ABSTRACT
Some Mamluk authors even got the impression that all Özbeg Khan's subjects followed the example of the new khan and converted to Islam of their own free will or under duress. However, this impression came about as a result of Özbeg’s deliberate misinformation and did not reflect the actual religious situation in the Golden Horde. Thus, a significant and influential group of nomads converted to Islam was formed in the Golden Horde at the time of Toqta Khan’s death. Khan Özbeg probably used the fact of the bloody suppression of the opposition to present his domain to the Egyptian sultan as a full-fledged Islamic state with a predominantly Muslim population. However, the Özbeg ambassadors’ statement contained deliberate exaggeration and distorted the actual religious situation in the Golden Horde. Rus’ chronicles mention Özbeg’s Muslim orientation without emotional colouring only in connection with the visit of the Kyiv metropolitan to the Horde and the confirmation of previous church privileges.
