Edigu (also Edigey, Eðivkäy or Edege Mangit; 1352–1419) was a Turko-Mongol

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

of the White Horde who founded a new political entity, which came to be known as the Nogai Horde.

Life

Edigu was from the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

n Manghit tribe, the son of Kutlukiya (Kuttykiya), a Turko-Mongol noble who was defeated and killed by Khan Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in 1378. He gained fame as a highly successful general of Tokhtamysh before turning the arms against his master. By 1396, he was a sovereign ruler of a large area stretching between the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

and Ural (known locally as Yayyk) rivers, which would later be called the Nogai Horde. In 1397, Edigu allied himself with Timur-Qutlugh and was appointed General and commander-in-chief of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

armies. In 1399 he inflicted a crushing defeat on Tokhtamysh and

Vytautas Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

of Lithuania at the Battle of the Vorskla River. Thereupon he managed to unite under his rule all

Jochi Jochi (; ), also spelled Jüchi, was a prince of the early Mongol Empire. His life was marked by controversy over the circumstances of his birth and culminated in his estrangement from his family. He was nevertheless a prominent Military of the ...

's lands, albeit for the last time in history. In 1406, he located his old enemy Tokhtamysh in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. Edigu's agents killed Tokhtamysh. The following year he raided

Volga Bulgaria Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria (sometimes referred to as the Volga Bulgar Emirate) was a historical Bulgar state that existed between the 9th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now Europea ...

. In 1408, he staged a destructive Tatar invasion of Russia due to tribute not being paid in several decades, leading to Vasily I of Moscow to end fighting against Lithuania. Edigu burned

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

, Rostov,

Serpukhov Serpukhov ( rus, Серпухов, p=ˈsʲerpʊxəf) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka River, Oka and the Nara (Oka), Nara Rivers, 99 kilometers (62 miles) south fro ...

and other towns, and then laid siege to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Edigu summoned troops from Tver, but the prince made sure his soldiers would arrive too late to be of any use. Instead of taking Moscow, Edigu contented himself with extracting a ransom from its inhabitants before returning to the steppe. Two years later, Edigu was dethroned in the

and had to seek refuge in Khwarezm. Though he had previously had relations with the Timurid ruler

Shah Rukh Shah Rukh or Shahrukh Mirza (, ''Šāhrokh''; 20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447. He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynasty in 1370 ...

, including marrying his daughter to the latter's son Muhammad Juki, Shah Rukh later had Edigu expelled back to Sarai. However, Edigu managed to ravage

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

under Lithuanian rule in spring 1416, in which he burnt the Pechersk Monastery and the old town, but was unable to capture its castle. In 1418, he offered Vytautas peace and alliance against Tokhtamysh's sons. In 1419, he was assassinated by one of Tokhtamysh's sons in Sarai. Edigu's dynasty in the Nogai Horde continued for about two centuries, until his last descendants moved to

, where they took baptism and became known as Princes Urusov and Yusupov.

Assessment

The Mamluk-era historian

Al-Maqrizi Al-Maqrīzī (, full name Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī, ; 1364–1442) was a medieval Egyptian historian and biographer during the Mamluk era, known for his interest in the Fat ...

describes him as being courageous, generous and someone "who loved Islamic scholars and sought to be close to the pious". He praises him for being a righteous Muslim who fasted and followed the laws of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Al-Maqrizi also says that Edigu prohibited the Tatars from selling their sons and due to this not many of them were bought to the Mamluk territories of Egypt and Syria.

References

Bibliography

* * (e-book). {{Authority control 1352 births 1419 deaths Nomadic groups in Eurasia 14th-century monarchs in Europe 15th-century monarchs in Europe 15th-century murdered monarchs Turkic mythology