The Horde exit is one of the most famous duties that existed in Russia from the 13th to the 15th centuries. At this time, the peasants groaned under the weight of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, to which was added the tribute paid to the local princes. It was one of the most difficult periods in the life of the Russian people. Russia was drowning in blood from foreign raids and peasant uprisings.
Tribute system
At the beginning of the XIII century, the Russian land was sprinkled with blood, entire villages and cities were on fire. There was no escape from the raids of the Golden Horde troops, people of different classes and ages suffered. The Russians were only engaged in rebuilding housing and fortifying settlements. But very soon the Mongols realized that it was not profitable to attack the settlements, because the people were exhausted, poor, they did not have time to harvest. It was then that the Horde exit was introduced. Tribute is a constant, fixed income to the treasury, while it was not necessary to attack anyone.
In 1257, they conducted a census, so the Mongol-Tatars knew exactly which principality how much they should pay duties. Tribute to the Golden Horde was collected from the lands, families,plow, also people were obliged to pay duties for beekeeping, fishing, hunting for birds and animals. Horde military detachments followed the order, and in each principality there were Baskak governors who collected tribute.
Who was subject to duty?
The Horde exit acted on all the lands of the Russian principalities, absolutely everyone paid the duty. The exception was representatives of the Byzantine Orthodox Church. This was explained very simply - the Horde was on friendly terms with Byzantium, and no one was going to spoil them because of the desire for profit. In addition, the Orthodox Church taught people humility, and this was beneficial to the Mongol-Tatars. The believing peasants silently tolerated the presence of strangers on their territory, gave away part of the harvest without any complaints. After all, you need to obey the conquerors, for all the will of God …
Amount of tribute
The Horde exit was going in monetary terms. Since at that time Russia did not have its own monetary system, they introduced the Mongolian one. Many historians say that the duties in the Middle Ages for Russian peasants were exorbitant, but are the Horde guilty of this? The tribute at the very beginning was called tithe. As the name suggests, people had to pay 1/10th of their income.
From the surviving sources it is known that in 1275 the Mongols took half a hryvnia from a plow of silver, in 1384 - from a village for half a ruble, in 1408 - from a plow half a ruble. Shouldtake into account that the village and the plow, as well as the hryvnia and the ruble, are one and the same. It follows from this that during the XIII-XV centuries the amount of tribute did not change. In addition, the Mongol-Tatars collected duty not annually, but once every 7 years. Of course, it was expensive, because during this time a decent amount was accumulating, but still the Mongols did not demand so much - about 1.5% of income.
Payout termination
Despite the fact that the regular tribute that was collected in Russia for the Khan of the Golden Horde was not so significant in percentage terms, the peasants were sometimes left completely without a crop and a means of subsistence. The reason was the duties additionally charged by local princes. People who were unable to pay the specified amount were turned into slaves. Over time, the peasants began to rebel, uprisings took place in Rostov, Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Suzdal. Of course, they were suppressed, a lot of blood was shed then, but still the Horde abandoned the Basque system, and the collection of tribute was shifted to the shoulders of the princes. The payment of duties to the Golden Horde continued until the 15th century. Then the princes, although they collected tribute from the people, did not carry it to the khans, and John Vasilyevich III completely stopped paying the Horde output.
