What major cities captured Batu. Batu's invasion of Russia

No matter how the legendary Mongol ruler Genghis Khan tried to conquer the whole world, he did not succeed. But the founder of a vast empire had a worthy heir. Khan Batuy continued the work of his great grandfather, leading the troops of the Horde in the western campaigns.
It was he who conquered the Polovtsy, the Volga Bulgars, the Russians, and then moved his army to Poland, Hungary, the Balkan countries, the cities of Central Europe. The Golden Horde owes its flourishing and power to a large extent to the military talent of Batu Khan and his far-sighted policy.

Illustrious Mentor

Genghis Khan (between 1155 and 1162 - 1227) had an eldest son - Jochi. He inherited the richest and most promising lands in terms of future conquests - the part of the empire located to the west of the Irtysh. That is, the future Golden Horde or Ulus Jochi, as the Mongols themselves called this territory.

Towards the end of his life, Genghis Khan realized that he simply would not have time to realize his grandiose plan to take over the whole world. But he hoped for the heirs: they were supposed to surpass the great glory of Alexander the Great, whom the inhabitants of Asia considered a god for many centuries.

However, Genghis Khan would not have been great if he had relied only on Providence. This prudent man was accustomed to trust only himself and his closest associates - the generals loyal to him, among whom were real geniuses of military affairs. The most respected among the military elite and a devoted associate of the ruler - practically the second person in the Horde after Genghis Khan himself - was Subedei-bagatur (1176-1248). It was to him that the ruler entrusted an important mission: to prepare the future successor.

Subedei (Subudai - depends on the pronunciation) was the man without whom the Mongols could not have conquered half the world. The son of a simple blacksmith from the Uriankhai tribe went down in history as one of the greatest military strategists of all times and peoples. Suffice it to say that Napoleon Bonaparte highly valued his unconditional military talent. The commander was highly respected in the Horde, the army unlimitedly trusted him. Subedei-bagatur also used his authority in politics.

Why, when determining the future conqueror, Genghis Khan chose the young Batu, and not his older brother Ordu-Ichin (Ordu-Eugene) or one of the other heirs? Now it is difficult to unequivocally answer this question. Of course, the sons of Jochi, who had never been personally interested in military affairs, had priority. Maybe Orda-Ichin was not the right age for training, so Subedei-bagatur became a mentor to Batu, who was born between 1205 and 1209 - exact date medieval chronicles do not indicate.

As history has shown, the mentor coped with his task, preparing the great commander and ruler.

Choice between heirs

It so happened that in 1227 Batu lost both his father and grandfather. The circumstances of both deaths are rather controversial, with some historians suggesting that the rulers were poisoned, as the throne of a vast empire is too big a stake to worry about family ties. A fierce struggle for the throne began in the Horde. The sons of Genghis Khan and his numerous grandchildren disputed vast possessions from each other.

The throne of the empire was occupied by Ogedei (Ogedei), one of the younger brothers of Jochi Khan. And promising lands in the west went to Batu. The Mongolian army, famous in battles, unconditionally recognized this young man its new leader, of course, with the direct support of the authoritative Subedei-bagatur.

However, Batu's elder brother, Orda-Ichin, did not lose out. He received most Ulusa Jochi: all the rich eastern lands, including the cities of Central Asia. But Batu, who shared the western part of his father's possessions with his younger brothers, still had to conquer his empire.

In 1235, a nationwide kurultai (congress of official representatives of all uluses) was held in Mongolia. The tribal nobility and the army elite decided to resume aggressive campaigns in the western direction. This responsible task was entrusted to Batu, and the aforementioned Subedei-bagatur was appointed by him. right hand. famous commander participated in all the battles of Genghis Khan, he also accompanied Batu in new campaigns.

Successful commander

The Great Western Campaign of the Mongols began in 1236. He was joined by the troops of Batu's cousins ​​- Munke, Guyuk and other descendants of Genghis Khan. First, the Polovtsians were defeated, then the Volga Bulgaria was forcibly annexed to the empire.

Fragmented into feudal allotments, Russia was also unable to repulse the invaders. The squads of princes simply went out "for a fair fight" in an open field, as they used to - according to the rules of military affairs of Eastern Europe. The Mongols acted quite differently. They attacked with light cavalry, disorienting and gradually exhausting opponents, shooting from bows, hiding behind shelters. Batu valued his experienced and trained troops, who were well equipped. Captured Chinese engineers built for the Mongolian army unprecedented mechanisms for that time - wall-beating guns, with which it was possible to throw stones weighing up to 150-160 kg for several hundred meters. Fortress walls were destroyed by such machines.

The military strategy of Batu was unusual for the inhabitants of European countries. His troops could also attack in the middle of the night to achieve the effect of surprise. The Mongolian army moved quickly, sought to completely destroy the enemy army in order to prevent the enemy from regrouping for a new strike.

Ryazan and Vladimir fell in 1238, Kyiv in 1240. After the conquest of Russia, the troops of Guyuk and Mongke returned back to Mongolia. Further advance to the west was exclusively the initiative of Batu himself. His army captured Alania, Poland, Moravia, Silesia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Dalmatia. In 1242, Batu's troops ended up in Saxony, but were soon forced to turn back. The news of the death of Khan Ogedei and the convening of the next kurultai reached them. The army returned back and settled in the Lower Volga region.

Skillful Politician

The supreme power in the empire went to Guyuk, Batu's cousin, with whom he did not have a relationship. A new struggle for the throne began, internecine strife reached unprecedented heights.

Offended by Batu's disobedience, in 1248 Guyuk, together with his army, went to the Lower Volga to severely punish his relative. But in the region of Samarkand, the supreme ruler of the empire suddenly died. There were rumors that he was poisoned political opponents although no one has proven anything.

Meanwhile, Batu firmly settled on his lands, around 1250 on the territory of the modern Astrakhan region, he founded the capital of the Golden Horde - the city of Sarai-Batu. Huge conquests gave impetus to the development of the state, looted goods and captured slaves contributed to the economic recovery. Rich gifts from vassals who fought for the favor of the commander served as the beginning of legendary wealth. And where there is money, there is power, influence, and recruits ready to join the victorious army.

Other descendants of Genghis Khan had to reckon with the great conqueror. In 1251, Batu was proposed to become the next ruler of the empire at kurultai. But he refused such an honor, he was more interested in strengthening his own state. Then the throne was taken by Munke, a cousin loyal to Batu. However, in order to support his protege, the ruler of the Golden Horde was forced to send troops to Mongolia.

Batu always demonstrated his obedience to Munch, although in fact he decided everything personally. Maintain political influence by skillfully winning over the right people, the ruler of the Golden Horde has always been helped by an extensive network of spies. And if one of the Russian princes thought of organizing resistance, the punitive detachments of the Horde managed to do it earlier. For example, in 1252, the troops of the Vladimir prince Andrei Yaroslavich and Daniil Romanovich Galitsky were defeated. But Batu favored Alexander Nevsky, obviously appreciated him as a military leader and strategist.

One way or another, the great conqueror died in 1255. Some sources say that he was poisoned, according to others - the Khan was overcome by rheumatism. Both the eldest son of Batu, whose name was Sartak, and his grandson Ulagchi soon left this world under very suspicious circumstances. And power in the Golden Horde was seized by Berke, one of the younger brothers of the late ruler, another son of Jochi Khan.

TO historical heritage Batu, as well as the conquests of Genghis Khan, can be treated differently. Being a skilled politician and strategist, possessing the unconditional talent of a military leader, the first ruler of the Golden Horde was a cruel, power-hungry and prudent man. Like his legendary grandfather.

Svyatoslav, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, gave rise to the family of the princes of Chernigov, after his son Oleg they were called Olgovichi, the younger Oleg son Yaroslav became the ancestor of the princes of Ryazan and Murom. Yuri Igorevich, Prince of Ryazan, was appointed to reign by Yuri Vsevolodovich, whom he revered "in the place of his father." Ryazan land, the first of the Russian lands, Yuri Igorevich, the first of the Russian princes, had to meet Batu's invasion.

In December 1237, the rivers became. On the Sura, a tributary of the Volga, on Voronezh, a tributary of the Don, Batu's troops appeared. Winter opened the way on the ice of the rivers in the support of North-Eastern Russia.

