home Women The first campaign against Rus'. Batu's invasion of northeastern Rus'

The first campaign against Rus'. Batu's invasion of northeastern Rus'

“In 1224, an unknown people appeared; an unheard of army came, the godless Tatars, about whom no one knows well who they are and where they came from, and what kind of language they have, and what tribe they are, and what kind of faith they have... The Polovtsy are not could resist them and ran to the Dnieper. Their Khan Kotyan was the father-in-law of Mstislav of Galicia; he came with a bow to the prince, his son-in-law, and to all the Russian princes..., and said: The Tatars took away our land today, and tomorrow they will take yours, so protect us; if you do not help us, then we will be cut off today, and you will be cut off tomorrow." “The princes thought and thought and finally decided to help Kotyan.” The hike began in April when the rivers were in full flood. The troops were heading down the Dnieper. The command was exercised by the Kyiv prince Mstislav Romanovich and Mstislav the Udaly. The Polovtsians informed the Russian princes about the treachery of the Tatars. On the 17th day of the campaign, the army stopped near Olshen, somewhere on the banks of the Ros. There he was found by the second Tatar embassy. Unlike the first time, when the ambassadors were killed, these were released. Immediately after crossing the Dnieper, Russian troops encountered the enemy’s vanguard, chased it for 8 days, and on the eighth they reached the bank of the Kalka. Here Mstislav the Udaloy and some princes immediately crossed the Kalka, leaving Mstislav of Kyiv on the other bank.

According to the Laurentian Chronicle, the battle took place on May 31, 1223. The troops that crossed the river were almost completely destroyed, but the camp of Mstislav of Kyiv, set up on the other bank and strongly fortified, the troops of Jebe and Subedei stormed for 3 days and were able to take it only by cunning and deceit.

The Battle of Kalka was lost not so much because of disagreements between the rival princes, but because of historical factors. Firstly, Jebe’s army was tactically and positionally completely superior to the united regiments of the Russian princes, who had in their ranks mostly princely squads, reinforced in this case by the Polovtsians. This entire army did not have sufficient unity, was not trained in combat tactics, based more on the personal courage of each warrior. Secondly, such a united army also needed a sole commander, recognized not only by the leaders, but also by the warriors themselves, and who would exercise unified command. Thirdly, the Russian troops, having made mistakes in assessing the enemy’s forces, were also unable to correctly choose the battle site, the terrain of which was completely favorable to the Tatars. However, in fairness it must be said that at that time, not only in Rus', but also in Europe, there would not have been an army capable of competing with the formations of Genghis Khan.

The Military Council of 1235 declared an all-Mongol campaign to the west. Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, son of Jugha, was chosen as leader. all winter the Mongols gathered in the upper reaches of the Irtysh, preparing for big hike. In the spring of 1236, countless horsemen, countless herds, endless carts with military equipment and siege weapons moved west. In the autumn of 1236, their army attacked Volga Bulgaria, possessing a huge superiority of forces, they broke through the Bulgar defense line, cities were taken one after another. Bulgaria was terribly destroyed and burned. The Polovtsians took the second blow, most of whom were killed, the rest fled to Russian lands. The Mongol troops moved in two large arcs, using "round-up" tactics.

One arc Batu (Mordovians along the way), the other arc Guisk Khan (Polovtsians), the ends of both arcs abutted in Rus'.

The first city that stood in the way of the conquerors was Ryazan. The Battle of Ryazan began on December 16, 1237. The population of the city was 25 thousand people. Ryazan was protected on three sides by well-fortified walls, and on the fourth by a river (bank). But after five days of siege, the walls of the city, destroyed by powerful siege weapons, could not stand it and on December 21, Ryazan fell. An army of nomads stood near Ryazan for ten days - they plundered the city, divided the spoils, and plundered neighboring villages. Next, Batu’s army moved to Kolomna. On the way, they were unexpectedly attacked by a detachment led by Evpatiy Kolovrat, a Ryazan resident. His detachment numbered about 1,700 people. Despite the numerical superiority of the Mongols, he boldly attacked the hordes of enemies and fell in battle, causing enormous damage to the enemy. Grand Duke Vladimirsky Yuri Vsevolodovich, who did not respond to the call of the Ryazan prince to jointly oppose Khan Batu, himself found himself in danger. But he made good use of the time that passed between the attacks on Ryazan and Vladimir (about a month). He managed to concentrate quite a significant army on Batu’s intended path. The place where the Vladimir regiments gathered to repel the Mongol-Tatars was the city of Kolomna. In terms of the number of troops and the tenacity of the battle, the battle near Kolomna can be considered one of the most significant events of the invasion. But they were defeated due to the numerical superiority of the Mongol-Tatars. Having defeated the army and destroyed the city, Batu set off along the Moscow River towards Moscow. Moscow held back the attacks of the conquerors for five days. The city was burned and almost all the inhabitants were killed. After this, the nomads headed to Vladimir. On the way from Ryazan to Vladimir, the conquerors had to storm every city, repeatedly fight with Russian warriors in the “open field”; defend against surprise attacks from ambushes. The heroic resistance of the ordinary Russian people held back the conquerors. On February 4, 1238, the siege of Vladimir began. Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich left part of the troops to defend the city, and on the other hand went north to gather an army. The defense of the city was led by his sons Vsevolod and Mstislav. But before this, the conquerors took Suzdal (30 km from Vladimir) by storm, and without any particular difficulties. Vladimir fell after a difficult battle, causing enormous damage to the conqueror. The last inhabitants were burned in the Stone Cathedral. Vladimir was the last city of North-Eastern Rus', which was besieged by the united forces of Batu Khan. The Mongol-Tatars had to make a decision so that three tasks would be completed at once: to cut off Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich from Novgorod, defeat the remnants of the Vladimir forces and pass along all river and trade routes, destroying cities - centers of resistance. Batu's troops were divided into three parts: to the north to Rostov and further to the Volga, to the east - to the middle Volga, to the northwest to Tver and Torzhok. Rostov surrendered without a fight, as did Uglich. As a result of the February campaigns of 1238, the Mongol-Tatars destroyed Russian cities in the territory from the Middle Volga to Tver, a total of fourteen cities.

The defense of Kozelsk lasted seven weeks. Even when the Tatars broke into the city, the Kozelites continued to fight. They attacked the invaders with knives, axes, clubs, and strangled with bare hands. Batu lost about 4 thousand soldiers. The Tatars called Kozelsk an evil city. By order of Batu, all the inhabitants of the city, down to the last baby, were destroyed, and the city was destroyed to the ground.

Batu withdrew his badly battered and thinned army beyond the Volga. In 1239 he resumed his campaign against Rus'. One detachment of Tatars went up the Volga and devastated the Mordovian land, the cities of Murom and Gorokhovets. Batu himself with the main forces headed towards the Dnieper. Bloody battles between Russians and Tatars took place everywhere. After heavy fighting, the Tatars ravaged Pereyaslavl, Chernigov and other cities. In the autumn of 1240, the Tatar hordes approached Kyiv. Batu was amazed by the beauty and grandeur of the ancient Russian capital. He wanted to take Kyiv without a fight. But the people of Kiev decided to fight to the death. Prince of Kyiv Mikhail went to Hungary. The defense of Kyiv was led by Voivode Dmitry. All residents rose to their defense hometown. Craftsmen forged weapons, sharpened axes and knives. Everyone capable of wielding weapons stood on the city walls. Children and women brought them arrows, stones, ash, sand, boiled water, and boiled resin.

The battering machines were banging around the clock. The Tatars broke through the gates, but ran into a stone wall, which the Kievans built in one night. Finally, the enemy managed to destroy the fortress walls and break into the city. The battle continued on the streets of Kyiv for a long time. For several days the invaders destroyed and looted houses and exterminated the remaining inhabitants. The wounded governor Dmitry was brought to Batu. But the bloody khan spared the leader of the defense of Kyiv for his bravery.

Having devastated Kyiv, the Tatars went to the Galician-Volyn land. There they destroyed many cities and villages, littering the entire land with corpses. Then Tatar troops invaded Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Weakened by numerous battles with the Russians, the Tatars did not dare to advance to the West. Batu understood that Rus' remained defeated, but not conquered, in the rear. Fearing her, he abandoned further conquests. The Russian people took upon themselves the full brunt of the fight against the Tatar hordes and thereby saved Western Europe from a terrible, devastating invasion.

In 1241, Batu returned to Rus'. In 1242, Batu Khan in the lower reaches of the Volga, where he established his new capital - Sarai-batu. The Horde yoke was established in Rus' by the end of the 13th century, after the creation of the state of Batu Khan - the Golden Horde, which stretched from the Danube to the Irtysh. The Mongol-Tatar invasion caused great damage to the Russian state. Enormous damage was caused to the economic, political and cultural development of Rus'. The old agricultural centers and once-developed territories became desolate and fell into decay. Russian cities were subjected to massive destruction. Many crafts have become simpler and sometimes disappeared. Tens of thousands of people were killed or taken into slavery. The ongoing struggle waged by the Russian people against the invaders forced the Mongol-Tatars to abandon the creation of their own administrative bodies of power in Rus'. Rus' retained its statehood. This was also facilitated by the lower level of cultural and historical development of the Tatars. In addition, Russian lands were unsuitable for raising nomadic cattle. The main purpose of enslavement was to obtain tribute from the conquered people. The size of the tribute was very large. The size of the tribute alone in favor of the khan was 1300 kg of silver per year.

In addition, deductions from trade duties and various taxes went to the khan's treasury. In total there were 14 types of tribute in favor of the Tatars. The Russian principalities made attempts not to obey the horde. However, the strength to overthrow Tatar-Mongol yoke it was still not enough. Realizing this, the most far-sighted Russian princes - Alexander Nevsky and Daniil Galitsky - took a more flexible policy towards the Horde and the khan. Realizing that an economically weak state would never be able to resist the Horde, Alexander Nevsky set a course for restoring and boosting the economy of the Russian lands.

INVASION OF THE MONGOL-TATARS ON Rus', 1237-1240.

In 1237, the 75,000-strong army of Khan Batu invaded Russian borders. Hordes of Mongol-Tatars, a well-armed army of the Khan's empire, the largest in medieval history, came to conquer Rus': to wipe out rebellious Russian cities and villages from the face of the earth, impose tribute on the population and establish the power of their governors - the Baskaks - throughout the entire Russian land.

The Mongol-Tatars’ attack on Rus' was sudden, but not only this determined the success of the invasion. For a number of objective reasons, power was on the side of the conquerors, the fate of Rus' was predetermined, as was the success of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.

By the beginning of the 13th century, Rus' was a country torn into small principalities, without a single ruler or army. Behind the Mongol-Tatars, on the contrary, stood a strong and united power, approaching the peak of its power. Only a century and a half later, in 1380, in different political and economic conditions, Rus' was able to field a strong army against the Golden Horde led by a single commander - the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich and move from a shameful and unsuccessful defense to active military action and achieve a devastating victory on the Kulikovo field.

Not about any unity of the Russian land in 1237-1240. there was no question, the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars showed the weakness of Rus', the invasion of the enemy and the power of the Golden Horde established for two and a half centuries, the Golden Horde yoke became retribution for internecine enmity and trampling of all-Russian interests on the part of Russian princes, too keen on satisfying their political ambitions.

