The legend of two golden horses, which for many years adorned the gates of the capitals of the Golden Odra - Sarai-Batu and Sarai-Berke, and then suddenly disappeared, dates back to the time of one of the greatest events in the history of the Russian state - the Battle of Kulikovo. The horses were made in full size by order of Batu Khan.

In historical chronicles, it is stated that the gates of the capital of the Golden Horde - Sarai Batu - were decorated with life-size golden horses of the so-called "solar suit".

The grandson of Genghis Khan decided to make his grandfather's dream come true - to create a world empire of the Mongols and reach the great sea. In 1240, Batu besieged and captured Kyiv, taking rich booty. Then he decided to lay the capital of his own kingdom. So in 1243 the Golden Horde appeared in the Volga lands. The empire included Western Siberia, Northern Khorezm, Volga Bulgaria, Northern Caucasus, Crimea, Desht-i-Kipchak (steppes from the Irtysh to the Danube). Batu Khan not only strengthened his vast possessions, but also decided to decorate the capital and the court with such luxury that not only his numerous relatives - the Mongol khans, but also the Chinese emperor himself "choked with envy on the bones." Gardens, carved mosques, fountains, plumbing - what was not in the capital of the Golden Horde! The income from the rich Kyiv booty went to decorate Batu's chambers with brocade and silk, Persian carpets. He wanted everyone entering the capital to immediately understand that he had visited the domain of the greatest ruler in the world.

But the golden horses were not destined to forever stand with their heads proudly raised at the gates of the great capital... The legend says that after the defeat on the Kulikovo field, the wounded Khan Mamai returned to Saray-Berke, where he died. He was supposedly buried under the city's protective wall and, as a token of gratitude for his military merits, they put him in the grave of one of the golden horses...
Historical truth does not always confirm folk tales. In fact, the defeat of Mamai in the battle with the Russian troops brought him, in addition to a physical wound, a spiritual wound - he lost power over the Golden Horde.
The uprisings of the Khan's nobility against Mamai followed one after another. Three times he was expelled from Saray-Berke. He had to rule mainly the western part of the Golden Horde, which included the lower Volga region, the mouths of the Don and Dnieper, and most importantly, the Crimea. When Khan Tokhtamysh did not let Mamai into the capital for the fourth time, he had to continue his flight to the Crimea. There he was killed by the messengers of the new ruler of the Golden Horde.
It is doubtful that Khan Tokhtamysh ordered to put one of the golden horses in the grave of Mamai (even in the Crimea). But one cannot exclude the possibility that the horse really ended up in the grave, however, of another Khan of the Golden Horde, under the wall of Sarai-Berke ...
Much more interesting is the disappearance of the second golden horse from the gates of Sarai-Batu. The legend connects his disappearance with... the Cossacks! But how did the Cossacks know the way to the capitals of the Golden Horde? "Cossack" is a non-Russian word. It came to us from the steppe nomads, who from time immemorial raided the lands of the Eastern Slavs. For many years, the Khan's Golden Horde specially formed flying cavalry detachments from Russian and Ukrainian youths taken prisoner, calling them Cossacks. As a rule, going on another raid on the lands of the Eastern Slavs, the Horde let the Cossacks flock ahead of them, who were supposed to die first in a fight with their blood brothers. A turning point in the mood of the Cossack slaves occurred during the Battle of Kulikovo. At the decisive moment, they refused to be the vanguard in the attack on the Russian troops, turned aside, and after the defeat of Mamai with all the kosh, they went over to the side of the winners. By agreement with Dmitry Donskoy, the Cossacks remained a military camp on the Don, taking over the protection of the southern borders of Slavic Russia.

