Ulus Juchi and the Mongol invasion of Rus'. Genghis Khan and the beginning of the Mongol invasion of Rus'
The Russian princely squads were an excellent army at that time. Their weapons were famous far beyond the borders of Rus', but these squads were small in number and numbered only a few hundred people. This was too little to organize the country’s defense against a well-prepared aggressive enemy. The princely squads were unsuitable for action in large forces under a single command, according to a single plan. The main part of the Russian army was made up of urban and rural militias, which were recruited at the time of danger. About their weapons and vocational training we can say that they left much to be desired. Russian cities with their fortifications could not be an insurmountable obstacle to the powerful siege technology of the nomads. The population of large cities was 20-30 thousand people and in the event of an attack they could field up to 10 thousand defenders, and since the city, as a rule, resisted alone, an army of 60-70 thousand could break the resistance of the defenders within a week. Thus, the Russian state consisted of several large principalities, constantly competing with each other, not possessing one large army capable of resisting the armada of nomads.
In 1223, the 30,000-strong army of Subdey and Ocheuchi, having completed the defeat of the states of Central Asia, passed through Northern Iran, entered the Caucasus, destroying several ancient and rich cities, defeating Georgian troops, penetrated through the Shirvan Gorge into the Northern Caucasus and clashed with the Alans. The Alans united with the Cumans who were nomadic there, as the Persian historian Rashid ad-Din testifies, and fought together, “but none of them remained victorious.” Then the Mongol-Tatars persuaded the Polovtsian leaders to leave the lands of the Alans, and then “defeated the Alans, having done everything in their power in terms of robbery and murder.”
“In 1223, 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 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 the Good and Mstislav Mstislavich the Udal, who were cousins. Just before the Russian offensive, Mongol-Tatar ambassadors arrived in Rus', who assured that they would not touch the Russians if they did not go to the aid of their neighbors.
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 day they reached the bank of the Kalka River (now the Kalchik River, a tributary of the Kalmius River, in Donetsk region, Ukraine). 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. The onslaught of the brave squad of Mstislav the Udal, who almost broke through the ranks of the nomads, was not supported by other princes and all his attacks were repulsed. The Polovtsian detachments, unable to withstand the blows of the Mongol cavalry, fled, disrupting the battle formations of the Russian army. The camp of Mstislav of Kyiv, set up on the other bank and heavily fortified, the troops of Jebe and Subedei stormed for 3 days and were able to take only by cunning and deceit, when the prince, believing the promises of Subedei, stopped resistance. As a result of this, Mstislav the Good and his entourage were brutally destroyed, Mstislav the Udaloy fled. The Russian losses in this battle were very high, six princes were killed, and only a tenth of the soldiers returned home.
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 a mistake 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 army of Jebe and Subedey, having defeated the militia of the southern Russian princes on Kalka, entered the Chernigov land, reached Novgorod-Seversky and turned back, bringing fear and destruction everywhere with it. In the same 1223, Jebe and Subedey raided Volga Bulgaria, but failed. The Arab historian Ibn al-Asir described these events as follows: “The Bulgars ambushed them in several places, opposed them and, luring them until they went beyond the ambush site, attacked them from the rear.”
The campaign, which lasted two and a half years, allowed the Mongol-Tatars to directly become acquainted with Russian troops and the fortifications of Russian cities; they received information from prisoners about the situation inside the Russian principalities - in-depth strategic reconnaissance was carried out.
Conquest of North-Eastern Rus'
The Military Council (kurultai) of 1235 announced an all-Mongol campaign to the west. Great Khan Udegei sent Batu, the head of the Jochi ulus, as reinforcement to conquer Volga Bulgaria, Diit-Kinchak and Rus' with the main forces of the Mongol army under the command of Subedey. In total, 14 “princes”, descendants of Genghis Khan, took part in the campaign with their hordes. 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 fall 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. In the spring of 1237, Subedey's troops advanced into the Caspian steppes and staged a raid on the Cumans, most of whom were killed, the rest fled to Russian lands. In battles with their fast and elusive opponents, the khans used “round-up” tactics: they walked across the steppes in a wide front of small detachments, gradually encircling the Polovtsian nomads. The campaign was led by three high-ranking khans: Guyuk, Mankhe and Mengu. The war in the Polovtsian steppes dragged on throughout the summer. But as a result, the Mongol-Tatars subjugated almost all the lands between the Volga and Don rivers. The most powerful Polovtsian khan, Yuri Konchakovich, was defeated.
Other large army, led by Batu, as well as the khans of Ordu, Berke, Buri and Kulman, fought on the right bank of the Middle Volga River in the lands of the Burats, Arzhans and Mordovians. The events of this campaign are little known.
Thus, the peoples of the Lower and Middle Volga region put up stubborn resistance, which delayed Batu’s advance and only by the fall of 1237 was he able to concentrate all the main forces for the invasion of North-Eastern Rus'. The Russian princes could not have been unaware of the impending offensive. They received information from Russian and Bulgarian merchants. And the situation with the conquest of the southeastern neighbors gave rise to certain thoughts. But despite this, after the battle on the Kalka River, strife between the princes did not stop. Consequently, there was no single army under a single command to repel the onslaught of a powerful enemy, and the one system defense of the southern steppe borders. Many princes hoped for strong wooden fortresses, not taking into account the complex siege technology available to the Mongol-Tatars.
In the fall of 1237, Batu was placed at the head of the united army. In December 1237, the rivers rose. On Sura, a tributary of the Volga, on Voronezh, a tributary of the Don, Batu’s troops appeared. Winter opened the road along the ice of rivers to North-Eastern Rus'.
