Mamai Mongol Tatar Khan. Mamai is a biography of the temnik who ruled the Golden Horde

) - Golden Horde ruler, military leader. He ruled the Golden Horde on behalf of its khans, being a temnik. He prepared a campaign against Russia in alliance with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello. Was broken into Battle of Kulikovo 1380 by Dmitry Donskoy. Lost power in the Golden Horde, fled to Kafa (Feodosia), where he died.

Orlov A.S., Georgiev N.G., Georgiev V.A. Historical dictionary. 2nd ed. M., 2012, p. 295.

Mamai (d. 1380) - Tatar temnik, under Khan Berdibek (1357-1361). Being married to the daughter of Berdibek, he became the de facto ruler in the Golden Horde. Not being a Genghisid, he ruled through dummy khans. Mamai sought to prevent the consolidation of Russian lands. He managed to inflict heavy damage on the Ryazan (1373 and 1378) and Nizhny Novgorod (1378) principalities. But when he tried to invade the Moscow principality, his detachment was defeated on the Vozha River (1378), and in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, the entire army of Mamai was defeated. Soon after this, Mamai was defeated by Tokhtamysh, fled to Kafa, where he was killed.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 9. MALTA - NAKHIMOV. 1966.

Literature: Grekov B. D., Yakubovsky A. Yu., Golden Horde and its fall, M.-L., 1950; Nasonov A. N., Mongols and Russia, M.-L., 1940.

Mamai (year of birth unknown - d. 1380), Tatar temnik (military leader) under Khan Berdibek (1357-1361), after whose death he became the de facto ruler of the Golden Horde. In an effort to revive its power, he undertook a number of campaigns in Russian lands. He tried to increase the dependence of the Russian principalities on Golden Horde; inciting feudal strife between the princes, sought to prevent the unification of Russia. His predatory campaigns inflicted heavy damage on the Ryazan (1373 and 1378) and Nizhny Novgorod (1378) principalities. In 1378, Mamai organized a large campaign, during which the army attempted to invade the Moscow principality, but on the river. Vozha (a tributary of the Oka), this attack was repulsed by the Moscow army. Battle on the river Vozha demonstrated the strength of Moscow to the Horde. Mamai began to prepare a new campaign to destroy the Moscow principality and restore the Tatar yoke in its former form. IN Battle of Kulikovo 1380 Mamai was completely defeated by the troops Dmitry Ivanovich, Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow. Soon after this battle, Mamai was forced to cede power in the Golden Horde to Khan Tokhtamysh- protege Timur, and then fled to Kafu (now Feodosia), where he was killed.

During the conduct of hostilities, Mamai used such factors as surprise, swiftness, attack by large masses of cavalry in open areas. Often maneuvered on the battlefield in order to dismember the enemy or bypass his flanks and go to the rear, followed by encirclement and destruction; at the same time, he showed excessive self-confidence, due to success in battles with weaker opponents.

Used materials of the Soviet military encyclopedia in 8 volumes, volume 5: Adaptive radio communication line - Objective air defense. 688 p., 1978.

) Golden Horde.

Origin

Fight against Tokhtamysh

In 1377, the young khan, the legitimate heir to the Golden Horde throne, Chingizid Tokhtamysh, with the support of Tamerlane's troops, began a campaign to establish legitimate power in the Golden Horde. In the spring of 1378, after the eastern part of the state (Blue Horde) with its capital in Sygnak fell, Tokhtamysh invaded the western part (White Horde), controlled by Mamai. By April 1380, Tokhtamysh managed to capture the entire Golden Horde up to the northern Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, including the city of Azak (Azov). Under the control of Mamai, only his native Polovtsian steppes remained - the Northern Black Sea and Crimea.