Ambassadors from Batu arrived to the Ryazan prince. As if the wife-sorceress and with her two messengers. It is difficult to say what this strange embassy meant and what it was authorized to do. Even more provocative were the demands of tithes from everything that the Ryazan land has: tithes from princes, from ordinary people, tithes from white, black, brown, red and piebald horses. It could be said in advance that such demands are unacceptable. Most likely it was intelligence.

Yuri Igorevich, together with other princes of the Ryazan land, replied: "When none of us is left, then everything will be yours."

The resolute answer of the Ryazan prince did not mean at all that he underestimated the danger of the invasion. Kalka was not forgotten, Batu's campaigns against the Bulgars and the Polovtsy were known. Yuri Igorevich hastened to send for help to Vladimir to Yuri Vsevolodovich and to Chernigov to his relatives.

It is very easy to explain everything by feudal fragmentation, inter-princely enmity, princely disagreement. Of course, inter-princely strife was very significant. However, one should not lose sight of the purely military aspects of the problem.

Yury Vsevolodovich put Yury Igorevich on the reign. He would have to defend the Ryazan land. How? Where? Hastily, by winter routes, transfer the Novgorod and Suzdal regiments to Ryazan, shielding it with your back? To withdraw princely squads against an unknown and powerful enemy in an open field, far from cities, the walls of which could serve as protection? A tried and tested remedy for Polovtsian raids was to sit out in city fortresses.

The same thoughts could not but take possession of the Chernigov prince. There was also the calculation that in winter the Mongol-Tatar cavalry would not dare to invade because of starvation.

Yuri Igorevich meanwhile made efforts of a diplomatic nature. He sent an embassy led by his son Fedor with gifts to Batu. Strong, to know, was the confidence of the Russian princes that Batu would not dare to storm cities and fortresses.

How strange the embassy of the "enchantress" was, just as defiantly mocking was Batu's answer to the embassy of Prince Fyodor. The tale of the ruin of Ryazan by Batu, written in the 13th century, tells that Batu, having demanded Russian wives and daughters for himself, announced to Fedor: “Give me, prince, to see your beauty.” The Ryazan ambassador had no choice but to answer: “It is not useful for us Christians, you, the impious king, to lead your wives to fornication. If you overcome us, then you will begin to rule over our wives.

Perhaps this conversation is just a legend, but it conveys the essence of events correctly. Prince Fedor was killed in the camp of Batu. The invasion could have begun without these impudent verbiage, but Batu had to tease the Russian princes, call them out of the cities into the open field.

It has not yet been established: did Yuri Igorevich go out to meet Batu with the Ryazan army, or did only his watchman meet with the Mongol-Tatars in the field? Chronicle reports are contradictory. There is evidence that the Ryazan army, led by Yuri Igorevich, went out to meet Batu almost to the Voronezh River. But this is in conflict with the news that Yuri Igorevich defended the city and was captured in Ryazan. Perhaps the preserved names of villages near Staraya Ryazan along the banks of the Pronya, where it flows into the Oka, will help us.

A few kilometers from Staraya Ryazan, up the Oka, not far from the confluence of the Prony River, lies the village of Zasechye. Up the Pronya is the village of Dobry Sot. Below Zasechya on a high mountain is the village of Ikonino. Village names can sometimes provide unexpected clues to ancient events. Around Staraya Ryazan, whatever the name of a village or a village, everything has a meaning. Below Staraya Ryazan are the villages of Shatrishche and Isady.

Note that local residents usually keep in their memory from generation to generation the ancient traditions of their native places. So, they say that Zasechye village was named in memory of the battle between Batu and Ryazan. Where the ambush of the Ryazans stood, Good Sot, at Shatrishch, Batu pitched his tents, enclosing Ryazan, where Isady landed on the banks of the Oka.

But such a direct interpretation is not always accurate. "Zaseki", "Zaseche" - the name is familiar to the Oka places. It was by no means always associated with the place of the battle. A notch is a forest blockage on the path of the Horde cavalry. If we trace the path of Batu from the lower reaches of Voronezh, then he will lead us along the rivers to Pronya above Zasechya. Having set foot on the Prony ice, it was necessary to move along the river to Ryazan.

It is likely that the banks of the Oka near the capital city of the Ryazan Principality were already cleared of forests even then. On the right bank, where the city stood, there were arable lands, on the low left bank, on the Prince's Meadow, horses grazed. And the banks of the Pronya, of course, were covered with forest. This forest was "spotted" in order to block the way to Ryazan for the aliens.

Usually the enemy was met in front of the notch in order to be able to retreat behind the barrier. Good Sot is above Zasechya-Zaseki. This is most likely an indication that Batu met the prince's cavalry squad there. His foot soldiers could stand behind the notch, on the mountain, putting up banners and icons. Hence the name of the village of Ikonino and the mountain - Ikoninskaya.

It is very doubtful that the Ryazan prince, having not received help from Yuri Vsevolodovich, decided to go to meet a formidable enemy in Voronezh. But, of course, he tried to fight under the walls of the city. The mouth of the Pronya, the Iconinskaya mountain and the forest for the notch are the only possible place for such a battle. Then it is understandable why Yuri Igorevich was able, after the defeat, to run with the remnants of his squad to the city. For, judging by the time it took Batu to take it, the city was defended not only by civilians, but also by soldiers.

Here it is appropriate to touch on the issue of the size of the Mongol-Tatar army that invaded Russia in December 1237. Unfortunately, military historians have not dealt with this issue. We will not find reliable indications in the sources. Russian chronicles are silent, European eyewitnesses and Hungarian chronicles number Batu's army, which took Kiev and invaded Europe, at more than half a million. In pre-revolutionary historiography, the figure of 300,000 was quite arbitrarily established.

Reasoning about the number of troops that came to Russia in 1237 was usually based on the mobilization capabilities of the empire of Genghis Khan. Neither the time of year, nor the geography of the area, nor the possibility of movement of large military masses along winter routes was taken into account. Finally, the real need for forces to defeat North-Eastern Russia was not taken into account, the mobilization capabilities of North-Eastern Russia were not weighed. They usually referred to the fact that the Mongolian horse could get food from under the snow, but at the same time they lost sight of the difference in the snow cover of the steppes in the far south and in the region of Ryazan - Vladimir - Tver and Novgorod. No one paid attention to the problem of managing an army of half a million or several hundred thousand soldiers in the Middle Ages.

It is very easy to show by calculations that in a hike along winter roads an army of 300 thousand soldiers was to stretch for hundreds of kilometers. The Mongol-Tatars never went on a campaign without clockwork horses. They didn’t even go “about two horses”, like Russian squads, each warrior had at least three clockwork horses. A million horses winter conditions on the lands of North-Eastern Russia it was impossible to feed, and half a million - impossible, there was nothing to feed even three hundred thousand horses.

No matter how undemanding a Mongol warrior might be in our minds on a campaign, it did not last ten days or even a month, but from December to April, five months. The rural people, accustomed to the Polovtsian raids, knew how to hide food. Cities went to the invaders in the fire, not cities, but ashes. You can’t live on a piece of dried meat and mare’s milk for six months, especially since mares are not milked in winter.

The question of the possible number of Russian troops that could resist the invasion remained just as unclear. Until M.N. Tikhomirov’s research on Russian cities of the 13th century, equally legendary numbers migrated from one historical monograph to another, as in determining the number of Batu’s troops. M. N. Tikhomirov came to the conclusion that such cities as Novgorod, Chernigov, Kyiv, Vladimir-Suzdal and Vladimir-Volynsky, numbered from 20 to 30 thousand inhabitants. This gave them the opportunity in case of extreme danger to put up from 3 to 5 thousand soldiers. The cities of North-Eastern Russia, such as Rostov, Pereyaslavl, Suzdal, Ryazan, in terms of the number of inhabitants, could not be compared with Novgorod and Kiev. According to M.N. Tikhomirov, the number of their inhabitants rarely exceeded 1000 people.

There is reason to believe that Batu and his temniks had fairly accurate information about the state of Russian fortresses, the size of the urban population, and the mobilization capabilities of North-Eastern Russia. 300 thousand soldiers were not required. For the Middle Ages, even an army of several tens of thousands of horsemen was a huge force capable of spreading over all the cities of North-Eastern Russia, possessing an undeniable superiority at every point of application of forces.

Based on considerations of a geographical, demographic and military nature, it can be assumed that Batu brought to Russia from 30 to 40 thousand horsemen. This army, and even in the absence of the unity of the Russian forces, had nothing to oppose.

It is very doubtful that the Ryazan prince Yuri Igorevich with his son Fedor and all his relatives from the Ryazan cities could gather an army of at least five thousand soldiers. With such a ratio, neither notches nor ambushes could change the outcome of the case. The only defense for the Russian land was the courage of its soldiers. The steadfastness of the people of Ryazan, their stubborn resistance, their entry into the field, the defense of the city for seven days must be paid tribute.

The beginning of the campaign was marked by the first failure for Batu. The defeat in the open field of all Russian forces did not take place. The seven-day assault on Ryazan, the losses in manpower should have affected.

By defiant embassy and the murder of Prince Fyodor, Batu wanted to call into the field not only the Ryazans, but also the Vladimir prince, hoping to destroy all Russian troops in one decisive battle in the field so that the cities would remain defenseless, because he could not help but be worried about the loss of manpower during the assault and delay of the trip.

If we consider the current strategic situation, we will have to admit that if Yuri Vsevolodovich with the Novgorod regiments, and with him Mikhail of Chernigov, hastened to help the Ryazan principality, they would only play into the hands of Batu. Russia could offer real resistance to the Mongol-Tatar army only if it were a state with a regular army.

On December 16, Batu laid siege to Ryazan and took it after a fierce six-day attack. This puff made it possible for many Ryazan residents to go beyond the Oka to the Meshchersky forests and escape. Batu did not go through the Oka to the Meshchersky forests, and did not go to Murom either. He moved to ravage the cities along the Pron. He ruined Pronsk, and Belogorod, Izheslavl, Borisov-Glebov since then disappeared forever.

Note for the future. One hundred and forty-three years later, going out to meet Mamai, the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich (Donskoy) left the borders of the Ryazan land, left Ryazan behind his back, and thereby split the possible alliance of Ryazan with the Horde.

Just as one hundred and forty-three years later, the Ryazan prince Oleg could not leave his city, withdraw his troops to the Oka under the protection of the Moscow fortresses of Kolomna and Serpukhov, so during the Batu invasion, Yuri Igorevich could not leave Ryazan and withdraw his troops to unite with Yuri Vsevolodovich. The Ryazan prince fulfilled his duty as a defender of the Russian land, as far as he could. He was killed, like many other princes. His brother Ingvar Igorevich, who at that time was with Mikhail of Chernigov, and his nephew Oleg Ingvarevich survived. He was taken prisoner during the battle on the outskirts of the city.

In front of Batu lay several roads into the depths of the Vladimir-Suzdal land. Down the Oka through Murom to Nizhny, from the Oka to Klyazma and Vladimir. Not far from Ryazan, the river Pra, meandering with lacustrine overflows, flowed into the Oka. It originated not far from Vladimir and flowed through the Meshchersky forests. It was possible to climb to Vladimir along the Gus River. At the beginning of the 13th century, these were deserted, sparsely populated places. If Batu had limited his goals to a predatory raid, these paths, perhaps, would have made sense. But his task was to conquer all of Russia, to seize all Russian lands in one winter. Proy and Gusem, the Mongol-Tatar army would have reached Vladimir much faster than along the Oka through Kolomna and Moscow. But Batu remained true to his strategic plan: to fight Russia not in fortresses, but in open field.

The name "Moscow" appeared for the first time in the annals, when Yuri Dolgoruky entered into an alliance with Svyatoslav Olgovich of Chernigov. Moscow was a meeting place for allied princes and their squads. Moscow was chosen for this meeting not on a whim. The Desna and the Oka have long connected Chernihiv and the southern lands with the northeast with their upper reaches. From the Oka there is a direct route to Moscow and by water - along the rivers Protva, Nara and by land - through Mozhaisk. Batu could expect the joining of the troops of the prince of Vladimir and Chernigov precisely on the Oka in Kolomna or near Moscow. The delay near Ryazan, the meeting only with the Ryazan regiments did not suit Batu, who was in a hurry for a decisive battle. Not to interfere with the connection of the Chernigov and Vladimir squads, he went to Kolomna, but was looking for united opponents in order to end them at once in the field in order to take the cities undefended.

Yuri Vsevolodovich did not benefit from the lesson taught on the Lipitsa River by Mstislav Udaly. Apparently, the prince still lived in the conviction that “it was not even with great-grandfathers, or with uncle, or with father, that someone entered the strong land of Suzdal as an army and left it intact.” Having no news from the Chernigov prince, or rather, knowing that he is in no hurry to help North-Eastern Russia, Yuri Vsevolodovich makes a gross tactical mistake: he sends his regiments near Kolomna, towards Batu, and he himself waits for the outcome of the battle in Vladimir. It's like he's playing giveaway.

It was a typical overestimation of one's strengths. It never occurred to the most powerful Russian prince to conserve manpower, to use his army to defend cities, to deliver sudden blows like the Ryazan boyar and knight Yevpaty Kolovrat, avoiding battles and battles in the open field.

We have the right to consider the military story of the 13th century about Evpaty Kolovrat one of the most remarkable literary monuments of the entire Russian and European Middle Ages. Not one of the songs of the troubadours, not one of the romances of chivalry, not one of the legends rises to the pathos of this legend.

Evpaty Kolovrat left Ryazan with the embassy of Ingvar Igorevich to Chernigov to ask for help against the Mongol-Tatars. Prince Ingvar Igorevich lingered in Chernigov, Evpaty Kolovrat returned with a "small squad" to Ryazan to the smoking ashes. Because of the Oka, from Meshchera, from those places where they fled from Batu (now there is the city of Spassk-Ryazansky), artisans, tillers, warriors returned to their native ashes, who managed to escape capture in the battle of Zasechya on Pron. Evpaty shouted a cry: who is ready to strike at adversaries, to avenge the murdered and torn to pieces wives and children? A group of about 1,500 people gathered. They caught the horses disbanded from the princely stables and chased Batu's army.

Meanwhile, near Kolomna, where Batu Vsevolod, the son of Yuri Vsevolodovich, went out to meet Batu, something happened to the Suzdal regiments that should have happened. In a brutal slaughter, the Vladimir-Suzdal army was defeated, the Ryazan prince Roman Ingvarevich and the Vladimir governor Yeremey were killed. At this time, Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich with his son Konstantin drove away from Vladimir and spread a camp on the City River between Uglich and Bezhetsk, gathered regiments from the northern outskirts there and waited for the approach of the brothers Yaroslav and Svyatoslav with the Novgorodians and Pskovians.

One tactical error spawned another. Dividing his forces by sending regiments to Kolomna, Yuri Vsevolodovich led the princely squad to the Sit, leaving only an insignificant army in the city, as Batu needed.

Having defeated the Vladimir-Suzdal regiments near Kolomna, Batu came to Moscow, took and burned the city, killed the inhabitants, and captured Vladimir Yuryevich, the son of the Grand Duke. On February 3, the advance detachments of the conquerors approached Vladimir.

It is not known for certain when the Batu Tumens felt the blows of Evpatiy Kolovrat. The legend transfers the action of his squad to the Vladimir-Suzdal land. This can be trusted, because there is no evidence that before the battle of Kolomna anyone bothered Batu. In “The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu” it is said: “And I gathered a few squads - a thousand seven hundred people, whom God kept, who was outside the city. And chasing after the godless king and barely driving him into the lands of Suzdalstei. And suddenly they attacked the camps of Batu and started the slaughter without mercy. And all the Tatar regiments were confused ... "

Warrior story - literary work, but it, like The Tale of Igor's Campaign, like epics and folk tales, can serve as a source for historiography. The ancient authors are concise. Two words "suddenly attacked" are enough to logically guess what happened.

