entranceHow Tamerlane saved Russia from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Great generals
He crossed Northern Iran and Transcaucasia (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia) with fire and sword. Georgian sources provide several information about Timur's actions in Georgia, about the policy of Islamization of the country and the capture of Tbilisi, about the Georgian military alliance, etc. Tsar George VII by 1394 was able to carry out defensive measures on the eve of the next invasion - he gathered the Georgian militia, to which annexed the Caucasian highlanders, including the Nakhs (in particular, from the regions adjacent to Daryal).
At first, the combined Georgian-mountain army had some success; they were even able to push back the advance detachments of the conquerors. But, ultimately, Timur's approach with the main forces decided the outcome of the war. The defeated Georgians and Nakhs retreated north into the mountain gorges of the Caucasus. Considering the strategic importance of the pass roads to the North Caucasus, in particular, the natural fortress - the Darial Gorge, Timur decided to seize it. However, a huge mass of troops was so mingled in mountain gorges and gorges that it turned out to be incapable of combat. The defenders managed to kill so many people in the front ranks of the enemies that, unable to bear it, they "turned ... Timur's soldiers."
At the beginning of 1395, it was decided to march on The Golden Horde, and Timur's army, which had grown up to 300 thousand people at the expense of the detachments of vassal rulers, concentrated near Derbent, then passed the Caspian Dagestan, shot down the forward detachments of Tokhtamysh on Sulak and entered Chechnya. Having crossed the river "Sunj" (Sunzha), and then the Terek (to the left bank), Timur's hordes clashed with the tribal army of Tokhtamysh, collected from all over the Horde. There were Tatar-Mongols, Circassians, Alans, Genoese and, possibly, Nakhs, since in this situation it was a defensive war, and the Nakh region of Simsim, where Gayur Khan ruled, was directly adjacent to the theater of operations. Gayur Khan is the ruler of the Simsim state, a fragment of the Khazar Kaganate, present-day Chechnya.
Having deployed his troops on the left bank of the Terek, on April 15, 1395, Timur opened a general battle with Tokhtamysh, whose forces were not inferior to Timur's army, if not superior to him. Thus, in the three-day battle, at least half a million people fought on both sides. As a contemporary says, "blood poured in streams across the steppe." The battle, which resulted in a fierce battle, ended with the complete defeat of the Horde army. Tokhtamysh fled to the Volga, and one of his emirs, Uturku, took refuge in the mountains of the Central Caucasus.
Timur began the systematic extermination of the remnants of Tokhtamysh's troops and the Golden Horde possessions. Having cleared the steppes, in the same year 1395 he set to work on the North Caucasus, consistently conquering region after region. So, he ruined the region of the Circassians - the North-Western Caucasus (“they robbed the entire Circassian ulus”), then seized the country of the Western Alan rulers Buriberdi and Burakan (presumably, Karachay-Cherkessia and Pyatigorye), moreover, Timur himself “with the aim of jihad ascended to Mount Elbrus ". The impregnable fortresses of Kuli and Taus, located in the mountains of North Ossetia and Balkaria, fell during the assault on mountain strongholds, then it was the turn of Pulada, who owned the regions that covered part of Ossetia and Ingushetia - the region of Ikhran, Irkuvun (Chingizid Uturku was also hiding here) ...
After the defeat of Pulada and the capture of Uturku, Timur gave another rest to the troops, significantly battered during the fierce battles in the mountainous conditions. Another campaign, in the same year 1395, Timur, according to Kh. A. Khizriev, sent to the Simsim country (Chechnya and, presumably, the eastern part of Ingushetia). The most famous crossings across Sunzha and Terek were in the area of Gudermes and Bragunov. By the way, it was at the end of the 15th century. the large Gudermes settlement ceased to exist here, possibly destroyed by Timur's army. Another crossing through Sunzha was in the area of modern Grozny. Popular legend associates this crossing with the name of Timur.
