We all know from the school history course that Russia at the beginning of the 13th century was captured by the foreign army of Batu Khan. These invaders came from the steppes of modern Mongolia. Huge hordes fell upon Russia, merciless horse riders, armed with bent sabers, did not know mercy and acted equally well both in the steppes and in Russian forests, and the frozen rivers were used to quickly move along Russian impassability. They spoke in an incomprehensible language, were pagans and had a Mongoloid appearance.

Our fortresses could not resist skilful warriors armed with wall-beating machines. Terrible dark times came for Russia, when not a single prince could rule without a khan's “label”, to obtain which it was necessary to humiliatingly crawl on his knees the last kilometers to the headquarters of the chief khan of the Golden Horde. The “Mongol-Tatar” yoke existed in Russia for about 300 years. And only after the yoke was thrown off, Russia, thrown back centuries ago, was able to continue its development.

However, there is a lot of information that makes you look at the version familiar from school differently. Moreover, we are not talking about some secret or new sources that historians simply did not take into account. We are talking about all the same chronicles and other sources of the Middle Ages, on which the supporters of the version of the “Mongol-Tatar” yoke relied. Often inconvenient facts are justified by the "mistake" of the chronicler or his "ignorance" or "interest".

1. There were no Mongols in the “Mongol-Tatar” horde

It turns out that there is no mention of warriors of the Mongoloid type in the troops of the “Tatar-Mongols”. From the very first battle of the “invaders” with the Russian troops on the Kalka, there were wanderers in the troops of the “Mongol-Tatars”. Brodniki are free Russian warriors who lived in those places (the predecessors of the Cossacks). And at the head of the wanderers in that battle was the governor Ploskin - Russian.

Official historians believe that Russian participation in the Tatar troops was forced. But they have to admit that, “probably, the forced participation of Russian soldiers in the Tatar army stopped later. There were mercenaries who had already voluntarily joined the Tatar troops” (M.D. Poluboyarinova).

Ibn-Batuta wrote: "There were many Russians in Sarai Berke." Moreover: “The bulk of the armed service and labor forces of the Golden Horde were Russian people” (A. A. Gordeev)

“Let's imagine the absurdity of the situation: the victorious Mongols for some reason transfer weapons to the “Russian slaves” they conquered, and those (being armed to the teeth) calmly serve in the conquering troops, making up the “main mass” in them! Let us recall once again that the Russians were allegedly just defeated in an open and armed struggle! Even in traditional history, ancient Rome never armed its newly conquered slaves. Throughout history, the victors have taken away weapons from the vanquished, and if they later accepted them into service, then they constituted an insignificant minority and were considered, of course, unreliable.

“But what can be said about the composition of Batu’s troops? The Hungarian king wrote to the Pope:

“When the state of Hungary from the invasion of the Mongols, as from the plague, for the most part, was turned into a desert, and like a sheepfold was surrounded by various tribes of infidels, namely: Russians, roamers from the east, Bulgarians and other heretics from the south ...”

“Let us ask a simple question: where are the Mongols here? Russians, wanderers, Bulgarians are mentioned - that is, Slavic tribes. Translating the word “Mongol” from the king’s letter, we get simply that “great (= megalion) peoples invaded”, namely: Russians, wanderers from the east, Bulgarians, etc. Therefore, our recommendation: it is useful every time to replace the Greek word “Mongol = megalion” by its translation = “great”. As a result, a completely meaningful text will be obtained, for the understanding of which one does not need to involve some distant people from the borders of China (there is not a word about China, by the way, in all these reports).” (With)

2. It is not clear how many “Mongol-Tatars” were

And how many Mongols were at the beginning of the Batu campaign? Opinions on this matter vary. There are no exact data, so there are only estimates of historians. In early historical writings, it was assumed that the army of the Mongols was about 500 thousand horsemen. But the more modern the historical work, the smaller the army of Genghis Khan becomes. The problem is that for each rider you need 3 horses, and a herd of 1.5 million horses cannot move, since the front horses will eat all the pasture and the rear ones will simply starve to death. Gradually, historians agreed that the “Tatar-Mongol” army did not exceed 30 thousand, which, in turn, was not enough to capture all of Russia and enslave it (not to mention the other conquests in Asia and Europe).

By the way, the population of modern Mongolia is a little more than 1 million, while even 1000 years before the conquest of China by the Mongols, there were already more than 50 million .. And the population of Russia already in the 10th century was about 1 million. At the same time, nothing is known about targeted genocide in Mongolia. That is, it is not clear how such a small state could conquer such large ones?

3. There were no Mongolian horses in the Mongolian troops

It is believed that the secret of the Mongolian cavalry was a special breed of Mongolian horses - hardy and unpretentious, capable of independently obtaining food even in winter. But it is in their steppe that they can smash the crust with their hooves and profit from grass when they graze, and what can they get in the Russian winter, when everything is swept up by a meter layer of snow, and you also need to carry a rider. It is known that in the Middle Ages there was a small ice age (that is, the climate was harsher than now). In addition, experts in horse breeding, based on miniatures and other sources, almost unanimously assert that the Mongol cavalry fought on Turkmen women - horses of a completely different breed that cannot feed themselves without human help in winter.

4. The Mongols were engaged in the unification of Russian lands

It is known that Batu invaded Russia at the time of permanent internecine struggle. In addition, the question of succession to the throne was acute. All these civil strife were accompanied by pogroms, ruin, murders and violence. For example, Roman Galitsky buried alive in the ground and burned his recalcitrant boyars at the stake, chopped “on the joints”, tore off the skin from the living. A gang of Prince Vladimir, expelled from the Galician table for drunkenness and debauchery, walked around Russia. As the chronicles testify, this daring freewoman “dragged girls and married women for fornication, killed priests during worship, and put horses in the church. That is, there was an ordinary civil strife with a normal medieval level of atrocities, the same as in the West at that time.

And, suddenly, “Mongol-Tatars” appear, who quickly begin to restore order: a strict mechanism of succession to the throne with a label appears, a clear vertical of power is built. Separatist encroachments are now nipped in the bud. It is interesting that nowhere, except for Russia, the Mongols do not show such preoccupation with restoring order. But according to the classical version, half of the then civilized world is in the Mongol empire. For example, during its western campaign, the horde burns, kills, robs, but does not impose tribute, does not try to build a vertical of power, as in Russia.

5. Thanks to the “Mongol-Tatar” yoke, Russia experienced a cultural upsurge

With the advent of the “Mongol-Tatar invaders” in Russia, the Orthodox Church began to flourish: many churches were erected, including in the horde itself, church ranks were elevated, and the church received many benefits.

It is interesting that the written Russian language during the “yoke” brings to a new level. Here is what Karamzin writes:

“Our language,” writes Karamzin, “from the 13th to the 15th centuries acquired more purity and correctness.” Further, according to Karamzin, under the Tatar-Mongols, instead of the former “Russian, uneducated dialect, writers more carefully adhered to the grammar of church books or ancient Serbian, which they followed not only in declensions and conjugations, but also in pronunciation.”

So, in the West, classical Latin appears, and in our country, the Church Slavonic language in its correct classical forms. Applying the same standards as for the West, we must recognize that the Mongol conquest was the heyday of Russian culture. Mongols were strange conquerors!

Interestingly, not everywhere the "invaders" were so indulgent towards the church. In the Polish chronicles there is information about the massacre perpetrated by the Tatars among Catholic priests and monks. Moreover, they were killed after the capture of the city (that is, not in the heat of battle, but intentionally). This is strange, since the classical version tells us about the exceptional religious tolerance of the Mongols. But in the Russian lands, the Mongols tried to rely on the clergy, providing the church with significant concessions, up to complete exemption from taxes. It is interesting that the Russian Church itself showed amazing loyalty to the “foreign invaders”.

6. Nothing left after the great empire

Classical history tells us that the "Mongol-Tatars" managed to build a huge centralized state. However, this state disappeared and left no traces behind. In 1480, Russia finally threw off the yoke, but already in the second half of the 16th century, Russians began to move eastward - beyond the Urals, to Siberia. And they did not meet any traces of the former empire, although only 200 years had passed. There are no large cities and villages, there is no Yamsky tract thousands of kilometers long. The names of Genghis Khan and Batu are not familiar to anyone. There is only a rare nomadic population, engaged in cattle breeding, fishing, and primitive agriculture. And no legends about great conquests. By the way, the great Karakoram was never found by archaeologists. But it was a huge city, where thousands and tens of thousands of artisans and gardeners were taken away (by the way, it’s interesting how they were driven through the steppes for 4-5 thousand km).

There are also no written sources left after the Mongols. In the Russian archives, no “Mongolian” labels for reigning were found, which should have been many, but there are many documents of that time in Russian. Several labels were found but already in the 19th century:

Two or three labels found in the 19th century And not in state archives, but in the papers of historians. For example, the famous label of Tokhtamysh, according to Prince M.A. were in the hands of the Polish historian Narushevich” Regarding this label, Obolensky wrote: “He (Tokhtamysh’s label - Auth) positively resolves the question in what language and what letters were written the ancient khan’s labels to the Russian Grand Dukes From the acts hitherto known to us, this is the second diploma” It turns out , further, that this label “is written in diverse Mongolian scripts, infinitely different, not in the least similar to the label of Timur-Kutluy already printed by Mr. Hammer in 1397”

7. Russian and Tatar names are difficult to distinguish

Old Russian names and nicknames did not always resemble our modern ones. These are the old Russian names and nicknames that can be mistaken for Tatar ones: Murza, Saltanko, Tatarinko, Sutorma, Eyancha, Vandysh, Smoga, Sugonai, Saltyr, Suleisha, Sumgur, Sunbul, Suryan, Tashlyk, Temir, Tenbyak, Tursulok, Shaban, Kudiyar , Murad, Nevruy. These names were borne by Russian people. But, for example, the Tatar prince Oleks Nevruy has a Slavic name.

8. Mongol khans fraternized with the Russian nobility

It is often mentioned that Russian princes and “Mongol khans” became brothers, relatives, sons-in-law and father-in-law, went on joint military campaigns. Interestingly, in no other country defeated or captured by them, the Tatars did not behave like this.

Here is another example of the amazing closeness of ours and the Mongol nobility. The capital of the great nomadic empire was in Karakorum. After the death of the Great Khan, the time comes for the election of a new ruler, in which Batu must also take part. But Batu himself does not go to Karakorum, but sends Yaroslav Vsevolodovich there to represent his person. It would seem that a more important reason to go to the capital of the empire could not be imagined. Instead, Batu sends a prince from the occupied lands. Marvelous.

9. Super-Mongol-Tatars

Now let's talk about the capabilities of the "Mongol-Tatars", about their uniqueness in history.

The stumbling block for all nomads was the capture of cities and fortresses. There is only one exception - the army of Genghis Khan. The answer of historians is simple: after the capture of the Chinese Empire, Batu's army took possession of the machines themselves and the technique of using them (or captured specialists).

It is surprising that the nomads managed to create a strong centralized state. The fact is that, unlike the farmer, nomads are not tied to the land. Therefore, with any dissatisfaction, they can simply pick up and leave. For example, when in 1916 the tsarist officials did something to the Kazakh nomads, they took and migrated to neighboring China. But we are told that the Mongols succeeded at the end of the XII century.

It is not clear how Genghis Khan could persuade his fellow tribesmen to go on a campaign “to the last sea”, not knowing the maps and nothing at all about those who would have to fight along the way. This is not a raid on neighbors you know well.

All adult and healthy men among the Mongols were considered warriors. In peacetime, they ran their household, and in wartime, they took up arms. But who did the "Mongol-Tatars" leave at home after they went on campaigns for decades? Who tends their flocks? Old people and children? It turns out that in the rear of this army there was no strong economy. Then it is not clear who ensured the uninterrupted supply of food and weapons to the army of the Mongols. This is a difficult task even for large centralized states, not to mention the state of nomads with a weak economy. In addition, the scope of the Mongol conquests is comparable to the theater of operations of World War II (and taking into account the battles with Japan, and not just Germany). The supply of weapons and provisions is simply impossible.

In the 16th century, the “conquest” of Siberia by the Cossacks began, which was not an easy task: it took about 50 years to fight several thousand kilometers to Baikal, leaving behind a chain of fortified fortresses. However, the Cossacks had a strong state in the rear, from where they could draw resources. And the military training of the peoples who lived in those places could not be compared with the Cossack. However, the "Mongol-Tatars" managed to cover twice as much distance in the opposite direction in a couple of decades, conquering states with developed economies. Sounds fantastic. There were other examples as well. For example, in the 19th century, it took Americans about 50 years to travel a distance of 3-4 thousand km: the Indian wars were fierce and the losses of the US army were significant despite the gigantic technical superiority. Similar problems faced European colonizers in Africa in the 19th century. Only the “Mongol-Tatars” succeeded easily and quickly.

Interestingly, all the major campaigns of the Mongols in Russia were winter. This is not typical for nomadic peoples. Historians tell us that this allowed them to move quickly across frozen rivers, but this, in turn, requires a good knowledge of the terrain, which the alien conquerors cannot boast of. They fought equally successfully in the forests, which is also strange for the steppes.

There is evidence that the Horde distributed fake letters on behalf of the Hungarian king Bela IV, which caused great confusion in the camp of the enemy. Not bad for the steppes?

10. Tatars looked like Europeans

A contemporary of the Mongol wars, the Persian historian Rashid-ad-Din writes that in the family of Genghis Khan, children "were born mostly with gray eyes and blond." Chroniclers describe the appearance of Batu in similar expressions: fair-haired, light-bearded, light-eyed. By the way, the title "Genghis" is translated, according to some sources, as "sea" or "ocean". Perhaps this is due to the color of his eyes (in general, it is strange that the Mongolian language of the 13th century has the word “ocean”).

In the Battle of Liegnitz, in the midst of a skirmish, the Polish troops panic, and they take to flight. According to some sources, this panic was provoked by the cunning Mongols, who wormed their way into the battle formations of the Polish squads. It turns out that the “Mongols” looked like Europeans.

And here is what Rubricus, a contemporary of those events, writes:

“In 1252-1253, from Constantinople through the Crimea to the headquarters of Batu and further to Mongolia, the ambassador of King Louis IX, William Rubrikus, traveled with his retinue, who, driving along the lower reaches of the Don, wrote: “Everywhere among the Tatars settlements of the Rus are scattered; Russians mixed with the Tatars ... learned their customs, as well as clothes and lifestyle - Women decorate their heads with headdresses similar to the headdresses of French women, the bottom of the dress is trimmed with furs, otters, squirrels and ermine. Men wear short clothes; caftans, chekminis and lambskin hats… All routes of transportation in the vast country are served by the Rus; at the crossings of the rivers - everywhere the Rus"

Rubricus travels through Russia only 15 years after its conquest by the Mongols. Didn't the Russians mix with the wild Mongols too quickly, adopted their clothes, preserving it until the beginning of the 20th century, as well as their customs and way of life?

On the image in the tomb of Henry II the Pious with the comment: “The figure of a Tatar under the feet of Henry II, Duke of Silesia, Krakow and Poland, placed on the grave in Breslau of this prince, who was killed in the battle with the Tatars at Lingnitz on April 9, 1241,” we see Tatar, no different from Russian:

And here's another example. On the miniatures from the 16th century Facial Code, it is impossible to distinguish a Tatar from a Russian:

Other interesting information

A few more interesting points that are worth paying attention to, but which I did not figure out in which section to include.

At that time, not all of Russia was called “Rus”, but only: Kiev, Pereyaslav and Chernigov principalities. Often there were references to trips from Novgorod or Vladimir to “Rus”. For example, the Smolensk cities were no longer considered "Rus".

The word “horde” is often mentioned not in relation to the “Mongol-Tatars”, but simply to the troops: “Swedish horde”, “German horde”, “Zalesian horde”, “Land of the Cossack Horde”. That is, it simply means - an army and there is no “Mongolian” color in it. By the way, in modern Kazakh “Kzyl-Orda” is translated as “Red Army”.

In 1376, Russian troops entered the Volga Bulgaria, besieged one of its cities and forced the inhabitants to swear allegiance. Russian officials were planted in the city. According to the traditional story, it turned out that Russia, being a vassal and tributary of the “Golden Horde”, organizes a military campaign on the territory of the state that is part of this “Golden Horde” and forces it to take its vassal oath. As for written sources from China. For example, in the period 1774-1782 in China, seizures were made 34 times. A collection of all printed books ever published in China was undertaken. This was due to the political vision of history by the ruling dynasty. By the way, we also had a change of the Rurik dynasty to the Romanovs, so the historical order is quite probable. It is interesting that the theory of the "Mongol-Tatar" enslavement of Russia was born not in Russia, but among German historians much later than the alleged "yoke".

Conclusion

Historical science has a huge number of conflicting sources. Therefore, one way or another, historians have to discard some of the information in order to get a whole version of events. What was presented to us in the school history course was just one of the versions, of which there are many. And, as we can see, it has many contradictions.

o (Mongol-Tatar, Tatar-Mongol, Horde) - the traditional name for the system of exploitation of Russian lands by nomadic conquerors who came from the East from 1237 to 1480.

This system was aimed at the implementation of mass terror and robbery of the Russian people by levying cruel requisitions. It acted primarily in the interests of the Mongol nomadic military-feudal nobility (noyons), in whose favor the lion's share of the collected tribute came.

The Mongol-Tatar yoke was established as a result of the invasion of Batu Khan in the 13th century. Until the early 1260s, Russia was ruled by the great Mongol khans, and then by the khans of the Golden Horde.

The Russian principalities were not directly part of the Mongol state and retained the local princely administration, the activities of which were controlled by the Baskaks - representatives of the khan in the conquered lands. The Russian princes were tributaries of the Mongol khans and received from them labels for the possession of their principalities. Formally, the Mongol-Tatar yoke was established in 1243, when Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich received a label from the Mongols for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. Russia, according to the label, lost the right to fight and had to regularly pay tribute to the khans twice a year (in spring and autumn).

On the territory of Russia there was no permanent Mongol-Tatar army. The yoke was supported by punitive campaigns and repressions against recalcitrant princes. The regular flow of tribute from the Russian lands began after the census of 1257-1259, conducted by the Mongolian "numerals". The units of taxation were: in cities - the yard, in rural areas - "village", "plough", "plough". Only the clergy were exempt from tribute. The main "Horde hardships" were: "exit", or "Tsar's tribute" - a tax directly for the Mongol Khan; trading fees ("myt", "tamka"); transport duties ("pits", "carts"); the content of the khan's ambassadors ("fodder"); various "gifts" and "honors" to the khan, his relatives and associates. Every year, a huge amount of silver left the Russian lands in the form of tribute. Large "requests" for military and other needs were periodically collected. In addition, the Russian princes were obliged, by order of the khan, to send soldiers to participate in campaigns and in battue hunts (“catchers”). In the late 1250s and early 1260s, tribute from the Russian principalities was collected by Muslim merchants (“besermens”), who bought this right from the great Mongol khan. Most of the tribute went to the great khan in Mongolia. During the uprisings of 1262, the "besermen" from Russian cities were expelled, and the duty of collecting tribute passed to the local princes.

The struggle of Russia against the yoke was gaining more and more breadth. In 1285, Grand Duke Dmitry Alexandrovich (son of Alexander Nevsky) defeated and expelled the army of the “Horde prince”. At the end of the 13th - the first quarter of the 14th century, performances in Russian cities led to the elimination of the Basques. With the strengthening of the Moscow principality, the Tatar yoke is gradually weakening. Moscow Prince Ivan Kalita (reigned in 1325-1340) won the right to collect "exit" from all Russian principalities. From the middle of the XIV century, the orders of the khans of the Golden Horde, not supported by a real military threat, were no longer carried out by the Russian princes. Dmitry Donskoy (1359-1389) did not recognize the khan's labels issued to his rivals and seized the Grand Duchy of Vladimir by force. In 1378 he defeated the Tatar army on the Vozha River in the Ryazan land, and in 1380 he defeated the Golden Horde ruler Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo.

However, after the campaign of Tokhtamysh and the capture of Moscow in 1382, Russia was again forced to recognize the power of the Golden Horde and pay tribute, but already Vasily I Dmitrievich (1389-1425) received the great reign of Vladimir without a khan's label, as "his fiefdom." Under him, the yoke was nominal. Tribute was paid irregularly, the Russian princes pursued an independent policy. The attempt of the Golden Horde ruler Edigey (1408) to restore full power over Russia ended in failure: he failed to take Moscow. The strife that began in the Golden Horde opened before Russia the possibility of overthrowing the Tatar yoke.

However, in the middle of the 15th century, Muscovite Russia itself experienced a period of internecine war, which weakened its military potential. During these years, the Tatar rulers organized a series of devastating invasions, but they were no longer able to bring the Russians to complete obedience. The unification of the Russian lands around Moscow led to the concentration in the hands of the Moscow princes of such political power, which the weakening Tatar khans could not cope with. The Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III Vasilyevich (1462-1505) in 1476 refused to pay tribute. In 1480, after the unsuccessful campaign of the Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat and “standing on the Ugra”, the yoke was finally overthrown.

The Mongol-Tatar yoke had negative, regressive consequences for the economic, political and cultural development of the Russian lands, was a brake on the growth of the productive forces of Russia, which were at a higher socio-economic level compared to the productive forces of the Mongol state. It artificially preserved for a long time the purely feudal natural character of the economy. Politically, the consequences of the yoke were manifested in the disruption of the natural process of the state development of Russia, in the artificial maintenance of its fragmentation. The Mongol-Tatar yoke, which lasted two and a half centuries, was one of the reasons for the economic, political and cultural backwardness of Russia from Western European countries.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources.

Chronology

• 1123 Battle of the Russians and Polovtsians with the Mongols on the Kalka River
• 1237 - 1240 The conquest of Russia by the Mongols
• 1240 The defeat of the Swedish knights on the Neva River by Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich (Battle of the Neva)
• 1242 The defeat of the Crusaders by Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich Nevsky on Lake Peipus (Battle on the Ice)
• 1380 Battle of Kulikovo

The beginning of the Mongol conquests of the Russian principalities

In the XIII century. the peoples of Russia had to endure a hard struggle with Tatar-Mongol conquerors who ruled in the Russian lands until the 15th century. (the last century in a milder form). Directly or indirectly, the Mongol invasion contributed to the fall of the political institutions of the Kyiv period and the growth of absolutism.

In the XII century. there was no centralized state in Mongolia; the union of the tribes was achieved at the end of the 12th century. Temuchin, the leader of one of the clans. At a general meeting (“kurultai”) of representatives of all clans in 1206 d. he was proclaimed a great khan with the name Genghis(“Infinite Power”).

As soon as the empire was created, it began its expansion. The organization of the Mongolian army was based on the decimal principle - 10, 100, 1000, etc. The imperial guard was created, which controlled the entire army. Before the advent of firearms Mongolian cavalry took up in the steppe wars. She is was better organized and trained than any nomadic army of the past. The reason for success was not only the perfection of the military organization of the Mongols, but also the unpreparedness of rivals.

At the beginning of the 13th century, having conquered part of Siberia, the Mongols in 1215 set about conquering China. They managed to capture the entire northern part of it. From China, the Mongols took out the latest military equipment and specialists for that time. In addition, they received cadres of competent and experienced officials from among the Chinese. In 1219, the troops of Genghis Khan invaded Central Asia. Following Central Asia captured Northern Iran, after which the troops of Genghis Khan made a predatory campaign in Transcaucasia. From the south they came to the Polovtsian steppes and defeated the Polovtsians.

The request of the Polovtsy to help them against a dangerous enemy was accepted by the Russian princes. The battle between the Russian-Polovtsian and Mongol troops took place on May 31, 1223 on the Kalka River in the Azov region. Not all Russian princes, who promised to participate in the battle, put up their troops. The battle ended with the defeat of the Russian-Polovtsian troops, many princes and combatants died.

In 1227, Genghis Khan died. Ogedei, his third son, was elected Great Khan. In 1235, the Kurultai met in the Mongolian capital of Karakorum, where it was decided to begin the conquest of the western lands. This intention posed a terrible threat to the Russian lands. Ogedei's nephew, Batu (Batu), became the head of the new campaign.

In 1236, the troops of Batu began a campaign against the Russian lands. Having defeated the Volga Bulgaria, they set off to conquer the Ryazan principality. The Ryazan princes, their squads and townspeople had to fight the invaders alone. The city was burned and plundered. After the capture of Ryazan, the Mongol troops moved to Kolomna. Many Russian soldiers died in the battle near Kolomna, and the battle itself ended in defeat for them. On February 3, 1238, the Mongols approached Vladimir. Having besieged the city, the invaders sent a detachment to Suzdal, who took it and burned it. The Mongols stopped only in front of Novgorod, turning south due to mudslides.

In 1240 the Mongol offensive resumed. Chernigov and Kyiv were captured and destroyed. From here, the Mongol troops moved into Galicia-Volyn Rus. Having captured Vladimir-Volynsky, Galich in 1241, Batu invaded Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Moravia, and then in 1242 reached Croatia and Dalmatia. However, the Mongol troops entered Western Europe significantly weakened by the powerful resistance they met in Russia. This largely explains the fact that if the Mongols managed to establish their yoke in Russia, then Western Europe experienced only an invasion, and then on a smaller scale. This is the historical role of the heroic resistance of the Russian people to the invasion of the Mongols.

The result of the grandiose campaign of Batu was the conquest of a vast territory - the southern Russian steppes and forests of Northern Russia, the region of the Lower Danube (Bulgaria and Moldova). The Mongol Empire now included the entire Eurasian continent from the Pacific Ocean to the Balkans.

After the death of Ögedei in 1241, the majority supported the candidacy of Ögedei's son Gayuk. Batu became the head of the strongest regional khanate. He established his capital at Sarai (north of Astrakhan). His power extended to Kazakhstan, Khorezm, Western Siberia, the Volga, the North Caucasus, Russia. Gradually, the western part of this ulus became known as Golden Horde.

The struggle of the Russian people against Western aggression

When the Mongols occupied Russian cities, the Swedes, threatening Novgorod, appeared at the mouth of the Neva. They were defeated in July 1240 by the young prince Alexander, who received the name Nevsky for his victory.

At the same time, the Roman Church was making acquisitions in the countries of the Baltic Sea. Back in the 12th century, German chivalry began to seize the lands belonging to the Slavs beyond the Oder and in the Baltic Pomerania. At the same time, an offensive was carried out on the lands of the Baltic peoples. The Crusaders' invasion of the Baltic lands and Northwestern Russia was sanctioned by the Pope and the German Emperor Frederick II. German, Danish, Norwegian knights and hosts from other northern European countries also took part in the crusade. The attack on Russian lands was part of the doctrine of "Drang nach Osten" (pressure to the east).

Baltics in the 13th century

Together with his retinue, Alexander liberated Pskov, Izborsk and other captured cities with a sudden blow. Having received the news that the main forces of the Order were coming at him, Alexander Nevsky blocked the way for the knights, placing his troops on the ice of Lake Peipus. The Russian prince showed himself as an outstanding commander. The chronicler wrote about him: "Winning everywhere, but we won't win at all." Alexander deployed troops under the cover of a steep bank on the ice of the lake, eliminating the possibility of enemy reconnaissance of his forces and depriving the enemy of freedom of maneuver. Taking into account the construction of the knights as a “pig” (in the form of a trapezoid with a sharp wedge in front, which was heavily armed cavalry), Alexander Nevsky arranged his regiments in the form of a triangle, with a tip resting on the shore. Before the battle, part of the Russian soldiers were equipped with special hooks to pull the knights off their horses.

On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi, which was called the Battle of the Ice. The knight's wedge broke through the center of the Russian position and hit the shore. The flank attacks of the Russian regiments decided the outcome of the battle: like pincers, they crushed the knightly “pig”. The knights, unable to withstand the blow, fled in panic. The Russians pursued the enemy, “flashed, rushing after him, as if through air,” the chronicler wrote. According to the Novgorod Chronicle, in the battle “400 and 50 Germans were taken prisoner”

Stubbornly resisting the western enemies, Alexander was extremely patient with the eastern onslaught. Recognition of the sovereignty of the khan freed his hands to repel the Teutonic crusade.

Tatar-Mongol yoke

While persistently resisting the Western enemies, Alexander was extremely patient with the Eastern onslaught. The Mongols did not interfere in the religious affairs of their subjects, while the Germans tried to impose their faith on the conquered peoples. They pursued an aggressive policy under the slogan "Who does not want to be baptized must die!". Recognition of the Khan's sovereignty freed forces to repel the Teutonic crusade. But it turned out that the "Mongol flood" is not easy to get rid of. RRussian lands despoiled by the Mongols were forced to recognize vassal dependence on the Golden Horde.

In the first period of Mongol rule, the collection of taxes and the mobilization of Russians into the Mongol troops was carried out on the orders of the great khan. Both money and recruits went to the capital. Under Gauk, Russian princes traveled to Mongolia to receive a label to reign. Later, a trip to Saray was enough.

The incessant struggle waged by the Russian people against the invaders forced the Mongol-Tatars to abandon the creation of their own administrative authorities in Russia. Russia retained its statehood. This was facilitated by the presence in Russia of its own administration and church organization.

To control the Russian lands, the institution of Baskak governors was created - the leaders of the military detachments of the Mongol-Tatars, who monitored the activities of the Russian princes. The denunciation of the Baskaks to the Horde inevitably ended either with the summoning of the prince to Sarai (often he lost his label, and even his life), or with a punitive campaign in the unruly land. Suffice it to say that only in the last quarter of the XIII century. 14 similar campaigns were organized in Russian lands.

In 1257, the Mongol-Tatars undertook a census of the population - "recording in number." Besermen (Muslim merchants) were sent to the cities, to whom the collection of tribute was given. The size of the tribute (“exit”) was very large, only the “royal tribute”, i.e. tribute in favor of the khan, which was first collected in kind, and then in money, amounted to 1300 kg of silver per year. The constant tribute was supplemented by "requests" - one-time requisitions in favor of the khan. In addition, deductions from trade duties, taxes for “feeding” khan officials, etc. went to the khan's treasury. In total there were 14 types of tributes in favor of the Tatars.

The Horde yoke slowed down the economic development of Russia for a long time, destroyed its agriculture, and undermined its culture. The Mongol invasion led to a decline in the role of cities in the political and economic life of Russia, urban construction was suspended, and fine and applied arts fell into decay. A severe consequence of the yoke was the deepening of the disunity of Russia and the isolation of its individual parts. The weakened country was unable to defend a number of western and southern regions, later captured by the Lithuanian and Polish feudal lords. Rus' trade relations with the West were dealt a blow: only Novgorod, Pskov, Polotsk, Vitebsk and Smolensk retained trade relations with foreign countries.

The turning point was 1380, when Mamai's army of thousands was defeated on the Kulikovo field.

Battle of Kulikovo 1380

Russia began to grow stronger, its dependence on the Horde weakened more and more. The final liberation took place in 1480 under Tsar Ivan III. By this time, the period was over, the collection of Russian lands around Moscow and was ending.

Since ancient times, numerous nomads, famous for their courage and militancy, roamed the endless expanses. They did not have a single government, they did not have a commander under whose leadership they could become united and invincible. But at the beginning of the 13th century it appeared. He managed to unite under his command most of the nomadic tribes. Genghis Khan was not a well-known nomad, but ideas about world domination reigned in his soul. In order to implement them, he needed a well-trained army, ready to go even to the ends of the Earth. So he set about preparing his army. With all his might, Genghis Khan went to Central Asia, China and the Caucasus. Encountering no serious resistance on his way, he enslaved them. Now in the thoughts of the ardent Mongol-Tatar commander is the idea of ​​eliminating Russia, which has long been famous for its wealth and beauty, from the list of its enemies.

Mongol-Tatars in Russia

Taking a short break from previous battles and replenishing provisions, the Tatar horde headed for the Russian lands. The organization of the offensive was carefully thought out, providing for all the pluses and minuses that could arise in the course of its implementation. In 1223, the first armed clash of nomadic tribes with Russian warriors and Polovtsian warriors took place. The battle took place on the Kalka River. Several combat detachments under the command of the Khan's commanders Dzhebe and Subede fought for three days with a small army of Russian-Polovtsian soldiers. The Polovtsy were the first to take the blow, for which they immediately paid with their own lives. No less severe blow fell on the main Russian forces. The outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion. The Tatars defeated the Russians.

Important! In this battle, more than nine Russian princes fell, among whom were Mstislav the Old, Mstislav Udatny, Mstislav Svyatoslavich.

Rice. 2. The only portrait of Genghis Khan

The death of Genghis Khan and the accession of Batu

During the next trip to the countries of Central Asia, Genghis Khan died. After the death of the leader, strife began between the sons, which caused a lack of autocracy. The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu Khan, managed to reunite the power of the army again. In 1237, he decides to go to North-Eastern Russia again. In the autumn of 1237, the khan's commander sent ambassadors to the Ryazan prince Yuri demanding tribute. Answering with a proud refusal, Yuri began to prepare for battle, hoping for help from the Prince of Vladimir, but he could not provide it. In the meantime, having entered into battle with the vanguard of Ryazan, the Tatars defeated it, and already on December 16, 1237, the city was besieged. After a nine-day siege, the Mongols set in motion wall-beating machines and broke into the city, where they staged a massacre. The heroic resistance of the Russian people did not stop there.Evpaty Kolovrat appeared. He assembled a detachment of about 1,700 people from partisans and surviving people.Operating behind enemy lines, he inflicted serious damage on the attackers. The Tatars, not understanding what was happening, thought that the Russians had risen from the dead. Surrounding a handful of Russian knights, the Mongols killed them. Yevpaty Kolovrat himself also fell. Many believe that this is fiction, but in reality these are facts, as the chronicle says.

Meeting of the Mongol-Tatars and combatants on the Vladimir-Suzdal land - a chronology of events

As soon as the nomads with their leader Batu entered the Vladimir-Suzdal land, Yuri II sent military regiments under the command of his son Vsevolod to meet them. Having met near Kolomna, Batu defeated them.

Moscow and Vladimir

Moscow was the next stop on the way. At that time it was a capital city and was surrounded by high oak walls. The Tatars smashed everything, Moscow was destroyed, and the way to Vladimir was opened. On February 3, 1238, the grand ducal capital was besieged.Yuri Vsevolodovich decides to leave Vladimir and goes to the Sit River, where he begins to gather a new army. On February 7, infidels enter the city. Members of the princely family and bishops, trying to hide in the church, fell victim to the fire.

Suzdal, Rostov and Veliky Novgorod

While some enemies besieged Vladimir, others ravaged Suzdal. Sweeping away Pereyaslavl and Rostov along the way, the invaders split up. One part went to the river Sit, where the battle later took place. Prince Yuri II was killed, and his army was defeated. The second part went to Novgorod and Torzhok. Meanwhile, the Novgorodians were preparing for a long defense.

Important! Approaching Veliky Novgorod, the Mongol-Tatar authorities make an unexpected decision to turn south, so as not to get bogged down in the spring thaw. It happened too suddenly. Only 100 miles saved the city from ruin.

Chernihiv

Now the Chernihiv lands are under attack. Having met the city of Kozelsk on their way, the conquerors lingered near it for almost two months. After this time, the city was captured and nicknamed "evil".

Kyiv

The Polovtsian lands were next in line for destruction. Having made devastating raids, the next year Batu again returns to the northeast, andKyiv was captured in 1240. At this, the suffering of Russia temporarily ceased. Weakened by continuous fighting, Batu's troops withdrew to Volhynia, Poland, Galicia, and Hungary. The main burden of ruin and cruelty fell on the Russian share, but other countries received vital positions. The whole culture of Ancient Russia, all knowledge and discoveries went into oblivion for many years.

What caused the rapid victory of the conquerors?

The victory of the Mongol-Tatars was not at all in the fact that they were good warriors and possessed excellent weapons, which had no equal. The fact was that each of the princes of Kievan Rus wanted to curry favor and be a hero. And so it turned out, everyone became heroes, only posthumously. The main thing was to unite forces into one whole, and with this power to deliver a decisive blow to the Golden Horde (as the troops of the great khan were called). This did not happen, total control was established. Princes were appointed only in the Horde, the Baskaks controlled their actions. They still paid tribute. For the solution of global issues, it was necessary to go to the khan. Such a life could not be called free.

Rice. 4. "Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field". O. Kiprensky. 1805

Dmitry Donskoy

But in 1359, Dmitry Ivanovich was born, who would later receive the nickname Donskoy. His father, Ivan the Red, ruled his principality wisely. He did not ask for trouble, he obediently carried out everything, regularly paid tribute to the Horde. But soon he died, and power passed to his son. However, before that, power belonged to his grandfather, Ivan Kalita, who received from the khan the right to collect tribute from all over Russia. From childhood, Dmitry Donskoy could not watch how his father was running errands for the Horde Khan and fulfilled all his requirements, made numerous censuses. The new prince revealed open disobedience to Batu, and, realizing what followed, began to gather an army. The Horde Khan, seeing that Dmitry Ivanovich was proud, decided to punish him, again plunging him into dependence. Hastily collecting a huge army, he set off on a campaign. At the same time, the Moscow prince managed to unite under his command the squads of almost all Russian princes.History says that there has never been such a force in Russia. The battle was to take place on the Kulikovo field. Before the battle, the Grand Duke turned to the monastery to Sergius of Radonezh. He blessed him and gave two monks to help him: Peresvet and Oslyabya.

Rice. 5. "Morning on the sandpiper field." A. P. Bubnov. 1943–1947

Battle on the Kulikovo field

Early in the morning September 8, 1380two armies lined up on both sides of the vast field. Before the start of the battle, two warriors fought. Russian - Peresvet and Khan's - Chelubey. Having dispersed on their horses, they pierced each other with spears and fell dead on the damp earth. This was the signal for the start of the battle. Dmitry Ivanovich, despite his age, was a fairly experienced strategist. He placed part of the army in the forest in such a way that the Horde could not see it, but in which case they could change the course of the battle. Their task was to strictly carry out the order. Not earlier, not later. This card was a trump card. And so it happened. In a fierce battle, the Tatars began to crush the Russian regiments one by one, but they steadfastly held on. Not expecting such a maneuver, the new Khan Mamai realized that he could not win a victory, and rushed away from the battlefield. The fact of the appearance of fresh forces changed everything. Left without a leader, the Mongol-Tatars were confused and, after Mamai, they rushed to run. Russian troops caught up with them and killed them. In this battle, the horde lost almost the entire army, while the Russians lost about 20 thousand people. The end of the battle marked that the main thing in the fight against the enemy is the cohesion of actions. “When we are united, we are strong,” the prince said after the battle.It is believed that it was Dmitry Donskoy who liberated the Russian lands from numerous enemy raids.For another century, the skirmishes of the Russian people and the Mongol conquerors will last, but now they will no longer bear such consequences as before.

