Editing Tokhtamysh (section)

{{Short description|Khan of the Golden Horde from 1380 to 1395}}
{{Infobox royalty
| title        = [[Khan (title)|Khan]]
| name         = Tokhtamysh
| image        = Battle between Timur and Toqtamish Khan in 1391. Zafarnama of 1436 (Toqtamish detail).jpg
| caption      = Depiction of Tokhtamysh in a 1391 battle with [[Timur]], miniature from ''Zafarnama'' (1436)
| succession   = [[List of khans of the Golden Horde|Khan of the Golden Horde]]<br/>''Eastern Half (White Horde)''
| reign1       = 1378–1380
| predecessor1 = [[Temur-Malik (White Horde)|Tīmūr Malik]]
| successor1   = ''Himself as Khan of the Golden Horde''
| succession2  = [[List of khans of the Golden Horde|Khan of the Golden Horde]]
| reign2       = 1380–1395
| predecessor2 = [[Arab Shah|ʿArab Shāh]]
| successor2   = [[Quyurchuq]] and [[Temür Qutlugh|Tīmūr Qutluq]]
| succession3  = [[List of Sibir khans|Khan of the Tatar Siberian Khanate]]
| reign3       = 1400–1406
| predecessor3 = ''None''
| successor3   = [[Chekre]]
| spouse       = 
| issue        = 
| house        = [[Borjigin]]
| house-type   = Dynasty
| father       = Tuy Khwāja
| mother       = Kutan-Kunchek
| birth_date   = {{circa|1342}}
| birth_place  = [[White Horde]]
| death_date   = {{death year and age|1406|1342}}
| death_place  = [[Tyumen]]
| religion     = [[Sunni Islam]]|
}}

'''Tokhtamysh''' ([[Chagatai language|Turki]]/[[Cuman language|Kypchak]] and [[Persian language|Persian]]: توقتمش;{{efn|Also spelled توقتامیش}} {{langx|kk|Тоқтамыс}}; {{langx|tt-Cyrl|Тухтамыш|translit=Tuqtamış}}; {{circa|1342}} – 1406) was [[Khan (title)|Khan]] of the [[Golden Horde]] from 1380 to 1395. He briefly succeeded in consolidating the [[Wings of the Golden Horde|Blue and White Hordes]] into a single polity.{{efn|For the color references to the right (west) and left (east) wings of the Ulus of Jochi (later dubbed "Golden Horde" in Russian sources), see for example May 2018: 282–283; in the more relevant Turkic sources the White Horde is the right (west) wing and the Blue Horde is the left (east) wing, opposite to the practice still dominating English-language historiography.}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fennell |first1=John L. |title=A History of the Russian Church to 1488 |date=14 January 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-89720-0 |page=129 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_the_Russian_Church_to_1488/fBitAgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Buell |first1=Paul D. |last2=Fiaschetti |first2=Francesca |title=Historical Dictionary of the Mongol World Empire |date=6 April 2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-1137-6 |page=68 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Historical_Dictionary_of_the_Mongol_Worl/GQhTDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

Tokhtamysh belonged to the House of [[Borjigin]], tracing his ancestry to [[Genghis Khan]]. Spending most of his younger years fighting against his father's cousin [[Urus Khan]] and his sons, Tokhtamysh sought help from the [[Turco-Mongol tradition|Turco-Mongol]] warlord [[Timur]], with whose help he succeeded in defeating his enemies. 

Tokhtamysh rose to power during a tumultuous period in the Golden Horde, which was severely weakened after a long period of division and internecine conflict. From a fugitive, Tokhtamysh had become a powerful monarch, quickly solidifying his authority in both wings of the Golden Horde. Encouraged by his success, as well as the growth of his manpower and wealth, Tokhtamysh went on a military expedition to the Russian principalities, sacking [[Moscow]] in 1382.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Madariaga |first=Isabel de |title=Ivan den förskräcklige: Rysslands förste tsar |date=2008 |publisher=Prisma |isbn=978-91-518-4713-9 |location=Stockholm |pages=24 |language=sv}}</ref> He reasserted the Tatar–Mongol hegemony over its Russian vassals and brought about the recommencement of tribute payments.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Auty |first1=Robert |last2=Obolensky |first2=Dimitri |title=An Introduction to Russian History |date=1976 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-28038-9 |page=87 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Introduction_to_Russian_History/D0iVBLGd9xEC |language=en}}</ref>

A turning point in Tokhtamysh's rule was [[Tokhtamysh–Timur war|the military confrontations]] with his former protector Timur, who invaded the Golden Horde and defeated Tokhtamysh twice. Crushing defeats for the Golden Horde undid all of Tokhtamysh's previous achievements and ultimately led to his destruction. 

Tokhtamysh has often been called the last great ruler of the Golden Horde.<ref>[[Denis Sinor]]. Inner Asia. // Ural and Altaic Series, vol. 96. Bloomington: Indiana University Publications, 1969. p. 181.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QywrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT29|title=Russian Embassies to the Georgian Kings, 1589–1605: Volumes I and II|isbn=9781317060390|last1=Allen|first1=W. E. D.|date=2017|publisher=Routledge }}</ref>