When did the Batu invasion begin? Kozelsk - “evil city”

Battle of Kalka.

At the beginning of the 13th century. There was a unification of the nomadic Mongol tribes, which began their campaigns of conquest. The tribal union was headed by Genghis Khan, a brilliant commander and politician. Under his leadership, the Mongols conquered Northern China, Central Asia, steppe territories stretching from Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea.

The first clash between the Russian principalities and the Mongols occurred in 1223, during which a Mongol reconnaissance detachment descended from the southern slopes of the Caucasus mountains and invaded the Polovtsian steppes. The Polovtsians turned to the Russian princes for help. Several princes responded to this call. The Russian-Polovtsian army met the Mongols on the Kalka River on May 31, 1223. In the ensuing battle, the Russian princes acted uncoordinatedly, and part of the army did not participate in the battle at all. As for the Polovtsians, they could not withstand the onslaught of the Mongols and fled. As a result of the battle, the Russian-Polovtsian army was completely defeated, the Russian squads suffered heavy losses: only every tenth warrior returned home. But the Mongols did not invade Rus'. They turned back to the Mongolian steppes.

Reasons for the Mongol victories

The main reason for the victories of the Mongols was the superiority of their army, which was well organized and trained. The Mongols managed to create the best army in the world, which maintained strict discipline. The Mongol army consisted almost entirely of cavalry, so it was maneuverable and could cover very long distances. The Mongol's main weapon was a powerful bow and several quivers of arrows. The enemy was fired at from a distance, and only then, if necessary, selected units entered the battle. The Mongols made extensive use of military techniques such as feinting, flanking, and encirclement.

Siege weapons were borrowed from China, with which the conquerors could capture large fortresses. Conquered peoples often provided military contingents to the Mongols. The Mongols attached great importance to reconnaissance. An order was emerging in which, before the proposed military actions, spies and intelligence officers penetrated into the country of the future enemy.

The Mongols quickly dealt with any disobedience, brutally suppressing any attempts at resistance. Using the policy of “divide and rule,” they sought to fragment the enemy forces in the conquered states. It was thanks to this strategy that they managed to maintain their influence in the occupied lands for a fairly long period of time.

Batu's campaigns in Rus'

Batu's invasion of North-Eastern Rus' (Batu's 1st campaign)

In 1236, the Mongols undertook a grandiose campaign to the west. The army was led by the grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu Khan. Having defeated Volga Bulgaria, the Mongol army approached the borders of North-Eastern Rus'. In the fall of 1237, the conquerors invaded the Ryazan principality.

The Russian princes did not want to unite in the face of a new and formidable enemy. The Ryazan people, left alone, were defeated in a border battle, and after a five-day siege, the Mongols took the city itself by storm.

Then the Mongol army invaded the Principality of Vladimir, where it was met by the Grand Duke's squad under the leadership of the son of the Grand Duke. In the battle of Kolomna, the Russian army was defeated. Taking advantage of the confusion of the Russian princes in the face of impending danger, the Mongols successively captured Moscow, Suzdal, Rostov, Tver, Vladimir and other cities.

In March 1238, a battle took place on the Sit River between the Mongols and the Russian army, gathered throughout North-Eastern Rus'. The Mongols won a decisive victory, killing the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri in battle.

Then the conquerors headed towards Novgorod, but, fearing to get stuck in the spring thaw, they turned back. On the way back, the Mongols took Kursk and Kozelsk. Kozelsk, called the “Evil City” by the Mongols, offered especially fierce resistance.

Batu's campaign against Southern Rus' (Batu's 2nd campaign)

During 1238 -1239. The Mongols fought with the Polovtsians, after whose conquest they set off on a second campaign against Rus'. The main forces here were sent to Southern Rus'; In North-Eastern Rus', the Mongols captured only the city of Murom.

The political fragmentation of the Russian principalities helped the Mongols quickly seize the southern lands. The capture of Pereyaslavl and Chernigov was followed by the fall of the ancient Russian capital, Kyiv, on December 6, 1240, after fierce fighting. Then the conquerors moved to the Galicia-Volyn land.

After the defeat of Southern Rus', the Mongols invaded Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and reached Croatia. Despite his victories, Batu was forced to stop, since he did not receive reinforcements, and in 1242 he completely recalled his troops from these countries.

