Invasion of Batu
Genghis Khan
Jochi Khan
Ogedei
Batu's father Jochi Khan, the son of the great conqueror Genghis Khan, received, according to his father's division, the land holdings of the Mongols from the Aral Sea to the west and north-west.
Genghisid Batu became an appanage khan in 1227, when the new supreme ruler of the huge Mongol state Ogedei (the third son of Genghis Khan) transferred to him the lands of Jochi’s father, which included the Caucasus and Khorezm (the possessions of the Mongols in Central Asia). The lands of Batu Khan bordered on those countries in the West that the Mongol army was to conquer - as his grandfather, the greatest conqueror in world history, ordered.
At the age of 19, Batu Khan was already a fully established Mongol ruler, having thoroughly studied the tactics and strategy of warfare by his illustrious grandfather, who had mastered the military art of the Mongol mounted army. He himself was an excellent horseman, shot accurately with a bow at full gallop, skillfully cut with a saber and wielded a spear. But the main thing is that the experienced commander and ruler Jochi taught his son to command troops, command people and avoid strife in the growing house of the Chingizids.
It was obvious that young Batu, who received the outlying, eastern possessions of the Mongol state along with the khan’s throne, would continue the conquests of his great grandfather. Historically, steppe nomadic peoples moved along a path trodden over many centuries - from East to West. During his long life, the founder of the Mongolian state never managed to conquer the entire Universe, which he so dreamed of. Genghis Khan bequeathed this to his descendants - his children and grandchildren. In the meantime, the Mongols were accumulating strength.
Finally, at the kurultai (congress) of the Chingizids, convened on the initiative of the second son of the Great Khan Oktay in 1229, it was decided to carry out the plan of the “shaker of the Universe” and conquer China, Korea, India and Europe.
The main blow was again directed to the West from sunrise. To conquer the Kipchaks (Polovtsians), Russian principalities and Volga Bulgars, a huge cavalry army was assembled, which was to be led by Batu.
Batu
His brothers Urda, Sheiban and Tangut, his cousins, among whom were the future great khans (Mongol emperors) - Kuyuk, son of Ogedei, and Menke, son of Tuluy, along with their troops, also came under his command. Not only the Mongol troops went on a campaign, but also the troops of the nomadic peoples under their control.
Batu was also accompanied by outstanding commanders of the Mongol state - Subedei and Burundai.
Subadei
Subedey had already fought in the Kipchak steppes and in Volga Bulgaria. He was also one of the winners in the battle of the Mongols with the united army of Russian princes and Polovtsians on the Kalka River in 1223.
In February 1236, a huge Mongol army, gathered in the upper reaches of the Irtysh, set out on a campaign. Khan Batu led 120-140 thousand people under his banners, but many researchers call the figure much higher. Within a year, the Mongols conquered the Middle Volga region, the Polovtsian steppe and the lands of the Kama Bulgars. Any resistance was severely punished. Cities and villages were burned, their defenders were completely exterminated. Tens of thousands of people became slaves of the steppe khans and in the families of ordinary Mongol warriors.
Having given his numerous cavalry a rest in the free steppes, Batu Khan began his first campaign against Rus' in 1237. First, he attacked the Ryazan principality, which bordered the Wild Field. The residents of Ryazan decided to meet the enemy in the border area - near the Voronezh forests. The squads sent there all died in an unequal battle. The Ryazan prince turned to other appanage neighboring princes for help, but they turned out to be indifferent to the fate of the Ryazan region, although a common misfortune came to Rus'.
Ryazan Prince Yuri Igorevich, his squad and ordinary Ryazan residents did not even think of surrendering to the mercy of the enemy. To the mocking demand that the wives and daughters of the townspeople be brought to his camp, Batu received the answer: “When we are gone, you will take everything.” Addressing his warriors, the prince said “It is better for us to gain eternal glory by death than to be in the power of the filthy.” Ryazan closed the fortress gates and prepared for defense. All townspeople capable of holding weapons in their hands climbed the fortress walls.
Consequences
The city's fortifications were destroyed and Old Ryazan after some time it was abandoned by the residents, the capital of the Ryazan principality was moved to Pereslavl-Ryazansky. Some of the Ryazan residents managed to hide in the forests or retreat to the north, unite with the Vladimir troops and again fight the Mongols in Battle of Kolomna, and also under the command of those who returned from Chernigov Evpatiya Kolovrata- in Suzdal land
Evpatiy Kolovrat(1200 - January 11, 1238) - Ryazan boyar , voivode and Russian hero, hero Ryazan folk legends XIII century, times of invasion Batu(published in the "Vremennik of the Moscow Society of History and Antiquity", book XV and Sreznevsky, “Information and Notes”, 1867). Epic responses and parallels to the legend Khalansky, “Great Russian epics of the Kyiv cycle”, 1885. Evpatiy’s feat is described in the ancient Russian “ ».
Story
Born, according to legend, in the village of Frolovo Shilovskaya volost. Being in Chernigov(according to " The story of the ruin of Ryazan by Batu» with Ryazan prince Ingvar Ingvarevich), according to one version, with the embassy asking for help Ryazan Principality against Mongols and having learned about their invasion of the Ryazan principality, Evpatiy Kolovrat with a “small squad” hastily moved to Ryazan. But I found the city already ruined" ...the rulers were killed and many people were killed: some were killed and flogged, others were burned, and others were drowned". Here the survivors joined him " ...whom God has preserved outside the city", and with a detachment of 1,700 people, Evpatiy set off in pursuit of the Mongols. Having overtaken them in Suzdal lands, with a surprise attack completely destroyed them rearguard . « And Evpatiy beat them so mercilessly that their swords became dull, and he took Tatar swords and cut them with them" Amazed Batu sent the hero Khostovrul against Evpatiy, “ ...and with him strong Tatar regiments", who promised Batu to bring Evpatiy Kolovrat alive, but died in a duel with him. Despite the huge numerical superiority of the Tatars, during the fierce battle Evpatiy Kolovrat " ...began to flog the Tatar force, and beat many of the famous heroes of the Batyevs..." There is a legend that Batu’s envoy, sent to negotiate, asked Evpatiy, “What do you want?” And I received the answer - “Die!” According to some legends, the Mongols managed to destroy Evpatiy’s detachment only with the help stone throwing weapons designed to destroy fortifications: And she attacked him with many vices, and began to beat him with countless vices, and barely killed him. The main thing in this parable is that, amazed by the desperate courage, courage and military skill of the Ryazan hero, Batu gave the body of the murdered Evpatiy Kolovrat to the surviving Russian soldiers and, as a sign of respect for their courage, ordered them to be released without causing them any harm.
In some ancient sources Evpatiy Kolovrat is called Evpatiy Frantic.
In some editions of the Tale, the patronymic name Evpatiya is indicated - Lvovich and tells about his solemn funeral in the Ryazan Cathedral on January 11, 1238. The first city of Suzdal land, which lay on the way of the Mongols after Battle of Kolomna — Moscow- was taken on January 20, 1238 after a 6-day siege.
The Mongol-Tatars, having quickly devastated the Ryazan land, killing most of its inhabitants and taking numerous captives, moved against the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Khan Batu led his army not directly to the capital city of Vladimir, but in a detour through Kolomna and Moscow in order to bypass the dense Meshchersky forests, which the steppe inhabitants were afraid of. They already knew that the forests in Rus' were the best shelter for Russian soldiers, and the fight with the governor Evpatiy Kolovrat taught the conquerors a lot.
A princely army came out from Vladimir to meet the enemy, many times inferior in number to Batu’s forces. In a stubborn and unequal battle near Kolomna, the princely army was defeated, and most of the Russian soldiers died on the battlefield. Then the Mongol-Tatars burned Moscow, then a small wooden fortress, taking it by storm. The same fate befell all other small Russian towns, protected by wooden walls, that were encountered along the path of the Khan’s army.
