In our perception, at the mention of the word "khan" there are indispensable associations with the Mongol invaders, wild barbarians and the oppression of the Russian people. What to do, the Tatar-Mongol invasion left a very negative and deep imprint in the history of Russia, and many other countries. However, the title "Khan" has a much richer and more ancient history.
What is Khan
The word "khan" itself has Turkic roots and originally means the leader of the tribe. It has long been customary for many nomadic peoples to choose their own leader. And when we say "for a long time", we are talking about the VI-VII centuries. It was at this time that the term was first found in the annals of Western historians.
Later, the title of Khan took root not only in Mongolian culture, but also in Iran, the Ottoman Empire, the Kazakhs and many other peoples. Everywhere it denotes belonging to the highest feudal nobility or the most important military rank. After the collapse of the Great Mongol Empire, the word "khan" means that we are talking about the head of state and the supreme ruler. It is known that the huge empire broke up into several separate states, so the rulers with the above title for a long time dominated throughoutthe territory of the continent.
The First Great Khans
Despite the fact that the concept itself has existed since the 6th century, and possibly even earlier, real greatness did not come at all immediately. The world first learned what a khan was with the advent of the invincible Genghis Khan. This name literally means "great khan". After his conquests, a whole era of great Genghisid rulers began in history.
I must say that the era of Mongol domination in relation to our country lasted 245 years. In total, the Mongol khans at the head of their empire lasted 428 years. Why such a difference? The fact is that the Mongol Empire during its heyday was so great that it would have been simply impossible to control it centrally. Genghis Khan divided it into uluses, which he distributed to all his sons. After that, each autonomous region of Mongolia began its own expansion and actually turned into a separate state. However, no one forgot what the Khan of the Mongol Empire was. Autonomy was rather illusory. Each region, left to itself, was subject to one Great Khan for a long time.
After the death of Genghis Khan, the title of master of the empire was inherited by his third son Ogedei, who fully followed his father's policy of conquest. His reign is notable for the fact that during this period the territories of Northern China, the most civilized region of the world at that time, joined the Mongol Empire. Also, it was under Ugedei that Russian lands and part of Eastern Europe were conquered.
Khans of the Golden Horde
While the main Mongol khan ruled a vast empire in the capital of Karakorum, in the regions, each specific ruler sought to equip his territory according to the same principle: to define borders, create a capital and restore order. The latter meant not only the timely payment of tribute and recruitment duty, but also quite ordinary things. For example, the establishment of trade and security, as well as postal communications throughout the subject territory.
Ulus Jochi, the first son of Genghis Khan, was part of the Mongol Empire for only 42 years. Starting from 1266, this region turned into a separate state - the Golden Horde, which occupied a vast territory of 6 million square kilometers. In fact, the whole of Central Asia from Central Siberia to the Black Sea and from the Volga region to the territories of modern Kazakhstan.
The first Khan of the Golden Horde was Batu, or Batu, who is marked by the fact that he completely subjugated Ancient Russia. In fact, the Horde lived off the Russian population. And not just lived, but grew and prospered. By 1342, that is, 76 years after its "birth", the Golden Horde reached its highest greatness. The heyday fell on the reign of Khan Uzbek - the great-great-grandson of Batu Khan. It was at this time that the state finally acquires its capital called Sarai al-Jedid - the "New Palace", and Islam becomes the official religion of the Horde.
Khans and princes
The heyday of the Golden Horde is also characterized by the fact that the Russian princes never for a day had to forget thatmeans Khan. They regularly visited the new capital with gifts and abundant tribute, certainly coordinated with the Horde ruler their rights to manage their own principalities, and were forced to strictly observe all Mongol rituals and customs. And if anyone resisted, he immediately lost his life.
However, the Central Asian state did not prosper for so long. Already in 1369, a period of internal strife began, which in the meantime allowed the Russian rulers to begin to unite their forces against the oppressors. Unfortunately, the unification and struggle dragged on for another century. Be that as it may, national history has forever retained an understanding of what a khan is.