In Western Europe, which was awaiting imminent ruin, this was perceived as a miracle. The main reason for the miracle was the stubborn resistance of the Russian lands and the damage suffered by Batu’s army during the campaign.

Establishment of the Tatar-Mongol yoke

After returning from the western campaign, Batu Khan founded a new capital in the lower reaches of the Volga. The state of Batu and his successors, covering lands from Western Siberia to Eastern Europe, was called the Golden Horde. All the surviving Russian princes who were at the head of the devastated lands were summoned here in 1243. From the hands of Batu they received labels - letters of authorization for the right to govern one or another principality. So Rus' fell under the yoke of the Golden Horde.

The Mongols established an annual tribute - “exit”. Initially the tribute was not fixed. Its supply was monitored by tax farmers, who often simply robbed the population. This practice caused discontent and unrest in Rus', so in order to fix the exact amount of tribute, the Mongols conducted a population census.

The collection of tribute was monitored by the Baskaks, supported by punitive detachments.

The great devastation caused by Batu, subsequent punitive expeditions, and heavy tribute led to a protracted economic crisis and the decline of the Russian land. During the first 50 years of the yoke, there was not a single city in the principalities of North-Eastern Rus', a number of crafts disappeared in other places, serious demographic changes occurred, the area of ​​settlement of the Old Russian people decreased, and the strong Old Russian principalities fell into decay.

Lecture 10.

The struggle of the peoples of North-Western Rus' against the aggression of Swedish and German feudal lords.

Simultaneously with the Tatar-Mongol invasion of the Russian people in the 13th century. had to wage a fierce fight against the German and Swedish invaders. The lands of Northern Rus' and, in particular, Novgorod attracted invaders. They were not ruined by Batu, and Novgorod was famous for its wealth, since the most important trade route connecting Northern Europe with the countries of the East passed through it.

Name: Batu Khan

Date of Birth: 1209

Age: 46 years old

Date of death: 1255

Height: 170

Activity: commander, statesman

Family status: was married

Batu: biography

The death of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire did not put an end to the wars of conquest of the Golden Horde. The grandson of the brilliant commander continued the traditions of his famous grandfather and organized the most treacherous campaign of the Golden Horde in history, called the Great Western Campaign. Batu's invasion expanded Genghis Khan's empire to incredible limits.

In one of the surviving documents from the time of Batu’s campaign there are the lines:

“He entered Europe along the northern shore of the Maeotian swamps with a huge army and, having first conquered North-Eastern Rus', destroyed the richest city of Kiev, defeated the Poles, Silesians and Moravians and, finally, rushed to Hungary, which he completely ruined and brought into horror and the whole Christian world trembles."

Batu’s ruinous campaign against Rus' and the subsequent 250-year Tatar-Mongol yoke left an indelible mark on the history of the state.

Childhood and youth

There is no exact date of birth of Batu. IN historical documents indicated different year birth. Batu, son of Jochi, was born at the very beginning of the 13th century. Batu's father is the eldest son of Genghis Khan, who inherited all the lands located west of the Irtysh River. Jochi also received lands that had not yet been conquered: Europe, Rus', Khorezm and Volga Bulgaria. Genghis Khan ordered his son to expand the borders of the ulus (empire) by conquering Russian lands and Europe.

Jochi's relatives did not like him. Batu’s father lived a solitary life on his lands. After Jochi's death under unclear circumstances in 1227, troops west of the Irtysh named Batu as heir. Genghis Khan approved the choice of heir. Batu shared power in the state with his brothers: Ord-Ichen received most of the army and the eastern part of the state, and Batu shared the rest with his younger brothers.

Hiking

Biography of Khan Batu - the story of the life of a great warrior. In 1235, near the Onon River, the kurultai (council of the nobility) decided to resume the campaign to the West. The first attempt to reach Kyiv was made by the troops of Genghis Khan in 1221. Having been defeated in 1224 by the Volga Bulgars (Volga-Kama Bulgaria - a state in the Middle Volga region), Genghis Khan's troops stopped their advance. The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu Khan, was entrusted with leading the new campaign. Subedei-Bagatura was appointed Batu's right hand. Subedei went on all campaigns with Genghis Khan, participated in the victorious battle with the Cumans and Russian troops on the Kalka River (present-day Donetsk region, Ukraine).