We now call this guerrilla action, in the time of Alexander the Great, such tactics were called "Scythian warfare." Batu's actions show that he was very concerned about the attacks of the Ryazan knight. After all, it was precisely such tactics that could only upset his army, united by iron discipline. Trained in battles in the steppes, in open places, it could not fight so skillfully in forest fortresses.

The Mongol-Tatar raid on the squad of Evpatiy Kolovrat began. A whole tumen (up to 10 thousand horsemen) was allocated against him under the leadership of Khostovrul, the closest relative of Batu.

Batu's detachments approached Vladimir on February 3, and on the 7th the capital of North-Eastern Russia, the family nest of Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod Yuryevich, the most powerful Russian princes, fell. In the same days, Suzdal was destroyed. There was no one to defend the cities; in solving strategic and tactical tasks, Batu outplayed Yuri Vsevolodovich.

It was not so easy to cope with the retinue of Evpaty Kolovrat. With his raids on Batu's army, he inflicted big losses aliens. In a duel, he defeated Hostovrul himself. The Batu warriors could not defeat Evpatiy with ordinary weapons, they set up throwing weapons against him and threw stones at him.

After the capture of Vladimir, Batu divided his army and began to smash the defenseless cities, not at all worrying about the gathering of the militia in the City. It was only to his advantage. Batu was waiting for the Novgorod regiments to come to the Sit. Not wait. It was impossible to move on.

On March 4, 1238, Batu's troops came to the Sit and defeated the militia of Yuri Vsevolodovich. The Grand Duke of Vladimir was killed. Batu rushed to Novgorod. And here is the first sign that his plan to defeat all Russian forces in the open field did not materialize. Torzhok, without giving warriors to Yuri Vsevolodovich, held out for two weeks. The city was taken only on March 23. From Torzhok they set off along the Seliger route to Novgorod, but before reaching a hundred versts, they turned south from Ignach-Krest and went to Kozelsk.

The outstanding Russian historian S. M. Solovyov wrote:

“Not having reached a hundred miles to Novgorod, they stopped, fearing, according to some news, the approach of spring time, the flood of rivers, the melting of swamps, and went to the southeast, to the steppe.”

And so it was customary in historiography to explain the turn from Novgorod. However, the campaign against Kozelsk threatened with the same spring troubles. Even big ones. In Kozelsk and on the way to it, the snow begins to melt two weeks earlier than near Novgorod.

In this regard, it is interesting to look into climate research Ancient Russia, conducted by Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences E.P. Borisenkov and Doctor of Historical Sciences V.M. frosts. People captured by the Tatars, "from the mriz isomrosh."

Under the year 1238 we read from them: “Late protracted spring. The Mongol-Tatar troops of Batu, after the capture of Torzhok, moved to Novgorod, not suffering hardships either from extreme frosts, or from snowstorms, or from spilling waters. Not reaching 100 miles to Novgorod, "they are atheists, turned their backs on Ignach Krest." The spring was shallow, and Batu's troops did not suffer from floods when retreating south. These reports are confirmed by data on a frosty winter in Western Europe.

What stopped Batu near Novgorod, what was the significance of this city in his strategic plan?

First of all, attention should be paid to the geography of Batu's campaigns in 1236-1238. Volga Bulgaria, Vladimir, the Volga cities of Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Torzhok and Ignach-Cross. The whole logic of Batu's campaigns led to Novgorod. Ulus Jochi moved to the Lower Volga region, intercepted the Volga trade route. Dominance over this world trade artery put forward the ulus of Jochi and the Volga Horde to the first place in the empire of Genghis Khan. But the Lower Volga region is not complete domination over the trade route. Batu smashes the Bulgars, conquers Vladimir and the Russian Volga cities, the key node of this whole path - Novgorod - remains untouched. What considerations could stop the predatory invasion at the gates of the richest city in North-Eastern Russia?

Should we not assume that the leaders of the invasion had contradictions, that the allied princes were eager to plunder northern Venice, and Batu, taking care of the Jochi ulus, did not want the destruction of this most important trade hub of the now completely captured Volga route?

Did not Batu's views on Russia change during his campaign? Could he, after the destruction of more than 14 cities, consider Russia destroyed and incapable of revival? Did he consider his victory complete, as planned?

Capturing the states of Central Asia and Far East, the conquerors settled on their lands. Having crossed the entire North-Eastern Russia with forest supports, didn’t Batu see that this land is unsuitable for the life of nomads, that they don’t need it as a territory for resettlement? Does not Batu have a plan during the campaign to draw from here, as from an inexhaustible source, funds for the Horde not by one robbery, but by a well-organized collection of tribute?

If such thoughts arose among the ruler of the Dzhuchiev ulus, we must nevertheless admit that the capture of Novgorod would not have interfered with these goals. The idea that the ruin of Novgorod will lead to the attenuation of the Volga trade route is too subtle for Batu and ulus politicians, and very controversial. Goods from Western Europe will flow to where they will be paid for; who robbed the whole Central Asia who took possession of Baghdad gold and Russian silver had something to pay.

No, it was not distant plans that turned Batu away from Ignach Cross, not fear of a mudslide, although this is a real difficulty for the campaign.

The campaign did not fit into the deadlines - this is one thing. The plan to crush the united forces of North-Eastern Russia in an open field in one or two large battles, using their numerical and tactical superiority, collapsed.

I had to spend a week in Ryazan. The mistakes of Yuri Vsevolodovich helped a lot to capture the cities of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, but the very first entry into the Novgorod land died with the threat of defeat. Novgorod regiments, Novgorod warriors, wielding heavy weapons, dressed in strong armor, did not come to the Sit, they remained to defend the city. Three days to Vladimir, two weeks to Torzhok, and how long will it take to fight for Novgorod? I wouldn't have to retreat in disgrace.

Turning away from Novgorod, Batu's troops went steeply to the south. They bypassed Smolensk and went to Kozelsk.

Kozelsk was stormed for seven weeks, forty-nine days, for the military men of Kozelsk remained in the city and were not in the field. As if Batu lost about 4 thousand soldiers near Kozelsk and ordered to call it from that time on the “Evil City”.

Empires on the territory of ancient Russian principalities. This event left a deep mark in the history of our Fatherland. Next, consider how Batu's invasion of Russia took place (briefly).

background

The Mongol feudal lords who lived long before Batu had plans to conquer Eastern European territory. In the 1220s. some kind of preparation was made for the future conquest. An important part of it was the campaign of the thirty-thousandth army of Jebe and Subedei to the territory of Transcaucasia and South-Eastern Europe in 1222-24. Its purpose was exclusively reconnaissance, the collection of information. In 1223, during this campaign, the battle ended with the victory of the Mongols. As a result of the campaign, the future conquerors studied the future battlefields well, learned about the fortifications and troops, and received information about the location of the principalities of Russia. From the army of Jebe and Subedei went to the Volga Bulgaria. But there the Mongols were defeated and returned to Central Asia through the steppes of modern Kazakhstan. The beginning of Batu's invasion of Russia was quite sudden.

The ruin of the Ryazan territory

The invasion of Batu into Russia, in short, pursued the goal of enslaving the people, capturing and annexing new territories. The Mongols appeared on the southern borders of the Ryazan Principality demanding to pay tribute to them. Prince Yuri asked for help from Mikhail of Chernigov and Yuri of Vladimir. At Batu's headquarters, the Ryazan embassy was destroyed. Prince Yuri led his army, as well as the Murom regiments, to the border battle, but the battle was lost. Yuri Vsevolodovich sent a united army to the aid of Ryazan. In it were the regiments of his son Vsevolod, the people of the voivode Yeremey Glebovich, the Novgorod detachments. This army was joined by the forces that retreated from Ryazan. The city fell after a six-day siege. The sent regiments managed to give battle to the conquerors near Kolomna, but were defeated.

Results of the first battles

The beginning of Batu's invasion of Russia was marked by the destruction of not only Ryazan, but also the ruin of the entire principality. The Mongols captured Pronsk, captured Prince Oleg Ingvarevich the Red. The invasion of Batu into Russia (the date of the first battle is indicated above) was accompanied by the destruction of many cities and villages. So, the Mongols destroyed Belgorod Ryazan. This city was never subsequently rebuilt. Tula researchers identify it with a settlement near the Polosnya River, near the village of Beloroditsa (16 km from modern Veneva). Was wiped off the face of the earth and Voronezh Ryazan. The ruins of the city stood deserted for several centuries. Only in 1586 a prison was built on the site of the settlement. The Mongols also destroyed the well-known city of Dedoslavl. Some researchers identify it with a settlement near the village of Dedilovo, on the right bank of the river. Shat.