On September 8, 1380, Mamai's army was defeated in the Battle of Kulikovo during a new campaign against the Principality of Moscow, and his great misfortune was that the young Muhammad Bulak, proclaimed by him as Khan, died on the Kulikovo field, under which Mamai was a beklarbek. The defeat on the Kulikovo field for Mamai was a heavy blow, but not a fatal one, but it helped the legitimate Khan Tokhtamysh to establish himself on the Golden Horde throne. Mamai wasted no time gathering a new army in the Crimea for the next campaign against Moscow. But as a result of the war with Khan Tokhtamysh, supported by Tamerlane, Mamai's next blow to Russia did not take place. A little later, in September 1380, a decisive battle took place between the troops of Mamai and Tokhtamysh. The historian V. G. Lyaskoronsky suggested that this battle “on the Kalki” took place in the area of ​​​​small rivers, the left tributaries of the Dnieper near the rapids. Historians S. M. Solovyov and N. M. Karamzin suggested that the battle took place on the Kalka River, not far from the place where in 1223 the Mongols inflicted the first defeat on the Russians. There was no actual battle, since on the battlefield most of Mamai's troops went over to the side of the legitimate Khan Tokhtamysh and swore allegiance to him. Mamai, with the remnants of his faithful companions, did not start bloodshed and fled to the Crimea, while his harem and noble women from the Jochi clan, whom Mamai took care of, were captured by Tokhtamysh. The victory of Tokhtamysh led to the establishment of legitimate power in the state, the cessation of a long internecine war (“Great Zamyatnia”) and the temporary strengthening of the Golden Horde until a clash with Tamerlane.

Death

After his defeat from the troops of Tokhtamysh, Mamai fled to Kafa (now Feodosia), where he had long-standing connections and political support of the Genoese, but he was not allowed into the city. He tried to get into Solkhat (now Old Crimea), but was intercepted by Tokhtamysh's patrols and killed. It is assumed that he was killed by mercenaries on the orders of the Khan. Tokhtamysh buried Mamai with honors.

Descendants of Mamai

According to the family legend of the princes Glinsky, the descendants of Mamai were serving princes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Glinsky, whose ancestral possessions were located on the lands of the Poltava and Cherkassy regions of Ukraine, descended from the son of Mamai - Mansur Kiyatovich. Mikhail Glinsky staged a rebellion in Lithuania, after the failure of which he transferred to the Moscow service. His niece Elena Glinskaya is the mother of Ivan IV the Terrible. Relatives of the princes Glinsky, the Russian princes Ruzhinsky, Ostrozhsky, Dashkevich and Vishnevetsky played an important role in the development of the Cossack community of the Dnieper region, the formation of the Zaporizhzhya Army and the lands controlled by it, Zaporozhye.

see also

Notes

Literature

Scientific biography

• Pochekaev R. Yu. Mamai: The history of the "anti-hero" in history (dedicated to the 630th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo). - St. Petersburg. : EURASIA, 2010. - 288 p. - (Clio). - 2000 copies. -

Name: Mamai

Years of life: OK. 1335 - 1380

State: Golden Horde

Field of activity: Army, politics

Greatest Achievement: Not being a descendant of Genghis Khan, he became the ruler of part of the Golden Horde. Led the Mongol army in the Battle of Kulikovo

The name Mamaia is widely known in Russia. How did it happen that the temnik managed to become not only the actual ruler of the Golden Horde within twenty years, but also entered world history thanks to his activities? Mamai was born in Cafe, presumably in 1335, belonged to the Mongolian family of Kiyats. By origin, he could not be a khan - only Genghisides occupied the throne. But he managed to become the son-in-law of the last of the Batuids.

Viceroy Mamai

In the sixties of the fourteenth century, two very important events happened in the fate of Mamai - the khan appointed him governor of the Northern Black Sea region. At that time, he was already married to the Khan's daughter, which undoubtedly made his appointments expected and logical.

In 1359, the eighth Khan of the Golden Horde, Mohammed Berdibek Khan, was killed as a result of the seizure of power by Kulpa, a self-proclaimed Khan, his distant relative. After the death of the father-in-law of the temnik, the twenty years began, which went down in world history as "". Mamai did not stay away from these events - he unleashed a war against the new ruler. Mamai controlled the western part of the state. He himself could not sit on the throne due to insufficiently noble origin. He needed a complaisant and weak-willed khan who would allow him to become the de facto ruler. In 1361, his choice falls on Abdullah from the Batuid family, a relative of the late ruler, whom he appoints as the ruler of the White Horde. But other khans began to challenge this decision, presenting their claims to the Khan's Golden Horde throne. For two decades, a total of 9 khans claimed it.

