In order to completely eliminate Tokhtamysh’s forces, Timur once again mobilized a large army to the north.
Tokhtamysh was not to be outdone, assembling an even larger army.
However, before the battle, the Mongols and Turks under Tokhtamysh discovered that Timur’s army was different from theirs.
Although the Timurid Empire was theoretically a Mongol-Turkic regime, and its main force should have been nomadic cavalry from its own territory, this army surprisingly contained a large number of Persians.
Persians had always been known for their weak military and inability to fight, so filling the ranks with these people indicated that Timur’s strength had been greatly reduced, and he was merely putting on a brave face to bolster his own courage.
As a result, the nobles under Tokhtamysh became blindly overconfident, even disregarding the Khan himself’s orders, insisting on a decisive battle with Timur.
However, the combat effectiveness of the Persians under Timur was much higher than expected, and the Golden Horde army was defeated instead.
At this time, Purple Tent’s great general Guo Xian had already invaded Sarai Berke, leaving Tokhtamysh homeless, and he led a small number of remnants to Lithuania.
The former territory of the Golden Horde changed hands once again.
Timur had originally planned to completely destroy Sarai Berke to prevent any future rivals from emerging there who could threaten him.
However, the Purple Tent Khanate believed that under these circumstances, the enemy had lost the ability to make a comeback, so there was no need to abandon this city.
The Purple Tent Khanate was quite concerned about the north at that time, always wanting to reopen the Steppe Silk Road, and Sarai Berke’s location was crucial as a key hub for opening up trade routes, so it was reluctant to abandon or destroy it.
Timur had, after all, exerted the greatest effort, and to show respect, the Purple Tent Khan suggested renaming Sarai Berke to “Timur Sarai” to commemorate his illustrious military achievements.
Henceforth, this city would be jointly managed by both sides, collecting commercial taxes and tributes from the surrounding nomadic tribes.
Although at this time, the eastern section of the Steppe Silk Road had largely been cut off, as a regional trade center, Sarai city still had considerable profits.
Timur was very satisfied with this suggestion and agreed to their request.
After that, the Purple Tent Khanate also began to invest energy here.
Sarai means “city” in Persian.
The first Capital of the Golden Horde was “Batu Sarai,” established by Batu.
Later, the succeeding Khan Berke moved the Capital to the banks of the Volga River, establishing the new Capital “Sarai Berke.”
These places, even if destroyed many times throughout history, could always be rebuilt due to their important locations.
By the time Russia rose, the city of Tsaritsyn was established near Sarai Berke, and Batu Sarai became Astrakhan, demonstrating the significance of their geographical locations.
The Purple Tent Khanate’s main army was limited in number and could not remain here indefinitely, so the Khanate hired local Slavs to serve as guards.
The biggest threat here was the remnants of Tokhtamysh, and the Slavs had centuries of animosity with the surrounding nomadic tribes, so they fought very hard.
“Timur” means iron, and “Sarai” means city.
Therefore, the local Slavs also called it “Stalingrad,” which also means “Iron City.”
After the main army withdrew, Tokhtamysh’s remnants indeed launched several attacks, all of which were defeated by the mercenary defenders.
The city gradually stabilized and became a core for stabilizing the surrounding areas.
After dealing with Tokhtamysh, the Ottoman Sultanate, entrenched in Asia Minor and the Caucasus, became the next target.
Although its territory was small, the Ottoman was not an opponent to be underestimated.
The strength of such a state often cannot be determined by merely looking at its territory.
The Ottoman was located at the intersection of two civilizations, and could also be seen as a frontier region of the Arab Caliphate.
The cultural customs here were quite different from those in the hinterland.
The backbone of the Ottoman was a group of holy warriors known as ghazi.
Nomadic tribes, exiles, and fanatical believers continuously pouring in from the east provided him with an endless supply of soldiers, allowing the Sultan to deploy forces far exceeding the scope of his territory.
This tradition had a long history in Asia Minor.
In 1071, the Seljuk Turks defeated the Eastern Rome army at Manzikert, and it is generally believed that this battle opened the door for Turkic tribes to move westward.
Of course, this statement is not entirely accurate, because Turkic is only their own designation.
In the eyes of the most cultured Persians in the region, these people could only be called “Turkmen,” meaning people who are like Turks but not Turks—after all, Persians had seen true Turkic Khanates, and they certainly wouldn’t mistake these obviously fake barbarians.
Moreover, not all Turkmen tribes were Turkmen from Central Asia; in fact, the first wave to invade Asia Minor, plundering and occupying Roman territory, were mainly local Armenians.
The history of the Armenian state is very long, and their Christian church is even older than those denominations in Europe.
The historical territory of this country has varied greatly, often being a somewhat vague general term, with complex internal forces.
These Armenian tribes from the Caucasus quickly, under the banner of holy war, occupied a piece of land in Asia Minor and established the Danishmend Dynasty.
Therefore, the first “Turks” to invade Rome might not even have been Turkmen, but Armenians.
After several years of holy war in the area, and having a good time plundering, these Armenians seemed to realize that their religion was not quite right.
It was then that they reacted and announced their conversion to Islam.