Now it becomes clear how the Cossacks knew the way to Sarai-Berka and Sarai-Batu, they knew about the golden horses standing at the gates of the capitals. As the old men used to say, in the Zavolzhsky Cossack villages (which is near the Astrakhan path), pursuing the retreating Horde troops, the Cossack patrols became so bold that they began to penetrate in small groups deep into the territory of the horde, which was decreasing every day. One such detachment, taking advantage of the panic in the camp of the enemy, broke right into the capital Sarai. And, as the Cossack Alekseevich once said, this detachment took possession of the city for several hours. (Lashchilin B. "It was." Nizhne-Volzhsky book publishing house, Volgograd, 1982, p.12). Now it is difficult to say whether the golden horses were the real purpose of the raid or whether they accidentally caught the eye of the Cossacks. In any case, planning such a daring action in advance is pointless - stealing heavy statues, which are the pride of the khan and the whole nation, is tantamount to suicide. However, the daring Cossack patrol broke off the base of one of the golden horses and turned back. The overloaded convoy moved very slowly, so the Horde had time to come to their senses and organize a chase. Sensing something was wrong, the Cossacks turned around and took an unequal battle. Those who were catching up were hundreds of times more catching up, so the outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion: all the Cossacks died, no one surrendered, many times more Horde horsemen died. But the Horde never regained the golden horse. There was no statue near the mountain of corpses. The Cossacks could not take her far away - there was no time, which means they hid her and the rest of the treasures somewhere nearby.

In which of the steppe streams did the Cossacks throw the golden horse? One must think that they didn’t just abandon them, but, having made a dam, covered the valuable booty with sand, letting the river flow again along its course ... Were there horses at all? And if so, where is the first, and where is the second golden horse? To this day, there are no answers to these questions, but many treasure hunters still do not lose hope.

based on the materials of the Astrakhan Museum of Local Lore, the Encyclopedia of Miracles, Mysteries and Secrets and the Treasure Hunter's Library (http://kl1.ru/)

Historians, archaeologists and lovers of antiquity have been dreaming for many decades to find the legendary treasure - golden horses, once cast on the orders of Batu Khan. Whoever finds them will not only be able to end their days in boundless luxury. The cost of the precious artifact is such that, as if in the movie "Shirley Myrli", the whole country will be able to rest in the Canary Islands for three years. Where is the treasure to be found? And does it really exist?

On a dank March of 1242, Khan Batu, swinging in an argamak saddle embroidered with gold brocade, returned to the Great Steppe. The grandson of Genghis Khan, the shaker of the universe, was pleased: the western campaign was definitely a success. Behind were the devastated Russian principalities squeezed by the Mongol lasso; the strength of his tumens was recognized by Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, whose knights clad in steel armor could not do anything with nimble warriors on steppe horses. Now the path of the army and Batu himself lay to the east, where, near the mouth of the Itil, he was to camp. For the Mongols, accustomed to constant nomadism, it was not difficult to spend several months in an open field: portable felt yurts reliably protected from rain and sun, sheltering not only people, but also cattle in case of bad weather. But having tasted all the delights of European life, Batu no longer wanted to huddle in a tent. The luxury of the palaces of Krakow and Pest struck the imagination of the steppe ruler. Now he wanted to use the achievements of civilization himself.

Build a city? The will of the Khan, as you know, is the law. Woe to those who go against her!

Stepnoy Saray

Batu Khan ordered to found his city, which was destined to soon become the capital of the Great Horde, on the banks of the Akhtuba, the left tributary of the Volga. Perhaps, in the whole world at that time there was not a single ruler who could give such an order by force. But is it really in vain that the ferocious Mongol army traversed half of Europe with fire and sword, subjugating dozens of peoples? By order of Batu, caravans were drawn from all the conquered lands to the Volga. Thousands of horses and camels were carrying colored glass, luxurious carpets and elegant furniture to the future city. And most importantly - chained masters: masons and architects. Long gone are the days when, having taken another city, the Mongols slaughtered all its inhabitants to the last. The cunning Chinese, whose capital fell under the blows of battering rams, taught their new masters: it’s better for the conquered peoples to pay tribute, because you can’t take much from the dead. And at the same time they strengthen the greatness and power of the Horde with their skills and talents.

