Orda Khan
Encyclopedia
Orda Ichen was a Mongol Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...

 and military strategist who ruled eastern part of the Ulus of Jochi during the 13th century.

First Khan of the Blue Horde

Orda Ichen ( c.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

 1204-1251 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

) is credited for founding the Blue Horde, he was the eldest son of Jochi
Jochi
Jochi was the eldest of the Mongol chieftain Genghis Khan's four sons by his principal wife Börte. An accomplished military leader, he participated in his father's conquest of Central Asia, along with his brothers and uncles.-Early life:...

 and the first grandson of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

. At the death of his father and grandfather, Orda Khan inherited the Eastern portions of his father’s lands, however, he agreed that his brother ruled the whole Jochid Ulus (also known as Golden Horde). Which mainly consisted of the territories between Lake Balkhash
Lake Balkhash
Lake Balkhash is one of the largest lakes in Asia and 12th largest continental lake in the world. It is located in southeastern Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, and belongs to an endorheic basin shared by Kazakhstan and China, with a small part in Kyrgyzstan. The basin drains into the lake via seven...

 and the Volga river
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...

, it was in these lands where Orda eventually founded the Blue Horde (also known as Koke Orda). West of the Volga river were the lands of his younger brother Batu Khan
Batu Khan
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...

, who became the first ruler of the White Horde and the Golden Horde.
The Great khan Guyuk
Guyuk
Guyuk may refer to:*Guyuk, Nigeria, a town*Uğurtaş, a town in Turkey, formerly called Güyük*Güyük Khan , the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire...

 ordered Temuge Otchigin
Temüge
Temüge was the youngest full-brother of Genghis Khan. As the youngest sibling, Temüge and his mother, by Mongol traditions, were allotted the most land and people by Genghis Khan during his coronation...

, who tried to illegally usurp the throne for himself, to be investigated by Orda and Mongke
Mongke
Mongke means "eternal" in Mongolian language and may refer to:-Medieval:* Möngke Khan , Great khan of the Mongol Empire* Yesü Möngke, khan of Chagatai khanate, 1247-1252* Mengu-Timur Mongke (also Mönkh, Monkh, Munkh) means "eternal" in Mongolian language and may refer to:-Medieval:* Möngke Khan...

 in c.1244.

Family tree origins

Hoelun
Hoelun
Hoelun was the mother of Genghis Khan and the wife of his father Yesugei, the chief of the Khamag Mongol confederation.-Early life:...

 from the Olkhunut
Olkhunut
Olkhunut was the tribe of Hoelun, the mother of Temüjin, more widely known as Genghis Khan. They helped Genghis to defeat the Naimans. The Olkhunut people were very closely related to the Khunggirad clan. Their descendants still live in Khovd Province of Mongolia and in Inner Mongolia....

 of Onggirat
Onggirat
The Hongirat , also known as Qongirat is a Central Asian tribe, one of the major divisions of the Mongols. Variations on the name include Onggirat, Wangjila , Yongjilie , and Guangjila in Chinese sources and Ongrat or Kungrat in Turkish.The original pastures of the Hongirats were in eastern...

 tribe was supposed to marry a Mergid
Merkit
The Mergid was one of the five major tribal confederations in Mongolian plateau in the 12th century.The Mergids inhabited in basins of the Selenge River and lower Orkhon River...

 warrior called Yehe Chiledu, but Yesugei
Yesugei
Yesügei Baghatur , was major chief of the Kiyad-Borjigin clan and the father of Temüjin , Hasar, Hachiun, Temüge, Temülen, Behter, and Belgutei. Yesügei was the son of Bartan Baghatur, who was the son of Khabul Khan, who was recognized as a khagan by the Jin Dynasty...

 Baghatur
Baghatur
Baghatur is a historical Turco-Mongol honorific title, in origin a term for "hero" or "valiant warrior".The term was first used by the steppe peoples to the north and west of China as early as the 7th century as evidenced in Sui dynasty records...

 from the Khiyad tribe abducted Hoelun while she was traveling from the Onggirat to the Mergid. This event triggered hostilities between the Mergit and Khiyad tribes.

