High Middle Ages · Central Asia · Politics
1258
Sarai founded by Batu's successors
1258
On the lower Volga, Berke Khan founded or greatly expanded the new capital of the Golden Horde at Sarai. The city, built of mud brick and felt tents alternately, became a polyglot trading hub where Italian merchants, Russian princes, and Turkish nomads crossed paths. At its peak Sarai may have housed over half a million inhabitants, making it one of the largest cities in the medieval world.
In context
Also in 1258 (3 other events on record)
- Mongols sack Baghdad · Middle East · War
- Abbasid Caliphate extinguished after five centuries · Middle East · Politics
- Provisions of Oxford imposed on Henry III · Europe · Politics
Before and after in Central Asia
Before and after in Politics
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.