Stone-cutters and jewelers were brought in from Kyiv, Vladimir with tears gave his best carpenters to the steppes, and the Chinese sent engineers and architects. The new city, which arose from scratch in just a couple of years, was named Sarai-Batu - Batu Palace. Archaeologists have already established that in the middle of the 13th century there was no city in the world bigger and more comfortable than the Mongolian capital. Its population was 75 thousand people, while even in Paris there were only about 70 thousand. In addition, the subjects of the French king took water from the Seine, and poured sewage from the windows of houses directly onto the street, which is why the dirt on them was such that they had to move on stilts. In the steppe Saray, there were not only water supply, but also sewerage! And inside the Mongolian houses there was a heating system - a pipeline through which warm air was supplied from the stove.

On the highest hill above the bank of the Akhtuba stood the Khan's palace. “At the upper, northern end of the island, on a rocky hill, a small toy house with a light lace turret shimmered with joyful bright colors of a strange unusual appearance, all lined with colored tiles,” wrote Vasily Yan. – Each tile had a design with swirls and a patterned border, and a thin petal of pure gold was fused into each flower. In the bright rays of the morning sun, the whole house sparkled and shone, as if made of hot coals.

But still, the main decoration of the palace was considered to be two horse statues that stood at the main entrance. According to legend, the ruler of the Mongols ordered to turn into gold all the tribute collected during the year from the conquered peoples, and from that gold cast the figures of horses. Sparkling in the sun, they struck the imagination of the guests of the city, personifying the power of the Horde state. According to the legend, 15 tons of noble metal were used to make the statues.

Golden horses pleased the eyes of the Horde khans for almost a century and a half. At the beginning of the 14th century, the statues were moved to the new capital - Novy Sarai, or Sarai-Berke, located near the current village of Tsarev near Volgograd. And soon the history of the empire of Genghis Khan had already begun to decline. And when, in 1380, after the defeat on the Kulikovo field, the ruler of the Horde, Mamai, had to urgently reel in fishing rods, he took the golden horses with him. Since then, no one has seen them again.

Dark mounds sleep

Regarding where the legendary "horses of Batu" may now be, there is a whole set of versions. According to the most common one, one of the statues was buried in a mound along with the body of Mamai, who died in the battle. But it has not yet been possible to find the grave of the Mongol commander. Although some historians express the opinion that the legendary Mamaev Kurgan in Volgograd is the last refuge of the Horde temnik, and not at all the place of his advanced outpost, as is commonly believed. Indeed, objects related to the Mongol invasion were found on the mound, but there is no more weighty evidence for this version. And no one will allow excavations under the "Motherland" in search of a mythical treasure. Moreover, the Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov regions, as well as the Crimea, where ancient burial mounds are apparently invisible, claim the location of the mound where Mamai is allegedly buried.

In search of Horde treasures in the middle of the 19th century, excavations of mounds in the Novy Saray area were carried out by archaeologist Tereshchenko. It seemed that luck was about to smile at him - in the ground he found jewelry, a golden bowl and the crown of Khan Dzhanibek. But no horses, no matter how much they dug in the district, could not be found.

As for the second statue, a legend that has come down from the depths of centuries also describes its fate. According to her, the ancestors of the present Don Cossacks, who already inhabited the Wild Field at the beginning of the 14th century, stole the horse. According to legend, the Cossack detachment made a daring raid on Saray-Berke, when the main forces of the Horde were on the campaign. Making a noise, they smashed the statue into pieces, loaded it onto carts and took them to their kurens. Having learned about what had happened, the Horde immediately returned from the march and rushed in pursuit of the daredevils. As a result, the Cossacks had no choice but to drown the horse in the river that had turned up in the hope of returning later and picking up the prey. Alas, this did not happen - in the battle all the participants in the raid died, taking the secret of the golden horse with them to the grave.

