Father's age. Batu's invasion of Russia: beginning, years, reasons

Battle on Kalka.

At the beginning of the XIII century. there was a unification of the nomadic Mongolian tribes, who embarked on conquest campaigns. Genghis Khan, a brilliant commander and politician, stood at the head of the tribal union. Under his leadership, the Mongols conquered northern China, Central Asia, steppe territories stretching from Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea.

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

Reasons for the victories of the Mongols

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

Siege weapons were borrowed from China, with the help of which the conquerors could capture large fortresses. The conquered peoples often provided military contingents to the Mongols. The Mongols attached great importance to intelligence. There was an order in which spies and scouts penetrated into the country of the future enemy before the alleged military operations.

The Mongols quickly cracked down on any disobedience, brutally suppressing any attempts to resist. Using the policy of "divide and rule", they sought to split the enemy forces in the conquered states. It was thanks to this strategy that they managed to maintain their influence in the occupied lands for a fairly long time period.

Campaigns of Batu in Russia

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

In 1236 the Mongols undertook a grand campaign to the west. At the head of the army stood the grandson of Genghis Khan - Batu Khan. Having defeated the Volga Bulgaria, the Mongol army approached the borders of North-Eastern Russia. In the autumn of 1237, the Conquerors invaded the Ryazan Principality.

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

Then the Mongol army invaded the Vladimir principality, where it was met by the grand ducal squad led by the son of the Grand Duke. In the battle of Kolomna, the Russian army was defeated. Using the confusion of the Russian princes in the face of impending danger, the Mongols successively captured Moscow, Suzdal, Rostov, Tver, Vladimir and other cities.

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

Further, the conquerors headed towards Novgorod, but, fearing to get stuck in the spring thaw, they turned back. On the way back, the Mongols took Kursk and Kozelsk. Especially fierce resistance was put up by Kozelsk, called the "Evil City" by the Mongols.

Campaign of Batu to South Russia (2nd campaign of Batu)

During 1238 -1239. the Mongols fought with the Polovtsy, after the conquest of which they set off on a second campaign against Russia. The main forces here were thrown into South Russia; in North-Eastern Russia, the Mongols captured only the city of Murom.

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

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

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

Establishment of the Tatar-Mongol yoke

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

The Mongols established an annual tribute - "exit". Initially, the tribute was not fixed. Its arrival was monitored by tax-farmers, who often simply robbed the population. This practice caused discontent and unrest in Russia, therefore, in order to fix exact size tribute to the Mongols, a census was conducted.

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

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

Lecture 10

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

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

1. In 1223 and in 1237 - 1240. Russian principalities were attacked by the Mongol-Tatars. The result of this invasion was the loss of independence by most of the Russian principalities and the Mongol-Tatar yoke that lasted about 240 years - the political, economic and, in part, cultural dependence of the Russian lands on the Mongol-Tatar conquerors. Mongol-Tatars are a union of numerous nomadic tribes of East and Central Asia. This union of tribes got its name from the name of the ruling tribe of the Mongols, and the most warlike and cruel tribe of the Tatars.

Tatars of the 13th century should not be confused with modern Tatars - the descendants of the Volga Bulgars, who in the XIII century. along with the Russians, they were subjected to the Mongol-Tatar invasion, but subsequently inherited the name.

At the beginning of the XIII century. under the rule of the Mongols, neighboring tribes were united, which formed the basis of the Mongol-Tatars:

- Chinese;

- Manchus;

- Uighurs;

- Buryats;

- Transbaikal Tatars;

- other small peoples of Eastern Siberia;

- later - the peoples of Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

The consolidation of the Mongol-Tatar tribes began at the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries. A significant strengthening of these tribes is associated with the activities of Genghis Khan (Temujin), who lived in 1152/1162 - 1227.

