The Golden Horde was the westernmost part of the Great Mongol Empire founded by Chinggis Khān. The central part of the Golden Horde was the huge Qipchaq Steppe, the land of the former Cuman confederation. Its borders stretched from the Irtysh River through southwestern Siberia, the Kazakh steppe, and the southern Russian plain as far as the Dniester River. In the south, the Crimean Peninsula, the northern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, and the northern part of Kh w ārazm belonged to the Golden Horde. The former Volga Bulgar state