The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' was swift and merciless. In December 1237, Batu’s army burned Ryazan, and on January 1, 1238, Kolomna fell under enemy pressure. During January - May 1238, the Mongol-Tatar invasion incinerated the Vladimir, Pereyaslav, Yuryev, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Uglitsky and Kozel principalities. In 1239 it was destroyed by Murom, a year later the inhabitants of the cities and villages of the Chernigov principality faced the misfortune of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, and in September - December 1240 the ancient capital city of Rus' - Kyiv - was conquered.

After the defeat of North-Eastern and Southern Rus', the countries were subjected to the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Eastern Europe: Batu’s army won a number of major victories in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, but, having lost significant forces on Russian soil, returned to the Volga region, which became the epicenter of the powerful Golden Horde.

With the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars into Rus', the Golden Horde period of Russian history began: the era of the rule of Eastern despotism, oppression and ruin of the Russian people, the period of decline of the Russian economy and culture.

The beginning of the Mongol conquests of the Russian principalities

In the 13th century the peoples of Rus' had to endure a difficult struggle with Tatar-Mongol conquerors, who ruled the Russian lands until the 15th century. (last century in a milder form). Directly or indirectly, the Mongol invasion contributed to the fall of the political institutions of the Kyiv period and the rise of absolutism.

In the 12th century. There was no centralized state in Mongolia; the unification of the tribes was achieved at the end of the 12th century. Temuchin, the leader of one of the clans. At the general meeting (“kurultai”) of representatives of all clans in 1206 he was proclaimed great khan with the name Genghis(“limitless power”).

Once the empire was created, it began its expansion. The organization of the Mongol army was based on the decimal principle - 10, 100, 1000, etc. An imperial guard was created that controlled the entire army. Before the advent of firearms Mongol cavalry prevailed in the steppe wars. She was better organized and trained than any army of nomads of the past. The reason for the success was not only the perfection of the military organization of the Mongols, but also the unpreparedness of their rivals.

At the beginning of the 13th century, having conquered part of Siberia, the Mongols began to conquer China in 1215. They managed to capture its entire northern part. From China, the Mongols brought the newest for that time military equipment and specialists. In addition, they received a cadre of competent and experienced officials from among the Chinese. In 1219, Genghis Khan's troops invaded Central Asia. After Central Asia was Northern Iran captured, after which Genghis Khan’s troops made a predatory campaign in Transcaucasia. From the south they came to the Polovtsian steppes and defeated the Polovtsians.

The Polovtsians' request to help them against a dangerous enemy was accepted by the Russian princes. The battle between the Russian-Polovtsian and Mongol troops took place on May 31, 1223 on the Kalka River in the Azov region. Not all Russian princes who promised to participate in the battle sent their troops. The battle ended in the defeat of the Russian-Polovtsian troops, many princes and warriors died.

In 1227 Genghis Khan died. Ögedei, his third son, was elected Great Khan. In 1235, the Kurultai met in the Mongol capital Kara-korum, where it was decided to begin the conquest of the western lands. This intention posed a terrible threat to Russian lands. At the head of the new campaign was Ogedei's nephew, Batu (Batu).

In 1236, Batu's troops began a campaign against the Russian lands. Having defeated Volga Bulgaria, they set out to conquer the Ryazan principality. The Ryazan princes, their squads and townspeople had to fight the invaders alone. The city was burned and plundered. After the capture of Ryazan, Mongol troops moved to Kolomna. In the battle near Kolomna, many Russian soldiers died, and the battle itself ended in defeat for them. On February 3, 1238, the Mongols approached Vladimir. Having besieged the city, the invaders sent a detachment to Suzdal, which took it and burned it. The Mongols stopped only in front of Novgorod, turning south due to muddy roads.

In 1240, the Mongol offensive resumed. Chernigov and Kyiv were captured and destroyed. From here the Mongol troops moved to Galicia-Volyn Rus'. Having captured Vladimir-Volynsky, Galich in 1241 Batu invaded Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Moravia, and then in 1242 reached Croatia and Dalmatia. However, Mongol troops entered Western Europe significantly weakened by the powerful resistance they encountered in Rus'. This largely explains the fact that if the Mongols managed to establish their yoke in Rus', Western Europe only experienced an invasion and then on a smaller scale. This is the historical role of the heroic resistance of the Russian people to the Mongol invasion.

The result of Batu's grandiose campaign was the conquest of a vast territory - the southern Russian steppes and forests of Northern Rus', the Lower Danube region (Bulgaria and Moldova). The Mongol Empire now included the entire Eurasian continent from the Pacific Ocean to the Balkans.

After 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 first armed clash between the Russian squad and the Mongol-Tatar army occurred 14 years before Batu’s invasion. In 1223, the Mongol-Tatar army under the command of Subudai-Baghatur went on a campaign against the Polovtsians in close proximity to Russian lands. At the request of the Polovtsians, some Russian princes provided military assistance to the Polovtsians.

On May 31, 1223, a battle took place between Russian-Polovtsian troops and Mongol-Tatars on the Kalka River near the Sea of Azov. As a result of this battle, the Russian-Polovtsian militia suffered a crushing defeat from the Mongol-Tatars. The Russian-Polovtsian army suffered heavy losses. Six Russian princes died, including Mstislav Udaloy, the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan and more than 10 thousand militiamen.

The main reasons for the defeat of the Russian-Polish army were:

The reluctance of the Russian princes to act as a united front against the Mongol-Tatars (most Russian princes refused to respond to the request of their neighbors and send troops);

Underestimation of the Mongol-Tatars (the Russian militia was poorly armed and was not properly prepared for battle);

Inconsistency of actions during the battle (Russian troops were not united army, but by scattered squads of different princes acting in their own way; some squads left the battle and watched from the sidelines).

Having won a victory on Kalka, the army of Subudai-Baghatur did not build on its success and went to the steppes.

4. Thirteen years later, in 1236, the Mongol-Tatar army led by Khan Batu (Batu Khan), the grandson of Genghis Khan and the son of Jochi, invaded the Volga steppes and Volga Bulgaria (the territory of modern Tataria). Having won a victory over the Cumans and Volga Bulgars, the Mongol-Tatars decided to invade Rus'.

The conquest of Russian lands was carried out during two campaigns:

The campaign of 1237 - 1238, as a result of which the Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal principalities - northeast Rus' - were conquered;

The campaign of 1239 - 1240, as a result of which the Chernigov and Kiev principalities and other principalities of southern Rus' were conquered. The Russian principalities offered heroic resistance. Among the most important battles of the war with the Mongol-Tatars are:

Defense of Ryazan (1237) - the very first large city to be attacked by the Mongol-Tatars - almost all residents participated and died during the defense of the city;

Defense of Vladimir (1238);

Defense of Kozelsk (1238) - the Mongol-Tatars stormed Kozelsk for 7 weeks, for which they nicknamed it the “evil city”;

Battle of the City River (1238) - the heroic resistance of the Russian militia prevented the further advance of the Mongol-Tatars to the north - to Novgorod;

The defense of Kyiv - the city fought for about a month.

December 6, 1240 Kyiv fell. This event is considered the final defeat of the Russian principalities in the fight against the Mongol-Tatars.

The main reasons for the defeat of the Russian principalities in the war against the Mongol-Tatars are considered to be:

Feudal fragmentation;

Lack of a single centralized state and a unified army;

Enmity between princes;

The transition of individual princes to the side of the Mongols;

The technical backwardness of the Russian squads and the military and organizational superiority of the Mongol-Tatars.

Consequences of the Mongol-Tatars invasion for the Old Russian state.

The invasion of nomads was accompanied by massive destruction of Russian cities, the inhabitants were mercilessly destroyed or taken prisoner. This led to a noticeable decline in Russian cities - the population decreased, the lives of city residents became poorer, and many crafts were lost.

The Mongol-Tatar invasion dealt a heavy blow to the basis of urban culture - handicraft production, since the destruction of cities was accompanied by mass removals of artisans to Mongolia and the Golden Horde. Together with the craft population, Russian cities lost centuries of production experience: the craftsmen took their professional secrets with them. The quality of construction subsequently also dropped significantly. The conquerors inflicted no less heavy damage on the Russian countryside and rural monasteries of Rus'. The peasants were robbed by everyone: Horde officials, numerous Khan's ambassadors, and simply regional gangs. The damage caused by the Mongol-Tatars to the peasant economy was terrible. Dwellings and outbuildings were destroyed in the war. Draft cattle were captured and driven to the Horde. Horde robbers often raked out the entire harvest from barns. Russian peasant prisoners were an important export item from the Golden Horde to the East. Ruin, constant threat, shameful slavery - this is what the conquerors brought to the Russian village. Damage caused national economy Rus''s Mongolo-Tatar conquerors did not limit themselves to devastating robberies during raids. After the establishment of the yoke, huge values left the country in the form of “ani” and “requests”. The constant leakage of silver and other metals had dire consequences for the economy. There was not enough silver for trade; there was even a “silver famine.” Mongolian Tatar conquest led to a significant deterioration in the international position of the Russian principalities. Ancient trade and cultural ties with neighboring states were forcibly severed. For example, Lithuanian feudal lords used the weakening of Rus' for predatory raids. The German feudal lords also intensified the attack on the Russian lands. Russia lost the way to the Baltic Sea. In addition, the ancient ties of the Russian principalities with Byzantium were broken, and trade fell into decline. The invasion dealt a strong destructive blow to the culture of the Russian principalities. Numerous monuments, icon paintings and architecture were destroyed in the fire of the Mongol-Tatar invasions. And also there was a decline in Russian chronicle writing, which reached its dawn at the beginning of Batu’s invasion.

The Mongol-Tatar conquest artificially delayed the spread of commodity-money relations and “mothballed” the natural economy. While the Western European states, which were not attacked, gradually moved from feudalism to capitalism, Rus', torn apart by the conquerors, retained the feudal economy. It is difficult to even imagine how dearly the campaigns of the Mongol khans would have cost humanity and how many more misfortunes, murders and destruction they could have caused if the heroic resistance of the Russian people and other peoples of our country, having exhausted and weakened the enemy, had not stopped the invasion on the borders of Central Europe.

The positive thing was that the entire Russian clergy and church people were spared from paying the heavy Tatar tribute. It should be noted that the Tatars are completely tolerant of all religions, and the Russian Orthodox Church Not only did she not tolerate any oppression from the khans, but, on the contrary, the Russian metropolitans received from the khans special letters (“yarlyki”), which ensured the rights and privileges of the clergy and the inviolability of church property. The Church became the force that preserved and nurtured not only the religious, but also the national unity of the Russian “peasantry.”

Finally, Tatar rule separated Eastern Rus' for a long time from Western Europe, and after the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the eastern branch of the Russian people found themselves separated from its western branch for several centuries, which created a wall of mutual alienation between them. Eastern Rus', which was under the rule of the Tatars, itself turned into “Tataria” in the minds of ignorant Europeans...

What are the consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the yoke?

Firstly, this is the backwardness of Rus' from European countries. Europe continued to develop, while Rus' had to restore everything destroyed by the Mongols.

The second is the decline of the economy. A lot of people were lost. Many crafts disappeared (the Mongols took artisans into slavery). Farmers also moved to more northern regions of the country, safer from the Mongols. All this delayed economic development.

Third, the slowness of cultural development of Russian lands. For some time after the invasion, no churches were built at all in Rus'.