In 1206, at the kurultai (congress of the Mongol nobility and military leaders), Genghis Khan was elected the all-Mongol kagan (“khan of khans”). With the election of Genghis Khan as kagan, the following significant changes occurred in the life of the Mongols:

- increased influence military elite;

- overcoming internal disagreements within the Mongol nobility and its consolidation around military leaders and Genghis Khan;

- rigid centralization and organization of Mongolian society (census of the population, unification of the mass of disparate nomads into paramilitary units - tens, hundreds, thousands, with a clear system of command and subordination);

- the introduction of strict discipline and collective responsibility (for disobedience to the commander - the death penalty, for the faults of an individual soldier, the entire ten were punished);

- the use of advanced scientific and technological achievements for that time (Mongolian specialists studied in China the methods of storming cities, and wall-beating guns were also borrowed from China);

- a radical change in the ideology of Mongolian society, the subordination of the entire Mongolian people to a single goal - the unification of neighboring Asian tribes under the rule of the Mongols, and aggressive campaigns against other countries in order to enrich and expand the habitat.

Under Genghis Khan, a single and binding written legislation was introduced - Yasa, the violation of which was punishable by painful forms of death.

2. From 1211 and in the next 60 years, the Mongol-Tatar conquests were carried out. Conquest campaigns were carried out in four main areas:

- the conquest of Northern and Central China in 1211 - 1215;

- the conquest of the states of Central Asia (Khiva, Bukhara, Khorezm) in 1219 - 1221;

- Batu's campaign in the Volga region, Russia and the Balkans in 1236 - 1242, the conquest of the Volga region and Russian lands;

- Kulagu Khan's campaign in the Middle and Middle East Capture of Baghdad in 1258

The empire of Genghis Khan and his descendants, stretching from China to the Balkans and from Siberia to indian ocean and included Russian lands, existed for about 250 years and fell under the blows of other conquerors - Tamerlane (Timur), the Turks, as well as liberation struggle conquered peoples.

3. The first armed clash between the Russian squad and the Mongol-Tatar army took place 14 years before the invasion of Batu. In 1223, the Mongol-Tatar army under the command of Subudai-Bagatur went on a campaign against the Polovtsy in the immediate vicinity of the Russian lands. At the request of the Polovtsy, some Russian princes provided military assistance to the Polovtsy.

May 31, 1223 on the Kalka River near Sea of ​​Azov a battle took place between the Russian-Polovtsian detachments and the Mongol-Tatars. 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 were killed, including Mstislav Udaloy, the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan and more than 10 thousand militias.

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

- the unwillingness of the Russian princes to act as a united front against the Mongol-Tatars (most of the 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 did not properly tune in to the battle);

- inconsistency of actions during the battle (Russian troops were not a single army, but disparate squads of different princes acting in their own way; some squads left the battle and watched from the side).

Having won a victory at Kalka, the army of Subudai-Bagatur did not develop success and left for the steppes.

4. After 13 years, in 1236, the Mongol-Tatar army led by Batu Khan (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 defeated the Polovtsy and the Volga Bulgars, the Mongol-Tatars decided to invade Russia.

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

- the campaign of 1237 - 1238, as a result of which the Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal principalities - the north-east of Russia were conquered;

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

- the defense of Ryazan (1237) - the very first big city, attacked by the Mongol-Tatars - almost all the inhabitants participated and died during the defense of the city;

- the defense of Vladimir (1238);

- the defense of Kozelsk (1238) - the Mongol-Tatars stormed Kozelsk for 7 weeks, for which they called it the "evil city";

- the battle on 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 struggle against the Mongol-Tatars.

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

— feudal fragmentation;

- the absence of a single centralized state and a unified army;

- enmity between princes;

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

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

5. Having defeated most of the Russian principalities (except Novgorod and Galicia-Volyn), Batu's army in 1241 invaded Europe and marched through the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia.

Having reached the Adriatic Sea, in 1242 Batu stopped his campaign in Europe and returned to Mongolia. The main reasons for the cessation of the expansion of the Mongols into Europe

- fatigue of the Mongol-Tatar army from a 3-year war with the Russian principalities;

- a clash with the Catholic world under the rule of the Pope, which, like the Mongols, had a strong internal organization and became a strong rival of the Mongols for over 200 years;

- the aggravation of the political situation within the empire of Genghis Khan (in 1242, the son and successor of Genghis Khan, Ogedei, who became the all-Mongol kagan after Genghis Khan, died, and Batu was forced to return to take part in the struggle for power).

Subsequently, in the late 1240s, Batu was preparing a second invasion of Russia (on Novgorod land), but Novgorod voluntarily recognized the power of the Mongol-Tatars.

