The article deals with one of the least studied periods in the history of mountainous southwestern Taurica, the second half of the XIII century. During this period, a radical transformation of the political system of the whole Black Sea region took place, which began with the destruction of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, and the catalyst was the Mongol conquests. Since the 1320s, the Crimean peninsula was subject to invasions by the armies of Genghis Khan and his descendants, but the process of its integration into the Ulus of Jochi (Golden Horde) proceeded unevenly and stretched over many decades. The study, based on a comprehensive analysis of narrative and epigraphic sources, focuses on peculiarities of the early phase of the Golden Horde period in history of the mountainous southwestern Crimea, where such significant archaeological sites as Eski Kermen and Mangup are located. The conclusion is made, that during this period the region maintained a certain form of independence from the khans’ power and was ruled by local multi-ethnic elites who still adhered to Greek Orthodox Christianity, but at the same time sought to fit into the emerging privileged class of the Golden Horde.