# Orda (organization)

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"Mongol horde" redirects here. For the hardcore punk band, see [Möngöl Hörde](/source/M%C3%B6ng%C3%B6l_H%C3%B6rde).

Type of organization

An **orda** (also **ordu**, **ordo**, or **ordon**) or **horde** was a historical sociopolitical and military structure found on the [Eurasian Steppe](/source/Eurasian_Steppe), usually associated with the [Turkic](/source/Turkic_peoples) and [Mongol](/source/Mongols) peoples. This form of entity can be seen as the regional equivalent of a [clan](/source/Clan) or a [tribe](/source/Tribe) of nomads.[1] Some successful ordas gave rise to [khanates](/source/Khanate). The original term did not carry the meaning of a large khanate such as the [Golden Horde](/source/Golden_Horde). These structures were contemporarily referred to as *ulus* ("nation" or "tribe").

## Etymology

Look up ***[horde](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/horde)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[Etymologically](/source/Etymologically), the word *ordu* ultimately comes from the [Turkic](/source/Turkic_languages) *ordu* which means "army" in Turkic and Mongolian languages, as well as "seat of power"[2] or "royal court".[3][4] In English, it was directly or indirectly borrowed from Latin *orda*,[1] or from Polish *horda*.[5]

Within the [Liao Empire](/source/Liao_Empire) of the [Khitans](/source/Khitan_people), the word ordo was used to refer to a nobleman's personal entourage or court, which included servants, retainers, and bodyguards. Emperors, empresses, and high ranking princes all had ordos of their own, which they were free to manage in practically any way they chose.

In modern times the term is also used to denote [Kazakh](/source/Kazakhs) tribal groupings, known as [zhuz](/source/Zhuz).[6][7] The primary ones are the [Younger Horde](/source/Younger_Horde) (junior zhuz) in western [Kazakhstan](/source/Kazakhstan), the [Middle Horde](/source/Middle_Horde) (middle zhuz) in central Kazakhstan and the [Older Horde](/source/Older_Horde) (senior zhuz) in southeastern Kazakhstan.[7]

'[Urdu](/source/Urdu)', the name of a language spoken in the Indian subcontinent, is also a cognate of this Turkic word.[8]

In 16th-century Russian sources, the term *[Golden Horde](/source/Golden_Horde)* is applied to the western [khanate](/source/Khanate) that succeeded the [Mongol Empire](/source/Mongol_Empire); the term is now used retrospectively in modern scholarship.[9][10] The term *golden* may have been used to refer to the riches of the khanate, or simply the yellow tents used by Mongol commanders.[11] Previously, the Russians had used the term *orda* to denote the seat of the khan.[12]

## Mongol Empire

Ordu or Ordo also means the Mongolian court.[13] In [Mongolian](/source/Mongolian_language), the [Government Palace](/source/Government_Palace_(Mongolia)) is called "Zasgiin gazriin **ordon**".

[Genghis Khan](/source/Genghis_Khan)'s encampment.

[William of Rubruck](/source/William_of_Rubruck) described the Mongol mobile tent as follows:

The dwelling in which they sleep is based on a hoop of interlaced branches, and its supports are made of branches, converging at the top around a small hoop, from which projects a neck like a chimney. They cover it with white felt: quite often they also smear the felt with chalk or white clay and ground bones to make it gleam whiter, or sometimes they blacken it. And they decorate the felt around the neck at the top with various fine designs. Similarly they hang up in front of the entrance felt patchwork in various patterns: they sew onto one piece others of different colours to make vines, trees, birds and animals. These dwellings are constructed of such a size as to be on occasions thirty feet (9 metres) across: I myself once measured a breadth of twenty feet (6 metres) between the wheel tracks of a wagon, and when the dwelling was on the wagon it protruded beyond the wheels by at least five feet on either side. I have counted twenty-two oxen to one wagon, hauling along a dwelling, eleven in a row, corresponding to the width of the wagon, and another eleven in front of them. The wagon's axle was as large as a ship's mast, and one man stood at the entrance to the dwelling on top of the wagon, driving the oxen.

— [William of Rubruck](/source/William_of_Rubruck), c. 1220 – c. 1293[14]

[Ibn Battuta](/source/Ibn_Battuta) writes:

...we saw a vast city on the move with its inhabitants, with mosques and bazaars in it, the smoke of the kitchens rising in the air (for they cook while on the march), and horse drawn wagons transporting the people. On reaching the camping place they took down the tents from the wagons and set them on the ground, for they are light to carry, and so likewise they did with the mosque and shops.

