the golden horde and the black sea 175
happened in the last year of toqta’s reign, though the precise circum-
stances are unclear—condemned the steppeland state to isolation, com-
pletely cut off from the Silk road trade. april 1313’s attempt to unblock the
Derbent route between the eurasian steppe and the persian plateau failed,
forcing Özbek, like his predecessors and successors on the throne at Sarai,
to recourse to the known alternative, redirecting traffic to the Northern
Black Sea ports, whence most goods reached Mediterranean markets.122
the powerful emir Qutlugh temür recalled that religious differences
had contributed decisively to the dissolution of the traditional Jochid-
Mamluk alliance, founded by the khan Berke and Sultan Baybars in 1261/2
to wage “holy war” against the “infidel” Ilkhan hülegü, and was continued
by their successors as such.123 accordingly, Qutlugh made it a condition
of his support that Özbek convert to Islam before seeking the throne.124
aware that they were losing ground, his opponents indicated that they
would be willing to recognise the youngster as rightful khan as long as
he did not force them to abandon chinggis Khan’s decreed constitution
(yassa) for Islam. Özbek’s response was unambiguous: the new khan’s
loyal soldiers rounded up the emirs, along with over a hundred princes
gathered for the negotiations, and executed them.125 this savage purge
assured not only internal stability under a single power centre, but the
Golden horde’s image as a purely Muslim state.
Özbek’s first message to the Mamluk Sultan shows that the operation
was planned from the start for external consumption (as well as for its
obvious internal benefits), and the khan dwelt upon his successes as a
champion of Islam: his envoys, reaching cairo on 13th april 1314, first of
all congratulated the Sultan for spreading the word of Islam “from china
to the borders of the Western lands” and then reported that after his
enthronement, their pious lord had destroyed those of his enemies who
refused to embrace Islam, killing some of them and making others slaves.
122 the disastrous effects when this trade route was itself cut may be appreciated from
an instance of 1344, when a Genoese embargo had been in place for a year and the inhab-
itants of crimea and the steppe complained loudly of their losses: Omnes mercatores de
Sorgati et omnis populus multum dexiderat habere pacem et similiter populus Tartarorum
habere pacem dexiderat, et similiter omnes dicunt non in oculto sed pallam ex incomoditate
quam sufferunt (Morozzo della rocca, “Notizie,” pp. 277–278; cf. papacostea, “tana,” p. 206);
on the vital importance of trade for the chinggisid states, see ciocîltan, “cinghizhanizii,”
p. 293, idem, “politica,” pp. 233 ff., idem, “Migratori,” pp. 94–101, and chapter 2.2.2.
123 Zakirov, Otnosheniya, pp. 43 ff.; see also above chapters 3.1, 3.3.1.
124 al-‛aynī/tiesenhausen, Sbornik, I, p. 486; cf. also ‛umarī/Lech, p. 298.
125 Qāshānī/parvisi-Berger, pp. 127–128; cf. Spuler, Horde, pp. 86, 362 ff., Zakirov, Otnosh-
eniya, p. 73.