This article is about the Mongol invasions of Russia in 1237-1240. For the 1223 invasion, see Battle of the Kalka River. For later invasions, see the List of Mongol-Tatar campaigns against Russian principalities.
Mongol invasion of Russia- invasion of the troops of the Mongol Empire on the territory of the Russian principalities in 1237-1240. during the Western campaign of the Mongols ( Kipchak campaign) 1236-1242 under the leadership of Chingizid Batu and commander Subedei.
background
For the first time, the task of reaching the city of Kyiv was assigned to Subedei by Genghis Khan in 1221: He sent Subetai-Baatur on a campaign to the north, commanding him to reach eleven countries and peoples, such as: Kanlin, Kibchaut, Bachzhigit, Orosut, Machjarat, Asut, Sasut, Serkesut, Keshimir, Bolar, Raral (Lalat), cross the high-water Idil and Ayakh rivers, as well as reach the city of Kivamen-kermen When the united Russian-Polovtsian army suffered a crushing defeat in the battle on the Kalka River on May 31, 1223, the Mongols invaded the southern Russian border lands (the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary calls this the first Mongol invasion of Russia), but abandoned the plan to march on Kyiv, and then were defeated in the Volga Bulgaria in 1224.
In 1228-1229, having ascended the throne, Ogedei sent a 30,000-strong corps to the west, led by Subedei and Kokoshay, against the Kipchaks and the Volga Bulgars. In connection with these events, in 1229 the name of the Tatars reappears in the Russian chronicles: Bulgarian watchdog came running from the Tatars near the river, her name is Yaik"(and in 1232 Pridosha Tatarov and Zimovasha did not reach the Great City of Bulgaria).
The "Secret Tale" in relation to the period 1228-1229 reports that Ogedei
| He sent Batu, Buri, Munk and many other princes on a campaign to help Subetai, since Subetai-Baatur met strong resistance from those peoples and cities, the conquest of which he was entrusted with under Genghis Khan, namely, the peoples of Kanlin, Kibchaut, Bachzhigit, Orusut, Asut, Sesut, Machzhar, Keshimir, Sergesut, Bular, Kelet (the Chinese "History of the Mongols" adds non-mi-sy) as well as cities beyond the high-water rivers Adil and Zhaiakh, such as: Meketmen, Kermen-keibe and others... When the army is numerous, they will all rise up and walk with their heads held high. There are many enemy countries there, and the people there are fierce. These are the people who, in rage, take death by throwing themselves on their own swords. Their swords, they say, are sharp. |
However, in 1231-1234 the Mongols waged a second war with Jin, and the westward movement of the combined forces of all uluses begins immediately after the decision of the kurultai of 1235.
Similarly (30-40 thousand people), Gumilyov L.N. estimates the number of the Mongol army. In modern historical literature, another estimate of the total number of the Mongol army in the western campaign is dominant: 120-140 thousand soldiers, 150 thousand soldiers.
Initially, Ogedei himself planned to lead the Kipchak campaign, but Mönke dissuaded him. In addition to Batu, the following Genghisides participated in the campaign: the sons of Jochi Orda-Ezhen, Shiban, Tangkut and Berke, the grandson of Chagatai Buri and the son of Chagatai Baydar, the sons of Ogedei Guyuk and Kadan, the sons of Tolui Munke and Buchek, the son of Genghis Khan Kulkhan, the grandson of Genghis Khan’s brother Argasun. The importance given by Genghisides to the conquest of the Russians is evidenced by Ogedei's monologue addressed to Guyuk, who was dissatisfied with Batu's leadership.
The Vladimir chronicler reports under the year 1230: “ The same year, the Bolgars bowed to the Grand Duke Yuri, asking for peace for six years, and make peace with them". The desire for peace was reinforced by deeds: after the conclusion of peace in Russia, due to a two-year crop failure, famine broke out, and the Bulgars brought courts with food to the Russian cities free of charge. Under 1236: " Tatarov came to the Bulgarian land and took the glorious Great City of Bulgaria, slaughtering everyone from old and young to the existing baby and burning their city and the land of all their captivity". Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir received Bulgarian refugees on his land and settled them in Russian cities. The battle on the Kalka River showed that even the defeat of the combined forces in a general battle is a way to undermine the forces of the invaders and force them to abandon plans for a further offensive. But in 1236, Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir with his brother Yaroslav of Novgorod, who had the largest military potential in Russia (under 1229 in the annals we read: “ and bowed down to Yury all, having a father to himself and a master”), did not send troops to help the Volga Bulgars, but used them to establish control over Kyiv, thereby putting an end to the Chernihiv-Smolensk struggle for it and taking over the reins of the traditional Kyiv collection, which at the beginning of the 13th century was still recognized by all Russian princes . The political situation in Russia in the period 1235-1237 was also determined by the victories of Yaroslav Novgorodsky over the Order of the Sword in 1234 and Daniil Romanovich Volynsky over the Teutonic Order in 1237. Lithuania also acted against the Order of the Sword (Battle of Saul in 1236), as a result of which its remnants united with the Teutonic Order.
