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The capital Batu built on the Volga undermined the "barbarian" origin story
A Mongol prince builds Sarai, a luminous capital on the Volga - it flourishes, then vanishes; what happened next?
The capital Batu built on the Volga undermined the "barbarian" origin story
In this episode, we follow the journey from conquest to administration as Batu Khan founds Sarai and turns a campaign of destruction into a functioning capital on the Volga. The episode traces how trade, religion and culture reshaped a supposed “raiding state,” and asks how such an empire dissolved across generations.
Person: Ibn Battuta
Date: 1333
Location: Sarai, on the Volga River
Person: Batu Khan…
The skinny
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