Sheikh Ahmed (died 1529) was the last Khan of the

Great Horde The Great Horde (''Uluğ Orda'') was a rump state of the Golden Horde that existed from the mid-15th century to 1502. It was centered at the core of the Golden Horde at Sarai. Both the Khanate of Astrakhan and the Khanate of Crimea broke away ...

, a remnant of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

Life

He was one of the three sons of

Ahmed Khan bin Küchük Ahmed Khan bin Küchük () was a List of Khans of the Golden Horde, Khan of the Great Horde between 1465 and 1481. Life In 1465, Ahmed Khan seized power in the Horde by rising against his brother Mahmud bin Küchük, who had been its ruler ...

, the man who lost Russia in 1480. After the assassination of Ahmed Khan in 1481, his sons feuded for power and it only further weakened the Horde. The Horde, then allied with the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

, was fighting with the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to ...

, allied with the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

. In 1500, the Muscovite–Lithuanian War resumed. Lithuania once again allied with the Great Horde. In 1501, Khan Sheikh Ahmed attacked Muscovite forces near Rylsk,

Novhorod-Siverskyi Novhorod-Siverskyi ( uk, Новгород-Сіверський ) is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Novhorod-Siverskyi Raion, although until 18 July 2020 it was incorporated as a city ...

, and

Starodub Starodub ( rus, links=no, Староду́б, p=stərɐˈdup, ''old oak'') is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets River (the Dnieper basin), southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975). History Starodub has been known ...

.Kolodziejczyk (2011), p. 26. Lithuanian Grand Duke

Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon ( pl, Aleksander Jagiellończyk, lt, Aleksandras Jogailaitis; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV Jag ...

was preoccupied with his succession in the Kingdom of Poland and did not participate in the campaign. A harsh winter combined with burning of the steppe by

Meñli I Giray Meñli I Giray ( crh3, I Meñli Geray, ۱منكلى كراى) (1445–1515), also spelled as Mengli I Giray, was a ''khan'' of the Crimean Khanate (1466, 1469–1475, 1478–1515) and the sixth son of Hacı I Giray. Biography Struggle f ...

, Khan of the Crimean Khanate, resulted in famine among Sheikh Ahmed's forces. Many of his men deserted him and the remainder was defeated on the Sula River in June 1502. Sheikh Ahmed was forced into exile. He sought refuge at the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

or an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Moscow, before turning to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Instead of helping its former ally, the Grand Duchy imprisoned Sheikh Ahmed for over 20 years.Kolodziejczyk (2011), p. 27. He was used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Crimean Khanate: if the Khanate did not behave, Sheikh Ahmed would be released and would resume his war with the Khanate. Meñli I Giray became a reluctant ally of Lithuania. Sheikh Ahmed was held in

Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. ...

and moved to

Kaunas Castle Kaunas Castle is a medieval castle in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. Archeological evidence suggests that it was originally built during the mid-14th century, in the Gothic style. Its site is strategic – a rise on the banks o ...

after an escape attempt. After the

Battle of Olshanitsa The Battle of Olshanitsa was fought on January 27, 1527 between the armies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Crimean Khanate. It was the last large raid into the Grand Duchy. It was also the last large victory of the Lithuanian Great Hetman, Gre ...

in January 1527, Sheikh Ahmed was released from prison. It is said that he managed to seize power in the

Astrakhan Khanate The Khanate of Astrakhan, also referred to as the Xacitarxan Khanate, was a Tatar state that arose during the break-up of the Golden Horde. The Khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the Volga river, a ...

.Kolodziejczyk (2011), p. 66, this is hard to find in other sources He died around 1529.Kolodziejczyk (2011), p. 68.

Genealogy

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

Jochi Jochi Khan ( Mongolian: mn, Зүчи, ; kk, Жошы, Joşy جوشى; ; crh, Cuçi, Джучи, جوچى; also spelled Juchi; Djochi, and Jöchi c. 1182– February 1227) was a Mongol army commander who was the eldest son of Temüjin (aka G ...

Orda Khan Orda Ichen ( Mongolian: c. 1206 – 1251) was a Mongol Khan and military strategist who ruled the eastern part of the Golden Horde (division of the Mongol Empire) during the 13th century. First Khan of the White Horde Orda Ichen (-1251 ...

*Sartaqtay *

Köchü Khüchü (or Köchü, Konchi, Konichi) was the Khan of the White Horde between c. 1280–1302. He was the eldest son of Sartaqtay and Qujiyan of the Qongirat and a grandson of Orda Khan. Marco Polo says Köchü had a vast number of people ...

* Bayan *

Sasibuqa Sasibuqa ( mn, Сатибуха; kk, Сасы Бұқа хан; 1309–1315?) was the Khan of White Horde. He was one of Bayan's four sons. The rulers of the White Horde or the Left wing of the Golden horde issued decrees with the name of ...

Ilbasan :'' ''İlbasan'' was the Ottoman Turkish name of Elbasan, Albania'' Ilbasan or Erzen ( kz, Ерзен хан) was the ruler of White Horde from 1310/15 to 1320. During his reign, an increase in the cities, trade, and craft occurred in the Horde ...

Chimtay Chimtay was a ruler of White Horde between 1344 and 1360. When his son or relative, Urus (future khan), urged him to take throne of the Golden Horde, utilizing the great troubles. He refused but sent his brother Ordu Sheykh who was later on ki ...

* Urus * Temur-Malik *

Temür Qutlugh Temür Qutlugh or Tīmūr Qutluq ( 1370 – 1399) was a Khan of Golden Horde in 1397–1399. Ancestry According to the detailed genealogies of the ''Muʿizz al-ansāb'' and the ''Tawārīḫ-i guzīdah-i nuṣrat-nāmah'', Tīmūr Qutluq was th ...

*Temur ibn Temur Qutlugh *

Küchük Muhammad Küchük Muḥammad or Kīchīk Muḥammad (; 28 June 1391 – 1459) was a Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde from 1433 until his death in 1459. He was the son of Tīmūr Khan, possibly by a daughter of the powerful beglerbeg Edigu. His name, "L ...

*Sheikh Ahmed

References

In-line Bibliography * *{{cite book , title= The Crimean Khanate and Poland-Lithuania: International Diplomacy on the European Periphery (15th-18th Century). A Study of Peace Treaties Followed by Annotated Documents , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHrTxHmegRYC&pg=PA66 , series =The Ottoman Empire and its Heritage , first=Dariusz , last=Kolodziejczyk , publisher=BRILL , year=2011 , isbn=9789004191907 1529 deaths Khans of the Golden Horde 15th-century monarchs in Europe Year of birth unknown