Or maybe they never existed? However, the legend is supported by the chronicles that have come down to us. His contemporary, the Flemish monk and envoy of the French King Louis IX Saint Guillaume de Rubruk, who visited Saray-Batu, wrote about the golden horses of Batu Khan. “Even from afar, we saw a sparkle at the gate and decided that a fire had started in the city. When we got closer, we realized that it was two life-sized golden statues of horses shining in the rays of the rising sun. How much gold went into this miracle? he asked in his book Journey to the Eastern Countries.

The science fiction writer and part-time venerable paleontologist Ivan Efremov wrote about the discovery of a golden horse in the distant future in The Andromeda Nebula. So, did you believe in the legend?

And although many historians still question the fact that the statues could have survived to this day, and believe that they were not made of cast gold, but at best hollow, every year, leaving for excavations, dozens of archaeologists in their hearts hope: a suddenly let a golden mane sparkle among the black earth under a brush?

Another "oriental tale" from some shaggy Tsarkon. It is a pity that this competition was covered, I liked it very much.

Golden horses of Batu

Sain Khan died slowly and painfully. For many years, invisible shaitans twisted his fingers, pulled the tendons from his elbows and knees, hung like an unbearable load on his arms and legs. And now he didn't even have the strength to get up off the pillow. The golden embroidery of carpets blurred before my eyes, mixed up, folded into familiar images and figures. Sain Khan wiped the sweat from his forehead, sighed, chasing away the visions.
Vekil, waiting for orders behind the canopy of the tent, listened. Sain Khan was talking to someone.
- You carry me, and you - the last of my kind. My good ones ... - and strange sounds, as if the horse snorted, stepped over with its hooves. - While you are here, my city is eternal...
When the vekil looked into the tent, Sain Khan was lying motionless on the carpeted pillows. Swollen yellowish face, completely covered with red spots, closed eyes, heavy breathing. The servant slowly approached, amazed at how thin and weak the majestic and imperious khan, still yesterday, seemed frozen on precious bedspreads. Suddenly the ruler raised himself on the couch and looked at him in amazement.
- What is it knocking at me? - with a sharp movement, he threw forward swollen knotted hands, digging them into the wrists of the vekil. - Knocking.
Like a rockfall fell on the servant along with the touch of the dying khan. Hundreds of devils pounded with hammers in the veins of Sain Khan, so quickly and strongly that this sound deafened the old gatekeeper, echoed in his temples and heart. Vekil yanked his hands out of the tenacious red claws and staggered back, while Sain Khan grunted and slowly fell back onto the pillows. His eyes rolled back, and a thin trickle of saliva leaked from the corner of his mouth. He was dead.

Because of the fear experienced by the gatekeeper, because of the indistinct rustles and mutterings of the dying man, a legend arose that his golden horses came to Batu Khan before his death. Indeed, only to them could he say "my good ones."

