Seizure of power
Janibek (? — approx. 1357/58), Khan of the Golden Horde (from 1342). He was the youngest son of Khan Uzbek. Shortly before his death, Uzbek Khan appointed his eldest son Tinibek as his successor and sent him with an army to Khorezm to campaign against Sygnak, which had been captured by Moghulistan. Tinibek’s rights were considered indisputable, and the poet Kutb even dedicated his poem “Khosrow and Shirin” to him and his wife Melike, the daughter of the Ilkhan: “Let Melike and Tinibek be kings, / Let the Almighty be their mighty protector.” But Tinibek’s reign was very short-lived, if he ever ascended the throne at all. Although a few coins minted in his name have survived. But for some reason, a conspiracy arose in Saray and Tinibek was overthrown. He and his brother Khizr were killed along with Uzbek’s other sons. Janibek was elevated to the khan’s throne.
Khan Janibek
He continued his father’s policies, but was forced to rely on the Tatar clan aristocracy, and under him, four karachibeks began to sign yarlyks—the names of Mugal-biya, Jagaltai, Kutlu-Bugi, and Toglu-biya appear in them. This was definitely a reward for their loyalty and support of his rebellion against the legitimate khan. From that moment on, the power of the clans in the Ulus of Jochi became stronger than that of the khans.
Under him, crafts and trade continued to develop. Minted coins retained or even increased the weight standard of silver content. It can be said that the first years of his reign were a time of prosperity. Under Janibek, the first serious conflict arose with the Genoese, who robbed and killed a Tatar merchant and refused to hand over the murderers. This led to a protracted conflict (1343-1347), the siege of Caffa (1247), and the expulsion of the Italians. But this did not stop trade, which was too profitable for both sides.
The Venetians benefited from this, receiving trade concessions and privileges enshrined in a series of decrees and treaties (1342, 1347). The letters began with flowery praise: “To the most excellent and glorious lord Jnibek, khan of khans, prosperous ruler of the Tatars and all the eastern countries, most honorable lord of the sea…” Behind these phrases lay Venice’s desire to squeeze its competitors from Genoa out of trade operations. Trans-Asian trade brought huge revenues to the treasury of the Ulus of Jochi and only expanded with the addition of new goods from the Volga-Ural region – furs, leather, wheat, slaves, etc.
A time of prosperity
While Khan Uzbek was forced to actively intervene in internal princely affairs in Rus, under Janibek the situation stabilized and did not require military campaigns. Grand Prince Semen Ivanovich the Proud of Moscow came to Sarai to receive a yarlyk from the new khan in 1242, and then regularly paid tribute and expressed his submission (in 1344, 1247, and 1350). Other princes did the same.
Portrait of Prince Simeon I the Proud by I. N. Nikitin.
Stability was also maintained on the western borders, and campaigns against Hungary and Poland were local in nature and often took place in alliance with Russian or Lithuanian princes (1345).
Some internal disputes between the princes of Ryazan were resolved in favor of Prince Yaroslav of Ryazan, who was loyal to the khan (summer of 1342). Several tarkhan yarlyks (letters of immunity) have survived from the reign of Janibek, given by him and his wife Taidulla (1357) to the Russian Orthodox Church, which was extremely loyal to the khan’s authority, receiving more and more privileges.
Under Janibek, contacts with Mamluk Egypt continued. In 1342, a letter was sent announcing his accession to the throne. However, since the military threat to Egypt and Syria from the Ilkhanid Empire had virtually disappeared, the exchange of diplomatic missions and messages declined sharply. The next letter to the Sultan of Egypt arrived in 1357, in which Janibek informed him of the capture of Tabriz. The disappearance of common enemies led to a cooling of relations.
The beginning of decline
At the height of its power, the Ulus of Jochi was hit by a series of natural and environmental crises – the rise in the level of the Caspian Sea, drought, and reduced harvests. In 1346, a plague epidemic began along the Great Silk Road, which reached the Mediterranean a year later and devastated many countries in Eurasia.
The cities of the Ulus of Jochi and the entire economic system were hit hardest by the pandemic. Within a few years, trade and other ties between regions declined sharply. The crisis affected the entire system of state management and administration. Under these conditions, the ruling clans and the independence of the country’s developed regions grew stronger. The power of Khan Janibek began to weaken.
Campaign in Transcaucasia
But by 1356, Janibek had managed to stabilize and temporarily consolidate his power by suppressing the resistance of the beks. In 1357, he decided to take advantage of the collapse of the Ilkhanate and, having captured South Azerbaijan, establish control over the central part of the Great Silk Road. Having assembled a large army, Janibek invaded Transcaucasia and captured Tabriz. The ruler of Tabriz was surrounded, surrendered, and executed as a usurper. Finally, after almost a century of struggle, the Ulus of Jochi seized the most important trade artery. But suddenly, Janibek, leaving his son Berdibek in command of the troops, returned to Sarai, where he fell ill and died.
Upon learning of his illness, his heir Berdibek abandoned the army and rushed to Sarai, rightly believing that delay in this case would be tantamount to death. All the conquests were lost.
The new khan Berdibek: intoxicated with power
Berdibek ascends the Horde throne.
Berdibek (Birdebek) (c. 1310-59), Khan of the Ulus of Jochi (1358-1359). Eldest son of Janibek. Together with his father, he participated in the victorious campaign against Tabriz (1357/58). After his father’s death, he quickly returned to Saray al-Jadid and, with the support of the ulug karachibek Moglu-biya, seized the khan’s throne. Rumors circulated among his contemporaries that he was involved in his father’s death, but this was hardly true. However, in an effort to consolidate his power and protect himself from rivals, he ordered the mass execution of other Juchids, primarily his own brothers, as well as influential beks. This was the first such atrocity, which caused sharp discontent among the aristocracy.
As a result, a conspiracy arose that led to the overthrow and death of the khan himself. Power was transferred to Kulpa as a result of a conspiracy by the nobility (1359).
The result of the reign of these khans, probably the most powerful in the history of the Ulus of Jochi, was a gradual increase in crises – the decline of world trade, drought and the encroachment of the Caspian Sea, the plague epidemic, and social contradictions. All this was reflected in the fates of these khans themselves, who died of disease and as a result of a conspiracy. Having barely reached the zenith of its power, the empire collapsed into the abyss of civil war.