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APersonIndependent states

Edigu

Beylerbey and commander of the Golden Horde (1396-1419): he made and unmade khans, laid the foundation of the Nogai Horde and lives on in epics.

Edigu's campaign of 1408, miniature from a Russian chronicle
Anonymous Russian manuscript illuminators, 1560-1570s Facial Chronicle (Illustra / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Edigu was of the Manghit tribe and, not being a descendant of Genghis Khan, could not become khan himself. He served first Tokhtamysh and then Timur, fighting alongside Timur against Tokhtamysh. From 1396, as beylerbey of the Golden Horde, he was its de facto ruler and placed several khans on the throne of his choosing.

In 1399 on the Vorskla river he routed the combined army of Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania and Tokhtamysh. In 1408 he marched on Moscow and again exacted tribute from the Russian princes. He fell in battle against Tokhtamysh's sons in 1419. His descendants ruled the Nogai Horde, and his life lives on in the Edige epic of the Nogais, Kazakhs, Tatars and Bashkirs.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia
  2. Wikipedia
  3. Wikipedia

Updated: November 12, 2026

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