Talabuga

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Talabuga Khan
Khan
Tulabuga coin.jpg
Silver dirham of Tulabuga
Khan of the Golden Horde
Western Half (Blue Horde)
Reign1287–1291
PredecessorTode Mongke
SuccessorToqta
Bornunknown date
Golden Horde
Died1291
HouseBorjigin
DynastyGolden Horde
Father
ReligionIslam

Talabuga Khan, Tulabuga, Talubuga or Telubuga was the Khan of the Golden Horde, independent division of the Mongol Empire from 1287 until 1291. He was the son of , great-grandson of Batu Khan, and great-great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan.


Military career[]

European campaigns[]

As a young Mongol prince, Talabuga led men during the Mongol invasion of Lithuania under the overall command of Burundai in 1258-1259, a campaign in which Talabuga distinguished himself.[1] This Mongol invasion of Lithuania is generally regarded by historians as a Mongol victory, with Lithuanian territories having been described as "devastated" after the Mongol incursion.[2]

One year later, Talabuga led the second Mongol invasion of Poland[3] alongside Nogai Khan, both again under the overall command of Burundai (Borolday).[4]

Nogai had devised an invasion plan for the second Mongol invasion of Hungary, and in 1285 Talabuga joined him for this raid. As a matter of rule, the Galician and Rus' dukes were ordered to accompany the Mongol raid on Hungary together with Tulabuga and Nogai in 1285. The Khan of the Golden Horde at this time was Tode Mongke, who did not participate in the campaign, remaining instead in his winter quarters with his court and entourage. Heavy rains and snows resulted in the overflowing of rivers, which turned the countryside into a vast quagmire, and the Mongol forces lost many men on their advance, before the invasion was fully underway.[5] Nogai's column invaded Transylvania. Although Nogai and his Tatars plundered villages and some cities, they were beaten back by the Hungarian royal army and Vlachs upon their return. Talabuga's column invaded via Transcarpathia. The advance of Talabuga's forces was significantly impeded by the heavy snows of the Carpathian Mountains, resulting in the loss of horses, food, and supplies which caused many thousands of Talabuga's men to die.[6] Though greatly weakened by environmental factors, Talabuga's forces sacked and destroyed the fortified monastery of Sarivar (Sarvar?),[7] devastated central Hungary, and burned down the city of Pest, which may have largely been abandoned in fear of the Mongol advance.[8] On the journey back from Hungary, Talabuga's forces were ambushed by the light cavalry of the Székely people.

Afterwards, Talabuga ordered his starving forces to attack the cities of the Rus in Volhynia. Talabuga and his forces overtook the Volhynian defenders and plundered their cities, despite these being loyal to his allies within the Golden Horde, including Nogai.[9]

Shortly thereafter, Talabuga became the Khan of the Ulus of Jochi. The previous Khan, Tode Mongke, had been a passive, religious Khan, neglecting the affairs of state, and had been made to understand that the state needed a more active ruler. He abdicated the throne in favor of his nephew Talabuga, a proven Mongol warrior.[10] With this, Talabuga Khan became the Khan of the Golden Horde. It is possible that Tode Mongke was allowed to live out his days in peace. However, according to the account of Marco Polo, one of the first acts of Talabuga Khan (acting in concert with Nogai) as the Khan of the Golden Horde was putting Tode Mongke to death.[11]

Talabuga Khan was, in a sense, the rightful heir to the throne, as he represented the senior branch of the family of his great-grandfather Batu Khan, the founder of the Golden Horde.[12] Talabugha Khan was the eldest son of Tartu, who was the eldest son of Toqoqan, who despite being Batu's second son became the head of the family with the extinguishment of the line of Sartaq (Batu's eldest son). This was in contrast to Nogai, whose father was Jochi's seventh son, as Nogai was descended from a concubine and could therefore not become the Khan of the Golden Horde himself.

As Khan of the Golden Horde, Talabuga Khan empowered his closest generals, which included his younger brother Kunjuk-bugha (Kunjukbuga), and his cousins who were the sons of the late Mengu-Timur Khan, particularly Mengu-Timur's eldest son Alguy (Alqui).

The next raid clearly showed disagreements and tensions among them. In 1286 Khan Tulabuga decided to organize the raid on Poland, together with Khan Nogai. For this purpose, Khan Tulabuga arrived with his armies to Nogai's headquarters, but there was "a great disagreement between them." In the end, Khan Tulabuga moved against Poland by himself. Tulabuga left part of his troops in Volodymyr, then the capital of Galicia-Volhynia, and moved against Poland together with his Rus' regiments. Note that the Tatar-Mongols had plundered the Volhynian lands during that time. Tatar and Rus' troops had advanced towards Cracow through Sandomierz and Zawichost. The Mongols afterwards had returned with 20,000 Polish captives.

