full well Talabuga's distaste for him; he also sent letters to Talabuga's mother, saying he had personal advice to give to the khan that he could only do alone, essentially requesting a formal meeting of princes. Talabuga's mother advised him to trust Nogai, and subsequently, Talabuga disbanded most of his forces and showed up for a meeting with Nogai with only a small retinue. According to Rashid Al-Din, Nogai received Talabuga warmly and feigned illness to appear more harmless. However Nogai was duplicitous; he had arrived at the designated meeting spot accompanied by a large group of soldiers and Tokhta, as well as three sons of Mengu-Timur. While Nogai and Talabuga met, Nogai's men sprung out in an ambush, quickly capturing Talabuga and his supporters; Nogai, with the help of protégés, then strangled Talabuga to death. After this, he turned to the young Tokhta and said: "Talabuga has usurped the throne of your father, and your brothers who are with him have agreed to arrest you and put you to death. I deliver them up to you, and you may do with them as you will." Tokhta subsequently had them killed. For his role in placing Tokhta on the throne, Nogai received the revenues of the Crimean trade cities. Nogai then beheaded many of the Mongol nobles who were supporters of Talabuga, in order to consolidate the rule of his supposed puppet khan. Tokhta was declared khan in early 1291. Conflict with Tokhta and death: 1294–1300 However, Tokhta would prove a more headstrong ruler than either Tuda-Mengur or Talabuga. Nogai and Tokhta soon found themselves embroiled in a deadly rivalry; while they cooperated in raids against rebellious Rus' principalities, they remained in competition. Tokhta's father-in-law and wife often complained that Nogai seemed to consider himself superior to Tokhta, and Nogai repeatedly rejected any demands Tokhta made of him to attend his court. They also disagreed over the policy of trading rights for the Genoese and Venetian cities in Crimea. Two years after Nogai installed Tokhta, their rivalry came to a head and Tokhta set out to gather his supporters for a war against Nogai. Battle of Nerghi Plains Tokhta, with more control over the eastern portions of the empire, managed to gather a massive force, larger than Nogai's but reportedly less able at arms owing to the experience of Nogai's men in their wars in Europe. Marco Polo, drawing from