Based on geographical and demographic considerations, as well as military calculations, it can be assumed that Batu brought 30-40 thousand horsemen to Rus'. Even such a seemingly small army, the Russian sovereign princes had nothing to oppose.
The first city that stood in the way of the conquerors was Ryazan. For the Ryazan princes this was a complete surprise. They were accustomed to raids on Rus' by the Polovtsians and other nomadic tribes in the summer-autumn period. Khan Batu, having invaded the principality, presented an ultimatum, where he demanded “tithes in everything: in princes, in horses, in people.” The prince, in order to gain time, sent his son Fyodor to Khan Batu with rich gifts, and in the meantime he himself began to quickly prepare for battle. He sent messengers to Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir and to Prince of Chernigov for help. But both of them refused the Ryazan prince. Despite this, the people of Ryazan decided to stand to the death for their land and to the ultimatum they replied: “If we are all gone, then everything will be yours!”
Together with the prince of Ryazan, several more “helpful” princes - the Pronsky, Murom and Kolomna principalities - moved towards the Mongol-Tatars. But their squads did not have time to reach the fortified lines on the steppe border. Khan Batu interrupted Fedor's embassy and moved his cavalry to Ryazan land. Somewhere “near the borders of Ryazan” the battle described in “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan” took place. During the battle, many “local princes, strong commanders and daring troops” died. With a few soldiers, Prince Yuri Igorevich broke through the ring of enemies and went to Ryazan to organize the defense of his capital. Having been defeated in battle, the Ryazan residents hoped to sit out behind strong city walls. Ryazan stood on the high right bank of the Oka River, below the mouth of the Pronya River. The city was well fortified: on three sides it was surrounded by ditches and powerful ramparts up to 10 meters high, on the fourth side a steep bank broke off towards the Oka River; wooden walls with numerous towers stood on the ramparts. The population from the surrounding villages came running under the walls of the city, and boyar detachments came from distant estates. The entire city population took up arms.
The siege of Ryazan began on December 16, 1237. The Mongol-Tatars surrounded the city so that no one could leave it. The city walls were shelled around the clock from vices (stone-throwing machines). Day and night there were attacks on the city. The well-aimed Mongol archers fired continuously. The killed Mongols were replaced by new ones, but the city never received reinforcements. On December 21, a decisive assault on Ryazan began. They managed to break through the city’s defenses in several directions at once. Heavy fighting broke out in the streets. As a result, all the warriors and most of the inhabitants were brutally destroyed. An army of nomads stood near Ryazan for ten days - they plundered the city, divided the spoils, and plundered neighboring villages.
Before Batu lay several roads into the depths of the Vladimir-Suzdal land. Since Batu was faced with the task of conquering all of Rus' in one winter, he headed to Vladimir along the Oka, through Moscow and 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. The nomads were so confused that they mistook them for those risen from the dead. But the 5 soldiers who were captured replied: “We are the war of Grand Duke Yuri Ingorevich - Ryazan, in the regiment of Evpatiy Kolovrat. We have been sent to honor you and honor you honestly.” Batu decided to send his brother-in-law Khoztovrul with the regiments to beat Kolovrat. But Khoztovrul lost, and then Batu sent many of his troops to Evpatiy. In the battle, Kolovrat died, and his head was given to Batu. The Khan was surprised at the courage of the Russian soldiers and ordered the release of the captured part of the squad.
The Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich sent reinforcements to Kolomna, which covered the only convenient route to Vladimir in winter - along the Moscow and Klyazma rivers. The troops were led by the eldest son of Prince Vladimir, Vsevolod. The surviving Ryazan squads led by Prince Roman also came here. Chronicles claim that even Novgorodians came. The experienced governor of Vladimir Eremey Glebovich was also near Kolomna. The city itself was sufficiently fortified in case the troops failed in the field. 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. Solovyov writes: “The Tatars surrounded them at Kolomna and fought hard; there was a great slaughter; they killed Prince Roman and the governor Eremey, and Vsevolod with a small retinue ran to Vladimir.” In the battle of Kolomna, Genghisid Khan Kulkan died - perhaps the only case in the entire history of the Mongol conquests.
Having defeated the Vladimir-Suzdal regiments near Kolomna, Batu came to Moscow, which was defended by a detachment of the son of Grand Duke Yuri - Vladimir and governor Philip Nyanka. The city was taken by storm on the 5th day. As a result, Moscow was completely destroyed. Prince Vladimir was captured and the governor was killed. 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 3, the vanguard of the conquerors approached Vladimir. The city of Vladimir was surrounded by high wooden walls and fortified with powerful stone towers. It was covered on three sides by rivers: from the south - the Klyazma River, from the north and east - the Lybid River. Above the western wall of the city rose the Golden Gate - the most powerful defensive structure of ancient Vladimir. Behind the outer contour of the Vladimir fortifications were the internal walls and ramparts of the Middle or Monomakhov city. And finally, in the middle of the capital there was a stone Kremlin - Detinets. Thus, the enemies needed to break through three defensive lines before they could reach the city center - the Princely Court and the Assumption Cathedral. But there were not enough warriors for the numerous towers and walls. At the princely council, it was decided to leave the surviving army in the city and supplement it with the city militia, and the Grand Duke himself to go with his closest squad to the north and gather new armies. On the eve of the siege, Yuri left with his nephews Vasilko, Vsevolod and Vladimir to the Sit River and began to assemble regiments against the Tatars. The defense of the city was led by the sons of the Grand Duke - Vsevolod and Mstislav, as well as the governor Peter Oslyadyakovich.