Attack on the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality

After the defeat of the Ryazan lands, Batu's invasion of Russia was somewhat suspended. When the Mongols invaded the Vladimir-Suzdal lands, they were suddenly overtaken by the regiments of Yevpaty Kolovrat, the Ryazan boyar. Thanks to this suddenness, the squad was able to defeat the invaders, inflicting heavy losses on them. In 1238, after a five-day siege, Moscow fell. Vladimir (the youngest son of Yuri) and Philip Nyanka stood on the defense of the city. At the head of the thirty thousandth detachment that defeated the Moscow squad, according to sources, was Shiban. Yuri Vsevolodovich, moving north, to the Sit River, began to gather a new squad, while waiting for help from Svyatoslav and Yaroslav (his brothers). In early February 1238, Vladimir fell after an eight-day siege. The family of Prince Yuri died in it. In the same February, in addition to Vladimir, cities such as Suzdal, Yuryev-Polsky, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Starodub-on-Klyazma, Rostov, Galich-Mersky, Kostroma, Gorodets, Tver, Dmitrov, Ksnyatin, Kashin, Uglich, Yaroslavl fell . The Novgorod suburbs of Volok Lamsky and Vologda were also captured.

The situation in the Volga region

The invasion of Batu into Russia was very large-scale. In addition to the main ones, the Mongols also had secondary forces. With the help of the latter, the capture of the Volga region was carried out. Secondary forces led by Burundai covered twice greater distance than the main Mongol detachments during the siege of Torzhok and Tver, and approached from the side of Uglich to the City River. The Vladimir regiments did not have time to prepare for battle, were surrounded and almost completely destroyed. Some of the soldiers were taken prisoner. But at the same time, the Mongols themselves suffered serious losses. The center of Yaroslav's possessions lay directly in the path of the Mongols, advancing towards Novgorod from Vladimir. Pereyaslavl-Zalessky was taken within five days. During the capture of Tver, one of the sons of Prince Yaroslav died (his name has not been preserved). The chronicles do not contain information about the participation of the Novgorodians in the battle on the City. There is no mention of any actions of Yaroslav. Some researchers quite often emphasize that Novgorod did not send help to Torzhok.

The results of the capture of the Volga lands

The historian Tatishchev, speaking about the results of the battles, draws attention to the fact that the losses in the units of the Mongols were several times greater than those of the Russians. However, the Tatars made up for them at the expense of prisoners. There were more of them at that time than the invaders themselves. So, for example, the assault on Vladimir began only after a detachment of Mongols returned from Suzdal with prisoners.

Defense of Kozelsk

Batu's invasion of Russia from the beginning of March 1238 proceeded according to a certain plan. After the capture of Torzhok, the remnants of Burundai's detachment, having joined with the main forces, suddenly turned into the steppes. The invaders did not reach Novgorod for about 100 miles. IN different sources various versions of this turn are given. Some say spring thaw was the cause, others the threat of famine. One way or another, the invasion of Batu's troops into Russia continued, but in a different direction.

Now the Mongols were divided into two groups. The main detachment passed east of Smolensk (30 km from the city) and made a stop in the lands of Dolgomostye. In one of the literary sources there is information that the Mongols were defeated and fled. After that, the main detachment moved south. Here, the invasion of Rus by Batu Khan was marked by an invasion of the Chernigov lands, the burning of Vshchizh, located in close proximity to the central regions of the principality. According to one of the sources, 4 sons of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich died in connection with these events. Then the main forces of the Mongols turned sharply to the northeast. Bypassing Karachev and Bryansk, the Tatars took possession of Kozelsk. The eastern group, meanwhile, passed in the spring of 1238 near Ryazan. Buri and Kadan were at the head of the detachments. At that time, Vasily reigned in Kozelsk - the 12-year-old grandson of Mstislav Svyatoslavovich. The battle for the city dragged on for seven weeks. By May 1238, both groups of Mongols united near Kozelsk and captured it three days later, albeit with heavy losses.

Further developments

The invasion of Russia by the middle of the 13th century began to take on an episodic character. The Mongols invaded only the border lands, in the process of suppressing uprisings in the Polovtsian steppes and the Volga region. In the annals, at the end of the story about the campaign in the northeastern territories, mention is made of the lull that accompanied Batu's invasion of Russia ("the year of peace" - from 1238 to 1239). After him, on October 18, 1239, Chernigov was besieged and taken. After the fall of the city, the Mongols began to plunder and ravage the territories along the Seim and the Desna. Rylsk, Vyr, Glukhov, Putivl, Gomiy were devastated and destroyed.

Hiking on the territory near the Dnieper

A corps led by Bukdai was sent to help the Mongolian detachments involved in the Transcaucasus. This happened in 1240. Around the same period, Batu decides to send Munk, Buri and Guyuk home. The remaining detachments regrouped, replenished a second time at the expense of captured Volga and Polovtsy. The next direction was the territory of the right bank of the Dnieper. Most of them (Kiev, Volyn, Galicia and, presumably, the Turov-Pinsk principality) by 1240 were united under the rule of Daniil and Vasilko - the sons of Roman Mstislavovich (Volyn ruler). The first, considering himself unable to resist the Mongols on his own, set off on the eve of the invasion of Hungary. Presumably, Daniel's goal was to ask King Bela VI for help in repelling the attacks of the Tatars.

The consequences of the invasion of Batu in Russia

As a result of the barbarian raids of the Mongols, a huge number of the population of the state died. A significant part of large and small towns and villages was destroyed. Chernigov, Tver, Ryazan, Suzdal, Vladimir, Kyiv suffered significantly. The exception was Pskov, Velikiy Novgorod, cities of Turov-Pinsk, Polotsk and Suzdal principalities. As a result of the invasion, the relatively developed culture of large settlements suffered irreparable damage. Within a few decades, cities were almost completely stopped stone building. In addition, such complex crafts as the manufacture of glass jewelry, the production of granulation, niello, cloisonne enamel, and glazed polychrome ceramics have disappeared. Russia lagged behind in its development. It was thrown back several centuries ago. And while the Western guild industry was entering the stage of primitive accumulation, the Russian craft had to again go through that segment of the historical path that had been done before the invasion of Batu.

In the southern lands, the settled population disappeared almost completely. The surviving inhabitants left for the forest territories of the northeast, settling along the interfluve of the Oka and the Northern Volga. These areas had a colder climate and not as fertile soils as in the southern regions, destroyed and devastated by the Mongols. Trade routes were controlled by the Tatars. Because of this, there was no connection between Russia and other overseas states. The socio-economic development of the Fatherland in that historical period was at a very low level.

Opinion of military historians

Researchers note that the process of formation and merging of rifle detachments and regiments of heavy cavalry, which specialized in direct strikes with melee weapons, broke off in Russia immediately after the invasion of Batu. During this period, there was a unification of functions in the person of a single feudal warrior. He was forced to shoot with a bow and at the same time fight with a sword and spear. From this we can conclude that even the exceptionally selective, feudal part of the Russian army in its development was thrown back a couple of centuries ago. Chronicles do not contain information about the existence of individual rifle detachments. This is quite understandable. For their formation, people were needed who were ready to break away from production and sell their blood for money. And in the economic situation in which Russia was, mercenarism was completely unaffordable.

Batu invasion. Traditional version

In 1234, the "Mongolian" armies completed the conquest of Northern China. In 1235, a congress of the nobility was assembled on the banks of the Onon, it was decided to arrange the Great Western Campaign, to reach "to the last sea." In the east, the borders of the empire were washed Pacific Ocean. It was necessary to reach the same border in the west. The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu, was appointed military leader of the campaign. Several khans were sent with him, who had their own military corps.