In 1236, Batu led the troops in the Great Western Campaign. The first conquest of the Golden Horde was the Polovtsian lands. Volga Bulgaria became part of the Mongol Empire. There were several invasions of Rus'. Batu personally supervised the seizure of the lands of Ryazan and Vladimir in 1238, and of Kyiv in 1240. Having conquered Volga Bulgaria, Batu and his army went against the Polovtsians on the Don. The last Cuman troops were defeated by the Mongols in 1237. Having defeated the Polovtsians, Batu's Tatar-Mongols moved to Ryazan. The city fell on the sixth day of the assault.

The ancient Russian story “On the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu,” dating from the end of the 16th century, has survived to this day. Ancient lists tell of the Tatar-Mongol invasion of Ryazan in 1237. Khan Batu and his horde stood on the Voronezh River near Ryazan. Prince Yuri Igorevich sent for help to the Grand Duke of Vladimir Georgy Vsevolodovich. At the same time, Yuri tried to get rid of Batu with gifts. The Khan found out about the beauty living outside the walls of Ryazan and demanded that Prince Eupraxia’s daughter-in-law be sent to him. Eupraxia's husband resisted and was killed. The woman committed suicide by jumping from the tower. The refusal served as a signal for the start of the battle. The result of the battle was the capture and destruction of Ryazan by Batu’s Tatars. Yuri's army was defeated, the prince died.

According to legend, the governor of Ryazan, returning home from Chernigov, saw the city destroyed by the Tatars. Having gathered a detachment of 177 people, he set off in the footsteps of the Mongols. Having entered into an unequal battle with Batu’s army near Suzdal, the squad was defeated. Batu, paying tribute to Kolovrat’s courage shown in the unequal battle, gave the body of the killed governor to the surviving Russians with the words: “Oh, Evpatiy! If you served me, I would hold you close to my heart!” The name of the Ryazan governor is inscribed in the history of Russia along with other, no less glorious heroes.

Having destroyed Ryazan, Batu’s army went to Vladimir. Moscow and Kolomna, which stood in the way of the khan, were devastated. The siege of Vladimir began in the winter of 1238. Four days later the Tatars stormed the city. Batu ordered Vladimir to set fire. The inhabitants died in the fire along with the Grand Duke. Having ravaged Vladimir, the horde split in two. One part of the army set out to capture Torzhok, the other went to Novgorod, defeating the Russian army on the Sit River along the way. Having not reached Novgorod 100 versts, Batu turned back. Passing through the city of Kozelsk, the horde met stubborn resistance local residents. The siege of Kozelsk lasted seven weeks. Having captured the city, the Tatars did not leave a single stone from it.

Batu captured the southern direction in 1239. On the way to the main goal - Kyiv - the khan destroyed the Pereyaslav and Chernigov principalities. The siege of Kyiv lasted three months and ended with the victory of Batu Khan. The consequences of the Tatar-Mongol invasion of Rus' are terrible. The ground lay in rubble. Many cities disappeared. Residents were taken into slavery in the Horde.

As a result of the Mongol invasion of Rus' in 1237-1248, the great princes had to accept the political and tributary dependence of the principalities on the Mongol Empire. The Russians paid tribute annually. The Khan of the Golden Horde appointed princes in Rus' with labels. The yoke of the Golden Horde of the North-Eastern lands of Rus' lasted two and a half centuries, until 1480.

In 1240, Kyiv, defeated by the Horde, was transferred to Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Vladimir. In 1250, the prince went as a representative to the kurultai in Karakorum, where he was poisoned. The sons of Yaroslav Andrei followed their father to the Golden Horde. Andrei took possession of the Vladimir principality, and Alexander - Kyiv and Novgorod. The occupation of Kyiv opened the way for the Golden Horde to Europe. At the foot of the Carpathians, the Western Campaign was divided into two armies. One group, led by Baydar and Ordu, went on a campaign to Poland, Moravia and Silesia.

Another, led by Batu, Kadan and Subudei, conquered Hungary: on April 11, 1241, the troops of King Bela IV were defeated by the Mongols in the Battle of the Shayo River. With the victory over Hungary, Batu opened the way to the conquest of Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, and Dalmatia. In 1242, the troops of the Golden Horde entered Central Europe and stopped at the gates of the Saxon city of Meissen. The campaign to the West is over. The invasion of Rus' greatly battered the horde of Tatars. Batu returned to the Volga.

Another reason for the end of the Long March was the death of the Great Khan Ogedei, the successor of Genghis Khan. Guyuk, Batu's longtime enemy, became the new kagan. After Guyuk came to power, inter-clan battles began. In 1248, the Great Khan went on a campaign against Batu. But, having reached Samarkand, the great Khan Guyuk died suddenly. According to historians, the khan was poisoned by Batu's supporters. The next Great Khan in 1251 was a supporter of Batu Munke.

In 1250, Batu founded the city of Saray-Batu (now the area of ​​the village of Selitrennoye in the Kharabalinsky district of the Astrakhan region). According to contemporaries, Saray-Batu is a beautiful city, full of people. The vibrant bazaars and streets amazed the imagination of city guests. Later, during the reign of Khan Uzbek, the city fell into decay and was dismantled into bricks for the construction of new settlements.

Personal life

Khan Batu had 26 wives. The eldest wife is Borakchin Khatun. Borakchin comes from the Tatar tribe, who roamed eastern Mongolia. According to unconfirmed reports, Borakchin is the mother of Batu’s eldest son, Sartak. In addition to Sartak, two more sons of the khan are known: Tukan and Abukan. There is evidence that there was another heir to Batu - Ulagchi.

Death

Batu died in 1255. There is no exact information about the causes of Khan’s death. There are versions of death from poisoning or rheumatic disease. Batu's eldest son Sartak became the heir. Sartak learned about his father's death while at the court of Munki Khan in Mongolia. Returning home, the heir suddenly died. Sartak's young son Ulagchi became khan. Borakchin Khatun became the regent under the khan and the ruler of the ulus. Soon Ulagci died.

Borakchin opposed the rise to power in the Dzhuchi ulus of the son of Dzhuchi, the grandson of Genghis Khan Berke. The plot was discovered, and Borakchin was executed. Berke is a follower of the policy of brother Batu in expanding the independence of the ulus. He is the first khan to convert to Islam. During his reign, the ulus gained independence. The oppression of the Golden Horde over Russia was established.

Memory

Batu left a terrible memory of himself in Rus'. In ancient chronicles, the khan was called “wicked”, “godless”. In one of the legends that has survived to this day, you can read:

“The evil Tsar Batu captured the Russian land, shedding innocent blood like water, abundantly, and torturing Christians.”

In the East, Batu Khan is treated with respect. In Astana and Ulaanbaatar, streets are named after Batu Khan. The name of Khan Batu appears in literature and cinema. The writer Vasily Yan repeatedly turned to the biography of the great commander. The writer’s books “Genghis Khan”, “Batu”, “To the “last” sea” are known to readers. Batu is mentioned in the books of Alexey Yugov and Ilyas Yesenberlin.

Nurmukhan Zhanturin as Batu in the film "Daniil - Prince of Galitsky"

The 1987 Soviet film directed by Yaroslav Lupiya “Daniil - Prince of Galitsky” is dedicated to the campaigns of the Golden Horde and Batu Khan. In 2012, Andrei Proshkin’s film “The Horde” was released on Russian screens. The film depicts the events that took place in Rus' and the Golden Horde in the 13th century.

One of the most tragic pages of Russian history is the 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. The 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. Ruining 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 capture 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 Golden Horde in the west of the Mongol Empire. 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.

Name: Batu (Batu)

Years of life: around 1209 - 1255/1256

State: Golden Horde

Field of activity: Army, politics

Greatest Achievement: Became the ruler of the Golden Horde. He carried out a number of conquests in the north-west, including Rus'.

