Countries that were invaded by the Mongols on the map. Mongol conquests

If you remove all the lies from history, this does not mean at all that only the truth will remain - as a result, there may be nothing left at all.
Stanislav Jerzy Lec

The Tatar-Mongol invasion began in 1237 with the invasion of Batu's cavalry into the Ryazan lands, and ended in 1242. The result of these events was a two-century yoke. This is what the textbooks say, but in reality the relationship between the Horde and Russia was much more complicated. In particular, he talks about this famous historian Gumilev. In this material we will briefly consider the issues of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar army from the point of view of the generally accepted interpretation, and also consider controversial issues this interpretation. Our task is not to offer a fantasy on the topic for the thousandth time medieval society, but to provide our readers with the facts. And conclusions are everyone’s business.

Beginning of the invasion and background

For the first time, the troops of Rus' and the Horde met on May 31, 1223 in the battle of Kalka. Russian troops led Kyiv prince Mstislav, and they were opposed by Subedey and Jube. Russian army was not just defeated, it was actually destroyed. There are many reasons for this, but all of them are discussed in the article about the Battle of Kalka. Returning to the first invasion, it occurred in two stages:

1237-1238 - campaign against the eastern and northern lands of Rus'.
1239-1242 - a campaign against the southern lands, which led to the establishment of the yoke.

Invasion of 1237-1238

In 1236, the Mongols began another campaign against the Cumans. On this campaign they achieved great success and in the second half of 1237 they approached the borders of the Ryazan principality. The Asian cavalry was commanded by Khan Batu (Batu Khan), the grandson of Genghis Khan. He had 150 thousand people under his command. Subedey, who was familiar with the Russians from previous clashes, took part in the campaign with him.

Map of the Tatar-Mongol invasion

The invasion took place in the early winter of 1237. It is impossible to establish the exact date here, since it is unknown. Moreover, some historians say that the invasion took place not in winter, but in late autumn of the same year. With tremendous speed, the Mongol cavalry moved across the country, conquering one city after another:

Ryazan fell at the end of December 1237. The siege lasted 6 days.
Moscow - fell in January 1238. The siege lasted 4 days. This event was preceded by the battle of Kolomna, where Yuri Vsevolodovich and his army tried to stop the enemy, but was defeated.
Vladimir - fell in February 1238. The siege lasted 8 days.

After the capture of Vladimir, virtually all the eastern and northern lands fell into the hands of Batu. He conquered one city after another (Tver, Yuryev, Suzdal, Pereslavl, Dmitrov). At the beginning of March, Torzhok fell, thereby opening the way for the Mongol army to the north, to Novgorod. But Batu made a different maneuver and instead of marching on Novgorod, he deployed his troops and went to storm Kozelsk. The siege lasted for 7 weeks, ending only when the Mongols resorted to cunning. They announced that they would accept the surrender of the Kozelsk garrison and release everyone alive. People believed and opened the gates of the fortress. Batu did not keep his word and gave the order to kill everyone. Thus ended the first campaign and the first invasion Tatar-Mongol army to Rus'.

Invasion of 1239-1242

After a break of one and a half years, in 1239 a new invasion of Rus' by the troops of Batu Khan began. This year based events took place in Pereyaslav and Chernigov. The sluggishness of Batu’s offensive is due to the fact that at that time he was actively fighting the Polovtsians, in particular in the Crimea.

Autumn 1240 Batu led his army to the walls of Kyiv. The ancient capital of Rus' could not resist for long. The city fell on December 6, 1240. Historians note the particular brutality with which the invaders behaved. Kyiv was almost completely destroyed. There is nothing left of the city. The Kyiv that we know today no longer has anything in common with the ancient capital (except geographical location). After these events, the army of invaders split:

Some went to Vladimir-Volynsky.
Some went to Galich.

Having captured these cities, the Mongols moved to European campaign, but it interests us little.

Consequences of the Tatar-Mongol invasion of Rus'

Historians describe the consequences of the invasion of the Asian army into Rus' unambiguously:

The country was cut up and became completely dependent on the Golden Horde.
Rus' began to annually pay tribute to the victors (money and people).
The country has fallen into a stupor in terms of progress and development due to the unbearable yoke.

This list can be continued, but, in general, it all comes down to the fact that all the problems that existed in Rus' at that time were attributed to the yoke.

This is exactly what the Tatar-Mongol invasion seems to be, in short, from the point of view of official history and what we are told in textbooks. In contrast, we will consider Gumilyov’s arguments, and also ask a number of simple but very important questions for understanding the current issues and the fact that with the yoke, as with the Rus-Horde relations, everything is much more complex than is commonly said.

For example, it is absolutely incomprehensible and inexplicable how a nomadic people, who several decades ago lived in a tribal system, created a huge empire and conquered half the world. After all, when considering the invasion of Rus', we are considering only the tip of the iceberg. The Empire of the Golden Horde was much larger: from Pacific Ocean to the Adriatic, from Vladimir and to Burma. Giant countries were conquered: Rus', China, India... Neither before nor after no one was able to create war machine, which could conquer so many countries. But the Mongols were able...

To understand how difficult it was (if not to say impossible), let's look at the situation with China (so as not to be accused of looking for a conspiracy around Rus'). The population of China at the time of Genghis Khan was approximately 50 million people. No one conducted a census of the Mongols, but, for example, today this nation has 2 million people. If we take into account that the number of all peoples of the Middle Ages is increasing to the present day, then the Mongols were less than 2 million people (including women, old people and children). How were they able to conquer China with 50 million inhabitants? And then also India and Russia...

The strangeness of the geography of Batu’s movement

Let's return to the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus'. What were the goals of this trip? Historians talk about the desire to plunder the country and subjugate it. It also states that all these goals have been achieved. But this is not entirely true, because in ancient Rus' there were 3 richest cities:

Kyiv is one of largest cities in Europe and ancient capital Rus'. The city was conquered by the Mongols and destroyed.
Novgorod is the largest market town and the richest in the country (hence his special status). Didn't suffer from the invasion at all.
Smolensk is also a trading city and was considered equal in wealth to Kyiv. The city also did not see the Mongol-Tatar army.

So it turns out that 2 of the 3 largest cities were not affected by the invasion at all. Moreover, if we consider plunder as a key aspect of Batu’s invasion of Rus', then the logic cannot be traced at all. Judge for yourself, Batu takes Torzhok (he spends 2 weeks on the assault). This is the poorest city, whose task is to protect Novgorod. But after this, the Mongols do not go to the North, which would be logical, but turn to the south. Why was it necessary to spend 2 weeks on Torzhok, which no one needs, in order to simply turn to the South? Historians give two explanations, logical at first glance:

Near Torzhok, Batu lost many soldiers and was afraid to go to Novgorod. This explanation could well be considered logical if not for one “but”. Since Batu lost a lot of his army, then he needs to leave Rus' to replenish the army or take a break. But instead, the khan rushes to storm Kozelsk. There, by the way, the losses were huge and as a result the Mongols hastily left Rus'. But why they didn’t go to Novgorod is unclear.
The Tatar-Mongols were afraid of the spring flooding of the rivers (this happened in March). Even in modern conditions March in the north of Russia is not characterized by a mild climate and you can easily move around there. And if we talk about 1238, then that era is called by climatologists the Little Ice Age, when winters were much harsher than modern ones and in general the temperature was much lower (this is easy to check). That is, it turns out that in the era global warming You can get to Novgorod in March, but during the Ice Age everyone was afraid of river floods.

With Smolensk, the situation is also paradoxical and inexplicable. Having taken Torzhok, Batu sets off to storm Kozelsk. This is a simple fortress, a small and very poor city. The Mongols stormed it for 7 weeks and lost thousands of people killed. Why was this done? There was no benefit from the capture of Kozelsk - there was no money in the city, and there were no food warehouses either. Why such sacrifices? But just 24 hours of cavalry movement from Kozelsk is Smolensk, the richest city in Rus', but the Mongols don’t even think about moving towards it.

Surprisingly, all these logical questions are simply ignored by official historians. Standard excuses are given, like, who knows these savages, this is what they decided for themselves. But this explanation does not stand up to criticism.

Nomads never howl in winter

There is one more remarkable fact that official history simply ignores, because... it is impossible to explain. Both Tatar-Mongol invasions took place in Rus' in winter (or began in late autumn). But these are nomads, and nomads begin to fight only in the spring in order to finish the battles before winter. After all, they travel on horses that need to be fed. Can you imagine how you can feed a Mongolian army of thousands in snowy Russia? Historians, of course, say that this is a trifle and that such issues should not even be considered, but the success of any operation directly depends on the support:

Charles 12 was unable to provide support for his army - he lost Poltava and the Northern War.
Napoleon was unable to organize supplies and left Russia with a half-starved army that was absolutely incapable of combat.
Hitler, according to many historians, managed to establish support only by 60-70% - he lost the Second World War.

Now, understanding all this, let's look at what the Mongol army was like. It is noteworthy, but there is no definite figure for its quantitative composition. Historians give figures from 50 thousand to 400 thousand horsemen. For example, Karamzin talks about Batu’s 300 thousand army. Let's look at the provision of the army using this figure as an example. As you know, the Mongols always went on military campaigns with three horses: a riding horse (the rider moved on it), a pack horse (it carried the rider’s personal belongings and weapons) and a fighting horse (it went empty, so that it could go into battle fresh at any time). That is, 300 thousand people are 900 thousand horses. To this add the horses that transported ram guns (it is known for certain that the Mongols brought the guns assembled), horses that carried food for the army, carried additional weapons, etc. It turns out, according to the most conservative estimates, 1.1 million horses! Now imagine how to feed such a herd in a foreign country in a snowy winter (during the Little Ice Age)? There is no answer, because this cannot be done.

So how much army did Dad have?

