List of Khans of the Golden Horde

Main list
This is a complete list of Khans of the White Horde, Blue Horde, Golden Horde and of the Great Horde. Khans of the Blue Horde are listed as the main constituent part of the Golden Horde, although many late rulers of the Golden Horde were descended from the White Horde.

Secondary list with short biographies
This is mainly an index to the linked articles with some help from Baumer and Howorth.

Main horde and western half

 * 1. Genghis Khan 21Years,1206-1227 founded Mongol empire, got about as far as the Volga
 * generals Subutai and Jebe 1219-1223 led raid clockwise around the Caspian, defeated Russians at Battle of Kalka River
 * 2.Jochi 8Y,1218-1226 son of 1, given west, did little, died before Genghis, most khans were his descendants
 * 3.Batu Khan 28Y,1227-1255 son of 2, 1236-42 conquered Russia and Ukraine, c 1250 founded capital Sarai (city) on lower Volga
 * 3a. Orda Khan elder brother of 3, held east, see A below
 * 3b. Shiban ?-?, brother of 3, held area north of Aral/Caspian between Batu and Orda, descendants (Shaybanids) important
 * 3c. Tokh-timur ?-? brother of 3, descendants somewhat important
 * 4 Sartaq Khan 1Y,1256 son of 3, most of short reign spent travelling to Mongolia, possibly poisoned by 6
 * 5 Ulaghchi 1Y,1257, son or brother of 4, 10 years old, possibly poisoned by or yielded to 6
 * 6. Berke 9Y,1257-1266 brother of 3, broke with Hulagu Khan of Persia and allied with Mamluks, died while fighting Hulagu's son, first Muslim khan but did not to push religion (see 11.)
 * Warlord Nogai Khan c1266-1300 grandson of 2's 7th son, under Batu guarded western frontier, invaded Poland, helped 6 fight Hulagu, 1265 invaded Balkans, 1266 defacto ruler west of the Dnieper, c 1280 killed Bulgarian khan, 1285 he and Talabuga invaded Hungary, 1287 raided Poland, then Circassia, killed in battle by #10, son became khan of Bulgaria
 * 7. Mengu-Timur 14Y,1266-1280 grandson of 3, non-Muslim, established trade with Genoese at Kaffa.
 * 8. Tode Mongke 7Y,1280-1287 brother of 7, pious Muslim, weak, removed by Nogai.
 * 9. Talabuga 4Y,1287-91 great-grandson of 3, enthroned by Nogai and fought along side him, began to assert himself so removed, then killed by Nogai or 10.
 * 10. Toqta 23Y,1291-1312 son of 7, enstalled by Nogai, 1300 killed Nogai, quarreled with Genoese at Kaffa
 * 11 Uzbeg Khan 27Y, 1314-41 grandson of 7,first to actively support islam (see 6), fought and made peace with Persia, appointed Ivan Kalita chief tax collector
 * The Black Death would have hit the steppe about this time, but there are few records.
 * 12 Tini Beg 1Y, 1341-42 son of 11, probably killed by 13
 * 13 Jani Beg 15Y, 1342-57 brother of 12, lost land in the west, took and lost Tabriz, his 1347 siege of Kaffa spread the black death to Europe
 * 14 Berdi Beg 2Y,1357-59 son and possibly murderer of 13, killed by 15
 * 15 Qulpa 1Y, 1359-60 murdered 14, murdered by 16.
 * 16. Nawruz Beg 1360-61
 * X 1359-1378 According to Baumer between Berdi and Tokhtamish there were 19 khans, at least 8 puppets of Mamai. First part of this article lists 14 of them with no linked articles except Qulpa and Nawruz
 * Warlord Mamai c1355-1380 started in Crimea, supported various pretenders, lost territory to Lithuania, Moscow stopped paying tribute, 1380 defeated by Russians at Battle of Kulikovo, same year defeated by Tokhtamysh, probably fled to Kaffa and poisoned by the Genoese there.
 * Tokhtamysh 1380-1399 L. below, came from east and united two halves of the Horde, driven out by Edigu as general for Tamerlane.