Temirlan ravaged the city of Almak in October 1395: “Emir Timur, having conquered the Kumyks living between the Terek and Sulak, crossed the Michikich land to the city of Almak (now a village in the Salatav district), which had 7 thousand houses. He took the city after strong resistance and destroyed it. "
The ruler of Simsim / Khazaria / Chechnya, Gayur-khan ("Kur-bek" of some sources) did not show submission to Timur, despite the fact that huge hordes stood at the borders of the country.
Judging by the fragmentary data, Simsim had a specific division, the population of one of the regions was apparently Islamized. So, the name of Gayur Khan's son was Muhammad, and he had “il” (region) and subjects in his administration.
Timur entered the Chechen Plain, most likely in the area of modern Grozny, where he crossed the Sunzha. Judging by the information of the Persian chroniclers Shami and Ezdi, the main battle of Timur with the militia of Simsim took place on a plane. Upon Timur's arrival in Chechnya, the son of Gayur-khan, Muhammad, went over with his silt to the side of the conqueror and, "having received the honor of kissing the carpet, joined the servants of the court."
In connection with Timur's actions on Sunzha, the question arises about the city of Magas (Alkhan-Kala). There is reason to believe that in the 14th century. it was revived, and in 1396 it was taken by the Central Asian conqueror, who even camped here for a long time. No wonder, even in the 16th century. Russian sources call the Alkhan-Kalinskoe (Kularinskoe) settlement "the city of Temir-Aksak".
After the defeat occurred, the flat population took refuge in the mountains, but the resistance of the Nakhs was just beginning. Apparently, there were also several daring sorties, after which "Timur personally went against them ..." to the mountains. Court historiographers report that there were many inaccessible places, towers and fortresses, which the conquerors captured and destroyed, throwing the captive inhabitants into the abyss. Kh. A. Khizriev believes that Timur's actions in the mountains affected the mountain villages of modern Nazran, Sunzhensky, Achkhoy-Martan and Shatoy regions of Chechnya and Ingushetia. Other researchers believe that Timur entered the mountains through the Argun gorge, and then moved from west to east, until he reached the Andean ridge.
The intensity of the fighting in mountainous Chechnya was so great that Timur's detachments, in the heat of battles, climbed into such places that neither horse nor footman could then go down, "but should have pushed off and slide down." The court chroniclers were forced to note that Timur himself “was subjected to these horrors and dangers” in the Simsim mountains. Destroying "all the churches and their temples", the conqueror reached Aksai, descended to the plane (between Sulak and Terek), where "he attacked the il and the ulus of this plain." These could be areas inhabited by Nakhs-Aukhs and Kumyks. Here, according to legend, the Aukhs withstood a series of battles with Timur's troops, and then were even able to provide assistance to the Dagestan brothers who were invaded, in particular, the Laks.
Timur, having made a "raid on the foothills of Mount Aukhar," then went east, destroying Dagestan villages. Somewhere on the right bank of the Sulak, the emir's troops stormed the city of Almak, which had 7-8 thousand houses. Separate detachments scattered across the surrounding mountains and gorges.
The productive forces of the region were thoroughly destroyed by the invasion of Timur. His army cut down forests, destroyed gardens, trampled fields, destroyed cities, villages, towers, "temples and temples." The captured population, as it was during the period of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, was partly destroyed, partly driven into slavery, cattle and material values were appropriated.
Timur's campaign in Chechnya was so monstrous in its consequences that the memory of him was imprinted for a long time in the oral work of the people. Numerous legends and legends about "Aksak-Timur", toponymy and onomastics associated with the events of that time, firmly captured the invasion of the "master of the universe."
In the winter of 1395/1396, the headquarters of the emir moved to the lower reaches of the Kuma; Timur's troops again rushed into the steppe, burned the Golden Horde cities on the Volga (Saray-Berk and Khadzhi-Tarkhan), plundered the Northern Caspian, and in the spring of 1396 continued the conquest of mountainous Dagestan, erecting "hills from the slain." In the same 1396, Timur's army left through Derbent to further conquer Transcaucasia, Syria and Asia Minor.
In total, there were seven devastating campaigns by Timur's troops to the Caucasus and Georgia. And only in 1404 the Georgian king George VII recognized the power of Timur. In 1405, while preparing a campaign against China, Timur died, and his empire soon collapsed.