It is noteworthy, but the closer to our time the study of the invasion of the Tatar-Mongol army occurs, the smaller the number is. For example, historian Vladimir Chivilikhin speaks of 30 thousand who moved separately, since they could not feed themselves in a single army. Some historians lower this figure even lower – to 15 thousand. And here we come across an insoluble contradiction:

If there really were so many Mongols (200-400 thousand), then how could they feed themselves and their horses in the harsh Russian winter? The cities did not surrender to them peacefully in order to take food from them, most of the fortresses were burned.
If there were really only 30-50 thousand Mongols, then how did they manage to conquer Rus'? After all, every principality fielded an army of about 50 thousand against Batu. If there really were so few Mongols and they acted independently, the remnants of the horde and Batu himself would have been buried near Vladimir. But in reality everything was different.

We invite the reader to look for conclusions and answers to these questions on their own. For our part, we did the most important thing - we pointed out facts that completely refute the official version of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. At the end of the article, I would like to note one more important fact that the whole world has recognized, including official history, but this fact is hushed up and is rarely published. The main document on which long years yoke and invasion were studied - Laurentian Chronicle. But, as it turned out, the truth of this document raises big questions. Official history admitted that 3 pages of the chronicle (which speak of the beginning of the yoke and the beginning of the Mongol invasion of Rus') have been changed and are not original. I wonder how many more pages from Russian history have been changed in other chronicles, and what really happened? But it is almost impossible to answer this question...

There is hardly a person who does not know that for almost three centuries Rus' was under the yoke of the Golden Horde. But, apparently, not everyone knows that by 1236, the year of the invasion of Rus', and later of Eastern Europe, the Mongols had already conquered China and most of Asia, representing a well-trained and uniquely organized military force with colossal experience of victorious battles.

With this material we open a series dedicated to great conquests Mongol Empire, which dramatically changed the fate of many peoples of medieval Asia and Europe. After all, the Mongols conquered and devastated all regions of the globe known to them, including part of Western Europe. And they owed their victories largely to the military and political genius of the illiterate tribal leader, who became one of greatest commanders peace.

Khan of Khans

From birth his name was Temujin. But this man went down in history under the name Genghis Khan, which he appropriated to himself only at the age of 51. Neither his true image nor his height and build have reached us. We don’t know whether he shouted orders that changed the lives of entire nations, or muttered, making the thousands of troops lined up in front of him tremble... But we still know something about his life.

Temujin was born in 1155 on the banks of the Onon River. His father Yessugai-bagatur was a wealthy noyon from the Borjigin clan of the Taichjiut tribe. In a campaign against the Mongol “Tatars”, he killed the Tatar Khan Temujin with his own hand. And when he returned home, he learned that his wife had given birth to a son. While examining the baby, Yessugai discovered a blood clot on his palm and decided to name it after the killed enemy, Temuchin. The superstitious Mongols took this as a sign that foreshadowed a powerful and cruel ruler.

When Yessugai-bagatur died, Temuchin was only 12. After some time, the ulus created by his father in the valley of the Onon River disintegrated. But it was from this time that Temujin’s ascent to the heights of power began. He recruited a gang of daredevils and took up robbery and raids on neighboring tribes. These raids were so successful that by the age of 50 he had already managed to subjugate vast territories - all of eastern and western Mongolia. The turning point for Temujin was the year 1206, when at the Great Kurultai he was elected Khan of Khans - ruler of all Mongolia. It was then that he received the formidable name Genghis Khan, which means “lord of the strong.” The great warrior, “Jeganhir” - a man born under lucky stars, devoted the rest of his life, being an elderly man by the standards of those times, to one goal - mastering the world.

In the hearts of his descendants, he remained a wise ruler, a brilliant strategist and a great lawmaker. Mongol warriors - the sons and grandsons of Genghis Khan, who continued the conquest of the Celestial Empire after his death - lived for centuries by the science of conquering him. And his collection of laws “Yasy” for a long time remained the legal basis of the nomadic peoples of Asia, competing with the norms of Buddhism and the Koran.

Neither before nor after Genghis Khan did the Mongols have such a powerful and such a despotic ruler, capable of directing the energy of his fellow tribesmen, tireless in battle and robbery, to the conquest of stronger and richer peoples and states.

By the age of 72, he had conquered almost all of Asia, but never managed to achieve his main goal: to reach the Western Sea “land of decline” and conquer “cowardly Europe.”

Genghis Khan died on the campaign, according to one version, from a poisoned arrow, according to another, from a blow when falling from a horse. The place where Khan Khanov was buried remained a mystery. According to legend, the last words of the Great Warrior were: “The highest pleasure lies in victory: to defeat your enemies, pursue them, deprive them of their property, make those who love them weep, ride their horses, hug their daughters and wives.”

"Mongols" or "Tatars"

The origins of the Mongols still remain a mystery. They are considered the oldest population Central Asia, believing that the Huns (or Huns), mentioned by the Chinese three centuries before our era, were... Mongols, or rather, their direct and immediate ancestors. Over the course of many centuries, the names of the tribes inhabiting the Mongolian Highlands changed, but the ethnic essence of the peoples did not change. Even regarding the name “Mongols” itself, historians do not fully agree. Some argue that under the name “Mengu” or “Monguli” these tribes were known to the Chinese since the 10th century. Others clarify that only by the beginning of the 11th century most of what is now Mongolia was occupied by Mongol-speaking tribes. But, most likely, before the beginning of the 13th century, such a concept as “Mongols” was not known at all. There is an opinion that the name “Mongols” was adopted after the emergence of a unified Mongol state under Genghis Khan in 1206–1227. The Mongols did not have their own written language until the 13th century. Only among the Naimans (the most culturally developed of the Mongolian tribes) were Uyghur writings in use. By the beginning of the 13th century, the bulk of the population professed shamanism. They worshiped the “Eternal Blue Sky”, the Earth, and also the spirits of their ancestors as the main deity. At the beginning of the 11th century, the noble elite of the Kerait tribe adopted Nestorian Christianity, and both Christianity and Buddhism were widespread among the Naiman. Both of these religions entered Mongolia through the Uyghurs.

Persian, Arab, Armenian, Georgian and Russian chroniclers until the 60s of the 13th century called all Mongols “Tatars”; the same name could be found in Chinese chronicles starting from the 12th century. By the way, the concept of “Tatars” corresponded to the European concept of “barbarians”. Although the Mongols themselves never called themselves that. For one of the tribes that served on the border of Mongolia and China, the name “Tatars” was assigned historically. They were constantly at odds with the Mongols and probably even poisoned Genghis Khan's father Yessugai. In turn, Genghis Khan, having come to power, exterminated them without exception. But this did not stop the stubborn Chinese from still calling the Mongols “Tatars.” It was from China that this name later penetrated into Europe.

As for the commonly used “Mongol-Tatar” hybrid, it arose already in the 19th century. Although there were no Tatars in the troops of Genghis Khan, or later Batu. Modern Tatars have nothing to do with the people who lived in the 13th century on the border of Mongolia with China.

Hike to Asia

The word "horde", meaning a Mongol tribe or army, became synonymous with a myriad of warriors. Europeans of the 13th and 14th centuries imagined the Mongol army as huge, undisciplined crowds; they simply could not believe that they were defeated by a much smaller, but better organized army. Meanwhile, Genghis Khan's army was indeed small. But his warriors were trained in the art of war from childhood in cruel school Gobi deserts were incredibly resilient and hardy.

The Great Mongol Empire began with the conquest of China. 20 years later, the Mongols appeared off the banks of the Volga. Before coming to Europe, they conquered Bukhara, Samarkand, reached the Caspian Sea, devastated the territory of modern Punjab and only, guided by certain “diplomatic considerations,” temporarily postponed the invasion of India. Mongol troops visited Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in 1222 inflicted a crushing defeat on a large Georgian army assembled for the Fifth Crusade. They captured Astrakhan, Crimea, and stormed the Genoese fortress of Sudak.

In addition to Rus', Eastern and Southern Europe, the Mongols conquered Tibet, invaded Japan, Burma and the island of Java. Their troops were not only land forces: in 1279, in the Gulf of Canton, Mongol ships defeated the fleet of the Chinese Song Empire. Five years earlier 40,000 Mongol warriors invaded Japan with 900 ships, capturing the islands of Tsushima, Iki and part of Kyushu. The Japanese army was almost defeated, but against all odds the attacking fleet was sunk by a typhoon... But two years later, history repeated itself exactly. Having lost 107,000 soldiers, the remnants of the army of commander Kublai were forced to retreat to previously conquered Korea. By the way, the origin of the word “kamikaze” is associated with the Mongol invasion of Japan; this is how Japanese historians called the “divine wind” - a typhoon that destroyed enemy ships.

Mongols in the 13th century

11901206 Unification of Mongolia under the rule of Genghis Khan
1206 At the kurultai, Temujin was proclaimed Emperor of Mongolia and given a new name Genghis Khan
1211 The beginning of Genghis Khan's first Chinese campaign. Approaching the well-fortified northern Chinese fortified cities and discovering his inability to conduct a siege, Genghis Khan was discouraged
1212 Conquest of the environs of Yanjing
1213 Genghis Khan creates a siege train and conquers the kingdom of Jin before Chinese wall
1214 Emperor Jin signs a peace treaty with Genghis Khan and marries his daughter to him.
1215 Genghis Khan besieged, took and plundered Yanjing (Beijing). Emperor Jin recognizes the rule of the Mongol conqueror.
1218 For the first time, the laws of the Mongol Empire were systematized and recorded (“Great Yases”)
1223 Death of Mukhali, commander of troops in China
1225 × 1226 The final version of the Code of Laws “Yasy” was approved
August 1227 Death of Genghis Khan
1234 × 1279 War of the Mongol-Tatars with the Song Empire
1252 × 1253 Capture of the Mongol-Tatars under the command of Mongke Yunnan, which belonged to Nanzhao, vassals of the Song Empire
1253 Mongke's brother Kublai launched the Chinese campaign: a strong army group under the personal leadership of Kublai blocked the center of the Song Empire
1257 1259 The campaign against the Song was led by Mongke. Decisive victories of the Mongol-Tatars. The Song was saved from final defeat by Mongke's sudden death from dysentery and the subsequent dynastic disputes in Mongolia.
1259 × 1268 The revived Song Dynasty puts up stubborn resistance to the Mongol-Tatars
1276 The fall of the Song capital of Hangzhou. Final capture of the Song by the Mongol-Tatars
1279 Kublai Khan establishes the Yuan dynasty
1279 × 1368
1296 The “Great Yases” laws of the Mongol Empire were promulgated

Conquest of China

Having encountered fortified northern Chinese fortified cities on his way and having discovered a complete inability to conduct a siege, Genghis Khan was initially discouraged. But gradually he managed to expand his military experience and, having created the much-needed siege train, conquered the territory of the Jin kingdom to the Chinese Wall...