Fourth – cessation of contacts, including trade, with the countries of Western Europe. Now foreign policy Rus' was focused on the Golden Horde. The Horde appointed princes, collected tribute from the Russian people, and carried out punitive campaigns when the principalities disobeyed.

The fifth consequence is very controversial. Some scientists say that the invasion and the yoke preserved political fragmentation in Rus', others argue that the yoke gave impetus to the unification of Russians.

Batu. Batu's invasion of Rus'

Parents: Jochi (1127+), ?;

Life highlights:

Batu, Khan of the Golden Horde, son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. According to the division made by Temuchin in 1224, the eldest son, Jochi, got the Kipchat steppe, Khiva, part of the Caucasus, Crimea and Russia (Ulus Jochi). Having done nothing to actually take possession of the part assigned to him, Jochi died in 1227.

At the sejms (kurultays) of 1229 and 1235, it was decided to send a large army to conquer the spaces north of the Caspian and Black Seas. Khan Ogedei put Batu at the head of this campaign. With him went Ordu, Shiban, Tangkut, Kadan, Buri and Paydar (descendants of Temujin) and the generals Subutai and Bagatur.

In its movement, this invasion captured not only the Russian principalities, but also part of Western Europe. Meaning in this latter initially only Hungary, where the Cumans (Cumans) left the Tatars, it spread to Poland, the Czech Republic, Moravia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Dalmatia.

Rising along the Volga, Batu defeated the Bulgars, then turned west, ravaged Ryazan (December 1237), Moscow, Vladimir-on-Klyazma (February 1238), moved to Novgorod, but due to the spring thaw he left for Polovtsian steppes, dealing with Kozelsk along the way. In 1239, Batu conquered Pereyaslavl, Chernigov, ravaged Kyiv (December 6, 1240), Kamenets, Vladimir-on-Volyn, Galich and Lodyzhin (December 1240). Here Batu's horde split. A unit led by Kadan and Ordu went to Poland (Sandomierz was defeated on February 13, 1241, Krakow on March 24, Opole and Breslau), where near Liegnitz Polish forces suffered a terrible defeat.

The extreme western point of this movement turned out to be Meissen: the Mongols did not dare to move further west. Europe was taken by surprise and did not offer united and organized resistance. The Czech forces were late at Liegnitz and were sent to Lusatia to cross the intended route of the Mongols to the west. The latter turned south to defenseless Moravia, which was devastated.

Another large part, led by Batu, went to Hungary, where Kadan and Horde soon joined with it. King Bela IV of Hungary was completely defeated by Batu and fled. Batu passed through Hungary, Croatia and Dalmatia, inflicting defeats everywhere. Khan Ogedei died in December 1241; This news, received by Batu at the height of his European successes, forced him to rush to Mongolia to take part in the election of a new khan. In March 1242, the reverse, no less devastating, movement of the Mongols began through Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria.

Later, Batu made no attempts to fight in the west, settling with his horde on the banks of the Volga and forming the vast state of the Golden Horde.

INVASION OF BATYA ON RUSSIA.1237-1240.

In 1224, an unknown people appeared; an unheard of army came, godless Tatars, about whom no one knows well who they are and where they came from, and what kind of language they have, and what tribe they are, and what kind of faith they have... The Polovtsians could not resist them and ran to the Dnieper. Their Khan Kotyan was the father-in-law of Mstislav Galitsky; he came with a bow to the prince, his son-in-law, and to all the Russian princes..., and said: The Tatars took our land today, and tomorrow they will take yours, so protect us; if you don’t help us, then we will be cut off today, and you will be cut off tomorrow.” “The princes thought and thought and finally decided to help Kotyan.” The campaign began in April when the rivers were in full flood. The troops were heading down the Dnieper. Command was carried out Kiev prince Mstislav Romanovich and Mstislav the Udaly. The Polovtsy informed the Russian princes about the treachery of the Tatars. On the 17th day of the campaign, the army stopped near Olshen, somewhere on the banks of the Ros. There the second Tatar embassy found him. Unlike the first, when the ambassadors were killed, These were released. Immediately after crossing the Dnieper, Russian troops encountered the enemy's vanguard, chased after it for 8 days, and on the eighth they reached the bank of the Kalka. Here Mstislav the Udaloy with some princes immediately crossed the Kalka, leaving Mstislav of Kyiv on the other bank.

The Military Council of 1235 declared an all-Mongol campaign to the west. Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, son of Jugha, was chosen as leader. All winter the Mongols gathered in the upper reaches of the Irtysh, preparing for a big campaign. In the spring of 1236, countless horsemen, countless herds, endless carts with military equipment and siege weapons moved west. In the autumn of 1236, their army attacked Volga Bulgaria, possessing a huge superiority of forces, they broke through the Bulgar defense line, cities were taken one after another. Bulgaria was terribly destroyed and burned. The Polovtsians took the second blow, most of whom were killed, the rest fled to Russian lands. The Mongol troops moved in two large arcs, using "round-up" tactics.

One arc Batu (Mordovians along the way), the other arc Guisk Khan (Polovtsians), the ends of both arcs abutted in Rus'.

The first city that stood in the way of the conquerors was Ryazan. The Battle of Ryazan began on December 16, 1237. The population of the city was 25 thousand people. Ryazan was protected on three sides by well-fortified walls, and on the fourth by a river (bank). But after five days of siege, the walls of the city, destroyed by powerful siege weapons, could not stand it and on December 21, Ryazan fell. An army of nomads stood near Ryazan for ten days - they plundered the city, divided the spoils, and plundered neighboring villages. Next, Batu’s army moved to Kolomna. On the way, they were unexpectedly attacked by a detachment led by Evpatiy Kolovrat, a Ryazan resident. His detachment numbered about 1,700 people. Despite the numerical superiority of the Mongols, he boldly attacked the hordes of enemies and fell in battle, causing enormous damage to the enemy. The Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich, who did not respond to the call of the Ryazan prince to jointly oppose Khan Batu, himself found himself in danger. But he made good use of the time that passed between the attacks on Ryazan and Vladimir (about a month). He managed to concentrate quite a significant army on Batu’s intended path. The place where the Vladimir regiments gathered to repel the Mongol-Tatars was the city of Kolomna. In terms of the number of troops and the tenacity of the battle, the battle near Kolomna can be considered one of the most significant events of the invasion. But they were defeated due to the numerical superiority of the Mongol-Tatars. Having defeated the army and destroyed the city, Batu set off along the Moscow River towards Moscow. Moscow held back the attacks of the conquerors for five days. The city was burned and almost all the inhabitants were killed. After this, the nomads headed to Vladimir. On the way from Ryazan to Vladimir, the conquerors had to storm every city, repeatedly fight with Russian warriors in the “open field”; defend against surprise attacks from ambushes. The heroic resistance of the ordinary Russian people held back the conquerors. On February 4, 1238, the siege of Vladimir began. Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich left part of the troops to defend the city, and on the other hand went north to gather an army. The defense of the city was led by his sons Vsevolod and Mstislav. But before this, the conquerors took Suzdal (30 km from Vladimir) by storm, and without any particular difficulties. Vladimir fell after a difficult battle, causing enormous damage to the conqueror. The last inhabitants were burned in the Stone Cathedral. Vladimir was the last city of North-Eastern Rus', which was besieged by the united forces of Batu Khan. The Mongol-Tatars had to make a decision so that three tasks would be completed at once: to cut off Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich from Novgorod, defeat the remnants of the Vladimir forces and pass along all river and trade routes, destroying cities - centers of resistance. Batu's troops were divided into three parts: to the north to Rostov and further to the Volga, to the east - to the middle Volga, to the northwest to Tver and Torzhok. Rostov surrendered without a fight, as did Uglich. As a result of the February campaigns of 1238, the Mongol-Tatars destroyed Russian cities in the territory from the Middle Volga to Tver, a total of fourteen cities.

The defense of Kozelsk lasted seven weeks. Even when the Tatars broke into the city, the Kozelites continued to fight. They attacked the invaders with knives, axes, clubs, and strangled them with their bare hands. Batu lost about 4 thousand soldiers. The Tatars called Kozelsk an evil city. By order of Batu, all the inhabitants of the city, down to the last baby, were destroyed, and the city was destroyed to the ground.

Batu withdrew his badly battered and thinned army beyond the Volga. In 1239 he resumed his campaign against Rus'. One detachment of Tatars went up the Volga and devastated the Mordovian land, the cities of Murom and Gorokhovets. Batu himself with the main forces headed towards the Dnieper. Bloody battles between Russians and Tatars took place everywhere. After heavy fighting, the Tatars ravaged Pereyaslavl, Chernigov and other cities. In the autumn of 1240, the Tatar hordes approached Kyiv. Batu was amazed by the beauty and grandeur of the ancient Russian capital. He wanted to take Kyiv without a fight. But the people of Kiev decided to fight to the death. Prince Mikhail of Kyiv left for Hungary. The defense of Kyiv was led by Voivode Dmitry. All residents rose to defend their hometown. Craftsmen forged weapons, sharpened axes and knives. Everyone capable of wielding weapons stood on the city walls. Children and women brought them arrows, stones, ash, sand, boiled water, and boiled resin.

In addition, deductions from trade duties and various taxes went to the khan's treasury. In total there were 14 types of tribute in favor of the Tatars. The Russian principalities made attempts not to obey the horde. However, the forces to overthrow the Tatar-Mongol yoke were still not enough. Realizing this, the most far-sighted Russian princes - Alexander Nevsky and Daniil Galitsky - took a more flexible policy towards the Horde and the khan. Realizing that an economically weak state would never be able to resist the Horde, Alexander Nevsky set a course for restoring and boosting the economy of the Russian lands.

The Tatar-Mongol invasion and subsequent yoke are considered a special period in Russian history. It was this period of time that brought into culture, politics and the manner of farming many phenomena that exist to this day. The Tatar-Mongol invasion undoubtedly had a destructive impact on the state of the Old Russian state, on the development Agriculture and culture. What exactly were the prerequisites for committing Mongol invasion, and what consequences did it entail?

At the beginning of the 13th century, numerous Mongol tribes began to move to a new stage in the development of statehood - centralization and unification of tribes led to the creation of a large and powerful empire with a huge army, supporting itself mainly through raids on nearby territories.

Reasons for the Mongol invasion of Rus'

The main reason for the Mongol invasion under the leadership of Khan Batu lies in the very type of statehood of the Mongols. In the 13th century, these were united groups of tribes engaged in cattle breeding. This type of activity required a constant change of terrain and, accordingly, a nomadic lifestyle. Mongol tribes constantly expanded their territories for grazing livestock.

The nomads needed a strong and powerful army. Aggressive military policy was based on an invincible army, consisting of clearly organized groups of warriors. It was the good organization and discipline of the troops that ensured many of the Mongol victories.

Having already conquered vast territories in China and Siberia, the Mongol khans sent their troops to Volga Bulgaria and Rus'.

The main reason for the first defeats of the Russian troops was the disunity and disorganization of the actions of the princes. Long-term civil strife and disputes between different principalities weakened the Russian lands; the princely squads were busy resolving internal conflicts.

The Battle of the Kalka River in 1223 showed the need for coordinated actions of various principalities - defeat in it was a consequence of uncoordinated actions and the refusal of many princes to join the battle.

The strictly organized Mongol army was able to win its first victories and advance deep into Russian lands with almost no difficulty.

