One of the most tragic pages national history- invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. The passionate appeal to the Russian princes about the need for unification, sounded from the lips of the unknown author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” alas, was never heard...
Reasons for the Mongol-Tatar invasion
In the 12th century, nomadic Mongol tribes occupied a significant territory in the center of Asia. In 1206, a congress of the Mongolian nobility - the kurultai - proclaimed Timuchin the great Kagan and gave him the name Genghis Khan. In 1223, the advanced troops of the Mongols, led by the commanders Jabei and Subidei, attacked the Cumans. Seeing no other way out, they decided to resort to the help of Russian princes. Having united, both of them set out towards the Mongols. The squads crossed the Dnieper and moved east. Pretending to retreat, the Mongols lured the combined army to the banks of the Kalka River.
The decisive battle took place. The coalition troops acted separately. The princes' disputes with each other did not stop. Some of them did not take part in the battle at all. The result is complete destruction. However, then the Mongols did not go to Rus', because did not have sufficient strength. In 1227, Genghis Khan died. He bequeathed to his fellow tribesmen to conquer the whole world. In 1235, the kurultai decided to begin a new campaign in Europe. It was headed by the grandson of Genghis Khan - Batu.
Stages of the Mongol-Tatar invasion
In 1236, after the destruction of Volga Bulgaria, the Mongols moved towards the Don, against the Polovtsians, defeating the latter in December 1237. Then the Ryazan principality stood in their way. After a six-day assault, Ryazan fell. The city was destroyed. Batu’s detachments moved north, into, ravaging Kolomna and Moscow along the way. In February 1238, Batu's troops began the siege of Vladimir. Grand Duke tried in vain to gather a militia to decisively repel the Mongols. After a four-day siege, Vladimir was stormed and set on fire. The city's residents and the princely family, who were hiding in the Assumption Cathedral, were burned alive.
The Mongols split up: some of them approached the Sit River, and the second besieged Torzhok. On March 4, 1238, the Russians suffered a brutal defeat in the City, the prince died. The Mongols moved towards, however, before reaching a hundred miles, they turned around. While ravaging the cities on the way back, they met unexpectedly stubborn resistance from the city of Kozelsk, whose residents repelled Mongol attacks for seven weeks. Still, taking it by storm, the khan called Kozelsk an “evil city” and razed it to the ground.
Batu's invasion of Southern Rus' dates back to the spring of 1239. Pereslavl fell in March. In October - Chernigov. In September 1240, Batu's main forces besieged Kyiv, which at that time belonged to Daniil Romanovich Galitsky. The Kievans managed to hold back the hordes of Mongols for three whole months, and only at the cost of huge losses were they able to take possession of the city. By the spring of 1241, Batu’s troops were on the threshold of Europe. However, drained of blood, they were soon forced to return to the Lower Volga. The Mongols no longer decided on a new campaign. So Europe was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion
The Russian land lay in ruins. The cities were burned and plundered, the inhabitants were captured and taken to the Horde. Many cities were never rebuilt after the invasion. In 1243, Batu organized the Mongol Empire in the west Golden Horde. The captured Russian lands were not included in its composition. The dependence of these lands on the Horde was expressed in the fact that the obligation to pay annual tribute hung over them. In addition, it was the Golden Horde Khan who now approved the Russian princes to rule with his labels and charters. Thus, Horde rule was established over Russia for almost two and a half centuries.
- Some modern historians are inclined to argue that there was no yoke, that the “Tatars” were immigrants from Tartaria, crusaders, that a battle between Orthodox Christians and Catholics took place on the Kulikovo Field, and Mamai was just a pawn in someone else’s game. Is this really so - let everyone decide for themselves.
In 1237 - 1241 Russian lands were attacked by the Mongol Empire, a Central Asian state that conquered in the first half of the 13th century. vast territory of the Eurasian continent from Pacific Ocean to Central Europe. In Europe, the Mongols began to be called Tatars. This was the name of one of the Mongol-speaking tribes that roamed near the border with China. The Chinese transferred its name to all Mongolian tribes, and the name “Tatars” as a designation for the Mongols spread to other countries, although the Tatars themselves were almost completely exterminated during the creation of the Mongol Empire.
The term “Mongol-Tatars”, widespread in historical literature, is a combination of the self-name of the people with the term by which this people was designated by its neighbors. In 1206, at the kurultai - a congress of the Mongolian nobility - Temujin (Temuchin), who took the name of Genghis Khan, was recognized as the great khan of all Mongols. Over the next five years, Mongol troops, united by Genghis Khan, conquered the lands of their neighbors, and by 1215 they conquered Northern China. In 1221, the hordes of Genghis Khan defeated the main forces of Khorezm and conquered Central Asia.
Battle of Kalka.
First encounter Ancient Rus' happened to the Mongols in 1223, when a 30,000-strong Mongol detachment for reconnaissance purposes marched from Transcaucasia to the Black Sea steppes, defeating the Alans and Polovtsians. The Polovtsy, defeated by the Mongols, turned to the Russian princes for help. At their call, a united army headed by the three strongest princes of Southern Rus' set out in the steppe: Mstislav Romanovich of Kyiv, Mstislav Svyatoslavich of Chernigov and Mstislav Metis-lavich of Galicia.
May 31, 1223 in the battle on the river. Kalka (near the Sea of Azov), as a result of uncoordinated actions of its leaders, the allied Russian-Polovtsian army was defeated. Six Russian princes died, three, including the Kiev prince, were captured and brutally killed by the Mongols. The conquerors pursued the retreating right up to the Russian borders, and then turned back to the Central Asian steppes. Thus, for the first time in Rus', the military power of the Mongol hordes was felt.