With three armies he marched into the heart of the Jin kingdom between Chinese wall and the Yellow River. He completely defeated the enemy troops and captured many cities. And finally, in 1215, he besieged, took and plundered Yanjing.

At the beginning of the 13th century, China was divided into two states: northern Jin (“Golden Kingdom”) and southern Song. The Mongol khans had long-standing scores to settle with the Jin power: the Jin emperor in every possible way set envious and greedy nomadic neighbors against the Mongols, moreover, the Jin people captured one of the Mongol khans, Ambagai, and betrayed him painful execution. The Mongols harbored a thirst for revenge... The enemy was strong. The Chinese army far outnumbered the Mongol army, their soldiers were highly trained, and their cities were well fortified.

Genghis Khan understood that big war you need to prepare carefully and comprehensively. In order to lull the enemy's vigilance, the Mongols established “trade ties” with the Jin Empire. Needless to say, most of the Mongol "traders" were simply spies.

In the eyes of the Mongols, Genghis Khan tried to give the future campaign against the “Golden Kingdom” a special character. “Eternal Blue Sky” will lead troops to avenge the grievances caused to the Mongols,” he said.

In the spring of 1211, the Mongol army set out on a campaign. She had to travel about 800 kilometers to the Great Wall of China. A significant part of this route ran through eastern territory the Gobi desert, where in those days it was still possible to find water and food for horses. Numerous herds of cattle were brought after the army as food.

Genghis Khan was accompanied on the campaign by four sons: Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedei and Tuluy. The three eldest occupied command posts in the army, and the youngest was under his father, who directly commanded the center of the army, which consisted of 100,000 of the best Mongol warriors.

In addition to outdated war chariots with a harness of 20 horses, the Jin army had serious military weapons for those times: stone throwers, large crossbows, each of which required the strength of ten people to pull the bowstring, as well as catapults, each of which was operated with the help of 200 people.

The exact time of the appearance of gunpowder weapons is unknown. The Chinese used explosives as early as the 9th century. Perhaps the world's first gunpowder weapon was the Chinese bamboo musket, which appeared in 1132. It is known that in the wars with the Mongols, the Chinese developed the first combat missiles...

The Jin people used gunpowder both to construct landmines that were ignited by a drive, and to charge cast iron grenades that were thrown at the enemy using special catapults.

The Mongol commanders had to act far from sources of replenishment of supplies, in an enemy country, against superior forces, which, moreover, could quickly make up for losses.

But a huge advantage of the Mongols was their excellent awareness of both the enemy army and the country, achieved thanks to intelligence. Moreover, reconnaissance was not interrupted during military operations. Its main goal was to identify the most convenient site for capturing the Great Wall of China.

Genghis Khan successfully attacked the outer wall in a weakly defended area, 200 kilometers west of the shortest route. But the Mongols met the greatest resistance after they had already passed the outer wall.

In the first major battle after crossing the wall, the talented Mongol commander Jebe inflicted a heavy defeat on the Jin people, going to their rear. It was then that it became clear that the Mongols were familiar with the terrain almost better than the enemy. Meanwhile, the senior princes, who received from their father the task of capturing the cities in the north of Shanxi province in the bend yellow river, completed it successfully.

Thus, within just a few months, having broken the resistance of the enemy army and captured vast territories with a dozen fortified cities, the Mongols approached the “Middle Capital” of the state of Jin Yanjing. It was located near present-day Beijing and was the largest city in Asia. Its population was slightly inferior in size to the population of the current Chinese capital, and its huge towers and high walls could rival in their power any city in the world.

The panic sown by the Mongol troops in the suburbs of the capital greatly alarmed the emperor. All men capable of bearing arms were forcibly taken military service, and not a single person was allowed to leave the city on pain of death...

Genghis Khan understood that he was unlikely to be able to defeat this stronghold using primitive siege weapons. Therefore, not risking storming the city, in the fall of 1211 he withdrew the army back behind the Great Wall. Then, providing the most favorable conditions for service, and sometimes resorting to force, Genghis Khan created his own engineering corps, no less effective than in the armies of Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar. In 1212, Yanjing and a dozen of the strongest cities still continued to hold out. The Mongols took less fortified fortresses either by open force or by resorting to cunning. Sometimes, for example, they pretended to flee from under the walls, leaving a convoy with property. If the trick was successful, the Chinese garrison decided to launch a sortie and was subjected to a surprise attack...

In one of the battles near the walls of Yanjing, Genghis Khan was seriously wounded in the leg by an arrow. His army was forced to lift the blockade of the capital and retreat behind the Great Wall again.

In 1214, the Mongols again invaded the Jin borders. But this time they acted according to new scheme. Approaching fortified cities, they drove local peasants in front of them as human shields. The discouraged Chinese did not dare to shoot at their own people, and as a result they surrendered the city.

Genghis Khan ordered the destruction of many captured northern Chinese cities so that “the Mongol horses could never stumble in the place where the fortress walls stood.” But in the same year, 1214, the Mongol army had to face a new and much more terrible enemy - a pestilence that began to mercilessly mow down its ranks. The Chinese did not dare to attack even such an exhausted army. Moreover, the emperor offered Genghis Khan a large ransom and a princess of the imperial house as his wife. He agreed, and the Mongol army, fairly burdened with untold riches, was drawn back to its native land.

Genghis Khan returned to the capital Karakorum, leaving the commander Mukhali as his viceroy in the conquered regions, giving him the title “Guo-wan”, which in Chinese means “senior”, “venerable”, “sovereign of the district”, and instructing him to complete the conquest of the “Golden Kingdom" by the forces of a small detachment left under the command of Mukhali... Very little time passed, and in 1215 Genghis Khan again moved to the kingdom of Jin with three armies. Having completely defeated the enemy's ground forces, he besieged, captured and plundered Yanjing. Then Emperor Jin was forced to recognize the rule of the Mongol conqueror.

China In the 13th century

1348 The beginning of the uprisings in China
1356 × 1368
1356 × 1366
1368
1368 1644 Ming Dynasty in China
1368 × 1388
1372
1381
1388
1233
1234
1234 × 1279
1263
1268 × 1276
1276

China In the 14th century

1348 The beginning of the uprisings in China
1356 × 1368 Popular uprising in China, led by Zhu Yuan-chang. Directed against Mongol rule in China
1356 × 1366 Civil strife between the rebels. Zhu Yuan-chang becomes the sole leader of the rebels
1368 Flight of Togan-Timur to the steppe from Beijing. Founding of the Ming Dynasty in China
1368 1644 Ming Dynasty in China
1368 × 1388 War of the Ming Empire with the Mongols
1372 General Su Da's campaign against the Mongols. Destruction of Karakorum, the capital of the Mongols
1381 Fall of the last Mongol possession in China Yunnan
1388 The Ming defeated the Mongols at the Battle of the Kerulen River
1233 Subudai captured the Jin capital of Kaifeng. For the first time, the Mongols did not completely destroy the city. The merit of Yelu Chutsai, Khitan, advisor to Genghis Khan
1234 Attempt by the Song to divide the Jin with the Mongols. Ogedei refused partition. Song attempt to capture former Jin Province Henan. Beginning of the Mongol-Song War
1234 × 1279 War of the Mongols with the Song Empire
1263 Proclamation of Beijing as the capital of the Mongol Empire
1268 × 1276 Kublai Khan personally led the campaign against Song
1276 The fall of the Song capital of Hangzhou. Final capture of the Song by the Mongols
1279 Kublai Khan establishes the Yuan dynasty
1279 × 1368 Reign of the Yuan Dynasty in China
1290 Census in China. It amounted to about 59 million people

Facing West

For the next half century, the Mongols continued to fight in China. In the end, they managed to conquer not only the northern Jin Empire, but also the southern Song. In 1263 the official capital of the vast Mongolian state was moved from Karakorum to Beijing.

By 1279, the conquest of China was complete and it became part of the vast Mongol Empire. Kublai Khan, the first Mongol ruler of China, founded the ruling Yuan dynasty there. Even in its name, the Mongols did not fail to emphasize the universal nature of their power: “yuan” in Chinese means “the source of the universe.”

The Mongols, who imposed their own rules in China, despised both the Chinese way of life and their learning. They even abolished the traditional examinations for entry into the civil service, which now accepted almost only Mongols. The Chinese were forbidden to move at night, hold meetings, or study foreign languages and military affairs. As a result, numerous uprisings broke out here and there, and famine occurred. The Mongols won, but only temporarily. And it was in China that they absorbed many of the achievements of a rich and highly developed civilization, which they later used to conquer other peoples. During their reign, the Mongols never managed to destroy the Chinese state, although the pro-Mongol Yuan dynasty ruled in China for just over 150 years. The Chinese not only managed to free themselves from Mongol oppression, but also destroyed the capital of the invaders. The power of the new, truly Chinese Ming dynasty both on land and at sea became undeniable. Even distant Ceylon began to pay tribute to China. The Mongols were never able to regain past influence in the East.

Now their main interests are concentrated in the West, namely in Europe...

Chronology

1123 Battle of the Russians and Cumans with the Mongols on the Kalka River
1237 - 1240 Conquest of Rus' by the Mongols
1240 The defeat of the Swedish knights on the Neva River by Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich (Battle of the Neva)
1242 The defeat of the crusaders on Lake Peipsi by Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich Nevsky (Battle of the Ice)
1380 Battle of Kulikovo

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 did not exist in Mongolia centralized state, the union 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 it all northern part. From China, the Mongols brought the latest military equipment and specialists for that time. 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.

Polovtsy's request to help them against 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 Mongolian capital The Kara-Korum Kurultai gathered, 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 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. In that historical role 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 Ogedei's death in 1241, the majority supported the candidacy of Ogedei'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 struggle of the Russian people against Western aggression

When the Mongols occupied Russian cities, the Swedes, threatening Novgorod, appeared at the mouth of the Neva. They were defeated in July 1240 by the young prince Alexander, who received the name Nevsky for his victory.

At the same time, the Roman Church made acquisitions in the Baltic Sea countries. Back in the 12th century, German knighthood began to seize lands belonging to the Slavs beyond the Oder and in the Baltic Pomerania. At the same time, an attack was carried out on the lands of the Baltic peoples. The Crusaders' invasion of the Baltic lands and North-Western Rus' was sanctioned by the Pope and German Emperor Frederick II. German, Danish, Norwegian knights and troops from other countries also took part in the crusade. northern countries Europe. The attack on Russian lands was part of the doctrine of “Drang nach Osten” (pressure to the east).

Baltic states in the 13th century.

Together with his squad, Alexander liberated Pskov, Izborsk and other captured cities with a sudden blow. Having received news that the main forces of the Order were coming towards him, Alexander Nevsky blocked the path of the knights, placing his troops on the ice Lake Peipsi. The Russian prince showed himself to be an outstanding commander. The chronicler wrote about him: “We win everywhere, but we won’t win at all.” Alexander placed his troops under the cover of a steep bank on the ice of the lake, eliminating the possibility of enemy reconnaissance of his forces and depriving the enemy of freedom of maneuver. Considering the formation of the knights in a “pig” (in the form of a trapezoid with a sharp wedge in front, which was made up of heavily armed cavalry), Alexander Nevsky arranged his regiments in the form of a triangle, with the tip resting on the shore. Before the battle, some of the Russian soldiers were equipped with special hooks to pull knights off their horses.

On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi, which became known as the Battle of the Ice. The knight's wedge pierced the center of the Russian position and buried itself in the shore. The flank attacks of the Russian regiments decided the outcome of the battle: like pincers, they crushed the knightly “pig”. The knights, unable to withstand the blow, fled in panic. The Russians pursued the enemy, “flogged, rushing after him as if through the air,” the chronicler wrote. According to the Novgorod Chronicle, in the battle “400 Germans and 50 were captured”

Persistently resisting enemies Western Alexander was extremely patient with regard to the eastern onslaught. Recognition of the Khan's sovereignty freed his hands to repel the Teutonic crusade.

Tatar-Mongol yoke

Persistently resisting Western enemies, Alexander was extremely patient with regard to the eastern onslaught. The Mongols did not interfere in the religious affairs of their subjects, while the Germans tried to impose their faith on the conquered peoples. They pursued an aggressive policy under the slogan “Whoever does not want to be baptized must die!” Recognition of the Khan's sovereignty freed up forces to repel the Teutonic Crusade. But it turned out that the “Mongol flood” is not easy to get rid of. RThe Russian lands, devastated by the Mongols, were forced to recognize vassal dependence on the Golden Horde.

During the first period of Mongol rule, the collection of taxes and the mobilization of Russians into the Mongol troops was carried out on the orders of the Great Khan. Both money and recruits were sent to the capital. Under Gauk, Russian princes went to Mongolia to receive a label to reign. Later, a trip to Sarai was enough.

The continuous struggle waged by the Russian people against the invaders forced the Mongol-Tatars to abandon the creation of their own administrative authorities in Rus'. Rus' retained its statehood. This was facilitated by the presence in Rus' of its own administration and church organization.

To control the Russian lands, the institution of Baskaq governors was created - leaders of military detachments of the Mongol-Tatars who monitored the activities of the Russian princes. Denunciation of the Baskaks to the Horde inevitably ended either with the prince being summoned to Sarai (often he was deprived of his label, or even his life), or with a punitive campaign in the rebellious land. Suffice it to say that only in the last quarter of the 13th century. 14 similar campaigns were organized in Russian lands.

In 1257, the Mongol-Tatars undertook a population census - “recording the number.” Besermen (Muslim merchants) were sent to the cities, who were in charge of collecting tribute. The size of the tribute (“output”) was very large, only the “tsar’s tribute”, i.e. the tribute in favor of the khan, which was first collected in kind and then in money, amounted to 1,300 kg of silver per year. The constant tribute was supplemented by “requests” - one-time exactions in favor of the khan. In addition, deductions from trade duties, taxes for “feeding” the khan’s officials, etc. went to the khan’s treasury. In total there were 14 types of tribute in favor of the Tatars.

The Horde yoke slowed down the economic development of Rus' for a long time, destroyed its agriculture, and undermined its culture. The Mongol invasion led to a decline in the role of cities in the political and economic life of Rus', urban construction stopped, and visual arts and applied arts. Serious consequences The yoke was the deepening disunity of Rus' and the isolation of its individual parts. The weakened country was unable to defend a number of Western and southern regions, captured later by Lithuanian and Polish feudal lords. A blow was dealt to Rus''s trade relations with the West: trade relations with foreign countries preserved only in Novgorod, Pskov, Polotsk, Vitebsk and Smolensk.

The turning point came in 1380, when Mamai’s army of thousands was defeated on the Kulikovo Field.

Battle of Kulikovo 1380

Rus' began to strengthen, its dependence on the Horde weakened more and more. The final liberation occurred in 1480 under Emperor Ivan III. By this time the period had ended, the gathering of Russian lands around Moscow and.

In the 13th century, the Mongols built an empire with the largest contiguous territory in human history. It extended from Rus' to Southeast Asia and from Korea to the Middle East. Hordes of nomads destroyed hundreds of cities and destroyed dozens of states. The very name of the Mongolian founder became a symbol of the entire Medieval era.

Jin

The first Mongol conquests affected China. The Celestial Empire did not submit to the nomads right away. It is customary to distinguish three stages in the Mongol-Chinese wars. The first was the invasion of the state of Jin (1211-1234). That campaign was led by Genghis Khan himself. His army numbered one hundred thousand people. The Mongols were joined by the neighboring tribes of the Uyghurs and Karluks.

The city of Fuzhou in the north of Jin was the first to be captured. Not far from it in the spring of 1211 there was major battle near the Yehulin ridge. In this battle, the large professional Jin army was destroyed. Having won their first major victory, the Mongol army overcame the Great Wall - an ancient barrier built against the Huns. Once in China, it began to plunder Chinese cities. For the winter, the nomads retired to their steppe, but since then they have returned every spring for new attacks.

Under the blows of the steppe inhabitants, the Jin state began to collapse. Ethnic Chinese and Khitans began to rebel against the Jurchens who ruled this country. Many of them supported the Mongols, hoping with their help to achieve independence. These calculations were frivolous. Destroying the states of some peoples, the great Genghis Khan I had no intention of creating states for others. For example, the Eastern Liao that broke away from Jin lasted only twenty years. The Mongols skillfully made temporary allies. By dealing with their opponents with their help, they also got rid of these “friends.”

In 1215, the Mongols captured and burned Beijing (then called Zhongdu). For several more years, the steppe inhabitants acted according to the tactics of raids. After the death of Genghis Khan, his son Ogedei became Kagan (Great Khan). He switched to tactics of conquest. Under Ogedei, the Mongols finally annexed Jin to their empire. In 1234 last ruler of this state, Aizong committed suicide. The Mongol invasion devastated Northern China, but the destruction of Jin was only the beginning of the triumphal march of nomads across Eurasia.

Xi Xia

The Tangut state of Xi Xia (Western Xia) became next country which was conquered by the Mongols. Genghis Khan conquered this kingdom in 1227. Xi Xia occupied territories west of Jin. It controlled part of the Great silk road, which promised the nomads rich booty. The steppe inhabitants besieged and ravaged the Tangut capital Zhongxing. Genghis Khan died returning home from this campaign. Now his heirs had to finish the work of the founder of the empire.

Southern Song

The first Mongol conquests concerned states created by non-Chinese peoples on Chinese territory. Both Jin and Xi Xia were not Celestial in the full sense of the word. Ethnic Chinese in the 13th century controlled only the southern half of China, where the Southern Song Empire existed. The war with her began in 1235.

For several years the Mongols attacked China, exhausting the country with incessant raids. In 1238, the Song agreed to pay tribute, after which punitive raids ceased. A fragile truce was established for 13 years. The history of the Mongol conquests knows more than one such case. The nomads “made peace” with one country in order to concentrate on conquering other neighbors.

In 1251, Munke became the new Great Khan. He initiated a second war with the Song. Khan's brother Kublai was placed at the head of the campaign. The war continued for many years. The Song court capitulated in 1276, although the struggle of individual groups for Chinese independence continued until 1279. Only after this the Mongol yoke was established over the entire Celestial Empire. Back in 1271, Kublai Kublai founded She ruled China until mid-XIV century, when it was overthrown as a result of the Red Turban Rebellion.

Korea and Burma

On its eastern borders, the state created during the Mongol conquests began to neighbor Korea. A military campaign against her began in 1231. A total of six invasions followed. As a result of the devastating raids, Korea began to pay tribute to the Yuan state. The Mongol yoke on the peninsula ended in 1350.

At the opposite end of Asia, nomads reached the borders of the Pagan kingdom in Burma. The first Mongol campaigns in this country date back to the 1270s. Kublai delayed time after time decisive campaign against Pagan because of his own failures in neighboring Vietnam. In Southeast Asia, the Mongols had to fight not only with local peoples, but also with an unusual tropical climate. The troops suffered from malaria, which is why they regularly retreated to their native lands. Nevertheless, by 1287 the conquest of Burma was finally achieved.

Invasions of Japan and India

Not all wars of conquest that the descendants of Genghis Khan started ended successfully. Twice (the first attempt was in 1274, the second in 1281) Habilai tried to launch an invasion of Japan. For this purpose, huge flotillas were built in China, which had no analogues in the Middle Ages. The Mongols had no experience in navigation. Their armadas were defeated by Japanese ships. 100 thousand people took part in the second expedition to the island of Kyushu, but they also failed to win.

Another country not conquered by the Mongols was India. The descendants of Genghis Khan had heard about the riches of this mysterious region and dreamed of conquering it. The north of India at that time belonged to the Delhi Sultanate. The Mongols first invaded its territory in 1221. The nomads devastated some provinces (Lahore, Multan, Peshawar), but they did not reach the point of conquest. In 1235 they annexed Kashmir to their empire. At the end of the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Punjab and even reached Delhi. Despite the destructiveness of the campaigns, the nomads never managed to gain a foothold in India.

Karakat Khanate

In 1218, the hordes of Mongols, who had previously fought only in China, turned their horses to the west for the first time. Central Asia was on their way. Here, on the territory of modern Kazakhstan, was the Kara Khitai Khanate, founded by the Kara Khitans (ethnically close to the Mongols and Khitans).

This state was ruled by Genghis Khan's longtime rival Kuchluk. Preparing to fight him, the Mongols attracted some other Turkic peoples of Semirechye to their side. The nomads found support from the Karluk khan Arslan and the ruler of the city of Almalyk Buzar. In addition, they were helped by settled Muslims, whom the Mongols allowed to conduct public worship (which Kuchluk did not allow to do).

The campaign against the Karakitai Khanate was led by one of the main temniks of Genghis Khan, Jebe. He conquered all of Eastern Turkestan and Semirechye. Having been defeated, Kuchluk fled to the Pamir Mountains. There he was caught and executed.

Khorezm

Next Mongol conquest, in short, was only the first stage of the conquest of the entire Central Asia. Another large state, in addition to the Karakitai Khanate, was the Islamic kingdom of the Khorezmshahs, inhabited by Iranians and Turks. At the same time, it had nobility. In other words, Khorezm was a complex ethnic conglomerate. In conquering it, the Mongols skillfully took advantage of the internal contradictions of this major power.

Genghis Khan also established outwardly good neighborly relations with Khorezm. In 1215 he sent his merchants to this country. The Mongols needed peace with Khorezm to facilitate the conquest of the neighboring Karakitai Khanate. When this state was conquered, it was the turn of its neighbor.

The Mongol conquests were already known to the whole world, and in Khorezm they were wary of imaginary friendship with the nomads. The pretext for breaking off peaceful relations by the steppe inhabitants was discovered by chance. The governor of the city of Otrar suspected the Mongol merchants of espionage and executed them. After this thoughtless massacre, war became inevitable.

Genghis Khan launched a campaign against Khorezm in 1219. Emphasizing the importance of the expedition, he took all his sons with him on the journey. Ogedei and Chagatai went to besiege Otrar. Jochi led the second army, moving towards Jend and Sygnak. The third army targeted Khujand. Genghis Khan himself, together with his son Tolui, followed to the richest metropolis of the Middle Ages, Samarkand. All these cities were captured and plundered.

In Samarkand, where 400 thousand people lived, only one in eight survived. Otrar, Jend, Sygnak and many other cities of Central Asia were completely destroyed (today only archaeological ruins remain in their place). By 1223, Khorezm was conquered. The Mongol conquests covered a vast territory from the Caspian Sea to the Indus.

Having conquered Khorezm, the nomads opened up a further road to the west - on the one hand to Rus', and on the other to the Middle East. When the united Mongol Empire collapsed, the Hulaguid state arose in Central Asia, ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan's grandson Hulagu. This kingdom lasted until 1335.

Anatolia

After the conquest of Khorezm, the Seljuk Turks became the western neighbors of the Mongols. Their state, the Konya Sultanate, was located on the territory of modern Turkey on the peninsula. This area had other historical name- Anatoly. In addition to the Seljuk state, there were Greek kingdoms here - fragments that arose after the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders and the fall of Byzantine Empire in 1204.

The conquest of Anatolia was undertaken by the Mongolian temnik Baiju, who was the governor in Iran. He called on the Seljuk Sultan Kay-Khosrow II to recognize himself as a tributary of the nomads. The humiliating offer was rejected. In 1241, in response to the demarche, Baiju invaded Anatolia and approached Erzurum with an army. After a two-month siege, the city fell. Its walls were destroyed by catapult fire, and many residents died or were robbed.

Kay-Khosrow II, however, was not going to give up. He enlisted the support of the Greek states (Trebizond and Nicene empires), as well as the Georgian and Armenian princes. In 1243, the army of the anti-Mongol coalition met with the interventionists in the Kese-dage mountain gorge. The nomads used their favorite tactics. The Mongols, pretending to retreat, made a feint and suddenly counterattacked their opponents. The army of the Seljuks and their allies was defeated. After this victory, the Mongols conquered Anatolia. According to the peace treaty, one half of the Konya Sultanate was annexed to their empire, and the other began to pay tribute.

Near East

In 1256, Genghis Khan's grandson Hulagu led a campaign to the Middle East. The campaign lasted 4 years. This was one of the largest campaigns of the Mongol army. The first to be attacked by the steppe inhabitants was the Nizari state in Iran. Hulagu crossed the Amu Darya and captured Muslim cities in Kuhistan.

Having won the victory against the Khizarites, mongol khan turned his gaze to Baghdad, where Caliph Al-Musstatim ruled. The last monarch of the Abbasid dynasty did not have sufficient strength to resist the horde, but he self-confidently refused to submit peacefully to foreigners. In 1258, the Mongols laid siege to Baghdad. The invaders used siege weapons and then launched an assault. The city was completely surrounded and deprived of outside support. Two weeks later, Baghdad fell.

The capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, the pearl of the Islamic world, was completely destroyed. The Mongols showed no mercy unique monuments architecture, destroyed the academy, and threw the most valuable books into the Tigris. The plunder of Baghdad turned into a pile of smoking ruins. His fall symbolized the end of the medieval Golden Age of Islam.

After the Baghdad events, the Mongol campaign in Palestine began. In 1260, the Battle of Ain Jalut took place. The Egyptian Mamluks defeated the foreigners. The reason for the defeat of the Mongols was that the day before Hulagu, having learned about the death of Kagan Mongke, retreated to the Caucasus. In Palestine, he left the military commander Kitbuga with a small army, which was naturally defeated by the Arabs. The Mongols were unable to advance further into the Muslim Middle East. The border of their empire was fixed on the area between the Tigris and Euphrates.

Battle of Kalka

The first Mongol campaign in Europe began when the nomads, pursuing the fleeing ruler of Khorezm, reached the Polovtsian steppes. At the same time, Genghis Khan himself spoke about the need to conquer the Kipchaks. In 1220, an army of nomads came to Transcaucasia, from where they moved to the Old World. They devastated the lands of the Lezgin peoples on the territory of modern Dagestan. Then the Mongols first encountered the Cumans and Alans.

The Kipchaks, realizing the danger of uninvited guests, sent an embassy to the Russian lands, asking the East Slavic appanage rulers for help. Mstislav the Old (Grand Duke of Kiev), Mstislav Udatny (Prince of Galicia), Daniil Romanovich (Prince of Volyn), Mstislav Svyatoslavich (Prince of Chernigov) and some other feudal lords responded to the call.

The year was 1223. The princes agreed to stop the Mongols even before they could attack Rus'. During the gathering of the united squad, the Mongolian embassy arrived at the Rurikovichs. The nomads suggested that the Russians not stand up for the Polovtsians. The princes ordered the ambassadors to be killed and moved into the steppe.

Soon, the tragic Battle of Kalka took place on the territory of the modern Donetsk region. The year 1223 became a year of sadness for the entire Russian land. The coalition of princes and Polovtsians suffered a crushing defeat. The superior forces of the Mongols defeated the united squad. The Polovtsians, trembling under the onslaught, fled, leaving the Russian army without support.

At least 8 princes died in the battle, including Mstislav of Kiev and Mstislav of Chernigov. Many people lost their lives along with them. noble boyars. The Black Banner was the Battle of Kalka. The year 1223 could have been the year of a full-fledged invasion of the Mongols, but after a bloody victory, they decided that it was better to return to their native uluses. For several years in the Russian principalities nothing more was heard about the new formidable horde.

Volga Bulgaria

Shortly before his death, Genghis Khan divided his empire into zones of responsibility, each of which was headed by one of the sons of the conqueror. Ulus in Polovtsian steppes went to Jochi. He died prematurely, and in 1235, by decision of the kurultai, his son Batu began organizing a campaign to Europe. The grandson of Genghis Khan gathered a gigantic army and set off to conquer countries distant to the Mongols.

The first victim of the new invasion of nomads was Volga Bulgaria. This state, on the territory of modern Tatarstan, has been waging border wars with the Mongols for several years. However, until now the steppe inhabitants were limited to only small forays. Now Batu had an army of about 120 thousand people. This colossal army easily captured the main Bulgarian cities: Bulgar, Bilyar, Dzhuketau and Suvar.