In 1287, Khan Talabuga raided Poland one last time. This time he was joined by Alguy, the son of Mengu-Timur. Upon their return, Tulabuga was accompanied by both Dukes Leo and Mstislav to Lviv. At this point, Duke Vladimir, in the presence of Tulabuga and Alguy, decided to pass his throne on to Mstislav, the son of Danylo. Duke Leo attempted to prevent this from happening, by calling into mind the existence of "his friend" Khan Nogai. Duke then forced him to withdraw, explaining that the power transfer was already made and agreed upon by the rulers of the Golden Horde and their counselors. It was a frightening prospect to make complains to the Golden Horde.

In 1290, Talabuga Khan attacked the land of Zichia (Circassia), and ordered Nogai to join him with his forces in a grand raid. The campaign was militarily successful, as the Mongol armies under the command of Talabuga Khan slaughtered the native defenders and acquired much loot.[13] At some point on their journey back to their winter lands, Talabugha Khan's forces were met with great snows, and got lost due to the weather. It was written they were forced to eat their hunting dogs, then their horses, and finally, their dead companions. For this, Talabuga Khan blamed Nogai (whose forces had split off earlier and arrived safely at their winter quarters), and a rift grew between the two men.[14]

Raids against the Ilkhanate[]

Tulabuga was primarily focused on Europe. During his reign as Khan of the Golden Horde, several significant border raids occurred between the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate, specifically in 1288 and 1290.

Notably, Talabuga Khan never personally led his armies and never personally took the field in any of these engagements against the Ilkhanate. The borders did not significantly change between the two Mongol empires after these conflicts.

In the first of these raids, Talabugha Khan had commissioned an army of 5,000 men for a lightning raid against the Ilkhanate in 1288, in order to disrupt trade in Persia. The army of the Golden Horde had passed the defile of Derbend and succeeded in plundering the merchants there.[15] The armies of the Ilkhanate were late to respond, setting out for Shaburan only to find that the cavalry of the Golden Horde had already retired with their loot.

In 1290, Nogai Khan led an army of 10,000 men of the Golden Horde in another raid against the Ilkhanate. Riding with Nogai were two of the sons of the late Khan Mengu-Timur, Abaji (Abachi?) and Mengli (Menglibuka). The Ilkhan Arghun rode to meet him with the armies of the Ilkhanate. The two armies met at the Karasu. Nogai was defeated, and 300 of his men were slain on the battlefield, with the victorious army of the Ilkhanate taking many more as prisoners.[16] Arghun celebrated the victory by a feast at Pilsuvar.

Despite these raids, Tulabuga never sent envoys to Egypt to encourage the Mamluks to fight against his relatives in the Ilkhanate.

Death[]

Nogai, who by 1291 was a crafty, experienced general and politician, feigned ignorance of how Talabuga Khan had come to hate him. He wrote letters to Talabuga Khan's mother about how he wanted to give his younger friend Talabuga Khan some advice. She in turn wrote to her son to trust Nogai, who had feigned serious illness. Nogai Khan went so far as to put fresh blood in his mouth on one occasion, in order to deceive Talabuga Khan's camp into thinking he was spitting blood and did not have long to live. In light of this, Talabuga Khan agreed to make amends with his former friend. He arrived to the appointed meeting place with only a small retinue which included Alguy, Toghrul, Bulakhan, Kadan, and Kutugan. It is unknown whether his brother Kunjukbuga was also present. Nogai had his men ready in ambush, and when they came forward he compelled Talabuga Khan to dismount. Talabuga Khan was then strangled by several of Nogai's men to avoid spilling his blood, as befit the Mongol custom of killing royalty. Nogai then placed Toqta (one of the younger sons of Mengu-Timur) on the throne, who ordered the deaths of the rest of Talabuga's retinue, which included Toqta's older brothers.[17]

Genealogy[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 138.
  2. ^ Darius, Baronas (2006). "The Encounter Between Forest Lithuanians and Steppe Tatars in The Time of Mindaugas" (PDF). Lithuanian Historical Studies (11): 1–16.
  3. ^ Trawinski, A. (2017). The Clash of Civilizations. Page Publishing Inc. ISBN 9781635687125.
  4. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 109.
  5. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2 Division 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 1014.
  6. ^ Pow, Stephen Lindsay -- Deep Ditches and Well-built walls. Calgary, 2012. Page 28.
  7. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2 Division 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 1014.
  8. ^ Z. J. Kosztolnyik -- Hungary in the 13th Century, East European Monographs, 1996. Page 286 .
  9. ^ Chambers, James -- The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe. p 165.
  10. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 137.
  11. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 141.
  12. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 137.
  13. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 139.
  14. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 140.
  15. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 139.
  16. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 3. New York: Burt Franklin. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 322.
  17. ^ Howorth, H. (1965) [1888]. History of the Mongols. Vol. Vol. 2. New York: Burt Franklin. OCLC 23949. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help) Page 140.
  • Morgan, David. The Mongols.
Preceded by
Tuda Mengu
 Khan of Blue Horde and Golden Horde
1287–1291 		Succeeded by
Tokhta
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