The Mongol-Tatars approached from the west. Before this, the conquerors took Suzdal by storm, and without any particular difficulties. On February 4th, a small detachment arrived and offered to surrender. In response, arrows and stones flew. Then the Mongols surrounded the city on all sides, cutting it off from the outside world, and the siege of the city began. On February 6, the installation of heavy throwing weapons and shelling began. They managed to break through the walls in some places, but the Mongols were unable to penetrate the city. Early in the morning of February 7, a general assault on the city of Vladimir began. The main blow came from the west. As a result of the shelling, the wooden wall south of the Golden Gate was destroyed and the Mongol-Tatars broke into the city. They broke through the Irininy, Copper and Volga gates to Detinets, where there were almost no soldiers left. The princely family, boyars and townspeople took refuge in the Assumption Cathedral. They categorically surrendered to the mercy of the winner and were burned. The city of Vladimir itself was completely ruined.
Yuri Vsevolodovich stood with his troops near Yaroslavl. Having learned about the death of the capital and the death of his loved ones, the prince, according to the chronicle, “cry out with a great voice with tears, crying for the orthodox Christian faith and the Church.” “It would be better for me to die than to live in the world,” he said, “for which reason I was left alone.” Vasilko, who arrived in time with the Rostov squad, strengthened him for a feat of arms.
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: The first moved north to Rostov and further to the Volga (Rostov surrendered without a fight, as did Uglich); Individual units advanced to the Volga River and defeated Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ksnyatin, Kashin and other cities. The second part went east along the ice of the Klyazma River, defeated the city of Starodub and reached the middle Volga - to the city of Gorodets; the third moved to the northwest through Pereyaslavl-Zalesky, Yuryev, Dimitrov, Volok-Lamsky to Tver and Torzhok. As a result of the February campaigns of 1238, the Mongol-Tatars destroyed Russian cities in the territory from the Middle Volga to Tver (fourteen cities in total).
By the beginning of March, the invaders' detachments reached the border of the Middle Volga. Yuri Vsevolodovich, who was gathering troops on the Sit River, found himself in close proximity to these detachments. The unexpected attack of the Mongol-Tatars predetermined the outcome of this battle (March 4, 1238). Few of the Russian soldiers left this terrible battle alive, but the enemies paid a heavy price for the victory. Saint Yuri was hacked to pieces in a desperate battle. Vasilko, wounded, was brought to Batu’s headquarters.
The Tatars forced him to “follow the Nogai custom, to be in their will and to fight for them.” The holy prince angrily rejected the idea of betraying his Motherland and Orthodoxy. “You will never take me away from the Christian faith,” said the holy prince, remembering the ancient Christian confessors. “And having tormented him much, he put him to death, throwing him into the Shern forest.” Thus, the holy Prince Vasilko of Rostov gave up his soul to God, becoming in his death like the holy passion-bearer Boris, the first of the princes of Rostov, whom he imitated in life. Like Saint Boris, Vasilko was not yet thirty years old.
Bishop Kirill of Rostov, coming to the battlefield, buried the dead Orthodox soldiers, found the body of Saint Prince Yuri (only his severed head could not be found in the piles of prostrate bodies), and transferred the honorable remains to Rostov - to the Assumption Cathedral. The body of Saint Vasilko was found in the Shernsky forest by the son of a priest and brought to Rostov. There the prince's wife, children, Bishop Kirill and all the people of Rostov met the body of their beloved prince with bitter tears and buried him under the arches of the cathedral church.
At the end of March 1238, a “roundup” of invaders moved from the Volga to the south, towards Novgorod. Torzhok, standing on Batu’s way, lasted 2 weeks and was taken only on March 23. From there Batu moved further along the Seliger route, but before reaching Novgorod a hundred miles he turned south (from the place called “Ignach-Cross” in the chronicle) and went to Smolensk.
The turn away from Novgorod is usually explained by spring floods. But there are other explanations: firstly, the campaign did not meet the deadlines, and secondly, Batu was unable to defeat the combined forces North-Eastern Rus' in one or two battles, using numerical and tactical superiority. The difficult and bloody campaign against the northeastern principalities exhausted and bled the Mongol-Tatars. It is likely that Batu did not dare to fight with intact and full-blooded Novgorod and Pskov.
The Mongols failed to take Smolensk. On the approaches to the city, the enemy was met by Smolensk regiments and pushed back. Batu decided to turn northeast and went to the city of Kozelsk. The chronicles do not contain the exact date of the Mongol-Tatars’ approach to this city, and most scientists claim that it was besieged back in April 1238. Kozelsk defended for 51 days, but was taken. Batu called it “Evil City” and ordered it to be razed to the ground.
Batu did not reach Vologda, Beloozero, or Veliky Ustyug, and behind him all of Chud Zavolotskaya and Novgorod possessions remained untouched.
The defeat of Southern Rus' and Eastern Europe
In 1239, the Mongol-Tatars invaded Southern Rus'. At the same time, they followed the path in which the Polovtsy raided. Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny was taken, which no one had ever achieved before. The city was well fortified: it was surrounded on three sides by the high banks of the Trubezh and Alta rivers, as well as high ramparts and walls. But the Tatars managed to take and plunder the city and completely destroy the Church of St. Michael.
The next blow was aimed at the Principality of Chernigov. The Chernigov Detinets (Kremlin), located on a high hill at the confluence of the Strizhen River with the Desna, was surrounded by a “roundabout city”, behind which stretched a three-kilometer rampart covering the “suburb”. By the autumn of 1239 the Tatars surrounded the city of Chernigov. They were met with an army by Prince Mstislav Glebovich (cousin of Mikhail of Chernigov). There was a “fierce battle,” but the Russians lost. October 18, 1239 Chernigov was taken, after which the Tatars destroyed the cities of Putivl, Glukov, Vyr, Rylsk.
Batu began the invasion of Southern Rus' and Eastern Europe in the fall of 1240, again gathering under his command all the people devoted to himself. Batu approached Kyiv in November 1240. “Batu came to Kyiv in heavy force, the Tatar force surrounded the city, and nothing was heard from the creaking of carts, from the roar of camels, from the neighing of horses; the Russian land was filled with warriors.” Kyiv was then reigned by Daniil Romanovich Galitsky, who left the city, leaving governor Dmitry to defend the city. The Tatars, from the side where the forest adjoined the city gates, fired at the walls with stone-throwing guns around the clock. As a result, the walls collapsed and the Mongol-Tatars burst into the city in the evening. Overnight, the Kievans built a new wall around the Tithe Church, but the Tatars broke through the defenses of Kiev and after a 9-day siege and assault on December 6, 1240, Kyiv fell.
After this, Batu’s main forces moved further west to Vladimir-Volynsky. The invaders were unable to take the cities of Kremenets, Danilov and Kholm. The fortified towns were excellently suited for defense. Vladimir-Volynsky was taken by the Mongol-Tatars after a short siege. All the cities of the Volyn and Galician lands were subjected to a terrible defeat. (For more details, see "Biography of Daniil Galitsky").
In the spring of 1241, hordes of Mongol-Tatars crossed the border of Rus' and invaded Hungary. The Hungarians offered fierce resistance in the passes of the Carpathians. But Batu crossed the mountains in April 1241. At this time, the Hungarian king Bela II gathered 60 thousand soldiers and set out from Pest. On April 11, a battle began near the Sayo River. The king did not receive any support and was defeated. After a 3-day siege, the city of Pest fell, and then the cities of Arat, Perth, Egres, and Temeshever were devastated.
That same spring, the Mongol-Tatars moved to Poland. At the head of the Mongol army were Batu's brothers - Baydar and Ordu. The nomads captured the cities of Lublin, Zavichos, Sandomierz. On the way to the large city of Krakow, they fought with the Krakow and Sandomor regiments (near Krakow). The Mongol-Tatars won and captured the city itself, but according to legend, a handful of brave men took refuge in the Cathedral of St. Andrew and were never defeated. They also failed to capture the city of Wroclaw.
Czech King Wenceslas I sent 40 thousand soldiers to help the Poles. On April 9, 1241, the allied forces were defeated near Legnica, but the Mongols failed to take the towns of Legnica and Ratibozh. The Czech Republic was preparing for a bitter struggle; in the Battle of Olomouc in 1242, the Mongol-Tatars were defeated.
Then the invaders invaded the lands of Bukovina, Moldova and Romania. Slovakia, which was under Hungarian rule, suffered seriously from their attack. Batu still advanced west to the Adriatic Sea, invaded Silesia and defeated the Duke of Silesia. Thus, the path to Germany was open, but the troops were exhausted and the khan turned his troops back to the east, never reaching the “Sea of the Franks” (according to the will of Genghis Khan).
However, the danger of new invasions has not disappeared. Batu, returning from an unsuccessful campaign to the West, founded the state of the Golden Horde on the borders of Rus'. In 1243, Batu “granted and approved” Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, after this prince other princes - Uglitsky, Rostov, Yaroslavl - flocked to the Horde. The Mongol-Tatar yoke was established.
"From Ancient Rus' to the Russian Empire." Shishkin Sergey Petrovich, Ufa.
A striking episode in national history is the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus'.
Union of Nomads
An army was formed along the banks of the Onon River three decades before its appearance on the Russian borders. It was dominated by Mongol feudal lords and their warriors, who came from all corners of the steppe. They chose Temujin as their supreme ruler, who was later given the name Genghis Khan. Under his leadership, he united many nomadic tribes. At the same time, internal strife came to an end, and a solid economic base was formed that ensured the development of the new state. Despite favorable prospects, the government did not choose a peaceful path, but led its people along the path of war and aggression, eventually organizing the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus'. The purpose of this campaign was easy economic enrichment. Since their own cattle breeding was unprofitable, it was decided to replenish resources through the robberies of neighboring peoples and tribes. At the end of Genghis Khan's life, the Mongol-Tatars owned a significant part of the territories from the Caspian Sea to Pacific Ocean. This was not a reason to stop planning new trips. The main secret of the success of the Mongol-Tatars was a well-thought-out strategy and the political weakening of the conquered countries. The tactics of the warriors boiled down to a surprise attack and fragmentation of enemy forces in parts with their subsequent destruction.
Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus'
With Khan Batu coming to power, it was decided to conquer Russian lands. The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' began from the city of Torzhok. At first, the residents put up a significant resistance to the enemy, but the enemy’s numbers were so high that their forces were diminishing. As a result of a two-week siege by the Mongols, Torzhok was conquered on March 5, 1238. Ruthless nomads entered the city and began to exterminate the local residents. They killed everyone mercilessly: starting with women and children, ending with old people. The fugitives were caught up on the road to the north and subjected to the same fate.
The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' continued with the unsuccessful capture of Novgorod. By the time the enemy approached, all approaches to the settlement were blocked. Khan Batu had no choice but to continue on his way past. He moved south, ravaging and burning cities, leaving dead residents on their ashes. A line of captured Russians followed the invaders. The booty became heavier, the convoys more heavy. Rus' was not familiar with such a terrible defeat before.
Heroic resistance
The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' dates back to the years 1237-1240. During this time, the invading troops encountered a worthy rebuff. Rus''s resistance to the Mongol-Tatar invasion significantly weakened the enemy's forces and smashed to smithereens plans to conquer Western civilization. The invaders' troops were greatly weakened and bled dry as a result of continuous fighting in North-Eastern Rus'. The Russians and other peoples of our homeland saved Europe from the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Even after the pogrom of Batu, the inhabitants of Rus' did not submit to the conqueror. It took the khan more than a decade to establish control over the devastated cities, and then over the state as a whole. The resistance of Rus' prevented Batu from organizing a campaign to the West.
Attempts at confrontation
The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' and its consequences forced peasants and townspeople to live in the forests. Only some time after the pogrom did residents slowly begin to return to populated areas. The surviving princes gradually restored order. However, this did not exclude the threat of new invasions from the Mongol-Tatars. The powerful state founded by Batu in the south of Rus' - the Golden Horde - forced all Russian princes to come to the formidable khan for approval. However, the formal fact of subordination did not yet mean the conquest of the entire Russian land. Pskov, Smolensk, Novgorod, Vitebsk remained unoccupied, and therefore decided not to recognize dependence on the Khanate of the Golden Horde.
The first attempt to openly oppose the yoke was made by Andrei Yaroslavich after the murder of his father by the Mongols. Having united with Prince Daniil of Galitsky, he organized resistance to the conquerors. However, some princes established mutually beneficial relations with the Golden Horde and did not intend to spoil these ties. Having learned about the plans of Andrei Yaroslavich's campaign, they conveyed the prince's intentions to the khan. A powerful army was sent against the “rebellious” one, and Andrei was defeated. Prince Daniil Galitsky continued to offer desperate resistance. Beginning in 1254, he firmly repulsed the khan's attempts to subjugate his domain. Only in 1258, when Batu sent a large army to the prince, was he forced to admit his dependence.
Establishment of the yoke
The Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' and its consequences culminated in 1257. Mongol officials traveled across Rus' with the goal of organizing a population census, imposing a heavy tribute on everyone. In fact, this meant the establishment of the yoke of the Mongol-Tatars in Rus'. The princes personally assisted the Mongols in the census issue. After this event, a difficult period of two hundred years of yoke began. Restoring cities turned out to be overwhelming. Complex crafts are being undermined and disappear completely over the next hundred and fifty to two hundred years. Trade ties with other entities are severed.
This is what the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' led to. Briefly it can be formulated this way - to colossal damage in all spheres: economic, cultural, political. Subsistence farming was mothballed, crafts were destroyed, and the people were burdened with unaffordable payments. The progress of political development was cut short, and discord was deliberately sowed between the princes, preventing the unification of Rus'. Dependence on the Golden Horde set the Russian people back in development several centuries ago.
Fall of the Yoke
Tsar Ivan III, who reigned from 1462 to 1505, played a great role in the unification of Russian lands. First of all, he annexed Veliky Novgorod and the Rostov Principality to Moscow. Then he took up the rest of the rebellious lands, year after year gathering the fragmented Rus'. The year 1480 was a decisive stage in the liberation: the Mongol-Tatar yoke fell. Thanks to the diplomatic skills of Ivan III, the united state, called Russia, threw off the heavy Mongol burden.
Main stages
Let us repeat how the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' developed. Let us briefly list the main points.
- XII century - the unification of the Mongolian tribes, the proclamation of Genghis Khan’s desire for world domination. Conquest of neighboring countries.
- 1223 - the battle of the Kalka River, which was lost by the Russian princes.
- 1237 - campaign against the Mongol-Tatars.
- 1240 - successful invasion of the Mongol-Tatars into Southern Rus'.
- 1243 - formation of the Golden Horde in the Lower Volga.
- 1257 - establishment of the yoke in Rus'.
Thus, the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' led to the formation of an enemy yoke, which lasted for several centuries. Despite their weakness and brokenness, the conquered inhabitants did not lose the will to fight and win.
1243 - After the defeat of Northern Rus' by the Mongol-Tatars and the death of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich (1188-1238x), Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (1190-1246+) remained the eldest in the family, who became the Grand Duke.
Returning from the western campaign, Batu summons Grand Duke Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich of Vladimir-Suzdal to the Horde and presents him at the Khan's headquarters in Sarai with a label (sign of permission) for the great reign in Rus': “You will be older than all the princes in the Russian language.”
This is how the unilateral act of vassal submission of Rus' to the Golden Horde was carried out and legally formalized.
Rus', according to the label, lost the right to fight and had to regularly pay tribute to the khans twice annually (in spring and autumn). Baskaks (governors) were sent to the Russian principalities - their capitals - to oversee the strict collection of tribute and compliance with its amounts.
1243-1252 - This decade was a time when Horde troops and officials did not bother Rus', receiving timely tribute and expressions of external submission. During this period, the Russian princes assessed the current situation and developed their own line of behavior in relation to the Horde.
Two lines of Russian policy:
1. The line of systematic partisan resistance and continuous “spot” uprisings: (“to run away, not to serve the king”) - led. book Andrey I Yaroslavich, Yaroslav III Yaroslavich and others.
2. Line of complete, unquestioning submission to the Horde (Alexander Nevsky and most other princes). Many appanage princes (Uglitsky, Yaroslavl, and especially Rostov) established relations with the Mongol khans, who left them to “rule and rule.” The princes preferred to recognize the supreme power of the Horde khan and donate part of the feudal rent collected from the dependent population to the conquerors, rather than risk losing their reigns (See “On the arrivals of Russian princes to the Horde”). The Orthodox Church pursued the same policy.
1252 Invasion of the "Nevryuev Army" The first after 1239 in North-Eastern Rus' - Reasons for the invasion: To punish Grand Duke Andrei I Yaroslavich for disobedience and to speed up the full payment of tribute.
