The Great Troubles: Golden Horde Civil War and Collapse

In this episode of The Golden Horde: Mongol Rule Over Russia Explained, Lucas and Luna dive into the Great Troubles — the devastating two-decade civil war that tore the Jochid ulus apart from 1359 to 1381. They follow the chain of assassinations after Khan Berdi Beg's death, the power struggles of khans like Nawruz Beg and Kildi Beg, and the rise of the warlord Mamai, who ruled from the shadows. The conversation explores how the Black Death weakened the Horde, the fracturing of the Jochid ulus into breakaway khanates, and the Battle of Blue Waters in 1362, where Lithuania crushed Mongol authority in the west. Along the way, they touch on the role of the yarlyk, the paiza, and the ordu in maintaining control, and how Moscow, under Dmitri Donskoi, began to defy the Horde. The episode ends with the rise of Toqtamysh, who briefly reunified the Horde with Timur's help before overreaching. Specific names and terms include Mamai, Berdi Beg, Nawruz Beg, Kildi Beg, Dmitri Donskoi, Toqtamysh, Timur, Vytautas, the Battle of Blue Waters, the Great Troubles, yarlyk, paiza, ordu, and Jochid ulus. #GoldenHorde #GreatTroubles #JochidUlus #Mamai #BerdiBeg #NawruzBeg #KildiBeg #DmitriDonskoi #Toqtamysh #Timur #Vytautas #BattleOfBlueWaters #BlackDeath #SteppeHistory #MongolCivilWar #MedievalRussia #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo