The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' is characterized as a bright period in the history of the Fatherland.
In order to conquer new territories, Batu Khan decided to send his army to Russian lands.
The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' began from the city of Torzhok. The invaders laid siege to it for two weeks. In 1238, on March 5, the enemy took the city. Having penetrated Torzhok, the Mongol-Tatars began to kill its inhabitants. They did not spare anyone, they killed the elderly, children, and women. Those who managed to escape from the burning city were overtaken by the khan's army along the northern road.
The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' subjected almost all cities to severe destruction. Batu's army fought continuous battles. In the battles for the devastation of Russian territory, the Mongol-Tatars were drained of blood and weakened. The conquest of the northeastern Russian lands took them a lot of effort,
Battles on Russian territory did not allow Batu Khan to gather the necessary forces for further campaigns towards the West. During their course they met the fiercest resistance of the Russians and other peoples inhabiting the territory of the state.
History often says that the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' protected the European peoples from invading hordes. For almost twenty years, Batu established and asserted his dominance on Russian soil. This, mainly, prevented him from moving on with the same success.
After a very unsuccessful western campaign, he founded a fairly strong state on the southern Russian border. He called it the Golden Horde. After some time, Russian princes came to the khan for approval. However, recognizing one's dependence on the conqueror did not mean complete conquest of the lands.
The Mongol-Tatars failed to capture Pskov, Novgorod, Smolensk, and Vitebsk. The rulers of these cities opposed recognition of dependence on the khan. The southwestern territory of the country recovered relatively quickly from the invasion, where (the prince of these lands) managed to suppress the revolts of the boyars and organized resistance to the invaders.
Prince Andrei Yaroslavich, who received the Vladimir throne after the murder of his father in Mongolia, made an attempt to openly oppose the Horde army. It should be noted that the chronicles do not contain information that he went to bow to the khan or sent gifts. And Prince Andrei did not pay the tribute in full. In the fight against the invaders, Andrei Yaroslavich and Daniil Galitsky entered into an alliance.
However, Prince Andrei did not find support from many princes of Rus'. Some even complained to Batu about him, after which the khan sent a strong army led by Nevryu against the “rebellious” ruler. Prince Andrei's forces were defeated, and he himself fled to Pskov.
Mongol officials visited the Russian land in 1257. They arrived to carry out a census of the entire population, and also to impose a heavy tribute on the entire people. Only the clergy who received significant privileges from Batu were not rewritten. This census marked the beginning of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The oppression of the conquerors continued until 1480.
Of course, the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus', as well as the long yoke that followed, caused enormous damage to the state in all areas without exception.
Constant pogroms, devastation of lands, robberies, heavy payments from the people to the khan slowed down the development of the economy. The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' and its consequences threw the country back several centuries in economic, social, and political development. Before the conquest, it was proposed to destroy the cities. After the invasion, progressive impulses died out for a long time.
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 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.
Subedey
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 destruction 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 Furious.
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, deciding 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 the 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.
Batu Khan 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 Chernigovsky and his relative Andrei at Batu headquarters (possibly by agreement with Yaroslav Vladimirsky)
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 1227, the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, died, bequeathing to his descendants to continue his work and conquer the entire land, right up to the “Sea of the Franks” known to the Mongols in the west. The huge power of Genghis Khan was divided, as already noted, into uluses. The ulus of Jochi's eldest son, who died in the same year as his father, went to the conqueror's grandson Batu Khan (Batu). It was this ulus, located west of the Irtysh, that was supposed to become the main springboard for the conquest to the West. In 1235, at the kurultai of the Mongol nobility in Karakorum, a decision was made on an all-Mongol campaign against Europe. The strength of the Jochi ulus alone was clearly not enough. In this regard, troops of other Chingizids were sent to help Batu. Batu himself was placed at the head of the campaign, and the experienced commander Subedei was appointed as an adviser.
The offensive began in the fall of 1236, and a year later the Mongol conquerors conquered Volga Bulgaria, the lands of the Burtases and Mordovians in the Middle Volga, as well as the Polovtsian hordes roaming between the Volga and Don rivers. In the late autumn of 1237, Batu's main forces concentrated in the upper reaches of the Voronezh River (the left tributary of the Don) to invade northeastern Rus'. In addition to the significant numerical superiority of the Mongol Tumeis, the fragmentation of the Russian principalities, which resisted the enemy invasion one by one, played a negative role. The first principality to be mercilessly devastated was the Ryazan land. In the winter of 1237, Batu's hordes invaded its borders, destroying everything in their path. After a six-day siege, without receiving help, Ryazan fell on December 21. The city was burned and all the inhabitants were exterminated.
Having ravaged the Ryazan land, in January 1238, the Mongol invaders defeated the Grand Duke's guard regiment of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, led by the son of the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich, near Kolomna. Then moving along frozen rivers, the Mongols captured Moscow, Suzdal and a number of other cities. On February 7, after the siege, the capital of the principality, Vladimir, fell, where the family of the Grand Duke also died. After the capture of Vladimir, the hordes of conquerors scattered throughout the Vladimir-Suzdal land, plundering and destroying it (14 cities were destroyed).