— [Ibn Battuta](/source/Ibn_Battuta), 1331–1332[15]

*The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia* (1911) defined *orda* as "a tribe or troop of Asiatic nomads dwelling in tents or wagons, and migrating from place to place to procure pasturage for their cattle, or for war or plunder."[16]

[Merriam–Webster](/source/Merriam%E2%80%93Webster) defined *horde* in this context as "a political subdivision of central Asian people" or "a people or tribe of nomadic life".[17]

Ordas would form when families settled in [auls](/source/Aul) would find it impossible to survive in that area and were forced to move. Often, periods of drought would coincide with the rise in the number of ordas. Ordas were [patriarchal](/source/Patriarchal), with its male members constituting a military. While some ordas were able to sustain themselves from their herds; others turned to pillaging their neighbors. In subsequent fighting, some ordas were destroyed, others assimilated. The most successful ones would, for a time, assimilate most or all other ordas of the [Eurasian Steppe](/source/Eurasian_Steppe) and turn to raiding neighboring political entities; those ordas often left their mark on history, the most famous of which is the [Golden Horde](/source/Golden_Horde) of the later [Mongol Empire](/source/Mongol_Empire).[18]

Famous ordas (hordes) include:

- the [White Horde](/source/White_Horde), formed 1226

- the [Blue Horde](/source/Blue_Horde), formed 1227

- the [Golden Horde](/source/Golden_Horde), a Tatar-Mongol state established in the 1240s

- the [Great Horde](/source/Great_Horde), remnant of the Golden Horde from about 1466 until 1502

- the [Nogai Horde](/source/Nogai_Horde), a Tatar clan situated in the Caucasus Mountain region, formed in the 1390s

In the modern Mongolian language, the form of the word, Ordon is more commonly used throughout Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.

## See also

- [Nomadic pastoralism](/source/Nomadic_pastoralism)

- [Cossack host](/source/Cossack_host)

- [Urdu](/source/Urdu)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Oxford_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Oxford_1-1) "Horde". [*Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins*](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198868750.001.0001/acref-9780198868750-e-2510) (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. 2021. p. 213. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780198868750](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780198868750).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Hartog1996_2-0)** Leo de Hartog (1996). [*Russia and the Mongol yoke: the history of the Russian principalities and the Golden Horde, 1221–1502*](https://books.google.com/books?id=CANpAAAAMAAJ). British Academic Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-85043-961-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-85043-961-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Kohn2008_3-0)** Michael Kohn (1 May 2008). [*Mongolia*](https://archive.org/details/mongolia00kohn). Lonely Planet. pp. [25](https://archive.org/details/mongolia00kohn/page/25)–. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-74104-578-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-74104-578-9). Retrieved 17 January 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-RuysbroeckAntivari)1900_4-0)** Willem van Ruysbroeck; Giovanni di Piano Carpini (abp. of Antivari) (1900). [*The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253–5*](https://books.google.com/books?id=DmgMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA57). Printed for the Hakluyt Society. p. 57.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** "horde". [*The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology*](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780192830982.001.0001/acref-9780192830982-e-7304). Oxford University Press. 1 January 2003. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-283098-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-283098-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-GüzelOğuz2002_6-0)** Hasan Celāl Güzel; Cem Oğuz; Osman Karatay; Murat Ocak (2002). [*The Turks: Middle ages*](https://books.google.com/books?id=OmFtAAAAMAAJ). Yeni Türkiye. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9789756782576](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789756782576).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Soucek2000_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Soucek2000_7-1) Svatopluk Soucek (2000). [*A history of inner Asia*](https://archive.org/details/historyofinneras00souc). Cambridge University Press. pp. [195](https://archive.org/details/historyofinneras00souc/page/195)–. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-65704-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-65704-4). Retrieved 16 January 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** *Oxford English Dictionary*, 2nd Edition 1989th s.v. horde.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** "Golden Horde". [*A Dictionary of World History*](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199685691.001.0001/acref-9780199685691-e-1496). Oxford University Press. 23 July 2015. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-968569-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-968569-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** "Golden Horde". [*The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology*](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195334036.001.0001/acref-9780195334036-e-0395). Oxford University Press. 2010. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-533403-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-533403-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** "Golden Horde". [*Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names*](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191905636.001.0001/acref-9780191905636-e-9934). Oxford University Press. 22 October 2020. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-190563-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-190563-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [Favereau, Marie](/source/Marie_Favereau); Pochekaev, Roman Yu. (2023). "The Golden Horde, c. 1260–1502". [*The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire*](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-history-of-the-mongol-empire/golden-horde-c-12601502/194D20494453E0AC8373BE9ADFB8B8D6). Cambridge University Press. pp. 243–318. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-107-11648-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-107-11648-1). The Russian-speaking community called the khan's seat of power *Orda*, the Horde, from the term *ordo* by which the Mongols designated a mobile camp"

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Ed. Kate Fleet - The Cambridge History of Turkey Volume 1: Byzantium to Turkey 1071–1453 (2009), p. 52