If all lies are removed from history, this does not mean at all that only the truth will remain - as a result, nothing may remain at all.

Stanislav Jerzy Lec

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

The beginning of the invasion and background

For the first time, the troops of Russia and the Horde met on May 31, 1223 in the battle on Kalka. Russian troops led Kyiv prince Mstislav, and Subedei and Juba opposed them. Russian army was not only defeated, it was actually destroyed. There are many reasons for this, but all of them are discussed in the article about the battle on Kalka. Returning to the first invasion, it took place in two stages:

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

Invasion of 1237-1238

In 1236, the Mongols launched another campaign against the Polovtsy. In this campaign, they achieved great success and in the second half of 1237 approached the borders of the Ryazan principality. The commander of the Asian cavalry was Batu Khan (Batu Khan), the grandson of Genghis Khan. He had 150,000 people under him. Subedey, who was familiar with the Russians from previous clashes, participated in the campaign with him.

Map of the Tatar-Mongol invasion

The invasion took place at the beginning of the winter of 1237. Can't install here the exact date because it is unknown. Moreover, some historians say that the invasion did not take place in winter, but late autumn the same year. With great speed, the Mongols' cavalry moved around the country, conquering one city after another:

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

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

Invasion of 1239-1242

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

In the autumn of 1240, Batu led his army under the walls of Kyiv. The ancient capital of Russia could not resist for a long time. The city fell on December 6, 1240. Historians note the special brutality with which the invaders behaved. Kyiv was almost completely destroyed. There is nothing left of the city. The Kyiv that we know today has nothing in common with the ancient capital (except geographical location). After these events, the invading army split up:

• Part went to Vladimir-Volynsky.
• Part went to Galich.

Having captured these cities, the Mongols went on a European campaign, but we are of little interest in it.

The consequences of the Tatar-Mongol invasion of Russia

The consequences of the invasion of the Asian army in Russia are described by historians unambiguously:

• The country was cut, and became completely dependent on the Golden Horde.
• Russia began to pay tribute to the winners every year (in money and people).
• The country fell into a stupor in terms of progress and development due to an unbearable yoke.

This list can be continued, but, in general, it all comes down to the fact that all the problems that were in Russia at that time were written off as a yoke.

This is how, briefly, the Tatar-Mongol invasion appears from the point of view of official history and what we are told in textbooks. In contrast, we will consider Gumilyov's arguments, and also ask a number of simple, but very important questions for understanding the current issues and the fact that with the yoke, as well as with relations between Russia and the Horde, everything is much more complex than it is customary to say.

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

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

The strangeness of the geography of movement of Batu

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

• Kyiv is one of largest cities in Europe and the ancient capital of Russia. The city was conquered by the Mongols and destroyed.
• Novgorod is the largest trading city and the richest in the country (hence its special status). Generally not affected by the invasion.
• Smolensk, also a trading city, was considered equal in wealth to Kyiv. The city also did not see the Mongol-Tatar army.

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

• Near Torzhok, Batu lost many soldiers and was afraid to go to Novgorod. This explanation could well be considered logical if not for one "but". Since Batu lost a lot of his army, then he needs to leave Russia to replenish his troops or take a break. But instead, the khan rushes to storm Kozelsk. Here, by the way, the losses were huge and as a result, the Mongols hastily left Russia. But why they did not go to Novgorod is not clear.
• The Tatar-Mongols were afraid of the spring flood of the rivers (it was in March). Even in modern conditions March in the north of Russia is not distinguished by mild climate and you can safely move around there. And if we talk about 1238, then that era is called by climatologists the Little Ice Age, when winters were much harsher than modern ones and in general the temperature is much lower (this is easy to verify). That is, it turns out that in the era global warming in March you can get to Novgorod, and in the era ice age everyone was afraid of the flood of the rivers.

With Smolensk, the situation is also paradoxical and inexplicable. Having taken Torzhok, Batu set off to storm Kozelsk. This is simple fortress, a small and very poor city. The Mongols stormed it for 7 weeks, lost thousands of people killed. What was it for? There was no benefit from the capture of Kozelsk - there is no money in the city, there are no food depots either. Why such sacrifices? But just 24 hours of movement of the cavalry from Kozelsk is Smolensk - the richest city in Russia, but the Mongols do not even think of moving towards it.

Surprisingly, all these logical questions are simply ignored by official historians. Standard excuses are given, they say, who knows these savages, that's how they decided for themselves. But such an explanation does not stand up to scrutiny.

Nomads never howl in winter

There is another remarkable fact that the official history simply bypasses, because. it is impossible to explain it. Both Tatar-Mongol invasions were committed to Russia in winter (or started in late autumn). But these are nomads, and nomads start fighting only in the spring to finish the battles before winter. After all, they move on horses that need to be fed. Can you imagine how you can feed the many thousands of Mongolian army in snowy Russia? Historians, of course, say that this is a trifle and you should not even consider such issues, but the success of any operation directly depends on the provision:

• Charles 12 was unable to organize the provision of his army - he lost Poltava and the Northern War.
• Napoleon was unable to establish security and left Russia with a half-starved army, which was absolutely unfit for combat.
• Hitler, according to many historians, managed to establish security for only 60-70% - he lost the Second World War.

And now, understanding all this, let's see what the Mongol army was like. It is noteworthy, but there is no definite figure for its quantitative composition. Historians give figures from 50 thousand to 400 thousand horsemen. For example, Karamzin speaks of the 300,000th army of Batu. Let's look at the provision of the army using this figure as an example. As you know, the Mongols always went on military campaigns with three horses: riding (the rider moved on it), pack (carried the rider's personal belongings and weapons) and combat (went empty so that at any moment she could fresh into battle). That is, 300 thousand people is 900 thousand horses. Add to this the horses that carried the ram guns (it is known for certain that the Mongols brought the guns assembled), the horses that carried food for the army, carried additional weapons, etc. It turns out, according to the most conservative estimates, 1.1 million horses! Now imagine how to feed such a herd in a foreign country in a snowy winter (during the Little Ice Age)? The answer is no, because it can't be done.

So how many armies did Dad have?

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

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

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

Time, the history of events, undoubtedly, have their own internal, often bizarre, cyclically, spirally repeating bases. Otherwise, how to explain the fact that in most of the territory of the largest continental state over the millennia of human development - Mongol Empire, which enslaved a huge number of peoples and seized their lands, in a few centuries another empire will come into being, a little more modest in size, but no less strong, formidable for enemies -. How and in what way is it related? From this point of view, the beginning of Batu's invasion of Russia, the date of which would not have been better, becomes the starting point for understanding the changes in the character of the Russian people, worldview, goals and objectives of its rulers, Orthodox church leaders.

Batu, nicknamed Batu by the Russian people, was the natural grandson of the great khan of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan ( given name- Temujin). His father Jochi was the eldest son of Genghis Khan and his first wife Borte. The heir, the successor of the "family business" of seizing foreign lands, Jochi conquered Central Asia on the orders of Genghis Khan, and received the western part of the Mongol Empire as an inheritance for military merit. It was called Ulus Jochi, notorious to the Russian people as the Golden Horde.

What is known about Batu from the surviving Mongolian chronicles of the history of Genghisides - the heirs of Genghis Khan, Russian monastic chronicles:

After the death of his grandfather, the great khan of the Mongol Empire, the ruler of the Golden Horde, Batu, at the kurultai - the congress of the rulers of the uluses, prominent military leaders, was recognized as the eldest among the Genghisides, which made his power even wider. In 1235, at the next congress of khans, it was decided to start the Great Western Campaign to seize the lands of the Volga Bulgaria, the Polovtsian tribes, the principalities of Russia, Poland, Hungary, Dalmatia, which was planned, but never took place. different reasons during the life of Genghis Khan.

The first military clash between the armed forces of the Russian people and the joined Polovtsian tribes took place on May 31, 1223 in the battle on the Kalka River, which ended in a crushing defeat of the allied troops, as a result of which many soldiers died, several princes who led them into battle. Fortunately, the Mongol conquerors, numbering about 30 thousand nomads under the command of comrades-in-arms, commanders of Genghis Khan - Subedei and Jebe, did not move further deep into the Russian lands, since it was a reconnaissance campaign of a reconnaissance nature to collect information about lands, rivers, troops, weapons , fortifications of the countries of Eastern Europe, considered as a future theater of operations.

The beginning of Batu's invasion of Russia is a sad date, from which the second wave of a mass raid of now dozens of tumens of nomads (up to 500 thousand soldiers) begins on the lands of the disunited, living mainly with the problems of their own plots of Russian princes.

The chronology of events is as follows:

After the capture of Russia, a free path to the west of Europe was opened before the troops of Batu, and a cruel occupation regime set in throughout its territory, later called by historians the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which lasted almost two and a half centuries and threw the Russian people in its historical development far back.

In history, the great Khan Batu was noted, in addition to the capture of Russia, by the fact that in the 1250s he founded the stationary capital of the Golden Horde - Stary Saray or Sarai-Batu, located about 80 km from the current Astrakhan. Nature and Russian people did not subsequently leave a trace of the metropolis of the Jochi ulus.

History put everything in its place, allowing the Russian people, forced to receive labels for the reign of rulers, paying an unbearable tribute, gradually, gradually accumulate strength, means, arm and train the fighting princely squads. It is noteworthy that as a result of the Battle of Kulikovo (1380), the troops of Dmitry Donskoy not only defeated the army of the temnik commander Mamai, who led them on behalf of the young Mukhamed Bulak, great-great-grandson of Batu, but the khan himself died. , which does not know the subjunctive mood, struck a real retaliatory blow from the past of Russia, conquered by the grandson of Genghis Khan.

Historically, the Tatar-Mongol yoke will finally end only exactly one century later, when in 1480 the army of the Golden Horde is afraid to attack the army of the great Moscow prince Ivan III after a long “standing on the Ugra” and cowardly returns to the steppe, burying all the conquests of Batu.

In the history of every nation there are periods of the highest prosperity and times of decline. It was the same in Russia. Having reached the golden age under Vladimir the Great, Yaroslav the Wise and Vladimir Monomakh, the country became bogged down in internecine wars for the throne of Kyiv. There were too many princes, but there were still few thrones. So the sons and grandsons fought among themselves, with their brothers and uncles, and the state only lost from this. It is not surprising that Batu's campaigns in Russia, which fell just at that time, were so successful. There was not only no unity between the principalities, but also their desire to help each other. The cities were weakened: the fortress walls were not in the best condition, there was a catastrophic lack of money, and there were few professional combatants. So ordinary citizens had to defend their homes, those who never held weapons in their hands, and they simply did not have knowledge of military strategy and tactics.

Other reasons for the defeat of Russia

It is worth noting that there were other reasons for the defeat of Russia. Batu's campaigns in Russia were not carried out spontaneously, they were carefully prepared and thought out. Since the time of Genghis Khan, the legendary commander from the depths of Asia, scouts have been saying that they are very rich, and it will be quite easy to take them. As a reconnaissance in force, it is customary to consider a campaign that ended in a battle on It is worth noting that the Mongol-Tatar army was very strong, and iron discipline and obedience to any order of the commander contributed to success. In addition, having captured China, the Horde had at their disposal advanced military technology and siege equipment, which had no analogues at that time.

Mongol invasion (briefly)

It should be noted that there were two periods Mongol invasion. The first campaign of Batu against Russia lasted from 1237 to 1238. During it, the Horde conquered the Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal principalities, turned to Veliky Novgorod, but did not reach it and turned back. Before that, they captured the second campaign of Batu to Russia can be briefly described as follows: during the period 1239-1240, he captured Kyiv, the Vladimir-Volyn principality and went further to Europe. However, the Mongol-Tatars counted on a big quick victory, but the resistance turned out to be desperate. Having greatly lost in strength, the khan could not reach the last western sea, as he intended before, so he turned back.

Conquest of Northern Russia. Capture of Ryazan

The first campaign of Batu to Russia was like a bolt from the blue. Of course, the Russian warriors remembered that the Mongols were a dangerous enemy, but still they hoped that they would defeat him if he dared to come to them. The death of Genghis Khan delayed the start of a large military campaign, but it made it possible to build up forces. The sons of the commander conquered Northern China, the Volga Bulgaria, attached the Polovtsians (Kipchaks) to the army. In December 1237, the horde, having crossed the Volga, came close to the border of the Ryazan principality. Batu demanded subjugation and tribute, but received a harsh response. The people of Ryazan asked for help from other Russian princes, but did not receive it. After five days of a brutal siege, the capital fell and was wiped off the face of the earth. The same fate befell the Ryazan lands.