The issue with the size of the army is still standing - various researchers give figures from 30 to 500 thousand soldiers. Apparently, those who believe that the army itself had a “Mongol-Tatar” core of 30-50 thousand soldiers, as well as a significant number of less combat-ready militias from the vassal, subject tribes of the “Juchi ulus” are right. A significant part of them were representatives of the Turkic tribes, Turkmens, Karakalpaks, Kipchaks, there were also Tajiks, warriors of the Siberian peoples. There were also a significant number of robbers, adventurers, volunteers of all stripes that flock to successful conquerors. Among them were even the Knights Templar (which is a very interesting line).

In 1236, an avalanche overturned a barrier of Bashkirs and Mansi, who had been fighting a border war with enemy troops for 13 years. Part of their defeated detachments was also included in Batu's army. Then the wave came to Volga Bulgaria. The Bulgarians-Bulgars defeated the corps of Dzhebe and Subedey after the battle on the Kalka River. Now this "debt" has been paid off with interest. The Bulgarians had many rich trading cities and towns, which offered stubborn resistance, but were destroyed one by one. The capital of the state, the Great Bolgar (Bilyar), was also captured. The surviving Bulgarians fled to the forests, appeared in Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov and Vladimir.

The Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri II knew that the "Mongols" had good reasons for enmity with the Bulgarians. But they did not encounter Vladimir Rus, there were no visible reasons for enmity. There was no point in standing up for a foreign, and even often hostile, country. Mstislav Udalov has already stood up for Polovtsian friends, it ended very badly. It is clear that the pogrom of the neighboring state was a wake-up call. But Russia has long dealt with the "steppe". Usually, everything was managed by raids on the border areas, and then more or less stable relations were established, including trade, dynastic marriages, twinning of princes with steppe leaders.

Empire of Genghis Khan at the time of his death.

Initially, it seemed that this would be the case. Having defeated Volga Bulgaria, Batu's army retreated to the south, part of it clashed with the Polovtsians. I must say that the stubborn war with the Polovtsy will continue for several years, until their complete defeat. Then part of the Polovtsy will leave for Europe, the Transcaucasus and Asia Minor. Most of the Polovtsy will be subordinated and will form the bulk of the population of the Golden Horde. From the Bulgarians, merchants, Russians, Batu collected information about the Russian principalities, cities, roads. Winter was considered the best time to strike, when it would be possible, following the example of the Russians, to move along the beds of frozen rivers.

The ruin of the Ryazan land

By this time, the Russian princes had a very bad situation with intelligence. Long gone are the days when "heroic outposts" stood in the steppe. So, in Ryazan they learned about the approach of the enemy army from the "Tatar" ambassadors themselves - two khan officials and a certain "sorceress wife". The ambassadors calmly reported Batu's demands - to express their obedience to the khan, and to start paying "tithe", which included not only a tenth of the wealth, cattle, horses, but also people - warriors, slaves. The Ryazan princes naturally refused: "When we have no one alive, then everything will be yours." Proudly, but hardly reasonable. If intelligence had been well organized, the princes should already have known about the fate of their neighbors. The tithe that the churches were accustomed to pay, or the ruin of the whole earth, the destruction of cities and thousands of dead and driven away to be sold into slavery, their own death. What's better?

The Ryazan rulers did not have the strength to resist Batu's army. The "Tatar" ambassadors were not touched, they let them go further, to Vladimir. Ryazan began to seek help. The Ryazan prince Ingvar Ingvarevich, together with the boyar Evpaty Kolovrat, went to Chernigov for help. Prince Roman Ingvarevich of Kolomna went to Vladimir to ask for troops. However, the prince of Vladimir at that time simply could not allocate significant forces to help Ryazan - his elite regiments left with Yaroslav in 1236 for the Dnieper and fought with the Chernigovites for Galich. At the same time, Yuri, apparently, believed that it was more profitable to sit out behind the walls of cities and fortresses. The enemy will devastate the surroundings, maybe take one or two towns, lay siege to powerful Russian cities and retreat to the steppe.

The great Ryazan prince Yuri Igorevich began to form an army. The Ryazans had extensive experience in fighting the Polovtsy, and believed that the "Tatars" were such steppe people. Therefore, they decided to withdraw the squads towards the enemy and give battle. The steppes usually could not withstand the blows of well-armed and trained squads. Yuri Ryazansky, his son Fyodor Yuryevich, Oleg Ingvarevich Krasny, Roman Ingvarevich, regiments of Murom princes came out with squads. Yuri tried to enter into negotiations with the enemy again and sent an embassy with his son Fedor. However, Batu reasoned that the time for talking was over. Fedor was killed. A fierce battle took place on the border river Voronezh. Some princely squads were cut to the last, others, seeing that the more numerous enemy army surrounded them, tried to retreat. Oleg Ingvarevich was captured and was released only in 1252. Murom princes Yuri Davydovich and Oleg Yurievich died. After this battle, the "Tatars" quite easily captured the cities of the Ryazan land, which were left without defenders - Pronsk, Belgorod, Izheslavets, Voronezh, Dedoslavl.

Yuri Ryazansky with the remnants of the squad was able to break through and galloped to his city, organizing the defense. Roman Ingvarevich led his soldiers north to join the Vladimir army. However, the walls of even powerful fortresses were not an obstacle for the "Mongol-Tatars". Prisoners and auxiliary troops carried out engineering work, erecting a palisade to prevent attacks, filling up the ditch, preparing siege engines, wall-beating guns. The army had a contingent of engineers for siege work. Initially, auxiliary troops went on the attack, which was not a pity, the Bulgars, Bashkirs, Turkmens, etc. Their death was not considered a big loss. The large size of the army made it possible to arrange one attack after another, and the ranks of the defenders were constantly concealed, and there was no replacement for them. On the sixth day of the siege, December 21, 1237, Ryazan fell. Prince Yuri fell in battle. From Ryazan, the army of Batu moved along the ice of the Oka to Kolomna.

Meanwhile, in Chernigov, the Ryazan prince Ingvar was also not given help - the Chernigovites at that time fought with the regiments of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich for Kyiv and Galich. The prince went back. Ahead was the boyar Yevpaty Kolovrat. The picture of a completely destroyed and devastated Ryazan infuriated him, and he, with a small squad of Ryazan and Chernigov volunteers, rushed to catch up with the enemy army. Along the way, his detachment was replenished with local residents. Evpaty overtook the enemy in the Suzdal land and with a sudden blow destroyed a number of rear detachments: “And Evpaty beat them so mercilessly that the swords were dulled, and he took the Tatar swords and cut them.” Surprised by the unexpected blow, Batu sent a select detachment against Evpaty the Furious, led by the hero Khostovrul. However, this detachment was also destroyed, and Khostovrul was struck down by the hand of Evpatiy Kolovrat. The Russian warriors continued their blows and the Ryazan knight "beat many of the famous heroes of the Batyevs here ...". According to legend, the envoy of Batu, sent to negotiate, asked Yevpaty - "What do you want?" And got the answer - "Die!". Batu was forced to send the main forces in a main arc, and only then was the Russian squad surrounded. Russian heroes fought so fiercely, exterminating the best hundreds of Batu, that according to legend, the "Tatars" had to use stone throwers. Batu appreciated strong opponents and respecting the desperate courage and military skill of Evpaty Kolovrat, left the last defenders of the body of the hero alive and allowed them to bury him.

Battle of Kolomna. The ruin of the Vladimir land

At this time, Yuri II was able to gather some forces and, placing his son Vsevolod at the head of them with the governor Yeremey Glebovich, sent them to the aid of the Ryazan people. However, they were late, near Kolomna they were met only by the squad of Prince Roman Ingvarevich. Both princes were young and brave, in Russian traditions there was an attack, not a defense outside the walls of the city. Therefore, the princes Vsevolod, Roman with the governor Yeremey Glebovich led troops to the floodplain of the Moscow River on river ice and on January 1, 1238 hit the enemy avant-garde.

Russian heavy squads broke through the front of the enemy, many noble "Tatars" fell in battle, including the youngest son of Genghis Khan Kulkan. The battle was stubborn and lasted three days. Batu pulled up the main forces, the Russian regiments were forced to retreat to the walls of the city and to the fortress itself. Prince Roman and governor Yeremey laid down their heads in battle. Vsevolod with a small squad was able to break out of the encirclement and retreated to Vladimir.