Horde forces: Nevryu’s army had a significant number - at least 10 thousand people. and a maximum of 20-25 thousand. This indirectly follows from the title of Nevryuya (prince) and the presence in his army of two wings led by temniks - Yelabuga (Olabuga) and Kotiy, as well as from the fact that Nevryuya’s army was able to disperse throughout the Vladimir-Suzdal principality and "comb" it!
Russian forces: Consisted of regiments of the prince. Andrei (i.e. regular troops) and the squad (volunteer and security detachments) of the Tver governor Zhiroslav, sent by the Tver prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich to help his brother. These forces were an order of magnitude smaller than the Horde in number, i.e. 1.5-2 thousand people.
Progress of the invasion: Having crossed the Klyazma River near Vladimir, Nevryu’s punitive army hastily headed to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, where the prince took refuge. Andrei, and, having overtaken the prince’s army, defeated him completely. The Horde plundered and destroyed the city, and then occupied the entire Vladimir land and, returning to the Horde, “combed” it.
Results of the invasion: The Horde army rounded up and captured tens of thousands of captive peasants (for sale in eastern markets) and hundreds of thousands of heads of livestock and took them to the Horde. Book Andrei and the remnants of his squad fled to the Novgorod Republic, which refused to give him asylum, fearing Horde reprisals. Fearing that one of his “friends” would hand him over to the Horde, Andrei fled to Sweden. Thus, the first attempt to resist the Horde failed. The Russian princes abandoned the line of resistance and leaned toward the line of obedience.
Alexander Nevsky received the label for the great reign.
1255 The first complete census of the population of North-Eastern Rus', carried out by the Horde - Accompanied by spontaneous unrest of the local population, scattered, unorganized, but united general requirement masses: “don’t give numbers to the Tatars,” i.e. do not provide them with any data that could form the basis for a fixed payment of tribute.
Other authors indicate other dates for the census (1257-1259)
1257 Attempt to conduct a census in Novgorod - In 1255, a census was not carried out in Novgorod. In 1257, this measure was accompanied by an uprising of the Novgorodians, the expulsion of the Horde “counters” from the city, which led to the complete failure of the attempt to collect tribute.
1259 Embassy of the Murzas Berke and Kasachik to Novgorod - The punitive-control army of the Horde ambassadors - the Murzas Berke and Kasachik - was sent to Novgorod to collect tribute and prevent anti-Horde protests by the population. Novgorod, as always in case of military danger, yielded to force and traditionally paid off, and also gave an obligation to pay tribute annually, without reminders or pressure, “voluntarily” determining its size, without drawing up census documents, in exchange for a guarantee of absence from the city Horde collectors.
1262 Meeting of representatives of Russian cities to discuss measures to resist the Horde - A decision was made to simultaneously expel tribute collectors - representatives of the Horde administration in the cities of Rostov the Great, Vladimir, Suzdal, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl, where anti-Horde popular protests take place. These riots were suppressed by Horde military detachments at the disposal of the Baskaks. But nevertheless, the khan’s government took into account 20 years of experience in repeating such spontaneous rebellious outbreaks and abandoned the Baskas, from now on transferring the collection of tribute into the hands of the Russian, princely administration.
Since 1263, the Russian princes themselves began to bring tribute to the Horde.
Thus, the formal moment, as in the case of Novgorod, turned out to be decisive. The Russians did not so much resist the fact of paying tribute and its size as they were offended by the foreign composition of the collectors. They were ready to pay more, but to “their” princes and their administration. The Khan's authorities quickly realized the benefits of such a decision for the Horde:
firstly, the absence of your own troubles,
secondly, a guarantee of an end to the uprisings and complete obedience of the Russians.
thirdly, the presence of specific responsible persons (princes), who could always easily, conveniently and even “legally” be brought to justice, punished for failure to pay tribute, and not have to deal with intractable spontaneous popular uprisings of thousands of people.
This is a very early manifestation of a specifically Russian social and individual psychology, for which the visible is important, not the essential, and which is always ready to make actually important, serious, essential concessions in exchange for visible, superficial, external, “toy” and supposedly prestigious ones, will be repeated many times throughout Russian history up to the present time.
The Russian people are easy to persuade, to appease with petty handouts, trifles, but they cannot be irritated. Then he becomes stubborn, intractable and reckless, and sometimes even angry.
But you can literally take it with your bare hands, wrap it around your finger, if you immediately give in to some trifle. The Mongols, like the first Horde khans - Batu and Berke, understood this well.
I cannot agree with V. Pokhlebkin’s unfair and humiliating generalization. You should not consider your ancestors as stupid, gullible savages and judge them from the “height” of 700 past years. There were numerous anti-Horde protests - they were suppressed, presumably, cruelly, not only by the Horde troops, but also by their own princes. But the transfer of the collection of tribute (from which it was simply impossible to free oneself in those conditions) to the Russian princes was not a “petty concession”, but an important, fundamental point. Unlike a number of other countries conquered by the Horde, North-Eastern Rus' retained its political and social system. There was never a permanent Mongol administration on Russian soil; under the painful yoke, Rus' managed to maintain the conditions for its independent development, although not without the influence of the Horde. An example of the opposite kind is the Volga Bulgaria, which, under the Horde, was ultimately unable to preserve not only its own ruling dynasty and name, but also the ethnic continuity of the population.
Later, the khan’s power itself became smaller, lost state wisdom and gradually, through its mistakes, “raised” from Rus' its enemy as insidious and prudent as itself. But in the 60s of the 13th century. this finale was still far away - two whole centuries. In the meantime, the Horde manipulated the Russian princes and, through them, all of Russia, as it wanted. (He who laughs last laughs best - isn't it?)
