Batu's invasion of Rus'
Key dates and events:
1206 - formation of the Mongol state, proclamation of Temujin as Genghis Khan;
1223 - battle on the Kalka River;
1237 - beginning of Batu’s campaign against North-Eastern Russia;
1238 - Battle of the City River;
1239-1240 - Batu's campaign against South-Western Rus'.
Historical figures: Genghis Khan; Batu; Yuri Vsevolodovich; Daniil Romanovich; Evpatiy Kolovrat.
Basic terms and concepts: temnik; nuker; invasion; yoke.
Response Plan: 1) formation of the Mongolian state; 2) Genghis Khan’s campaigns in Asia; 3) battle on the Kalka River; 4) Batu’s invasion of North-Eastern Russia; 5) Batu’s campaign in Southwestern Russia and Western Europe; 6) the consequences of the invasion for Russian lands.
Material for the answer: At the beginning of the 13th century. The Mongol tribes living in Central Asia entered a period of disintegration of the tribal system and the formation of statehood. In 1206, at the kurultai - a congress of representatives of the Mongolian nobility - Temujin, who took the name of Genghis Khan, was proclaimed ruler of the Mongolian state. The main instrument of his state power was a powerful and numerous army, distinguished by high organization and iron discipline. The controllability of this army was ensured largely thanks to its thoughtful division into tens, hundreds, thousands and “darkness” (10,000) nukers (warriors).
The aggressive nature of the Mongolian state was rooted not only in the presence of a strong army, but also in the economic system of the Mongols itself, the basis of which was nomadic cattle breeding. Herding numerous flocks of livestock required moving over large areas. In addition, military booty became almost the only source of subsistence for many warriors and a source of enrichment for military leaders.
In 1207-1215 the Mongols captured Siberia and Northwestern China, began invading Central Asia in 1219, and in Transcaucasia in 1222.
On May 31, 1223, the first battle of Russian squads with the Mongols took place on the Kalka River. The attempts of the princes to agree on the formation of a unified army and unified administration led to nothing, it became main reason brutal defeat of the southern Russian princes and Polovtsian khans who opposed the Mongols. Nevertheless vanguard The Mongols did not dare to move further and retreated to Asia.
With the death of Genghis Khan, his power collapsed. In 1235, at the kurultai, a decision was made to march to the West. The troops were led by Genghis Khan's grandson Batu (nicknamed Batu in Rus').
In 1236 he defeated detachments of the Kama Bulgars and in the winter of 1237 he invaded North-Eastern Rus'. Despite the stubborn and selfless resistance of Russian military detachments and the local population, Ryazan, Kolomna, Moscow, Vladimir, Suzdal, Yaroslavl, Tver, and Kostroma were taken and devastated in a short period of time. The squads of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir were defeated in an unequal battle. North-Eastern Rus' came under the rule of the Mongol khans. However, the resistance to the invaders was so stubborn, and the losses were so great that Batu, not reaching 100 km from Novgorod, ordered a retreat to the south, to the steppe regions for rest. Only in 1239 did he undertake a new campaign - against Southern and South-Western Rus'. Kyiv and other cities were captured and plundered, and the Galician-Volyn principality was devastated. In 1240, Batu's troops invaded the countries of Central Europe. However, weakened by Russian resistance, mongol army could not withstand the fight against the new enemy. In addition, nomads were not used to fighting in mountainous and forested areas. After the defeat from the combined forces of the Czech Republic and Hungary near Olomouc (1242), Batu ordered to return to the Volga valley.
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 Russian lands. Western lands were given to him, many of which still had to be conquered. Having captured Volga Bulgaria practically without resistance, in the fall of 1237 the Mongols crossed the Volga and gathered on the Voronezh River. For the Russian princes, the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars was not a surprise; they knew about their movements, were expecting an attack and were preparing to fight back. But feudal fragmentation, princely strife, 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, did not allow us to count on a 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, withstanding a five-day siege. On December 21, 1237, Batu’s troops captured, killed the inhabitants, including the princely family, plundered and burned the city. In January 1238, the troops of Khan Batu moved to the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Near Kolomna they defeated the remnants of the Ryazans, and approached Moscow, which was a small settlement, a suburb of Vladimir. Muscovites, led by governor Philip Nyanka, put up desperate resistance, and the siege lasted five days. Batu divided the army and at the same time began the siege of Vladimir and Suzdal. The people of Vladimir resisted desperately. The Tatars were unable to enter the city through, but, having undermined 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 Rus' was completely devastated. The troops of the Mongol-Tatars, who went to North-Western Rus' to Novgorod, were forced to besiege the desperately resisting Torzhok, a suburb of Novgorod, for two whole weeks. Having finally burst into the hated city, they cut down all the remaining inhabitants, making no distinction between warriors, women and even babies, and 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 everything settlements that came along the way. It became expensive for them small town ok Kozelsk, the defense of which was led by the very young Prince Vasily. The Mongols detained the town for seven weeks, which they called “Evil City,” and having captured it, they did not spare not only the youths, but also the infants. Having ravaged several more large cities, Batu’s army went to the steppes, only to return a year later.
In 1239, a new invasion of Batu Khan hit Rus'. Having captured, the Mongols went south. Having approached Kyiv, they were unable to take it by 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 failures in the Czech Republic and Hungary, turned their troops to the East. Having passed through Rus' once again, the crooked Tatar saber, calling on fire for help, ravaged and devastated the Russian lands, but could not bring its people to their knees.
In 1227, the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, died, bequeathing to his descendants to continue his work and conquer the entire land, right up to the “Sea of the Franks” known to the Mongols in the west. The huge power of Genghis Khan was divided, as already noted, into uluses. The ulus of Jochi's eldest son, who died in the same year as his father, went to the conqueror's grandson Batu Khan (Batu). It was this ulus, located west of the Irtysh, that was supposed to become the main springboard for the conquest to the West. In 1235, at the kurultai of the Mongol nobility in Karakorum, a decision was made on an all-Mongol campaign against Europe. The strength of the Jochi ulus alone was clearly not enough. In this regard, troops of other Chingizids were sent to help Batu. Batu himself was placed at the head of the campaign, and the experienced commander Subedei was appointed as an adviser.
The offensive began in the fall of 1236, and a year later the Mongol conquerors conquered Volga Bulgaria, the lands of the Burtases and Mordovians in the Middle Volga, as well as the Polovtsian hordes roaming between the Volga and Don rivers. Late autumn 1237 Batu's main forces concentrated in the upper reaches of the Voronezh River (the left tributary of the Don) to invade northeastern Rus'. In addition to the significant numerical superiority of the Mongol Tumeis, the fragmentation of the Russian principalities, which resisted the enemy invasion one by one, played a negative role. The first principality to be mercilessly devastated was the Ryazan land. In the winter of 1237, Batu's hordes invaded its borders, destroying everything in their path. After a six-day siege, without receiving help, Ryazan fell on December 21. The city was burned and all the inhabitants were exterminated.
Having ravaged the Ryazan land, in January 1238, the Mongol invaders defeated the Grand Duke's guard regiment of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, led by the son of the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich, near Kolomna. Then moving along frozen rivers, the Mongols captured Moscow, Suzdal and a number of other cities. On February 7, after the siege, the capital of the principality, Vladimir, fell, where the family of the Grand Duke also died. After the capture of Vladimir, the hordes of conquerors scattered throughout the Vladimir-Suzdal land, plundering and destroying it (14 cities were destroyed).
On March 4, 1238, across the Volga, a battle took place on the City River between the main forces of northeastern Rus', led by the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich and the Mongol invaders. Russian army in this battle it was defeated, and the Grand Duke himself died. After the capture of the “suburb” of the Novgorod land - Torzhok, the road to northwestern Rus'. However, the approach of the spring thaw and significant human losses forced the Mongols, not reaching about 100 versts to Veliky Novgorod, to turn back to the Polovtsian steppes. On the way, they defeated Kursk and the small town of Kozelsk on the Zhizdra River. The defenders of Kozelsk offered fierce resistance to the enemy; they defended for seven weeks. After its capture in May 1238, Batu ordered this “evil city” to be wiped off the face of the earth, and the remaining inhabitants to be exterminated without exception.
Batu spent the summer of 1238 in the Don steppes, restoring the strength of his army. In the fall, his troops again devastated the Ryazan land, which had not yet recovered from the defeat, capturing Gorokhovets, Murom and several other cities. In the spring of 1239, Batu’s troops defeated the Pereyaslav principality, and in the fall the Chernigov-Seversk land was devastated.
In the fall of 1240, the Mongol army moved through southern Rus' to conquer Western Europe. In September they crossed the Dnieper and surrounded Kyiv. After a long siege, the city fell on December 6, 1240. In the winter of 1240/41, the Mongols captured almost all the cities of southern Rus'. In the spring of 1241, Mongol troops, having passed “with fire and sword” through Galicia-Volyn Rus' and captured Vladimir-Volynsky and Galich, attacked Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Moravia, and by the summer of 1242 they reached the borders of Northern Italy and Germany. However, not receiving reinforcements and suffering heavy losses in the unusual mountainous terrain, the conquerors, drained of blood by the protracted campaign, were forced to turn back from Central Europe to the steppes of the Lower Volga region. Another, and perhaps the most significant reason for the rollback of the Mongol hordes from Europe was the news of the death of the great Khan Ogedei in Karakorum, and Batu hastened to take part in the elections of the new ruler of the Mongol Empire.
The results of the Mongol conquest for Rus' were extremely difficult.
In terms of scale, the destruction and casualties resulting from the invasion could not be compared with the losses caused by the raids of nomads and princely feuds. First of all, the Mongol invasion caused enormous damage to all lands at the same time. According to archaeologists, out of 74 cities that existed in Rus' in the pre-Mongol era, 49 were completely destroyed by Batu’s hordes. At the same time, a third of them were depopulated forever, and 15 former cities turned into villages. Only Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk and the Turovo-Pinsk principality were not affected, because the Mongol hordes bypassed them. The population of the Russian lands also decreased sharply. Most of the townspeople either died in battles or were taken by the conquerors into “full” (slavery). Handicraft production was particularly affected. After the invasion of Rus', some craft specialties disappeared, the construction of stone buildings ceased, and the secrets of manufacturing were lost. glassware, cloisonne enamel, multi-colored ceramics, etc. Huge losses occurred among professional Russian warriors - princely warriors; many princes died in battles with the enemy. Only half a century later in Rus' the service class began to be revived and, accordingly, the structure of the patrimonial and nascent landowner economy was recreated. Apparently, only the most massive category - the rural population - suffered somewhat less from the invasion, but they suffered severe trials.
However, the main consequence of the Mongol invasion of Rus' and the establishment of Horde rule from the middle of the 13th century. was the strengthening of the isolation of the Russian lands, the disappearance of the old political-legal system and power structure that was once characteristic of Old Russian state. A conglomerate of Russian principalities of different sizes found itself under the influence of centrifugal geopolitical processes that became irreversible as a result of Mongol expansion. The collapse of the political unity of Ancient Rus' also marked the beginning of the disappearance of the Old Russian people, which became the progenitor of the three currently existing East Slavic peoples: from the 14th century. in the north-east and north-west of Rus' the Russian (Great Russian) nationality is formed, and in the lands that became part of Lithuania and Poland - the Ukrainian and Belarusian nationalities.
After Batu's invasion, the so-called Mongol-Tatar rule was established over Russia - a set of economic and political methods that ensured the dominance of the Golden Horde over that part of the territory of Rus' that came under the control (suzerainty) of its khans. The main one among these methods was the collection of various tributes and duties: “service”, trade duty “tamga”, food for Tatar ambassadors - “honor”, etc. The heaviest of them was the Horde “exit” - tribute in silver, which began to be collected in 1240- e years Beginning in 1257, on the orders of Khan Berke, the Mongols carried out a census of the population of northeastern Rus' (“recording the number”), establishing fixed rates of collection. Only the clergy were exempt from paying the “exit” (before the Horde adopted Islam at the beginning of the 14th century, the Mongols were distinguished by religious tolerance). To control the collection of tribute, representatives of the khan - the Baskaks - were sent to Rus'. The tribute was collected by tax farmers - besermens (Central Asian merchants). This is where the Russian word “busurmanin” comes from. By the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV century. The institution of Baskaism due to the active opposition of the Russian population (constant unrest of the rural population and urban protests) was abolished. From that time on, the princes of the Russian lands themselves began to collect Horde tribute. In case of disobedience, punitive Horde raids followed. As the dominance of the Golden Horde consolidated, punitive expeditions were replaced by repressions against individual princes.
The Russian principalities that became dependent on the Horde lost their sovereignty. Obtaining the princely throne depended on the will of the khan, who issued labels (letters) for reign. The dominance of the Golden Horde over Russia was expressed, among other things, in the issuance of labels (letters) for the great reign of Vladimir. The one who received such a label annexed the Principality of Vladimir to his possessions and became the most powerful among the Russian princes. He had to maintain order, stop strife and ensure the uninterrupted flow of tribute. The Horde rulers did not allow a significant increase in the power of any of the Russian princes and, consequently, a long stay on the grand-ducal throne. In addition, having taken away the label from the next Grand Duke, they gave it to a rival prince, which led to princely strife and the struggle for obtaining the Vladimir reign at the Khai court. A well-thought-out system of measures provided the Horde with strong control over the Russian lands.
Separation of Southern Rus'. In the second half of the 13th century. the division of Ancient Rus' into the northeastern and southwestern parts was actually completed. In southwestern Rus', the process of state fragmentation reached its apogee at the time of the Horde conquest. The Grand Duchy of Kiev lost its political significance. The Chernigov and Pereyaslav principalities weakened and fragmented.
Background
(From materials by Viktor Voskoboynikov
http://www.russian.kiev.ua/material.php?id=11607534)
Batu was the beloved grandson of the great Genghis Khan and the direct heir of his eldest son Dyaguchi. The latter appeared on the soil of Rus', fulfilling the obligations of his father. Genghis Khan in 1224 (three years before his death) entrusted his sons with the further realization of his dream - the conquest of the world. Batu's father was supposed to conquer the Cumans (Cumans) in the Kipchak steppe, Khiva, part of the Caucasus, Crimea and Ancient Kievan Rus, but did not do it. Therefore, “accidentally” in 1227 (a few months before the death of Genghis Khan) he “fell” from his horse while hunting and broke his spine (according to the Yass of Genghis Khan (a set of short laws), a Mongol does not shed the blood of a Mongol, but they often broke each other’s spines).
At the kurultai (congresses) of 1229 and 1235. it was decided to send a large army to conquer new spaces north of the Caspian and Black Seas.
Supreme Khan Ogotai entrusted the leadership of this campaign to Batu. With him came Ordu, Shiban, Tangkut, Kadan, Buri and Paydar (direct descendants of Genghis Khan) and the best commanders Subutai and Bagatur. In this strategic campaign, the Tatar-Mongol troops, after the defeat of Ancient Kievan Rus, following the Cumans (Cumans), conquered part of Western Europe. Starting with Hungary, where the Polovtsian hordes went, they then conquered and plundered Poland, the Czech Republic, Moravia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Dalmatia.
The conquest of Rus' was very difficult due to large quantity cities. “The Tale of Bygone Years” names for the 9th – 10th centuries. more than twenty cities, for the 11th century - 64, in the 12th century - 134, and by the time of Batu's invasion - 271 cities. This list is incomplete, since the cities were mentioned in the chronicle only in connection with some important events, political or military. According to some sources, there were about 414 cities.
Therefore, the Tatar-Mongol troops showed such brutal cruelty when capturing the first few dozen cities, so that the rest, under the influence of fear of being destroyed, submitted voluntarily. This strategic plan of Batu worked.
After the destruction of the capital of Volga Bulgaria, the city of Bulgar, by Mongol troops under the leadership of Batu, who was elected in 1235 as the head of the campaign, the victory over the Polovtsy and Volga peoples, the Mongols began to prepare for an invasion of North-Eastern Rus'. The Ryazan principality bordered the steppe.
Batu's invasion of Rus'. The capture and destruction of Ryazan by Batu
(From the materials of the book “Ryazan History in Persons”, A.F. Agarev, V.P. Kuryshkin
Ryazan: Russian Word, 2012)
The Russian princes did not take any defensive measures. Behind long years fighting nomads, they are accustomed to the fact that they attack either at the beginning of spring or in autumn. They never expected an attack in winter. No one was able to assess the extent of the danger looming over the country. The Ryazan principality was the first on the path of the Mongols, and they started there, sending ambassadors to its prince - a certain “sorceress” and two husbands. The ambassadors conveyed Batu's demand for obedience and payment of tithes “in everything” - income, people, horses. The Mongols imposed such a tribute on all conquered peoples. The residents of Ryazan rejected the ultimatum, telling the ambassadors: “If we are not all there, then everything will be yours.”
Only after this did the Ryazan prince Yuri Igorevich begin to prepare for battle. At the same time, he turned to Yuri Vsevolodovich Vladimirsky for help, but he refused to help. The princes of Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversk refused help.
The principalities of North-Eastern Rus', plunged into strife, were unable to agree on joint defense even in the face of mortal danger. In the south, the unification of forces was achieved thanks to the energy and authority of Mstislav the Udaly. In the northeast, a similar role could have been played by the Pereyaslav prince Yaroslav or the Vladimir prince Yuri. But both of them tried to avoid participating in the war. The Ryazan princes took a decisive position, but at that time they did not yet have sufficient authority to create and lead an anti-Mongol alliance.
Ryazan was actually abandoned to its fate due to disagreements between the Ryazan princes. The eldest of them, Prince Yuri Ryazansky, decided to defend the capital. Junior princes They left their cities and retreated to the Suzdal border, hoping that the Vladimir prince would nevertheless send his regiments to their aid. There is information that the Ryazan princes tried to give battle to the Mongols in the southern borders of their principality, near Voronezh, but were defeated.
Having captured the cities of Pronsk, Belgorod and Izheslavl, Batu approached the walls of Ryazan on December 16, 1237. The capital of the Ryazan principality was well fortified - the height of the earthen ramparts reached ten meters. On the ramparts rose oak walls with loopholes and towers. With the onset of frost, the ramparts were watered, which made them impregnable.
But the Mongols had a numerical advantage, and moreover, they had much more experience than the Ryazan squad and the city militia. Taking advantage of their multiple numerical superiority, they carried out a continuous assault, changing attacking detachments, while the Ryazan residents remained on the city walls and, after two or three sleepless nights, lost combat readiness. “Batu’s army changed, and the townspeople constantly fought,” writes the author of “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu” about this.
Fragment No. 2 of the diorama Defense of Old Ryazan
After a five-day siege, on December 21, 1237, the fortress was stormed and burned. Chronicles tell of a total massacre of the entire population of the city, including priests and monks.
“Batu’s army changed, and the townspeople fought constantly. And many townspeople were killed, and others were wounded, and others were exhausted from great labors. And on the sixth day, early in the morning, the wicked went to the city - some with lights, others with vices, and others with countless stairs - and took the city of Ryazan in the month of December on the twenty-first day. And they came to the cathedral church Holy Mother of God, and the Grand Duchess Agrippina, the mother of the Grand Duke, with her daughters-in-law and other princesses, was flogged with swords, and the bishop and priests were put on fire - they were burned in the holy church, and many others fell from weapons. And in the city many people, both wives and children, were cut with swords. And others were drowned in the river, and the priests and monks were flogged without a trace, and the entire city was burned, and all the famous beauty, and the wealth of Ryazan, and their relatives - the princes of Kyiv and Chernigov - were captured.
And they destroyed the temples of God and shed a lot of blood in the holy altars. And not a single living person remained in the city: they all died and drank the single cup of death. There was no one moaning or crying here - no father and mother about their children, no children about their father and mother, no brother about their brother, no relatives about their relatives, but they all lay dead together. And all this happened for our sins.”
The capital of the Ryazan principality, numbering several tens of thousands of people, which received even more people who fled here when the Mongol-Tatar army approached, was completely destroyed, and the stone temples were destroyed. During the defense of Ryazan, Prince Yuri Igorevich and members of his family died.
The first principality to be mercilessly devastated was the Ryazan land. In the winter of 1237, Batu's hordes invaded its borders, ruining and destroying everything in their path. The princes of Vladimir and Chernigov refused to help Ryazan. The Mongols besieged Ryazan and sent envoys who demanded submission and one-tenth “part in everything.” Karamzin also points out other details: “Yuri of Ryazan, abandoned by the Grand Duke, sent his son Theodore with gifts to Batu, who, having learned about the beauty of Theodore’s wife Eupraxia, wanted to see her, but this young prince answered him that Christians do not show their wives wicked pagans. Batu ordered to kill him; and the unfortunate Eupraxia, having learned of the death of her beloved husband, together with her baby, John, rushed from the high tower to the ground and lost her life.” The point is that Batu began to demand from the Ryazan princes and nobles “daughters and sisters on his bed.”
The Ryazantsev’s courageous answer to everything followed: “If we are all gone, then everything will be yours.” On the sixth day of the siege, December 21, 1237, the city was taken, the princely family and surviving residents were killed. In its old place, Ryazan was no longer revived (modern Ryazan is new town, located 60 km from old Ryazan, it was previously called Pereyaslavl Ryazan).
The grateful people's memory preserves the story of the feat of the Ryazan hero Evpatiy Kolovrat, who entered into an unequal battle with the invaders and earned the respect of Batu himself for his valor and courage.
Having ravaged the Ryazan land in January 1238, the Mongol invaders defeated the Grand Duke's guard regiment of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, led by the son of the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich, near Kolomna. Actually it was the entire Vladimir army. This defeat predetermined the fate of North-Eastern Rus'. During the battle for Kolomna, the last son of Genghis Khan, Kulkan, was killed. The Chingizids, as usual, did not take direct part in the battle. Therefore, the death of Kulkan near Kolomna suggests that the Russians; Probably, it was possible to deliver a strong blow to the Mongol rear in some place.
Then moving along frozen rivers (Oka and others), the Mongols captured Moscow, where the entire population put up strong resistance for 5 days under the leadership of governor Philip Nyanka. Moscow was completely burned, and all its inhabitants were killed.
On February 4, 1238, Batu besieged Vladimir. Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich left Vladimir in advance to organize a rebuff to uninvited guests in the northern forests on the Sit River. He took two nephews with him, and left the Grand Duchess and two sons in the city.
The Mongols prepared for the assault on Vladimir according to all the rules of military science that they had learned in China. They built siege towers near the walls of the city in order to be on the same level with the besieged and at the right moment throw “crossbars” over the walls; they installed “vices” - battering and throwing machines. At night, a “tyn” was erected around the city - an external fortification to protect against attacks by the besieged and to cut off all their escape routes.
Before the storming of the city at the Golden Gate, in front of the besieged Vladimir residents, the Mongols killed the younger prince Vladimir Yuryevich, who had recently defended Moscow. Mstislav Yuryevich soon died on the defensive line. Last Son Grand Duke Vsevolod, who fought the horde in Kolomna, during the assault on Vladimir, decided to enter into negotiations with Batu. With a small squad and large gifts, he left the besieged city, but the khan did not want to talk to the prince and “like a ferocious beast did not spare his youth, he ordered him to be slaughtered before him.”
After this, the horde launched a final assault. The Grand Duchess, Bishop Mitrofan, other princely wives, boyars and some ordinary people, last defenders Vladimir took refuge in the Assumption Cathedral. On February 7, 1238, the invaders broke into the city through breaks in the fortress wall and set it on fire. Many people died from fire and suffocation, not excluding those who took refuge in the cathedral. The most valuable monuments of literature, art and architecture perished in fire and ruins.
After the capture and devastation of Vladimir, the horde spread throughout the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, ravaging and burning cities, towns and villages. During February, 14 cities were plundered between the Klyazma and Volga rivers: Rostov, Suzdal, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Galich, Dmitrov, Tver, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev and others.
On March 4, 1238, across the Volga on the City River, a battle took place between the main forces of North-Eastern Rus', led by the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich and the Mongol invaders. 49-year-old Yuri Vsevolodovich was a brave fighter and quite an experienced military leader. Behind him were victories over the Germans, Lithuanians, Mordovians, Kama Bulgarians and those Russian princes who laid claim to his grand-ducal throne. However, in organizing and preparing Russian troops for the battle on the City River, he made a number of serious miscalculations: he showed carelessness in the defense of his military camp, did not pay due attention to reconnaissance, allowed his commanders to disperse the army over several villages and did not establish reliable communications between disparate detachments.
And when a large Mongol formation under the command of Barendey completely unexpectedly appeared in the Russian camp, the result of the battle was obvious. Chronicles and archaeological excavations in the City indicate that the Russians were defeated piecemeal, fled, and the horde cut people like grass. Yuri Vsevolodovich himself also died in this unequal battle. The circumstances of his death remain unknown. Only the following testimony has reached us about the prince of Novgorod, a contemporary of that sad event: “God knows how he died, for others say a lot about him.”
From this time on in Rus' it began Mongol yoke: Rus' became obliged to pay tribute to the Mongols, and the princes had to receive the title of Grand Duke from the hands of the khan. The term “yoke” itself in the meaning of oppression was first used in 1275 by Metropolitan Kirill.
The Mongol hordes moved to the north-west of Rus'. Everywhere they met stubborn resistance from the Russians. For two weeks, for example, the Novgorod suburb of Torzhok was defended. However, the approach of the spring thaw and significant human losses forced the Mongols, before reaching Veliky Novgorod about 100 versts, to turn south from the stone Ignach Cross to the Polovtsian steppes. The withdrawal was in the nature of a “round-up”. Divided into separate detachments, the invaders “combed” Russian cities from north to south. Smolensk managed to fight back. Kursk was destroyed, like other centers. The greatest resistance to the Mongols was provided by the small city of Kozelsk, which held out for seven (!) weeks. The town stood on a steep slope, washed by two rivers - Zhizdra and Druchusnaya. In addition to these natural barriers, it was reliably covered by wooden fortress walls with towers and a ditch about 25 meters deep.
Before the horde arrived, the Kozelites managed to freeze a layer of ice on the floor wall and the entrance gate, which made it much more difficult for the enemy to storm the city. Residents of the town wrote a heroic page in Russian history with their blood. It’s not for nothing that the Mongols called it “the evil city.” The Mongols stormed Ryazan for six days, Moscow for five days, Vladimir a little longer, Torzhok for fourteen days, and little Kozelsk fell on the 50th day, probably only because the Mongols - for the umpteenth time! They used their favorite trick - after another unsuccessful assault, they imitated a stampede. The besieged Kozelites, in order to complete their victory, made a general sortie, but were surrounded by superior enemy forces and all were killed. The Horde finally burst into the city and drowned the remaining residents there in blood, including the 4-year-old Prince Kozelsk.
Having devastated North-Eastern Rus', Batu Khan and Subedey-Baghatur withdrew their troops to the Don steppes to rest. Here the horde spent the entire summer of 1238. In the fall, Batu’s troops repeated raids on Ryazan and other Russian cities and towns that had so far escaped devastation. Murom, Gorokhovets, Yaropolch (modern Vyazniki), and Nizhny Novgorod were defeated.
And in 1239, Batu’s hordes invaded Southern Rus'. They took and burned Pereyaslavl, Chernigov and other settlements.
On September 5, 1240, the troops of Batu, Subedei and Barendey crossed the Dnieper and surrounded Kyiv on all sides. At that time, Kyiv was compared to Constantinople (Constantinople) in terms of wealth and large population. The city's population was close to 50 thousand people. Shortly before the arrival of the horde, the Galician prince Daniil Romanovich took possession of the throne of Kyiv. When she appeared, he went west to defend his ancestral possessions, and entrusted the defense of Kyiv to Dmitry Tysyatsky.
The city was defended by artisans, suburban peasants, and merchants. There were few professional warriors. Therefore, the defense of Kyiv, like Kozelsk, can rightfully be considered a people’s defense.
Kyiv was well fortified. The thickness of its earthen ramparts reached 20 meters at the base. The walls were oak, with earthen backfill. The walls were made of stone defensive towers with gateways. Along the ramparts there was a ditch filled with water, 18 meters wide.
