Berke Khan (Mongolian: Бэрх) was the ruler of the Ulus of Jochi (or 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 (West) and was responsible of the first "official establishment" of Islam in a Mongol state and came to the aid of the Mamlukes in defence of the Holy Land in the Battle of Ain Jalut against another Mongol state, the Ilkha...
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Berke Khan (Mongolian: Бэрх) was the ruler of the Ulus of Jochi (or 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 (West) and was responsible of the first "official establishment" of Islam in a Mongol state and came to the aid of the Mamlukes in defence of the Holy Land in the Battle of Ain Jalut against another Mongol state, the Ilkhanate.
"Berkh" literally means "difficult", in the Mongolian language.
Berke was one of the sons of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, and Sultan Khatun. Berke was present, with several of his brothers, at the inauguration of his uncle Ogedei as Great Khan in 1229.
In 1236, Berke joined his brothers Orda, Sinkur, and Siban and an assortment of cousins under the leadership of Batu Khan. The vast army, comprising some 150,000 soldiers, marched from Siberia and into the territory of the Muslim Volga Bulgars and Kipchaks, whom they subdued....
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