After Kolomna, Moscow's turn came, it was defended by the youngest son of Vladimir Prince Yuri Vladimir and governor Philip Nyanka. On January 20, 1238, after a 5-day siege, the fortress fell. Along the Yauza and Klyazma, Batu's army moved to the capital of the Grand Duchy. Grand Duke Yuri II found himself in a difficult position. He sent all available forces with Vsevolod to the people of Ryazan; it took time to assemble a new militia, which was not there. Messengers to Novgorodians, and to Kyiv to brother Yaroslav, were sent. But Novgorod and Kyiv are far away, and the enemy regiments were moving swiftly. As a result, he left his sons Vsevolod and Mstislav to defend the capital city, and he went to the Upper Volga to collect regiments. In general, the plan was not stupid. Such a maneuver could bring success if Vladimir withstood a long siege. At this time, the Grand Duke could gather into a fist combatants, militias from cities and graveyards, and receive reinforcements. There would be a serious threat to the rear of Batu's army, to force him to lift the siege. However, for this it was necessary that Vladimir held on.

On February 2, “Tatar” detachments appeared at Vladimir, showed the townspeople captured in Moscow, Prince Vladimir. They didn’t immediately go on the assault, they surrounded the city with a fence. Disorder and despair reigned in the city. Vsevolod and Mstislav either wanted to go beyond the walls and die “with honor”, ​​they were especially eager to fight when Vladimir Yuryevich was killed in front of his mother and brothers, or they asked Bishop Mitrofan to be tonsured into the schema with their wives and boyars. Voivode Pyotr Oslyadyukovich dissuaded them from sorties, offered to defend themselves from the walls. In general, there was no single firm hand that could organize the many people crowded into the city. Someone went to the walls, preparing to fight to the last, others only prayed and waited for the end.

The “Mongolian” command, realizing that there was no need to wait for a fierce battle here, as it was not worth waiting for at the walls of Kolomna, calmed down. Batu even sent part of the army to take Suzdal to replenish supplies. Suzdal fell quickly, and a large crowd was brought in from there. Vladimir was taken according to the same schedule as Ryazan. First they built a tyn around the city, then they assembled siege engines, on the sixth day a general assault began. Vsevolod and Mstislav with their personal squads tried to break through, but the ring was tight, everyone died (according to others, they tried to negotiate and were killed at Batu's headquarters). On February 7, the "Tatars" broke into the city and set it on fire. Vladimir fell, the whole family of the Grand Duke perished. According to another source, the enemy broke through only through the first line of defense, in the city itself, the fighting went on until February 10.

After the fall of Vladimir, Batu established himself in the idea that the resistance was broken. The army was divided, so it was easier to feed the soldiers and horses. One corps went along the Volga to Gorodets, Galich, the second went to Pereyaslavl, the third to Rostov. In total, 14 cities were occupied in February. Almost all of them were taken without a fight. The people fled through the forests. Only Pereyaslavl-Zalessky resisted. In addition, the inhabitants of Torzhok fought for two weeks, its inhabitants waited until the last for help from Veliky Novgorod. The townspeople fought off attacks, made sorties. But the Novgorodians, who until recently declared war for Torzhok Vladimir prince now behave differently. Gathered veche. We discussed the situation, argued and decided - not to send soldiers, to prepare Novgorod itself for defense. In addition, another question is whether the enemy will reach Veliky Novgorod. On March 5, 1238, the heroic Torzhok fell.

The day before his fall, on March 4, the troops of Yuri Vsevolodovich were destroyed in the battle on the Sit River. He set up camp in the Volga forests on the river. Sit (north-west of the Yaroslavl region). Brother Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich from Yuryev-Polsky, Prince Vsevolod Konstantinovich of Yaroslavl, nephews Vasilko and Vladimir Konstantinovich, lords of Rostov and Uglich came to his call. Burundai's corps was able to defeat the Russian army with a sudden blow. Yuri Vsevolodovich and Vsevolod Konstantinovich fell in battle, Vasilko was captured and executed. Svyatoslav and Vladimir were able to leave.

It should be noted a very interesting fact. Batu's actions clearly contradict the myth of the "Tatar-Mongolian" invasion. We were inspired from the school bench, they like to show about it with rich colors and works of art, like the popular works of V. Yan, that the cruel "Mongols" walked through Russia with fire and sword, destroying everything in their path. All Russians who were not killed were naturally enslaved and then sold. All Russian cities were destroyed and burned. A sort of SS and Sonderkommando sample of the 13th century. However, if you take a closer look at the invasion. You can pay attention to the fact that many cities survived. In particular, the rich and populous Rostov, Yaroslavl, Uglich and other cities entered into negotiations with the "Mongols". In negotiations with those who allegedly destroyed everything in their path! They paid the required tribute, gave food, fodder, horses, people in the carts, and survived. Very interesting situation would have come out if the Ryazan princes and Yuri Vsevolodovich behaved less proudly.

Another fact about the total "terror" on the part of the "Tatar-Mongolian troops" - while moving back (the army of Batu turned back before reaching Novgorod 100 miles), the Khan's soldiers stumbled upon the "evil city" - Kozelsk. During the siege of Kozelsk, Batu forbade destroying the surrounding villages, on the contrary, he was merciful to the common people, receiving food and fodder. By the way, the siege of Kozelsk and Torzhok are also very interesting facts, which violate the "harmonious" picture of the almighty, sweeping away everything in their path "Mongolian" hordes. The capitals of the great principalities - Ryazan and Vladimir were taken in a few days, and small towns, in fact, villages with defensive fortifications, fought for weeks.

The behavior of the other princes in this formidable time is also very entertaining. It seemed that at such a time - the invasion of the unknown "Tatars", sweeping everything in their path, they should forget past quarrels, join forces, actively prepare for the battle with the invaders. “Get up, huge country, get up for a mortal battle?” No! Everyone behaved as if the events in North-Eastern Russia did not concern them. The reaction was the same as usual. princely strife, and not the invasion of an unknown enemy.

Not only that, there was no reaction to the invasion of Batu's army. The Russian princes at that time continued to enthusiastically fight with each other! It turns out that the “Tatar” invasion was not an event for them that went beyond the traditional politics of the region?! Mikhail Chernigovsky was still firmly seated in Galich. To withstand the onslaught of Yaroslav, he entered into an alliance with the Hungarian king Bela IV. He engaged his son Rostislav to the daughter of the Hungarian monarch. Daniel, who actually dragged Yuri II and Yaroslav into the war with the Chernigov prince, turned out to be a frivolous and unreliable ally. When he realized that the Vladimir regiments did not frighten the Chernigov prince Mikhail and did not force him to cede Galich, Daniel entered into negotiations with the enemy. The Volyn prince agreed to a separate peace, having received Przemysl for this. Now Mikhail Chernigov could concentrate all his forces in order to recapture Kyiv and Chernigov. In Galich, he left Rostislav.

Yaroslav Vsevolodovich was preparing to meet the troops of the Chernigov ruler. However, then heavy and confused news came that the "Tatars" were destroying the cities of Vladimir Russia. The messages were menacing and vague, capable of stunning anyone. The mighty and populous Vladimir Rus collapsed in just a month. Yaroslav called the regiments and moved to his homeland. Mikhail Chernigov triumphantly occupied Kyiv. He took the title of Grand Duke of Kiev. He gave Chernigov to his cousin Mstislav Glebovich. His son Rostislav immediately spit on the agreement with Daniel and seized Przemysl from him. But the quarrel with Daniel was a very rash step. When Rostislav went on a campaign against the Lithuanian tribes, Daniel suddenly appeared at Galich. The common people, despite the resistance of the boyars, immediately recognized him as their prince and opened the gates. The nobility had no choice but to bow to the prince. He joyfully forgave the traitors again. Rostislav rushed off to ask for help in Hungary.