Mamai understood that in the struggle for the khanate he needed allies in international politics. And so he began to establish ties with Western countries.

Mamai and the Golden Horde

Abdullah Khan dies in 1370. There are different versions about his death, including a violent death. The next khan was, according to some versions, the wife of the temnik herself. Archaeologists even find minted gold coins with her image. But no matter how satisfied Mamai was with the candidacy of his wife, Tulunbek Khanum, he understood that a male Khan Chingizid should be at the head of the horde. The fate of this woman, Mamai's wife, subsequently developed tragically. After the death of Mamai, she was married to strengthen the authority of his power, but a few years later she was executed by him on suspicion of conspiracy.

In 1372, the eight-year-old Mohammed Sultan was proclaimed khan. Ten years later, he died in, but at that time he was quite convenient for Mamai as a well-managed ruler.

But everything was not easy with the legality of Mohammed's rights - according to Yassa, the law, the khans proclaimed by Mamai, were illegal.

Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo

After the murder of his father, Tokhtamysh fled under protection. And he used the fugitive Genghisides to gain control over the Horde. Several times the army of Timur and Tokhtamysh tried to seize the throne, but failed each time. Circumstances helped - in 1380, in the Battle of Kulikovo, Mamai not only was defeated, but Bulak Khan, proclaimed a temnik, died in this battle. This did not break Mamai, but circumstances were still against him.

An attempt to hide in the Crimea under the protection of the Genoese, in his native Kafa, failed - he was not allowed into the city. Mamai was soon killed by mercenaries sent by Tokhtamysh. The most honorable funeral was arranged for the outstanding and famous temnik.

Regarding the most fatal event in the life of Mamai - the Battle of Kulikovo - historians have two versions. Some, led by L. Gumilyov, N. Karamzin, G. Vernadsky, believe that there was no battle, and the Tatars were more allies than oppressors. And it was this union that saved Russia from disappearing as a state during a difficult period of civil strife.

Opponents of this group of scientists rely on the descriptions of the atrocities of the Tatars in Russian chronicles - mass executions, destruction of cities, murders. But most of the annals could have been edited much later - during the reign of Ivan III, for political purposes, to please the current international situation - in particular, in connection with the aggravation of relations with the Principality of Lithuania, a long-time ally of the Mongols.

Both versions have the right to life, but perhaps the truth is somewhere in between.

Mamai left a significant mark on history: it was under him that the famous Battle of Kulikovo took place. It was an ambiguous, but influential personality of his time. Consider who Mamai is, what he did for his country, what he became famous for.

Origin

Mamai was born around 1335. He came from the Kiyat clan (an ancient Turkic tribe, whose representative was Genghis Khan himself). Mamai married very favorably, taking as his wife Tulunbek, the daughter of Muhammad Berdibek (the eighth ruler of the Horde).

Berdibek died in 1359. This ended the reign of the Batuid dynasty. Mamai began the so-called "Great Jam" period, which lasted almost until his death. He tried to restore the dynasty, making only representatives of the clan khans. However, according to the law of the Golden Horde, they were impostors.

Ranks and positions

Answering the question of who Mamai is, one cannot ignore his rank and position. He ruled the troops of the Golden Horde from 1361 to 1380, was a military leader. The Russians called him temnik. This is the military rank of a person who leads the largest group of his army (about 10 thousand people). He did not have the title of khan, since he did not belong to the Genghisid family. He was also a beklyarbek - the head of the Golden Horde state administration.

The history of events before the Battle of Kulikovo and Mamai's policy

When Berbidek, the father of Tulunbek, was killed by Khan Kulp, Mamai declared war on him and, as already mentioned, the period of the “Great Jail” began. For 11 whole years since 1359, Mamai fought as many as nine khans, who opposed the fact that he put Khan Abdullah at the head. In 1366, Mamai conquered some lands in the west of the possessions of the Golden Horde (near the Crimea) and began to rule there. This weakened the central government. Temporarily, he even ruled the capital - New Saray (when he managed to win it back).