Yuri Vsevolodovich
On February 3, 1238, Batu approached Vladimir and besieged him. The Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich was not in the city; he was gathering squads in the north of his possessions. Having met decisive resistance from the people of Vladimir and not hoping for a quick victorious assault, Batu with part of his army moved to Suzdal, one of the largest cities in Rus', took it and burned it, exterminating all the inhabitants.
After this, Batu Khan returned to the besieged Vladimir and began installing battering machines around him. In order to prevent the defenders of Vladimir from escaping from it, the city was surrounded with a strong fence overnight. On February 7, the capital of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was taken by storm from three sides (from the Golden Gate, from the north and from the Klyazma River) and burned. The same fate befell all other cities in the Vladimirov region, taken from battle by the conquerors. In place of flourishing urban settlements, only ashes and ruins remained.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich managed to gather a small army on the banks of the City River, where the roads from Novgorod and the Russian North, from Beloozero, converged. The prince did not have accurate information about the enemy. He expected new troops to arrive, but the Mongol-Tatars launched a pre-emptive strike. The Mongol army moved to the battle site from different directions - from the burned Vladimir, Tver and Yaroslavl.
Battle of the City River- the battle that took place March 4, 1238 between the army of the Vladimir prince Yuri Vsevolodovich and the Tatar-Mongol army.
After the Mongol invasion of the Principality of Vladimir, Yuri left the capital of the principality and went into the forests near the City River (northwest of the modern Yaroslavl region of Russia), where scattered remnants of troops gathered. The Mongol army under the command of Temnik Burundai approached the City from the direction of Uglich, which they had ravaged.
The outcome of the stubborn battle was decided by the approach of fresh Mongol forces led by Batu. The Vladimir army was surrounded and almost completely killed. Prince Yuri died along with the army, his head was cut off and presented as a gift to Batu Khan. The defeat in the Battle of the Sit River predetermined the fall of North-Eastern Rus' under the rule of the Golden Horde.
After the death of Grand Duke Yuri, his brother, Prince of Pereyaslav Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, came to the grand-ducal throne, under whose direct control were the two largest principalities of North-Eastern Rus' (Vladimir and Pereyaslav).
Burundai's army turned out to be weakened after the battle, which was one of the reasons for Batu's refusal to go to Novgorod.
Then the khan's troops moved to the possessions of Free Novgorod, but did not reach it. The spring thaw began, the ice on the rivers cracked under the hooves of horses, and the swamps turned into an impassable quagmire. During the tiring winter campaign, the steppe horses lost their former strength. In addition, the rich trading city had considerable military forces, and one could not count on an easy victory over the Novgorodians.
The Mongols besieged the city of Torzhok for two weeks and were able to take it only after several assaults. At the beginning of April, Batya’s army, not having reached Novgorod 200 kilometers, near the Ignach Krest tract, turned back to the southern steppes.
The Mongol-Tatars burned and plundered everything on their way back to the Wild Field. The Khan's tumens marched south in a corral, as if on a hunting raid, so that no prey could slip out of their hands, trying to capture as many captives as possible. Slaves in the Mongol state ensured its material well-being.
Not a single Russian city surrendered to the conquerors without a fight. But Rus', fragmented into numerous appanage principalities, was never able to unite against a common enemy. Each prince fearlessly and bravely, at the head of his squad, defended his own inheritance and died in unequal battles. None of them then sought to jointly defend Rus'.
On the way back, Khan Batu completely unexpectedly stayed for 7 weeks under the walls of the small Russian town of Kozelsk.
According to the Nikon Chronicle in 1238. Kozelsk (first mentioned in 1146) had its own young prince Vasily. When Batu’s troops approached the city and demanded its surrender, the Kozel residents at the council decided to defend the city and "lay down your life for the Christian faith". A siege began and lasted seven weeks. With the help of battering guns, the enemy managed to destroy part of the fortress walls and climb onto the rampart, where “there was a great battle and a slaughter of evil.”
Some of the defenders left the city and entered into an unequal battle. All of them died, killing up to 4 thousand Tatar-Mongol warriors. Having taken Kozelsk, Batu, being enraged, ordered to destroy all the inhabitants, including “the youth sucking milk.” Among the victims was Prince Vasily of Kozel, who was said to have drowned in blood. This was the Khan's revenge for the resistance shown. In addition, Batu ordered to call Kozelsk the Evil City, since his troops fought for seven weeks at the “city” and three of the Horde princes were killed, whose bodies could not be found.
The heroic defense of Kozelsk amazed contemporaries and remained in the memory of posterity. Despite some obvious exaggerations (the number of enemy losses, streams of blood in which one could drown, etc.), the chronicle conveyed a vivid picture of the feat of the Kozelites, who, without fear of death, entered into an unequal struggle with the strongest enemy. The duration of the confrontation is especially impressive, while Ryazan, for example, was taken in 10 days, Vladimir in 5.
Having destroyed the city to the ground, the conquerors left for the Volga steppes.
Having rested and gathered their strength, the Chingizids, led by Khan Batu, in 1239 made a new campaign against Rus', now on its southern and western territories.
The steppe conquerors' hopes for an easy victory again did not come true. Russian cities had to be taken by storm. First, the border Pereyaslavl fell, and then the big cities, the princely capitals of Chernigov and Kyiv.
Prince Mikhail of Chernigov at Batu's headquarters
The capital city of Kyiv (its defense after the flight of the princes was led by the fearless thousand-year-old Dmitry).
In December 1240, Batu approached Kyiv. Khan did not want to destroy the beautiful city and invited the townspeople to surrender without a fight. However, the people of Kiev decided to fight to the death.
The siege of Kyiv lasted a long time. All its inhabitants, young and old, came out to defend the city. According to the chronicler “One fought against a thousand, and two fought against darkness.” The Tatars had to use battering rams. The Mongols broke into the city through gaps in the walls.
The enraged Tatar-Mongols killed more than half of the civilian population.
Of the 50 thousand people after Batu’s pogrom, no more than two thousand residents remained in the city. The Assumption and St. Sophia Cathedrals and the Trinity Gate Church (now the main entrance to the Lavra) were destroyed. The invaders wiped off the face of the earth the Church of the Savior on Berestov, the Irininskaya Church and almost all the Kyiv gates.
After capturing Kiev, Batu’s hordes continued their campaign of conquest across the Russian land. South-Western Rus' - Volyn and Galician lands - were devastated. Here, as in North-Eastern Rus', the population took refuge in dense forests.
Thus, from 1237 to 1240, Rus' underwent a devastation unprecedented in its history, most of its cities turned into ashes, and many tens of thousands of people were carried away. Russian lands have lost their defenders. The princely squads fearlessly fought in battles and died.
Troops from different parts of the country gathered in the city. The soldiers of Greater and Lesser Poland were commanded by Sulislaw, the brother of the Krakow voivode, the Upper Silesian army was commanded by Mieszko, the Lower Silesian army was commanded by the prince himself Henry the Pious. Boleslav, son of the Moravian margrave Dipold, led a foreign detachment, which included, among others, French Templars, miners from Zlota Gozha, German knights. Henry also hoped for help from the Czech king Wenceslas I who promised to join him. Henry, having decided to try his luck in a field battle, did not defend Wroclaw, but the townspeople managed to repel the Mongol attack. The Mongols, leaving the city behind, April 9 attacked the prince's army under Legnica. The Czech army was a day's journey from the battle site.
Battle of Legnica
Progress of the battle
First there was mutual remote fire, in which the Mongol troops used a smoke screen, thereby confusing the European shooters, and attacked from the flanks with horse archers. The knights launched a blind attack, hitting the vanguard, consisting of light cavalry, and crushed it. However, after some time, the main forces of the Mongols were sent into battle - heavily armed horsemen, who struck from the right flank, shouting in Polish: “Save yourself, save yourself!”. The combined troops of the Poles, Templars and Teutons were in confusion and began to retreat, and then completely turned into a stampede.