First stage. North-Eastern Russia (1237-1239)
Invasion 1237-1238
The fact that the attack of the Mongols on Russia at the end of 1237 was not unexpected is evidenced by the letters of the Hungarian missionary monk, Dominican Julian:
| Many pass it on as true, and the prince of Suzdal conveyed verbally through me to the king of Hungary that the Tatars are conferring day and night on how to come and seize the kingdom of the Christian Hungarians. For they, they say, have an intention to go to the conquest of Rome and beyond ... Now, being on the borders of Russia, we have closely learned the real truth that the entire army going to the countries of the West is divided into four parts. One part near the river Etil (Volga) on the borders of Russia from the eastern edge approached Suzdal. The other part in the south was already attacking the borders of Ryazan, another Russian principality. The third part stopped against the river Don, near the castle of Oveheruch, also a principality of the Russians. They, as the Russians themselves verbally conveyed to us, the Hungarians and Bulgarians who fled before them, are waiting for the earth, rivers and swamps to freeze with the onset of the coming winter, after which it will be easy for the whole multitude of Tatars to plunder the whole of Russia, the whole country of the Russians. |
The Mongols sent the main blow to the Ryazan principality (see Defense of Ryazan). Yuri Vsevolodovich sent a united army to help the Ryazan princes: his eldest son Vsevolod with all people, governor Yeremey Glebovich, retreating from Ryazan forces led by Roman Ingvarevich and Novgorod regiments - but it was too late: Ryazan fell after a 6-day siege on December 21. The sent army managed to give the invaders a fierce battle near Kolomna (on the territory of the Ryazan land), but was defeated.
The Mongols invaded the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Yuri Vsevolodovich retreated to the north and began to gather an army for a new battle with the enemy, waiting for the regiments of his brothers Yaroslav (who was in Kyiv) and Svyatoslav (before that, he was last mentioned in the annals under 1229 as a prince sent by Yuri to reign in Pereyaslavl-South) . " Within the land of Suzdal» The Mongols were overtaken by those returning from Chernigov « in a small group"The Ryazan boyar Yevpaty Kolovrat, together with the remnants of the Ryazan troops, and thanks to the surprise of the attack, was able to inflict significant losses on them (in some editions of the Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu, it tells about the solemn funeral of Yevpaty Kolovrat in the Ryazan Cathedral on January 11, 1238). On January 20, after 5 days of resistance, Moscow fell, which was defended by the youngest son of Yuri Vladimir and the governor Philip Nyanka " with a small army”, Vladimir Yurievich was captured and then killed in front of the walls of Vladimir. Vladimir himself was taken on February 7 after five days of siege (see Defense of Vladimir), the entire family of Yuri Vsevolodovich died in it. In addition to Vladimir, in February 1238, Suzdal, Yuryev-Polsky, Starodub-on-Klyazma, Gorodets, Kostroma, Galich-Mersky, Vologda, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Uglich, Kashin, Ksnyatin, Dmitrov and Volok Lamsky were taken, the most stubborn resistance except Moscow and Vladimir had Pereyaslavl-Zalessky (taken by the Genghisides together in 5 days), Tver and Torzhok (defense February 22 - March 5), lying on the direct route of the main Mongol forces from Vladimir to Novgorod. In Tver, one of the sons of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich died, whose name has not been preserved. On the Volga cities, the defenders of which left with their princes Konstantinovich to Yuri on the Sit, the secondary forces of the Mongols, led by the temnik Burundai, fell upon them. On March 4, 1238, they unexpectedly attacked the Russian army (see the Battle on the City River) and were able to defeat it, however, they themselves " suffered a great plague, and their considerable multitude fell". Vsevolod Konstantinovich Yaroslavsky died in the battle together with Yuri, Vasilko Konstantinovich Rostovsky was captured (later killed), Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich and Vladimir Konstantinovich Uglitsky managed to escape.
Summing up the defeat of Yuri and the ruin of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the first Russian historian Tatishchev V.N. says that the losses of the Mongol troops were many times greater than the losses of the Russians, but the Mongols made up for their losses at the expense of prisoners (prisoners closed their doom), which at that time turned out to be more than the Mongols themselves ( and more than prisoners). In particular, the assault on Vladimir was launched only after one of the Mongol detachments, which had taken Suzdal, returned with many prisoners. However, Eastern sources, which repeatedly mention the use of prisoners during the Mongol conquests in China and Central Asia, do not mention the use of prisoners for military purposes in Russia and Central Europe.
After the capture of Torzhok on March 5, 1238, the main forces of the Mongols, having joined with the remnants of the Burundai army, before reaching 100 miles to Novgorod, turned back into the steppes (according to different versions, due to spring thaw or due to high losses). On the way back, the Mongol army moved in two groups. The main group passed 30 km east of Smolensk, making a stop in the area of Dolgomostye. The literary source - "The Word about Mercury of Smolensk" - tells about the defeat and flight of the Mongol troops. Further, the main group went south, invaded the Chernigov Principality and burned Vshchizh, located in close proximity to the central regions of the Chernigov-Seversky Principality, but then turned sharply to the northeast and, bypassing the large cities of Bryansk and Karachev, laid siege to Kozelsk. The eastern group led by Kadan and Buri passed by Ryazan in the spring of 1238. The siege of Kozelsk dragged on for 7 weeks. In May 1238, the Mongols united near Kozelsk and took it during a three-day assault, having suffered heavy losses both in equipment and in human resources during the sorties of the besieged.
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich succeeded Vladimir after his brother Yuri, and Mikhail Chernigov occupied Kyiv, thus concentrating in his hands the Principality of Galicia, the Principality of Kiev and the Principality of Chernigov.
Invasions 1238-1239
At the end of 1238 - the beginning of 1239, the Mongols led by Subedei, having suppressed the uprising in the Volga Bulgaria and the Mordovian land, again invaded Russia, devastated the environs of Nizhny Novgorod, Gorokhovets, Gorodets, Murom, and again - Ryazan. On March 3, 1239, a detachment under the command of Berke ravaged Pereyaslavl South.
This period also includes the invasion of the Lithuanians into the Grand Duchy of Smolensk and the campaign of the Galician troops against Lithuania with the participation of 12-year-old Rostislav Mikhailovich (taking advantage of the absence of the main Galician forces, Daniil Romanovich Volynsky captured Galich, finally establishing himself in it). Given the death of the Vladimir army in the City at the beginning of 1238, this campaign played a certain role in the success of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich near Smolensk. In addition, when in the summer of 1240 the Swedish feudal lords, together with the Teutonic knights, launched an offensive against Novgorod land, in the battle on the river. Neve, the son of Yaroslav, Alexander of Novgorod, stops the Swedes with the forces of his squad, and the beginning of successful independent actions of the troops of North-Eastern Russia after the invasion refers only to the period 1242-1245 (Battle on the Ice and victories over the Lithuanians).
Second stage (1239-1240)
Chernihiv Principality
After the siege that began on October 18, 1239, with the use of powerful siege equipment, Chernigov was taken by the Mongols (the army under the leadership of Prince Mstislav Glebovich unsuccessfully tried to help the city). After the fall of Chernigov, the Mongols did not go north, but engaged in robbery and ruin in the east, along the Desna and the Seim - archaeological research showed that Lyubech (in the north) was not touched, but the principality towns bordering the Polovtsian steppe, such as Putivl, Glukhov, Vyr and Rylsk were destroyed and devastated. At the beginning of 1240, an army led by Munch went to the left bank of the Dnieper opposite Kyiv. An embassy was sent to the city with an offer to surrender, but was destroyed. Prince of Kyiv Mikhail Vsevolodovich left for Hungary in order to marry the daughter of King Bela IV Anna to his eldest son Rostislav (the marriage will take place only in 1244 to commemorate the alliance against Daniel of Galicia).
Daniil Galitsky captured in Kyiv the Smolensk prince Rostislav Mstislavich, who tried to take the great reign, and planted his thousandth Dmitri in the city, returned to Mikhail his wife (his sister), captured by Yaroslav on the way to Hungary, gave Mikhail Lutsk to feed (with the prospect of returning to Kyiv), his ally Izyaslav Vladimirovich Novgorod-Seversky - Kamenets.
Already in the spring of 1240, after the Mongols had devastated the Dnieper left bank, Ogedei decided to recall Munke and Guyuk from the western campaign.
The Laurentian Chronicle notes, under 1241, the murder of the Rylsky prince Mstislav by the Mongols (according to L. Voitovich, the son of Svyatoslav Olgovich Rylsky).
Southwestern Russia
On September 5, 1240, the Mongol army, led by Batu and other Genghisides, besieged Kyiv and only on November 19 (according to other sources, December 6; perhaps it was on December 6 that the last stronghold of the defenders fell - the Church of the Tithes) took it. Daniil Galitsky, who owned Kyiv at that time, was in Hungary, trying - like Mikhail Vsevolodovich a year earlier - to enter into a dynastic marriage with the King of Hungary Bela IV, and also unsuccessfully (the marriage of Lev Danilovich and Constance to commemorate the Galician-Hungarian union will take place only in 1247) . The defense of the "mother of Russian cities" was led by a thousand Dmitr. The "Biography of Daniel of Galicia" says about Daniel:
Dmitri was taken prisoner. Ladyzhin and Kamenets were taken. The Mongols failed to take Kremenets. The capture of Vladimir-Volynsky was marked by an important event in intra-Mongolian politics - Guyuk and Munke left Batu for Mongolia. The departure of the Tumens of the most influential (after Batu) Genghisides undoubtedly reduced the strength of the Mongol army. In this regard, the researchers believe that the further movement to the west was undertaken by Batu on his own initiative.
Dmitr advised Batu to leave Galicia and go to the Ugric without cooking:
The main forces of the Mongols, led by Baydar, invaded Poland, the rest, led by Batu, Kadan and Subedei, taking Galich in three days - to Hungary.
The Ipatiev Chronicle under 1241 mentions the princes of Ponysia ( Bolokhov's), who agreed to pay tribute to the Mongols with grain and thereby avoided the ruin of their lands, their campaign, together with Prince Rostislav Mikhailovich, against the city of Bakota and the successful punitive campaign of the Romanovichs; under 1243 - a campaign of two commanders of Batu to Volyn up to the city of Volodava in the middle reaches of the Western Bug.
Historical meaning
As a result of the invasion, about half of the population died. Kyiv, Vladimir, Suzdal, Ryazan, Tver, Chernigov, and many other cities were destroyed. The exceptions were Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, as well as the cities of Polotsk and Turov-Pinsk principalities. The developed urban culture of Ancient Russia was destroyed.
For several decades, stone construction practically ceased in Russian cities. Complex crafts, such as the production of glass jewelry, cloisonne enamel, niello, granulation, and polychrome glazed ceramics, have disappeared. “Rus was thrown back several centuries, and in those centuries when the guild industry of the West was moving to the era of primitive accumulation, the Russian handicraft industry had to pass part of the historical path that had been done before Batu for the second time.”
The southern Russian lands lost almost the entire settled population. The surviving population went to the forest northeast, concentrating in the interfluve of the Northern Volga and Oka. Here there were poorer soils and a colder climate than in the southern completely devastated regions of Russia, and trade routes were under the control of the Mongols. In its socio-economic development, Russia was significantly thrown back.
“Historians of military affairs also note the fact that the process of differentiation of functions between formations of shooters and detachments of heavy cavalry, which specialized in a direct strike with melee weapons, was interrupted in Russia immediately after the invasion: there was a unification of these functions in the person of one and the same warrior - the feudal lord, forced to shoot from a bow, and fight with a spear and a sword. Thus, the Russian army, even in its elite, purely feudal in composition (princely squads), was thrown back a couple of centuries: progress in military affairs was always accompanied by the division of functions and their assignment to successively emerging military branches, their unification (or rather, reunification) is a clear sign of regression. Be that as it may, the Russian chronicles of the 14th century do not contain even a hint of separate detachments of shooters, like the Genoese crossbowmen, the English archers of the Hundred Years War era. This is understandable: such detachments of “subsistence people” cannot be formed, professional shooters were required, that is, people who had lost their production, who sold their art and blood for hard money; But Russia, thrown back economically, mercenarism was simply not affordable.
In 1227, Genghis Khan died, leaving his son Ogedei as his heir, who continued his campaigns of conquest. In 1236, he sent his eldest son Jochi-Batu, better known to us under the name Batu, on a campaign against the Russian lands. The western lands were given to him in possession, many of which had yet to be conquered. Practically without resistance, having mastered the Volga Bulgaria, in the autumn of 1237 the Mongols crossed the Volga and accumulated on the Voronezh River. For the Russian princes, the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars was not a surprise, they knew about their movements, were waiting for an attack and were preparing to fight back. But feudal fragmentation, princely strife, the lack of political and military unity, multiplied by the numerical superiority of the well-trained and brutal troops of the Golden Horde, using modern siege equipment, no longer made it possible to count on successful defense in advance.
The Ryazan volost was the first on the path of Batu's troops. Approaching the city without any special obstacles, Batu Khan demanded to submit to him voluntarily and pay the requested tribute. Prince Yuri of Ryazan was able to agree on support only with the Pronsky and Murom princes, which did not prevent them from refusing and, almost alone, to withstand a five-day siege. On December 21, 1237, Batu's troops captured, killed the inhabitants, including the princely family, the city was plundered and burned. In January 1238, the troops of Batu Khan moved to the Vladimro-Suzdal principality. Near Kolomna, they defeated the remnants of the Ryazants, and approached Moscow, which was a small settlement, a suburb of Vladimir. The Muscovites, led by the voivode Philip Nyanka, offered desperate resistance, the siege lasted five days. Batu divided the army and at the same time began the siege of Vladimir and Suzdal. Vladimirians resisted desperately. The Tatars could not get into the city through, but, having blown up the fortress wall in several places, they broke into Vladimir. The city was subjected to terrible robbery and violence. The Assumption Cathedral, in which people took refuge, was set on fire, and they all died in terrible agony.
Prince Yuri of Vladimir, tried to resist the Mongol-Tatars from the assembled regiments of Yaroslavl, Rostov and adjacent lands. The battle took place on March 4, 1238 on the City River, northwest of Uglich. The Russian army, led by Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir, was defeated. North-Eastern Russia was completely ruined. The troops of the Mongol-Tatars, who went to North-Western Russia to Novgorod, had to besiege the fiercely resisting Torzhok, a suburb of Novgorod, for two whole weeks. Finally bursting into the hated city, they cut down all the remaining inhabitants, making no distinction between warriors, women and even babies, the city itself was destroyed and burned. Not wanting to go along the opened road to Novgorod, Batu's troops turned south. At the same time, they divided into several detachments and destroyed all the settlements that came across on the way. The small town of Kozelsk became dear to them, the defense of which was headed by a very young prince Vasily. For seven weeks, the Mongol detained the town, which they called the "Evil City", and having captured, they did not spare not only the youths, but also the babies. Having ruined several more large cities, Batu's army went to the steppes to return a year later.
In 1239, a new invasion of Batu Khan fell upon Russia. Having captured, the Mongols went south. Having approached Kyiv, they could not take it from the raid, the siege lasted almost three months, and in December the Mongol-Tatars captured Kyiv. A year later, Batu's troops defeated the Galicia-Volyn principality and rushed to Europe. The Horde, weakened by this time, having suffered several setbacks in the Czech Republic and Hungary, turned their troops to the East. Having passed through Russia once again, the crooked Tatar saber, calling for fire, ravaged and devastated the Russian lands, but could not bring its people to their knees.
History of Russia from ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century Froyanov Igor Yakovlevich
Campaigns in Russia Batu
Campaigns in Russia Batu
After the death of Genghis Khan (1227), his son Ogedei became the heir. Conquest campaigns were continued. In the early 30s of the XIII century. Mongols attacked Transcaucasia again. And in 1236, a campaign against Russian lands began. It was headed by the grandson of Genghis Khan, the son of his eldest son Jochi-Batu (Batu), who received the possession (ulus) of the western lands, including those that were to be conquered.
Having mastered the Volga Bulgaria, by the autumn of 1237 the Mongols crossed the Volga and concentrated on the river. Voronezh. It must be said that the new campaign against Russia was not a surprise for the princes and the entire population. As the chronicles testify, in Russian cities they followed the advance of the Mongol-Tatars, knew about their approach and plans for conquest, and prepared for defense. However, the Mongol-Tatars had an overwhelming superiority in military forces. With the most conservative estimates, their army numbered from 37.5 thousand to 75 thousand people and used first-class siege equipment for that time. In the absence of political and military unity in Russia, it was extremely difficult to resist the numerous, well-trained and cruel troops of the Mongol-Tatars. Nevertheless, the Russian lands, especially in the initial period, tried to organize a collective rebuff. But the unification of the forces of several principalities was not enough to confront a strong enemy.
The first Russian volost on the way of the Mongol-Tatars was Ryazan. To Batu's demands for voluntary submission and payment of tribute, the Ryazan prince Yuri Ingvarevich and the Pronsky and Murom princes allied with him refused. In turn, having received no help from other lands, the people of Ryazan had to act alone. But, even being under siege, they found the courage to answer the Tatar ambassadors: "If we are all gone, then everything will be yours." Ryazan fell after a five-day defense on December 21, 1237. The city was plundered and burned, and the inhabitants, among whom was the princely family, were killed. In its former place, Ryazan was no longer revived.
In January 1238, the Mongol-Tatars moved to the Vladimir-Suzdal land. In the battle near Kolomna, they defeated the Vladimirians and the remnants of the Ryazans, after which they approached Moscow. Moscow, which at that time was a small suburb of Vladimir, offered desperate resistance. The defense was led by the governor Philip Nyanka. The city was taken only five days later. On February 3, 1238, Batu approached Vladimir and laid siege to it, at the same time sending a detachment to Suzdal. On February 7, after a series of unsuccessful attempts to capture the city through the Golden Gate, the invaders broke into it through gaps in the wall. The chronicler draws terrible pictures of robbery and violence. Hiding in the Assumption Cathedral, Bishop Mitrofan with the princesses and children who were part of the family of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, and other people were set on fire and died in agony from suffocation and fire. Meanwhile, Prince Yuri of Vladimir himself, having driven north, tried to stop the deadly march of the Mongol-Tatars with the forces of the Vladimir army and the regiments of Rostov, Yaroslavl, Uglitsk and Yuryev lands he had assembled. On March 4, 1238, a battle took place on the river City, lost in dense forests northwest of Uglich. The exact place of the battle has not yet been established, but it is reliably known that the entire Russian army was killed. Yuri Vsevolodovich also died. North-Eastern Russia was ruined and devastated.
At the same time, another detachment of the Mongol-Tatars moved into North-Western Russia. Here they met stubborn resistance from the inhabitants of Torzhok, a suburb of Novgorod. But on March 5 - after two weeks of standing under its walls - the Mongol-Tatars took it with the help of wall-beating devices. Enemies slaughtered everyone "from the male to the female, the priestly ranks are all and Chernoris, and everything is exposed and desecrated, betraying his soul to the Lord with a bitter death."
The way to Novgorod was thus opened. However, the unforeseen happened: not having reached Novgorod a hundred miles, Batu, near the town of Ignach Cross, turned sharply to the south. The reasons for this decision can only be named tentatively: the upcoming spring thaw, which made further progress extremely difficult, fatigue and loss of morale of the Mongols themselves, who fought in unusual conditions for them, as well as rumors that reached them about the determination of the Novgorodians to fight to the last.
The retreat was swift and had the character of a "raid". The Mongols divided into detachments and, going from north to south, covered with their "network" the settlements that came across on the way. It is especially necessary to note the steadfastness of the inhabitants (led by the young prince Vasily) of the small town of Kozelsk, who defended themselves for seven weeks without anyone's help. They made sorties, attacked the enemy, destroyed siege engines. When it came to the assault, then "the goats cut their knives with them." "Evil city" was nicknamed by the Tatars and "no mercy from children to sucking milk."
Smolensk managed to fight back, but such large centers as Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny, Chernigov and others were devastated. After that, the Mongol-Tatars again left for the steppes. But already in 1239 a new invasion followed. After the capture of Murom, the Mongols moved to southern Russia and approached Kyiv. The defense of the city was organized by the governor Dmitry (Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich fled). The townspeople selflessly defended themselves for about three months, they were unequal in strength. In December 1240 Kyiv was taken. The following year, the Mongol-Tatars defeated Galicia-Volyn Rus, and then invaded Europe. However, having suffered a series of setbacks in the Czech Republic and Hungary, Batu turned his troops to the East. A little later, the Italian monk Plano Carpini, passing through the southern Russian lands, left chilling lines: the Tatars “went against Russia and carried out a great massacre in the land of Russia, destroyed cities and fortresses and killed people, besieged Kyiv, which was the capital of Russia, and after a long siege they they took it and killed the inhabitants of the city; from here, as we rode through their land, we found countless heads and bones of dead people lying in the field; for this city was large and very crowded, and now it is reduced to almost nothing: there are barely two hundred houses there, and they keep those people in the most difficult slavery.
Based on the foregoing, it is difficult to take seriously the conclusions of L.N. Gumilyov that “the few Mongols of Batu only passed through Russia and returned to the steppe.” It seems that A.S. Pushkin said much more accurately about the tragedy that befell the Russian people, at the same time defining the significance that the stamina and courage of the Russian people had: "... torn and bloodless Russia stopped the Mongol-Tatar invasion on the edge of Europe." Russia's selflessness cost dearly. According to archaeologists, out of 74 Russian cities, 49 were devastated by the Tatars. 14 of them ceased to exist forever, and 15 turned into rural settlements. Thousands of townspeople, villagers, noble people and ordinary community members perished. Many, especially artisans, were taken captive. The crooked Tatar saber and the accompanying fire devastated Russia, but did not bring it to its knees. The invasion of Batu did not entail the destruction of the ancient Russian people and civilization.
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From the book Reconstruction of True History author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich1. The grandiose Trojan War as revenge for Christ. Russia-Horde organizes Crusades against Tsar-Grad, and soon the center of the Empire is transferred to Vladimir-Suzdal Russia. In 1185, Emperor Andronicus-Christ was crucified on Mount Beikos near Eros. Outraged provinces,
From the book Empire of the Steppes. Attila, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane author Grousset ReneCampaigns of Batu and Subotai to Europe At this time, on the orders of the Great Khan Ogedei, a large Mongol army of 150,000 people deployed military operations in Europe. It was under the nominal leadership of Batu, Khan of the Aral steppes and the Urals. At his disposal
From the book Rus and Rome. Colonization of America by Russia-Horde in the XV-XVI centuries author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich5. The thirteenth century: the grandiose Trojan War as revenge for Christ Russia-Horde organizes the Crusades against Tsar-Grad and soon the center of the Empire is transferred to Vladimir-Suzdal Russia. The Crusaders avenge the crucified Andronicus-Christ.
author Kargalov Vadim Viktorovich From the book Foreign Policy Factors in the Development of Feudal Russia author Kargalov Vadim Viktorovich From the book Foreign Policy Factors in the Development of Feudal Russia author Kargalov Vadim Viktorovich From the book Book 1. Western myth ["Ancient" Rome and "German" Habsburgs are reflections of the Russian-Horde history of the XIV-XVII centuries. Legacy of the Great Empire in a cult author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich3. XIII century The grandiose Trojan War as a revenge for Christ Russia-Horde organizes crusades against Tsar-Grad and soon the center of the empire is transferred to Vladimir-Suzdal Russia 3.1. The crusaders avenge the crucified Andronicus-Christ
From the book by Danilo Galitsky author Zgurskaya Maria PavlovnaChapter 5 Coming of Batu to Russia. The continuation of the struggle for the Galician table and the final victory of Danila Mikhail was not in vain afraid: in the same 1239, the Tatars, led by Batu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, devastated Eastern Russia. The disunity of the Russian princes was at hand
From the book Reader on the history of the USSR. Volume1. author author unknown46. BATY'S CAMPAIGN TO RUSSIA Excerpts (Nos. 46, 47) about Batu's invasion are taken from the "Nikon Chronicle" - "The Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles", vol. X. In the summer of 6745. The same winter came from the eastern country to Ryazan land, forest, godless Tatars with Tsar Batu and, having come, stash
author Shakhmagonov Fedor FedorovichBatu's invasion of northeastern Russia Svyatoslav, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, gave rise to the family of the princes of Chernigov, after his son Oleg they were called Olgovichi, the younger Oleg's son Yaroslav became the ancestor of the princes of Ryazan and Murom. Yuri Igorevich, Prince of Ryazan
From the book World of History: Russian Lands in the XIII-XV centuries author Shakhmagonov Fedor FedorovichBatu's Campaign in Southern Russia Many raids, invasions and ruins have been suffered by the Russian people since they settled along the Dnieper, Dvina, Oka, Volga, Volkhov, along the rivers and lakes of the Beloozersky Territory. But such devastation as the invasion of Batu brought to North-Eastern Russia,
The history of any nation is characterized by periods of prosperity and oppression. Russia is no exception. After the Golden Age, under the rule of powerful and intelligent princes, a period of internecine wars for the place of ruler began. There was only one throne, but many pretenders.
The powerful state suffered from the enmity of the sons and grandsons of princely blood, their brothers and uncles. During this period, Byty organized campaigns of his troops. The lack of unity and mutual assistance made Batu's campaigns against Russia successful. The cities in those days were weak: the fortresses had grown old, there was a shortage of money, and there was no training of soldiers. Ordinary townspeople and villagers stood up to protect their homes. They had no military experience and were not familiar with weapons.
Other reasons for the defeat include the good preparation and organization of Batu. Back in the days of Genghis Khan, scouts talked about the wealth of the cities of Russia and their weakness. As a reconnaissance operation, it turned out to be a campaign to the Kalka River. Strength and the strictest discipline helped the Mongol-Tatars to win. After the capture of China, the latest technologies appeared in their hands without existing analogues in the world.
The first campaign of Batu to Russia and its results
The Mongols invaded Russia twice. The first campaign of Batu against Russia took place in 1237-1238. At the head of the Mongol-Tatar army was the grandson of Genghis Khan - Jochi-Batu (Batu). In his power he had the western part of the lands.
The death of Genghis Khan moved military campaigns for some time. During this time, the forces of the Mongols grew significantly. The Khan's sons managed to subdue Northern China and Volga Bulgaria. The army of generals was replenished with Kipchaks.
The first invasion was not a surprise for Russia. The chronicles describe in detail the stages of the movement of the Mongols before their campaign against Russia. In the cities there was an active preparation for the invasion of the horde. The Russian princes did not forget the battle on the Kalka, but they hoped to defeat the dangerous enemy easily and quickly. But the military forces of Batu were huge - up to 75 thousand well-equipped soldiers.
At the end of 1237, the horde crossed the Volga and stood at the borders of the Ryazan principality. The Ryazan people categorically refused Batu's proposals for subjugation and constant payment of tribute. The Ryazan principality asked for military assistance from the princes of Russia, but did not receive it. The fighting continued for 5 days. The capital fell and was completely destroyed. The population, including the princely family, was massacred. A similar thing happened with the Ryazan lands.
This was not the end of Batu's first campaign. The army went to the Vladimir principality. The prince managed to send his squad near Kolomna, but there it was completely defeated. Batu went to a small city at that time - Moscow. She resisted heroically under the leadership of Philip Nyanka. The city stood for 5 days. In early February, the Mongol army approached Vladimir and laid siege to it. It was not possible to enter the city through the Golden Gate, they had to make holes in the wall. The annals describe terrible pictures of robberies and violence. The Metropolitan, the prince's family and other people hid in the Assumption Cathedral. They were mercilessly set on fire. The death of people was slow and long - from smoke and fire.
The prince himself with the Vladimir army and the Yuryevsky, Uglitsky, Yaroslavl and Rostov regiments moved north to resist the horde. In 1238, all the regiments of the prince were destroyed near the river Sit.
The Horde met strong resistance from Torzh and Kozelsk. Cities took more than a week each. Fearing the melting snow, the khan turned back. Novgorod survived Batu's campaign. Some historians believe that the Novgorod prince was able to pay off the battle with the Mongol-Tatars. There is a version that Batu and A. Nevsky are one and the same person. Since Novgorod was the city of Alexander, he did not ruin it.
Whatever happened there, but the khan turned back and left Russia. The withdrawal was like a raid. The army was divided into detachments and the "network" went through small settlements, smashing and taking away everything of value.
In the Polovtsian lands, the horde was recovering from losses and gathering strength for a new campaign.
The second campaign of Batu to Russia and its results
The second invasion took place in 1239-1240. In the spring, Batu went to southern Russia. Already in March, the horde took possession of Pereyaslavl, in the middle of autumn Chernigov. The second campaign of Batu to Russia is famous for the capture of the capital of Russia - Kyiv.
Each city fortress used all its forces to fight the enemy. However, the disparity in power was obvious. Many chronicles keep records of the heroic behavior of Russian soldiers. During the invasion of Batu, Kyiv was ruled by Daniel of Galicia. During the battles for the city, the prince was absent from it. The army was under the command of the governor Dmitry. Batu offered Kyiv to submit peacefully and pay tribute, but the townspeople refused. With the help of bulky wall-beating devices, the Mongols entered the city and pushed back the inhabitants. The remaining defenders gathered on Detinets and built a new fortification. However, he could not withstand the powerful blow of the Mongols. The Tithe Church was the last tombstone of the inhabitants of Kyiv. The governor survived this battle, but was badly wounded. Batu pardoned him for his heroic behavior. This practice has been widespread among the Mongols since ancient times. Dmitry participated in Batu's campaigns against Europe.
Further, the path of the Mongol commander lay to the West. On the way, the Galicia-Volyn principality and part of Hungary and Poland were captured. The troops reached the Adriatic Sea. Most likely, the campaign would have continued further, but the unexpected death of the kagan forced the grandson of Genghis Khan to return to his native lands. He wanted to participate in the kurultai, where the choice of a new kagan would take place.
It was no longer possible to re-assemble a huge military army. For this reason, the horde did not conquer Europe. Russia took the whole blow. The military action had severely battered and exhausted her.
The results of Batu's campaigns against Russia
Two campaigns of the horde brought multiple losses to the Russian land. However, the ancient Russian civilization was able to resist, the nationality was preserved. Many principalities were destroyed and ruined, people were killed or taken prisoner. Of the 74 cities, 49 were wiped off the face of the earth. Half of them did not return their appearance or were not rebuilt at all.
In 1242, a new state appeared in the Mongol Empire - the Golden Horde with its capital in Sarai-Batu. The Russian princes were to come to Batu and express their obedience. The Tatar-Mongol yoke began. The princes visited the horde many times with expensive gifts and large tributes, for which they received confirmation of the principality. The Mongols took advantage of the internecine struggle of the princes and added fuel to the fire. The blood of the ruling elite was shed.
The war led to the loss of valuable craftsmen from various industries. Some knowledge has been lost forever. Stone urban planning, glass production and the production of products with cloisonne enamel stopped. Unprivileged classes became in power, as many princes and combatants died in battles. Batu's campaigns lead to a decline in the economy, politics, and culture. The stagnation dragged on for many years.
There were also demographic problems. Most of the population where hostilities took place was killed. The survivors moved to the safe western and northwestern regions. They did not own land and became dependent on the nobility. A reserve of feudally dependent people was created. The nobility also began to reorient themselves to the land, since existence at the expense of tribute was not possible - it went to the Tatars. Large private landownership began to grow.
The princes increased their power over the people, since the dependence on the veche was minimal. Behind them were the Mongol troops and Batu, who "granted" them power.
However, veche institutions did not disappear. They were used to gather people and repulse the Horde. Numerous large-scale unrest of people forced the Mongols to soften their yoke policy.
At the time when the decline of Kyiv took place and other centers appeared instead of the old Kyiv - Novgorod, Vladimir Suzdalsky and Galich, that is, in the first half of the 13th century, Tatars appeared in Russia. Their appearance was completely unexpected, and the Tatars themselves were completely unknown and unknown to the Russian people: them".
The birthplace of the Mongolian tribe of Tatars was present-day Mongolia. The scattered nomadic and wild Tatar tribes were united by Khan Temuchin, who took the title Genghis Khan, otherwise "great khan". In 1213, he began his colossal conquests by conquering northern China, and then moved west and reached the Caspian Sea and Armenia, everywhere bringing ruin and horror. The forward detachments of the Tatars from the southern shores of the Caspian Sea passed through the Caucasus to the Black Sea steppes, where they encountered the Polovtsians. The Polovtsy asked for help from the South Russian princes. The princes of Kyiv, Chernigov, Galich (all Mstislavs by name) and many others gathered and went to the steppe towards the Tatars, saying that it was necessary to help the Polovtsy against the Tatars, otherwise they would submit to the Tatars and thereby increase the strength of the enemies of Russia. More than once, the Tatars sent to tell the Russian princes that they were not fighting with them, but only with the Polovtsy. The Russian princes went on and on until they met the Tatars in the distant steppes on the Kalka River (now Kalmius). There was a fight (1223); the princes fought bravely, but unfriendly, and suffered a complete defeat. The Tatars brutally tortured the captured princes and warriors, pursued those who fled to the Dnieper, and then turned back and disappeared without a trace. “We don’t know these evil Tatars, the taurmen, from where they came to us and where they were again; only God knows,” says the chronicler, struck by a terrible disaster.
A few years have passed. Genghis Khan died (1227), dividing his vast possessions between his sons, but giving supreme power to one of them - Ogedei. Ogedei sent his nephew Batu(Batu, son of Jochi) to conquer the western countries. Batu moved with a whole horde of Tatars subject to him and entered European Russia through the river. Ural (according to the old name Yaik). On the Volga he defeated the Volga Bulgars and ruined their capital Great Bulgar. Crossing the Volga, at the end of 1237, Batu approached the borders of the Ryazan Principality, where, as we know (§ 18), the Olgovichi reigned. Batu demanded tribute from the people of Ryazan - "from the whole tithe", but was refused. The Ryazans asked for help from other Russian lands, but did not receive it and had to repel the Tatars on their own. The Tatars overcame, defeated the entire Ryazan region, burned the cities, beat and captured the population and went further north. They ravaged the city of Moscow, which was a cover from the south for Suzdal and Vladimir, and invaded the Suzdal region. The Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich, leaving his capital Vladimir, went to the north-west to gather an army. The Tatars took Vladimir, killed the princely family, burned the city with its wonderful temples, and then devastated the entire Suzdal land. They overtook Prince Yuri on the river. City (flowing into the Mologa River, a tributary of the Volga). In the battle (March 4, 1238), the Russians were defeated, and the Grand Duke was killed. The Tatars moved further to Tver and Torzhok and entered the Novgorod lands. However, they did not reach Novgorod itself about a hundred miles and turned back to the Polovtsian steppes. On the road, they had to besiege the town of Kozelsk (on the Zhizdra River) for a long time, which fell after an unusually brave defense. So in 1237-1238. Batu made the conquest of northeastern Russia.