On March 4, 1238, across the Volga, a battle took place on the City River between the main forces of northeastern Rus', led by the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich and the Mongol invaders. The Russian army was defeated in this battle, and the Grand Duke himself died. After the capture of the “suburb” of the Novgorod land - Torzhok, the road to northwestern Rus' opened before the conquerors. However, the approach of the spring thaw and significant human losses forced the Mongols, not reaching about 100 versts to Veliky Novgorod, to turn back to the Polovtsian steppes. On the way, they defeated Kursk and the small town of Kozelsk on the Zhizdra River. The defenders of Kozelsk offered fierce resistance to the enemy; they defended for seven weeks. After its capture in May 1238, Batu ordered this “evil city” to be wiped off the face of the earth, and the remaining inhabitants to be exterminated without exception.
Batu spent the summer of 1238 in the Don steppes, restoring the strength of his army. In the fall, his troops again devastated the Ryazan land, which had not yet recovered from the defeat, capturing Gorokhovets, Murom and several other cities. In the spring of 1239, Batu’s troops defeated the Pereyaslav principality, and in the fall the Chernigov-Seversk land was devastated.
In the fall of 1240, the Mongol army moved through southern Rus' to conquer Western Europe. In September they crossed the Dnieper and surrounded Kyiv. After a long siege, the city fell on December 6, 1240. In the winter of 1240/41, the Mongols captured almost all the cities of southern Rus'. In the spring of 1241, Mongol troops, having passed “with fire and sword” through Galicia-Volyn Rus' and captured Vladimir-Volynsky and Galich, attacked Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Moravia, and by the summer of 1242 they reached the borders of Northern Italy and Germany. However, not receiving reinforcements and suffering heavy losses in the unusual mountainous terrain, the conquerors, drained of blood by the protracted campaign, were forced to turn back from Central Europe to the steppes of the Lower Volga region. Another, and perhaps the most significant reason for the rollback of the Mongol hordes from Europe was the news of the death of the great Khan Ogedei in Karakorum, and Batu hastened to take part in the elections of the new ruler of the Mongol Empire.
The results of the Mongol conquest for Rus' were extremely difficult.
In terms of scale, the destruction and casualties resulting from the invasion could not be compared with the losses caused by the raids of nomads and princely feuds. First of all, the Mongol invasion caused enormous damage to all lands at the same time. According to archaeologists, out of 74 cities that existed in Rus' in the pre-Mongol era, 49 were completely destroyed by Batu’s hordes. At the same time, a third of them were depopulated forever, and 15 former cities turned into villages. Only Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk and the Turovo-Pinsk principality were not affected, because the Mongol hordes bypassed them. The population of the Russian lands also decreased sharply. Most of the townspeople either died in battles or were taken by the conquerors into “full” (slavery). Handicraft production was particularly affected. After the invasion in Rus', some craft specialties disappeared, the construction of stone buildings stopped, the secrets of making glassware, cloisonne enamel, multi-colored ceramics, etc. were lost. Huge losses occurred among professional Russian warriors - princely warriors; many princes died in battles with the enemy. Only half a century later in Rus' the service class began to be revived and, accordingly, the structure of the patrimonial and nascent landowner economy was recreated. Apparently, only the most massive category - the rural population - suffered somewhat less from the invasion, but they suffered severe trials.
However, the main consequence of the Mongol invasion of Rus' and the establishment of Horde rule from the middle of the 13th century. was the strengthening of the isolation of the Russian lands, the disappearance of the old political-legal system and power structure, once characteristic of the Old Russian state. A conglomerate of Russian principalities of different sizes found itself under the influence of centrifugal geopolitical processes that became irreversible as a result of Mongol expansion. The collapse of the political unity of Ancient Rus' also marked the beginning of the disappearance of the Old Russian people, which became the progenitor of the three currently existing East Slavic peoples: from the 14th century. in the north-east and north-west of Rus' the Russian (Great Russian) nationality is formed, and in the lands that became part of Lithuania and Poland - the Ukrainian and Belarusian nationalities.
After Batu's invasion, the so-called Mongol-Tatar rule was established over Russia - a set of economic and political methods that ensured the dominance of the Golden Horde over that part of the territory of Rus' that came under the control (suzerainty) of its khans. The main one among these methods was the collection of various tributes and duties: “service”, trade duty “tamga”, food for Tatar ambassadors - “honor”, etc. The heaviest of them was the Horde “exit” - tribute in silver, which began to be collected in 1240- e years Beginning in 1257, on the orders of Khan Berke, the Mongols carried out a census of the population of northeastern Rus' (“recording the number”), establishing fixed rates of collection. Only the clergy were exempt from paying the “exit” (before the Horde adopted Islam at the beginning of the 14th century, the Mongols were distinguished by religious tolerance). To control the collection of tribute, representatives of the khan - the Baskaks - were sent to Rus'. The tribute was collected by tax farmers - besermens (Central Asian merchants). This is where the Russian word “busurmanin” comes from. By the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV century. The institution of Baskaism due to the active opposition of the Russian population (constant unrest of the rural population and urban protests) was abolished. From that time on, the princes of the Russian lands themselves began to collect Horde tribute. In case of disobedience, punitive Horde raids followed. As the dominance of the Golden Horde consolidated, punitive expeditions were replaced by repressions against individual princes.
The Russian principalities that became dependent on the Horde lost their sovereignty. Obtaining the princely throne depended on the will of the khan, who issued labels (letters) for reign. The dominance of the Golden Horde over Russia was expressed, among other things, in the issuance of labels (letters) for the great reign of Vladimir. The one who received such a label annexed the Principality of Vladimir to his possessions and became the most powerful among the Russian princes. He had to maintain order, stop strife and ensure the uninterrupted flow of tribute. The Horde rulers did not allow a significant increase in the power of any of the Russian princes and, consequently, a long stay on the grand-ducal throne. In addition, having taken away the label from the next Grand Duke, they gave it to a rival prince, which led to princely strife and the struggle for obtaining the Vladimir reign at the Khai court. A well-thought-out system of measures provided the Horde with strong control over the Russian lands.
Separation of Southern Rus'. In the second half of the 13th century. the division of Ancient Rus' into the northeastern and southwestern parts was actually completed. In southwestern Rus', the process of state fragmentation reached its apogee at the time of the Horde conquest. The Grand Duchy of Kiev lost its political significance. The Chernigov and Pereyaslav principalities weakened and fragmented.
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, the 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 Kiev prince Mstislav Romanovich and Mstislav the Udaly. The Polovtsy 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 banks 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, Russian troops encountered the enemy's vanguard, chased after it for 8 days, and on the eighth they reached the bank of the Kalka. Here Mstislav the Udaloy with 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, but 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 Batu (Mordovians along the way), the other arc 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 intended 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.
Khan Batu in Rus'. Campaigns of Khan Batu to Rus'.
After a “reconnaissance” battle on the Kalka River in 1223, Batu Khan withdrew his troops back to the Horde. But ten years later, in 1237, he returned fully prepared and launched a full-scale offensive against Rus'.
The Russian princes understood that an imminent Mongol invasion was inevitable, but, unfortunately, they were too fragmented and disunited to give a worthy rebuff. That's why Batu's march across the country became a real disaster for the Russian state.
The first invasion of Rus' by Khan Batu.
On December 21, 1237, Ryazan fell under the attack of Batu- it was precisely this that he chose as his first goal, as the capital of one of the most powerful principalities. It should be noted that the city remained under siege for almost a week, but the forces were too unequal.
In 1238, the Mongol army approached the borders of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, and a new battle took place near the city of Kolomna. Having won another victory, Batu came close to Moscow - and the city, having held out as long as Ryazan could stand, fell under the onslaught of the enemy.
At the beginning of February, Batu’s army was already near Vladimir, the center of Russian lands. After four days of siege, the city wall was broken. Prince Yuri of Vladimir managed to escape, and exactly a month later, with a combined army, he tried to take revenge on the Tatars - but nothing came of it, and the army was completely exterminated. The prince himself also died.
Retreat from Novgorod of Khan Batu.
While Batu stormed Vladimir, one detachment attacked Suzdal, and the second headed further north, to Veliky Novgorod. However, near the small town of Torzhok, the Tatars ran into desperate resistance from Russian troops.
Surprisingly, Torzhok lasted three times longer than Ryazan and Moscow - two whole weeks. Despite this, in the end the Tatars again smashed the walls of the city, and then the defenders of Torzhok were exterminated to the last man.
But after taking Torzhok, Batu changed his mind about going to Novgorod. Despite his numerical superiority, he lost many soldiers. Apparently, not wanting to completely lose his army under the Novgorod walls, he decided that one city not taken would not change anything, and turned back.
However, he could not manage without losses - on the way back, Kozelsk offered fierce resistance to the Tatars, seriously battering Batu’s army. For this, the Tatars razed the city to the ground, sparing neither women nor children..
Second invasion of Rus' by Khan Batu.
Taking a break for two years, Batu retreated to the Horde to restore his army and at the same time prepare for a further campaign against Europe..
In 1240, the Mongol army again invaded Rus', once again walking through it with fire and sword. This time the main target was Kyiv. Residents of the city fought the enemy for three months, even being left without a prince, who escaped - but in the end Kyiv fell, and the people were killed or driven into slavery.
However, this time the khan’s main goal was not Rus', but Europe. The Galicia-Volyn principality simply turned out to be in his way.
Batu's invasion became a real disaster for Rus'. Most cities were mercilessly devastated, some, like Kozelsk, were simply wiped off the face of the earth. The country spent almost the next three centuries under the Mongol yoke.