Henry's army was defeated by the Mongols, and he himself died in battle. Heinrich's corpse was identified by his leg, which had six toes. His head was placed on a spear and brought to the gates of Legnica.
Aftermath of the battle
Despite the victory, the Mongols did not clash with the Czech army Wenceslas I, who was only a day late for Legnica, fearing the strengthening of the enemy due to the enemy forces defeated the day before and the risk of a possible unfavorable outcome of the next battle, and did not move further to the west, but turned south, through Moravia to Hungary to join the forces of Batu, Kadan and Subudaya.
It seemed that even to the west of the incinerated Russian land, the Khan’s army was awaiting, albeit difficult, but still successful conquests.
But soon in Moravia near Olomouc, Khan Batu faced strong resistance from Czech and German heavily armed knightly troops. Here one of the detachments under the command of the Bohemian military leader Yaroslav defeated the Mongol-Tatar detachment of Temnik Peta. In the Czech Republic itself, the conquerors encountered the troops of the Czech king himself, in alliance with the Austrian and Carinthian dukes. Now Batu Khan had to take not Russian cities with wooden fortress walls, but well-fortified stone castles and fortresses, the defenders of which did not even think of fighting Batu’s cavalry in an open field.
Genghisid's army encountered strong resistance in Hungary, where it entered through the Carpathian passes. Having learned about the danger, the Hungarian king began to concentrate his troops in Pest. Having stood under the walls of the fortress city for about two months and devastated the surrounding area, Batu Khan did not storm Pest and left it, trying to lure the royal troops out from behind the fortress walls, which he succeeded in doing.
A major battle between the Mongols and the Hungarians took place on the Sayo River in March 1241.
The Hungarian king ordered his and allied troops to set up a fortified camp on the opposite bank of the river, surrounding it with baggage carts, and to heavily guard the bridge over the Sayo. At night, the Mongols captured the bridge and river fords and, crossing them, stood on the hills adjacent to the royal camp. The knights tried to attack them, but were repulsed by the khan's archers and stone-throwing machines.
When the second knightly detachment left the fortified camp to attack, the Mongols surrounded it and destroyed it. Batu Khan ordered the passage to the Danube to be left free, into which the retreating Hungarians and their allies rushed. The Mongol horse archers pursued, cutting off the “tail” part of the royal army with sudden attacks and destroying it. Within six days it was almost completely destroyed. On the shoulders of the fleeing Hungarians, the Mongol-Tatars burst into their capital, the city of Pest.
After the capture of the Hungarian capital, the Khan's troops under the command of Subedey and Kadan ravaged many cities of Hungary and pursued its king, who retreated to Dalmatia. At the same time, Kadan's large detachment passed through Slavonia, Croatia and Serbia, plundering and burning everything in its path.
The Mongol-Tatars reached the shores of the Adriatic and, to relieve the whole of Europe, turned their horses back to the East, to the steppes. This happened in the spring of 1242. Khan Batu, whose troops suffered significant losses in two campaigns against the Russian land, did not dare to leave the conquered, but not conquered, country in his rear.
The return journey through the southern Russian lands was no longer accompanied by fierce battles. Rus' lay in ruins and ashes. In 1243, Batu created a huge state on the occupied lands - the Golden Horde, whose possessions extended from the Irtysh to the Danube. The conqueror made the city of Sarai-Batu in the lower reaches of the Volga, near the modern city of Astrakhan, his capital.
The Russian land became a tributary of the Golden Horde for several centuries. Now the Russian princes received labels for ownership of their ancestral appanage principalities in Sarai from the Golden Horde ruler, who only wanted to see conquered Rus' weak. The entire population was subject to a heavy annual tribute. Any resistance of the Russian princes or popular indignation was severely punished.
The Pope's envoy to the Mongols, Giovanni del Plano Carpini, an Italian by birth, one of the founders of the monastic order of the Franciscans, wrote after a solemn and humiliating audience for a European with the ruler of the Golden Horde
“...Batu lives in complete splendor, having gatekeepers and all officials like their Emperor. He also sits on a more elevated place, as on a throne, with one of his wives; others, both brothers and sons and other younger ones, sit lower in the middle on a bench, while other people sit behind them on the ground, with men sitting to the right, women to the left.”
Saray-Batu
In Sarai, Batu lived in large tents made of linen fabric, which previously belonged to the Hungarian king.
Khan Batu supported his power in the Golden Horde with military force, bribery and treachery. In 1251, he participated in a coup d'etat in the Mongol Empire, during which, with his support, Möngke became Great Khan. However, Khan Batu even under him felt like a completely independent ruler.
Batu developed the military art of his predecessors, especially his great grandfather and father. It was characterized by surprise attacks, swift action by large masses of cavalry, avoidance of major battles, which always threatened with large losses of soldiers and horses, and exhaustion of the enemy by the actions of light cavalry.
At the same time, Batu Khan became famous for his cruelty. The population of the conquered lands was subjected to mass extermination, which was a measure of intimidation of the enemy. The beginning of the Golden Horde yoke in Rus' is associated with the name of Batu Khan in Russian history.
Chronological table
1209 - Birth of Batu, son of Jochi and Uki-Khatun
August - death of Genghis Khan
1228-1229 - Participation of Batu in the kurultai, at which Ogedei, the third son of Genghis Khan, was approved as the Great Khan
1229 - First invasion of the troops of Ulus Jochi into Volga Bulgaria
1230 - Batu accompanies Ogedei on a campaign against the Jin Empire
1232 - Invasion of the troops of Ulus Jochi deep into the territory of Volga Bulgaria
1234 - At the kurultai Batu was entrusted with the conquest of Volga Bulgaria and Desht-i Kipchak
1235 - At the kurultai, the campaign to the West was declared the general cause of the family of Genghis Khan
1236 - Batu's campaign in Volga Bulgaria
1237 - Summer-autumn - conquest of Volga Bulgaria, defeat of the Kipchak hordes
December - attack on the Ryazan principality
April-May - siege and capture of Kozelsk
Summer-autumn - military operations against the Kipchaks, the peoples of the North Caucasus
Actions against the Kipchak leader Bachman
October - siege and capture of Chernigov
Autumn - Mongol invasion of Crimea
1240 Spring - advanced detachments of the Mongols under the command of Munke approach Kyiv, murder of the Mongol ambassadors
1241 Winter - devastation of Galician-Volynsk Rus
March - invasion of Poland, Hungary and Transylvania
1242 May 5 - death of Chagatai, the last son of Genghis Khan. Batu becomes “aka” - the head of the Borjigin clan.
Autumn - the end of the campaign to the West
1243 - First negotiations with the Russian princes, Grand Duke Yaroslav recognizes dependence on the Great Khan and his representative in the West - Batu
1244 - Seljuk Sultan Kay-Khosrow II recognizes dependence on Batu
1244-1245 — Batu’s troops fight in the North Caucasus
1245 - Georgian Queen Rusudan recognizes dependence on Batu
Murder of princes Mikhail of Chernigov and his relative Andrei at Batu headquarters (possibly by agreement with Yaroslav of Vladimir)
Daniil Galitsky admitted dependence on Batu
Summer - election of Guyuk, son of Ogedei, as great khan
1248 - Summer - death of Guyuk Khan during a campaign against Batu
1249-1250 - Attempts by Batu supporters to assemble a great kurultai to enthronement Munke, son of Tuluy
1251 - “Election” of Munke as Great Khan
1252 - The conspiracy against Munke is revealed. Reprisals by Munke and Batu against their opponents. "Nevryuev's army" in North-Eastern Rus'
1253 - Summer - arrival of William de Rubruck, envoy of Louis IX, to Batu
1254 - Daniil Galitsky begins military operations against the Mongols in Ponizia
1255 - Batu resolves the conflict between the Seljuk sultans Kay-Kavus II and Kilic-Arslan IV
1256 - Death of Batu. Death of Sartak. Munke appoints Ulagchi as ruler of Ulus Jochi
In 1237 - 1241 Russian lands were attacked by the Mongol Empire, a Central Asian state that conquered in the first half of the 13th century. a vast territory of the Eurasian continent from the Pacific Ocean to Central Europe. In Europe, the Mongols began to be called Tatars. This was the name of one of the Mongol-speaking tribes that roamed near the border with China. The Chinese transferred its name to all Mongolian tribes, and the name “Tatars” as a designation for the Mongols spread to other countries, although the Tatars themselves were almost completely exterminated during the creation of the Mongol Empire.