According to the ancient Georgian poem "Alguziani", Gayurkhan (K1airkhan) survived the invasion of Timur and died a little later, in an internecine war with Georgian or Ossetian feudal lords; in this work he is called the Chechen king.
PS. Confrontation between the Chechens of the Argun Gorge
"Concerned about the advancement of Tamerlane in the mountains, the Sira Mekhk-Khela decided to transfer the judicial body to a more inaccessible region - Malchista.
The sentinels who stood guard, seeing the army of Tamerlane, immediately lit fires on the signal towers. The Argun Gorge was notified. The guards of the Kaloy-Kort height of the Hjakkoy-lam mountain, as well as the lookouts of the Haskhall-duk, Laha and Lakha Cholkhanchu ridge, immediately began defensive actions. The first large group of warriors came from the Dzumsoi society under the leadership of Irdig (Idiga). The leader of the defenders Kahlo, wounded and deprived of his strength, handed over his sword to Irdig with the instruction: "This sword must be in battle until the last enemy is killed." Step by step, the troops of Tamerlane stumbled upon the battle towers: standing apart or interspersed into the wall, like the tower of the Nihala clan.
Then the Tagut (idol) Tush temple on the top of the Tushpa'-kort height, which had existed for about 2 thousand years, was destroyed. The Tushpa' fortress was surrounded by solid stone walls and had three battle towers. Some called the idol of the temple of Mount Tush, others Tish, others Tesh / Teish. The history of this idol is rooted in the area of Teisha Iam (Lake Teisha) in a hollow, from where a strong wind was blowing.
Further, bypassing Shuyta and Nihal, Timur reached the very fortress of Gionat-gyala near the settlement of Guchan-Kheli. The stronghold consisted of at least five towers and was attached to sheer cliffs. All attempts to take the fortress by storm failed. So few defenders of Gionat-gala beat many of Tamerlane's warriors. As a result, the siege of the fortress was lifted. According to legend, the name Gionat-gala was given by one of Timur's commanders. "Khanat khala" in Turkic means "winged castle", hence the Chechen name Gionat-gIala.
Moving further along the gorge of the Ch'anti-Orga river, Timur made his way to the very Khyachar (Veduchi), but could not go further. Through the Sharo-Orga gorge, Tamerlane reached Khim (Khimoi). A great battle took place here. According to legend, this is where the people used to say “delha a delkhush, dehkan zudd sanna letar du vai” (we will fight with crying, like a whelping bitch / she-wolf), that is, fight to the death: that was the command of the commander.
Tamerlane realized that an attempt to break through further along the Argun gorge could cost him too much. The flexible mind of the cunning fox prompted him to leave the gorge, having previously concluded agreements with the local elders. Timur handed the "sword of reconciliation" to the turi-da (military leader) Idig of the Dzumsoy clan and entered into an alliance with Mammach, Eaton's grandfather, after whom today's Eton-Khalla is named. Mammach, the son of Maltsag from the Chiantiy clan, became Tamerlane's companion among his close people. This is how Organan chIojan lattam (opposition to the Argun gorge) ended "...
[excerpt from A. Anguni's book "Statehood of the Nokhchiy people"]
The Kulikovo battle encouraged the Russian people in the struggle against the Tatars, taught them to defeat the formidable khans of the Golden Horde, but it has not yet rid our land of Tatar rule. After Mamai, Khan Tokhtamysh began to rule the Horde, who wanted to take revenge on Dmitry Donskoy for his glorious victory and unexpectedly invaded the Russian land with strong Tatar hordes. Before the grand duke had time to gather an army, Tokhtamysh had already appeared under the walls of Moscow, took Moscow by deception and devastated it terribly, robbed it and left with many prisoners. To save the Russian land from such devastation for the future, the Grand Duke again undertook to regularly pay tribute to Tokhtamysh. Thus, he managed to settle his relationship with Tokhtamysh. But soon after the death of Dmitry Donskoy, a new terrible thunderstorm began to approach the Russian land from the Asian steppes. There, at the end of the XIV century, another powerful conqueror appeared, nicknamed Tamerlane. Having conquered many Asian kingdoms, Tamerlane then conquered Persia and led his huge hordes to the mouths of the Volga along the western shores of the Caspian Sea. From here in 1395 he sent Tokhtamysh to the Khan of the Golden Horde to demand obedience and tribute. Tokhtamysh, instead of answering, opposed him with the entire Horde, but was defeated.