Subedei, of course, was well aware of the difficulties of the upcoming assault. Therefore, he first sent his ambassadors to Kyiv demanding its immediate and complete surrender. But the Kievans did not negotiate and killed the ambassadors, and we know what this meant for the Mongols. Then a systematic siege began ancient city in Rus'.
The Russian medieval chronicler described it this way: “... Tsar Batu came to the city of Kyiv with many soldiers and surrounded the city... and it was impossible for anyone to leave the city or enter the city. And it was impossible to hear each other in the city from the creaking of carts, the roar of camels, from the sounds of trumpets... from the neighing of horse herds and from the screams and screams of countless people... Many vices beat (on the walls) incessantly, day and night, and the townspeople fought hard, and there were many dead... the Tatars broke through the city walls and entered the city, and the townspeople rushed towards them. And one could see and hear the terrible cracking of spears and the knocking of shields; the arrows darkened the light, so that the sky could not be seen behind the arrows, but there was darkness from the multitude of Tatar arrows, and the dead lay everywhere, and blood flowed everywhere like water... and the townspeople were defeated, and the Tatars climbed the walls, but from great fatigue they settled on walls of the city. And night came. That night the townspeople created another city, near the Church of the Holy Virgin. The next morning the Tatars came against them, and there was a vicious slaughter. And the people began to be exhausted, and they ran with their belongings into the church vaults and the church walls fell down from the weight, and the Tatars took the city of Kyiv on the month of December, the 6th day...”
In the works of the pre-revolutionary years, the fact is cited that the courageous organizer of the defense of Kyiv, Dimitar, was captured by the Mongols and brought to Batu.
“This formidable conqueror, having no idea about the virtues of philanthropy, knew how to appreciate extraordinary courage and with a look of proud pleasure said to the Russian governor: “I will give you life!” Dmitry accepted the gift, because he could still be useful for the fatherland and was left with Batu.”
Thus ended the heroic defense of Kyiv, which lasted 93 days. The invaders plundered the church of St. Sofia, all other monasteries, and the surviving Kievites killed every last one, regardless of age.
The next year, 1241, the Galician-Volyn principality was destroyed. On the territory of Rus', the Mongol yoke was established, which lasted 240 years (1240-1480). This is the point of view of historians at the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov.
In the spring of 1241, the horde rushed to the West to conquer all the “evening countries” and extend its power to all of Europe, right down to the last sea, as Genghis Khan bequeathed.
Western Europe, like Rus', was experiencing a period of feudal fragmentation at that time. Torn apart by internal strife and rivalry between small and large rulers, it could not unite to stop the invasion of the steppes through common efforts. Alone at that time, not a single European state was able to withstand the military onslaught of the horde, especially its fast and hardy cavalry, which played a decisive role in military operations. Therefore, despite the courageous resistance of the European peoples, in 1241 the hordes of Batu and Subedey invaded Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Moldova, and in 1242 they reached Croatia and Dalmatia - the Balkan countries. A critical moment has arrived for Western Europe. However, at the end of 1242, Batu turned his troops to the east. What's the matter? The Mongols had to reckon with ongoing resistance in the rear of their troops. At the same time, they suffered a series of, albeit minor, failures in the Czech Republic and Hungary. But most importantly, their army was exhausted by battles with the Russians. And then from distant Karakorum, the capital of Mongolia, news came of the death of the Great Khan. During the subsequent division of the empire, Batu must be on his own. This was a very convenient excuse to stop a difficult hike.
About the world-historical significance of the struggle of Rus' with the Horde conquerors, A.S. Pushkin wrote:
“Russia was destined for a high destiny...its vast plains absorbed the power of the Mongols and stopped their invasion at the very edge of Europe; The barbarians did not dare to leave enslaved Rus' in their rear and returned to the steppes of their east. The resulting enlightenment was saved by a torn and dying Russia...”
Reasons for the Mongols' success.
The question of why the nomads, who were significantly inferior to the conquered peoples of Asia and Europe in economic and cultural terms, subjugated them to their power for almost three centuries, has always been the focus of attention, both domestic and foreign historians. No textbook teaching aid; a historical monograph, to one degree or another, considering the problems of the formation of the Mongol Empire and its conquests, which would not reflect this problem. To imagine this in such a way that if Rus' were united, it would show the Mongols is not a historically justified thought, although it is clear that the level of resistance would be an order of magnitude higher. But the example of a united China, as indicated earlier, destroys this scheme, although it is present in historical literature. Quantity and quality can be considered more reasonable military force each side has other military factors. In other words, the Mongols were superior to their opponents in military power. As already noted, the Steppe was always militarily superior to the Forest in ancient times. After this short introduction to the “problem,” we list the factors for the victory of the steppe inhabitants cited in the historical literature.
The feudal fragmentation of Rus', Europe and weak interstate relations between the countries of Asia and Europe, which did not allow them to unite their forces and repel the conquerors.