Temüjin
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

 was born from the marriage between Hoelun and Yesugei. When Temüjin became 16 years old he married Börte Ujin from the Onggirat
Onggirat
The Hongirat , also known as Qongirat is a Central Asian tribe, one of the major divisions of the Mongols. Variations on the name include Onggirat, Wangjila , Yongjilie , and Guangjila in Chinese sources and Ongrat or Kungrat in Turkish.The original pastures of the Hongirats were in eastern...

 tribe, the Mergids took revenge by abducting Börte when Temüjin was 18. Temüjin formed an alliance with his blood brother Jamuha and his foster-father Toghril, the Mergids were defeated by the alliance which Temüjin had formed and his wife Börte was reclaimed.

Jochi supposedly was born shortly after Börte was liberated and Genghis Khan always accepted Jochi as his first born son, but to some it remained uncertain whether Temüjin Borjigin or Chilger Bökh was the real father of Jochi. As Genghis Khan’s first born son, Jochi was favored as rightful heir to the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

. It was Chagatai
Chagatai Khan
Chagatai Khan was the second son of Genghis Khan and first khan and origin of the names of the Chagatai Khanate, Chagatai language and Chagatai Turks....

 who brought up the dispute of Jochi’s illegitimacy, but Genghis Khan remained determined that Jochi was his legitimate first born son. It was when Genghis named Ögedei
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...

 as his rightful successor that Jochi rebelled against his father, Chagatai and Ögedei were sent against Jochi who died in February 1227 before it came to any hostilities. Jochi’s descendants were the oldest branch of the Genghis Khan family
Family tree of Genghis Khan
-Diagrammatic family tree:Only selected, prominent members are shown. Khagans are in bold.Wada Sei did pioneer work on this field, and Honda Minobu and Okada Hidehiro modified it, utilizing newly discovered Persian records and Mongol chronicles.-Detailed family tree:There was Börte Chino and his...

, although they were not favored for succession by other rivaling family members.

Younger brothers

Orda Ichen was the first born son of Jochi, his younger brothers were Batu, Berke
Berke
Berke Khan was the ruler of the Golden Horde who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Hordes from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde and was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the Mongol Empire...

, Shayban, Sinkur, Toga-Timur and Baul-Teval. After the death of Genghis Khan the Mongol empire was divided into four sub-khanates, after the invasion of Europe four other Khanates also established within the empire; the princes of the left wing commanded by Orda Khan, the Blue Horde commanded by Batu Khan, Sibirean Khanate commanded by Shayban and a Khanate on the upper reaches of the Volga river centered around Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria, or Volga–Kama Bolghar, is a historic Bulgar state that existed between the seventh and thirteenth centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers in what is now Russia.-Origin:...

 commanded by Toga-Timur (which later became known as the Qasim Khanate
Qasim Khanate
Qasim Khanate or Kingdom of Qasim was a Tatar territorial formation , vassal of Russia, which existed from 1452 till 1681 in the territory of modern Ryazan Oblast in Russia with its capital Kasimov, in the middle stream of the Oka River...

). All these were brothers of each other and Orda Khan was the oldest, Orda was known to have participated in the massive Mongol invasion of Rus' in 1237-1242. His younger brother, Batu Khan, claimed his authority over the Jochid Hordes in accordance with Orda's wish.

Invasion of Poland

Subutai
Subutai
Subutai was the primary military strategist and general of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan...

 & Batu Khan led two armies against Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, while Orda Khan with Chagatai's sons Baidar
Baidar
Baidar was the second son of Chagatai Khan.He participated in the European campaign with his nephew Büri from 1235-1241. He commanded the Mongol army assigned to Poland with Kadan and, probably, Orda Khan....