When Moscow learned that Tokhtamysh had been defeated by Tamerlane and his army was scattered, everyone was delighted, thinking that Tamerlane would again retire to the Asian steppes. But to the horror of all Russia, the formidable conqueror moved from the mouths of the Volga to the north, and his hordes soon appeared on the Volga, in the Saratov steppes. Then Tamerlane approached Yelets, took him, ruined him, burned him out and camped near him, intending to move on.
Only then did everyone understand that the Russian land was to endure new disasters. Everyone knew that about half a million nomads of different tribes were going with Tamerlane to Russia, and everyone was waiting for death. There remained only hope for God's mercy, and everyone rushed to the churches to bring repentance on the eve of imminent death and pray to God for the salvation of the Russian land. The young Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich gathered an army, summoned the governor, who fought under the banner of his father Dmitry Donskoy, on the Kulikovo field, and began to confer with them and the boyars. At this council, it was decided that the grand ducal army should be at the turn of the Moscow principality, near Kolomna, and here wait for the enemy.
Having made such a decision and entrusting the protection of the capital to his uncle Vladimir the Brave, Grand Duke Vasily moved with an army to Kolomna and there awaited news of the approach of Tamerlane's hordes.
At this time, God instilled a good idea in Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich: to calm the anxious residents of Moscow by transferring to the capital the ancient miraculous icon of the Mother of God, once brought to Vladimir by the prince. The Grand Duke wrote to Metropolitan Cyprian in Moscow and asked him to send him to Vladimir for the icon. The Metropolitan hastened to fulfill the wish of the Grand Duke, and an honorary embassy of the highest clergy and grand-ducal boyars set off for Vladimir. The miraculous icon was taken from the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral and solemnly carried to Moscow. This procession was a touching sight! Countless multitudes of people came out from everywhere on the road, everyone fell on their knees in front of the icon, everyone cried out to her with tears: “Mother of God! Save the Russian land! " All of Moscow came out to meet the icon many miles from the city. As soon as the icon marching towards Moscow appeared in the distance, everyone fell on their faces before it with tears of joy and quiet hope in its miraculous power.
Less than two weeks have passed since the day when the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God was solemnly brought to Moscow and placed in the Moscow Dormition Cathedral, when the good news came from Kolomna to Moscow.Tamerlane turned his hordes south from Yelets and hastily departed from the Russian borders!
The ancient chroniclers have preserved a marvelous tradition. They say that on the very day and hour when Moscow residents met the miraculous icon of Vladimir, Tamerlane was dozing in his tent near Yelets and had a terrible dream. He introduced himself high mountain, which hid its top in the clouds. The saints in shining vestments with golden rods in their hands descended from this mountain, and above them in a radiant radiance marched the Heavenly Lady, surrounded by the darkness of formidable warriors, who all at once rushed to Tamerlane.
In awe, he woke up from a dream, gathered his nobles and began to ask them to interpret the meaning of the dream. Some of the nobles explained to Tamerlane: "The Heavenly Lady, whom you saw in a dream, is none other than the Mother of God, the protector of Christians." "If so, then we cannot defeat them!" - Tamerlane exclaimed and ordered his hordes to immediately withdraw from the borders of Russia.
When the good news of the removal of Tamerlane's hordes reached Kolomna, the Grand Duke thanked God for the mercy shown to the Russian land, dismissed the army and hurried to Moscow with his retinue. Upon his return to Moscow, Vasily Dmitrievich erected a stone church of the Mother of God and a monastery at the very place where the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was greeted by the metropolitan, clergy and citizens of Moscow. Since the same year 1395, the Russian Church has laid down for eternal times to celebrate the feast of the Presentation of the Mother of God on August 26 in memory of the fact that the Russian land was then indebted to the grace of God for salvation from the terrible invasion of Tamerlane. The monastery, built on the meeting place of the icon, was named Sretensky.