Invasion of Rus'

Having conquered Volga Bulgaria and defeated its Polovtsian allies, the aggressors moved further to the west. Thus began the Mongol conquest of Rus'. In December 1237, the nomads found themselves on the territory of the Ryazan principality. His capital was taken and mercilessly destroyed. Modern Ryazan was built several tens of kilometers from Old Ryazan, on the site of which only a medieval settlement still stands.

The advanced army of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality fought with the Mongols in the battle of Kolomna. One of Genghis Khan’s sons, Kulhan, died in that battle. Soon the horde was attacked by a detachment of the Ryazan hero Evpatiy Kolovrat, who became a real national hero. Despite stubborn resistance, the Mongols defeated every army and took more and more cities.

At the beginning of 1238, Moscow, Vladimir, Tver, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and Torzhok fell. The small town of Kozelsk defended itself for so long that Batu, having razed it to the ground, nicknamed the fortress “the evil city.” In the Battle of the City River, a separate corps, commanded by Temnik Burundai, destroyed the united Russian squad led by the Vladimir prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, whose head was cut off.

Novgorod was luckier than other Russian cities. Having taken Torzhok, the Horde did not dare to go too far to the cold north and turned south. Thus, the Mongol invasion of Rus' fortunately bypassed the key trade and Cultural Center countries. Having migrated to southern steppes, Batu took a short break. He let the horses fatten and regrouped the army. The army was divided into several detachments that solved occasional problems in the fight against the Polovtsians and Alans.

Already in 1239, the Mongols attacked Southern Rus'. Chernigov fell in October. Glukhov, Putivl, and Rylsk were devastated. In 1240, nomads besieged and took Kyiv. Soon the same fate awaited Galich. Having plundered key Russian cities, Batu made the Rurikovichs his tributaries. Thus began the period of the Golden Horde, which lasted until the 15th century. The Vladimir Principality was recognized as the eldest inheritance. Its rulers received permits from the Mongols. This humiliating order was interrupted only with the rise of Moscow.

European campaign

The devastating Mongol invasion of Rus' was not the last for the European campaign. Continuing their journey to the west, the nomads reached the borders of Hungary and Poland. Some Russian princes (like Mikhail of Chernigov) fled to these kingdoms, asking for help from the Catholic monarchs.

In 1241, the Mongols took and plundered the Polish cities of Zavikhost, Lublin, and Sandomierz. Krakow was the last to fall. Polish feudal lords were able to enlist the help of the Germans and Catholic military orders. The coalition army of these forces was defeated at the Battle of Legnica. Prince Henry II of Krakow died in the battle.

The last country to suffer from the Mongols was Hungary. Having passed through the Carpathians and Transylvania, the nomads ravaged Oradea, Temesvar and Bistrita. Another Mongol detachment swept through Wallachia with fire and sword. The third army reached the banks of the Danube and captured the fortress of Arad.

All this time, the Hungarian king Bela IV was in Pest, where he was gathering an army. An army led by Batu himself went to meet him. In April 1241, two armies clashed in the Battle of the Shaino River. Béla IV was defeated. The king fled to neighboring Austria, and the Mongols continued to plunder Hungarian lands. Batu even made attempts to cross the Danube and attack the Holy Roman Empire, but ultimately abandoned this plan.

Moving west, the Mongols invaded Croatia (also part of Hungary) and sacked Zagreb. Their advanced detachments reached the shores of the Adriatic Sea. This was the limit of Mongol expansion. The nomads did not annex Central Europe to their power, content with prolonged plunder. The borders of the Golden Horde began to run along the Dniester.

If you remove all the lies from history, this does not mean at all that only the truth will remain - as a result, there may be nothing left at all.

Stanislav Jerzy Lec

The Tatar-Mongol invasion began in 1237 with the invasion of Batu's cavalry into the Ryazan lands, and ended in 1242. The result of these events was a two-century yoke. This is what the textbooks say, but in reality the relationship between the Horde and Russia was much more complicated. In particular, the famous historian Gumilyov speaks about this. In this material we will briefly consider the issues of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar army from the point of view of the generally accepted interpretation, and also consider controversial issues of this interpretation. Our task is not to offer fantasy on the topic of medieval society for the thousandth time, but to provide our readers with facts. And conclusions are everyone’s business.

Beginning of the invasion and background

For the first time, the troops of Rus' and the Horde met on May 31, 1223 in the battle of Kalka. The Russian troops were led by the Kiev prince Mstislav, and they were opposed by Subedey and Juba. The Russian army was not only defeated, it was actually destroyed. There are many reasons for this, but all of them are discussed in the article about the Battle of Kalka. Returning to the first invasion, it occurred in two stages:

1237-1238 - campaign against the eastern and northern lands of Rus'.
1239-1242 - a campaign against the southern lands, which led to the establishment of the yoke.

Invasion of 1237-1238

In 1236, the Mongols began another campaign against the Cumans. In this campaign they achieved great success and in the second half of 1237 they approached the borders of the Ryazan principality. The Asian cavalry was commanded by Khan Batu (Batu Khan), the grandson of Genghis Khan. He had 150 thousand people under his command. Subedey, who was familiar with the Russians from previous clashes, took part in the campaign with him.

Map of the Tatar-Mongol invasion

Ryazan fell at the end of December 1237. The siege lasted 6 days.
Moscow - fell in January 1238. The siege lasted 4 days. This event was preceded by the battle of Kolomna, where Yuri Vsevolodovich and his army tried to stop the enemy, but was defeated.
Vladimir - fell in February 1238. The siege lasted 8 days.

Invasion of 1239-1242

Mongol conquests (13th century)

The Kyiv that we know today no longer has anything in common with the ancient capital (except for its geographical location). After these events, the army of invaders split:

Some went to Vladimir-Volynsky.
Some went to Galich.

Having captured these cities, the Mongols went on a European campaign, but it interests us little.

Consequences of the Tatar-Mongol invasion of Rus'

Historians describe the consequences of the invasion of the Asian army into Rus' unambiguously:

The country was cut up and became completely dependent on the Golden Horde.
Rus' began to annually pay tribute to the victors (money and people).
The country has fallen into a stupor in terms of progress and development due to the unbearable yoke.

This list can be continued, but, in general, it all comes down to the fact that all the problems that existed in Rus' at that time were attributed to the yoke.

For example, it is absolutely incomprehensible and inexplicable how a nomadic people, who several decades ago lived in a tribal system, created a huge empire and conquered half the world. After all, when considering the invasion of Rus', we are considering only the tip of the iceberg. The Empire of the Golden Horde was much larger: from the Pacific Ocean to the Adriatic, from Vladimir to Burma. Giant countries were conquered: Rus', China, India... Neither before nor after has anyone been able to create a military machine that could conquer so many countries. But the Mongols were able...

The strangeness of the geography of Batu’s movement

Kyiv is one of the largest cities in Europe and the ancient capital of Rus'. The city was conquered by the Mongols and destroyed.
Novgorod is the largest trading city and the richest in the country (hence its special status). Didn't suffer from the invasion at all.
Smolensk is also a trading city and was considered equal in wealth to Kyiv. The city also did not see the Mongol-Tatar army.

Near Torzhok, Batu lost many soldiers and was afraid to go to Novgorod. This explanation could well be considered logical if not for one “but”. Since Batu lost a lot of his army, then he needs to leave Rus' to replenish the army or take a break. But instead, the khan rushes to storm Kozelsk. There, by the way, the losses were huge and as a result the Mongols hastily left Rus'. But why they didn’t go to Novgorod is unclear.
The Tatar-Mongols were afraid of the spring flooding of the rivers (this happened in March). Even in modern conditions, March in the north of Russia is not characterized by a mild climate and you can easily move around there. And if we talk about 1238, then that era is called by climatologists the Little Ice Age, when winters were much harsher than modern ones and in general the temperature was much lower (this is easy to check). That is, it turns out that in the era of global warming, Novgorod can be reached in March, but in the era of the Ice Age everyone was afraid of river floods.

Nomads never howl in winter

Charles 12 was unable to provide support for his army - he lost Poltava and the Northern War.
Napoleon was unable to organize supplies and left Russia with a half-starved army that was absolutely incapable of combat.
Hitler, according to many historians, managed to establish support only by 60-70% - he lost the Second World War.

So how much army did Dad have?

If there really were so many Mongols (200-400 thousand), then how could they feed themselves and their horses in the harsh Russian winter? The cities did not surrender to them peacefully in order to take food from them, most of the fortresses were burned.
If there were really only 30-50 thousand Mongols, then how did they manage to conquer Rus'? After all, every principality fielded an army of about 50 thousand against Batu. If there really were so few Mongols and they acted independently, the remnants of the horde and Batu himself would have been buried near Vladimir. But in reality everything was different.

We invite the reader to look for conclusions and answers to these questions on their own. For our part, we did the most important thing - we pointed out facts that completely refute the official version of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. At the end of the article, I would like to note one more important fact that the whole world has recognized, including official history, but this fact is hushed up and is rarely published. The main document by which the yoke and invasion were studied for many years is the Laurentian Chronicle. But, as it turned out, the truth of this document raises big questions. Official history admitted that 3 pages of the chronicle (which speak of the beginning of the yoke and the beginning of the Mongol invasion of Rus') have been changed and are not original. I wonder how many more pages from Russian history have been changed in other chronicles, and what really happened? But it is almost impossible to answer this question...

