across the Kur, hoping to wipe it out, but Abaqa was forced to withdraw when Berke arrived with reinforcements. War against the Byzantines In 1265, Nogai led his army across the Danube, leading 20,000 men into Byzantine territory. He routed the Byzantine forces before him, and devastated the cities of Thrace. In 1266, the Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, anxious to make an alliance, gave his daughter Euphrosyne Palaiologina to Nogai as a wife. He gave much valuable fabric to the Golden Horde as tribute, and became an ally of the Horde, principally dealing with it through Nogai instead of the official khan. He also gifted Nogai pearls, jewels, and valuable garments, temporarily causing Nogai to abandon the animal skins he usually wore outside of battle. Nogai did however slyly ask if the jewels and clothes could ward off lightning bolts, prevent headache, or promote good health, before praising the practicality of the dog skins his people wore. De facto rule: 1266–1294 Berke died sometime in 1266. Despite his influence, Nogai did not try to seize rulership of the Golden Horde, settling for serving Mengu-Timur Khan. However he managed to exercise de facto control, with near-total control over the lands west of the Dnieper. In addition to his Turkic subjects he ruled the Ruthenians of Galicia-Volhynia, the Ossetians and part of the Vlachs directly. He also undertook his own foreign policy, sending envoys to the Mamluk Sultanate, forming marriage alliances with Byzantium and the Il-Khanate, and raiding various European kingdoms. In 1282, Nogai sent 4,000 Mongol soldiers to Constantinople, to help his father in law Emperor Michael suppress the rebels headed by John I Doukas of Thessaly. But Michael died and Andronikos II used the allied troops to fight against Serbia. Invasions of Bulgaria and of Eastern Roman Empire In 1271 and 1274, Nogai led raids against Bulgaria and Byzantium. In the first raid, the East Roman Emperor Michael VIII avoided the battle and offered his daughter as wife for Nogai In 1277, a popular movement led by Ivaylo of Bulgaria gained the support of many soldiers and nobles and defeated a column of Mongols raiding into their territory. In 1278-79 Nogai, annoyed by the uprising, personally led a force into Bulgaria. He defeated the Bulgarians, raided the country, and besieged Ivaylo in Silistra, however he withdrew after three months. Ivaylo subsequently escaped the Mongol blockade and led a Bulgarian force