1395 Failed invasion of Tamerlane to Russia
In the 1360s. in Central Asia, Timur (Tamerlane), an outstanding Turkic ruler and commander, who became famous for his military exploits and shook the world with incredible cruelty, advanced to Central Asia. In a fierce struggle for power in the Chagatai ulus of the Big Horde, he managed to become the sovereign ruler of the new state with the capital in Samarkand. Timur showed himself as an experienced statesman, but most importantly - as a tireless conqueror. From Samarkand, the decoration of which he gave great importance, he made devastating invasions on the lands of Persia, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Transcaucasia, North India, Anatolia, Syria and finally undertook a campaign against China. In this campaign, he died in Otrar in 1405. Timur was brought to the borders of Russia by the war against the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh, which lasted for many years with varying success, now dying out, then flaring up again. In 1395 Timur defeated Tokhtamysh in the battle on the Terek and, pursuing him, invaded the Tatar steppes, and then went to the southern outskirts of the Ryazan lands. A gigantic 400,000-strong army marched with him. Horror gripped Russia, remembering Batu's invasion, and now knowing that Timur had defeated the Horde king himself! Prince Vasily could not resist the new merciless conqueror. However, having captured Yelets, Timur stood for two weeks and turned south to fight the Horde - to Azov, Astrakhan, Sarai, and then on new and new long campaigns ... Frightened Muscovites tried to fortify their city, began in a hurry to dig a huge ditch, all that was left was to rely only on God. And since Zhelezny Khromets turned back, Moscow believed that Russia was saved by the famous icon of Our Lady of Vladimir, urgently delivered to the city.
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Battle of the Terek (1395)
| Battle of the Terek | |
| Timur's war with Tokhtamysh | |
| date | |
|---|---|
| Place | |
| Outcome |
decisive victory of Tamerlane |
| Parties | |
| Commanders | |
| Losses | |
Battle of the Terek- a major battle that took place on April 15, 1395 between the troops of Timur Tamerlane and the Golden Horde army of Khan Tokhtamysh. The battle, grandiose in scale, ended in the complete defeat of the Horde. The battle largely predetermined the further fate of the Golden Horde, which largely lost its former power and influence.
Preceding events
At the very beginning of the battle, when the battle was still not boiling in all sectors of the front, a blow of large forces of the Golden Horde fell on the left flank of Tamerlane's army. The situation was saved by a counterattack of 27 elite koshuns (units of 50-1000 people) of the reserve, which were led by Timur himself. The Horde retreated, and many warriors of the Timurov koshuns began to pursue the fleeing enemy. Soon the Horde managed to gather and concentrate the scattered forces, inflicting a powerful counterstrike on the enemy. Timurov's soldiers, unable to withstand the pressure of the Horde, began to retreat. From both sides, fresh forces were being pulled up to the place of the flaring battle. The warriors of the Timurovsky koshuns, approaching the battlefield, dismounted and, constructing barriers from shields and cart, began to fire at the Horde from their bows. At that time, the elite koshuns of Mirza Muhammad Sultan arrived at the battle site, and with a swift horse attack, they put the enemy to flight.
At the same time, the kanbul of the left flank of the Horde army pressed the koshuns of the right flank of the Timurov army under the command of Haji Seif al-Din, was able to bypass them from the flank and surround them. Once surrounded, the troops of Seif ad-Din staunchly defended themselves from the Horde, heroically repelling numerous attacks from their enemies. The horse attacks of Jenanshah-Bagatur, Mirza Rustem and Omar-Sheikh, who arrived in time to the battlefield, decided the outcome of the battle in this area of the battle. The Horde, unable to withstand the onslaught of the enemy, wavered and fled. Timurov's troops, building on their success, overturned the left flank of Tokhtamysh's army. Obtaining victory in every sector of the battle, Timur soon managed to achieve victory at the cost of great efforts. According to Ibn Arabshah, one of
In 1383, the future of Russia looked truly bleak. With one blow, Tokhtamysh regained control of Russia, and the Golden Horde now seemed stronger than ever. It seemed that the Russians would have to remain subordinate for many years until they could accumulate new forces.
