Editing Golden Horde (section)

== Mongol origins (1225–1241) ==
{{Campaignbox Mongol invasion of Rus'}}
{{Campaignbox Mongol invasion of Poland}}
{{Campaignbox Mongol invasion of Hungary}}
{{main|Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria|Mongol invasion of Europe|Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'|Mongol Empire}}

At his death in 1227, [[Genghis Khan]] divided the [[Mongol Empire]] amongst his four sons as [[appanage]]s, but the Empire remained united under the supreme khan. [[Jochi]] was the eldest, but he died six months before Genghis. The westernmost lands occupied by the [[Mongols]], which included what is today southern [[Russia]] and [[Kazakhstan]], were given to Jochi's eldest sons, [[Batu Khan]], who eventually became ruler of the [[Blue Horde]], and [[Orda Khan]], who became the leader of the [[White Horde]].<ref>[[Edward L. Keenan]], ''[[Encyclopedia Americana]]'' article</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=B. D. |last1=Grekov |first2=A. Y. |last2=Yakubovski |title=The Golden Horde and its Downfall |location=Moscow |publisher=Bogorodskii Pechatnik |date=1998 |orig-year=1950 |isbn=978-5-8958-9005-9 |language=ru}}</ref> In 1235, Batu with the great general [[Subutai]] began an invasion westwards, first conquering the [[Bashkirs]] and [[Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria|then moving on]] to [[Volga Bulgaria]] in 1236. From there he conquered some of the southern steppes of present-day [[Ukraine]] in 1237, forcing many of the local [[Cumans]] to retreat westward. The Mongol campaign against the [[Kypchaks]] and Cumans had already started under Jochi and Subutai in 1216–1218 when the [[Merkits]] took shelter among them. By 1239 a large portion of Cumans were driven out of the [[Crimean peninsula]], and it became one of the appanages of the Mongol Empire.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Crimean Khanate |url=http://www.hansaray.org.ua/e_ist_orda.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106135225/http://www.hansaray.org.ua/e_ist_orda.html |archive-date=2009-01-06 }}{{in lang|en}}</ref> The remnants of the Crimean Cumans survived in the [[Crimean Mountains]], and they would, in time, mix with other groups in the Crimea (including Greeks, Goths, and Mongols) to form the [[Crimean Tatars|Crimean Tatar]] population. Moving north, Batu began the [[Mongol invasion of Rus']] and spent three years subjugating the principalities, whilst his cousins [[Möngke Khan|Möngke]], [[Kadan]], and [[Güyük Khan|Güyük]] moved southwards into [[Alania]].

[[File:Battle of Mohi 1241.PNG|thumb|left|Decisive Golden Horde victory in the [[Battle of Mohi]]]]

Using the migration of the Cumans as their ''[[casus belli]]'', the Mongols continued west, raiding Poland and Hungary, which culminated in Mongol victories at the battles of [[Battle of Legnica|Legnica]] and [[Battle of Mohi|Mohi]]. In 1241, however, [[Ögedei Khan]] died in the Mongol homeland. Batu turned back from his siege of [[Vienna]] but did not return to Mongolia, rather opting to stay at the [[Volga River]]. His brother Orda returned to take part in the succession. The Mongol armies would never again travel so far west. In 1242, after retreating through Hungary, destroying [[Pest, Hungary|Pest]] in the process, and subjugating [[Bulgaria]],<ref name=Sinor>{{cite journal |first=Denis |last=Sinor |title=The Mongols in the West |journal=Journal of Asian History |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |date=1999 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=1–44 |jstor=41933117}}</ref> Batu established his capital at Sarai, commanding the lower stretch of the [[Volga River]], on the site of the [[Khazar]] capital of [[Atil]]. Shortly before that, the younger brother of Batu and Orda, [[Shiban]], was given his own enormous ''ulus'' east of the [[Ural Mountains]] along the [[Ob River|Ob]] and [[Irtysh River]]s.

While the [[Mongolian language]] was undoubtedly in general use at the court of Batu, few Mongol texts written in the territory of the Golden Horde have survived, perhaps because of the prevalent general illiteracy. According to Grigor'ev, {{transliteration|mn|[[yarliq]]}}, or decrees of the Khans, were written in Mongol, then translated into the [[Cuman language]]. The existence of Arabic-Mongol and Persian-Mongol dictionaries dating from the middle of the 14th century and prepared for the use of the Egyptian [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]] suggests that there was a practical need for such works in the chancelleries handling correspondence with the Golden Horde. It is thus reasonable to conclude that letters received by the Mamluks – if not also written by them – must have been in Mongol.<ref name=Sinor/>