Batu Khan (ca. 1205-1255) was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Blue Horde. Batu was the son of Jochi and the grandson of Genghis Khan. His (or Kipchak Khanate), which ruled Russia and the Caucasus for about 250 years, after destroying the armies of Poland and Hungary. Batu was the figurehead of the Mongol invasion of Europe, and his general Subedei is credited with being an excellent strategist. Having gained control over Russia, Volga Bulgaria and Crimea, he invaded Europe, winning the Battle of Mochy against the Hungarian army on April 11, 1241. In 1246 he returned to Mongolia to elect a new Great Khan, apparently hoping for primacy. When his rival Guyuk Khan became the Great Khan, he returned to his khanate and built a capital on the Volga - Sarai, known as Sarai-Batu, which remained the capital of the Golden Horde until it disintegrated.

The role of Khan Batu in Russian and European campaigns is sometimes downplayed, giving the leading role to his general. Nevertheless, Batu's merit is that he heeded the advice of his general to gain experience in military affairs. Perhaps the most important effect of Batu Khan's Mongol invasion of Europe was that it helped draw Europe's attention to the world beyond its borders.

As long as the Mongol Empire existed, trade as well as diplomacy developed: for example, the papal nuncio was able to attend the assembly of 1246. To some extent, the Mongol Empire and the Mongol invasion of Europe, for which Batu Khan was at least nominally responsible, served as a bridge between different cultural parts of the world.

Pedigree of Batu

Although Genghis Khan recognized Jochi as his son, his origins remain in question, as his mother Borte, Genghis Khan's wife, was captured and he was born shortly after her return. While Genghis Khan was alive, this situation was known to everyone, but it was not discussed publicly. However, she drove a wedge between Jochi and his father; Shortly before his death, Jochi almost fought with him because of the stubborn refusal of his wife, Yuki, to join military campaigns.

Jochi was also given only 4 thousand Mongol soldiers to found his own khanate. Jochi's son Batu (Batu), described as "the second and most capable son of Yuki", obtained most of his soldiers by recruiting them from among the conquered Turkic peoples, mainly from the Kipchak Turks. Batu later played an important role in winning over his uncle Udegey to the side of Tolui, his other uncle. After Jochi and Genghis Khan died, Jochi's lands were divided between Batu and his older brother Horde. The Horde ruled the lands approximately between the Volga and Lake Balkhash - the White Horde, and Batu ruled the lands west of the Volga - the Golden Horde.

After the death of Batu's heir, Sartak, Batu's brother Berke inherited the Golden Horde. Berke did not want to unite with his cousins ​​in Mongolian family, going to war with Hulagu Khan, although he officially recognized only the Khanate of China as his theoretical overlord. In fact, by that time Berke was an independent ruler. Fortunately for Europe, Berke did not share Batu's interest in conquering it, but he demanded the extradition of the Hungarian king Béla IV and sent his general Boroldai to Lithuania and Poland. Batu had at least four children: Sartak, Khan of the Golden Horde from 1255-1256, Tukan, Abukan, Ulagchi (probably son of Sartak). Batu's mother Yuka-fuj-khatun belonged to the Mongolian clan Kungirat, and his chief khatun Borakchin was an Alchi-Tatar.

Batu's early years

After Jochi's death, his territory was divided among his sons; The Horde received the right bank of the Syr Darya and areas around Sari Bu, Batu, the northern coast of the Caspian Sea to the Ural River.

In 1229, Ogedei sent three tumens under Kukhdei and Sundei against the tribes in the lower Urals. Batu then joined Ogedei's military campaign in the Jin Dynasty in Northern China as they fought the Bashkirs, Cumans, Bulgars and Alans. Despite strong resistance from their enemies, the Mongols conquered many Jurchen cities and turned the Bashkirs into their allies.

Batu's invasion of Rus'

In 1235, Batu, who had previously led the conquest of Crimea, was entrusted with an army, perhaps 130,000, to oversee the invasion of Europe. His relatives and cousins ​​Guyuk, Buri, Mongke, Khulgen, Kadan, Baydar and the famous Mongol generals Subutai (Subedei), Borodal (Boroldai) and Mengyuser (Mnkhsar) joined him on the orders of their uncle Ogedei. The army, actually under the command of Subedei, crossed the Volga and invaded Volga Bulgaria in 1236. It took them a year to crush the resistance of the Volga Bulgars, Kipchaks and Alans.

