 In the summer of 1238 Batu Khan devastated the Crimean peninsula and pacified Mordovia, reaching Kiev by 1240.The Crimean interior came under the control of the Turco-Mongol Golden Horde from 1239 to 1441.The name "Crimea" (via Italian, from Turkic "Qirim") originates as the name of the provincial capital of the Golden Horde, the city now known as Staryi Krym.