Invasion of the Mongol-Tatars in Rus'.
After the death of the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan (1227), according to his will, at the kurultai of the Mongol nobility in 1235, it was decided to begin an aggressive campaign against Europe. Genghis Khan's grandson Batu Khan (called Batu in Russian sources) was placed at the head of the united army of the Mongol Empire. The prominent Mongol commander Subedei, who participated in the Battle of Kalka, was appointed its first military commander.
Campaign to North-Eastern Rus' (1237 - 1238).
A year after the start of the campaign, having conquered Volga Bulgaria, the Polovtsian hordes between the Volga and Don rivers, the lands of the Burtases and Mordovians in the Middle Volga in the late autumn of 1237, Batu’s main forces concentrated in the upper reaches of the Voronezh River to invade North-Eastern Rus'.
The number of Batu's hordes, according to a number of researchers, reached 140 thousand soldiers, and the Mongols themselves numbered no more than 50 thousand people. At this time, the Russian princes could gather no more than 100 thousand soldiers from all lands, and the squads of the princes of North-Eastern Rus' amounted to no more than 1/3 of this number.
Inter-princely strife and strife in Rus' prevented the formation of a united Russian army. Therefore, the princes could only resist the Mongol invasion individually. In the winter of 1237, Batu's hordes ravaged the Ryazan principality, whose capital was burned and all its inhabitants exterminated. Following this, in January 1238, Mongol troops defeated the army of the Vladimir-Suzdal land near Kolomna, led by the son of the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich, captured Moscow, Suzdal, and on February 7 - Vladimir. On March 4, 1238, on the City River in the upper Volga, the army of Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodich was defeated. The Grand Duke himself died in this battle.
After the capture of the “suburb” of Veliky Novgorod, Torzhok, which bordered the Suzdal land, the road to North-Western Rus' opened before the Mongol hordes. But the approach of the spring thaw and significant human losses forced the conquerors to turn back to the Polovtsian steppes. An unprecedented feat was accomplished by residents of the small town of Kozelsk on the river. Zhizdre. For seven weeks they held the defense of their city. After the capture of Kozelsk in May 1238, Batu ordered that this “evil city” be wiped off the face of the earth and all its inhabitants destroyed.
Batu spent the summer of 1238 in the Don steppes, restoring his strength for further campaigns. In the spring of 1239 he destroyed the Pereyaslavl principality, and in the fall the Chernigov-Seversk land was devastated.
INVASION OF THE MONGOL-TATARS ON Rus', 1237-1240.
In 1237, the 75,000-strong army of Khan Batu invaded Russian borders. Hordes of Mongol-Tatars, a well-armed army of the Khan's empire, the largest in medieval history, came to conquer Rus': to wipe out rebellious Russian cities and villages from the face of the earth, impose tribute on the population and establish the power of their governors - the Baskaks - throughout the entire Russian land.
The Mongol-Tatars’ attack on Rus' was sudden, but not only this determined the success of the invasion. For a number of objective reasons, power was on the side of the conquerors, the fate of Rus' was predetermined, as was the success of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
By the beginning of the 13th century, Rus' was a country torn into small principalities, without a single ruler or army. Behind the Mongol-Tatars, on the contrary, stood a strong and united power, approaching the peak of its power. Only a century and a half later, in 1380, in different political and economic conditions, Rus' was able to field a strong army against the Golden Horde led by a single commander - the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich and move from a shameful and unsuccessful defense to active military action and achieve a devastating victory on the Kulikovo field.
Not about any unity of the Russian land in 1237-1240. there was no question, the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars showed the weakness of Rus', the invasion of the enemy and the power of the Golden Horde established for two and a half centuries, the Golden Horde yoke became retribution for internecine enmity and trampling of all-Russian interests on the part of Russian princes, too keen on satisfying their political ambitions.
The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' was swift and merciless. In December 1237, Batu’s army burned Ryazan, and on January 1, 1238, Kolomna fell under enemy pressure. During January - May 1238, the Mongol-Tatar invasion incinerated the Vladimir, Pereyaslav, Yuryev, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Uglitsky and Kozel principalities. In 1239 it was destroyed by Murom, a year later the inhabitants of the cities and villages of the Chernigov principality faced the misfortune of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, and in September - December 1240 the ancient capital city of Rus' - Kyiv - was conquered.
After the defeat of North-Eastern and Southern Rus', the countries of Eastern Europe were subjected to the Mongol-Tatar invasion: Batu’s army won a number of major victories in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, but, having lost significant forces on Russian soil, returned to the Volga region, which became the epicenter of the powerful Golden Horde.
With the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars into Rus', the Golden Horde period of Russian history began: the era of the rule of Eastern despotism, oppression and ruin of the Russian people, the period of decline of the Russian economy and culture.
The beginning of the Mongol conquests of the Russian principalities
In the 13th century. the peoples of Rus' had to endure a difficult struggle with Tatar-Mongol conquerors, who ruled the Russian lands until the 15th century. (last century in a milder form). Directly or indirectly, the Mongol invasion contributed to the fall of the political institutions of the Kyiv period and the rise of absolutism.
In the 12th century. There was no centralized state in Mongolia; the unification of the tribes was achieved at the end of the 12th century. Temuchin, the leader of one of the clans. At the general meeting (“kurultai”) of representatives of all clans in 1206 he was proclaimed great khan with the name Genghis(“limitless power”).