 & Kadan
Kadan
Kadaň , is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The city lies on the banks of the river Ohře. Although it is situated in an industrial part of the Czech Republic there is no major industry within the city and people usually work in offices or have to commute. There are two...

 attacked Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 as a diversion to prevent the Poles and Czechs from assisting Hungary in combat. Orda’s forces assaulted the southwestern border of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, then sacked the cities of Sandomierz
Sandomierz
Sandomierz is a city in south-eastern Poland with 25,714 inhabitants . Situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , previously in Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship . It is the capital of Sandomierz County . Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, a major tourist attraction...

 and Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

 in April 1241, but were unable to conquer Wrocław (Breslau), the capital of Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...

. While Orda was preparing siege on Wrocław, Baidar and Kadan received glowing reports that king Wenceslaus I of Bohemia was two days away with an army of 50,000 soldiers. Orda Khan broke off the siege and turned to Legnica where he intercepted the military forces of Henry II the Pious
Henry II the Pious
Henry II the Pious , of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław and Duke of Kraków and thus High Duke of all Poland as well as Duke of Southern Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. During 1238–1239 he also served as a regent of two other Piast duchies: Sandomierz...

, before there could be any kind of merging between the forces of Henry II and the forces of king Wenceslaus I.

Orda’s deployment of 20,000 mounted archers demonstrated speed & tactical superiority versus the slower more heavily armored European armies, series of deceptive Mongolian attacks separated the Polish formation making them vulnerable for salvoes of Mongolian arrows. A smoke screen was used to conceal the Mangudai’s withdrawal, thereby misleading Henry’s military forces. After the European knights pursued the fleeing Mangudai, the Mongols were able to separate the knights from the infantry and defeated them one by one. Henry II the Pious was intercepted while trying to escape the battlefield, his head was paraded on a spear while marching through the town of Legnica.

King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia arrived at the battle field too late. When he heard that one Mongol group raided as far as the Saxonian
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...

 town Meissen
Meissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...

 promptly marched there and seek reinforcements from Thuringia
Duchy of Thuringia
The Duchy of Thuringia was an eastern frontier march of the Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia, established by Dagobert I after his victory over the Slavic confederation of Samo at the Battle of Wogastisburg in 631/2...

 and Saxony. Meanwhile, rapid Mongol troops returned back to the East (i.e. Central Silesia) and tried attack Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...

 via Kłodzko Land
Kłodzko Land
Kłodzko Land is a historical region in southwestern Poland. Geographically speaking Kłodzko Land consists of the Kłodzko Valley and the surrounding Sudetes mountains. It is named after its capital city, Kłodzko....

 but they were stopped at the border. Afterwards Orda with Mangudai joined forces of Kadan and Baidar at Otmuchów
Otmuchów
Otmuchów is a town in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,317 inhabitants ....

 (Otmachau) and together quickly passing through Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

 (which severely looted and devastated) joining with the main Mongolian army in Hungary around the city of Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....

.

Death

Orda Khan died in 1251 before he could consolidate his ülüs (district). After his death his grandson Köchü
Köchü
Köchü was the Khan of the White Horde between c.1280-1302. He was the eldest son of Sartaqtay and Qujiyan of the Qongirat and a grandson of Orda Khan....

 extended the line of successors for the Blue Horde (White Horde in modern sources).

Descendants

Very little is known about Orda’s wife and children, however his dynastic lines lived on for many generations. His early successors were friendly towards Ilkhanate
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...

 and Yuan emperors
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

. Urus
Urus Khan
Urus Khan was the eighth Khan of the White Horde, and a disputable Khan of the Blue Horde, he was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. Urus himself is the direct ancestor of khans of the Kazakh Khanate.- Ancestor of Urus :...

 the eighth Khan of the White Horde was a direct descendant of Orda khan, Urus Khan became the leader of both the Blue and White Horde. Tokhtamysh
Tokhtamysh
Tokhtamysh was the prominent khan of the White Horde, who briefly unified the White Horde and Blue Horde subdivisions of the Golden Horde into a single state. He was a descendant of Genghis Khan's eldest grandson, Orda Khan or his brother Tuqa-Timur...

 was one of Orda's descendants, he dethroned the Batukhanids and ascended the throne of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

 in the late 14th century.

See also

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