Numerical superiority of the conquerors. There was a lot of debate among historians about how many Batu brought to Rus'. N.M. Karamzin indicated the figure of 300 thousand soldiers. However, serious analysis does not allow us to even come close to this figure. Each Mongol horseman (and they were all horsemen) had at least 2, and most likely 3 horses. Where can 1 million horses be fed in winter in forested Rus'? Not a single chronicle even raises this topic. Therefore, modern historians call the figure a maximum of 150 thousand Mughals who came to Rus'; more cautious ones settle on the figure of 120-130 thousand. And all of Rus', even if it united, could put up 50 thousand, although there are figures up to 100 thousand. So in reality the Russians could field 10-15 thousand soldiers for battle. Here the following circumstance should be taken into account. The striking force of the Russian squads - the princely armies were in no way inferior to the Mughals, but the bulk of the Russian squads are militia warriors, not professional warriors, but those who took up arms simple people, no match for the professional Mongol warriors. The tactics of the warring parties also differed.
The Russians were forced to adhere to defensive tactics designed to starve the enemy. Why? The fact is that in a direct military clash in field conditions the Mongol cavalry had clear advantages. Therefore, the Russians tried to sit out behind the fortress walls of their cities. However, the wooden fortresses could not withstand the pressure of the Mongol troops. In addition, the conquerors used continuous assault tactics and successfully used siege weapons and equipment that were perfect for their time, borrowed from the peoples of China, Central Asia and the Caucasus they conquered.
The Mongols conducted good reconnaissance before the start of hostilities. They had informants even among the Russians. In addition, the Mongol military leaders did not personally participate in the battles, but led the battle from their headquarters, which, as a rule, was located in a high place. Russian princes up to Vasily II the Dark (1425-1462) themselves directly participated in the battles. Therefore, very often, in the event of even the heroic death of a prince, his soldiers, deprived of professional leadership, found themselves in a very difficult situation.
It is important to note that Batu’s attack on Rus' in 1237 was a complete surprise for the Russians. The Mongol hordes undertook it in winter, attacking the Ryazan principality. Ryazan residents were accustomed only to summer and autumn raids by enemies, mainly Polovtsians. Therefore, no one expected a winter blow. What were the steppe people pursuing with their winter attack? The fact is that the rivers, which were a natural barrier for enemy cavalry in the summer, were covered with ice in the winter and lost their protective functions.
In addition, food supplies and feed for livestock were prepared in Rus' for the winter. Thus, the conquerors were already provided with food for their cavalry before the attack.
These, according to most historians, were the main and tactical reasons for the Mongol victories.
Consequences of Batu's invasion.
The results of the Mongol conquest for the Russian lands were extremely difficult. In terms of scale, the destruction and casualties suffered as a result of the invasion could not be compared with the damage caused by the raids of nomads and princely feuds. First of all, the invasion caused enormous damage to all lands at the same time. According to archaeologists, of the 74 cities that existed in Rus' in the pre-Mongol period, 49 were completely destroyed by Batu’s hordes. At the same time, a third of them were depopulated forever and were never restored, and 15 former cities became villages. Only Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk and the Turov-Pinsk principality were not affected, primarily due to the fact that the Mongol hordes bypassed them. The population of Russian lands also decreased sharply. Most of the townspeople either died in battles or were taken by the conquerors into “full” (slavery). Handicraft production was particularly affected. After the invasion in Rus', some craft industries and specialties disappeared, stone construction stopped, the secrets of making glassware, cloisonne enamel, multi-colored ceramics, etc. were lost. Professional Russian warriors - princely warriors, and many princes who died in battles with enemy.. Only half a century later in Rus' the service class begins to be restored, and accordingly the structure of the patrimonial and nascent landowner economy begins to be recreated.
However, the main consequence of the Mongol invasion of Rus' and the establishment of Horde rule from the middle of the 13th century was a sharp increase in the isolation of Russian lands, the disappearance of the old political and legal system and the organization of the power structure that was once characteristic of the Old Russian state. For Rus' in the 9th-13th centuries, located between Europe and Asia, it was extremely important which way it would turn - to the East or to the West. Kievan Rus managed to maintain a neutral position between them, it was open to both the West and the East.
But the new political situation of the 13th century, the invasion of the Mongols and crusade European Catholic knights, who questioned the continued existence of Rus' and its Orthodox culture, forced the political elite of Rus' to make a certain choice. The fate of the country for many centuries, including modern times, depended on this choice.
The collapse of the political unity of Ancient Rus' also marked the beginning of the disappearance of the Old Russian people, which became the progenitor of the three currently existing East Slavic peoples. Since the 14th century, the Russian (Great Russian) nationality has been formed in the northeast and northwest of Rus'; on the lands that became part of Lithuania and Poland - Ukrainian and Belarusian nationalities.