
"Send out search parties in their trail, leave no stone unturned. I wish to see those munafiqs' corpses hanging from the grand bazaar gate in Sarai."

The soldiers and the bey bowed and left the Throne room accompanied by their bey.

Tini Beg furrowed his brows and was in deep thought. But now the biggest threat to his reign over the golden horde was gone. He could now reign supreme over the vast realms of Jochid ulus and set out a path for this state in the ever-changing world.

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This is my first attempt at a TL at this site, inspired by "Lightning out of Tartary" which was done by @Mirza Khan . POD is that Jani Beg is killed by Tini Beg before he can usurp and set the horde in a long succession crisis. I will try to be realistically plausible about the wide butterfly effects that my TL is likely to cover. There will be a bit Muslim wank here and a definite Sunni wank, but many things will turn out better for some unlikely non-Muslim states. Though I will not spoil too much now.
Ramadan Mubarak!

 

[Talus I of Dixie]

I'll be looking forward to this!

 

[Abd ar-Rahman II]

i can do nothing but follow this , a Golden Horde TL have always been something I dreamed to see . The Golden Horde was a state that could have gone in such a interesting way with enormous effect it will be a pleasure to see where the TL go

 

[Ursogulos]

Empires of the steppes: by Mahmud Sakafi (1420 AH)

The reign of Tini Beg was a time of tumultuous events that saw the horde flexing its muscles all the way from Transoxiana to Northern Persia and into Eastern Europe. In 744 AH (1344), a joint Rus- Tatar raid into Poland was sponsored by him which was led by Prince of Tver Konstantin Mikhailovich( much to chargin of prince of Muscovy, Tver's rival). This Raid however, failed due to bad supplies and sporadic looting by Tatar groups who had little or no cohesion with each other were often led by rival beys who had an unhealthy competition between them. The Prince was simply a figurehead leader of this rag-tag group and his own detachment was poor both in terms of number and weaponry due to lack of population after the sack of Tver in 727 (1327). A joint Polish-Lithuanian counter attack near Daguva river which would be modern day Polatsk disintegrated the allied raiding party. Konstantin was wounded during the flight and would die, but not before having his experience written down by a chronicler which would find its way into Sarai and most importantly, catch the attention of the Khan himself.

Tini Beg besieged Kaffa in 746 (1346*). After 5 months long grueling siege, the city surrendered . Though Genoese were allowed to continue their doings in the city as merchants and even had their quarters intact, no form of military organization by the foreigners was to be stationed inside the port or the city which was now under the beklar bek of Crimea. Now the khan turned his attention to the east.

Image: Tatar siege of Kaffa( circa 1200AH)

His Jalrayid in-laws were facing trouble from Chupanids, another Ilkhanid successor state based on Tabriz. Tatar forces attacked the Chupanids in 750 (1350) and were able to sack Tabriz by 752 (1352), ending the Chupanid rule in Northern Iran once and for all. Tini Beg also assisted Jalrayid sultan Hasan Burzug to conquer Isfahan from Injuids. In 757 (1356), he hurriedly crossed the Kafkas (Caucasus) and swung over the Caspian sea to deal with a supposed large scale raid by Chagtaids. After the death of Hasan Burzug in 758 (1357), all Tatar gains south of Azerbaijan was now in troubled waters. They would be lost by 761 (1360). But territory was not the only thing which Tini Beg would achieve in his Persian campaign. The chronicles of the battle of Polatsk by prince Konstantin forced the khan of the Golden horde to adopt a firm administration and for that he took with him many officers, viziers and Qadhis(judges) from the Persian realm, with Chupanids and Injuid administrators dominating the numbers.

After reaching Sarai, Tini Beg got update on the Chagtai incursion** and was relieved to find the raid not so large as previously reported. However, he chose to remain cautious and marched to the east in 760 (1359). The raiding party was defeated and for a while Tini Beg contemplated the idea of raiding Samarkand, the biggest city in Chagtai Khanate. But he refrained from the attack which would have provoked all the tribes opposing Tuglugh Timur To instead ally with their erstwhile rival against the biggger threat from the west.