Consequences of the Mongol invasion of Rus'

The Mongol invasion became a real disaster for Russian lands in the 13th century. Negative consequences were observed in all spheres of society. After the raids of 1237-1238, the Tatar-Mongol yoke was established in Rus', that is, a system of dependence on the victorious state. The yoke lasted until 1480 - this time significantly changed the state of the Old Russian state.

The invasion of the Tatar-Mongols and the subsequent yoke led to a sharp deterioration demographic situation in Rus'. Previously populous and numerous cities were deserted, and the population in the devastated lands decreased. The Mongol intervention was observed in social relations on Russian lands.

The Mongol invasion also influenced the political structure of Rus'. The established dependence assumed the influence of the Mongol khans on all political decisions in Rus' - the khans appointed princes by handing them labels to reign. The veche culture of many principalities was fading away, as the general political activity and interest of the population decreased.

The Russian economy also became dependent on the Tatar-Mongols. A system of collecting taxes by the khan's representatives, the Baskaks, was established. Often, residents of cities and villages resisted the tribute collectors and refused to give them anything - such revolts were harshly and bloodily suppressed.

The consequences were especially devastating in the cultural sphere. Stone construction ceased in Rus' for more than fifty years. Churches and fortresses of enormous architectural value were destroyed. There was a general decline in cultural life in Rus' - the number of artisans and painters working in the cities decreased. Previously high level The literacy of the Russian population became truly insignificant, chronicle writing in many principalities became rarer or ceased altogether.

For two centuries, Rus' found itself under the yoke of foreign invaders - it was a kind of buffer on the way of the Mongols to Europe. The Tatar-Mongol army did not reach European countries, and from the 14th – 15th centuries there was a slow weakening of the khan’s power.

December 19, 1237 - 770 years ago the invasion of Batu Khan’s troops into Rus' began

Ryazan was the first to stand on the path of the conqueror. The city defended itself bravely, however, without waiting for help, it fell on the seventh day and was practically wiped off the face of the earth.

After the death of Vladimir Monomakh, an intensive process of disintegration of the great Kyiv power began. Southern Rus' was tormented by endless princely civil strife, in which nomadic Cumans actively participated as allies. The Novgorod land increasingly distanced itself from distant Kyiv as a self-sufficient and independent state. And finally, from the Slavic-Finnish wilds the Rostov-Suzdal principality grew as an independent and ambitious force, when the son of Vladimir Monomakh, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, became its ruler. Few people know today that he was the Grand Duke of Kyiv, but he is known throughout the world for the fact that the small town of Moscow appeared on the distant outskirts of his Rostov-Suzdal estate...

In the twelfth century, the feudal fragmentation of the Russian land marked the beginning of its division into Great, Little and White Rus', which finally became a geopolitical reality only in the 20th century. The first historical collision that initiated this process was the so-called. "Tatar yoke". The yoke was destined to play a key role in the historical fate of Russia. Questions about its origin, character and significance in the process of formation of Great Russian statehood help us understand today who we are, where we come from and where we are going...

In the second half of the 12th century, Rus', like the entire Christian world, did not know that far in the East a “redivision of the world” was taking place. The mighty and brave people - the Mongols, united under the rule of the great leader Genghis Khan, set out to conquer the world, involving many peoples and tribes of the Great Steppe in their expansion. The most active and widely settled people among them were the Tatars. After their name, the steppe invasion of Rus' received its historical name - Tatar. It so happened that the Russians became acquainted with it when it had not yet begun. This was in 1223. In the Mongol movement to the West, the flank of the Tatars touched the southern neighbors of Rus' - the Polovtsians. They have long been “their own”, “home” nomads for the Russian people, and as “their own” the South Russian princes decided to help them, stood with them against the Tatar-Mongols on the Kalka River - and suffered a catastrophic defeat. But the princes did not learn a lesson from this defeat. Carried away by their internecine strife, they did not seem to notice that a cloud was hanging over the Russian land, threatening to collapse with an invasion...

By that time, Genghis Khan had created an empire that spread from Pacific Ocean to the Volga. In 1224, shortly before his death, he divided it between his closest heirs, to whom he bequeathed to conquer the whole world to the Mongols. The task of expanding the empire to the west was entrusted to Jochi's son Batu (Batu), the eldest grandson of Genghis Khan.

Genghis Khan subordinated the tribal organization to military necessity and daily life tribes subject to him. Nomadic places for each family were strictly regulated. The place of each warrior was also strictly defined - both in peaceful life, on the campaign, and in battle. It was the responsibility of everyone to serve the army, including the elderly, women and children. Victory in battles was invariably brought to the Mongols by the crushing pressure of horse lava, which was greatly strengthened by iron discipline and the organization of combat borrowed from conquered China. The actions of the horse masses in battle were directed by drums and flags, traffic controllers signaled with flags on the field, and the army acted like a well-oiled mechanism. China adopted and mastered complex siege technology.

And yet, the main “weapon of victory” of the Mongol invasion, as a thousand years before Genghis Khan, was an ordinary steppe warrior, a nomadic cattle breeder, devoted with all his being to the family, clan and commanders whom he placed over him great khan. The warrior mastered a curved saber perfectly, hit a target with a bow while galloping, was unpretentious on the campaign trail and fearless in battle. His short steppe horse matched the warrior, a rider from an early age. Unpretentious in appearance, she was fleet-footed and extremely resilient. Each warrior took several of these horses with him on a campaign.