In November 1237, Batu Khan sent his envoys to the Ryazan prince Yuri Igorevich and demanded his allegiance. A month later, the hordes besieged Ryazan. After six days bloody battle the city was completely destroyed. Excited by the news, Yuri sent his sons to delay the Horde, but was defeated. Afterwards Kolomna and Moscow were burned, then on February 4, 1238 the Horde besieged Vladimir. Three days later, the capital of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was taken and burned to the ground. The princely family died in the fire, and the prince himself hastily retreated to the north. Having crossed the Volga, he gathered a new army, which was completely destroyed by the Mongols on March 4 on the Sit River.

Subsequently, Batu divided his army into several units, which devastated fourteen more cities of Rus': Rostov, Uglich, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kashin, Kshnyatin, Gorodets, Galich, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev-Polsky, Dmitrov, Volokolamsk, Tver and Torzhok. The most difficult was the city of Kozelsk, where the young Vasily reigned - the inhabitants resisted the Mongols for seven weeks. Only three major cities escaped destruction: Smolensk, which submitted to the Mongols and agreed to pay tribute, and Novgorod and Pskov, which were too far away, and besides, winter had begun.

In the summer of 1238, Batu Khan devastated Crimea and conquered Mordovia. In the winter of 1239 he took Chernigov and Pereyaslav. After several months of siege, in December 1239 the Horde broke into Kyiv. Despite the fierce resistance of Danila Galitsky, Batu managed to take two main capitals - Galich and Vladimir-Volynsky. The states of Rus' became vassals, and did not enter the Central Asian empire.

Batu decided to go to central Europe. Some modern historians believe that Batu was primarily concerned with ensuring that his flanks were protected from possible attack by Europeans and partly ensured further conquests. Most believe that he intended to conquer all of Europe once his flanks were strengthened and his army was ready again. He probably planned a campaign against Hungary, because Russian princes and commoners found refuge there and could pose a threat.

The Mongols invaded Central Europe in three groups. One group conquered Poland, defeating a combined army under the command of Henry the Pious, Duke of Silesia and Grand Master of the Teutonic Order at Legnica. The second crossed the Carpathians, and the third crossed the Danube. The armies reunited and defeated Hungary in 1241, defeating an army led by King Béla IV at the Battle of Mochy on 11 April. The troops swept across the plains of Hungary in the summer, and in the spring of 1242 they extended their control into Austria and Dalmatia, and also invaded Bohemia.

This attack on Europe was planned and carried out by Subedei, under the nominal command of Batu. During his campaign in Central Europe, Batu wrote to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, demanding his surrender. The latter replied that he knew bird hunting well and would like to become the guardian of Batu's eagle if he ever lost his throne. The Emperor and Pope Gregory IX convened crusade against the Mongol Empire.

Subedai achieved perhaps his most lasting fame with victories in Europe and Eastern Persia. Ruining many Russian principalities, he sent spies to Poland, Hungary and Austria, preparing for an attack on the central part of Europe. Having a clear picture of the European kingdoms, he prepared an attack with two "princes of the blood" (distant descendants of the line of Genghis Khan), Kaidu and Kadan, although the actual commander on the field was again General Subedei. While in the north Kaidu won the Battle of Legnica and Kadan's army was victorious in Transylvania, Subedei was waiting for them on the Hungarian plain. The reunited army withdrew to the Sajo River, where they defeated King Béla IV at the Battle of Mohi.

Towards the end of 1241, when Batu and Subedei had completed their invasions of Austria, Italy and Germany, they were overtaken by news of the death of Ogedei Khan (died December 1241), and the Mongols withdrew in the late spring of 1242, as the "princes of the blood" and Subedei were recalled to Karakorum, where a kurultai (congress of the Mongol nobility) was held. Batu was not actually present at the kurultai; he learned that Guyuk had received enough support to become khan and remain aloof. Instead, he turned around to consolidate his conquests in Asia and the Urals. Subedei was not with him - he remained in Mongolia, where he died in 1248, and the enmity of Batu and Guyuk Khan made further European invasion impossible.

The beginning of the feud dates back to 1240: celebrating the victory over Russia, Batu declared that the winner had the right to be the first to drink from the ceremonial cup. But his cousin apparently believed that this right belonged to General Batu. The deterioration of relations between Genghis Khan's grandchildren ultimately led to the collapse of the Mongol Empire.