After a long campaign in Asia, Tini Beg returned to Sarai and busied himself with reforming the administration with the Persian cadre. The army will mostly remain in Turkic hands and will continue to be a cavalry force. The troubles in the western Chagtai Khanate resulted in a trickling of refuges in the 'Dasht-E-Qipchaq' region. Instead of letting this population wander about in the backwaters of the Khanate, Tini Beg offered them a much lucrative place to settle. Soon, Oirats, Uighurs and various other Nomadic clans were settled in the Dnieper basin and on the border with Rus principalities(the steppe parts, that is). Tini Beg's last military campaign would be in 767 (1366) against Ryazan. In 771 AH (1370), Tini Beg would die in Sarai for unknown reasons but later expalantions contributed his demise to the Black death which was wreaking havoc on Eurasia. His son Makmut who was in Ryazan rushed to Sarai but found the city in revolt. It was led by Orda, his distant uncle but was actually instigated by Mamai, a high ranking general who distrusted the new Persian polity in the capital. Inexperienced, Makmut was in dire waters as what to do with this rebellion. Most of his retinue were Crimean forces and some minor Rus noblemen along with the Persian newcomers who were able to escape the capital. But help would come to him, in the form of a ragtag bey named Toktaymish.....

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*OTL, Tatars failed to take the city
** This was in fact a force led by Ilyas Khaja, son of Tughluq Timur. He barely escapes with his life and returns to Western Chagatai Khanate and begins his iron-fisted rule to pacify himself of this defeat. This will mean more agitated Mongols and an even more initially successful Timur who would be an important figure in this TL.

And there are other important PODs as well. I switched the the Asian campaigns of Jani Beg for Tini Beg. So he first campaigns in Persia and then goes to Chagtai Khanate, instead of the opposite. Also he is less focused on Europe as he doesn't order a decisive campaign into Poland in 1352 which forced Casimir the great to pay tribute to the horde. I generally plan on having a stronger Lithuania and Poland in this timeline that will be more focused to the East(for now😉)

And the second update which is in history book format, my favorite type which I learned from a famed writer @Nassirisimo while reading his epic ottoman tale of 'With the Crescent Above Us'. I will try switching between history book formats and dialogue situations whenever necessary. I'll even add diary or chronicle concerning a single important event when viewed by a person close, because First person povs are always awesome don't you think? I appreciate @Abd ar-Rahman II and @Talus I of Dixie for promoting my timeline and all those who have liked this so far. I hope I can continue this upto 1850. Let's go for a wild ride, friends!

 

[Ursogulos]

i can do nothing but follow this , a Golden Horde TL have always been something I dreamed to see . The Golden Horde was a state that could have gone in such a interesting way with enormous effect it will be a pleasure to see where the TL go

I admit I'm taking a calculated risk by being the pioneer of golden horde genre in alt history . Also since this is my first TL I'm expecting a lot of mistakes which experienced ones like you will surely help me with ( innocent puppy eyes). Thanks for the appreciation again, dude.

 

[Abd ar-Rahman II]

I admit I'm taking a calculated risk by being the pioneer of golden horde genre in alt history . Also since this is my first TL I'm expecting a lot of mistakes which experienced ones like you will surely help me with ( innocent puppy eyes). Thanks for the appreciation again, dude.

Honestly I would like to help but I have no experience as a writer , deep knowledge of the area or even a native English speaker , sorry man .
if I try to make a production it would seem like our boy Timur will leave a long lasting Timurids Sunni Iran

 

[Hawabin]

You may want to threadmark your chapters.

and while I don't have any knowledge about the era or the golden horde, I am nonetheless interested.

 

[hash]

as a Volga Tatar i am going to read this with great interest hopefully Russia isn't to powerful in this

 

[Ursogulos]

as a Volga Tatar i am going to read this with great interest hopefully Russia isn't to powerful in this

There is a tag which I hope will not be much of a spoiler that kinda gives away Russia's fate ( initially ). But one thing, Golden horde or Qipchak Khanate will only acquire minimum Rus principality lands for now.

 

[Ursogulos]

You may want to threadmark your chapters.

and while I don't have any knowledge about the era or the golden horde, I am nonetheless interested.

I seem lost on how to do this. But I will try once I post at least 4 chapters.

