The Golden Horde: Jochi's legacy in Eurasia and diplomatic ties with Europe
The Golden Horde was one of the most influential states of the Middle Ages, leaving a lasting imprint on the genetic heritage of Eurasian peoples. In an exclusive interview with Kazinform, Dr Marie Favereau, Associate Professor of History at Paris Nanterre University, author of several books on the Golden Horde, explores how Jochi Khan, the founder of this vast empire, and his descendants forged a unique genetic and cultural blend, their diplomatic relations with European kingdoms, and why the Golden Horde merits a fresh perspective.
- How did the Golden Horde influence the genetic diversity of populations in Eurasia?
The Golden Horde took shape in the mid-thirteenth century in the northwestern part of the Mongol empire. On our maps the Golden Horde stretches across a region which today has no political unity, covering parts of modern-day Central Asia, Russia, and Europe. The history of the Jochid khanate is thus a shared legacy. As most empires it was multicultural and multiethnic and its social diversity was particularly high. Mixing occurred at the level of the elites (for example, Jochid princesses marrying Russian princes) but also in new cities like Saray, located in the lower Volga region.
We know that the Chinggisids moved local populations in order to build their empire, especially workers, craftsmen and scientists. They sent Chinese families to Central Asia and Muslim families to Mongolia. By doing so they deeply changed local societies. Most importantly, the Chinggisids did not force their subjects to unify themselves and allowed them to have their own religious practices. They accepted differences among peoples as they long as they remained at peace with one another and loyal to the government. In that sense, the genetic diversity of Eurasia is to a large extent the result of the Golden Horde's policy.
- What are the lasting cultural, social, and political impacts of these historical entities on the region?
The Golden Horde profoundly shaped the history of Eurasia. The Jochids had a huge influence on the historical development of Russia, on the spread of Islam in Central Asia, and on the economic integration of Eurasia. Authoritative historians have recognized that after the Mongol invasion northern Russia underwent a quick economic recovery and reached an unprecedented level of vitality. New cities were built, the artisanal production grew extensively and trade developed, integrating into the wealthy Central Asian long-distance commerce the Baltic sphere, the Far North, and small towns, such as Moscow. Such recovery took place because of the Jochids’ political agenda.
Besides, the origin stories of most Central Asian communities extend back to the time when the khans Berke and Uzbek converted to Islam. Muslim peoples now living in Central Eurasia see it as a formative period in their history. Indeed, the Islamization of the Eurasian steppes, Crimea, and Eastern Europe is one of the Golden Horde’s most important legacies. Scholars have revealed the unique way in which Islam unified and socially integrated Central Asia by shaping community life and collective memory and by combining shamanist practices and local Sufism.
- Do you have any information about the Golden Horde maintaining diplomatic contacts with kingdoms from Western Europe?
Many powers involved in diplomatic exchanges with the Golden Horde including the Mamluks, the Byzantines, Poland-Lithuania, Genoa and Venice. This reveals the existence of a sophisticated Jochid chancellery. This chancellery produced thousands of documents as khans were engaged in significant diplomatic correspondences with the outside world. A substantial part of these documents is preserved in Russian archives, but also in Venice, Genoa, Rome, Vienna, Simferopol, Warsaw and Istanbul. Regarding contacts with Europe, the records of the relation between the Jochids and the Popes are especially interesting. On top of it, trade manuals and multilingual glossaries written by Italian merchants, Franciscan and Dominican friars, circulated at that time to facilitate all forms of communication with and within the Golden Horde.
- How does a global and comparative approach to the study of the Golden Horde challenge traditional Eurocentric narratives in medieval history?
In the scholarship on the Golden Horde, several dominant archetypes have distorted the work of historians: the nationalistic approaches; the concept of nomadic feudalism seen as a regressive stage of human economic development; and the assumption that nomads were “cultural importers” and not the main agents of their own success. Yet, the economic success of the Jochids shows how nomads could create complex political structures and how their ambitions could extend beyond raiding and looting. Indeed, at the dawn of the fourteenth century, economic exchange intensified, integrating all of Eurasia. Historians call this unprecedented commercial boom ‘Pax Mongolica’.
In fact, the Golden Horde played a leading role in this process. The Jochids’ liberal and integrative policies led to the intensification of the trade connections. These policies combined state control (treaties, currency issue, taxes, roads supervision) and liberal exchange (fluidity in partnership, alliances based on common interest and not on ethnic or religious affiliation, low taxation regime). The agreements they established with the Mamluks, the Byzantines, the Italians, and others led to the transformation of the mercantile, artistic and intellectual networks.
The Jochids created favorable conditions for markets to flourish but they also did something more significant: they diverged pre-existing commercial trade roads and attracted the merchants. By doing so they created an unprecedented continent-wide social and economic order. People and caravans could safely travel across the Golden Horde and go from Europe to China. Thus, studying the Golden Horde in a global perspective provides a new understanding of a key period and phenomenon in world history.
- Are there any lesser-known facts or aspects about the Golden Horde that you believe deserve more attention or research?
There is always room for new research. Most importantly, in this field historians have to collaborate with archeologists, numismatists, anthropologists, biologists, etc. The Golden Horde was part of the Mongol empire and the outcomes of the excavations everywhere in the old Chinggisid territories can help us to get closer to the nomadic elites and, to the extent possible, to the ordinary members of the society. We still have so much to learn from their spirituality, their relationship with nature, their understanding of life and governance with their own sense of what the world is and what our place should be within the world.
