No Khan after Tohtamish was able to restore power and unity to Kipchak. Batu and Uzbek being the first and second, Tohtamish was the third powerful ruler of Kipchak. The exalted estimate which the man made of himself caused the mortal struggle with Tamerlane, to whom Tohtamish owed his dominion.
A direct descendant of Jinghis, Tohtamish could not brook the lofty lordship of Tamerlane, who was not descended from Jinghis, though he and that mighty ruler had a common great-grandfather. Tohtamish affected to see in Tamerlane a second Mamai upstart, and in 1392 set out to destroy him as he had destroyed Mamai. The motive for action was found in the taking by Tamerlane of places east of the Caspian, but mainly Urgendj, a city on the Oxus famed for its marvelous defense, the same city which had occasioned the quarrel between Jinghis and his eldest son, Juchi, a quarrel which was never ended.
Tohtamish began by attacking regions bordering on Kipchak, regions belonging to Tamerlane. Tamerlane moved promptly from his capital and wintered near Tashkent, where he assembled an immense army. During that year he moved northward toward the Tobola River, and, turning to the west, reached the Yaik River May 29. He crossed at a place of which Tohtamish was not thinking and, continuing the march, found the Khan at some [[404]]point near the Volga. Tohtamish had also assembled great forces. In his army were Bulgars of the Kama, mountaineers of the Caucasus, Bashkirs and Russians.
Though it was June the weather was severe, and snow fell for several days in succession. At last, on the eighteenth, the sun broke through the clouds and the weather cleared. Before battle Tamerlane, having arranged his warriors in seven divisions ready for attack, prayed to God, prostrating himself three times. Then the army deployed to the cry, “Allah akbar!” (God is great), and with the shout “Surun!” (charge), the battle began. It was prolonged and stubborn beyond example, but the art of Jinghis, notably improved by Tamerlane, also the great skill and luck of the latter, and the quarrels and treachery of commanders of the other side, gained the day and brought success to Tamerlane. Tohtamish fled across the Volga, while his scattered hordes were hunted by the victor and few of his warriors escaped. Tamerlane camped on the battle-field and gave thanks to God for the victory.
The Golden Horde, though it survived this terrible defeat, never regained its former strength. Tamerlane plundered the country and went home, taking legions of captives, with cattle, and treasures of all kinds. But the end was not yet. Tohtamish returned to his capital and ruled there. He brought the whole Horde back to order. Three years passed. Tamerlane had fixed his camp on the southern side of the Caucasus, on the banks of the Cyrus, and there he learned that Tohtamish was preparing for a new and more serious encounter. Tamerlane thereupon sent a letter to Tohtamish in which he asked if he had forgotten his last terrible defeat. He reminded him how he, Tamerlane, always treated those kindly who treated him kindly, while he pursued with vengeance those who were his enemies. He reminded him also of his own great success, which made him indifferent whether he was at peace or at war with the Khan of the Golden Horde. Then, marching forward promptly to find Tohtamish, Tamerlane passed through the Gates of Derbend to the northern side of the mountains, where, to begin the campaign worthily, he exterminated the Kaitaks, subjects of Tohtamish, and then advancing, met his rival near the Terek.
The position of Tohtamish was strong, and protected by wagons arranged in the form of a barricade, but on Tamerlane’s approach [[405]]he abandoned it and retired. Tamerlane now crossed the Terek, and the armies faced each other on the fourteenth of April; on the twenty-second the conflict began.
This second battle showed that Tohtamish had not greatly overestimated his own power, that he was almost the equal of his opponent. The main body of Tamerlane’s army was commanded by his son, Muhammed Sultan, while he himself commanded twenty-seven companies of picked warriors who formed a reserve. Tamerlane’s left wing was thrown into disorder and his center forced back. When the son-in-law of Tohtamish advanced upon his right wing, Tamerlane charged upon him at the head of his twenty-seven companies and drove him back. But his men, following too far, were in turn driven back and their ranks broken. Tamerlane would have been captured but for the aid of Nur ud din, who came to his rescue with fifty warriors. The battle was furious, but at last a quick rally in front and a rear attack on the Kipchaks saved the day, though very narrowly. The Kipchak troops gave way and Tohtamish fled. On that field strewn with corpses, Tamerlane knelt down and thanked Heaven for his triumph. Then to Nur ud din, who had rescued him, he presented a magnificent horse, a robe of gold brocade, a jeweled girdle, and a large sum of money.
Tamerlane’s victory brought no rest to the enemy, however. This time he hunted Tohtamish far toward the north, and ravaged all places, sending strong forces east as far as the Volga, and west to the banks of the Dnieper. He reached Ryazan’s southern borders and destroyed Eletsk, with its prince and people. Then the “Iron Limper,” as Russians called Tamerlane, moved northward, destroying all within reach of his army. Vassili of Moscow hurriedly assembled his forces, and, entrusting the capital to his father’s cousin, Vladimir, led his own men to the Oká to confront the invader. He now wrote to the metropolitan to bring from Vladimir to Moscow that image of the Mother of God, which Andrei Bogolyubski had borne with him from Vyshgorod to the northern country. With great honor and reverence the image was brought. A procession of ecclesiastics and boyars met it on the Kutchkovo Field outside Moscow, and it was placed in the Assumption Cathedral, where the people prayed before it, repeating “Mother of God, save Russia!” To the influence of this image was ascribed [[406]]the retreat of Tamerlane’s army, which took place August 26, at the hour when the holy image was met by the people. We may suppose that the approach of autumn, and the poverty of the country, ruined so often by Mongols, were not without influence in saving the capital.
Tamerlane, on his march, destroyed the rich city of Azoff, a meeting-place for Venetians and Genoese, near the mouth of the Don. Afterward he moved southward, attacking mountain tribes of the Caucasus as he passed them, till an uprising among Mongols at Astrakhan recalled him. Though the season was winter, and the snow was deep on the country, he marched very swiftly on Astrakhan, stormed the city and destroyed it. He robbed and ruined Sarai, and then, advancing by the way of Derbend and Azerbaidjan, returned to Samarkand, his own capital.
These blows were so crushing and dreadful that the Golden Horde never recovered. Many Russians thought that the end of Mongol rule was before them. But the end was not yet, as was evident soon after. The first to experience this bitter truth was Vitold, who had won against Yagello and was now the haughty ruler of Lithuania and Western Russia. Tamerlane gave the Golden Horde to a son of Urus Khan, the former rival of Tohtamish, but Edigai, who had been one of Tamerlane’s generals, assumed Mamai’s rôle,—the creation of Khans and ruling through them. He set up now Timur Kutlui instead of the man whom Tamerlane had appointed.