1272 Second Horde census in Rus' - Under the leadership and supervision of the Russian princes, the Russian local administration, it took place peacefully, calmly, without a hitch. After all, it was carried out by “Russian people”, and the population was calm.
It’s a pity that the census results were not preserved, or maybe I just don’t know?
And the fact that it was carried out according to the Khan’s orders, that the Russian princes delivered its data to the Horde and this data directly served the Horde’s economic and political interests - all this was “behind the scenes” for the people, all this “did not concern” them and did not interest them . The appearance that the census was taking place “without Tatars” was more important than the essence, i.e. the strengthening of the tax oppression that came on its basis, the impoverishment of the population, and its suffering. All this “was not visible,” and therefore, according to Russian ideas, this means that... it did not happen.
Moreover, in just three decades since the enslavement, Russian society had essentially become accustomed to the fact of the Horde yoke, and the fact that it was isolated from direct contact with representatives of the Horde and entrusted these contacts exclusively to the princes completely satisfied it, both ordinary people and nobles.
The proverb “out of sight, out of mind” explains this situation very accurately and correctly. As is clear from the chronicles of that time, the lives of saints and patristic and other religious literature, which was a reflection of the prevailing ideas, Russians of all classes and conditions had no desire to get to know their enslavers better, to get acquainted with “what they breathe,” what they think, how they think as they understand themselves and Rus'. They were seen as “God’s punishment” sent down to the Russian land for sins. If they had not sinned, if they had not angered God, there would not have been such disasters - this is the starting point of all explanations on the part of the authorities and the church of the then “international situation”. It is not difficult to see that this position is not only very, very passive, but that, in addition, it actually removes the blame for the enslavement of Rus' from both the Mongol-Tatars and the Russian princes who allowed such a yoke, and shifts it entirely onto the people who found themselves enslaved and suffered more than anyone else from this.
Based on the thesis of sinfulness, the churchmen called on the Russian people not to resist the invaders, but, on the contrary, to their own repentance and submission to the “Tatars”; they not only did not condemn the Horde power, but also... set it as an example to their flock. This was direct payment on the part of the Orthodox Church for the enormous privileges granted to it by the khans - exemption from taxes and levies, ceremonial receptions of metropolitans in the Horde, the establishment in 1261 of a special Sarai diocese and permission to erect an Orthodox church directly opposite the khan's Headquarters *.
*) After the collapse of the Horde, at the end of the 15th century. the entire staff of the Sarai diocese was retained and transferred to Moscow, to the Krutitsky monastery, and the Sarai bishops received the title of metropolitans of Sarai and Podonsk, and then of Krutitsky and Kolomna, i.e. formally they were equal in rank with the metropolitans of Moscow and All Rus', although they were no longer engaged in any real church-political activities. This historical and decorative post was liquidated only at the end of the 18th century. (1788) [Note. V. Pokhlebkina]
It should be noted that on the threshold of the 21st century. we are going through a similar situation. Modern “princes,” like the princes of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus', are trying to exploit the ignorance and slave psychology of the people and even cultivate it, not without the help of the same church.
At the end of the 70s of the 13th century. The period of temporary calm from Horde unrest in Rus' is ending, explained by ten years of emphasized submission of the Russian princes and the church. The internal needs of the Horde economy, which made constant profits from the trade in slaves (captured during the war) in the eastern (Iranian, Turkish and Arab) markets, require a new influx of funds, and therefore in 1277-1278. The Horde twice makes local raids into the Russian border borders solely to take away the Polyanniks.
It is significant that it is not the central khan’s administration and its military forces that take part in this, but regional, ulus authorities in the peripheral areas of the Horde’s territory, solving their local, local economic problems with these raids, and therefore strictly limiting both place and time (very short, calculated in weeks) of these military actions.
1277 - A raid on the lands of the Galicia-Volyn principality is carried out by detachments from the western Dniester-Dnieper regions of the Horde, which were under the rule of the Temnik Nogai.
1278 - A similar local raid follows from the Volga region to Ryazan, and it is limited only to this principality.
During the next decade - in the 80s and early 90s of the 13th century. - new processes are taking place in Russian-Horde relations.
The Russian princes, having become accustomed to the new situation over the previous 25-30 years and essentially deprived of any control from domestic authorities, begin to settle their petty feudal scores with each other with the help of the Horde military force.
Just like in the 12th century. The Chernigov and Kyiv princes fought with each other, calling the Polovtsians to Rus', and the princes of North-Eastern Rus' fought in the 80s of the 13th century. with each other for power, relying on Horde troops, which they invite to plunder the principalities of their political opponents, i.e., in fact, they coldly call on foreign troops to devastate the areas inhabited by their Russian compatriots.
1281 - The son of Alexander Nevsky, Andrei II Alexandrovich, Prince Gorodetsky, invites the Horde army against his brother led. Dmitry I Alexandrovich and his allies. This army is organized by Khan Tuda-Mengu, who simultaneously gives Andrew II the label for the great reign, even before the outcome of the military clash.
Dmitry I, fleeing from the Khan's troops, fled first to Tver, then to Novgorod, and from there to his possession on Novgorod land- Koporye. But the Novgorodians, declaring themselves loyal to the Horde, do not allow Dmitry to enter his estate and, taking advantage of its location inside the Novgorod lands, force the prince to tear down all its fortifications and ultimately force Dmitry I to flee from Rus' to Sweden, threatening to hand him over to the Tatars.
