khanate · Central Asia and the Steppe

Blue Horde

1242 CE – 1379 CE (approx.) · capital Sarai

The western wing of the Golden Horde, the realm of Batu and his heirs on the Volga, Don and Dnieper steppes.

Origins

After the conquest of the western steppe and Rus' between 1236 and 1242, the Jochid lands were divided into two wings. The western or right wing, ruled by Batu from Sarai on the lower Volga, is often called the Blue Horde, though medieval sources use the colour names inconsistently.

Rule and society

The western wing was the core of the Golden Horde, controlling the Rus' principalities, the Volga trade and the Crimean ports. Its khans, including Berke, Uzbek Khan and Jani Beg, held authority over the whole Jochid realm. Under its rule Islam spread among the elite and Sarai grew into a major trading city.

Decline and legacy

After Jani Beg's murder in 1357, decades of civil war followed, and between 1378 and 1380 the White Horde khan Tokhtamysh seized Sarai and reunited the two wings. The western lands later broke into the Khanate of Kazan, the Crimean Khanate, the Astrakhan Khanate and the Great Horde.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Blue Horde. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/blue-horde
MLA
“Blue Horde.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/blue-horde. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Blue Horde.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/blue-horde.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Blue Horde’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/blue-horde (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