Akhmat
Akhmat
(or Akhmed), died 1481; khan of the Great Horde (1465–81). In 1465 he came to power in an uprising against his brother, Khan Makhmud, who had ruled from 1459. Akhmat concluded a pact in 1472 with the Polish king Casimir IV, directed against Ivan III Vasil’evich. In 1476, Akhmat suggested that Ivan III acknowledge dependent vassalage under the Great Horde. But the ratio between the forces did not favor the Horde. In 1480, Akhmat undertook a new expedition against Moscow, which ended in complete failure. Rus’ finally freed itself from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Akhmat was killed on Jan. 6, 1481, at the mouth of the Donets by the Tiumen khan Ibak, who was allied with the Nogai.