174 chapter four
a statesman in the fullest sense of the word, during the turbulent period
of the struggle for the throne he showed that he had not only the acuity
needed to lead his candidate to victory, but also the clarity of vision to
lay the basis for future Jochid external relation even during short-sighted
internal conflicts. from the very start of the succession struggle, he con-
sistently followed the goal of salvaging the affairs of the Jochid state from
the blind alley where toqta had left them, and restoring its former vigour
and dynamism.
as could be expected given its importance, the new rulers of the horde
first addressed the question of recovering transcaucasia. Özbek sent a
message to the Ilkhan Öljeitü, which the Jochid envoys read out in solemn
audience on 8th april 1313. the text of the message is uncommonly sig-
nificant on a number of levels: “You are the older, and I the younger, and
there is understanding between us. If you need soldiers, I will send you as
many as you demand. In exchange, return to us those Iranian lands which
belong to us according to the imperial edict of the Great Khan Möngke,
so that the roads which have been cut off can be reopened and we can
exchange goods and our woven fabrics, which are lying about in heaps
rotting, and which both parties need, and so that merchants and travellers
may take to the roads once more, to their advantage.”120 the same court
chronicler also recorded the Ilkhan’s response, in rather fewer words: he
gave the envoys some proofs of his favour and allowed them to leave.
Özbek’s proposal to Öljeitü about the return of arran and azerbaijan is
surprisingly different from his predecessors’ diplomatic initiatives, includ-
ing toqta’s, in one crucial way: where they had issued ultimata and threat-
ened the use of force, he proposed nothing less than to make the ulus of
Jochi into an Ilkhanid vassal.
this offer constitutes the most conclusive proof of the extraordinary
value which Sarai placed on the two Northern persian provinces, and
Öljeitü’s refusal to accept the deal confirms that the opposing camp val-
ued them equally highly. the text cited illustrates, in the clearest possible
way, why exactly the two provinces were so highly prized: the core of the
matter, at stake in the dispute, was certainly commercial.121
Özbek’s message reveals not only the Golden horde’s obsession with
reclaiming the lands, but also, far more tellingly, the hardship caused by
the trade crisis. the “roads which have been cut off ”—which must have
120 Ibid., p. 128.
121 cf. ciocîltan, “Genoa,” pp. 86–87, and chapter 3.1.
