Mamai

Defeated Mamai lies under the feet of Dmitri Donskoy, scene of the national monument Thousand Years of Russia in Novgorod

Mamai was an emir of the Golden Horde , the opponent of Dmitri Donskoi in the Battle of the Kulikowo Pole in 1380.

When the Golden Horde broke up in internal power struggles with the death of Jani Beg in 1357, murders of rivals were the order of the day. First of all, the ruling clan of Dschani Beg died out when his son Berdi Beg (ruled 1357-1359) had many of his brothers killed until he was finally murdered himself.

According to the Tatar tradition collected by Abdul Ghaffar , Mamai came from the Qyjat tribe and was involved in these power struggles from 1361 onwards. In that year he defeated and killed Temur Hoga, the son of Hizyr Khan Mahmud; Hizyr was the 4th successor of Jani Beg and a Scheibanide . In his place he installed his own khan named Abd Ullah (Russian Avdulja), a descendant of Uzbek , while the emirs in the Volga region appointed a khan named Mürid (Murat, Amurat, unclear origin).

In the subsequent power struggle, however, neither side could prevail, Mamai won one battle for Abd Ullah and lost another. The khan made himself so hated by his murderous acts that Mürid's successor Azis (Osis, unknown origin, ruled 1364-1367 - murdered) was able to drive him to the Syr-darja in 1366/67 . Abd Ullah's coins existed until 1369.

In addition to these two large power blocs, more and more aspirants to the throne and emirs emerged, so that Russian chroniclers finally recorded nine different court camps for the early 1370s. Various prince-prince throne (" Khan ") and emirs occupied one after the other Sarai, New Sarai or Azov and were just able to have coins minted as a sign of their sovereignty until they had to give way to a rival or were killed.

The Crimea and the Don region became the emir's power base. In 1370 he proceeded to appoint a new khan named Mehemed Bulaq (Mamat, unexplained origin, coins up to 1380/1), but this did not prevail either. In 1374 Mamai's ambassadors were murdered in Nizhny Novgorod , who also tolerated a robber named Prokop and was then plundered in 1378 by Khan Arabsah (Arapsa), a Scheibanid who ruled around 1376/78, and Mamai's troops. At the time when Mamai's envoy Mursa Begitsch on the Wosha / Oka was defeated by Dmitri Donskoi on August 11, 1378, Mamai rose again to the leading figure of the Golden Horde. His remaining opponent was the Khan Toktamisch , who also drove Arabsah from Sarai.

For the time being, Mamai prepared with all forces and in alliance with Władysław II Jagiełło of Lithuania for war against Moscow and Dmitri Donskoi. On September 8, 1380, Mamai was defeated by Dmitri Donskoi in the famous battle of Kulikowo (Kulikowo pole, snipe / quail field) . He was so weakened that he could be defeated by Toktamisch in a battle on the Kalka, whereupon Toktamisch reunited the Golden Horde. Mamai fled to the Genoese in the Crimea and was murdered there.

The Mamayev Hill near Volgograd was named after him.

Remarks

1. ↑ See Spuler: Goldene Horde , p. 111f .; different: Safargaliev: Raspad Zolotoj Ordy , p. 114.