GENERAL — 33/262 — Golden Horde
Also known as the Great State or the Ulus of Jochi, it was a large Mongol-Tatar state entity extending across Eastern Europe and Siberia. It was originally formed as part of the Mongol Empire, became a fully independent state in 1260, and later embraced Islam. Until the mid-14th century, it was the largest and militarily strongest state in all of Eastern Europe, occupying much of what is now Ukraine and Russia, with unimaginable profits from the taxes levied on its conquered territories. However, as a result of internal divisions and waning momentum, the khanate's power gradually began to decline, until in 1380, at the First Battle of Kulikovo, the horde was significantly defeated by the Russian princes for the first time. The core of the Mongol-Tatar army was light cavalry with bows and arrows, whose mobility and 'hit-and-run' capability was unmatched by the slow moving heavily armoured armies of the time. The main strategy of advancing hordes was ruthless pillaging and scorched earth tactics, aimed at deterring subjected lands from attempting resistance. We write about the horde in particular because it was the basis of Cuman ethnicity and warfare, and because it strongly shaped the migration and warfare of the time.
TRIVIA
— The name "Golden Horde" comes from the Turkic and Mongolian word orda or ordo, meaning "camp", "court", or "palace", which later evolved into the word "horde" in European languages. The "golden" part is thought to refer either to the gold-colored tent used by Batu Khan, the khanate’s founder, as his royal residence. Historian John Man notes that Genghis Khan’s family was known as the "Golden Clan" (Altan Urug), further reinforcing the association with prestige and nobility. Originally, the state was known as the Ulus of Jochi or the Kipchak (Qipchaq) Khanate, after the steppe region it ruled. The term "Golden Horde" appeared later, first recorded in sixteenth-century Russian sources, and became widely used in later historiography. The popularization of this name came long after the khanate’s foundation. — The reason the in-game Codex mentions Cumans in this entry is because The Golden Horde’s realm was originally known as the Khanate of Qipchaq, named after the Cumans (Kipchaks) who had inhabited these steppes long before the Mongol conquest. — By the late 14th century, Timur’s devastating campaigns against the Golden Horde forced the Mongols to divert forces from their European territories, indirectly ending centuries of raids into Eastern Europe. This conflict provides context for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, as the game’s setting in Bohemia benefits from a relatively stabilized region, where Mongol raids are no longer a present threat, allowing us to experience a narrative without the looming threat of steppe cavalry invasions.
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