Once the empire was created, it began its expansion. The organization of the Mongol army was based on the decimal principle - 10, 100, 1000, etc. An imperial guard was created that controlled the entire army. Before the advent of firearms Mongol cavalry prevailed in the steppe wars. She was better organized and trained than any army of nomads of the past. The reason for the success was not only the perfection of the military organization of the Mongols, but also the unpreparedness of their rivals.
At the beginning of the 13th century, having conquered part of Siberia, the Mongols began to conquer China in 1215. They managed to capture its entire northern part. From China, the Mongols brought the newest for that time military equipment and specialists. In addition, they received a cadre of competent and experienced officials from among the Chinese. In 1219, Genghis Khan's troops invaded Central Asia. Following Central Asia there was Northern Iran captured, after which Genghis Khan’s troops made a predatory campaign in Transcaucasia. From the south they came to the Polovtsian steppes and defeated the Polovtsians.
The Polovtsians' request to help them against a dangerous enemy was accepted by the Russian princes. The battle between the Russian-Polovtsian and Mongol troops took place on May 31, 1223 on the Kalka River in the Azov region. Not all Russian princes who promised to participate in the battle sent their troops. The battle ended in the defeat of the Russian-Polovtsian troops, many princes and warriors died.
In 1227 Genghis Khan died. Ögedei, his third son, was elected Great Khan. In 1235, the Kurultai met in the Mongol capital Kara-korum, where it was decided to begin the conquest of the western lands. This intention posed a terrible threat to Russian lands. At the head of the new campaign was Ogedei's nephew, Batu (Batu).
In 1236, Batu's troops began a campaign against the Russian lands. Having defeated Volga Bulgaria, they set out to conquer the Ryazan principality. The Ryazan princes, their squads and townspeople had to fight the invaders alone. The city was burned and plundered. After the capture of Ryazan, Mongol troops moved to Kolomna. In the battle near Kolomna, many Russian soldiers died, and the battle itself ended in defeat for them. On February 3, 1238, the Mongols approached Vladimir. Having besieged the city, the invaders sent a detachment to Suzdal, which took it and burned it. The Mongols stopped only in front of Novgorod, turning south due to muddy roads.
In 1240, the Mongol offensive resumed. Chernigov and Kyiv were captured and destroyed. From here the Mongol troops moved to Galicia-Volyn Rus'. Having captured Vladimir-Volynsky, Galich in 1241 Batu invaded Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Moravia, and then in 1242 reached Croatia and Dalmatia. However, Mongol troops entered Western Europe significantly weakened by the powerful resistance they encountered in Rus'. This largely explains the fact that if the Mongols managed to establish their yoke in Rus', Western Europe only experienced an invasion and then on a smaller scale. This is the historical role of the heroic resistance of the Russian people to the Mongol invasion.
The result of Batu's grandiose campaign was the conquest of a vast territory - the southern Russian steppes and forests of Northern Rus', the Lower Danube region (Bulgaria and Moldova). The Mongol Empire now included the entire Eurasian continent from the Pacific Ocean to the Balkans.
After Ögedei's death in 1241, the majority supported the candidacy of Ögedei's son Hayuk. Batu became the head of the strongest regional khanate. He founded his capital at Sarai (north of Astrakhan). His power extended to Kazakhstan, Khorezm, Western Siberia, Volga, North Caucasus, Rus'. Gradually the western part of this ulus became known as Golden Horde.
The first armed clash between the Russian squad and the Mongol-Tatar army took place 14 years before Batu’s invasion. In 1223, the Mongol-Tatar army under the command of Subudai-Baghatur went on a campaign against the Polovtsians in close proximity to Russian lands. At the request of the Polovtsians, some Russian princes provided military assistance to the Polovtsians.
On May 31, 1223, a battle took place between Russian-Polovtsian troops and Mongol-Tatars on the Kalka River near the Sea of Azov. As a result of this battle, the Russian-Polovtsian militia suffered a crushing defeat from the Mongol-Tatars. The Russian-Polovtsian army suffered big losses. Six Russian princes died, including Mstislav Udaloy, the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan and more than 10 thousand militiamen.
The main reasons for the defeat of the Russian-Polish army were:
The reluctance of the Russian princes to act as a united front against the Mongol-Tatars (most Russian princes refused to respond to the request of their neighbors and send troops);
Underestimation of the Mongol-Tatars (the Russian militia was poorly armed and was not properly prepared for battle);
Inconsistency of actions during the battle (Russian troops were not united army, but by scattered squads of different princes acting in their own way; some squads left the battle and watched from the sidelines).
Having won a victory at Kalka, the army of Subudai-Baghatur did not build on its success and went to the steppes.
4. After 13 years, in 1236, the Mongol-Tatar army led by Khan Batu (Batu Khan), the grandson of Genghis Khan and the son of Jochi, invaded the Volga steppes and Volga Bulgaria (the territory of modern Tataria). Having won a victory over the Cumans and Volga Bulgars, the Mongol-Tatars decided to invade Rus'.
The conquest of Russian lands was carried out during two campaigns:
The campaign of 1237 - 1238, as a result of which the Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal principalities - the northeast of Rus' - were conquered;
The campaign of 1239 - 1240, as a result of which the Chernigov and Kiev principalities and other principalities of southern Rus' were conquered. The Russian principalities offered heroic resistance. Among the most important battles of the war with the Mongol-Tatars are:
Defense of Ryazan (1237) - the very first large city to be attacked by the Mongol-Tatars - almost all residents participated and died during the defense of the city;
Defense of Vladimir (1238);
Defense of Kozelsk (1238) - the Mongol-Tatars stormed Kozelsk for 7 weeks, for which they nicknamed it the “evil city”;
Battle of the City River (1238) - the heroic resistance of the Russian militia prevented the further advance of the Mongol-Tatars to the north - to Novgorod;
The defense of Kyiv - the city fought for about a month.
