Editing Golden Horde (section)

=== Great Troubles (1359–1381) ===
{{Main|Great Troubles}}
[[File:Kulikovo lubok.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[Battle of Kulikovo]] in 1380]]

[[Berdi Beg]] was killed in a coup by his brother [[Qulpa]] in 1359. Qulpa's two sons were Christians and bore the Slavic names Michael and Ivan, which outraged the Muslim populace of the Golden Horde. In 1360, Qulpa's brother [[Nawruz Beg]] revolted against the khan and killed him and his sons. In 1361, a descendant of [[Shiban]] (5th son of [[Jochi]]) was invited by some grandees to seize the throne. Khidr rebelled against Nawruz, whose own lieutenant betrayed him and handed him over to be executed. Khidr was slain by his own son, Timur Khwaja, in the same year. Timur Khwaja reigned for only five weeks before descendants of Öz Beg Khan seized power.{{sfn|Vernadsky|1953|p=246}}

In 1362, the Golden Horde was divided between Keldi Beg in Sarai, Bulat Temir in [[Volga Bulgaria]], and Abdullah in [[Crimea]]. Meanwhile, the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] attacked the western tributaries of the Golden Horde and conquered [[Kiev]] and [[Podolia]] after the [[Battle of Blue Waters]] in 1363.{{sfn|Atwood|2004|p=480}} A powerful Mongol general by the name of [[Mamai]] backed Abdullah but failed to take Sarai, which saw the reign of two more khans, Murad and Aziz. Abdullah died in 1370 and Muhammad Bolaq was enthroned as puppet khan by Mamai.{{sfn|Vernadsky|1953|p=246}} Mamai also had to deal with a rebellion in [[Nizhny Novgorod]]. Muscovite troops impinged on the Bulgar territory of Arab-Shah, the son of Bulat Temir, who caught them off guard and defeated them on the banks of the [[Battle on Pyana River|Pyana River]]. However Arab-Shah was unable to take advantage of the situation because of the advance of another Mongol general from the east.{{sfn|Vernadsky|1953|p=258}} Encouraged by the news of Muscovite defeat, Mamai sent an army against [[Dmitry Donskoy]], who defeated the Mongol forces at the [[Battle of the Vozha River]] in 1378. Mamai hired [[Genoa|Genoese]], [[Circassians|Circassian]], and [[Alans|Alan]] mercenaries for another attack on Moscow in 1380. In the ensuing battle, Mongol forces once again lost at the [[Battle of Kulikovo]].{{sfn|Vernadsky|1953|p=258}}

By 1360, [[Urus Khan]] had set up court in [[Sighnaq]]. He was named Urus, which means Russian in [[Turkish language]], presumably because "Urus-Khan's mother was a Russian princess... he was prepared to press his claims on Russia on that ground."{{sfn|Vernadsky|1953|p=247}} In 1372, Urus marched west and occupied Sarai. His nephew and lieutenant [[Tokhtamysh]] deserted him and went to [[Timur]] for assistance. Tokhtamysh attacked Urus, killing his son Kutlug-Buka, but lost the battle and fled to [[Samarkand]]. Soon after, another general [[Edigu]] deserted Urus and went over to Timur. Timur personally attacked Urus in 1376 but the campaign ended indecisively. Urus died the next year and was succeeded by his son, Timur-Melik, who immediately lost Sighnaq to Tokhtamysh. In 1378, Tokhtamysh conquered Sarai.{{sfn|Vernadsky|1953|p=250}}

By the 1380s, the [[Shaybanids]] and [[Qashan Principality|Qashan]] attempted to break free of the Khan's power.{{cn|date=January 2023}}