cruelty of the tribute-collectors, whilst
the Khans took precautions to prevent insurrection, and threatened to
devastate the country if their authority was not respected. But in the
course of time this mutual distrust and hostility greatly lessened. When
the Princes found by experience that all attempts at resistance were
fruitless, they became reconciled to their new position, and instead
of seeking to throw off the Khan's authority, they tried to gain his
favour, in the hope of forwarding their personal interests. For this
purpose they paid frequent visits to the Tartar Suzerain, made rich
presents to his wives and courtiers, received from him charters
confirming their authority, and sometimes even married members of his
family. Some of them used the favour thus acquired for extending their
possessions at the expense of neighbouring Princes of their own race,
and did not hesitate to call in Tartar hordes to their assistance.
The Khans, in their turn, placed greater confidence in their vassals,
entrusted them with the task of collecting the tribute, recalled their
own officials who were a constant eyesore to the people, and abstained
from all interference in the internal affairs of the principalities so
long as the tribute was regularly paid. The Princes acted, in short, as
the Khan's lieutenants, and became to a certain extent Tartarised. Some
of them carried this policy so far that they were reproached by the
people with "loving beyond measure the Tartars and their language, and
with giving them too freely land, and gold, and goods of every kind."

Had the Khans of the Golden Horde been prudent, far-seeing statesmen,
they might have long retained their supremacy over Russia. In reality
they showed themselves miserably deficient in political talent. Seeking
merely to extract from the country as much tribute as possible,
they overlooked all higher considerations, and by this culpable
shortsightedness prepared their own political ruin. Instead of keeping
all the Russian Princes on the same level and thereby rendering them all
equally feeble, they were constantly bribed or cajoled into giving to
one or more of their vassals a pre-eminence over the others. At first
this pre-eminence consisted in little more than the empty title of
Grand Prince; but the vassals thus favoured soon transformed the
barren distinction into a genuine power by arrogating to themselves the
exclusive right of holding direct communications with th