December 6, 1240 Kyiv fell. This event is considered the final defeat of the Russian principalities in the fight against the Mongol-Tatars.
The main reasons for the defeat of the Russian principalities in the war against the Mongol-Tatars are considered to be:
Feudal fragmentation;
Lack of a single centralized state and a unified army;
Enmity between princes;
The transition of individual princes to the side of the Mongols;
The technical backwardness of the Russian squads and the military and organizational superiority of the Mongol-Tatars.
Consequences of the Mongol-Tatars invasion for the Old Russian state.
The invasion of nomads was accompanied by massive destruction of Russian cities, the inhabitants were mercilessly destroyed or taken prisoner. This led to a noticeable decline in Russian cities - the population decreased, the lives of city residents became poorer, and many crafts were lost.
The Mongol-Tatar invasion dealt a heavy blow to the basis of urban culture - handicraft production, since the destruction of cities was accompanied by mass removals of artisans to Mongolia and the Golden Horde. Together with the craft population, Russian cities lost centuries of production experience: the craftsmen took their professional secrets with them. The quality of construction subsequently also dropped significantly. The conquerors inflicted no less heavy damage on the Russian countryside and rural monasteries of Rus'. The peasants were robbed by everyone: Horde officials, numerous Khan's ambassadors, and simply regional gangs. The damage caused by the Mongol-Tatars to the peasant economy was terrible. Dwellings and outbuildings were destroyed in the war. Draft cattle were captured and driven to the Horde. Horde robbers often raked out the entire harvest from barns. Russian peasant prisoners were an important export item from the Golden Horde to the East. Ruin, constant threat, shameful slavery - this is what the conquerors brought to the Russian village. Damage caused national economy Rus''s Mongolo-Tatar conquerors did not limit themselves to devastating robberies during raids. After the establishment of the yoke, huge values left the country in the form of “ani” and “requests”. The constant leakage of silver and other metals had dire consequences for the economy. There was not enough silver for trade; there was even a “silver famine.” The Mongol-Tatar conquest led to a significant deterioration in the international position of the Russian principalities. Ancient trade and cultural ties with neighboring states were forcibly severed. For example, Lithuanian feudal lords used the weakening of Rus' for predatory raids. The German feudal lords also intensified the attack on the Russian lands. Russia lost the way to the Baltic Sea. In addition, the ancient ties of the Russian principalities with Byzantium were broken, and trade fell into decline. The invasion dealt a strong destructive blow to the culture of the Russian principalities. Numerous monuments, icon paintings and architecture were destroyed in the fire of the Mongol-Tatar invasions. And also there was a decline in Russian chronicle writing, which reached its dawn at the beginning of Batu’s invasion.
The Mongol-Tatar conquest artificially delayed the spread of commodity-money relations and “mothballed” the natural economy. While the Western European states, which were not attacked, gradually moved from feudalism to capitalism, Rus', torn apart by the conquerors, retained the feudal economy. It is difficult to even imagine how dearly the campaigns of the Mongol khans would have cost humanity and how many more misfortunes, murders and destruction they could have caused if the heroic resistance of the Russian people and other peoples of our country, having exhausted and weakened the enemy, had not stopped the invasion on the borders of Central Europe.
The positive thing was that the entire Russian clergy and church people were spared from paying the heavy Tatar tribute. It should be noted that the Tatars are completely tolerant of all religions, and the Russian Orthodox Church Not only did she not tolerate any oppression from the khans, but, on the contrary, the Russian metropolitans received from the khans special letters (“yarlyki”), which ensured the rights and privileges of the clergy and the inviolability of church property. The Church became the force that preserved and nurtured not only the religious, but also the national unity of the Russian “peasantry.”
Finally, Tatar rule separated Eastern Rus' for a long time from Western Europe, and after the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the eastern branch of the Russian people found themselves separated from its western branch for several centuries, which created a wall of mutual alienation between them. Eastern Rus', which was under the rule of the Tatars, itself turned into “Tataria” in the minds of ignorant Europeans...
What are the consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the yoke?
Firstly, this is the backwardness of Rus' from European countries. Europe continued to develop, while Rus' had to restore everything destroyed by the Mongols.
The second is the decline of the economy. A lot of people were lost. Many crafts disappeared (the Mongols took artisans into slavery). Farmers also moved to more northern regions of the country, safer from the Mongols. All this delayed economic development.
Third, the slowness of cultural development of Russian lands. For some time after the invasion, no churches were built at all in Rus'.
Fourth – cessation of contacts, including trade, with the countries of Western Europe. Now foreign policy Rus' was focused on the Golden Horde. The Horde appointed princes, collected tribute from the Russian people, and carried out punitive campaigns when the principalities disobeyed.
The fifth consequence is very controversial. Some scientists say that the invasion and the yoke preserved political fragmentation in Rus', others argue that the yoke gave impetus to the unification of Russians.
In the first quarter of the 13th century, rich in historical events, the expanses from Siberia to Northern Iran and the Azov region were echoed by the neighing of the horses of countless invaders pouring from the depths of the Mongolian steppes. They were led by the evil genius of that ancient era - the fearless conqueror and conqueror of peoples Genghis Khan.
Son of the hero Yesugei
Temujin - this is how Genghis Khan, the future ruler of Mongolia and Northern China, was named at birth - was born in the small tract of Delyun-Boldok, nestled on the shore. He was the son of an inconspicuous local leader Yesugei, who nevertheless bore the title of bagatur, which translated means " hero." He received such an honorary title for his victory over the Tatar leader Tmujin-Ugre. In battle, having proved to his enemy who was who and captured him, he, along with other booty, captured his wife Hoelun, who nine months later became Temujin’s mother.
The exact date of this event, which affected the course of world history, has not been precisely established to this day, but 1155 is considered the most likely year. There is also no reliable information preserved about how his early years passed, but it is known for certain that already at the age of nine, Yesugei, in one of the neighboring tribes, got his son a bride named Borte. By the way, for him personally this matchmaking ended very sadly: on the way back he was poisoned by the Tatars, with whom he and his son stopped for the night.
Years of wanderings and troubles
From a young age, the formation of Genghis Khan took place in an atmosphere of a merciless struggle for survival. As soon as his fellow tribesmen learned about Yesugai’s death, they abandoned his widows (the ill-fated hero had two wives) and children (of whom there were also many left) to the mercy of fate and, taking all their property, went to the steppe. The orphaned family wandered for several years, on the verge of starvation.
The early years of the life of Genghis Khan (Temujin) coincided with a period when, in the steppes that became his homeland, local tribal leaders waged a fierce struggle for power, the purpose of which was to subjugate the rest of the nomads. One of these contenders is the head of the Taichiut tribe Targutai-Kiriltukh ( distant relative his father) even captivated the young man, seeing in him a future rival, and for a long time kept in wooden stocks.
The fur coat that changed the history of nations
But fate was pleased to grant freedom to the young captive, who managed to deceive his tormentors and break free. The first conquest of Genghis Khan dates back to this time. It turned out to be the heart of the young beauty Borte - his betrothed bride. Temujin went to her as soon as he gained freedom. A beggar, with marks of stocks on his wrists, he was an unenviable groom, but how can this confuse a girl’s heart?
As a dowry, Borte's father gave his son-in-law a luxurious sable fur coat, with which, although it seems incredible, the ascent of the future conqueror of Asia began. No matter how great the temptation was to show off in expensive furs, Temujin preferred to dispose of the wedding gift differently.
With it, he went to the most powerful steppe leader at that time - the head of the Kereit tribe, Tooril Khan, and presented him with this only value of his, not forgetting to accompany the gift with suitable flattery for the occasion. This move was very far-sighted. Having lost his fur coat, Temujin acquired a powerful patron, in alliance with whom he began his path of conqueror.
The beginning of the journey
With the support of such a powerful ally as Tooril Khan, the legendary conquests of Genghis Khan began. The table given in the article shows only the most famous of them, which have become historically significant. But they could not have taken place without victories in small, local battles, which paved the way for him to world glory.
When raiding the inhabitants of neighboring uluses, he tried to shed less blood and, if possible, save the lives of his opponents. This was done not out of humanism, which was alien to the inhabitants of the steppes, but with the goal of attracting the vanquished to their side and thereby replenishing the ranks of their army. He also willingly accepted nukers - foreigners who were ready to serve for a share of the booty looted during campaigns.
However, the first years of Genghis Khan's reign were often marred by unfortunate miscalculations. One day he went on another raid, leaving his camp unguarded. The Merkit tribe took advantage of this, whose warriors, in the absence of the owner, attacked and, plundering the property, took with them all the women, including his beloved wife Bote. Only with the help of the same Tooril Khan did Temujin, having defeated the Merkits, manage to return his wife.
Victory over the Tatars and capture of Eastern Mongolia
Each new conquest of Genghis Khan raised his prestige among the steppe nomads and brought him into the ranks of the main rulers of the region. Around 1186, he created his own ulus - a kind of feudal state. Having concentrated all power in his hands, he established a strictly defined vertical of power in the territory subordinate to him, where all the key positions were occupied by his associates.
The defeat of the Tatars became one of the largest victories with which the conquests of Genghis Khan began. The table given in the article dates this event to 1200, but a series of armed clashes began five years earlier. At the end of the 12th century, the Tatars were going through difficult times. Their camps were constantly attacked by a strong and dangerous enemy - the troops of the Chinese emperors of the Jin dynasty.
Taking advantage of this, Temujin joined the Jin troops and together with them attacked the enemy. IN in this case his main goal was not the booty, which he willingly shared with the Chinese, but the weakening of the Tatars, who stood in his way to undivided rule in the steppes. Having achieved what he wanted, he captured almost the entire territory of Eastern Mongolia, becoming its undivided ruler, since the influence of the Jin dynasty in this area had noticeably weakened.
Conquest of the Trans-Baikal Territory
We should pay tribute not only to Temujin’s leadership talent, but also to his diplomatic abilities. Skillfully manipulating the ambition of tribal leaders, he always directed their enmity in a direction favorable to him. Concluding military alliances with his former enemies and treacherously attacking recent friends, he always knew how to emerge victorious.
After the conquest of the Tatars in 1202, Genghis Khan’s campaigns of conquest began in the Trans-Baikal region, where the Taijiut tribes settled in the vast wild spaces. It was not an easy campaign, in one of the battles of which the khan was dangerously wounded by an enemy arrow. However, in addition to rich trophies, he brought the khan confidence in his abilities, since the victory was won alone, without the support of his allies.
The title of the Great Khan and the code of laws "Yas"
The next five years continued his conquest of numerous peoples living on the territory of Mongolia. From victory to victory, his power grew and his army increased, replenished by yesterday’s opponents who switched to his service. Early spring In 1206, Temujin was proclaimed Great Khan, giving him the highest title “Kagan” and the name Genghis (water conqueror), with which he entered world history.
