The Battle of the Vozha River is a battle between the Russian army under the command of Dmitry Donskoy and the army of the Golden Horde under the command of Murza Begich, which took place on August 11, 1378.

Prerequisites

In the spring of 1376, a Russian army led by Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky invaded the middle Volga and defeated the Bulgar army, took a ransom of 5,000 rubles from Mamaev’s proteges and put Russian customs officers there.

In 1376, Khan of the Blue Horde Arapsha, who came into the service of Mamai from the left bank of the Volga, ravaged the Novosilsk principality, avoiding a collision with the Moscow army that went beyond the Oka, in 1377 on the river. Pyana defeated the Moscow-Suzdal army, which did not have time to prepare for battle, and ruined the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan principalities. After Arapsha's successful raid on the Russian border the following year, Mamai moved his army against Dmitry of Moscow himself.

Progress of the battle

On the Vozha River, a tributary of the Oka, Dmitry, after successfully reconnaissance of the enemy’s plans, managed to block the ford along which the Tatars were planning to cross, and take up a convenient combat position on the hill. The Russian formation took the form of an arc; The flanks were led by the okolnichy Timofey Velyaminov and Prince Danila Pronsky (according to another version, Andrei Polotsky).

“Begich did not dare cross the river in full view of the Russian army and, according to the chronicler, “stood for many days.” Then Dmitry Ivanovich himself decided to move away from the river, “give the bank” to the Horde, in order to force them to “direct battle.” Begich fell into a trap laid out.”

The onslaught of the Tatar cavalry was repulsed, and the Russians, fighting in a semicircular formation, launched a counter-offensive. The Horde began to retreat in disorder; many of them drowned in the river.

The retreaters managed to avoid further persecution and complete defeat due to the onset of darkness. The next morning there was heavy fog, and only after it cleared did the Russian army cross the river and capture the convoy abandoned by the Horde. Four Horde princes and Begich himself died in the battle.

Consequences

The Battle of Vozha was the first serious victory of the troops of North-Eastern Rus' over the large army of the Golden Horde and had great psychological significance. It demonstrated the vulnerability of the Tatar cavalry, which could not withstand staunch defense and decisive retaliatory strikes.

For Mamai, the defeat on Vozha from Prince Dmitry Ivanovich was a serious blow, after which he began to rapidly lose his position in favor of Tokhtamysh, as well as the reason for the ruin of the Ryazan principality in 1379 and the campaign against Dmitry Ivanovich himself in 1380, with the significant involvement of mercenaries. Yes news that Mamai’s advisers told him:

“Your horde has become impoverished, your strength has failed; but you have a lot of wealth, let’s go hire the Genoese, Circassians, Yasses and other peoples.”

There is a version (V.A. Kuchkin) according to which the story about Sergius of Radonezh’s blessing of Dmitry Donskoy to fight against Mamai does not refer to the Battle of Kulikovo, but specifically to the battle on the Vozha River, and is connected in the life of the saint with the Battle of Kulikovo later, as with a deeper event. Among those killed in the Battle of Vozha, Dmitry Monastyrev is mentioned, whose death is also known in the Battle of Kulikovo.

Mamai managed to win the battle on the Piana River with ease. The next goal of the ball is Moscow. Mamai equipped an army, at the head of which he placed Prince Begich. At that time, he was considered one of the best commanders with many years of experience and no defeats in battle.

Begich decided to take a short route to Moscow through the Ryazan lands. He quickly walked towards his intended goal and did not engage in robberies of villages and cities along the way. He tried not to advertise his intentions. However, loyal people warned Dmitry Ivanovich about the upcoming attack. The prince was able to prepare well in advance and deployed his strongest troops on the Oka River. As soon as Begich crossed the borders of the Ryazan principality, Dmitry and his troops went to meet him. Prince Vladimir Pronsky added his people, led by his son Daniil, to the Moscow army.