The term “Mongol-Tatars”, widespread in historical literature, is a combination of the self-name of the people with the term by which this people was designated by its neighbors. In 1206, at the kurultai - a congress of the Mongolian nobility - Temujin (Temuchin), who took the name of Genghis Khan, was recognized as the great khan of all Mongols. Over the next five years, Mongol troops, united by Genghis Khan, conquered the lands of their neighbors, and by 1215 they conquered Northern China. In 1221, the hordes of Genghis Khan defeated the main forces of Khorezm and conquered Central Asia.
Battle of Kalka.
The first clash of Ancient Rus' with the Mongols occurred in 1223, when a 30,000-strong Mongol detachment marched from Transcaucasia to the Black Sea steppes for reconnaissance purposes, defeating the Alans and Cumans. The Polovtsy, defeated by the Mongols, turned to the Russian princes for help. At their call, a united army led by the three strongest princes of Southern Rus' set out in the steppe: Mstislav Romanovich of Kyiv, Mstislav Svyatoslavich of Chernigov and Mstislav Metis-lavich of Galicia.
May 31, 1223 in the battle on the river. Kalka (near the Sea of Azov), as a result of uncoordinated actions of its leaders, the allied Russian-Polovtsian army was defeated. Six Russian princes died, three, including the Kiev prince, were captured and brutally killed by the Mongols. The conquerors pursued the retreating right up to the Russian borders, and then turned back to the Central Asian steppes. Thus, for the first time in Rus', the military power of the Mongol hordes was felt.
Invasion of the Mongol-Tatars in Rus'.
After the death of the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan (1227), according to his will, at the kurultai of the Mongol nobility in 1235, it was decided to begin an aggressive campaign against Europe. The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu Khan (called Batu in Russian sources), was placed at the head of the united army of the Mongol Empire. The prominent Mongol commander Subedei, who participated in the Battle of Kalka, was appointed its first military commander.
Campaign to North-Eastern Rus' (1237 - 1238).
A year after the start of the campaign, having conquered Volga Bulgaria, the Polovtsian hordes between the Volga and Don rivers, the lands of the Burtases and Mordovians in the Middle Volga in the late autumn of 1237, Batu’s main forces concentrated in the upper reaches of the Voronezh River to invade North-Eastern Rus'.
The number of Batu's hordes, according to a number of researchers, reached 140 thousand soldiers, and the Mongols themselves numbered no more than 50 thousand people. At this time, the Russian princes could gather no more than 100 thousand soldiers from all lands, and the squads of the princes of North-Eastern Rus' amounted to no more than 1/3 of this number.
Inter-princely strife and strife in Rus' prevented the formation of a united Russian army. Therefore, the princes could only resist the Mongol invasion individually. In the winter of 1237, Batu's hordes ravaged the Ryazan principality, whose capital was burned and all its inhabitants exterminated. Following this, in January 1238, Mongol troops defeated the army of the Vladimir-Suzdal land near Kolomna, led by the son of the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich, captured Moscow, Suzdal, and on February 7 - Vladimir. On March 4, 1238, on the City River in the upper Volga, the army of Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodich was defeated. The Grand Duke himself died in this battle.
After the capture of the “suburb” of Veliky Novgorod, Torzhok, which bordered the Suzdal land, the road to North-Western Rus' opened before the Mongol hordes. But the approach of the spring thaw and significant human losses forced the conquerors to turn back to the Polovtsian steppes. An unprecedented feat was accomplished by residents of the small town of Kozelsk on the river. Zhizdre. For seven weeks they held the defense of their city. After the capture of Kozelsk in May 1238, Batu ordered that this “evil city” be wiped off the face of the earth and all its inhabitants destroyed.
Batu spent the summer of 1238 in the Don steppes, restoring his strength for further campaigns. In the spring of 1239 he destroyed the Pereyaslavl principality, and in the fall the Chernigov-Seversk land was devastated.
Conquest of Southern Rus' (1240 - 1241).
In the autumn of 1240, Batu's troops moved towards Europe through Southern Rus'. In September they crossed the Dnieper and surrounded Kyiv. Kiev was then owned by the Galician prince Daniil Romanovich, who entrusted the defense of the city to Dmitry, a thousand. The South Russian princes were never able to organize a united defense of their lands from the Mongol threat. After a stubborn defense in December 1240, Kyiv fell. Following this, in December 1240 - January 1241, the Mongol hordes ravaged almost all the cities of Southern Rus' (except Kholm, Kremenets and Danilov).
In the spring of 1241, having captured the Galicia-Volyn land, Batu invaded Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and reached the borders of Northern Italy and Germany. However, not receiving reinforcements and suffering significant losses, the Mongol troops by the end of 1242 were forced to return to the steppe lower reaches of the Volga. Here the westernmost ulus of the Mongol Empire was formed - the so-called Golden Horde.
Russian lands after Batu's invasion
The Principality of Kiev ceased to be an object of struggle between the Russian princes. The Horde khan appropriated the prerogative of delivering the Kyiv prince, and Kyiv was transferred first to the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodich (1243), and then to his son Alexander Nevsky (1249). Both of them, however, did not sit directly in Kyiv, preferring Vladimir-on-Klyazma.
Kyiv lost its status as a nominal all-Russian capital, which was consolidated in 1299 by the departure of the Metropolitan of All Rus' to Vladimir. In Kyiv until the middle of the 14th century. minor princes reigned (apparently from the Chernigov Olgovichi), and in the 60s of the same century the Kiev land came under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
In the Chernigov land after the invasion, territorial fragmentation intensified, small principalities were formed, each of which established its own line of the Olgovichi branch. The forest-steppe part of the Chernihiv region was systematically subjected to devastation by the Tatars. For some time, the Bryansk principality became the strongest in the Chernigov land, whose princes simultaneously occupied the Chernigov table.
But at the end of the 14th century. The Principality of Bryansk passed (obviously on the initiative of the Horde) into the hands of the Smolensk princes and the possibility of integrating the small principalities of the Chernigov region under the auspices of Bryansk was lost. The reign of Chernigov was never assigned to any of the Olgovichi lines, and in the 60s and 70s of the 14th century. Most of the territory of the Chernigov land was taken over by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd. Only in its northern, Upper Oka, part were the principalities preserved under the control of the Olgovichi, which became the object of a long struggle between Lithuania and Moscow.
In the Galicia-Volyn land, Prince Daniil Romanovich (1201-1264) managed to form a large state. In 1254 he accepted the royal title from the papal curia. The Galicia-Volyn principality was almost not subject to fragmentation and retained its power during the second half of the 13th - early 14th centuries. At the same time, the foreign policy situation of the Galicia-Volyn land was extremely unfavorable. It was surrounded by three opposing state entities - Lithuania, Poland and Hungary - and at the same time was a vassal of the Golden Horde.
