Berke Khan converts to Islam

1261

Batu's brother, now lord of the Golden Horde, accepted Islam and turned against his cousin Hulagu of the Ilkhanate in outrage over the sack of Baghdad. A war opened between Mongol khanates, giving the surviving Muslim states a crucial diplomatic lifeline. Berke's conversion marked the first time a major Mongol ruler embraced Islam, beginning the gradual Islamization of the Golden Horde that would reshape Central Eurasian politics.