The meeting took place on the Vozhe (Vozhei) River. For several days no one started hostilities. Dmitry got an advantageous position on the gentle left bank on the crest of a horseshoe-shaped hill. On both sides the shore had a sharp cliff and many ravines. The Tatars were in a difficult position: their cavalry could not cross the river or organize a detour. Dmitry understood all his advantages and did not move further.

Begich also understood his position: he would not defeat the Russians under the given conditions. The Tatar commander decided to take a wait-and-see approach and await the Russian attack. To stimulate the passage of Russian troops across the river, he set up a camp further from the shore.

But time passed, and the battle on the Vozha River remained “strange.” Neither side took active action. Begich realized that he had to cross the river, since Dmitry could stand like this until winter. Mamai sent troops to fight the Moscow prince; the commander could not retreat without fighting.

On August 11, the Tatar army began to cross the river. The Moscow prince did not prevent this in any way. By noon, all the cavalry was on the left bank in a fighting position. They struck the central location, headed by Prince Dmitry himself. But the battle had just begun when Russian troops under the leadership of Prince Daniil and governor Timofey Velyaminov attacked the Tatars from both sides.

The battle on the Vozha River was stubborn and lasted a couple of hours. Dmitry was in the forefront and turned out to be an example for his soldiers. The Tatars were gradually pressed to the shore from all sides. They found themselves surrounded. But before the battle, Begich promised to execute everyone who would cross back. But after Begich’s death, when the Tatars saw his head on a spear, panic began. Without listening to anyone, the Tatars, choking and stepping over each other, rushed to the other bank with the hope of saving themselves from inevitable death.

The crossing of the Tatars under Russian arrows continued until late twilight. About a thousand Tatars died in battle, and even more drowned in the cold waters of the river. The legend about the battle on the Vozha River said that it was possible to cross the river without soaking your feet in the water - platinum was formed from the corpses of horses and people.

The darkness of the night helped the surviving Turks escape persecution. The next morning the Moscow prince and his army crossed to the right bank. However, thick fog will not allow the Tatars to be pursued immediately. Only in the middle of the day it began to clear up, Dmitry rushed in pursuit. By evening he reached Begich's convoy, which had been abandoned by the fleeing soldiers. The Russian prince inherited a lot of wealth: slaves, weapons, armor, livestock, utensils, tents, wagons, carts, etc. Everything was fairly divided among the soldiers. Dmitry continued the pursuit of the remnants of the horde. But it was night - some of the Tatars fled.

Dmitry won a complete victory: most of the Horde troops were killed, material assets were captured; Only one prince out of the seven sent, who led the campaign against Moscow, returned to Mamai. The prince spent another 3 days on the river bank while the dead soldiers and brave commanders were buried. Moscow greeted him with the ringing of bells and laurels of the winner. Ordinary people and clergy took to the streets.

This is the first big battle that the Russians managed to win against the Tatars. Rus' completely dispelled the belief in the impossibility of defeating the Golden Horde. The Russian people saw that they had a strong and brave leader. The confidence Piane had lost during the battle was strengthened.

Mamai realized that he underestimated the strength of the Moscow principality and the weakness of his own military forces. Angry over the death of his princes and nobles, he gathered new forces. In the fall, the Tatars again went to Rus'. The Ryazan prince Oleg, unprepared for battle, did not accept the battle, but fled in disgrace across the Oka River. Many villages and cities were left without protection. Many cities and towns were burned, people were killed or taken into slavery. The Tatars brought a lot of evil to the Ryazan land for their defeats in the battle on the Vozha River.

Mongol troops were preparing a raid on the Moscow principality. Khan Mamai gathered five tumens under the leadership of Murza Begich and sent them in order to replace the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich, later nicknamed Donskoy. During the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, military power was gaining. The prince found out in time about the impending campaign, and, gathering his squad, moved towards the Tatars. The decision to take the battle on the territory of the Ryazan principality was dictated by several circumstances:

1. Begich had in his rear a strong group of hostile troops led by an unreliable ally Oleg Ryazansky.
2. The Mongol cavalry was cut off from supply routes and had no time to delay if Begich chose to stall for time. While waiting for reinforcements or in search of a more advantageous position, his troops would begin to be dispersed into counterinsurgency operations.
3. Prince Dmitry Ivanovich deliberately imposed on the Tatars a place for battle that was unfavorable for the actions of the Mongol cavalry. The battle on Vozha took place between ravines and swamps, which did not provide room for the use of cavalry.

Russian troops took up defensive positions on the banks of the Vozha River. Moreover, Dmitry hid the left and right wings of his army in nearby ravines. Tatar troops, unaware of the real number of the enemy and confident of their victory, began to cross to the opposite bank. The Battle of the Vozha River began with an oncoming cavalry battle. At the same time, two attacks were carried out from both flanks. The Mongol cavalry, squeezed on three sides and deprived of its leaders, began to retreat randomly.

Russian troops, fearing an ambush, did not dare to begin pursuit. As a result, the Tatars had the opportunity to leave. But the retreat was carried out so hastily that a military convoy was abandoned, which was captured by Russian troops.

The Battle of the Vozha River has several moments that have not been revealed by historians. Ryazansky’s behavior has not been fully clarified. On the one hand, he did not openly oppose the Tatars and let them pass through his territory. At the same time, Begich did not subject Ryazan cities and villages to plunder. Perhaps he hoped for the help of his recent ally Mamai, who some time earlier had helped him in the fight against Khan Arapsha.

The position of Dmitry Ivanovich, who refused to pursue the Mongolian troops, is not entirely clear. Perhaps he took into account the experience of past battles. When the Tatars enticed hostile troops with a feigned retreat, and then united and launched a surprise attack.

The Battle of the Vozha River made it possible to test new tactics of Russian troops. The princely squad did not wait for the enemy in the cities, but itself imposed a battle and chose a place for the future battle. The close-knit ranks of Russian spearmen stood up well against the heavy Mongol cavalry.

The Battle of the Vozha River was of great importance for Even the punitive campaign of Mamai, carried out after, showed that the Tatars did not risk entering into direct confrontation with the Moscow principality without preparation, limiting themselves to the plunder of the Ryazan people. After the battle on the Vozha River, the Moscow Principality immediately began to prepare for a new battle, which thundered two years later on

On a high hill stands the ancient village of Glebovo-Gorodishche. Excavations show that people were already settling here in the 2nd millennium BC. In the ninth century, these places were settled by the Slavs and they built a fortress city - Glebov, which defended the borders of Rus' from the raids of the steppe inhabitants. During the Mongol invasion, Glebov was destroyed.
According to modern archaeological data, it was in these places that the famous Battle of Vozh took place in 1378 between the horde of Murza Begich and the army led by the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich (the future Donskoy). In honor of this event, the majestic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was erected.
In the 16th century, the city of Glebov became the southern outpost of the Vozhskaya zashechnaya line, which was part of the complex of defensive structures of the Moscow state. The abatis lines were constantly guarded by detachments of abatis guards. The destruction of the ramparts was quickly repaired, and additional blockages and fortifications were constantly installed. The remains of the Vozhskaya abatis, which ran throughout the entire region, have survived to this day. In Glebovo-Gorodishche you will see a well-preserved fortress rampart; two versts from the settlement is the Durakovsky Gate tract, through which passage to the territory of the Ryazan principality was carried out. In 1878, during the celebration of the 500th anniversary, bells were installed on the bell tower of the Assumption Church. On the main bell there was an inscription: on one side - “120 poods”, on the other - “Dedicated to the 500th anniversary.” The church is currently being restored.
In 2003, in honor of the 625th anniversary of the victory at Vozha, a monument - a stele - was erected on a hill near Glebov-Gorodishche. Since then, every year in early August, celebrations are held here, during which historical clubs reenact the battle. This is preceded by the festival of historical clubs “Battle of the Vozhskaya”. Guests of the holiday take great pleasure in the opportunity to try on a helmet and chain mail, shoot a bow, throw a spear, and learn how to wield a sword.
Currently, work is underway to equip a year-round tourist route along the Vozhskaya zaseka and to the site of the Vozhskaya battle.

Festival "Battle of Vozha"

Every year, on the second Saturday of August, on the Rybnovskaya land in the village of Glebovo-Gorodishche, the historical festival “Battle of the Vozha” takes place, which is located on the site of the battle between the Russian regiment and the Tatar-Mongol army in 1378.
The festival will help you plunge into the past, be convinced of the power of the heroic spirit of our distant ancestors, see with your own eyes the pages of history and honor the memory of Rus'.
The city of Glebov blocked Russian lands from raids by nomads. The Battle of the Vozha festival creates an immersion in Russian life of the 14th century.
In honor of the victory at the Vozha Rusichi, a wooden Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was founded at the site of the battle, which in 1694 replaced the walls with brick ones.
According to historians, the battle took place in these places. Along the river Vozhi in the area of ​​the ancient Russian city of Glebov not far (20 kilometers) from the modern city of Rybnoye, Ryazan region.
The Battle of Vozha festival is a stylized medieval settlement, where a variety of interactive programs and venues are presented.
. Shopping Row - tents for handicraft vendors
. Amusing Row - venues for all kinds of medieval games and folk amusements
. Crafts Row - craftsmen will offer master classes on medieval crafts
. Obzhorny Row - provides the opportunity to eat delicious food - barbecue, pastries, and a variety of drinks.
The festival has a central area, formerly the “Ristalishche,” for holding tournaments among professional warriors, amateur duels with weapon models, a concert program, etc.
Archaeologists talk about the events of those times and also show artifacts. There is a large selection of authentic amulets, weapons, souvenirs and costumes from the 13th-14th centuries.

In 1378, Mamai sent a large army under the command of Begich and several other Murzas to Rus'. Begich walked through the Ryazan lands, but the goal of the campaign was Moscow. Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich decided not only to repel the invasion, but also to inflict a decisive defeat on the enemy. Russian regiments under the command of the Grand Duke himself crossed the river. Oka and went along the Ryazan land towards Begich. Earlier than the Horde, they managed to approach the river. Go ahead and get ready for battle. Begich did not dare cross the river in full view of the Russian army and, according to the chronicler, “stood for many days.” Then Dmitry Ivanovich himself decided to move away from the river, “give the bank” to the Horde, in order to force them to “direct battle.” Begich fell into a trap. His cavalry began to cross the Vozha and accumulate on its left, Russian bank. The attack of the Russian army was swift and unstoppable. The enemy was hit “in the face” by a “large regiment” led by the Grand Duke, and two other regiments - the okolnichy Timofey and Prince Daniil Pronsky - came in from the flanks. The enemy cavalry rolled back to the river in disorder. Vozhe, and the Russian warriors, overtaking the Horde, “beat them, cut them, and barbed them, and killed many of them, and stamped them in the river”; Begich himself died in the attack. The pursuit of the defeated enemy continued until darkness, and rich booty fell into the hands of the victors. The remnants of Vegich's army "ran to the Horde." The Horde suffered a complete defeat.

THE TALE OF THE BATTLE ON THE VOZHA RIVER

After a few days, the Tatars crossed to this side of the river and, whipping their horses and shouting in their own language, they began to trot and struck at ours. And our people rushed at them: on the one hand, Timofey the okolnichy, and on the other hand, Prince Daniil Pronsky, and the great prince struck the Tatars in the forehead. The Tatars immediately threw down their spears and ran across the river for Vozha, and ours began to pursue them, chopping and stabbing, and a great many killed them, and many of them drowned in the river. And here are the names of their killed princes: Khazibey, Koverga, Karabuluk, Kostrov, Begichka.

And when evening came, and the sun set, and the light faded, and night fell, and it became dark, it was impossible to chase them across the river. And the next day there was heavy fog in the morning. And the Tatars, as they fled in the evening, continued to flee throughout the night. The great prince on this day only in the pre-dinner time went after them, chasing them, but they had already run far away. And they drove into the field at their abandoned camps, and tents, and vezhi, and yurts, and huts, and their carts, and in them there was an innumerable amount of all sorts of goods, and all this was abandoned, but there was no one themselves - they all ran to the Horde.

FORMATION OF THE ANTI-HORDYAN UNION OF RUSSIAN PRINCIPALITIES

Until the second half of the 14th century, the suzerainty of the Horde over North-Eastern Russia was not challenged either by politicians or figures of public thought. Acts of resistance to the Tatars were associated with inter-princely conflicts in Rus' (princes could find themselves in confrontation with the khan, who supported their rivals), and not with a conscious struggle to completely eliminate dependence. Only in “The Tale of Mikhail Tverskoy” (1319-1320) can one discern the idea of ​​the temporary nature of Tatar domination over Russia, but it is carried out in an extremely veiled manner, in the form of a hint, by using examples from the history of Ancient Rome and Byzantium.

But with the beginning of the turmoil in the Horde, a fundamentally new situation arose. Firstly, it became common for the Horde to have two “kings” (and at times more). Secondly, the most powerful politician in this state became (for the first time) a person who did not belong to the “royal” family. Under him, the “kings” turned into marionettes, whom Mamai changed at his own discretion. In Rus' this situation was understood very clearly. The Khan, on whose behalf Mamai ruled, could be disparagingly called “Mamai’s Tsar”; it was directly stated that Mamai “installed another king in his Horde.” The sovereignty of Mamai is especially emphasized in the following chronicle characteristics: “... their king does not own anything, but Mamai holds all the elders”; “Someone is bad for them, but everything they do is for Prince Mamai.”

Thus, by 1374, for more than a decade, the state structure of the Horde was in an “abnormal” state: the kings did not have real power, it belonged to the usurper. After Mamai’s desire to transfer the great reign to Mikhail Tverskoy and, finally, his loss of Sarai was added to this fact, Moscow decided, probably in response to a monetary “request,” to make a break and not comply with the illegal, unreliable in terms of support for the Grand Duke and, moreover, the ruler of vassal relations who does not control the entire territory of the Horde.

In November 1374, a princely congress took place in Pereyaslavl. It is believed that the Russian princes agreed on a joint fight against the Tatars. It is likely that the decisions of the congress concerned a wider range of issues; they were talking about joint actions in general, including against the Horde. Relations with the latter, most likely, were built in the way that was recorded the following year in Dmitry’s agreement with Mikhail Tversky: “And from the Tatars there will be peace for us, according to the Duma. We will be given a way out, according to the Duma, but we will not be given a way out, according to the Duma. And the Tatars will come against us or you, and we and you will fight together against them. Or we will go against them, and you and us, together, go against them.” On the one hand, the possibility of peaceful relations with the Horde and payment of the exit is allowed here. On the other hand, this is the first fact that has reached us of the contractual consolidation of obligations on joint military actions against the Horde, both defensive and offensive.

In March 1375, another princely congress took place, the location of which is unknown. During it, Vasily, the son of Dmitry of Nizhny Novgorod, tried to tighten the maintenance of Saraika and his people; the Tatars resisted (their weapons were not taken away) and were killed. During the fight, Saraika shot at Bishop Dionysius, but the arrow only grazed his mantle. In response to the beating of the embassy, ​​Mamai’s troops fought in the Nizhny Novgorod volosts - Kish and Zapyanye.

Meanwhile, the son of the last Moscow thousand-man Vasily Velyaminov (who died in 1374) and Nekomat Surozhanin ran over to Mikhail Tverskoy. Mikhail sent them to the Horde, and soon Ambassador Achikhozha (the same one who went with Dmitry of Nizhny Novgorod against the Bulgar in 1370) came from there with a label to the Tver prince for the great reign of Vladimir. In response, an army of unprecedented scale moved towards Tver. The list of princes who participated in the campaign makes it possible to determine the circle of participants in the Pereyaslav Congress, i.e. princes who agreed on joint actions and recognized the supremacy of Moscow. This (in addition to Dmitry Ivanovich himself and his cousin Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky) is the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod prince Dmitry Konstantinovich, his son Semyon and brothers - Boris and Dmitry Nogot, the Rostov princes Andrei Fedorovich and Vasily and Alexander Konstantinovich, Prince Ivan Vasilyevich from the Smolensk branch (ruled in Vyazma), Yaroslavl princes Vasily and Roman Vasilyevich, Belozersk prince Fyodor Romanovich, Kashinsky prince Vasily Mikhailovich (who went over to the side of Moscow), Youth prince Fyodor Mikhailovich, Starodubsky prince Andrei Fedorovich, Prince Roman Mikhailovich Bryansky (he was then in Bryansk no longer owned, he was in the hands of Olgerd), Novosilsky prince Roman Semenovich, Obolensky prince Semyon Konstantinovich and his brother Tarusa prince Ivan. Thus, the suzerainty of Dmitry Ivanovich was recognized not only by all the principalities of North-Eastern Rus' (except for Tver, with the exception of his Kashin inheritance), but also by the princes of the three supreme principalities of the Chernigov land (Novosilsky, Obolensky and Tarussky), Roman Mikhailovich, who was considered Grand Duke of Chernigov and Prince of Vyazemsk. The latter passed under the hand of Dmitry back in 1371, when his uncle and overlord, the Grand Duke of Smolensk Svyatoslav Ivanovich, was an ally of Lithuania. But in 1375, Svyatoslav was already an ally of Dmitry, so even if Ivan lost control over Vyazma for some time, by the mid-70s. he probably returned it.

As a result of the campaign, Mikhail Tverskoy recognized himself as the “young brother” of Dmitry Ivanovich, and the great reign as his “fatherland”: “And our estates of Moscow, and of the entire great reign, and of Novagorod the Great, must be guarded and not offended. But these patrimony of ours, Moscow, and the entire Great Duchy, and Novgorod the Great, are not to be looked for under us, and to the belly, and to your children, and to your brothers.”...

At the beginning of 1377, the united forces of the Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod principalities (the Moscow army was led by the son of Koryad-Mikhail Gediminovich Dmitry Bobrok, who transferred to serve in Moscow, the Nizhny Novgorod army was led by the sons of Dmitry Konstantinovich Vasily and Ivan) set off on a campaign “against the Bulgarians”...

It is obvious that in relation to the Horde “princes” the Grand Duke of Moscow acted in the same way as in relation to the Russian princes. In fact, he tried, as it were, to take the place in relation to the first, which was occupied by the ruler of the Horde. However, to see here Dmitry’s desire to become equal to the “tsar” would be risky - rather, with such actions, the Grand Duke put himself on the same level as Mamai, who seven years earlier brought Volga Bulgaria to submission.

In the summer of the same year, the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod army (the Moscow part was led by the governors, the Nizhny Novgorod part by Ivan Dmitrievich), expecting an attack by the “prince” Arabshah (Arapsha) who came from the Volga region, missed the attack of the Tatars from the Mamayev Horde and was defeated on the river. Drunk (Ivan Nizhny Novgorod died), after which the Horde ravaged Nizhny Novgorod. In the same year, Arabshah made war on Zasurye.

Inspired by success, Mamai in the summer of 1378 decided to strike directly at the Principality of Moscow, sending a strong army under the command of Begich against Dmitry Ivanovich. August 11 on the river Vozhe, within the Ryazan land, the Moscow-Ryazan army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mamaev Tatars. Somewhat earlier, at the end of July, the Horde again managed to ravage Nizhny Novgorod. It remains unclear, however, whether these were Tatars from the Mamaev Horde.

In retaliation for the defeat at Vozha, Mamai attacked the Ryazan land that same year. Its capital Pereyaslavl-Ryazan was burned, and the Grand Duke of Ryazan Oleg Ivanovich escaped by fleeing across the Oka.

Gorsky A.A. Moscow and Horde