In this regard, the Galician-Volyn princes were forced, on the one hand, to participate in the Horde campaigns against Lithuanian, Polish and Hungarian lands, and on the other, to repel the raids of the Horde khans. After suppression in the early 20s of the 14th century. The male line of Daniel's descendants in the Galicia-Volyn land was reigned by their female heir Boleslav - Yuri, and after his death (1340) Southwestern Rus' became the arena of struggle between Lithuania and Poland. As a result, in the middle of the 14th century. Volhynia became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Galicia became part of the Kingdom of Poland.
The Smolensk principality, which did not directly border the possessions of the Golden Horde, practically did not experience Mongol-Tatar devastation. But the Smolensk princes, weakened in the internecine war of the 30s of the 13th century, already on the eve of Batu’s invasion acted as minor political figures. From the middle of the 13th century. they apparently recognized the suzerainty of the Grand Dukes of Vladimir. From the second half of this century, the main foreign policy factor influencing the Smolensk Principality was the onslaught of Lithuania. For a long time, the Smolensk princes managed to maintain relative independence, maneuvering between Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. But in the end, in 1404, Smolensk fell under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
In the Novgorod land in the second half of the XIII - XIV centuries. The republican form of government finally takes shape. Moreover, since the time of Alexander Nevsky, Novgorod recognized the Grand Duke of Vladimir as its overlord, i.e. supreme ruler of North-Eastern Rus'. In the XIV century. in fact, the Pskov land acquired complete independence, where a form of government similar to Novgorod was formed. At the same time, Pskov residents during the 14th century. fluctuated in orientation between the Lithuanian and Vladimir grand dukes.
The Ryazan principality managed in the second half of the XIII - XIV centuries. maintain relative independence, although from the end of the 14th century the Ryazan princes began to recognize the political eldership of the great Vladimir princes (from the Moscow house). The small Principality of Murom did not play an independent role, and at the end of the 14th century. came under the authority of the Moscow princes.
In the 13th century, all the peoples who inhabited Kievan Rus had to repel the invasion of Batu Khan’s army in a difficult struggle. The Mongols were on Russian soil until the 15th century. And only over the last century the struggle was not so brutal. This invasion of Khan Batu into Rus' directly or indirectly contributed to the rethinking of the state structure of the future great power.
Mongolia in the 12th - 13th centuries
The tribes that were part of it united only at the end of this century.
This happened thanks to Temujin, the leader of one of the peoples. In 1206, a general meeting was held, in which representatives of all nations took part. At this meeting, Temujin was proclaimed Great Khan and given the name Genghis, which means “limitless power.”
After the creation of this empire, its expansion began. Since the most important occupation of the inhabitants of Mongolia at that time was nomadic cattle breeding, naturally, they had a desire to expand their pastures. It was one of the main reasons for all their military journeys.
Organization of the Mongol army
The Mongol army was organized according to the decimal principle - 100, 1000... The creation of the imperial guard was carried out. Its main function was control over the entire army. The Mongol cavalry was more trained than any other army owned by the nomads in the past. The Tatar conquerors were very experienced and excellent warriors. Their army consisted of a large number of warriors who were very well armed. They also used tactics, the essence of which was based on psychological intimidation of the enemy. In front of their entire army, they sent those soldiers who did not take anyone prisoner, but simply brutally killed everyone indiscriminately. These warriors had a very intimidating appearance. Another significant reason for their victories was that the opponent was completely unprepared for such an offensive.
Presence of Mongol troops in Asia
After the Mongols conquered Siberia at the beginning of the 13th century, they began to conquer China. They brought from the northern part of this country the latest military equipment and specialists for that century. Some Chinese representatives became very competent and experienced officials of the Mongol Empire.
Over time, Mongolian troops conquered Central Asia, Northern Iran and Transcaucasia. On May 31, 1223, a battle took place between the Russian-Polovtsian army and the Mongol-Tatar army. Due to the fact that not all the princes who promised help kept their promises, this battle was lost.
Beginning of the reign of Khan Batu
4 years after this battle, Genghis Khan died, and Ogedei took his throne. And when the government of Mongolia made a decision to conquer the western lands, the Khan’s nephew, Batu, was appointed as the person who would lead this campaign. One of the most experienced military leaders, Subedei-Bagatura, was appointed as commander of the troops at Batu. He was a very experienced one-eyed warrior who accompanied Genghis Khan during his campaigns. The main goal of this campaign was not only to expand their territory and consolidate success, but also to enrich themselves and replenish their bins at the expense of plundered lands.
The total number of Batu Khan's troops that set off on such a difficult and long journey was small. Since part of it had to remain in China and Central Asia to prevent an uprising of local residents. An army of 20,000 was organized for the campaign to the West. Thanks to mobilization, during which the eldest son was taken from each family, the number of the Mongol army increased to approximately 40 thousand.
Batu's first path
The great invasion of Khan Batu into Rus' began in 1235 in winter. Khan Batu and his commander-in-chief chose this time of year to launch their attack for a reason. After all, winter began in November, the time of year when there is a lot of snow around. It was he who could replace water for the soldiers and their horses. At that time, the ecology on our planet was not yet in such a deplorable state as it is now. Therefore, snow could be consumed without hesitation anywhere on the planet.
After crossing Mongolia, the army entered the Kazakh steppes. In summer it was already on the shores of the Aral Sea. The path of the conquerors was very long and difficult. Every day this huge mass of people and horses covered a distance of 25 km. In total, it was necessary to cover about 5,000 km. Therefore, the warriors came to the lower reaches of the Volga only in the autumn of 1236. But even here they were not destined to rest.
They remembered very well that it was the Volga Bulgars who defeated their army in 1223. Therefore, they defeated the city of Bulgar, destroying it. They mercilessly slaughtered all its inhabitants. The same part of the townspeople that survived simply recognized Batu’s power and bowed their heads before His Majesty. Representatives of the Burtases and Bashkirs, who also lived near the Volga, submitted to the invaders.
The beginning of Batu's invasion of Rus'
In 1237, Batu Khan and his troops crossed the Volga. His army left a large amount of tears, destruction and grief along its path. On the way to the lands of the Russian principalities, the khan's army was divided into two military units, each of which numbered about 10,000 people. One part went to the south, to where the Crimean steppes were located. There the Butyrka army pursued the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan and pushed him closer and closer to the Dnieper. This army was led by Mongke Khan, who was the grandson of Genghis Khan. The rest of the army, led by Batu himself and his commander-in-chief, headed in the direction where the borders of the Ryazan principality were located.
In the 13th century, Kievan Rus was not a single state. The reason for this was its collapse at the beginning of the 12th century into independent principalities. They were all autonomous and did not recognize the power of the Prince of Kyiv. In addition to all this, they also constantly fought among themselves. This led to the death of a large number of people and the destruction of cities. This state of affairs in the country was typical not only for Rus', but also for Europe as a whole.
Batu in Ryazan
When Batu found himself on the lands of Ryazan, he sent his ambassadors to the local government. They conveyed to the Ryazan military leaders the Khan’s demand for the provision of food and horses to the Mongols. Yuri, the prince who ruled in Ryazan, refused to obey such extortion. He wanted to respond to Batu with war, but in the end all the Russian squads fled as soon as the Mongol army went on the attack. Ryazan warriors hid in the city, and the khan surrounded it at that time.
Since Ryazan was practically unprepared for defense, it managed to hold out for only 6 days, after which Batu Khan and his army took it by storm at the end of December 1237. Members of the princely family were killed and the city was plundered. The city at that time was just rebuilt after it was destroyed by Prince Vsevolod of Suzdal in 1208. Most likely, this was the main reason that he could not fully resist the Mongol attack. Khan Batu, whose short biography consists of all the dates that indicate his victories in this invasion of Rus', once again celebrated his victory. This was his first, but far from his last victory.