In the fall of 1237, the invading army of Batu Khan concentrated on the eastern borders of the Russian land. The first Russian principality on his way was the Principality of Ryazan. The people of Ryazan asked for help from the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri, the princes of Chernigov... In vain. The Mongols usually did not enter into negotiations: they simply demanded that they lay down their arms under threat of death. The Ryazan residents who did not want to surrender were immediately defeated in open battle, after which they shut themselves up in the city. The city was taken by storm and plundered to the ground. The princely family and many thousands of Ryazan residents - townspeople and residents of surrounding villages - perished. Batu’s army continued its journey to the West, but suddenly a detachment of surviving Ryazan warriors appeared in his rear. Hitting the rear of the invaders, they inflicted great damage on them, and everyone died a heroic death. Their leader, boyar Evpatiy Kolovrat, also died. The story about this came to us in “The Tale of the Invasion of Batu.” The same legend described the death of Princess Eupraxia, who, upon hearing the news of the death of her beloved husband and his army, threw herself from a high tower to the ground and killed herself...

Further on Batu's path was the capital of northeastern Rus' - Vladimir-on-Klyazma. The city, which rivaled Kiev in wealth and beauty, was taken by storm and burned, and the entire grand-ducal family perished. Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich himself, who at the head of the army met Batu on the banks of the City River, suffered a crushing defeat and died. North-Eastern Rus' was conquered. It was winter. It was difficult for the conquerors and deadly for the population that came under their power. The Russian people who survived were confiscated from their food supplies, fodder, and livestock, dooming them to starvation. Along the route of the Tatar-Mongol army, the region became depopulated.

There were no troops or fortified cities on Batu’s path to Novgorod, but dense forests and flooded rivers in the spring made a campaign against Novgorod impossible, and Batu led his army back to the Volga steppes. In the rear, northeastern Rus' remained devastated and, it seemed, conquered, but suddenly Batya’s army met the small town of Kozelsk, whose resistance forced the invaders to linger for seven weeks. The inhabitants of Kozelsk decided: “Although our prince is young, we will lay down our lives for him, and here we will receive glory, and there we will receive heavenly crowns from Christ God.” Everyone, young and old, fought to the last, making desperate forays in which they destroyed siege engines. The invaders killed everyone - even those who could not resist, even babies. They nicknamed Kozelsk “the evil city.”

Batu's invasion of Rus' in 1237-1238. had all the signs of a raid. They thought that it was similar to the Polovtsian raids on southern Rus' and differed from them only in its greater scope, but this was a delusion. Batu really did not seek to seize and occupy Russian lands: his goal was to make the Russian princes his vassals and to build the robbery of Rus' into a system that worked “on a permanent basis.”

Intending to conquer the Russian principalities, Batu acted with certainty, despite the fact that his army was by no means overwhelming in numbers. It numbered not hundreds, but tens of thousands, and the Russian forces were quite comparable in number to it, but they were poorly organized and disunited. Batu had a superbly organized and monolithic army. Even if the united Russian princes had defeated Batu, they would not have been able to defend the independence of Rus' under those conditions. Batu had colossal reserves behind him.

In 1238-1239 The Horde rested, replenished its ranks with conquered Polovtsy and again rushed to Rus'. This time the target was Kyiv, Chernigov, Galich, Volyn. The Mongolian horse lava, sweeping away everything, rushed across the southern Russian steppes. Kyiv fell, holding out for almost three months, was completely plundered and destroyed. Southern Rus' was turned into a desert. The surviving residents fled to less affected areas of North-Eastern Rus' and even further, to the Novgorod lands. In 1241, the Mongols passed through Hungary, reached Croatia and Dalmatia and reached the Adriatic Sea. The other wing of the invasion made its way through Poland, and at the border of Western Europe was stopped by the Germans and Czechs; At the same time, Batu received news of the death of the Great Khan Ogedei and hurried to his native steppes. Its reverse movement swept through Serbia, Bosnia and Bulgaria like a devastating whirlwind. Batu's raid on central Europe ended in 1242.

The power of Khan Batu, called Golden Horde, extended from the Ural River to the lower reaches of the Danube. The conquered Russian lands became part of it. Within North-Eastern Rus', the Tatar yoke was carried out through heavy tribute, strict vassal duties of Russian princes and punitive expeditions. The Russian princes retained power over their lands as servants and tributaries of the khan. This yoke differed from the Turkish yoke that was established a century and a half later in the countries of South-Eastern Europe, primarily in the absence of direct occupation. The conquerors did not live on the lands of the conquered people. Russian people who lived under the yoke usually did not meet a Tatar throughout their entire life. Only the nobility and rare merchants who visited the Horde had contact with the conquerors. The situation on the territory of Southern Rus' was different. Its depopulated steppes were occupied for a long time by Tatar-Mongol and Polovtsian nomads with numerous Slavic slaves...

Being mostly pagans, the Mongol conquerors feared the wrath of foreign spirits and gods and did not insult the faith of the peoples they conquered. They treated the Russian faith with special respect. Among the Mongol nobility were Nestorian Christians. There were especially many of them among the Uyghurs, who, as bearers of Chinese education, occupied a high position in the civil administration of Genghis Khan's empire. First century Tatar yoke, the most difficult for Rus', became a century of strengthening the authority of the Church and grand-ducal power. Under the strict protectorate of the Horde, the Church and the Grand Duke could strengthen the unity of Rus' and “to please the Horde” build Russian statehood. Prince Alexander Nevsky became an iconic figure of this period of Russian history. A military leader who stopped the German invasion in the Russian north-west, he was called upon to decide the question of the historical fate of the Russian people - whether they should die as forward detachment Europe, fighting the Asian East, or recognize its power for the sake of preserving faith and national identity. Time has shown that the choice he made was the only correct one. This great person under the Horde yoke outlined the path of development Russian statehood, and the Moscow state built by his descendants became the cradle of Great Russia.

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The first campaign against Rus'. Batu's invasion of northeastern Rus'

Reasons for the Mongol invasion of Rus'

Consequences of the Mongol invasion of Rus'