Nogai Khan: Difference between revisions

In 1262, a [[Berke–Hulagu war|civil war]] broke out between the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate, with Berke and Hulegu supporting separate claimants for the title of khagan. Nogai Khan was given a high role in the army of the Golden Horde; Rashid Al-Din describes him as Berke's "commander-in-chief."<Ref>Rashid Al-Din, "Successors of Genghis Khan." Trans. John Andrew Boyle. Page 122.</ref> He had a command of 30,000 men. He was first charged with raiding along the frontier into the territory of the [[Ilkhanate]]; Nogai made multiple reconnaissances in force into the Caucasus region, drawing Hulegu north with the bulk of his forces. He annihilated an advance guard under Shiramun, and raided as far as the Kur, but was himself repulsed near Shabran onin December 1262, and forced to retreat.<ref>Early Mongol Rule in Thirteenth-Century Iran: A Persian Renaissance By George Lane, pg. 77</ref><ref>Howorth, p. 115</ref> Nogai then took on the task of repelling Hulegu's attempted invasion, as the latter was emboldened; [[Hulegu Khan|Hulegu]] marched north with his army to invade Berke's territory, attempting to envelope Nogai's army at the Terek, but found only an abandoned camp. While Hulegu's men were looting the camp, Nogai's troops surprised Hulegu's at the [[Terek River]], cutting down a great many of them in an ambush. Hulegu rallied his men and a day-long battle ensued; the fighting was fierce, but the Golden Horde's initial advantage was too great. The Ilkhanate army was routed and many thousands of them were drowned while trying to flee, and the survivors fled back into [[Azerbaijan]]. This victory greatly enhanced Nogai's reputation in the Horde, and he was already a trusted lieutenant of Berke.<ref>J.J Saunders, "The History of the Mongol Conquests," page 117.</ref><ref>Howorth, p. 116</ref>

Rashid Al-Din presents Nogai as both a capable general and as a wily old politician. He was content to remain a kingmaker and the power behind the throne, rather than seizing direct control of the Horde himself. Nogai self-consciously promoted Mongol ways, and took pride in his lineage. Despite this, his religious beliefs apparently followed his diplomatic needs; initially he was a devout [[Tengrist]], like most of the Golden Horde, and remained one even after Berke's conversion to Islam. Later on, in a letter to Egypt in 1271, he claimed to have converted to Islam, and his name was included on a list of converts sent by Berke to the Mamluk Sultan [[al-Malik az-Zahir]] in 1263. Yet in 1288 he presented Buddhist relics to the Il-Khan Arghun. One of Nogai’sNogai's wives, Yailaq, regularly visited a Franciscan convent in Qirim ([[Stary Krym|Staryy Krym]]) and was baptized a Catholic. After Toqto’a ascended the throne, Nogai married his daughter Qiyat to Yailaq (no relation to Nogai’sNogai's wife), a Buddhist and son of the tribe commander Salji’udai. Nogai's daughter Qiyat, after her marriage, converted to Islam (Nogai had evidently not raised her as a Muslim).<Ref>Atwood, p. 407</ref><ref>Vásáry, p.71</ref>