The Eastern states did not support Mamai, so he mainly turned to European states for support (most often to Lithuanian, Genoa and Venice). Mamai's reign was very ambiguous. Historians know that at first he supported the Moscow principality, even concluded an agreement with Metropolitan Alexy, who, one might say, ruled Moscow while Prince Dmitry was little. For Russia, the benefit of such an alliance was that Mamai reduced taxes levied on Russians.

Some time later, Mikhailo Alansky himself asked the temnik (remember, this is how Mamai was called in Russia) to give a label to the principality of Dmitry Donskoy. Alani made many gifts to Temnik, and he agreed. Donskoy became dependent precisely on the Mamaev Horde (a self-proclaimed state in the Golden Horde), and not on those rulers who ruled in Sarai. Seven years later, Mamai took away the label for the principality from the prince, and gave it to Mikhail of Tver. But already matured at that time, Prince Dmitry managed to regain this label a year later. It was handed over to him by Khan Mohammed Bulak, who was placed on the throne by Mamai.

At the same time, there was a struggle with Tokhtamysh (legitimate khan of the Horde). He was a Chingizid and from 1377 tried to become a full-fledged ruler. His main goal was to remove Mamai. A year later, he and his troops invaded the temnik's domain. By 1380, Tokhtamysh returned his lands, and only the North of the Black Sea and Crimea remained for Mamai. Tokhtamysh won and established legal power, and the "Great Zamyatnya" ended. It was almost at the same time as the Battle of Kulikovo, which we will discuss below.

Battle of Kulikovo

To know who Mamai is, you need to understand what role he played in the clash on this battle between the troops of Mamai and Dmitry Donskoy. There are several reasons that led to this battle.

Relations between the Mamaev Horde and Moscow deteriorated when the temnik took away from Donskoy the label already given to him for the Moscow principality. For this, Prince Dmitry stopped paying tribute. Temnik decided to send his ambassadors, but they were all killed by order of the prince, who had many supporters. After that, there were small clashes between the warring parties, but Mamai himself had not yet attacked. So far, only Arapsha (Khan of the Blue Horde serving under Mamai) has ruined some large Russian principalities.

In 1378, the temnik sent his troops to fight Dmitry, but the Horde were defeated. Around the same time, Mamai began to lose part of his territory, as Tokhtamysh and his people attacked him from the other side. In 1380, preparations for battle began. Moscow troops, led by Dmitry, were going to head to the Don through Kolomna. The main regiment was led by Donskoy himself, the second regiment was commanded by Vladimir the Brave, and the third by Gleb Bryansky. Very many Russian cities also provided great military support to Prince Dmitry, sending their troops to help.

It is also interesting to note the number of troops. Various sources mention the number of Russian soldiers from 40 thousand to 400 thousand. But many historians believe that these numbers are exaggerated and that the number of soldiers did not exceed 60 thousand. But in the troops of Mamai, there were from 100 to 150 thousand people.

The Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380 on the banks of the Don at the Kulikovo field. It is known that the Russians advanced with banners depicting Jesus Christ. First, there were small clashes between the advanced troops, in which the Tatar-Mongol Chelubey and the Russian monk Peresvet died.

Since the troops of Mamai outnumbered the troops of the Don, the Russians initially had little chance of winning. But they had a certain tactic. They hid the ambush detachments of princes Vladimir of Serpukhov and Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky, who helped a lot at the end of the battle. Thus, Mamai's side began to lose. Almost all the Horde warriors were killed. The battle ended with the flight of the Tatar-Mongol.

This battle was of great importance. Although Russia still continued to be under the yoke of the Golden Horde, it became more independent, the Moscow principality was greatly strengthened. A hundred years later, Russia finally freed itself from the influence of the Horde.