Eastern half
Between 1242 and 1380 the eastern and western halves of the horde were generally separate, the dividing line being somewhere north of the Caspian. The relation between the two is not clear, but we do not hear of any conflicts, except for I. and L. below. The western khans had a capital at Serai on the lower Volga while the eastern khans had capitals or winter camps on the Syr Darya, especially Sighnaq. Most rulers of the eastern half are poorly documented.
 * A. Orda Khan 28Y, c1227-55 held east after his younger brother Batu (3) conquered west, also general on western invasions
 * B. Qun Quran 29Y, 1251-c1280 fourth son of A, little information (Baumer has Qongqiran >1255-<77)
 * C. Köchü 22Y, c1280-1302 grandson of A, peaceful reign (Baumer: Qonichi c1277-<1299)
 * D Bayan (khan) 7Y, 1302-09 son of C, fought his cousin Kobluk/Kupalak who allied with Kaidu to the east (Baumer has <1299-<1312)
 * E Sasibuqa 6Y, 1309-15 son of D, resisted Uzbeg Khan (11 above). (Baumer has Sasi Buqa <1312-1320/21)
 * F Ilbasan 5Y, 1310/15-1320 son of D or E, probably gained land in southeast (Otrar) recognized overlordship of Uzbek (Baumer has Izran 1320/21-?)
 * G Mubarak Khwaja 24Y, 1320-44 brother of F, little information (Baumer has ?-1344)
 * The Black Death would have hit the steppe about this time, but there are few records.
 * H. Chimtay 16Y, 1344-1360 son of F, little information (Baumer: 1344?-61)
 * I. Urus Khan 15Y, 1361-1376 son of H uncle of Tokhtamysh (L.) fought Tokhtamysh, then Tamerlane, c 1375 briefly held western wing of the Golden Horde (Baumer:1361-74/75)
 * J. Toqtaqiya 1Y, 1377 son of I, two-month reign, Baumer has him defeated by Tokhtamysh
 * K. Timur-Malik 1Y, 1377-78 son of I, killed by L.
 * L Tokhtamysh 21Y, 1378-1399, a great man but more warlord than ruler, possibly descendant of 3c., rebelled against his uncle I., fled to Tamerlane who in 1378 made him khan of the Horde, 1380 crossed Volga and defeated Mamai joining 2 halves of the Golden Horde, burned Moscow to avenge Mamai's defeat at Kulikovo, broke with Tamerlane, captured Tabriz and withdrew, Tamerlane defeated him on the Volga in 1391 and on the Terek in 1395 and razed his cities north of the Caspian, fled to Lithuania, defeated by Tamerlane's general Edigu, fled to Siberia and was killed by Edigu's men.

