Tokhtamysh (,, ), (c. 1342–1406) was the Khan (ruler) of the Golden Horde, who briefly succeeded in consolidating the Blue and White Hordes into a single polity. Tokhtamysh belonged to the royal Mongolian dynasty of Borjigin, tracing his ancestry to Genghis Khan. Spending most of his younger years fighting against his father's cousin Urus Khan and his sons, Tokhtamysh sought help from the Turco-Mongol warlord Timur with whose help he succeeded in defeating his enemies. Tokhtamysh rose to power during tumultuous period in the Golden Horde, which was severely weakened after a long period of division and internecine conflict. From a fugitive, Tokhtamysh had become a powerful monarch, quickly solidifying his authority in both wings of the Golden Horde. Encouraged by his success, as well as the growth of his manpower and wealth, Tokhtamysh went on a military expedition to the Russian principalities, sacking Moscow in 1382. He reasserted the Tatar-Mongol hegemony over its Russian vassals and brought about the resumption of payment of tribute by the vassals. A turning point in Tokhtamysh's rule was his military confrontations with his former protector Timur, who invaded the Golden Horde and twice defeated Tokhtamysh. Crushing defeats for the Golden Horde undid Tokhtamysh's all previous achievements and ultimately led to his own destruction. Tokhtamysh has been called the last great ruler of the Golden Horde. Ancestry According to the detailed genealogies of the Muʿizz al-ansāb and the Tawārīḫ-i guzīdah-i nuṣrat-nāmah, Tokhtamysh was a descendant of Tuqa-Timur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, the eldest son of Chinggis Khan. They provide the following ancestry: Tūqtāmīsh, son of Tuy-Khwāja, the son of Qutluq-Khwāja, the son of Kuyunchak, the son of Sārīcha, the son of Ūrung-Tīmūr, the son of Tūqā-Tīmūr, the son of Jūjī. According to Muʿīn-ad-Dīn Naṭanzī (previously known as the "Anonymous of Iskandar"), Tokhtamysh's mother was Kutan-Kunchek of the Khongirad tribe. Older scholarship followed the inaccurate testimony of Naṭanzī in making Urus Khan and, by extension, Tokhtamysh, descendants of Jochi's son Orda. This erroneous view was abandoned only gradually, first for Tokhtamysh, and later for Urus. Although Urus and Tokhtamysh are often described as uncle and nephew, they were in fact fourth cousins. Opposition to Urus Khan Tokhtamysh's father, Tuy Khwāja, was the local ruler of the Mangyshlak peninsula. He refused to join the forces of his cousin and suzerain, Urus, the khan of the former Ulus of Orda centered on Sighnaq, for a campaign