Death

After losing to the Russian troops and Khan Tokhtamysh, Mamai fled to the territory of present-day Feodosia, but he was not allowed to go there. Mamai tried to hide in the city of Solkhat (now it is Stary Krym), but did not have time to get there. On his way, Tokhtamysh's people attacked him. By this time, all Mamai's supporters had gone over to the side of the legitimate ruler, so the temnik did not have reliable protection. In the battle with the people of Tokhtamysh, he was killed. Khan buried the body of his opponent with full honors. His grave (mound) is located in the village of Aivazovskoye near Feodosia (the former city of Sheikh-Mamai). Our glorious painter Aivazovsky found the grave.

Rod Mamaia

According to historical genealogies, the descendants of Mamai were princes living in the Principality of Lithuania. The great family of the well-known Glinskys is supposed to have been descended from Mansur Kiyatovich, the son of Mamai. The prince, for example, is known for his rebellion in Lithuania, after which he and his family moved to Moscow. Also, the descendants of Mamai are the Ruzhinsky, Vishnevetsky, Ostrogsky and Dashkevich families. The princes of these families are very famous in the history of Zaporozhye as people who have done a lot for Ukraine in military terms.

Several informative facts are known about the temnik Mamai:

• There is a saying “how Mamai passed”, which means disorder, devastation. It is also said about a person who left behind a mess. This expression occurred after the troops of Mamai successfully devastated the cities of Russia.
• In addition to numerous historical books and sources, the name of the temnik is mentioned in the song "Mamai" (performer: Ukrainian group "Vopli Vidoplyasova"). But here it is worth noting the fact that there is such a concept as "Cossack Mamai" - which means the collective image of the hero-Cossack of Ukraine. But the name did not come from the name of the temnik, but from the ancient word "mamayuvati" (to travel, lead a free lifestyle). So it has nothing to do with darkness.

Conclusion

We found out who Mamai is. beklyarbek and military leader of the Golden Horde, the unofficial ruler of the self-proclaimed state of Mamaev Horde. He managed to win the trust of many Tatar-Mongols, to make many victories.

He became famous for his successful campaigns in Russia, but at the very end of his life he lost in the great Battle of Kulikovo, and a little later to Khan Tokhtamysh, with whom he fought for power for a long time. His mistakes led to the weakening of the influence of the Golden Horde, and his own death.

His name entered everyday culture at the level of sayings: "how Mamai passed." One of the most famous pages of history is connected with it - the Battle of Kulikovo. He played secret political games with Lithuanians and Genoese. Beklyarbek of the Golden Horde Mamai.

Origin

Khan Mamai became the prototype of the famous character of Ukrainian folk culture - the Cossack knight (knight) Mamai. Modern Ukrainian reformist historians even seriously write about the Ukrainian origin of the khan, and esotericists call the Cossack-Mamai "the cosmogonic personification of the Ukrainian people as a whole." For the first time in the everyday culture of the common people, it appeared rather late, in the middle of the 18th century, but it became so popular that it hung in every house next to the icons.

Mamai was half Polovtsian - Kipchak, half - Mongol. On his father, he is a descendant of Khan Hakopa from the Kiyat clan, and on his mother, from the clan of the Golden Horde temnik Mamai. Then it was a common name, meaning in Turkic Mohammed. He successfully married the daughter of the ruler of the Sarai - Khan Berdibek, who had previously killed his father and all the brothers, the Great Zamyatnya began in the Horde - a long period of civil strife. Berdibek himself was also killed, and the direct line of the Batuid dynasty on the main throne of the Horde was interrupted. Then the eastern descendants of Jochi began to lay claim to Saray. Under these conditions, Mamai captured the western part of the Horde and installed khans there - indirect heirs of the Batuid clan. He himself could not rule without being Genghisides. And here a big policy with the participation of Mamai unfolded.

“The talented and energetic temnik Mamai came from the Kiyat clan, hostile to Temujin and who lost the war in Mongolia back in the 12th century. Mamai revived the Black Sea power of the Polovtsians and Alans, and Tokhtamysh, heading the ancestors of the Kazakhs, continued the Dzhuchiev ulus. Mamai and Tokhtamysh were enemies." Lev Gumilyov.

