Tokhtamysh-Timur war
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The Tokhtamysh-Tamerlane was a war fought in the 1380s and early 1390s between Tokhtamysh, khan of the Golden Horde and the Turkic warrior Timur, in the areas of the Caucasus mountains, Turkistan and southern Russia. The battle between the two Turkic rulers made a key rule in the decline of the Turkic power in southern Russia.
[edit] Background
In the late 1370s and early 1380s, Timur helped Tokhtamysh to take the power in White Horde, against Urus. After this he united the White and Blue Hordes, forming the Golden Horde, and launched a massive military punitive campaign against the Russian principalities between 1381 and 1382, restauring the mongol-tartar power in Russia after the defeat in the Battle of Kulikovo. The Golden Horde, after a period of anarchy between early 1360s and late 1370s, passed for a briefly reestablishing as a dominant regional power, defeating Lithuania in Poltava around 1383. But Tokhtamysh has territorial ambitions in Persia and Central Asia. For account of this he turned against his old ally, Timur.
[edit] The war
After the death of Abu Sa'id in 1335, the last ruler of the Ilkhanid Dynasty, there was a power vacuum in Persia. In 1383 Timur started military conquest of Persia. In 1385 he captured Herat, Khorasan and all of eastern Persia. In the same year Tokhtamysh raided Azerbaijan and northwest Iran. The city of Tabriz was plundered and then he retired with the booty.
Between 1389 and 1391, the two entered in war, with the defeat of Tokhtamysh. But Tokhtamysh recovered his position and in the spring of 1395 raided the timurid territory of Shirvan. Timur then promoted and new attack, reconquering the area. After this Timur began his offensive, raiding the Golden Horde's territories. He defeated Tokhtamysh in the Battle of the Terek river in April 15 of 1395. In the same year Timur also plundered Sarai, and Astrakhan was burnt by Timur's army .
[edit] Aftermath
After the defeat in the Battle of the Terek River, Tokhtamysh was deposed of the throne in Golden Horde. He was replaced by Edigu. Then Tokhtamysh escaped to the Ukrainian steppes and asked for help from the Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania. The two combined his forces in the Battle of the Vorskla River in 1399, but were defeat and annihilated by khan Temur Qutlugh and Edigu, two of Tamerlane's generals. Around 1406 Tokhtamysh was killed in Siberia by Edigu's men. The Golden Horde never recovered from after this war. In the middle of the 15th century, fragmented in smaller khanates like the Kazan khanate, Nogai Horde, Qasim Khanate, Crimean Khanate and Astrakhan Khanate. For account of this the mongol-tartar power in Russia was weakened and in 1480 they were defeated in the Great standing on the Ugra River. The last remnant of the Golden Horde was destroyed by the Crimean Khanate in 1502, and the khanates that arosed after the Golden Horde's fragmentantion was annexed by Muscovite Russia between the 1550s and early 17th century, except the Crimean Khanate which survived until 1783, under the Otoman protection.
