Tsirkunov Andrey Valerievich

Tsirkunov Andrey Valerievich

Dec., 2025

Battle of Kulikovo, Dmitry Donskoy, Mamai, Mongolian religious policy, Orthodoxy, Islam.

It is well known that Mongol religious policy in the conquered territories was strictly regulated by the Yasa laws of Genghis Khan, and throughout the history of Russo-Horde relations, Russian sources contain no information about any religious oppression on the part of the conquerors. In this context, the intention of temnik Mamai to destroy Orthodoxy in the territory of northeastern Rus' and convert the people to Islam, as indicated by some sources in Old Russian literature, raises many questions. This article attempts to assess the veracity of this information by examining the fundamental principles of Mongol religious policy. Furthermore, an important key to understanding these intentions will be an assessment of the political circumstances facing the Horde Temnik Mamai on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo.

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license