Russian Empire paying the annual tribute to the Tatar-Mongol Muslims

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On October 8, 1480 AD, the Great Standoff on either side of the Ugra River in Russia between the forces of Ahmad Khan, the ruler of the Great Horde, and Grand Duke Ivan III of Russia, resulted in the withdrawal of both the adversaries and an odd celebration of victory by both of them.
In 1476 Ivan III stopped paying the annual tribute to the Tatar-Mongol Muslims, which they had been collecting for the past two centuries. At the time, Ahmad Khan was busy with his struggle against fellow Muslim Tartars of the Crimean Khanate, and this led to formation of strange alliances. On one side was Christian Russia and Muslim Crimea, while on the other side was the Muslim Great Horde aligned with the Christian Poland-Lithuania union of King Casimir IV.
After a brief battle, Ahmad drew back and decided to wait for Casimir's army. Ivan III also withdrew and decided against crossing the river. Ahmad Khan chose not to attack until the Lithuanians showed up but they didn't because of Crimean raid on their territories. With the winter fast approaching Ahmad turned south, while Ivan returned to Moscow. As Nikolai Karamzin wrote in his "History of Russian State": "It should be an odd image: two armies ran away from each other, not pursued by anyone", and then celebrated it as victory.
It is worth recalling that Russia was subjugated by Genghiz Khan's son Batu Khan in 1255, and the Golden Horde that he founded continued for a full century until 1359, reaching its peak during the 30-year reign of Uzbeg Khan who converted to Islam.
The territory of the Golden Horde at its peak included most of Eastern Europe from the Urals to the right banks of the Danube River, extending east into Siberia. In the south its lands bordered on the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains up to the frontiers of the Mongol Ilkhanate Dynasty of Iran. The 1396 invasion of Tamerlane broke the Golden Horde into smaller khanates and by 1433 it was simply referred to as the Great Horde that controlled Russia.