Ordu-Melik: intensification of strife
Ordu-Melik (Ordu-Sheikh, in Russian chronicles – Ardemelik), Khan of the Ulus of Jochi (Golden Horde), Khan of the Ulus of Jochi (Golden Horde) (1361). Possibly the brother of Khan Kok-Orda Chimtay.
After Mamai’s retreat, there was a period of interregnum when, according to Eastern sources, a certain Karachibek Kutluk-Timur may have ruled. But in the fall of 1361, the Sarai nobility once again called the “left hand” oglan to the khan’s throne, proclaiming Ordu-Melik (or Ordu-Sheikh) as khan. Sources are silent about his origins, and historians argue whether he was the brother of the ruler of the Kok Orda, Khan Chimtai, who placed Khizr on the throne, or the son of Khizr Khan himself. In any case, he clearly enjoyed the patronage of Khan Kok-Orda and the capital’s nobility. With the help of Chimtai’s troops, he entered Saray and began to consolidate his power.
Dang Ordu Malik. Coin of the city of Azak, 762 AH.
Apparently, he managed to push Mamai back to Crimea and occupied Azak, where coins were minted in his name. Khan Ordu-Melik briefly reunited almost the entire empire. In any case, except for Crimea, the rest of the regions recognized his authority. But a month later, the capital’s nobility began to plot against him. According to the Rogozhsky chronicler, “Ardemelik was placed on the throne, and he reigned for a month, and then they killed him. And there was great turmoil in the horde, and the old princes of Saray and Kogui were killed, and many others were slain.” Muin ad-Din Nathanz, author of “Anonymous Iskander,” gives a more detailed account of this event, although his information is rather confused (in particular, he confuses the Ak and Kok Ords), and the reigns of the khans are mixed up, but he accurately conveys the essence of the events. He wrote: «The emirs agreed to the kingdom of Orda-Sheikh for one year. After that, one of the unknown and narrow-minded people, in a fit of ignorance, said: «How can the ruler of the Ak Horde (should be read as Kok Horde) become the ruler of the throne of the kings of the Kok Horde (meaning the Ak Horde)? In the middle of the night, he ended his life with a single stab of a knife. The next morning, when the emirs found out about this, they slaughtered and executed several innocent emirs on his false orders.» Be that as it may, the conspiracy was successful, and another khan fell victim to the capital’s aristocracy. The strife began to gain momentum, spiraling into a bloody vortex.
Kildibek: the dubious heir
The rebellion was successful, but killing the khan was not enough. The empty throne had to be filled by a new khan. The aristocracy of Sarai knew this better than anyone else, and at the end of autumn 1361, «so that the affairs of the kingdom would not be disrupted…
agreed (among themselves) to enthrone an unknown man as king, under the pretext that he was Kildibek, son of Janibek Khan.» From this remark by Mu’in ad-Din Nathanz, author of “Anonymous Iskander,” we can conclude that the well-traveled court historian was surprised by the appearance on the throne of a man with more than dubious rights. Russian chroniclers apparently shared this opinion, cautiously noting that one of the khans was “named Kildibek, the son of Chanibek.” This adventurer’s use of the name Janibek is characteristic. On the one hand, by calling himself a direct descendant of this khan, he clearly tried to indicate that he would be guided by his principles in politics and would fight for strong centralized power. On the other hand, he clearly opposed the pretenders to power from the Kok Orda, defending the traditional clan system and the order of succession to the throne in the Ak Orda only for the “right hand” oghans. This may also indirectly indicate the intersection of other branches of the dynasty of Batu’s descendants in the Ak Orda.
Kildibek, Khan of the Ulus of Jochi (Golden Horde) (1361-1362). At first, Kildibek did indeed strengthen his power, extending his authority to the Volga and Don regions, and his coins were minted in Saray al-Jadid, Azak, and Mukhsh (1361).
Dang Kildibek. Coin of the city of Saray al-Jadid, 762 AH.
Expulsion of the dubious khan
But the war with Mamai and his protégé Abdullah continued. He did not suffer defeat, but he could not achieve victory either. This made his position unstable. At the same time, a complex situation arose when, in Ak-Orda, there was a war between Mamai and Kildibek, and both of them simultaneously acted against the new protégé of the emirs of Kok-Orda, Murid, who had entered from the Trans-Volga region and occupied part of the Lower Volga region, where he began to mint his own coin, indicating Gulistan as the place of minting.
In this complex situation, Khan Kildibek decided to strengthen his position and reduce his dependence on the clan aristocracy. As a universal means to this end, he, like his predecessors, chose repression against emirs who were disloyal to his power. According to Russian princes who were in Saray at the time, “he killed many of them.” According to Natanz, he “considered the death of the emirs a guarantee of his own life; he secretly summoned them and forced them to attempt to kill each other.” It is clear that the puppet had slipped out of the Karachibeks’ control and decided to take real power into his own hands by manipulating the ruling clans.
All these actions, of course, did not contribute to internal stabilization, but only exacerbated the struggle between various clans and factions of the aristocracy in the Golden Horde. As a result of a new conspiracy, according to one Russian chronicle, Kildibek “sat down and was killed himself.” However, it seems that this report combined several events. Other, more knowledgeable sources allow us to clarify the course of events.
It is certain that the karachibeks of the ruling clans united and expelled the dubious khan who had betrayed their trust. Khan Kok-Orda took advantage of this again. Their protégé, Khan Murid, a relative of the ruler of Kok-Orda, Chimtai, and brother of Khizra, captured Saray al-Jadid in the autumn of 1362.
Khan Kildibek fled to the Volga-Don steppes, and in the summer of the following year, having gathered his supporters, he marched on the capital. The Rogozhskaya Chronicle reports on further events: “Murut was on one side of the Volga, and Kildibek on the other, and there was a battle between them, and Kildibek was killed.” The new khan secured his place on the throne of Saray, but the victory did not bring Murid the autocracy he had hoped for.
Further events showed that the khan’s throne of the Ulus of Jochi was not so much a source of power as a veritable volcano ready to erupt.