The overthrow of the Horde yoke

Soon Ivan Vasilyevich the Third reigned on the Moscow throne. He, like Dmitry Ivanovich, completely refused to pay tribute and began to prepare for the last battle. Autumn 1480two troops stood on both banks of the Ugra River. No one dared to cross the river. There were attempts by the Mongols to swim across it, but to no avail. Only occasionally shooting from guns in the direction of the enemy, the confrontation ended. It is standing on the Ugra River that is considered to be the point of liberation, when Russia regained its independence and became independent. The dominion of the Golden Horde, which lasted 2 centuries, was overthrown to the end, so this date became sacred for the Russian people. Gradually, lost skills and abilities began to return, cities were revived and fields were sown. Life started picking up its pace. No matter how much grief befalls the Russian people, they will always be able to regain their former happiness, they will go against the establishment, contrary to the system, but they will achieve their goal. We recommend watching an interesting video about the Tatar-Mongol yoke:

In the 12th century, the state of the Mongols expanded, their military art improved. The main occupation was cattle breeding, they bred mainly horses and sheep, they did not know agriculture. They lived in felt tents-yurts, they were easy to transport during long-distance wanderings. Every adult Mongol was a warrior, from childhood he sat in the saddle and wielded weapons. Cowardly, unreliable, he did not fall into the warriors, he became an outcast.
In 1206, at the congress of the Mongol nobility, Temujin was proclaimed the great khan with the name Genghis Khan.
The Mongols managed to unite hundreds of tribes under their rule, which allowed them to use alien human material in the troops during the war. They conquered East Asia (Kyrgyz, Buryats, Yakuts, Uighurs), the Tangut Kingdom (southwest of Mongolia), Northern China, Korea and Central Asia (the largest Central Asian state of Khorezm, Samarkand, Bukhara). As a result, by the end of the 13th century, the Mongols owned half of Eurasia.
In 1223, the Mongols crossed the Caucasus Range and invaded the Polovtsian lands. The Polovtsy turned to the Russian princes for help, because. Russians and Polovtsy traded with each other, entered into marriages. The Russians responded, and on the Kalka River on June 16, 1223, the first battle of the Mongol-Tatars with the Russian princes took place. The army of the Mongol-Tatars was reconnaissance, small, i.e. the Mongol-Tatars had to scout out what kind of lands lie ahead. The Russians came just to fight, they had little idea what kind of enemy was in front of them. Before the Polovtsian request for help, they had not even heard of the Mongols.
The battle ended in the defeat of the Russian troops due to the betrayal of the Polovtsy (they fled from the very beginning of the battle), and also due to the fact that the Russian princes failed to combine their forces, underestimated the enemy. The Mongols offered the princes to surrender, promising to save their lives and release them for a ransom. When the princes agreed, the Mongols tied them up, put boards on them, and sitting on top, began to feast on the victory. Russian soldiers, left without leaders, were killed.
The Mongol-Tatars retreated to the Horde, but returned in 1237, already knowing what kind of enemy was in front of them. Batu Khan (Batu), the grandson of Genghis Khan, brought with him a huge army. They preferred to attack the most powerful Russian principalities - Ryazan and Vladimir. They defeated and subjugated them, and in the next two years - all of Russia. After 1240, only one land remained independent - Novgorod, because. Batu had already achieved his main goals, it made no sense to lose people near Novgorod.
The Russian princes could not unite, so they were defeated, although, according to scientists, Batu lost half of his troops in the Russian lands. He occupied Russian lands, offered to recognize his authority and pay tribute, the so-called "exit". At first, it was collected "in kind" and made up 1/10 of the crop, and then it was transferred to money.
The Mongols established in Russia a yoke-system of total suppression of national life in the occupied territories. In this form, the Tatar-Mongol yoke lasted 10 years, after which Prince Alexander Nevsky offered the Horde a new relationship: the Russian princes entered the service of the Mongol Khan, were obliged to collect tribute, take it to the Horde and receive a label for a great reign - a leather belt. At the same time, the prince who paid more received the label for reigning. This order was provided by the Baskaks - the Mongol commanders, who with the army bypassed the Russian lands and monitored whether the tribute was being collected correctly.
It was the time of the vassalage of the Russian princes, but thanks to the act of Alexander Nevsky, the Orthodox Church was preserved, the raids stopped.
In the 60s of the 14th century, the Golden Horde split into two warring parts, the border between which was the Volga. In the left-bank Horde there were constant strife with the change of rulers. In the right-bank Horde, Mamai became the ruler.
The beginning of the struggle for liberation from the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russia is associated with the name of Dmitry Donskoy. In 1378, sensing the weakening of the Horde, he refused to pay tribute and killed all the Baskaks. In 1380, the commander Mamai went with the entire Horde to the Russian lands, and a battle took place on the Kulikovo field with Dmitry Donskoy.
Mamai had 300 thousand "sabers", and since. the Mongols had almost no infantry, he hired the best Italian (Genoese) infantry. Dmitry Donskoy had 160 thousand people, of which only 5 thousand were professional soldiers. The main weapons of the Russians were clubs bound with metal and wooden horns.
So, the battle with the Mongol-Tatars was suicide for the Russian army, but still the Russians had a chance.
Dmitry Donskoy crossed the Don on the night of September 7 to 8, 1380 and burned the crossing, there was nowhere to retreat. It remained to win or die. In the forest, he hid 5 thousand combatants, behind his troops. The role of the squad was to save the Russian army from being bypassed from the rear.
The battle lasted one day, during which the Mongol-Tatars trampled the Russian army. Then Dmitry Donskoy ordered the ambush regiment to leave the forest. The Mongol-Tatars decided that the main Russian forces were coming and, without waiting for everyone to leave, turned and began to run, trampling the Genoese infantry. The battle turned into a pursuit of a fleeing enemy.
Two years later, a new Horde came with Khan Tokhtamysh. He captured Moscow, Mozhaisk, Dmitrov, Pereyaslavl. Moscow had to resume paying tribute, but the Battle of Kulikovo was a turning point in the fight against the Mongol-Tatars, because. dependence on the Horde was now weaker.
After 100 years in 1480, the great-grandson of Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Horde.
Khan of the Horde Ahmed came out with a large army against Russia, wanting to punish the recalcitrant prince. He approached the border of the Moscow principality, to the Ugra River, a tributary of the Oka. Ivan III also approached there. Since the forces turned out to be equal, they stood on the Ugra River in spring, summer and autumn. Fearing the impending winter, the Mongol-Tatars left for the Horde. This was the end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, because. the defeat of Akhmed meant the collapse of the power of Batu and the acquisition of independence by the Russian state. The Tatar-Mongol yoke lasted 240 years.