Meeting of the Khan with the Vladimir prince and the Ryazan boyar
But Batu Khan did not stop there; the conquest of Rus' continued. News of his invasion spread very quickly. Therefore, at the time when he kept Ryazan subordinate, the Prince of Vladimir had already begun to gather an army. At its head he put his son, Prince Vsevolod, and the governor Eremey Glebovich. This army included regiments from Novgorod and Chernigov, as well as that part of the Ryazan squad that survived.
Near the city of Kolomna, which is located in the floodplain of the Moscow River, a legendary meeting between the Vladimir and Mongol troops took place. It was January 1, 1238. This confrontation, which lasted 3 days, ended with the defeat of the Russian squad. The chief governor died in this battle, and Prince Vsevolod fled with part of his squad to the city of Vladimir, where Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich was already waiting for him.
But before the Mongol invaders had time to celebrate their victory, they were forced to fight again. This time, Evpatiy Kolovrat, who at that time was simply a boyar from Ryazan, opposed them. He had a very small but courageous army. The Mongols managed to defeat them only due to their superior numbers. The governor himself was killed in this battle, but Batu Khan released those who survived. By doing this, he expressed his respect for the courage these people showed.
Death of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich
After these events, the invasion of Batu Khan spread to Kolomna and Moscow. These cities also could not resist such a huge force. Moscow fell on January 20, 1238. After this, Batu Khan moved with his army to Vladimir. Since the prince did not have enough troops to defend the city well, he left part of it together with his son Vsevolod in the city in order to protect it from the invaders. He himself, with the second part of the warriors, left the glorious city in order to fortify himself in the forests. As a result, the city was taken, the entire princely family was killed. Over time, Batu's envoys accidentally found Prince Yuri himself. He was killed on March 4, 1238 on the City River.
After Batu took Torzhok, whose residents did not receive help from Novgorod, his troops turned south. They still moved forward in two detachments: the main group and a couple of thousand horsemen, led by Burundai. When the main group tried to storm the city of Kozelsk, which was on their way, all their attempts did not bring any results. And only when they united with Burundai’s detachment, and only women and children remained in Kozelsk, the city fell. They completely razed this city to the ground along with everyone who was there.
But still the strength of the Mongols was undermined. After this battle, they quickly marched to the lower reaches of the Volga in order to rest and gain strength and resources for a new campaign.
Batu's second campaign to the West
Having rested a little, Batu Khan set off on his campaign again. The conquest of Rus' was not always easy. Residents of some cities did not want to fight with the khan and preferred to negotiate with him. In order for Batu Khan not to touch the city, some simply bought their lives with the help of horses and provisions. There were also those who went to serve him.
During the second invasion, which began in 1239, Batu Khan again plundered those territories that had fallen during his first campaign. New cities were also captured - Pereyaslavl and Chernigov. After them, Kyiv became the main target of the invaders.
Despite the fact that everyone knew what Batu Khan was doing in Rus', confrontations between local princes continued in Kyiv. On September 19, Kyiv was defeated, Batu began an attack on the Volyn principality. In order to save their lives, the city residents gave the khan a large number of horses and provisions. After this, the invaders rushed towards Poland and Hungary.
Consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion
Due to the prolonged and destructive attacks of Khan Batu, Kievan Rus was significantly behind in development from other countries of the world. Its economic development was greatly delayed. The culture of the state also suffered. All foreign policy was focused on the Golden Horde. She had to regularly pay the tribute that Batu Khan assigned to them. A brief biography of his life, which was associated exclusively with military campaigns, testifies to the large contribution he made to the economy of his state.
Even in our time, there is a debate among historians about whether these campaigns of Batu Khan preserved the political fragmentation in the Russian lands, or whether they were the impetus for the start of the process of unification of the Russian lands.
1. In 1223 and in 1237 - 1240. Russian principalities were attacked by the Mongol-Tatars. The result of this invasion was the loss of independence by most of the Russian principalities and the Mongol-Tatar yoke that lasted for about 240 years - the political, economic and, in part, cultural dependence of the Russian lands on the Mongol-Tatar conquerors. The Mongol-Tatars are an alliance of numerous nomadic tribes in East and Central Asia. This union of tribes received its name from the name of the dominant tribe of the Mongols, and the most warlike and cruel tribe of the Tatars.
Tatars of the 13th century should not be confused with modern Tatars - descendants of the Volga Bulgars, who in the 13th century. Along with the Russians, they were subjected to the Mongol-Tatar invasion, but subsequently inherited the name.
At the beginning of the 13th century. under the rule of the Mongols, neighboring tribes were united, which formed the basis of the Mongol-Tatars:
- Chinese;
- Manchus;
- Uighurs;
- Buryats;
- Transbaikal Tatars;
— other small nationalities of Eastern Siberia;
- subsequently - the peoples of Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East.
The consolidation of the Mongol-Tatar tribes began at the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries. The significant strengthening of these tribes is associated with the activities of Genghis Khan (Temujin), who lived in 1152/1162 - 1227.
In 1206, at the kurultai (congress of the Mongolian nobility and military leaders), Genghis Khan was elected all-Mongolian kagan (“khan of khans”). With the election of Genghis Khan as kagan, the following significant changes occurred in the life of the Mongol tribe:
— strengthening the influence of the military elite;
- overcoming internal disagreements within the Mongolian nobility and its consolidation around military leaders and Genghis Khan;
- strict centralization and organization of Mongolian society (population census, unification of the mass of scattered nomads into paramilitary units - tens, hundreds, thousands, with a clear system of command and subordination);
- the introduction of strict discipline and collective responsibility (for disobedience to the commander - the death penalty, for the offenses of an individual soldier, the whole ten were punished);
- the use of scientific and technical achievements that were advanced for that time (Mongolian specialists studied methods of storming cities in China, and battering guns were also borrowed from China);
- a radical change in the ideology of Mongolian society, the subordination of the entire Mongolian people to a single goal - the unification of neighboring Asian tribes under the rule of the Mongols, and aggressive campaigns against other countries in order to enrich and expand the habitat.
Under Genghis Khan, a unified and binding written legislation was introduced for all - Yasa, violation of which was punishable by painful types of death penalty.
2. From 1211 and in the next 60 years, the Mongol-Tatar campaigns of conquest were carried out. Conquests were carried out in four main directions:
- conquest of Northern and Central China in 1211 - 1215;
- conquest of the states of Central Asia (Khiva, Bukhara, Khorezm) in 1219 - 1221;
- Batu’s campaign against the Volga region, Rus' and the Balkans in 1236 - 1242, the conquest of the Volga region and Russian lands;
- Kulagu Khan’s campaign in the Near and Middle East, the capture of Baghdad in 1258.
The empire of Genghis Khan and his descendants, stretching from China to the Balkans and from Siberia to the Indian Ocean and including Russian lands, lasted about 250 years and fell under the blows of other conquerors - Tamerlane (Timur), the Turks, as well as the liberation struggle of the conquered peoples.
3. The first armed clash between the Russian squad and the Mongol-Tatar army occurred 14 years before Batu’s invasion. In 1223, the Mongol-Tatar army under the command of Subudai-Baghatur went on a campaign against the Polovtsians in close proximity to Russian lands. At the request of the Polovtsians, some Russian princes provided military assistance to the Polovtsians.
On May 31, 1223, a battle took place between Russian-Polovtsian troops and Mongol-Tatars on the Kalka River near the Sea of Azov. As a result of this battle, the Russian-Polovtsian militia suffered a crushing defeat from the Mongol-Tatars. The Russian-Polovtsian army suffered heavy losses. Six Russian princes died, including Mstislav Udaloy, the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan and more than 10 thousand militiamen.