In fact, Russia was able to restore its autonomy and support national unification much faster than could be expected. The course of history turned out to be more favorable for Russia.
An open conflict between Tokhtamysh and Timur began four years after Tokhtamysh captured Moscow. Tokhtamysh was indebted to Timur for his first successes. But after the victory over Russia, he became a more powerful ruler than his overlord, and behaved like an independent khan.
The two main regions contested by the Golden Horde and the Central Asian Empire were Khorezm in Central Asia and Azerbaijan in Transcaucasia. Both were autonomous when a conflict broke out between Timur and Tokhtamysh. Each was ruled by a local dynasty: Khorezm by the Sufis, Azerbaijan by the Jelairids. In 1385 Timur made a campaign against Azerbaijan. Although he defeated the troops of Jelairid at Sultania, he did not complete the conquest of the country, but soon returned to Persia. Timur's campaign showed the weakness of the rulers of Azerbaijan, and Tokhtamysh decided to take advantage of the situation. In the winter of 1385-86, Tokhtamysh captured Tabriz with the same technique with which he deceived the Muscovites three years earlier. The city was plundered and destroyed as thoroughly as Moscow. This raid opened Timur's eyes to the seriousness of the danger threatening him from the Golden Horde. As soon as Tokhtamysh left to the north, Timur with a strong army appeared in Azerbaijan. In the winter of 1386-87 in Dagestan, the advanced troops of Timur entered the battle with the army of Tokhtamysh. Although the outcome of the battle was unclear, Tokhtamysh ordered a retreat.
From the very beginning of the battle between the two Mongol rulers, the Russian princes realized the significance of the incipient conflict for Mongolian-Russian relations. Any problem in the Golden Horde could mean a weakening of Mongolian control over Russia. The first to benefit from the new situation was the son of Grand Duke Dmitry, Vasily of Moscow, who was held hostage in the Horde. In the fall of 1386, he fled with the help of some friendly Mongol officials. First, he went to Moldova, and then, by the German route, to Lithuania, where he asked for protection from Prince Vitovt, who decided to use Vasily to establish friendly relations with Moscow. He promised Vasily to give him his daughter Sophia (then sixteen years old) to marry him when the right moment comes for this. Having taken this oath, Vitovt showed Vasily all possible honors and helped him return to Moscow through Polotsk. Vasily appeared in his hometown on January 19, 1387, accompanied by several Lithuanian princes and boyars.
If Tokhtamysh's position were more reliable, he would have demanded that Vasily be punished for his escape. However, the khan could not afford to be harsh with Moscow, as he was on the verge of a new campaign against Timur. This time Tokhtamysh led his troops not to Transcaucasia, but through the Volga and Yaik rivers to Central Asia. His plan was to attack Maverannahr, the heart of Timur's possessions. He managed to reach Bukhara, but could not take it. After his troops ravaged everything around him, he turned back.
Timur, in turn, invaded Khorezm and destroyed the thriving city of Urgench, the center of Central Asian trade. Tokhtamysh took the next step in this battle of the giants, who in their rage demolished everything in their path. In 1388, he gathered a huge army into which he summoned warriors from all the peoples of the Jochi ulus, including the Russians, Bulgars, Circassians and Alans. It included the formations of both Moscow and Suzdal troops, the first under the command of Prince Vasily of Moscow, the second - Prince Boris of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod. Once again Tokhtamysh deeply invaded Central Asia. A battle of no decisive importance took place on the banks of the Syr Darya in the early spring of 1389. Tokhtamysh then turned back and retreated to Kazakhstan to reorganize the army. The two Russian princes accompanying him were allowed to return home.