 

[Hawabin]

I seem lost on how to do this. But I will try once I post at least 4 chapters.

you see the button with three dots on your post (the posts that you want to threadmark). Click on that button, one of the option will be add threadmark!

 

[Ursogulos]

you see the button with three dots on your post (the posts that you want to threadmark). Click on that button, one of the option will be add threadmark!

Jazakallah, brother from subcontinent

 

[Ursogulos]

Dhul Hajj, 771 (1370)
Near Akhtuba river

The strong wind on the riverside flowed the long locks of Makmut as he narrowed his eyes. The endless steppe before him seemed like an entrancing world calling upon the brave and the wild to risk everything they have in the ever-moving life of nomads and to live their lives to the fullest, like the Huns before them and the Xiongnu of the antiquity.

"My Khan, Orys Khan of Aq Orda have sent a vanguard towards Sarai, they will return shortly and join with us here. Their messenger has brought good news, some Farsi were able to sneak out of the city bringing with them your brother, Atrak Beg." spoke Tui Khodja an old bey.

"Praise to Allah, he's safe at last. I was wondering what those rats under Mamai would do to him. They could have even mistaken him for a Fars kid, for he shares their love of ink and books and library. " Makmut spoke and shuddered about the possible horror that would have awaited his brother at the hands of the usurpers.

"Oh, look they're here. Allah grant you long life Toktay , for you have safely led them to our camp." Tui Khodja gestured towards a group of horsemen nearing the tent.

Makmut rushed towards the riders when he saw his younger brother of age not more than 7 lying prone on the saddle. he feared the worst, but was assured by a rider about his health.

"Prince's just tired my khan, our friends didn't allow him to sleep the whole night for the smuggling affair. " Toktay spoke at the aim of comforting the tensed elder brother.

After putting his brother inside a tent, Makmut was about to leave but was cut off by Toktay who seemed off about something. He followed the renegade Tuman bey(commander of 10,000) anyway.

"Alright, what do you want to tell me? Be quick, the war council's about to start." the young khan spoke in a gruff tone.

"My head be struck off on the lowly earth and my blood be spilled to protect your honour, do whatever you want but don't trust Orys and his progeny. My best men are at his court and the picture they paint is horrifying. You will be puppeted by Orys who'll be the beylar bey and one of his sons will be declared orda bey (Commander of troops, new post due to Tini Beg reform) and another will be the bey of Kazan. And whatever you do, please keep my father in your presence for I fear for his life. He's oblivious to this threat however, as you can see." Toktay pleaded in a husky voice.

Makmut was having a headache at the moment, so many political intrigues! Ah! he'd be better off smoking Hukka in a Turkish shop in Keffe. But that would have to wait until his brother Atrak came of age.

"There is a war in a couple of days. None knows who will survive or not. And if they think they can outsmart me, they've got another thing coming. Toktay, I have a duty for you. Always accompany my detachment keeping a low profile. If what you say is true then we'll have to be careful not only after the battle but also now. I have a bad feeling about what you just said." Makmut finished addressing a benevolent Toktay.
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The civil war between Makmut and Orda sparked a new era of instability in the Golden horde that would remain till the beginning of 780s. In the battle of Akhtuba river, a grand coalition under Makmut and led by Tui Khodja and Orys Khan soundly defeated Mamai's troops. But the battle was bloody for both sides. Tui Khodja and Timur Melik, son of Orys were amongst the high profile causalties.

Aftermath of the battle was marred by political backroom dealings and cold war between beys. Orys was appointed as beyler bey and his Son Qutlugh Timur became bey of Kazan. But the mantle of orda bey went to Toktaymish who showed exceptional fighting capabilities and saved the Khan's retinue twice as it came under fire from Mamai's troops. Orys wanted to stay as the de facto ruler of White horde but was replaced by one of his sons, Toqtaqiyah. Orys was interested in Russia partly due to his origin. He facilitated some Islamic missionary activity in Muscovy and Tver to little effect. He even organized a marriage between his son Qutlugh Timur and princess Maria (sister of Mikhail II of Tver). Thus he was able to get some sort of legitimacy for his bloodline in the Rus principalities. Makmut tolerated Orys and his sons for now. But his main advisor and lieutenant Toktaymish was riling up resentment against them that would soon result in another blood bath......
(from 'Empire of the steppes', by Mahmud Sakafi)
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And so another update. I was facing time constraints. There may or may not be another update in the next 48 hours depending on time availability. Ramadan routine has severely impeded my free time not to mention online classes are going on thrice a day.