Mamai vs Tokhtamysh

Tokhtamysh was an adherent of the old Horde order, striving to unite the splitting horde. In addition, he was a Chingizid and had uncontested rights to Sarai, as opposed to Mamai. Tokhtamysh's father was killed by the ruler of the White Horde, Urus Khan, but after the death of the latter, the nobility there refused to obey his descendants and called Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamysh lost the internal war, but escaped after a decisive battle, having sailed across the wounded Syr Darya - to the possessions of Tamerlane. He said: "You, apparently, are a courageous person; go, return your khanate to yourself, and you will be my friend and ally." Tokhtamysh took the White Horde, received the Blue Horde - by right of inheritance, and moved on Mamai. Now everything depended on alliances formed in the West.

big politics

Since the Golden Horde weakened in strife, the Lithuanians began to strengthen in the territories formerly controlled by the Mongols. Kyiv became practically Lithuanian, Chernihiv and Severskaya were under the influence of Lithuania. Prince Olgerd was a militant anti-Orthodox, while the majority of the population in the expanded Lithuania was already Russian, and Moscow used this against the Lithuanians. However, other Russian princes, on the contrary, used Lithuania against Moscow - first of all, Suzdal and Novgorod. There was also a division according to Western politics in the Horde.

Mamai bet on Lithuania, and Tokhtamysh on Moscow. Mamai led a pro-Western line, because he needed money to fight Tokhtamysh. The Crimean Genoese promised to help with money in exchange for concessions for the extraction of furs in the north of Russia. Mamai tried for a long time to persuade Moscow to fulfill the conditions of the Genoese in exchange for a label and other privileges. Both the Muscovites accepted. Metropolitan Alexy, who ruled de facto when Dmitry was a child, used Mamai to elevate, both legally and de facto, the Principality of Moscow. But in the end, Moscow turned its back on Mamai, and the so-called “great peace” took place. Not without the influence of Sergius of Radonezh, who said that there could be no business with the Latins (Genoese and Latins).

From the “Word on the Life and Repose of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia”: “Mamai, instigated by crafty advisers who adhered to the Christian faith, and themselves did the deeds of the wicked, said to his princes and nobles: “I will seize the Russian land, and destroy the Christian churches … Where there were churches, I’ll put murmurs here.”

Before the Battle of Kulikovo

Interesting events took place before the Battle of Kulikovo. Since Mamai hoped to conclude an alliance either with Moscow, and then with other principalities against Moscow, he often sent embassies to Russia. To Ryazan, Tver, Moscow itself, etc. These embassies were often mistreated. This happened in Nizhny Novgorod (then under the reign of the Suzdalians), where the Suzdal Bishop Dionysius was sitting. He raised the townspeople against the Tatar embassy. As Lev Gumilyov writes, “all the Tatars were killed in the most cruel way: they were stripped naked, released onto the ice of the Volga and poisoned by dogs.” Mamai overtook the drunken Suzdal troops on the Pyana River and cut them, repeating the same thing a little later in Nizhny. On adrenaline, Mamai decided to continue moving towards Moscow, but the troops of Mamaisky Murza Begich were defeated on the Vozha River. After that, the main open clash between Mamai and Moscow became inevitable.

The princes of Glinsky called themselves descendants of Mamai. According to their family legend, the descendants of Mamai served in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and supposedly the Glinskys descended from Mamai's son Mansur Kiyatovich. If so, then Mamai was the ancestor of Ivan IV the Terrible by his mother, Elena Glinskaya.

Doom

In the Battle of Kulikovo, about which we have written a lot, Mamai lost not only the army, but also legitimacy: the infant Khan Mohammed, who ruled de jure in Saray, was killed. Thus, Tokhtamysh almost did not have to fight in order to finish off the remnants of Mamai's army on the Kalka River - people themselves went over to a more legitimate ruler. Mamai went to the Genoese in Kafa (present-day Feodosia), but it is clear that they were no longer interested in him. There he was killed. Whether by the Genoese, or Tokhtamysh's scouts: this is not so important, since his fate was sealed, and his time was over.