The main reasons for the defeat of the Russian-Polovyan army were:
- the reluctance of the Russian princes to act as a united front against the Mongol-Tatars (most Russian princes refused to respond to the request of their neighbors and send troops);
- underestimation of the Mongol-Tatars (the Russian militia was poorly armed and was not properly prepared for battle);
— inconsistency of actions during the battle (Russian troops were not a single army, but scattered squads of different princes acting in their own way; some squads withdrew from the battle and watched from the sidelines).
Having won a victory at Kalka, the army of Subudai-Baghatur did not build on its success and went to the steppes.
4. After 13 years, in 1236, the Mongol-Tatar army led by Khan Batu (Batu Khan), the grandson of Genghis Khan and the son of Jochi, invaded the Volga steppes and Volga Bulgaria (the territory of modern Tataria). Having won a victory over the Cumans and Volga Bulgars, the Mongol-Tatars decided to invade Rus'.
The conquest of Russian lands was carried out during two campaigns:
- the campaign of 1237 - 1238, as a result of which the Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal principalities - the northeast of Rus' - were conquered;
- the campaign of 1239 - 1240, as a result of which the Chernigov and Kiev principalities and other principalities of southern Rus' were conquered. The Russian principalities offered heroic resistance. Among the most important battles of the war with the Mongol-Tatars are:
- defense of Ryazan (1237) - the very first large city to be attacked by the Mongol-Tatars - almost all residents participated and died during the defense of the city;
- defense of Vladimir (1238);
- defense of Kozelsk (1238) - the Mongol-Tatars stormed Kozelsk for 7 weeks, for which they called it the “evil city”;
- Battle of the City River (1238) - the heroic resistance of the Russian militia prevented the further advance of the Mongol-Tatars to the north - to Novgorod;
- the defense of Kyiv - the city fought for about a month.
December 6, 1240 Kyiv fell. This event is considered the final defeat of the Russian principalities in the fight against the Mongol-Tatars.
The main reasons for the defeat of the Russian principalities in the war against the Mongol-Tatars are considered to be:
- feudal fragmentation;
— lack of a single centralized state and a unified army;
- enmity between princes;
- the transition of individual princes to the side of the Mongols;
- the technical backwardness of the Russian squads and the military and organizational superiority of the Mongol-Tatars.
5. Having won a victory over most of the Russian principalities (except for Novgorod and Galicia-Volyn), Batu’s army invaded Europe in 1241 and marched through the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia.
Having reached the Adriatic Sea, in 1242 Batu stopped his campaign in Europe and returned to Mongolia. The main reasons for the end of the Mongol expansion into Europe
— fatigue of the Mongol-Tatar army from the 3-year war with the Russian principalities;
- clash with the Catholic world under the rule of the Pope, who, like the Mongols, had a strong internal organization and became a strong competitor to the Mongols for more than 200 years;
- aggravation of the political situation within the empire of Genghis Khan (in 1242, Genghis Khan’s son and successor Ogedei, who became the all-Mongol Kagan after Genghis Khan, died, and Batu was forced to return to take part in the struggle for power).
Subsequently, at the end of the 1240s, Batu prepared a second invasion of Rus' (on the Novgorod land), but Novgorod voluntarily recognized the power of the Mongol-Tatars.
Batu. Batu's invasion of Rus'
Parents: Jochi (1127+), ?;
Life highlights:
Batu, Khan of the Golden Horde, son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. According to the division made by Temuchin in 1224, the eldest son, Jochi, got the Kipchat steppe, Khiva, part of the Caucasus, Crimea and Russia (Ulus Jochi). Having done nothing to actually take possession of the part assigned to him, Jochi died in 1227.
At the sejms (kurultays) of 1229 and 1235, it was decided to send a large army to conquer the spaces north of the Caspian and Black Seas. Khan Ogedei put Batu at the head of this campaign. With him went Ordu, Shiban, Tangkut, Kadan, Buri and Paydar (descendants of Temujin) and the generals Subutai and Bagatur.
In its movement, this invasion captured not only the Russian principalities, but also part of Western Europe. Meaning in this latter initially only Hungary, where the Cumans (Cumans) left the Tatars, it spread to Poland, the Czech Republic, Moravia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Dalmatia.
Rising along the Volga, Batu defeated the Bulgars, then turned west, ravaged Ryazan (December 1237), Moscow, Vladimir-on-Klyazma (February 1238), moved to Novgorod, but due to the spring thaw he went to the Polovtsian steppes, along the way having dealt with Kozelsk. In 1239, Batu conquered Pereyaslavl, Chernigov, ravaged Kyiv (December 6, 1240), Kamenets, Vladimir-on-Volyn, Galich and Lodyzhin (December 1240). Here Batu's horde split. A unit led by Kadan and Ordu went to Poland (Sandomierz on February 13, 1241, Krakow on March 24, Opole and Breslau were defeated), where Polish forces suffered a terrible defeat near Liegnitz.
The extreme western point of this movement turned out to be Meissen: the Mongols did not dare to move further west. Europe was taken by surprise and did not offer united and organized resistance. The Czech forces were late at Liegnitz and were sent to Lusatia to cross the intended route of the Mongols to the west. The latter turned south to defenseless Moravia, which was devastated.
Another large part, led by Batu, went to Hungary, where Kadan and Horde soon joined with it. King Bela IV of Hungary was completely defeated by Batu and fled. Batu passed through Hungary, Croatia and Dalmatia, inflicting defeats everywhere. Khan Ogedei died in December 1241; This news, received by Batu at the height of his European successes, forced him to rush to Mongolia to take part in the election of a new khan. In March 1242, a reverse, no less devastating, movement of the Mongols began through Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria.
Later, Batu made no attempts to fight in the west, settling with his horde on the banks of the Volga and forming the vast state of the Golden Horde.
INVASION OF BATYA ON RUSSIA.1237-1240.
In 1224, an unknown people appeared; an unheard of army came, godless Tatars, about whom no one knows well who they are and where they came from, and what kind of language they have, and what tribe they are, and what kind of faith they have... The Polovtsians could not resist them and ran to the Dnieper. Their Khan Kotyan was the father-in-law of Mstislav Galitsky; he came with a bow to the prince, his son-in-law, and to all the Russian princes..., and said: The Tatars took our land today, and tomorrow they will take yours, so protect us; if you don’t help us, then we will be cut off today, and you will be cut off tomorrow.” “The princes thought and thought and finally decided to help Kotyan.” The campaign began in April when the rivers were in full flood. The troops were heading down the Dnieper. Command was carried out The Kyiv prince Mstislav Romanovich and Mstislav the Udaly informed the Russian princes about the treachery of the Tatars. On the 17th day of the campaign, the army stopped near Olshen, somewhere on the bank of the Ros. There, the second Tatar embassy found him. Unlike the first, when the ambassadors were killed, These were released. Immediately after crossing the Dnieper, the Russian troops encountered the enemy’s vanguard, chased it for 8 days, and on the eighth day they reached the bank of the Kalka. Here Mstislav Udaloy and some princes immediately crossed the Kalka, leaving Mstislav of Kyiv on the other bank.
According to the Laurentian Chronicle, the battle took place on May 31, 1223. The troops that crossed the river were almost completely destroyed, while the camp of Mstislav of Kyiv, set up on the other bank and strongly fortified, the troops of Jebe and Subedei stormed for 3 days and were able to take it only by cunning and deceit.
The Battle of Kalka was lost not so much because of disagreements between the rival princes, but because of historical factors. Firstly, Jebe’s army was tactically and positionally completely superior to the united regiments of the Russian princes, who had in their ranks mostly princely squads, reinforced in this case by the Polovtsians. This entire army did not have sufficient unity, was not trained in combat tactics, based more on the personal courage of each warrior. Secondly, such a united army also needed a sole commander, recognized not only by the leaders, but also by the warriors themselves, and who would exercise unified command. Thirdly, the Russian troops, having made mistakes in assessing the enemy’s forces, were also unable to correctly choose the battle site, the terrain of which was completely favorable to the Tatars. However, in fairness it must be said that at that time, not only in Rus', but also in Europe, there would not have been an army capable of competing with the formations of Genghis Khan.