 

[Contrary]

Good update! Here's to hoping your schedule will permit a part 2.

Also, Ramadan Mubarak from the US.

 

[Madhukar_Shah]

I'm really excited to see where you take this, the Golden Horde has so much potential as a state, and the consequences affect the entire Persianate world, from the Balkans to Bengal.

I wonder if Timur will even manage to launch his indian campaign?

Also I'm not super familiar with the golden horde itself but where does it fall in terms of turko-mongol vs perso-islamic ideas on kingship? From my understanding it fell a lot more towards the former, and it'll be interesting to see whether the qurultai can survive and turn into a quasi parliament, or whether the golden horde will follow the otl Mughal/Ottoman trend where the Turkic idea of the king as first among equals is replaced by a more absolute divine kingship.

I do think though that a golden horde wank must eventually be a rus wank as well- just like the Mughals success expanded Rajput power, and ottoman success expanded phanariote influence across the orthodox world- the Rus principalities are too powerful and useful to crush to non-existence, for the horde to thrive they need to turn coopting the principalities into part of their success.

Ramzan Mubarak, btw!

 

[Ursogulos]

I'm really excited to see where you take this, the Golden Horde has so much potential as a state, and the consequences affect the entire Persianate world, from the Balkans to Bengal.

I wonder if Timur will even manage to launch his indian campaign?

Also I'm not super familiar with the golden horde itself but where does it fall in terms of turko-mongol vs perso-islamic ideas on kingship? From my understanding it fell a lot more towards the former, and it'll be interesting to see whether the qurultai can survive and turn into a quasi parliament, or whether the golden horde will follow the otl Mughal/Ottoman trend where the Turkic idea of the king as first among equals is replaced by a more absolute divine kingship.

I do think though that a golden horde wank must eventually be a rus wank as well- just like the Mughals success expanded Rajput power, and ottoman success expanded phanariote influence across the orthodox world- the Rus principalities are too powerful and useful to crush to non-existence, for the horde to thrive they need to turn coopting the principalities into part of their success.

Ramzan Mubarak, btw!

The thing is that Balkans will be fought over hard like OTL between Ottomans and another surprising power who needed some love in alternative history. Golden horde in my TL will not be just a muslim Russia. Among the core Russian territories, only Ryazan is under their direct control now. In the future, Golden horde will be considered part of Europe like an accident on how Armenia and Georgia are considered because the horde will not be eurocentric like their OTL Russian counterparts. As for wank, I'll try to remain plausible but Russia will be losing the 'Tatar yoke' bit sooner than OTL only to be replaced by something else; which I'll try give in the next update.

And Timurid invasion of India will happen and I will try to have it's initials described by first person pov of a character I introduced in my last update (free to guess😉). Unfortunately, as Toktaymish helps Makmut to throw off Orys and company's strings, he himself becomes too big for the khan to control. With Makmut sitting pretty at Sarai, Toktaymish will have more free reign to get involved in many wars, be it subjugating some overgrown Muscovites or picking fights with a new warlord in the east making his way to Persia.

A Timur-Toktaymish war will happen and let's see how Makmut deals with it. But Timur will not be sacking Sarai like OTL due to quicker capitulation of the horde nobility who will place the blame squarely on Toktaymish's shoulder.

Thank you for taking a glance at my TL and feel free to give advice because I'm a novice.

 

[Ursogulos]

Also I'm not super familiar with the golden horde itself but where does it fall in terms of turko-mongol vs perso-islamic ideas on kingship? From my understanding it fell a lot more towards the former, and it'll be interesting to see whether the qurultai can survive and turn into a quasi parliament, or whether the golden horde will follow the otl Mughal/Ottoman trend where the Turkic idea of the king as first among equals is replaced by a more absolute divine kingship.