Mongol conquests in 13

The Mongol conquests in the 13th century, a series of major wars of conquest and individual campaigns organized by Mongol feudal lords with the aim of seizing military booty, enslaving and robbing the peoples of Asia and East. Europe. The Mongol feudal lords, having created a military organization, involved the majority of the people in wars of conquest. The main strength of their army was the numerous and very mobile cavalry, consisting of nomadic Arats. The Mongol feudal lords also used the military forces of the conquered countries and their technical advances(for example, siege weapons). The army had a unified command, strong discipline, was well armed and in its fighting qualities surpassed the feudal militias of neighboring countries. Successes M. z. contributed to internal strife and betrayal of the ruling elite in many Asian countries and of Eastern Europe.

M. z. began after the formation of the Mongol early feudal state led by Genghis Khan (reigned 1206-27) and continued with minor interruptions until the end of the 13th century. In 1207-11 the peoples of Siberia and Eastern Turkestan were subjugated: Buryats, Yakuts, Oirots, Kyrgyz, Uighurs; Campaigns were launched against the Tangut state of Xi-Xia (finally defeated by 1227). In 1211, an attack began on the Jurchen state of Jin (Northern China). Mongol troops destroyed about 90 cities and took Beijing (Yanjing) in 1215. By 1217, all the lands to the north of the river were conquered. Yellow River. In 1218, Mongol rule. feudal lords spread to Semirechye.

In 1219 Mongol. an army of over 150 thousand people. led by Genghis Khan invaded Central Asia. Khorezmshah Muhammad dispersed his army among fortified cities, which made it easier for the Mongols to conquer their possessions. Mongol troops took Otrar, Khojent, Urgench and other cities. Bukhara and Samarkand surrendered without a fight. Muhammad fled and soon died on one of the islands of the Caspian Sea. In 1221, the conquest of Central Asia was completed with the capture of Khorezm. Military operations were transferred to the territory of modern Afghanistan, where the son of the Khorezmshah, Jalal ad-din, continued the fight. Genghis Khan pursued him to the river. Indus and defeated on November 24, 1221. By 1225 the main Mongol army left for Mongolia. Only the 30,000-strong detachment of the Mongol commanders Jebe and Subadei continued the war in the west.

Through Northern Iran, the Mongol detachment broke into Transcaucasia, devastated part of Georgia and Azerbaijan, entered the lands of the Alans along the shores of the Caspian Sea (1222) and, having defeated them, entered the Polovtsian steppes. In the battle on the river. Kalka On May 31, 1223, a Mongol detachment defeated the united Russian-Polovtsian army and pursued it to the river. Dnieper, and then retreated to the middle Volga, but, having suffered defeat in Volga-Kama Bulgaria, returned to Mongolia (1224). This was a deep reconnaissance raid of the Mongol cavalry, preparing a future campaign to the west.

After the kurultai of 1229, which elected Ogedei as the Great Khan, M. z.

went in two directions. In East, the conquest of Northern China was completed (1231-34) and the war with Korea began (1231-32). Most of Korea was conquered by 1273 after a series of large campaigns by the Mongol army (1236, 1254, 1255, 1259). In 1229 AD Yaik approached Subedei with a 30,000-strong army. Together with the army of Batu, the ruler of the Juchi ulus, he managed to oust the Saxons and Polovtsians from the Caspian steppes. In 1232, the Mongol army tried to invade Volga-Kama Bulgaria, but was repulsed. The Bashkirs also continued to fight the conquerors. The offensive to the west by the forces of one ulus, Jochi, failed.

At the kurultai of 1235, it was decided to send the military forces of other uluses “to help and reinforce Batu.” 14 Chinggisid khans took part in the campaign, the all-Mongol army reached 150 thousand people. In the fall of 1236, the Mongol army again invaded Volga-Kama Bulgaria and defeated it; in the spring and summer of 1237 it continued to fight the Alans, Cumans and peoples of the Middle Volga region, and in the fall it concentrated in the area of modern Voronezh for a campaign against North-Eastern Rus'. At the beginning of the winter of 1237, Batu attacked the Ryazan principality and defeated the squads of local princes. On December 21, after a six-day assault, Ryazan fell. The heroism of the defenders of the Ryazan land is glorified in the legend about Evpatiy Kolovrat. In January 1238, near Kolomna, the Vladimir squads were defeated, trying to detain Batu at the borders of the Vladimir principality. The Mongol army destroyed Kolomna, Moscow and on February 4 besieged Vladimir. Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich “with a small squad” went beyond the Volga, to the river. Sit (a tributary of the Mologa), where he began to gather a new army. On February 5, a Mongol detachment ravaged Suzdal, and on February 7, after a fierce assault, Vladimir was taken. After this, Batu divided the army into several large detachments, which went along the main river routes to the north-east, north and north-west. and took 14 Russian cities in February 1238 (Rostov, Uglich, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kashin, Ksnyatin, Gorodets, Galich-Mersky, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev, Dmitrov, Volok-Lamsky, Tver, Torzhok). On March 4, the army of the Mongol commander Burundai surrounded and destroyed the grand ducal regiments on the river. City; Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich also died in this battle. The entire area between the Oka and Volga rivers was devastated by the Mongols. A small detachment of Mongol cavalry carried out a raid on S. and returned before reaching 100 km to Novgorod. When retreating to the steppe, the Mongol army marched in a wide front of small detachments, in a “round-up,” once again subjecting the Russian lands to devastation. Kozelsk put up stubborn resistance to the enemy, which the Mongol army besieged for 7 weeks, suffering big losses.

In the Polovtsian steppes (summer 1238 - autumn 1240), the Mongol army waged a protracted war with the Polovtsians and Alans, made campaigns in the Crimea, in the Mordovian land, where an uprising arose against the conquerors, in Pereyaslavl-South and Chernigov (1239). In the autumn of 1240, the campaign against Southern Rus' began. At the end of December, after a multi-day assault, Kyiv fell. Mongol troops took and destroyed Vladimir-Volynsky, Galich and other cities. However, Danilov, Kremenets and Kholm repelled all attacks of the Mongol army. In the spring of 1241 the Mongol army, although significantly weakened heroic resistance Russian people and other peoples of Eastern Europe, nevertheless passed further to the west.

Batu's main forces broke through the Carpathian passes into Hungary; the 60,000-strong army of King Bela IV was defeated in the Battle of Chaillot (April 11, 1241). The capital of Hungary, Pest, was taken and destroyed, a significant part of the country was devastated. Another Mongol detachment invaded Poland and defeated the militia of Polish and German princes near Legnica. Polish, Moravian and Slovak lands were devastated. Individual Mongol troops penetrated as far as Eastern Bohemia, but were repulsed by King Wenceslas I. At the end of 1241, all Mongol troops concentrated in Hungary, where masses continued the fight against the conquerors. Batu failed to gain a foothold in the Hungarian steppes for a further offensive, and he moved through Austria and Croatia to the Adriatic Sea. In the fall of 1242, after an unsuccessful siege of coastal fortresses, Batu began a retreat through Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria. The Mongol invasion of Central Europe is over.

M. z. were somewhat longer. in the west - in Asia Minor and the Middle East. After the conquest of Transcaucasia (1236), the Mongol army defeated the Rum Sultanate. In 1256, Hulagu conquered Iran and Mesopotamia, and in 1258 Baghdad, the capital of the Arab Caliphate, fell. Mongol troops penetrated Syria and prepared to invade Egypt, but in 1260 they were defeated by the Egyptian Sultan. M. z. on W. ended.

In the 2nd half of the 13th century. M. z. were aimed at countries in East and Southeast Asia. Mongol troops captured the countries surrounding the Southern Song Empire: the state of Dali (1252-53), Tibet (1253). In 1258 Mongol troops different sides invaded South China, but the unexpected death of the Great Khan Mongke (1259) delayed the conquest of the Southern Song Empire. Southern China was conquered by the new Great Khan Kublai Khan in 1267-79. In 1281, the Mongol feudal lords tried to conquer Japan by sending 1,000 ships with an army of 100,000 to its shores, but the fleet was destroyed by a typhoon. Expansion in Southeast Asia did not bring success to the Mongol feudal lords, although they used the Chinese army and navy on campaigns. Mongol-Chinese troops after several campaigns (1277 - twice, 1282, 1287) occupied Burma, but were soon expelled (1291). Mongol-Chinese troops and navy repeatedly attacked Vietnam (1257, 1258, 1284, 1285, 1287-88), but were unable to conquer the Vietnamese people. The state of Tyampu (in southeast Indochina) also defended its independence. The attempt to win Fr. ended in complete failure. Java, although they were sent there great forces(1000 ships with an army of 70 thousand).

M. z. ended with the campaign of 1300 to Burma. After this, the Mongol feudal lords stopped active military operations and moved on to the systematic exploitation of the conquered countries, using the Chinese management experience and the Chinese administration.

M. z. brought disaster to the peoples of Asia and Eastern Europe. They were accompanied mass destruction population, devastation of vast territories, destruction of cities, decline of agricultural culture, especially in areas of irrigated agriculture. M. z. delayed the socio-economic and cultural development countries that became part of the Mongol feudal empire.

Lit.: Tatar-Mongols in Asia and Europe. Sat. Art., M., 1970; Bartold V.V., Turkestan in the era of the Mongol invasion, Soch., vol. 1, M., 1963; Kargalov V.V., Foreign policy factors in the development of feudal Rus'. Feudal Rus' and nomads, M., 1967; Grekov B.D., Yakubovsky A.Yu., The Golden Horde and its fall, M. - L., 1950; Merpert N. Ya., Pashuto V. T., Cherepnin L. V., Genghis Khan and his legacy, "History of the USSR", 1962, No. 5.

V. V. Kargalov.

Mongol conquests in the 13th century

Mongol troops, united by Genghis Khan, conquered neighboring peoples - the Yenisei Kirghiz, Buryats, Yakuts and Uyghurs, defeated the civilization of Primorye, and by 1215 conquered Northern China.