Batu Khan was the right host. A nomad to the marrow of his bones, he somehow understood that real greatness does not come with military campaigns and victories, but with something more tangible and durable. Or maybe, destroying and burning other people's cities, all his life he felt envy of those who once built, created, grew them, like a shoot in callused palms. And to those who will raise them from the dust and ruins, when his shaggy, wild horde rolls back to their original boundaries, as the salty surf inevitably returns to the sea.
And then, to the point of pain, to a cramp in clenched jaws, he wanted his city. Its capital, the greatest and richest of all that existed on earth. Money, stone, slaves - nothing will be denied to the builders. The khan has everything - it is not for nothing that almost half of the world pays him a constant tribute. And the khan will spare nothing so that in the lower reaches of Itil his city rises and shines like a fabulous miracle for many centuries.
So Sarai-Batu was built - the capital of Batu Khan's ulus - a city that shook the imagination of contemporaries from other countries. A pearl necklace from mosques, palaces, handicraft quarters, adorned with the diamond of the Khan's palace - a shining diamond, because its walls and roof were covered with thin sheets of pure gold. Maybe then this part of the Great Horde began to be called Golden?
Around 1246, Batu Khan's favorite horse died. Human deaths could neither surprise nor touch the inhabitants of Sarai-Batu, any of whom still did not know in the morning whether he would live until evening, or with the light of the first stars his house would be plundered and burned, his wife given to another, and he himself would appear before the forefathers with report on their good and bad deeds. The Khan's anger was terrible and impetuous, the calculation was cruel and merciless, neither one nor the other gave the offender the slightest chance. And those who were far from the Khan's tent were in danger either in military campaigns or in ordinary sorties. But there were so many people, they flowed in rivers to the capital of the Golden Horde from Mongolia, the Kipchak steppes, from the Caucasian intermountains; and this Arabian horse was alone, so Batu Khan grieved greatly for his loss. He was too accustomed to arbitrating life and death to succumb so easily to someone else's decision. He did not want to let go of his horse.
Maybe there is no magic that can bring the dead back to life. But are love and longing not able to breathe soul into a new, golden body? Batu Khan ordered to cast his horse from gold, life-size. He entrusted this work to a man who already knew the wonders of the awakening of solid metal. Before the Horde slavery, in another, half-forgotten life, a captive Russian master taught to speak and sing Kyiv bells.
- Revive my horse, - said the khan, looking into empty blue eyes and indifferently chewing a fig berry. - Revive, and if I am satisfied, you will be rewarded. Fulfill my will.
Fifteen tons of gold went to the horse, but it was worth it. The horse turned out to be alive, on high chiseled legs, with a proudly planted head and waving mane. The ruler ordered to insert rubies into his eyes and cast another one of the same. Batu Khan decided to place golden horses at the city gates.
When the horses were ready, ninety-nine gifts were handed over to the foundry worker, as a sign of the highest khan's disposition. Probably, he did not need so many gifts, he was waiting for only one, but the most important thing - freedom. Batu Khan read it in his eyes. He ordered the master to be brought to his golden silk tent.
“I cannot have you make such horses for another capital,” he said. And, referring to the senior turgaud: - Kill him!
Thurgaud finished off the Russian caster only with the third blow, cutting off his hands first, so that he could not repeat his latest creation even in heaven. Batu Khan frowned, he did not want unnecessary cruelty. However, what did it matter?
Golden horses were installed at the gates of Saray-Batu. They shone so brightly that travelers from afar thought the city was on fire. But it was a different fire, the fire of the sun reflected from polished manes and groats, a symbol of the power and authority of the Golden Horde, a symbol of the immortality of the khan and his horse. On one of the pedestals, Batu Khan ordered the word "mine" to be carved, and on the other - "your".

In the last years of his life, Batu Khan received the nickname Sain, which means "fair." In 1256 he died, leaving his son Sartak in power. Just a year later, Berke, the brother of Batu the Just, sat on the throne of the Golden Horde. To do this, he had to poison both nephews, but the ivory throne, with gold inlays, was too desirable for anything to stop Berke Khan. He had spent too many years in his brother's shadow, lusting for power; only power did not bring him deliverance from thirst. The glory of Batu, the great warrior and ruler, haunted him years later. He physically could not stay in Sarai-Batu, live in his brother's palace, walk on his carpets, sleep on his pillows. Every now and then it seemed to him that Sain Khan had not died, he was somewhere nearby, behind the canopy, was about to enter and ask him for his sons. The blood froze in the veins of Berke Khan, his hands froze, as in winter in a frosty wind. How many times brother Batu could deal with him, destroy him, but he didn’t. But now, after death, he came to his palace almost daily, forcing Berke to listen to the rustle of silk sheets, muffled footsteps behind his back, dreary sighs. The new Khan, in horror, counted the berries into bunches of grapes on a dish decorated with emeralds and yahonts; measured the level of wine in a chased glass. There were not enough berries, the wine was melting, and it was unbearable. "Today he eats my grapes, and tomorrow he will plunge a dagger into the jugular vein," Berke thought, feeling his wrinkled neck. He needed another city, his own, just as once Sain Khan needed his own city.
In 1262, Berke built a new capital, a hundred kilometers north of the old one, and transported golden horses to it. Not wanting to damage the precious sculptures, he ordered them to be taken along with the pedestals, but one plate, with the inscription "yours", cracked, and it still had to be replaced. In Sarai Berk, the golden horses were again placed at the city gates.