After Tokhtamysh
Following Tokhtamysh there was no longer a clear distinction between east and west. For the first twenty years power was held by descendents of Urus Khan and Tohktamysh and by the warlord Edigu. There was then a confused period, followed by a several long reigns. The last khan was deposed in 1502. The Golden horde broke up as follows: before 1400: Lithuania expanded as far east as Kiev, ?: Kursk as Lithuanian vassal, c 1430: land east of the Ural held by Abul Khayr, 1438: Kazan (by T11), 1449: Crimea (family of 3c), 1452: Kasimov as Russian vassal (family of 3c), 1465: Kazakh khanate (sons of T12), 1466: Astrakhan (T15), 1480: Russia, before 1490?: Sibir. The steppe nomads then became organized as the Nogai Horde.
 * T1: Tokhtamysh = L. above
 * Warlord Edigu c1396-1410 ruled Volga-Ural area, 1399 defeated T1, 1406 his men killed T1, 1407 raided Volga Bulgaria, 1408 raided Russia, 1410 dethroned, fled east, returned to Serai, 1419 killed by T1's sons (T9d?). According to Baumer in 1410 he was driven out by one of his sons after which 9 khans followed in 9 years.
 * T2 Temür Qutlugh 1397-99 son of K, real power was Edigu, enthroned after Tokhtamysh's defeat (Baumer: enthroned by Tokhtamysh), killed by Tokhtamysh's son
 * T3 Shadi Beg 1388-1407 brother of T2, enthroned and dethroned by Edigu, died in Caucasus, ruled west while uncle Koirijak, grandson of I, ruled east
 * T4 Pulad  1407-1410 brother or son of T2, recalled Edigu from siege of Moscow, dethroned by T5
 * T5 Temur Khan 1410-1412  son of T2, dominated by Edigu, little information.
 * T6 Jalal al-Din Khan ibn Tokhtamysh 1411-1412(cf above dates) eldest son of T1, drove out T5, killed T4, ruled at Serai with Lithuanian support, murdered by T7 (Howorth: treacherously killed during battle by his brother T8).
 * T7 Kerim Berdi 2Y, 1412-1414 son of T1, anti-Lithuanian, killed pro-Lithuanian counter-khan Betsa Pulad
 * T8 Kebek Khan 1Y, 1414, son of T1, little information, struck coins in Astrakhan
 * T9. Chokra Khan ibn Akmyl 3Y, 1414-17, Howorth,p271:Chekre Khan, relative of Edigu or family of Urus Khan, he and servant Johann Schiltberger went to Siberia after Edigu (earliest European report of Siberia), enthroned by Edigu, reigned 9 months(sic) and driven out by T12.
 * T10.Yeremferden 1417-1419 son of T1, no good information (Howorth calls him Jebbarberdei and puts him before T9).
 * T10a?. Howorth: Seyid Ahmed, followed Chekre, boy who reigned 45 days, see T14
 * T10b?. Howorth: Derwish, followed T9a, many coins but no documents
 * T10c?. Howorth: T8 Kibek again, enthroned by T12, held west and in 1422 fought T13 who held the east
 * T10d?. Howorth: Kadirberdi, son of T1, killed by Edigu, by one account Edigu also killed.
 * T11.Dawlat Berdi 1419-21, son of T10, grandson of T1, 1421:defeated by T13, 1428-32: established in Crimea, unsuccessfully attacked by T12
 * T12.Ulugh Muhammad 1419-1422, ancestry uncertain, held Serai, 1420 expelled by T13, 1422 he and T11 defeated by T13, Howorth says restored, long reign, 1437 expelled by T15, c1438 founded Khanate of Kazan. Baumer has 1419-39 with interruptions and T11, T13 as rivals.
 * T13. Baraq (Golden Horde) 1422-27 grandson of Koirijak (see T3), great-grandson of I, defeated above two, sons Gerey and Zhanibek Khan founded Kazakh khanate (Howorth: defeated T12 in 1422, near Samarkand defeated Ulugh Beg, son of Shah Rokh (sic, hard to find in other sources), but during this campaign T12? regained power in the west)
 * T13a?. Abu'l-Khayr Khan 1428-1468, Shaybanid, started in Sibir and gained land south to the Syr Darya, realm broke up after death. Relation to Golden Horde unclear.
 * T14. Sayid Ahmad I 1427/33-1455 (sic) Howorth, pp292-305: probably =T9a, ruled between Dnieper and Don, joint authority with T15, raided Russia, in 1455 attacked by Hacı I Giray of Crimea, fled to Kiev, captured by Lithuanians and 'died miserably' at Kovno
 * T15. Küchük Muhammad 1435-1459 (sic) Howorth pp292-305: son of T5, held Sarai, joint authority with T14, in 1438 he drove out T12, who must have been west of Azov since T15 marched past Azov where he was seen by Giosafat Barbaro
 * T16.Mahmud bin Küchük 1459-1465, son of T15, became Khan of Astrakhan
 * T17. Ahmed Khan bin Küchük 1465-1481 son of T15, lost Russia, killed by khan of Sibir and Nogais
 * T18. Seyid Ahmed II 1481-1501?, son of T17, jointly with T19,T20, fought Crimea, fled to Russia.
 * T19. Murtada Khan 1481-1500? son of T17, jointly with T18,T20, captured by Crimea, rescued by T18
 * T20. Sheikh Ahmed 1481-1502, son of T17, jointly with T18,T19, last khan, fought Crimea, 1502 prisoner in Lithuania, 1527 released and took power in Astrakhan