the golden horde and the black sea 261
a low-born man, marrying his niece, the daughter of a certain Mangusis,
after she had been sponsored for divine baptism by Noghai’s wife euph-
rosyne. and after he had allayed the Bulgarians’ doubts with gifts and
behaved toward chaka as one behaves toward a lord, he conquered tar-
novo together with him. a little later, using an opportunity that presented
itself, osphendislavos, who was a Bulgarian on his mother’s side (although
his father had been a cuman), though until now he had been very friendly
to the Bulgarians in chaka’s name, attacked his brother-in-law, seizing
him by trickery and giving him to be watched by trusted guards; then,
using Jewish servants whom he entrusted with such matters, he strangled
him in prison, and dethroned the patriarch Joachim, as one who had been
suspected earlier of having given himself into the hands of the tokhars
[= tartars]. and thus by such crimes he became supreme ruler.”478
By murdering chaka, theodore Svetoslav won the favour of the khan
on the Volga. however, the Bulgarian tsar did not become the Golden
horde’s plenipotentiary governor in the Danube region until after toqta
had failed to bring the region back under direct Jochid rule, with the help
of his closest kin.
“Bürlük, the son of Möngke temür, began to rule in Noghai’s lands
in his brother toqta’s name. of all the sons of Noghai, only the young-
est, turai, remained. toqta [.. .] sent him two of his own sons, tukul (?)
Bugha and Ilbasar. tukul Bugha occupied Isaccea on the Danube and all
the lands to the Iron Gates which had belonged to Noghai. Ilbasar took
the river Iaik.479 he also installed his brother, Sarai Bugha. In the year
701,480 Noghai’s son turai rode out to revenge himself on toqta for hav-
ing killed his father; he was not able to do this on his own and so he
went to Möngke temür’s son Sarai Bugha, whose brother toqta had put
him in Noghai’s place. turai had friendly relations with him, was insepa-
rable from him and never ceased trying to persuade him of how good it
would be to rebel against his brother toqta and became lord in his own
right. at last Sarai Bugha agreed, set out from his lands at the head of
his tümen, crossed the river Itil [= Volga], then left his army and went
alone to his brother Bürlük, telling him of what was planned and ask-
ing for his agreement. he [pretended] to accept the request. [But] Bürlük
hurried to his brother toqta and told him that Sarai Bugha was in league
478 FHDR, II, pp. 448–449.
479 the ural.
480 6th September 1301–25th august 1302.