After the victory of the Russians on the Kulikovo field in 1380, the star of Horde luck finally set. Russia rose from the ashes, raised its head, walked towards the Mongol army, fearing neither pain nor death. Now the proximity to the Russian lands was not profitable, but dangerous, and this played a bad joke on the Horde capital. One day, the Cossack patrol, intoxicated by the feeling of imminent freedom, decided to suddenly visit Sarai-Berka in order to frighten the inhabitants and, if possible, plunder the city. This dashing and reckless sortie turned out to be surprisingly successful: in those days, the Khan's troops were in turmoil after the Kulikov field. The guard at the gates of the capital was small, the Cossacks easily smashed it to smithereens and, feeling like masters of the situation, wanted to take the golden horses with them. With difficulty, but they managed to break one sculpture from the old pedestal; the booty was wrapped in sackcloth, loaded onto a convoy and taken home.
By that time, the remnants of the Horde army, camped at Sarai-Berke, learned about another shame that had fallen on their heads, and the Mongols rushed after the crazy brave men. The same could not move quickly, because the convoy with the golden horse turned out to be too heavy and drove slowly. Although, perhaps, the Cossacks were not in too much of a hurry: they probably understood that they had signed their own death warrant, and there was no difference whether the Horde would catch up with them a little earlier or a little later.

It was spring. The steppe, fresh and bright, washed by thunderstorms, was adorned with scarlet poppies, shining in the sun, like Batu Khan's silk robe. Everything bloomed and grew in the life-giving floodplain of Akhtuba: grasshoppers chirped, lizards and snakes rustled, birds sang happy songs above, and even the air itself seemed to ring from the sun's rays, as from stretched strings.
Suddenly, a strange silence reigned, as if all sounds were behind a barrier invisible to the human eye. Even the creak of the wheels of the overloaded convoy became almost inaudible. A low whistle sounded over the steppe. The Cossacks trembled. They were not afraid of either the Mongol hordes or the princely wrath - but this whistle frightened them. The horses also shuddered, stopped, neighed softly, spinning their ears. As if in response, the sackcloth on the wagon train stirred. The riders looked at her in horror, not daring to move, and only quickly crossed themselves. Someone alive fought and kicked where they laid the golden statue. Finally, the sackcloth slipped, and a dark blinking eye appeared on a silky muzzle, a straightened ear ... Swaying, a magnificent Arabian horse of golden color stood up on the wagon train, shook its head, waving its long mane in the wind. He jumped down, listened unhurriedly and galloped off, rushing like a sparkling arrow towards the whistle. The Cossacks saw how the horse stopped in the distance, and someone saddled it, like a man in a blue robe or fur coat trimmed with fur. However, none of them could say for sure, and in a moment the horse completely disappeared over the horizon. At that moment, the cotton curtain fell, and the Russians clearly heard the noise and hubbub of the khan's army catching up with them.
They did not even think to run away or, God forbid, surrender to the Mongols. After a short prayer for the last time, the Cossacks turned around to face the Horde and accepted an unequal battle. They fought to the death, and there were ten times more Horde than them, so all the dashing daredevils laid down their wild heads there, in the middle of the scarlet steppe. Only when the last of the Russians stopped breathing, the Mongols were able to approach the convoy and found that it was empty! The golden horse was nowhere to be found - neither under the sackcloth, nor next to it, nor under a pile of bloodied bodies.