After his return, Batu Khan founded the capital of his khanate in Sarai in the lower Volga. He planned new campaigns after Guyuk's death, intending to take advantage of Subedei's original plans to invade Europe, but died in 1255. The heir was his son Sartak, who decided not to invade Europe. It is speculated that if the Mongols had continued their campaign, they would have reached the Atlantic, since "no European army could have resisted the victorious Mongols."

The Kipchak Khanate ruled Russia through local princes for the next 230 years.

The Kipchak Khanate was known in Rus' and Europe as the Golden Horde. Some people think that it was named so because of the golden color of the khan’s tent. "Horde" comes from the Mongolian word "orda" (ordu) or camp. The word “golden” is believed to also have the meaning “royal”. Of all the khanates, the Golden Horde ruled the longest. After the fall of the Yuan dynasty in China and the fall of the Ilkhanate in the Middle East, the descendants of Batu Khan continued to rule the Russian steppes.

Although Subedei is described as the real mastermind of the campaigns carried out by Batu: "It is possible that Batu was only the supreme commander using his name, and that the real command was in the hands of Subedei." But Batu was wise enough to “masterfully exploit the discord between the various kingdoms of Europe” for the purposes of the Mongol campaign. And Batu’s undeniable merit was that he listened to the advice of his general and skillfully used his many years of experience in this area.

Perhaps the most significant legacy of Batu and the Mongol invasion of Europe was that it helped draw Europe's attention to the world beyond its borders, especially to China, which was effectively made available for trade as it Mongol Empire held on to the Silk Road and carefully protected it. To some extent, the Mongol Empire and the Mongol invasion of Europe served as a bridge between different cultural worlds.

In the December days of 1237, there were bitter frosts in the territory between the Volga and Oka. In fact, the cold more than once came to the aid of the Russian armies, becoming a faithful ally in the most dramatic periods of history. He drove Napoleon away from Moscow, shackled the Nazis hand and foot in frozen trenches. But he could not do anything against the Tatar-Mongols.

Strictly speaking, the term “Tatar-Mongols”, which has long been established in the domestic tradition, is only half correct. In terms of the ethnic formation of the armies that came from the East and the political core of the Golden Horde, the Turkic-speaking peoples did not occupy important positions at that moment.

Genghis Khan conquered the Tatar tribes settled in the vast expanses of Siberia at the beginning of the 13th century - just a few decades before the campaign of his descendants against Rus'.

Naturally, the Tatar khans supplied their recruits to the Horde not of their own free will, but under duress. There were much more signs of a relationship between a suzerain and a vassal than equal cooperation. The role and influence of the Turkic part of the Horde population increased much later. Well, in the 1230s, calling foreign invaders Tatar-Mongols was the same as calling the Nazis who reached Stalingrad German-Hungarian-Croats.

Russia has traditionally been successful against threats from the West, but has often capitulated to the East. Suffice it to remember that just a few years after Batu’s invasion, Rus' defeated the well-equipped Scandinavian and German knights on the Neva and then on Lake Peipsi.

The rapid whirlwind that swept through the lands of the Russian principalities in 1237-1238 and lasted until 1240 divided national history to "before" and "after". It is not for nothing that the term “pre-Mongol period” is used in chronology. Finding itself under foreign yoke for 250 years, Rus' lost tens of thousands of its own killed and driven into slavery. the best people, forgot many technologies and crafts, forgot how to build structures from stone, and stopped in socio-political development.

Many historians are convinced: it was at that time that the lag behind Western Europe, the consequences of which have not been overcome to this day.

Only a few dozen architectural monuments of the pre-Mongol era have survived to us. The St. Sophia Cathedral and the Golden Gate in Kyiv, the unique churches of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, are well known. Nothing has been preserved on the territory of the Ryazan region.

The Horde dealt especially cruelly with those who had the courage to resist. Neither the elderly nor children were spared - entire villages of Russians were slaughtered. During Batu’s invasion, even before the siege of Ryazan, many important centers of the ancient Russian state were put to fire and forever wiped off the face of the earth: Dedoslavl, Belgorod Ryazan, Ryazan Voronezh - today it is no longer possible to accurately determine their location.