The Military Council of 1235 declared an all-Mongol campaign to the west. Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, son of Jugha, was chosen as leader. All winter the Mongols gathered in the upper reaches of the Irtysh, preparing for a big campaign. In the spring of 1236, countless horsemen, countless herds, endless carts with military equipment and siege weapons moved west. In the autumn of 1236, their army attacked Volga Bulgaria, possessing a huge superiority of forces, they broke through the Bulgar defense line, cities were taken one after another. Bulgaria was terribly destroyed and burned. The Polovtsians took the second blow, most of whom were killed, the rest fled to Russian lands. The Mongol troops moved in two large arcs, using "round-up" tactics.
One arc is Batu (Mordovians along the way), the other arc is Guisk Khan (Polovtsians), the ends of both arcs abutted in Rus'.
The first city that stood in the way of the conquerors was Ryazan. The Battle of Ryazan began on December 16, 1237. The population of the city was 25 thousand people. Ryazan was protected on three sides by well-fortified walls, and on the fourth by a river (bank). But after five days of siege, the walls of the city, destroyed by powerful siege weapons, could not stand it and on December 21, Ryazan fell. An army of nomads stood near Ryazan for ten days - they plundered the city, divided the spoils, and plundered neighboring villages. Next, Batu’s army moved to Kolomna. On the way, they were unexpectedly attacked by a detachment led by Evpatiy Kolovrat, a Ryazan resident. His detachment numbered about 1,700 people. Despite the numerical superiority of the Mongols, he boldly attacked the hordes of enemies and fell in battle, causing enormous damage to the enemy. The Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich, who did not respond to the call of the Ryazan prince to jointly oppose Khan Batu, himself found himself in danger. But he made good use of the time that passed between the attacks on Ryazan and Vladimir (about a month). He managed to concentrate quite a significant army on Batu’s proposed path. The place where the Vladimir regiments gathered to repel the Mongol-Tatars was the city of Kolomna. In terms of the number of troops and the tenacity of the battle, the battle near Kolomna can be considered one of the most significant events of the invasion. But they were defeated due to the numerical superiority of the Mongol-Tatars. Having defeated the army and destroyed the city, Batu set off along the Moscow River towards Moscow. Moscow held back the attacks of the conquerors for five days. The city was burned and almost all the inhabitants were killed. After this, the nomads headed to Vladimir. On the way from Ryazan to Vladimir, the conquerors had to storm every city, repeatedly fight with Russian warriors in the “open field”; defend against surprise attacks from ambushes. The heroic resistance of the ordinary Russian people held back the conquerors. On February 4, 1238, the siege of Vladimir began. Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich left part of the troops to defend the city, and on the other hand went north to gather an army. The defense of the city was led by his sons Vsevolod and Mstislav. But before this, the conquerors took Suzdal (30 km from Vladimir) by storm, and without any particular difficulties. Vladimir fell after a difficult battle, causing enormous damage to the conqueror. The last inhabitants were burned in the Stone Cathedral. Vladimir was the last city of North-Eastern Rus', which was besieged by the united forces of Batu Khan. The Mongol-Tatars had to make a decision so that three tasks would be completed at once: to cut off Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich from Novgorod, defeat the remnants of the Vladimir forces and pass along all river and trade routes, destroying cities - centers of resistance. Batu's troops were divided into three parts: to the north to Rostov and further to the Volga, to the east - to the middle Volga, to the northwest to Tver and Torzhok. Rostov surrendered without a fight, as did Uglich. As a result of the February campaigns of 1238, the Mongol-Tatars destroyed Russian cities in the territory from the Middle Volga to Tver, a total of fourteen cities.
The defense of Kozelsk lasted seven weeks. Even when the Tatars broke into the city, the Kozelites continued to fight. They attacked the invaders with knives, axes, clubs, and strangled them with their bare hands. Batu lost about 4 thousand soldiers. The Tatars called Kozelsk an evil city. By order of Batu, all the inhabitants of the city, down to the last baby, were destroyed, and the city was destroyed to the ground.
Batu withdrew his badly battered and thinned army beyond the Volga. In 1239 he resumed his campaign against Rus'. One detachment of Tatars went up the Volga and devastated the Mordovian land, the cities of Murom and Gorokhovets. Batu himself with the main forces headed towards the Dnieper. Bloody battles between Russians and Tatars took place everywhere. After heavy fighting, the Tatars ravaged Pereyaslavl, Chernigov and other cities. In the autumn of 1240, the Tatar hordes approached Kyiv. Batu was amazed by the beauty and grandeur of the ancient Russian capital. He wanted to take Kyiv without a fight. But the people of Kiev decided to fight to the death. Prince Mikhail of Kyiv left for Hungary. The defense of Kyiv was led by Voivode Dmitry. All residents rose to defend their hometown. Craftsmen forged weapons, sharpened axes and knives. Everyone capable of wielding weapons stood on the city walls. Children and women brought them arrows, stones, ash, sand, boiled water, and boiled resin.
The battering machines were banging around the clock. The Tatars broke through the gates, but came across a stone wall, which the Kievans built in one night. Finally, the enemy managed to destroy the fortress walls and break into the city. The battle continued on the streets of Kyiv for a long time. For several days the invaders destroyed and plundered houses and exterminated the remaining inhabitants. The wounded governor Dmitry was brought to Batu. But the bloody khan spared the leader of the defense of Kyiv for his bravery.
Having devastated Kyiv, the Tatars went to the Galician-Volyn land. There they destroyed many cities and villages, littering the entire land with corpses. Then Tatar troops invaded Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Weakened by numerous battles with the Russians, the Tatars did not dare to advance to the West. Batu understood that Rus' remained defeated, but not conquered, in the rear. Fearing her, he abandoned further conquests. The Russian people took upon themselves the full brunt of the fight against the Tatar hordes and thereby saved Western Europe from a terrible, devastating invasion.
In 1241, Batu returned to Rus'. In 1242, Batu Khan in the lower reaches of the Volga, where he established his new capital - Sarai-batu. The Horde yoke was established in Rus' by the end of the 13th century, after the creation of the state of Batu Khan - the Golden Horde, which stretched from the Danube to the Irtysh. The Mongol-Tatar invasion caused great damage to the Russian state. Enormous damage was caused to the economic, political and cultural development of Rus'. The old agricultural centers and once-developed territories became desolate and fell into decay. Russian cities were subjected to massive destruction. Many crafts have become simpler and sometimes disappeared. Tens of thousands of people were killed or taken into slavery. The ongoing struggle waged by the Russian people against the invaders forced the Mongol-Tatars to abandon the creation of their own administrative bodies of power in Rus'. Rus' retained its statehood. This was also facilitated by the lower level of cultural and historical development of the Tatars. In addition, Russian lands were unsuitable for raising nomadic cattle. The main purpose of enslavement was to obtain tribute from the conquered people. The size of the tribute was very large. The size of the tribute alone in favor of the khan was 1300 kg of silver per year.
In addition, deductions from trade duties and various taxes went to the khan's treasury. In total there were 14 types of tribute in favor of the Tatars. The Russian principalities made attempts not to obey the horde. However, the forces to overthrow the Tatar-Mongol yoke were still not enough. Realizing this, the most far-sighted Russian princes - Alexander Nevsky and Daniil Galitsky - took a more flexible policy towards the Horde and the khan. Realizing that an economically weak state would never be able to resist the Horde, Alexander Nevsky set a course for restoring and boosting the economy of the Russian lands.