The Horde warriors never found the horse, which is why the legend was born that the Cossacks threw him on the way to a lake or stream, intending to return for him later. There are too many inconsistencies in this assumption. First, would the Cossacks drown the precious horse in Akhtuba? Probably not, because it would be almost impossible to find him later. So they had to choose a small and conspicuous body of water. After all, even being ready for death, a person still hopes that he will survive and, of course, get rich. Especially if it is a Russian who believes in God's providence.
And what - secondly? At that time, as well as many centuries later, there were many lakes and rivers in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, but after the construction of the Volga hydroelectric power station, the spring waters, flowing in the usual course from all over Russia to the Akhtuba fertile fields, stopped behind the iron gates of the dam. The spills were crushed, revealing to the curious eye the depths of the muddy bottom. In addition, hordes of treasure hunters fell upon the remains of the ancient Horde, scattering bit by bit, bit by bit what was left of both the great capitals and the warriors who fell in the steppes. Even if the golden horse lay peacefully for almost six centuries in a natural cache, in the twentieth century it would inevitably have to be discovered. But they didn't find it.
No more plausible is the legend of the second golden horse, which the Cossacks did not have time or could not knock down from the pedestal and take away with them. It is believed that he was put in a mound along with the murdered Khan Mamai, and this mound is located somewhere in the Volga steppes, and supposedly Khan Mamai guards this treasure even after his death. But who would allow the horse of the great Batu, the founder of the Golden Horde, to be given to the rootless Polovtsian temnik, the loser who lost the future of the Mongol race, who lost the torch of primacy from inept hands - which was immediately picked up by inspired and ardent Slavs? No, after the defeat in the Battle of Kulikovo, Mamai never managed to regain his former power, received only because of civil strife and the weakness of the legitimate heirs to the Golden Horde throne. He was almost immediately attacked by Tokhtamysh, a real Genghisid, although not a direct descendant of Batu, and Mamai fled to the Crimea, to Feodosia, for help from his Genoese creditors. But he had nothing to pay off with overseas merchants, except perhaps with his own life - he paid with his life, dying in 1380 in Feodosia, or Cafe, from a thieves' stab in the back. He was buried in the same place, not far from Kafa, and the village, which later grew up next to his burial mound, was called Sheikh-Mamai for a long time for a reason. Yes, and Sarai-Berke was never the headquarters of Mamai, the Polovtsian Khan only from time to time managed to transfer his troops beyond the blue border of the Volga ... no, he had no right to this horse. Rather, the horse should have belonged to Tokhtamysh, but, probably, the fate of both of them cracked along with that stone slab on which the magical destiny was inscribed. Who, when and how set the horse free is unknown, but in 1395, when Timur's troops plundered and burned to the ground the capital of the masterful Mongol khan, there was no golden treasure in it.

And so they disappeared, both golden horses of Batu disappeared into death and battles. True, the old-timers of those parts say that one of them can sometimes be seen in the steppe, especially in spring: he jumps, as he flies, over bloody poppies and cries plaintively, restlessly - he calls either his lost master, or his more successful brother.

The order was carried out exactly, but until now, people's rumors differ on the question of whether those horses were hollow or completely golden. Cast shiny horses with burning ruby ​​eyes were placed at the entrance to the capital of the Golden Horde Khanate at the city gates. Khans were replaced, but the golden statues were still the personification of the power of the state.

When the capital was transferred to the new Sarai (near the present village of Tsarev, Volgograd region), built by Khan Berke, the golden horses were also transported. When Mamai became Khan, the former prosperity of the Khanate came to an end. Russian troops defeated Mamai's army on the Kulikovo field, and Mamai was forced to flee...

The fate of the golden horses is not known for certain. Legends say that one horse was buried along with the body of Mamai, the exact location of the grave is unknown. They say that somewhere on one of the hills near Akhtuba only one golden horse appears. But where is the other?

As the old men used to say in the Trans-Volga Cossack villages (which is near the Astrakhan path), pursuing the retreating Horde troops, the Cossack patrols became so bold that they began to penetrate in small groups deep into the territory of the horde, which was decreasing every day. One such detachment, taking advantage of the panic in the camp of the enemy, broke right into the capital Sarai. This detachment took possession of the city for several hours.

