Paper long abstract:

The question of the nature of the Chinggisid state has been discussed widely in terms of the rise of the Mongol World Empire and in more niche discussions by scholars interested in Russian Imperial history, to cite just one example. Citing the evidence for the Golden Horde (13th-14th centuries) and based upon the model offered by the more abundant data available for the states of the Later Golden Horde (namely the Khanates of Kazan, Kasimov, Crimea, etc. in the 15th-18th centuries) the author has proposed that four high-status tribes have a special role in the state vis-à-vis the khan. The leaders of these four tribes form a council of state playing a role in the selection or removal of the Chinggisid khan, approving the edits of the khan, conducting the foreign relations of the state, commanding the military, and other functions documented in the sources. Later these officials are even shadowed by parallel religious leaders. In the author's view, the union between the tribal leaders and the Chinggisid khan is what underlies the state in the Golden Horde and the Later Golden Horde (Schamiloglu 1984, 1986, 2019, etc.) What, however, is the concrete mechanism for this, or, from a different point of view, how is this political union formed and/or solidified? This paper argues that, as in medieval Europe or elsewhere, the answer is marital ties. This paper examines the institution of marriage between the house of the Chinggisid khan and the house of the tribal leaders in the the Golden Horde (13th-14th centuries) and the Later Golden Horde (15th-18th centuries) to attempt to propose a model for the marital ties underlying the foundation of the state. In the 14th century this emerges quite clearly in the account of Ibn Battuta, once the role and background of a series of individuals has been properly established. We see that the authority and prestige of the Chinggisid khan is girded by a series of marital alliances in which the Chinggisid khan and the tribes have established between themselves. This offers a new insights into our understanding of the Golden Horde. We may also use this as a device for exploring what these marital ties represent. It will also allow us the possibility to explore similar ties between the ruling Chinggisid house and the house of the tribal leadership in, say, the Crimean Khanate, for which there is more abundant data.