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Berke
Mongol ruler
Also known as: Barakah
Berke (died 1267) was a Mongol ruler of the Golden Horde (1257–67), and a great-grandson of Genghis Khan.
The first Mongol ruler to embrace Islām, Berke succeeded to the khanate soon after the death of his brother Batu. His conversion, as well as the rising power of his cousin Hülegü in Persia, led him to seek alliance with the Mamlūks of Egypt and resulted in war with Hülegü, conqueror of the Caliphate. He also became involved in the dispute over the great khanate between Kublai and Arigböge. Nominally a suzerain of the great khan, Berke became increasingly autonomous and died virtually independent.
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