Now it is difficult to say whether the golden horses were the real purpose of the raid or whether they accidentally caught the eye of the Cossacks. In any case, planning such a daring action in advance is pointless - stealing heavy statues, which are the pride of the khan and the whole nation, is tantamount to suicide. Nevertheless, the daring Cossack patrol broke off the base of one of the golden horses and turned back.

The overloaded convoy moved very slowly, so the Horde had time to come to their senses and organize a chase. Sensing something was wrong, the Cossacks turned around and took an unequal battle. Those who were catching up were hundreds of times more catching up, so the outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion: all the Cossacks died, no one surrendered, many times more Horde horsemen died. But, despite the losses suffered, the Horde did not regain the golden horse.

The Horde never found out the truth, because not one of the Cossacks surrendered and did not betray his comrades. There was no statue near the mountain of corpses. The Cossacks did not have time to take her far, which means they hid her and the rest of the treasures somewhere nearby. To bury in the steppe - this also takes time. So you drowned?

So where is the first and where is the second golden horse? Centuries later, this question still hasn't been answered...

The horses of Batu Khan remain the golden dream of treasure hunters. According to the "chest hunters", the Khan's treasure was buried on the banks of the Akh-Tuba River, just below the city of Leninsk, Volgograd Region. In one of the Akhtuba burial mounds, there are supposedly golden horses with ruby ​​eyes. They are cast from gold collected by the Baskaks from the inhabitants of Ryazan and Kiev. The golden horses of Batu were in the capital of the Golden Horde until the time when the army of Khan Mamai was defeated on the Kulikovo field. After that, the huge golden horses disappeared. They could not be taken far, the horses were very heavy. Treasure hunters are therefore inclined to trust the version that one of the Akhtuba mounds became the "stable" for the Batu's horses.

The legend of the golden horses begins after the ruin of Ryazan and Kyiv by Batu Khan. Returning to the lower reaches of the Volga, Batu built here a beautiful capital city with mosques, palaces, fountains, chic gardens, and water supply. Skillful craftsmen and builders from different countries conquered by Batu worked on the creation of the city. When the capital Sarai-Batu was built, the khan ordered that all the tribute collected during the year be turned into gold and two full-length horses were cast from it. Batu's horses with large rubies instead of eyes personified the greatness of the Golden Horde state and stood like guards at the city gates, at the entrance to the capital.

After the death of Batu, his brother Berke, who became khan, moved the horses to his capital - Berke-Saray (near the village of Tsarev, Volgograd region). The power of the Horde state weakened with the accession to the throne of Khan Mamai, and after the defeat of Mamaev's troops on the Kulikovo field, the Tatar-Mongol yoke completely comes to an end. Since that time, the fate of the golden horses of Batu is also unknown. According to legends and stories of local old-timers of the Trans-Volga region, one of the horses was buried along with the body of Mamai in one of the many mounds of Akhtuba.

Ruins of Berke Saray

But where is the other horse then?

According to the stories of old people in the Trans-Volga Cossack villages, once a Cossack detachment, taking advantage of the panic that had arisen in the enemy’s country, broke right into the capital Saray and broke off the head of one of Batu’s golden horses, an attempt on which meant signing a death sentence for themselves. Turning back, the overloaded Cossack convoy could not move quickly, and the Horde had time to come to their senses and give chase. The Cossacks accepted an unequal battle, and everyone died, preferring death to captivity. However, the Horde could not regain the statue of the horse, since it was not among the corpses of the Cossacks and the defeated convoy. Apparently, the Cossacks hid the gold booty somewhere nearby. However, they hardly succeeded in burying the statue - it would take a lot of time. Probably the second golden horse was drowned.

At different times, rumors appeared and disappeared that Batu's golden horses had been found. Currently, these valuable artifacts are considered not found, enticing treasure hunters who are thirsty for gold, jewelry and adventures.