Soon after Vasily returned to Moscow, his father, Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, died (May 19, 1389). Three months later, the ambassador of Tokhtamysh, Prince Shikhmat, solemnly elevated Basil to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. Around the same time, three important Mongolian officials appeared in Moscow, expressing a desire to convert to Christianity and serve the new Grand Duke. They may have been old friends of Basil who helped him escape the Horde. They were christened in Moscow with the jubilation of the people. This incident was very revealing. He testified that many members of the Mongol nobility felt that the Grand Duke of Moscow was sitting in the saddle stronger than their own khan, and that Moscow was a safer place to live than Sarai.
In 1391, the struggle between Tokhtamysh and Timur entered a decisive stage. Irritated by the devastating raids of Tokhtamysh on Maverannahr, Timur decided to follow his enemy into his own domain.
Timur led the army to Kazakhstan, and then north to the upper Tobol region, where part of Tokhtamysh's army was based. However, Tokhtamysh's troops withdrew west to Yaik. While Timur hastily followed to Yaik, Tokhtamysh retreated once more. And only on the middle Volga, in the Samara region, Timur's troops overtook the main camp of their enemy. This time, an organized retreat was impossible for Tokhtamysh. He was forced to take battle on June 18, 1391 on the banks of the Kondurcha River, a tributary of the Soka. The bloody battle ended with the complete defeat of Tokhtamysh's army. Tokhtamysh himself fled with a small retinue. The winners have seized huge booty. Timur did not try to pursue Tokhtamysh beyond the Volga, no longer considering him dangerous.
It soon became clear that Timur had underestimated the personality and capabilities of Tokhtamysh. Although he lost the entire eastern part of the Jochi ulus (east of Yaik), he still controlled its western part, the Golden Horde itself. Most of the Golden Horde princes and nobility remained loyal to their khan.
To keep Moscow on his side, Tokhtamysh was forced to radically change his policy towards Russia. Instead of maintaining a balance between the four Russian great principalities, now he saw his only chance to maintain control over Eastern Russia in concessions to the most powerful principality - Moscow. Grand Duke Vasily immediately benefited from the new situation, asking the Khan for permission to annex the whole Grand Duchy of Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow. The ground for this demand was carefully prepared by the Moscow boyars, who held secret negotiations with the Nizhny Novgorod boyars behind the back of their Grand Duke Boris. Vasily personally appeared in the Tokhtamysh camp and gifted both the khan and the entire nobility. Having received a label on the Nizhny Novgorod table, he returned to Moscow accompanied by the extraordinary ambassadors of the Khan, who were then sent to Nizhny Novgorod with the leading Moscow boyars. Grand Duke Boris, abandoned by like-minded people, was quickly captured. Nizhny Novgorod was forced to accept an associate of Vasily as the governor. Vasily was then again invited to the Tokhtamysh camp and treated him "with great honor such as no other Russian prince has ever seen." Besides Nizhny Novgorod the khan gave him the inheritance of Gorodetsky, Meshchersky and Tarusa. In response, the Grand Duke of Moscow agreed to continue to consider Tokhtamysh as his ruler.
Now Tokhtamysh turned his attention to Lithuania and Poland. He sent ambassadors to the King of Poland, Jagiello, demanding to confirm his loyalty and agree to pay tribute from Kiev, Podolia and some other Western Russian regions. Since Vitovt was now the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Tokhtamysh's ambassadors had to negotiate with him. An agreement satisfying Tokhtamysh was reached, although the details of it are not known to us. He also renewed relations with the Mamluks, in which he still hoped to find allies against Timur.
Strongly encouraged by his diplomatic achievements and recruiting and training a new army, Tokhtamysh decided to continue a limited offensive against Timur in the Caucasus. In the fall of 1394, his troops passed Derbent and appeared in the Shirvan region, ruining everything in their path. Upon learning of this, Timur sent an ambassador, demanding that Tokhtamysh withdraw his troops and once again recognize Timur's suzerainty. Tokhtamysh refused. The final skirmish between the two rulers was inevitable.
