In 1395-1396. Timur carried out a second invasion of the Horde lands. This time he moved not to the eastern uluses devastated by the previous invasion, but to the rich Volga region. Through his Transcaucasian possessions, the Iron Hammer headed for the very center of the Golden Horde.
Tokhtamysh, as a reasonable ruler and commander, decided not to allow the enemy deep into his possessions and therefore blocked his way on the border — on the Terek River, where on April 15, 1395 one of the largest battles in the former Mongol Empire took place.
The number of troops, apparently, was approximately equal, and therefore the battle was characterized by persistence. Both leaders of the opposing forces — Timur and Tokhtamysh — personally participated in the battle. Initiative most of the battle was on the side of Toktamysh. However, despite his steadfastness in this battle, the Horde Khan was defeated.
However, it was not his fault: Timur’s commanding talent determined his victory in the battle. The defeat of the Golden Horde was complete: the Khan’s army practically ceased to exist, and Tokhtamysh himself fled, and for several months nothing was heard of him.
Tamerlane’s Cavalry
Having defeated Tokhtamysh in the battle on the Terek on April 15, 1395 Timur moved in pursuit of Tokhtamysh in order to capture him and finish the remnants of his army. Timur understood perfectly well that due to the vastness of territories and the presence of large resources Tokhtamysh would be able after some time to gather new forces and resume the struggle.
The Iron Hammer moved forward relentlessly, but Timur did not catch up with Tokhtamysh. The ill-fated Golden Horde Khan fled to Bulgar literally with a few close and devoted to him people. The army of Timur, having risen up on Volga, have stopped rather far from Bulgar where has destroyed the city Ukek. After that, Timur turned to the West.
Tamerlane has decided to direct on western uluses of Golden Horde in the direction of Dnepr as some of emirs Tokhtamysh participating in fight on Terek have disappeared there. Having left to Dnepr, Timur has robbed and devastated these grounds then has turned to Don and has unexpectedly moved to the North on Russian cities and volosts. What attracted Timur to the lands of Russia?
Timur, as well as other rulers of Central Asia and Iran, was poorly informed about Russian affairs. Being perfectly familiar with geography and history of Central and Front Asia, Muslim countries and peoples, Timur did not have even the most elementary ideas about Russia, Russian princedoms and Moscow. Historical and geographical representations about the country of Russ, to some extent corresponding to reality, did not penetrate to the Central Asian East and did not go further than the Golden Horde.
That is why in the Muslim (Persian and Arabic) historiography of the XV century, so rich in factual material on the history of Muslim countries and even Christian Transcaucasia, we will not find anything interesting and valuable on the history of Russia. We will not find in it even the correct geographical nomenclature, including the correct names of Russian cities.
Let’s return however to a campaign of Timur to Russia. Eastern sources inform, that Timur has invaded in area of city Mashkav, i.e. Moscow where and has made devastation, having taken huge extraction. The east chroniclers badly imagined geography of Russia and have mixed the Ryazan land with border volosts of the Moscow princedom. Let’s address to more exact indications of Russian sources.
According to Nikon’s annals, Timur with huge army has invaded the Ryazan land and has grasped the city of Yelets “ and prince Yeletsky capture, and people captive, and others beat up ”. Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich, having learned about all this, gathered numerous regiments, came to the city of Kolomna and took the crossings over the Oka. Timur did not dare to clash with the Russians and, having plundered the Ryazan land, went south.
Apparently, stories about Mama’s battle on the Kulikovo field impressed him, and he did not dare to take the fight with the Russians. With the big booty has gone Timur to the Lower Volga region. He moved through the lower reaches of the Don and on the way decided to capture the city of Azak (Azov). The latter was completely robbed, by Timur’s order Muslims were separated from the rest of the communities, which were committed to the “sword of Jihad”, i.e. all destroyed.
From Azov, Timur headed towards the Kuban. The Eastern chronicler tells that Circassians burned pastures between Azov and Kuban. For 7-8 days Timur’s horses were literally poor from lack of fodder. Angry Timur ordered to take revenge on Circassians and devastate all their ulus. Instead of the planned route to the lower Volga region, Timur suddenly turned to the North Caucasus, where he seized a number of mountain fortresses.
Particularly interesting is the story of Timur’s campaign to Hadji Tarkhan (Astrakhan) and Sarai Berke in the winter of 1395. Having failed to destroy Sarai Berke and Astrakhan in his first campaign, in the summer of the same year, when he pursued Tokhtamysh, who had fled from the banks of the Terek, he now moved with a large army to once for all put an end to these two major centers of wealth and power of the Golden Horde.
Timur’s 1395 campaign
It was a harsh winter, the Volga was covered with ice, and Hadji Tarkhan could be taken from the river side. The city had strong fortifications only on its landward edge. A high wall, apparently fortified with towers, surrounded the whole city, starting at the river bank at one end and ending at the other. There was no wall on the river side. Here the defense was armed ships.
Since the ice on the river made the approach to the city from this, the most vulnerable side, accessible, the inhabitants of Hadji Tarkhan began to cut out pieces of thick ice and make a wall out of them. At night, they poured water over the stacked pieces. “Having thus made a high [wall], they,” writes Sheref-ad-din Ali Iezdi, «with one piece of ice they connect the wall of the city with this wall and put up a gate. Truly this is a marvelous device and is therefore told here.»
Hadji Tarhan, in spite of the strong walls, offered little resistance. Timur first imposed a tribute on the inhabitants of the city for the preservation of their lives, and then gave everything to his army to plunder. Before leaving, Timur ordered to evict all the inhabitants and set the city on fire.
Having finished with Astrakhan, Timur went to Sarai Berke, who could not resist him. Saray Berke was, as well as Hadji Tarkhan, given to Timur’s soldiers for complete plundering. The devastated capital of the Golden Horde was set on fire and, apparently, in most of its part burned.
Timur’s victory over Tokhtamysh, the devastation and burning of Astrakhan and especially Sarai Berke — the capital of the Golden Horde — in 1395 were of great importance not only for Central Asia and then south-eastern Europe, but also for Russia. Without suspecting it, the very Temir Aksak, who robbed the Ryazan land, objectively did the Russian land a favor by his victory over Tokhtamysh, although his actions left a deserved bad memory in the Russian people.