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Actually, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Ryazan - we call it Old Ryazan - was located 60 kilometers from modern city(then - a small settlement of Pereslavl-Ryazansky). The tragedy of “Russian Troy,” as poetic historians called it, is largely symbolic.

As in the war on the shores of the Aegean Sea, glorified by Homer, there was a place for heroic defense, cunning plans of the attackers, and even, perhaps, betrayal.

The Ryazan people also had their own Hector - the heroic hero Evpatiy Kolovrat. According to legend, during the days of the siege of Ryazan he was with the embassy in Chernigov, where he unsuccessfully tried to negotiate help for the suffering region. Returning home, Kolovrat found only ruins and ashes: “... the rulers were killed and many people were killed: some were killed and flogged, others were burned, and others were drowned.” He soon recovered from the shock and decided to take revenge.

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Having overtaken the Horde already in the Suzdal region, Evpatiy and his small squad destroyed their rearguard, defeated the khan’s relative, Batyr Khostovrul, but in mid-January he himself died.

If you believe the “Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu,” the Mongols, shocked by the courage of the fallen Russian, gave his body to the surviving soldiers. The ancient Greeks were less merciful: the old king Priam had to ransom the corpse of his son Hector for gold.

Nowadays, the story of Kolovrat has been pulled out of oblivion and filmed by Janik Fayziev. Critics have yet to assess the artistic value of the painting and its historical correspondence to real events.

But let's go back to December 1237. Having ravaged the cities and villages of the Ryazan region, on whose lands the first, most powerful and crushing blow of the entire campaign fell, Batu Khan for a long time did not dare to begin the assault on the capital.

Based on the experience of his predecessors, well imagining the events of the Battle of Kalka, the grandson of Genghis Khan obviously understood: it was possible to capture and, most importantly, keep Rus' in subjection only by centralizing all Mongol forces.

To a certain extent, Batu, like Alexander I and Kutuzov, was lucky with his military leader. Subedei, a talented commander and comrade-in-arms of his grandfather, made a huge contribution to the ensuing defeat with a series of right decisions.

Also served as a prologue to the siege fighting, primarily on the Voronezh River, clearly showed all the weaknesses of the Russians, which the Mongols skillfully took advantage of. There was no unified command. Princes from other lands, mindful of many years of strife, refused to come to the rescue. At first, local but deep-seated grievances were stronger than the fear of a general threat.

If the knights of the princely equestrian squads were in no way inferior in fighting qualities to the elite warriors of the Horde army - noyons and nukers, then the basis of the Russian army, the militia, was poorly trained and could not compete in military skills with an experienced enemy.

Systems of fortifications were erected in cities for protection from neighboring principalities, which had a similar military arsenal, and not at all from steppe nomads.

According to historian Alexander Orlov, in the current conditions the Ryazan residents had no choice but to concentrate on defense. Their capabilities objectively did not suggest any other tactics.

Rus' of the 13th century was full of impenetrable forests. This is largely why Ryazan waited for its fate until mid-December. Batu was aware of internal strife in the enemy camp and the reluctance of the Chernigov and Vladimir princes to come to the rescue of the Ryazan people. When the frost tightly sealed the rivers with ice, heavily armed Mongol warriors walked along the riverbeds as if along a highway.

To begin with, the Mongols demanded submission and a tenth of the accumulated property. “If we are all gone, everything will be yours,” came the answer.

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The people of Ryazan, led by Grand Duke Yuri Igorevich, defended themselves desperately. They threw stones and poured arrows, tar and boiling water on the enemy from the fortress walls. The Mongols had to call for reinforcements and offensive machines - catapults, rams, siege towers.

The fight lasted five days - on the sixth, gaps appeared in the fortifications, the Horde broke into the city and committed lynching over the defenders. The head of defense, his family, and almost all ordinary Ryazan residents accepted death.

In January, Kolomna fell, the most important outpost on the border of the Ryazan region and the Vladimir-Suzdal land, the key to North-Eastern Rus'.

Then it was Moscow’s turn: Voivode Philip Nyanka defended the oak Kremlin for five days until he shared the fate of his neighbors. As the Laurentian Chronicle tells, all the churches were burned and the inhabitants were killed.

Batu's victorious march continued. Many decades remained before the first serious successes of the Russians in the confrontation with the Mongols.