The ruin of the Vladimir principality. Battle of the River Sit

But the campaign against Russia continued. The army moved to the Vladimir principality. sent a squad near Kolomna, where she died. After Kolomna, Moscow, the capital city of Vladimir, fell. At the beginning of 1238, the regiments assembled by the prince were finally defeated on the Sit River. Further, a fierce rebuff to the Mongols was given by Torzhok, which was stormed for two weeks, and Kozelsk, which was taken after a seven-week siege. Fearing that the snow would soon begin to melt, the khan ordered to turn back, before reaching the walls of Novgorod only a hundred miles. Although, it should be noted, some historians believe that wealthy Novgorod paid off the Mongols, and therefore was not taken. And there is also a version that Batu and Alexander Nevsky are one and the same person. And since Novgorod was his city, he did not destroy it.

Whatever it was, but on this the first campaign of Batu Khan to Russia ended. The horde retreated to the Polovtsian lands to lick their wounds and gather strength for a new attack.

Second Mongol invasion

In the spring of 1239, Batu's campaign against southern Russia began. In March, the Mongol-Tatars took Pereyaslavl, in October - the city of Chernigov. After him, in 1240, the Horde besieged Kyiv, the main city of Russia, its capital. Then Batu moved to the West, where he captured Galicia-Volyn principality, invaded Poland and Hungary, went to the shores of the Adriatic Sea. Perhaps the second campaign of Batu to Russia would not have ended with this, but the news of the death of the kagan came. Wanting to take part in the kurultai, at which a new ruler of the Mongols was to be chosen, the grandson of Genghis Khan turned back to the steppe. The horde was no longer able to gather strength again for such a large-scale military campaign. Therefore, Europe remained untouched, Russia took upon itself a cruel blow and greatly exhausted the enemy.

Capture of Kyiv

Batu's campaign against Russia cannot be briefly described. Each city resisted as best it could, but the forces were unequal. The chronicles describe the heroic rebuff of the Russians, who fought to the last drop of blood. This is how the sources say about the capture of the golden-domed one.

At that time, the city belonged, but the prince himself was not in it. Druzhina was commanded by voivode Dmitry. As always, Batu demanded subjugation and tribute, promising pardon for all the defenders, but Kyiv refused and rebuffed the invaders. Using the powerful Mongols entered the city, pushing back the inhabitants. The last defenders gathered on Detinets, building new wall for defense. But even that milestone was taken. The people of Kiev gathered in the Church of the Tithes, which also collapsed, becoming a gravestone for the patriots. The wounded, barely alive governor was brought to the khan, and Batu pardoned him for his heroism. Such grace has been widely used by the Mongols since the time of Genghis Khan. Later, Dmitry took part in the campaigns of the horde in Europe.

Campaign aftermath

Batu's campaigns in Russia, both the first and the second, brought a lot of grief to these lands. Principalities were devastated, burned, the population was either killed or taken prisoner. Of the cities, of which there were 74, 49 were destroyed. Fourteen of them were never able to rebuild and return to life. During the invasion, knowledge was lost, so stone construction, the production of glassware and window panes ceased. a large number of princes and the ruling elite, vigilantes, the influence of the unprivileged sections of society increased. In Russia, economic decline began, cultural and political degradation, which dragged on for many years.

Mysteries of history

But there is another view of history, another assessment of those events. Of course, Batu's campaigns in Russia did not bring her anything good. However, many researchers believe that the Mongols were not as cruel as chroniclers describe them. Of course, they are children of their time, which means they were forced to fight for survival in the ways that were available to them. They also question the number of invaders. If Batu and other princes brought a multi-million army, then the horses simply would not have enough food. It is also a mystery why the small towns (Kolomna, Torzhok, Kozelsk) managed to keep the siege for a long time, while the capitals of the principalities with their massive walls were taken in a few days. And why did the nomads from the east need these small settlements that have no strategic importance? Why did the Mongols turn away from Novgorod, whose wealth was legendary? Why didn't they go to Smolensk? Scared? But they were not from the timid dozen! But these questions remain unanswered to this day.