To be continued…

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In 1227, the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, died, having bequeathed to his descendants to continue his work and conquer the whole earth, up to the "Sea of ​​Franks" known to the Mongols in the west. The huge power of Genghis Khan was divided, as already noted, into uluses. The ulus of the eldest son Jochi, who died in the same year as his father, went to the conqueror's grandson Batu Khan (Batu). It was this ulus, located to the west of the Irtysh, that was to become the main springboard for the aggressive campaign to the West. In 1235, at the kurultai of the Mongol nobility in Karakorum, a decision was made on a general Mongol campaign against Europe. The forces of one ulus of Jochi were clearly not enough. In this regard, troops of other Chingizids were sent to help Batu. Batu himself was put at the head of the campaign, and the experienced commander Subedei was appointed adviser.

The offensive began in the autumn of 1236, and a year later the Mongol conquerors conquered the Volga Bulgaria, the lands of the Burtases and Mordovians on the Middle Volga, as well as the Polovtsian hordes that roamed between the Volga and Don rivers. late autumn In 1237, the main forces of Batu concentrated in the upper reaches of the Voronezh River (the left tributary of the Don) to invade northeastern Russia. In addition to the significant numerical superiority of the Mongol tumei, the fragmentation of the Russian principalities, opposing the enemy invasion one by one, played a negative role. The first principality to undergo ruthless ruin was the Ryazan land. In the winter of 1237, the hordes of Batu invaded its borders, destroying everything in their path. After a six-day siege, and without waiting for help, Ryazan fell on December 21. The city was burned, and all the inhabitants were exterminated.

Having devastated the Ryazan land, in January 1238, the Mongol invaders defeated the Grand Duke's guard regiment of the Vladimir-Suzdal land near Kolomna, headed by the son of the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich. Moving then along the frozen rivers, the Mongols captured Moscow, Suzdal and a number of other cities. On February 7, after the siege, the capital of the principality Vladimir fell, where the family of the Grand Duke also died. After the capture of Vladimir, the hordes of conquerors scattered throughout the Vladimir-Suzdal land, plundering and destroying it (14 cities were devastated).

On March 4, 1238, across the Volga, a battle took place on the City River between the main forces of northeastern Russia, led by the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich, and the Mongol invaders. The Russian army was defeated in this battle, and the Grand Duke himself died. After taking the "suburb" Novgorod land- Torzhok before the conquerors opened the road to northwestern Russia. However, the approach of spring thaw and significant human losses forced the Mongols, not reaching about 100 miles to Veliky Novgorod, to turn back to the Polovtsian steppes. On the way, they defeated Kursk and the small town of Kozelsk on the Zhizdra River. The defenders of Kozelsk put up fierce resistance to the enemy, they defended for seven weeks. After its capture in May 1238, Batu ordered this "evil city" to be wiped off the face of the earth, and the remaining inhabitants to be exterminated without exception.

Batu spent the summer of 1238 in the Don steppes, restoring the strength of his troops. In autumn, his detachments again devastated the Ryazan land, which had not yet recovered from the defeat, capturing Gorokhovets, Murom and several other cities. In the spring of 1239, Batu's detachments defeated the Principality of Pereyaslavl, and in the autumn Chernigov-Seversk land was devastated.

In the autumn of 1240, the Mongol army moved through southern Russia to conquer Western Europe. In September they crossed the Dnieper and surrounded Kyiv. After a long siege on December 6, 1240, the city fell. In the winter of 1240/41, the Mongols captured almost all the cities of southern Russia. In the spring of 1241, the Mongol troops, having passed "with fire and sword" through Galicia-Volyn Rus and capturing Vladimir-Volynsky and Galich, attacked Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Moravia, and by the summer of 1242 they reached the borders of Northern Italy and Germany. However, without receiving reinforcements and suffering heavy losses in the unaccustomed mountainous terrain, the conquerors, bloodless by the protracted campaign, were forced to turn back from Central Europe to the steppes of the Lower Volga region. Another, and perhaps the most significant reason for the retreat of the Mongol hordes from Europe was the news of the death of the great Khan Ogedei in Karakorum, and Batu hastened to take part in the election of a new ruler of the Mongol Empire.

The results of the Mongol conquest for Russia were extremely difficult.

In terms of their scale of destruction and casualties as a result of the invasion, they could not be compared with the losses brought by the raids of nomads and princely civil strife. First of all, the Mongol invasion caused enormous damage to all lands at the same time. According to archaeologists, out of 74 cities that existed in Russia in the pre-Mongol era, 49 were completely destroyed by the hordes of Batu. At the same time, a third of them became depopulated forever, and 15 former cities turned into villages. Only Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk and the Turov-Pinsk principality did not suffer, because the Mongol hordes bypassed them. The population of the Russian lands also sharply decreased. Most of the townspeople either died in battles, or were taken away by the conquerors to "full" (slavery). Handicraft production was particularly affected. After the invasion in Russia, some craft specialties disappeared, the construction of stone buildings ceased, the secrets of making glassware, cloisonne enamel, multi-colored ceramics, etc. Huge losses were among professional Russian soldiers - princely warriors, many princes died in battles with the enemy. Only half a century later, the service class began to revive in Russia and, accordingly, the structure of the patrimonial and nascent landlord economy was recreated. Apparently, only the most massive category - the rural population suffered somewhat less from the invasion, but severe trials fell to its lot.

However, the main consequence Mongol invasion to Russia and the establishment of the Horde dominion from the middle of the XIII century. was the strengthening of the isolation of the Russian lands, the disappearance of the old political and legal system and the power structure that was once characteristic of Old Russian state. The conglomerate of different-sized Russian lands-principalities found itself under the influence of centrifugal geopolitical processes that became irreversible as a result of the Mongol expansion. The collapse of the political unity of Ancient Russia marked the beginning of the disappearance ancient Russian people, which became the progenitor of the three currently existing East Slavic peoples: from the XIV century. in the northeast and northwest of Russia, the Russian (Great Russian) nationality is formed, and on the lands that became part of Lithuania and Poland, the Ukrainian and Belarusian nationalities.

After the invasion of Batu over Russia, the so-called Mongol-Tatar dominion was established - a complex of economic and political methods that ensured the dominance of the Golden Horde over that part of the territory of Russia, which was under the control (suzerainty) of its khans. The main among these methods was the collection of various tributes and duties: “service”, the trade duty “tamga”, food for the Tatar ambassadors - “honor”, ​​etc. The most difficult of them was the Horde “exit” - a tribute in silver, which began to be collected in 1240- e gg. Since 1257, on the orders of Khan Berke, the Mongols carried out a census of the population of northeastern Russia ("recording in a number"), setting a fixed amount of fees. Only the clergy were exempted from paying the "exit" (before the adoption of Islam by the Horde at the beginning of the 14th century, the Mongols were distinguished by religious tolerance). To control the collection of tribute, representatives of the khan, the Baskaks, were sent to Russia. Tribute was collected by tax-farmers - besermens (Central Asian merchants). Hence came and Russian word"busurman". By the end of the XIII - the beginning of the XIV century. the institution of the Basques in connection with the active opposition of the Russian population (constant unrest of the rural population and urban performances) was canceled. Since that time, the princes of the Russian lands themselves began to collect the Horde tribute. In case of disobedience, punitive Horde campaigns-raids followed. As the domination of the Golden Horde strengthened, punitive expeditions were replaced by repressions against individual princes.

The Russian principalities that became dependent on the Horde lost their sovereignty. Getting the princely table depended on the will of the khan, who issued labels (letters) for reigning. The dominance of the Golden Horde over Russia was expressed, among other things, in the issuance of labels (letters) for the great reign of Vladimir. The one who received such a label attached the Vladimir principality to his possessions and became the most powerful among the Russian princes. He had to maintain order, stop strife and ensure the uninterrupted flow of tribute. The Horde rulers did not allow a significant increase in the power of any of the Russian princes and, consequently, a long stay on the grand prince's throne. In addition, having taken away the label from the next Grand Duke, they gave it to the rival prince, which led to princely strife and the struggle for the Vladimir reign at the Khai court. A well-thought-out system of measures provided the Horde with firm control over the Russian lands.

Separation of South Russia. In the second half of the XIII century. in fact, the division of Ancient Russia into northeastern and southwestern parts was completed. In southwestern Russia, the process of state fragmentation reached its climax by the time of the Horde conquest. The Grand Duchy of Kiev lost its political significance. The Chernigov and Pereyaslav principalities weakened and fragmented.