The Great Troubles (Russian: Великая замятня, romanized: Velikaya zamyatnya, from Old East Slavic замѧтьнѧ, as found in Rus' chronicles), also known as the Golden Horde Dynastic War, was a war of succession in the Golden Horde from 1359 to 1381.
This era, which followed shortly after the Black Death had ravaged the cities of the Golden Horde, was characterised by two decades of near anarchy. A long series of short-reigning khans deposed and killed each other, only to suffer the same fate next. Mamai emerged as the most powerful Mongol warlord, frequently employing Rus' principalities such as Tver and Ryazan as his allies. Because he was not a Chingisid (descendant of Genghis Khan), Mamai had no legitimate claim to the throne, and instead used Chingisid puppet-khans to exercise political control.
