Mamai

Mamai (Mongolian: Мамай; Tatar: Мамай, romanized: Mamay; 1325?–1380/1381) was a powerful Turco-Mongol military commander who held the rank of beylerbey in the Golden Horde. He was from the Kiyat clan. Contrary to popular misconception, he was not a khan (king), but was a kingmaker for several khans, and dominated parts or all of the Golden Horde for almost two decades in the 1360s and 1370s. Although he was unable to stabilize central authority during the 14th-century Golden Horde war of succession known as the Great Troubles, Mamai remained a remarkable and persistent leader for decades, while others came and went in rapid succession. His defeat in the Battle of Kulikovo by an alliance of the Russian principalities marked the beginning of the decline of the Horde, as well as his own rapid downfall.