Mongol conquests in the 13th century

Here, Mongol commanders adopted siege equipment from Chinese engineers to storm fortresses. In 1218, Genghis Khan's commanders conquered Korea, and the next year an army of 200,000 attacked the cities of Khorezm. During two years of fighting, the agricultural areas of Semirechye were turned into pastures, most of the inhabitants were destroyed, and artisans were taken into slavery. In 1221, Genghis Khan conquered all of Central Asia. After this campaign, Genghis Khan divided his huge power into uluses.

In the spring of 1223 A 30-thousandth detachment of Mongols led by Jebe and Subedei, passing along south coast Caspian Sea, invaded Transcaucasia. Having defeated the Armenian-Georgian army and devastated Georgia and Azerbaijan, the invaders broke through the Derbent Pass into the North Caucasus and defeated the Alans and Polovtsians.

The Mongol-Tatars were able to conquer states that were at the highest level of development because:

1) excellent organization of the army (decimal system)

2) borrowing military equipment among the Chinese

3) large number of troops

4) well-organized intelligence

5) harshness towards resisting cities (they destroyed rebellious cities, burned, destroyed, and the inhabitants were either taken captive (artisans, women, children) or exterminated). Consequently, the cities surrendered voluntarily.

6) psychological factors (use of sound elements).

Battle of Kalka (1223)

The Polovtsians, led by Khan Kotyan, centuries-old enemies of Rus', turned to the Russian princes for help against the Mongol-Tatars. On the initiative of Mstislav Mstislavich the Udaly (Galician prince, was married to the daughter of Khan Kotyan), at the congress of South Russian princes in Kyiv, it was decided to come to the aid of the Polovtsians. A large Russian army, led by the three strongest princes of Southern Rus': Mstislav Romanovich of Kyiv, Mstislav Svyatoslavich of Chernigov and Mstislav Mstislavovich of Galitsky, entered the steppe. In the lower reaches of the Dnieper it united with the Polovtsian forces. May 31, 1223 near Sea of Azov, a battle took place on the Kalka River in which the Russian-Polovtsian army, as a result of uncoordinated actions and internal princely strife, was defeated: While the squads of Mstislav the Udal, Daniil of Volyn and some other princes, with the support of the Polovtsian cavalry, rushed towards the enemy, Mstislav of Kiev stood with his forces on one of the hills and did not participate in the battle. The Mongols managed to withstand the blow and then went on the offensive. The Polovtsians were the first to be defeated, fleeing from the battlefield. This put the Galician and Volyn armies in a difficult situation. The Mongols broke the resistance of the Russians.

Now it was the turn of the most powerful part of the Russian army - the Kyiv army. The Mongols failed in their attempt to take the Russian camp by storm, and then they resorted to cunning. Jebe and Subede promised Mstislav of Kyiv and other princes peace and passage of their troops to their homeland. When the princes opened their camp and left it, the Mongols rushed at the Russian squads. All Russian soldiers were captured.

During the battle on Kalka, 6 princes died, only every tenth of the warriors returned. The Kyiv army alone lost about 10 thousand people. This defeat turned out to be one of the most difficult in history for Rus'.

Batu's invasion of Rus'

In 1227, the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, died. The ulus of the eldest son of Jochi, who died in the same year as his father, reached the grandson of the conqueror - Batu Khan (Batu). It is this ulus, located west of the river. The Irtysh was supposed to become the main springboard for the conquest to the West.

In 1235 at the next kurultai Mongol nobility In Karakorum, a decision was made on an all-Mongol campaign to Europe. The strength of the Jochi ulus alone was not enough. Therefore, troops of other Chinggisids were sent to help Batu. Batu himself was placed at the head of the campaign, and the experienced commander Subedei was appointed as an adviser.

The offensive began in the autumn of 1236, and a year later Mongol conquerors conquered Volga Bulgaria, as well as the Polovtsian hordes that wandered between the Volga and Don rivers.

Late autumn 1237 Batu's main forces concentrated in the upper reaches of the river. Voronezh for the invasion of North-Eastern Rus'. In Rus' they knew about the terrible danger, but princely strife prevented them from uniting forces to repel a strong and treacherous enemy. There was no unified command. City fortifications were erected to defend neighboring Russian principalities, and not from steppe nomads. The princely cavalry squads were not inferior to the Mongol noyons and nukers in terms of armament and fighting qualities. But the bulk of the Russian army was the militia - urban and rural warriors, inferior to the Mongols in weapons and combat skills.

The defeat of Ryazan

The first principality to be mercilessly devastated was the Ryazan land. The sovereign Russian princes had nothing to oppose to this invasion. Princely feuds did not allow the united forces of Vladimir and Chernigov princes They refused to help Ryazan. Approaching the Ryazan land, Batu demanded from the Ryazan princes a tenth “of everything that is in your land.”

In the hope of reaching an agreement with Batu, the Ryazan prince sent an embassy to him with rich gifts, which was headed by the prince's son Fedor. Having accepted the gifts, the khan put forward humiliating and arrogant demands: in addition to the huge tribute, he should give the prince’s sisters and daughters as wives to the Mongolian nobility. And for himself personally, he set his sights on the beautiful Eupraksinya, Fedor’s wife. The prince responded with a decisive refusal and, together with the ambassadors, was sentenced to painful execution. And the princess, together with her little son, so as not to fall to the conquerors, threw herself down from the bell tower. The Ryazan army went against Batu, and “met him near the Ryazan borders.” The battle was very difficult, twelve times the Russian squad came out of the encirclement, “one Ryazan man fought with a thousand, and two with darkness (ten thousand),” as the chronicle writes about this battle. But Batu had a great superiority in strength, and the Ryazan people suffered heavy losses. It was the turn of the fall of Ryazan. Ryazan held out for five days, on the sixth day, on the morning of December 21, it was taken. The entire city was destroyed and all the inhabitants were exterminated. The Mongol-Tatars left only ashes behind them. The Ryazan prince and his family also died. The surviving inhabitants of the Ryazan land gathered a squad (about 1,700 people), led by Evpatiy Kolovrat. They caught up with the enemy in Suzdal and began to wage guerrilla warfare against him, inflicting heavy losses on the Mongols.

The defeat of the Vladimir principality

Having ravaged the Ryazan land, in January 1238. Mongol invaders defeated the Grand Duke's guard regiment of the Vladimir-Suzdal land near Kolomna, led by the son of the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich.

The population of Moscow, led by governor Philip Nyanka, offered strong resistance to the enemy for 5 days. After being captured by the Mongols, Moscow was burned and its inhabitants were killed.

Then the Mongols captured Suzdal and a number of other cities.

On February 4, 1238, Batu besieged Vladimir. His troops covered the distance from Kolomna to Vladimir (300 km) in a month. On the fourth day of the siege, the invaders broke into the city through gaps in the fortress wall next to the Golden Gate. The princely family and the remnants of the troops locked themselves in the Assumption Cathedral. The Mongols surrounded the cathedral with trees and set it on fire. After the capture of Vladimir, the hordes of conquerors scattered throughout the Vladimir-Suzdal land, plundering and destroying everything in their path. (14 cities were destroyed)

March 4, 1238 beyond the Volga, on the river. City, a battle took place between the main forces of North-Eastern Rus' led by the Grand Duke Vladimirsky Yuri Vsevolodovich and the Mongol invaders. The Russian army was defeated, and the Grand Duke himself died.

After taking the "suburb" Novgorod land- Torzhok opened the road to North-Western Rus' before the conquerors. However, the approach of the spring thaw and significant human losses forced the Mongols, not reaching Veliky Novgorod about 100 versts, to turn back to the Polovtsian sepia. On the way, they defeated Kursk and the small town of Kozelsk on the river. Zhizdre. The defenders of Kozelsk offered fierce resistance to the enemy, defending themselves for seven weeks. After its capture in May 1238. Batu ordered to wipe this “ evil city", and exterminate the remaining inhabitants without exception.

Summer 1238 Batu spent time in the Don steppes, restoring the strength of his army. However, already in the fall, his troops again devastated the Ryazan land, capturing Gorkhovets, Murom and several other cities. In the spring of the next year, 1239, Batu’s troops defeated the Pereyaslav principality, and in the fall the Chernigov-Seversk land was devastated.

Invasion of Southwestern Rus'

In the autumn of 1240 Mongol armies moved to conquer Western Europe through Southern Rus'. In September they crossed the Dnieper and surrounded Kyiv. After long siege December 6, 1240 the city fell. The South Russian princes were never able to organize a united defense of their lands. Winter 1240 - 1241 Mongolian tumens captured almost all the cities of Southern Rus', with the exception of Kholm, Kamenets and Danilov.

Batu's campaign against Europe

After the defeat of Rus', the Mongol hordes moved towards Europe. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the Balkan countries were devastated. The Mongols reached the borders of the German Empire and reached the Adriatic Sea. However, at the end of 1242 they suffered a series of setbacks in the Czech Republic and Hungary. From distant Karakorum came news of the death of the great Khan Ogedei, the son of Genghis Khan. This was a convenient excuse to stop the difficult hike. Batu turned his troops back to the east. Decisive world-historical role in saving European civilization from Mongol hordes played a heroic struggle against them, the Russians and other peoples of our country, who took the first blow of the invaders. In fierce battles in Rus', the best part of the Mongol army died. The Mongols lost their offensive power. They could not help but take into account the liberation struggle that unfolded in the rear of their troops. A. S. Pushkin rightly wrote: “Russia had a great destiny: its vast plains absorbed the power of the Mongols and stopped their invasion at the very edge of Europe... the resulting enlightenment was saved by torn Russia.”

Upon his return in 1243. Batu formed the westernmost ulus - the state of the Golden Horde with its capital Sarai-Batu. The state created by Batu occupied a vast territory: from the Siberian rivers Irtysh and Ob in the east to the Carpathians and Danube in the West and from the Caspian steppes and Caucasus Mountains- in the south to the black earth strip and the upper reaches of the Volga and Kama - in the north.