the golden horde and the black sea 249
Bulgarians. and they [= the Seljuks of Dobruja], who were still a horde in
their own right (for they had not yet completely submitted to Noghai, for
at this point Noghai was only just beginning to revolt against his masters
and lived as an equal with them [= the khans at Sarai] as a friend, for
although he had been sent with them [= the Seljuks] by [the khans], he
did not conquer the lands for the khan—as they called him—but rather,
when he saw that the lands were rich, he claimed them for himself and
his companions [the Seljuks]), when once they heard this, they rushed in,
devouring the rich lands like dogs. after this the marriage with Noghai
was not carried through, which the emperor was supposed to arrange, giv-
ing him his illegitimate daughter euphrosyne as wife. this was how things
stood and, while the emperor set off for constantinople, passing through
the Western regions, the other invaded together with constantin [tikh],
passing the straits of haemus with all their forces, striking their tents for
all to see. and they did not have a single body as a regular army which
would stay in one place, but rather they scattered in bands and gangs,
attacking together with the others, in squads, terrorising, killing, enslav-
ing, and there was no excess which they did not perpetrate. When the
emperor heard of their deeds, as of course he must (because they did not
invade secretly or cautiously, but rather swept through the whole region
like wildfire), his mind was much troubled by the news which reached
him, he was greatly disturbed and did not know which way to turn.”425
the passage is not only valuable because it casts the first light on
Noghai’s involvement in Balkan affairs, but also because it sets out the
methods he used to consolidate his power on the peninsula and vis-à-vis
the khans at Sarai. these two processes were closely linked.
his rise began with the courage and clear-sightedness he displayed
fighting Ilkanid forces in the caucasus between 1262 and 1266. oriental
sources maintain that these qualities added immeasurably to his prestige
in Berke’s eyes, so that the khan charged him with conducting operations
425 Ibid., pp. 446–447; the corresponding passage in Gregoras/ibid., pp. 501, 503, 505
does not differ greatly. the thorniest problem presented by the passage is identifying ‛Izz
al-Dīn’s ‘uncle.’ a late chronicler writing on Seljukid history, aksarayi, states that the ex-
sultan was related to Berke, one of the khan’s wives being ‛Izz al-Dīn’s aunt on his father’s
side, so that many scholars have assumed that the uncle mentioned here was Berke (Işiltan,
Seltschukengeschichte, p. 55, Ibn Bībī/Duda, p. 141, Decei, “problema” p. 184, FHDR, III, pp.
444, 445 note 7); nevertheless, pachymeres’ text here incontrovertibly suggests that this
identification is false, and that the mysterious uncle must be sought among the Dobrujan
Seljukid nobility. there is however no documentary basis to support the identification
with their leader Saru Saltuq Dede, as G. Balashchev did (Decei, “problema,” p. 184). the
narrative makes no sense if the ex-sultan’s kinsman is taken to be anything but a Seljuk.