Ah yes, the qurultai system is prevailing for now with the reforms slowly being instilled and the administrative structure will mirror that of Persians in the 15th century. But in the early 16th century, something big will happen (muwahaha, laughs in Norman ) that will change the position of the Khagan above other members of the Jochid line from "first amongst equals" to "biggest of the big ones" in terms of exercising their power over their family members who will be Beqlar begs of various provinces. Administrative personnel particularly in the judiciary and the army will have more say in state matters than the Khagan's brothers or cousins, again their extent of power being controlled by the khagan ( after 16th century )

 

[Madhukar_Shah]

in terms of exercising their power over their family members who will be beyler beys of various provinces.

I'm excited to see how it turns out- a system of family members as provincial governors seems like a recipe for disaster though, as they have a claim to supreme power, and would most likely lead to a good few civil wars. An administrative class would definitely be much more use to the Khan than family as governors.

Also wouldn't the qipchaq Turkic be beqlarbeg not beylerbey?

Among the core Russian territories, only Ryazan is under their direct control now

Even so, all the Russian territories are fully part of the horde in terms of they recognise its sovereignty, they're just parts where the Khan has decided the pre-existing administration doesn't need reform. The khanate cannot thrive without incorporating the Rus into their political structure. Just as a fact of demographics, even the bureaucracy on the step will never get more taxes than the bureaucracy and cooperation of the Rus, and it's gonna stay that way at least until the 18th century.

For that reason, even though they're Muslim, they need to continue their historical support for the church hierarchy and become seen as defenders of orthodoxy. The best way to do this of course, is to portray Lithuania and Poland as the great threat to orthodoxy and keep the Rus United with the Mongols against them. Ideally also the Metropolitan (maybe later patriarch?) Of Kiev sets up his main residence in Sarai instead of Moscow.

administrative structure will mirror that of Persians in the 15th century

I'm not too familiar with timurid Irans administration, but I do know that fifteenth century Iran saw constant fragmentation on the political level, hardly a model to follow right?

 

[Johnharry]

Ramadan Kareem

This will be interesting. A more short lived Golden Horde but a longer lasting impact on Russia itself.

I do wonder what Sunni state shall take its place. I look forward to seeing your plans for Siberia as well. TTL Russia seems like it could be more culturally persianate given the more serious cultural imprint of the Golden Horde TTL and should give Islam a major boost.

 

[Ursogulos]

I'm excited to see how it turns out- a system of family members as provincial governors seems like a recipe for disaster though, as they have a claim to supreme power, and would most likely lead to a good few civil wars. An administrative class would definitely be much more use to the Khan than family as governors.

Also wouldn't the qipchaq Turkic be beqlarbeg not beylerbey?





Even so, all the Russian territories are fully part of the horde in terms of they recognise its sovereignty, they're just parts where the Khan has decided the pre-existing administration doesn't need reform. The khanate cannot thrive without incorporating the Rus into their political structure. Just as a fact of demographics, even the bureaucracy on the step will never get more taxes than the bureaucracy and cooperation of the Rus, and it's gonna stay that way at least until the 18th century.

For that reason, even though they're Muslim, they need to continue their historical support for the church hierarchy and become seen as defenders of orthodoxy. The best way to do this of course, is to portray Lithuania and Poland as the great threat to orthodoxy and keep the Rus United with the Mongols against them. Ideally also the Metropolitan (maybe later patriarch?) Of Kiev sets up his main residence in Sarai instead of Moscow.


I'm not too familiar with timurid Irans administration, but I do know that fifteenth century Iran saw constant fragmentation on the political level, hardly a model to follow right?

Yes, you're right about the Beqlar beg. As for Russia, they will try to fight off a resurgent threat from west but after Timurid invasion, the golden horde can do little in regards to militarily assisting them. They will not focus on Europe until middle 15th century. The Russians are on their own until then. They can always migrate into Horde territories and will be influenced by Sufis. But I'm not sure how much of the population will convert.

For the tax bases, there will be new influx of Persians after the Timurid's initial collapse(like OTL they're gonna set up shop somewhere else, maybe India, maybe somewhere far fetched....), with Russians remaining a substantial source.

What I meant was Horde administration in the 15th century will mirror the Persian structure, think of Safavid administration.