The siege of Sarai (July - August 1420) was a siege of Sarai, the nominal capital 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 ...

Background

After the death of

Yeremferden Jabbār Berdi (Jabbār-Bīrdī) ( fa, ; tt-Latn, Cäbbär Birde; the name is rendered as Yeremferden in some western sources), was a khan of the Golden Horde, reigning twice, in 1414–1415 and 1416–1417. Ancestry Jabbār Berdi was a son of ...

both

Dawlat Berdi Dawlat Berdi ( fa, ; died 1432), also known as Devlet Berdi, was a Khan of the Golden Horde who reigned from 1419 to 1421, and again from 1428 to his death in 1432. He was the son of Jabbar Berdi and a descendant of Berke Khan. Life His first ...

and Olugh Mokhammad sought control of the Golden Horde. Berdi, who was Yeremferden's son, found himself limited to the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. Mokhammad, on the other hand, held Sarai and had recently gained control of the

Nogai Horde The Nogai Horde was a confederation founded by the Nogais that occupied the Pontic–Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghuds cons ...

, raising his status immeasurably. In addition, Mokhammad had defeated Dawlat's soldiers in several small skirmishes. In retaliation, Berdi marched on Sarai in July 1420.Grousset, Rene: ''The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia'', pg. 179 - 180. Rutgers University Press, 1970.

Siege

Sarai was poorly defended at the time and Mokhammad found himself ill-prepared for an attack. In early August he mustered his forces and managed to break the siege long enough to escape. Berdi's forces subsequently occupied the city.

Aftermath

Mokhammad fled to his Nogai vassals, where he still held power, and Berdi's esteem within the Horde grew. however, this was short lived; only two years later

Baraq Barak (Hebrew: בָּרָק, bārāq, "lightning"), is a masculine name of Hebrew origin. It appears in the biblical Book of Judges as the name of the Israelite general Barak, who alongside Deborah led an attack against the forces of King Jabin o ...

would defeat both Berdi and Mokhammad and take control of the Horde himself.

References

* Martin, Janet. ''Medieval Russia, 980-1584'', Cambridge University Press, 1996. {{coord missing, Volgograd Oblast Sarai Sarai 1420 in Europe Conflicts in 1420