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Richard Hakluyt, Charles Raymond Beazley, Giovanni, Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Hakluyt Society, Willem van Ruysbroeck, Geoffrey, William Lambarde, Bede, Ohthere, Wulfstan, John Dee, Florence, Saxo, Ives de Narbonne (2005). *The texts and versions of John de Plano Carpini and William de Rubruquis*. Printed for the Hakluyt society.{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Dunn, Ross E. (2005). *The Adventures of Ibn Battuta*. University of California Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-520-24385-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-520-24385-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-WhitneySmith1911_16-0)** William Dwight Whitney; Benjamin Eli Smith (1911). [*The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: The Century dictionary ... prepared under the superintendence of William Dwight Whitney ... rev. & enl. under the superintendence of Benjamin E. Smith*](https://books.google.com/books?id=JQ_pAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA2883). The Century co. p. 2883. Retrieved 16 January 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Merriam–WebsterInc2003_17-0)** Merriam–Webster (2003). [*Merriam–Webster's collegiate dictionary*](https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersc00merr_6). Merriam–Webster. pp. [1](https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersc00merr_6/page/n358)–. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-87779-809-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-87779-809-5). Retrieved 16 January 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Howorth2008_18-0)** Henry Hoyle Howorth (2008). [*History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century: Part 2 the So-Called Tartars of Russia and Central Asia*](https://books.google.com/books?id=hFc4mwsHZ7IC&pg=PA1). Cosimo, Inc. p. 1. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-60520-134-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-60520-134-4).

v t e Mongol Empire Terminology Titles Khagan Khan Khatun Khanum Jinong Khong Tayiji Noyan Tarkhan Political Military Jarlig Örtöö Orda Pax Mongolica Yassa Kurultai Paiza / Gerege Manghit / Mangudai Tümen Kheshig Darughachi Politics Organization Life Topics Administrative divisions and vassals Conquests Destructiveness Imperial Seal Military Religion Society and economy House of Borjigin House of Ögedei Mongol Armenia Byzantine–Mongol Alliance Franco-Mongol alliance Khanates Yuan dynasty Northern Yuan Chagatai Khanate House of Ögedei Golden Horde Wings Ilkhanate Major cities Almalik Avarga Azov (Azaq) Bukhara Bolghar Karakorum Dadu Majar Maragheh Qarshi Samarkand Sarai Batu/Berke Saray-Jük Shangdu (Xanadu) Soltaniyeh Tabriz Ukek Xacitarxan Campaigns Battles Asia Rise of Genghis Khan Dalan Baljut Khalakhaljid Sands Chakirmaut Central Siberia (1207-1308) Sakhalin (1264–1308) Qara Khitai (1216–18) Khwarazmian Empire (1219–1221) Persia (1219–1256) East Western Xia (1205–27) Northern China (1211–34) Korea (1231–60) Southern China (1235–79) Tibet (1236 / 1240 / 1252) Yunnan (1253–56) Japan (1274 / 1281) Southeast Burma (1277 / 1283 / 1287) Java (1293) Vietnam (1257 / 1284–88) Burma (1300–02) South India (1221–1327) Europe (lists) Georgia (1220–22 / 1226–31 / 1237–64) Circassia (1237–1300s) Chechnya and Ingushetia (1237–1300s) Volga Bulgaria (1229–36) Alania (1238–1239) Kievan Rus' (1223 / 1236–40) (list) Poland and Bohemia (1240–41) Hungary (1241–42) Holy Roman Empire (1241–42) Serbia and Bulgaria (1242) Latin Empire (1242) Lithuania (1258–59) Poland (1259–60) Thrace (1264–65) Hungary (1285–86) Poland (1287–88) Serbia (1291) Middle East Anatolia (1241–43) Alamut (1253–1256) Baghdad (1258) Levant (1260–1323) Palestine (1260 / 1301) Civil wars Division of the Mongol Empire Toluid Civil War (1260–64) Berke–Hulegu war (1262) Kaidu–Kublai war (1268–1301) Esen Buqa–Ayurbarwada war (1314–1318) People Great Khans Genghis Khan Tolui (regent) Ögedei Khan Töregene Khatun (regent) Güyük Khan Oghul Qaimish (regent) Möngke Khan Kublai Khan (Khagans of the Yuan) Khans Jochi Batu Khan Sartaq Khan Orda Khan Berke Toqta Özbeg Khan Chagatai Khan Duwa Kebek Hulegu Abaqa Tekuder Arghun Ghazan Military Subutai Jebe Muqali Negudar Bo'orchu Guo Kan Boroqul Jelme Khubilai Aju Bayan Kadan Boroldai Nogai Khan Timeline of the Mongol Empire

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Orda (organization)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orda_(organization)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orda_(organization)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.