The years of Genghis Khan's reign became a period when the entire life of the peoples under his control was regulated by the laws he developed, a set of which was called “Yasa”. The main place in it was occupied by articles prescribing the provision of comprehensive mutual assistance on a campaign and, under pain of punishment, prohibiting the deception of a person who had trusted in something.
It is curious, but according to the laws of this half-wild ruler, one of the highest virtues was considered loyalty, even shown by an enemy towards his sovereign. For example, a prisoner who did not want to renounce his former master was considered worthy of respect and was willingly accepted into the army.
To strengthen during the life of Genghis Khan, the entire population under his control was divided into tens of thousands (tumens), thousands and hundreds. A chief was placed over each of the groups, with his head (literally) responsible for the loyalty of his subordinates. This made it possible to keep a huge number of people under strict subordination.
Every adult and healthy man was considered a warrior and was obliged to take up arms at the first signal. In general, at that time, Genghis Khan’s army numbered about 95 thousand people, shackled by iron discipline. The slightest disobedience or cowardice shown in battle was punishable by death.
| Event | Date |
| Victory of Temujin's troops over the Naiman tribe | 1199 |
| Victory of Temujin's forces over the Taichiut tribe | 1200 |
| The defeat of the Tatar tribes | 1200 |
| Victory over the Kereits and Taijuits | 1203 |
| Victory over the Naiman tribe led by Tayan Khan | 1204 |
| Genghis Khan's attacks on the Tangut state of Xi Xia | 1204 |
| Conquest of Beijing | 1215 |
| Genghis Khan's conquest of Central Asia | 1219-1223 |
| Victory of the Mongols led by Subedei and Jebe over the Russian-Polovtsian army | 1223 |
| Conquest of the capital and state of Xi Xia | 1227 |
New path of conquest
In 1211, Genghis Khan's conquest of the peoples inhabiting Transbaikalia and Siberia was practically completed. Tributes flocked to him from all over this vast region. But his rebellious soul did not find peace. Ahead was Northern China - a country whose emperor had once helped him defeat the Tatars and, having grown stronger, rise to a new level of power.
Four years before the start of the Chinese campaign, wanting to secure the route of his troops, Genghis Khan captured and plundered the Tangut kingdom of Xi Xia. In the summer of 1213, he managed to capture the fortress covering the passage in the Great Chinese wall, invaded the territory of the Jin state. His campaign was swift and victorious. Taken by surprise, many cities surrendered without a fight, and a whole series Chinese military leaders went over to the side of the invaders.
When Northern China was conquered, Genghis Khan moved his troops to Central Asia, where they also had good luck. Having conquered vast expanses, he reached Samarkand, from where he continued his journey, conquering Northern Iran and a significant part of the Caucasus.
Genghis Khan's campaign against Rus'
To conquer the Slavic lands in 1221-1224, Genghis Khan sent two of his most experienced commanders - Subedei and Jebe. Having crossed the Dnieper, they invaded Kievan Rus at the head of a large army. Without hoping on our own To defeat the enemy, the Russian princes entered into an alliance with their old enemies - the Polovtsians.
The battle took place on May 31, 1223 in the Azov region, on the Kalka River. It ran out of troops. Many historians see the reason for the failure in the arrogance of Prince Mstislav Udatny, who crossed the river and began the battle before the main forces arrived. The prince’s desire to defeat the enemy alone resulted in his own death and the death of many other commanders. Genghis Khan’s campaign against Rus' turned out to be such a tragedy for the defenders of the fatherland. But even more difficult trials awaited them.
Genghis Khan's last conquest
The conqueror of Asia died at the end of the summer of 1227 during his second campaign against the state of Xi Xia. Even in winter, he began the siege of its capital, Zhongxing, and, having exhausted the forces of the city’s defenders, was preparing to accept their surrender. This was Genghis Khan's last conquest. Suddenly he felt ill and fell ill, and died a short time later. Without excluding the possibility of poisoning, researchers tend to see the cause of death in complications caused by an injury received shortly before when falling from a horse.
The exact burial place of the Great Khan is unknown, just as the date of his last hour is unknown. In Mongolia, where the Delyun-Boldok tract was once located, where, according to legend, Genghis Khan was born, today there is a monument erected in his honor.
This is an article about the Mongol invasions of Rus' in 1237-1240. For the 1223 invasion, see Battle of the Kalka River. For later invasions, see List of Mongol-Tatar campaigns against Russian principalities.
Mongol invasion of Rus'- invasions of the troops of the Mongol Empire into the territories of the Russian principalities in 1237-1240. during the Western campaign of the Mongols ( Kipchak campaign) 1236-1242 under the leadership of Genghisid Batu and the military leader Subedei.
Background
For the first time, the task of reaching the city of Kyiv was set to Subedei by Genghis Khan in 1221: He sent Subeetai-Baatur on a campaign to the north, ordering him to reach eleven countries and peoples, such as: Kanlin, Kibchaut, Bachzhigit, Orosut, Machzharat, Asut, Sasut, Serkesut, Keshimir, Bolar, Rural (Lalat), to cross the high-water the rivers Idil and Ayakh, 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 it the first Mongol invasion of Russia), but abandoned the plan to march on Kyiv, and then were defeated in 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 Volga Bulgars. In connection with these events, in 1229 the name of the Tatars reappears in Russian chronicles: “ Bulgarian watchmen came running from the Tatars near the river, whose name is Yaik"(and in 1232 Tatarov arrived and winter did not reach the Great Bulgarian City).
The “Secret Legend”, in relation to the period 1228-1229, reports that Ogedei
| He sent Batu, Buri, Munke and many other princes on a campaign to help Subeetai, since Subeetai-Baatur encountered strong resistance from those peoples and cities whose conquest 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 ne-mi-sy) as well as cities beyond the high-water rivers Adil and Zhayakh, such as: Meketmen, Kermen-keibe and others...When the army is numerous, everyone will rise up and walk with their heads held high. There are many enemy countries there, and the people there are fierce. These are the kind of people who accept death in rage, 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 movement to the west of the united forces of all uluses began immediately after the decision of the kurultai of 1235.
Gumilyov L.N. estimates the size of the Mongol army similarly (30-40 thousand people). In modern historical literature, another estimate is dominant total number Mongol troops in the western campaign: 120-140 thousand soldiers, 150 thousand soldiers.
Initially, Ogedei himself planned to lead the Kipchak campaign, but Munke dissuaded him. In addition to Batu, the following Genghisids took part 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 Kulhan, the grandson of Genghis Khan's brother Argasun. The importance the Chingizids attached 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 in 1230: “ That same year, the Bulgarians bowed to Grand Duke Yuri, asking for peace for six years, and make peace with them" The desire for peace was supported by deeds: after the conclusion of peace in Rus', famine broke out as a result of a two-year crop failure, and the Bulgars brought ships with food to Russian cities free of charge. Under 1236: " The Tatars came to the Bulgarian land and took the glorious Great Bulgarian City, slaughtered everyone from old to young and even to the last child, and burned their city and captured all their land" Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich Vladimirsky accepted Bulgarian refugees on his land and resettled them in Russian cities. The Battle of 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 Vladimirsky and his brother Yaroslav of Novgorod, who had the largest military potential in Rus' (under 1229 in the chronicle we read: “ and bowed to Yuri, who is his father and master"), did not send troops to help the Volga Bulgars, but used them to establish control over Kiev, thereby putting an end to the Chernigov-Smolensk struggle for it and taking into their own hands 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 Rus' in the period 1235-1237 was also determined by the victories of Yaroslav of Novgorod over the Order of the Sword in 1234 and Daniil Romanovich of Volyn over the Teutonic Order in 1237. Lithuania also acted against the Order of the Sword (Battle of Saul in 1236), resulting in its remnants uniting with the Teutonic Order.
First stage. North-Eastern Rus' (1237-1239)
Invasion 1237-1238
The fact that the Mongol attack on Rus' at the end of 1237 was not unexpected is evidenced by the letters and reports of the Hungarian missionary monk, Dominican Julian:
| Many report as true, and the Prince of Suzdal verbally conveyed 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 the intention to go to the conquest of Rome and further... Now, being on the borders of Rus', 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 Etil (Volga) river on the borders of Rus' from the eastern edge approached Suzdal. The other part in the southern direction was already attacking the borders of Ryazan, another Russian principality. The third part stopped opposite the Don River, near the Oveheruch castle, also a Russian principality. They, as the Russians themselves, the Hungarians and the Bulgarians who fled before them verbally conveyed to us, 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 entire multitude of Tatars to plunder all of Rus', the entire Russian country. |
The Mongols directed the main attack on the Ryazan principality (see Defense of Ryazan). Yuri Vsevolodovich sent a united army to help the Ryazan princes: his eldest son Vsevolod with all the people, the governor Eremey Glebovich, the forces retreating from Ryazan led by Roman Ingvarevich and the 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 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 regiment of his brothers Yaroslav (who was in Kyiv) and Svyatoslav (before that last time mentioned in the chronicle in 1229 as a prince sent by Yuri to reign in Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny). " Within the land of Suzdal"The Mongols were caught up by those returning from Chernigov" in a small squad“The Ryazan boyar Evpatiy 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 (some editions of “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu” tell about the solemn funeral of Evpatiy Kolovrat in the Ryazan Cathedral on January 11, 1238). On January 20, after 5 days of resistance, Moscow fell, which was defended youngest son Yuri Vladimir and governor Philip Nyanka " with a small army", Vladimir Yuryevich was captured and then killed in front of the walls of Vladimir. Vladimir himself was taken on February 7 after a five-day siege (see Defense of Vladimir), and the entire family of Yuri Vsevolodovich died. 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 were supported by Pereyaslavl-Zalessky (taken by the Chingizids together in 5 days), Tver and Torzhok (defense of February 22 - March 5), which lay on the direct route of the main Mongol forces from Vladimir to Novgorod. One of the sons of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich died in Tver, whose name has not been preserved. The Volga region cities, whose defenders had gone with their princes Konstantinovich to Yuri on the Sit, were attacked by the secondary forces of the Mongols, led by Temnik Burundai. On March 4, 1238, they unexpectedly attacked the Russian army (see Battle of the City River) and were able to defeat it, however, they themselves “ suffered a great plague, and many of them fell" In the battle, Vsevolod Konstantinovich Yaroslavsky died along 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, first Russian historian Tatishchev V.N. says that the losses of the Mongolian 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 covered their destruction), who at that time turned out to be more numerous than the Mongols themselves ( and especially the prisoners). In particular, the assault on Vladimir was launched only after one of the Mongol detachments that took 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 Rus' and Central Europe.
After the capture of Torzhok on March 5, 1238, the main forces of the Mongols, having united with the remnants of Burundai’s army, did not reach 100 versts to Novgorod and turned back to the steppes (according to different versions, due to the spring thaw or due to high losses). On the way back, the Mongol army moved in two groups. The main group traveled 30 km east of Smolensk, stopping in the Dolgomostye area. The literary source - “The Tale of Mercury of Smolensk” - talks about the defeat and flight of the Mongol troops. Next, the main group went south, invaded the Chernigov principality and burned Vshchizh, located in close proximity to central regions Chernigov-Seversky principality, but then sharply turned to the northeast and, bypassing the large cities of Bryansk and Karachev, besieged 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, suffering heavy losses both in equipment and in human resources during the forays of the besieged.
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich was succeeded by Vladimir after his brother Yuri, and Kyiv was occupied by Mikhail of Chernigov, 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 - beginning of 1239, the Mongols led by Subedei, having suppressed the uprising in Volga Bulgaria and Mordovian land, again invaded Rus' and ravaged the surrounding area Nizhny Novgorod, Gorokhovets, Gorodets, Murom, and secondly - Ryazan. On March 3, 1239, a detachment under the command of Berke ravaged Pereyaslavl South.
The Lithuanian invasion of the Grand Duchy of Smolensk and the campaign of Galician troops against Lithuania with the participation of 12-year-old Rostislav Mikhailovich also date back to this period (taking advantage of the absence of the main Galician forces, Daniil Romanovich Volynsky captured Galich, establishing himself in it completely). Considering 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 attack on Novgorod land, in the battle on the river. Neva, the son of Yaroslav, Alexander Novgorod, stops the Swedes with the forces of his squad, and the beginning of successful independent actions of the troops of North-Eastern Rus' after the invasion dates back only to the period 1242-1245 (Battle of the Ice and victories over the Lithuanians).
Second stage (1239-1240)
Principality of Chernigov
After the siege that began on October 18, 1239, using powerful siege technology, the Mongols captured Chernigov (an army led by Prince Mstislav Glebovich unsuccessfully tried to help the city). After the fall of Chernigov, the Mongols did not go north, but took up robbery and destruction in the east, along the Desna and Seim - archaeological studies showed that Lyubech (in the north) was untouched, but the towns of the principality bordering the Polovtsian steppe, such as Putivl, Glukhov, Vyr and Rylsk were destroyed and devastated. At the beginning of 1240, an army led by Munke reached the left bank of the Dnieper opposite Kyiv. An embassy was sent to the city with a proposal to surrender, but it 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 wedding would take place only in 1244 to commemorate the alliance against Daniil of Galicia).
Daniil Galitsky captured in Kyiv the Smolensk prince Rostislav Mstislavich, who tried to take over the great reign, and put his thousandth Dmitry in the city, returned Mikhail’s 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 devastation of the Dnieper left bank by the Mongols, Ogedei decided to recall Munke and Guyuk from the western campaign.
The Laurentian Chronicle notes in 1241 the murder of the Rylsky prince Mstislav by the Mongols (according to L. Voitovich, the son of Svyatoslav Olgovich Rylsky).
Southwestern Rus'
On September 5, 1240, the Mongol army led by Batu and other Chingizids besieged Kyiv and only took it on November 19 (according to other sources, December 6; perhaps it was on December 6 that the last stronghold of the defenders, the Tithe Church, fell). Daniil Galitsky, who owned Kiev at that time, was in Hungary, trying - like Mikhail Vsevolodovich a year earlier - to conclude 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 would take place only in 1247) . The defense of the “mother of Russian cities” was led by Dmitry Tysyatsky. The “Biography of Daniil Galitsky” says about Daniil:
Dmitry was captured. Ladyzhin and Kamenets were taken. The Mongols failed to take Kremenets. The capture of Vladimir-Volynsky was marked important event in internal Mongolian politics, Guyuk and Munke left Batu for Mongolia. The departure of the tumens of the most influential (after Batu) Chingizids undoubtedly reduced the strength of the Mongol army. In this regard, researchers believe that further movement to the west was undertaken by Batu on his own initiative.
Dmitry advised Batu to leave Galicia and go to the Ugrians without cooking:
The main forces of the Mongols, led by Baydar, invaded Poland, the rest led by Batu, Kadan and Subedei, taking Galich to Hungary in three days.
The Ipatiev Chronicle under 1241 mentions the princes of Ponizhye ( Bolokhovsky), who agreed to pay tribute to the Mongols in grain and thereby avoided the destruction 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 - the campaign of two military leaders Batu to Volyn up to the city of Volodava in the middle reaches of the Western Bug.
Historical significance
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 Turovo-Pinsk principalities. The developed urban culture of Ancient Rus' was destroyed.
For several decades, stone construction practically ceased in Russian cities. Complex crafts, such as the production of glass jewelry, cloisonne enamel, niello, grain, and polychrome glazed ceramics, 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 go back through part of the historical path that had been made before Batu.”
The southern Russian lands lost almost their entire settled population. The surviving population fled to the forested northeast, concentrating in the area between the Northern Volga and Oka rivers. There were poorer soils and more cold climate than in the southern regions of Rus', which were completely devastated, and trade routes were under the control of the Mongols. In its socio-economic development, Rus' was significantly thrown back.
“Military historians also note the fact that the process of differentiation of functions between formations of riflemen and detachments of heavy cavalry, specializing in direct strikes with cold weapons, in Rus' stopped immediately after the invasion: the unification of these functions took place in the person of the same warrior - a feudal lord forced to shoot with a bow and fight with a spear and sword. Thus, the Russian army, even in its selected, purely feudal in composition part (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 branches of the military, their unification (or rather, reunification) - a clear sign regression. Be that as it may, Russian chronicles of the 14th century do not contain even a hint of separate detachments of riflemen, similar to the Genoese crossbowmen, the English archers of the Hundred Years' War. This is understandable: such detachments of “dacha people” cannot be formed; professional shooters were required, that is, people separated from production who sold their art and blood for hard cash; Rus', thrown back economically, simply couldn’t afford mercenaries.”