In February 1395 Timur set out to the north, from Transcaucasia to Dagestan along the western coast of the Caspian Sea. In April, his army set up a fortified camp in the Terek River valley, from where the main forces of Tokhtamysh were visible. The battle took place on April 15. For a long time the outcome of the battle remained unclear, but, finally, Timur's reserve formations entered it and crushed the enemy's resistance. As in 1391, Timur's warriors captured unthinkable riches in the abandoned camp of Tokhtamysh. But this time Timur did not abandon his attempt to pursue Tokhtamysh, who, having fled with a small retinue through the lower reaches of the Volga, sought salvation from the Bulgars on the middle Volga. Timur also crossed the Volga, but soon lost the trail of the fugitive.
Timur returned to the western bank of the Volga and suppressed individual actions of the emirs of Tokhtamysh in the lower Don. Then, after giving the troops a short rest, he began a new campaign - this time against Russia. His army marched north along the Don in two columns, one along the steppes east of the river, the other along the western side. In July, both columns reached the southern regions of the Ryazan principality. The western column under the personal command of Timur took Yelets by storm. The Prince of Elets was taken prisoner, and the inhabitants of the city were killed or taken into slavery. After the capture of Yelets, Timur set up his camp there, allowing the troops to plunder the surrounding lands. He sent his scouts north and awaited their reports.
The Russians, well aware of the course of the previous struggle between Timur and Tokhtamysh, were ready for any surprise. The army of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (which now included the former Grand Duchy of Nizhny Novgorod) was assembled in June and July. In early August, Grand Duke Vasily concentrated his main forces in Kolomna. A strong garrison remained in Moscow under the command of Prince Vladimir Serpukhovsky, the hero of the battle on the Kulikovo field. By allowing this gifted and popular prince to lead the defense of Moscow, Vasily apparently hoped to prevent a recurrence of the unrest of the urban population, as was the case during the invasion of Tokhtamysh.
Vasily's main strategic plan was to defend the front along the Oka River, and not cross it and advance south, as his father Dmitry Donskoy did. To cheer up his soldiers and cheer up Muscovites, Vasily asked Metropolitan Cyprian to transfer to Moscow the revered icon of the Mother of God, which had been in the Vladimir Cathedral since the middle of the twelfth century and was considered miraculous. Cyprian approved Basil's plan and sent clergy to Vladimir to deliver the icon to Moscow. She was taken from the cathedral on August 15, the day of the Assumption of the Virgin. A solemn cortege of clergy and laity accompanied the icon on the way to the capital. The procession appeared in front of Moscow on August 26, on the thirteenth anniversary of the capture of the city by the troops of Tokhtamysh. Muscovites, led by Prince Vladimir, Metropolitan Cyprian, priests and boyars came out to meet. After the solemn litanies, the icon was taken to the cathedral and installed there. This whole ceremony had a strong encouraging effect on Muscovites.
It so happened that on the day when the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God reached Moscow, Timur announced the end of the campaign and ordered to retreat. A legend spread among the Russians that that day Timur had a vision in his dream, which greatly frightened him. He saw in heaven the Mother of God in purple robes, who led an innumerable army to defend the road to Moscow. He woke up, trembling, and for a long time could not explain to his entourage what had happened to him.
In fact, Timur had by this time learned about the readiness of the Russians to defend themselves, as well as about the strength and good organization of their army. He knew that his rival Tokhtamysh had managed to defeat them thirteen years earlier only by taking them by surprise. Timur could have hoped to defeat the Russians, but he also understood that his army would suffer heavy losses. Besides, continuing the march would take time and take him too far from the center of his empire.
Although Timur did not reach Moscow, he advertised this campaign as best he could. The capture of the southern outskirts of the Ryazan principality was presented as the conquest of Russia.
On the way home, Timur captured and plundered the city of Azak (modern Azov) at the mouth of the Don and devastated the lands of the Circassians in the western part North Caucasus... From there, in the winter of 1395-96, he turned to the lower Volga region and burned the two main centers of the Golden Horde - Astrakhan and New Sarai, or Sarai-Berke. Fully satisfied with the results of the campaign, Timur returned to Samarkand and soon began to develop his Indian campaign. It took place in 1398-99 and brought fabulous wealth.
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