Tokhtamysh
Exile

Tīmūr Qutluq sent an envoy to demand Tokhtamysh's extradition from Lithuania, but received an ominous answer from Vytautas: "I will not give up Tsar Tokhtamysh, but wish to meet Tsar Temir-Kutlu in person." Vytautas and Tokhtamysh prepared their Lithuanian and Mongol forces for a joint campaign, supported by Polish volunteers under Spytek of Melsztyn. In the summer of 1399, Vytautas and Tokhtamysh set out against Tīmūr Qutluq and Edigu with a large army. On the Vorskla River they encountered the forces of Tīmūr Qutluq, who opened negotiations, intending to delay the engagement until Edigu could arrive with reinforcements. In the process, Tīmūr Qutluq pretended to agree to submit to Vytautas and pay him annual tribute but requested a three-day delay to consider Vytautas' further demands. This was sufficient for Edigu to arrive with his reinforcements. Edigu could not resist the temptation to bandy words with the Lithuanian ruler himself, and arranged a meeting, separated by the course of the river. Further negotiations having proven pointless, the two forces engaged in the Battle of the Vorskla River on 12 August 1399. Using a feigned retreat tactic, Tīmūr Qutluq and Edigu were able to envelop the forces of Vytautas and Tokhtamysh, inflicting a serious defeat on them. Tokhtamysh fled the battlefield and made his way east to Sibir; Vytautas survived the battle, although some twenty princes, including two of his cousins fell in the fight. The defeat was disastrous, ending Vytautas' ambitious policy in the Pontic steppes.
combination:two_responses