The Horde army (Kavgadai and Alchegey), under the pretext of persecuting Dmitry I, relying on the permission of Andrew II, passes through and devastates several Russian principalities - Vladimir, Tver, Suzdal, Rostov, Murom, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky and their capitals. The Horde reached Torzhok, practically occupying all of North-Eastern Rus' to the borders of the Novgorod Republic.
The length of the entire territory from Murom to Torzhok (from east to west) was 450 km, and from south to north - 250-280 km, i.e. almost 120 thousand square kilometers that were devastated by military operations. This turns the Russian population of the devastated principalities against Andrew II, and his formal “reign” after the flight of Dmitry I does not bring peace.
Dmitry I returns to Pereyaslavl and prepares for revenge, Andrei II goes to the Horde with a request for help, and his allies - Svyatoslav Yaroslavich Tverskoy, Daniil Alexandrovich Moskovsky and the Novgorodians - go to Dmitry I and make peace with him.
1282 - Andrew II comes from the Horde with Tatar regiments led by Turai-Temir and Ali, reaches Pereyaslavl and again expels Dmitry, who flees this time to the Black Sea, into the possession of Temnik Nogai (who at that time was the de facto ruler of the Golden Horde) , and, playing on the contradictions between Nogai and the Sarai khans, brings the troops given by Nogai to Rus' and forces Andrei II to return the great reign to him.
The price of this “restoration of justice” is very high: Nogai officials are left to collect tribute in Kursk, Lipetsk, Rylsk; Rostov and Murom are again being ruined. The conflict between the two princes (and the allies who joined them) continues throughout the 80s and early 90s.
1285 - Andrew II again travels to the Horde and brings from there a new punitive detachment of the Horde, led by one of the khan’s sons. However, Dmitry I manages to successfully and quickly defeat this detachment.
Thus, the first victory of Russian troops over the regular Horde troops was won in 1285, and not in 1378, on the Vozha River, as is usually believed.
It is not surprising that Andrew II stopped turning to the Horde for help in subsequent years.
The Horde themselves sent small predatory expeditions to Rus' in the late 80s:
1287 - Raid on Vladimir.
1288 - Raid on Ryazan and Murom and Mordovian lands. These two raids (short-term) were of a specific, local nature and were aimed at plundering property and capturing polyanyans. They were provoked by a denunciation or complaint from the Russian princes.
1292 - “Dedeneva’s army” to the Vladimir land Andrei Gorodetsky, together with princes Dmitry Borisovich Rostovsky, Konstantin Borisovich Uglitsky, Mikhail Glebovich Belozersky, Fyodor Yaroslavsky and Bishop Tarasius, went to the Horde to complain about Dmitry I Alexandrovich.
Khan Tokhta, having listened to the complainants, dispatched a significant army under the leadership of his brother Tudan (in Russian chronicles - Deden) to conduct a punitive expedition.
"Dedeneva's army" marched throughout Vladimir Rus', ravaging the capital of Vladimir and 14 other cities: Murom, Suzdal, Gorokhovets, Starodub, Bogolyubov, Yuryev-Polsky, Gorodets, Uglechepol (Uglich), Yaroslavl, Nerekhta, Ksnyatin, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky , Rostov, Dmitrov.
In addition to them, only 7 cities that lay outside the route of movement of Tudan’s detachments remained untouched by the invasion: Kostroma, Tver, Zubtsov, Moscow, Galich Mersky, Unzha, Nizhny Novgorod.
On the approach to Moscow (or near Moscow), Tudan’s army divided into two detachments, one of which headed to Kolomna, i.e. to the south, and the other to the west: to Zvenigorod, Mozhaisk, Volokolamsk.
In Volokolamsk, the Horde army received gifts from the Novgorodians, who hastened to bring and present gifts to the khan’s brother far from their lands. Tudan did not go to Tver, but returned to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, which was made a base where all the looted booty was brought and prisoners were concentrated.
This campaign was a significant pogrom of Rus'. It is possible that Tudan and his army also passed through Klin, Serpukhov, and Zvenigorod, which were not named in the chronicles. Thus, its area of operation covered about two dozen cities.
1293 - In winter, a new Horde detachment appeared near Tver under the leadership of Toktemir, who came with punitive purposes at the request of one of the princes to restore order in feudal strife. He had limited goals, and the chronicles do not describe his route and time of stay on Russian territory.
In any case, the entire year of 1293 passed under the sign of another Horde pogrom, the cause of which was exclusively the feudal rivalry of the princes. They were the main reason for the Horde repressions that fell on the Russian people.
1294-1315 Two decades pass without any Horde invasions.
The princes regularly pay tribute, the people, frightened and impoverished from previous robberies, are slowly healing from economic and human losses. Only the accession to the throne of the extremely powerful and active Khan of Uzbek opens new period pressure on Rus'
The main idea of Uzbek is to achieve complete disunity of the Russian princes and turn them into continuously warring factions. Hence his plan - the transfer of the great reign to the weakest and most unwarlike prince - Moscow (under Khan Uzbek, the Moscow prince was Yuri Danilovich, who challenged the great reign from Mikhail Yaroslavich Tver) and the weakening of the former rulers of the "strong principalities" - Rostov, Vladimir, Tver.
To ensure the collection of tribute, Uzbek Khan practices sending, together with the prince, who received instructions in the Horde, special envoys-ambassadors, accompanied by military detachments numbering several thousand people (sometimes there were up to 5 temniks!). Each prince collects tribute on the territory of a rival principality.
From 1315 to 1327, i.e. over 12 years, Uzbek sent 9 military “embassies”. Their functions were not diplomatic, but military-punitive (police) and partly military-political (pressure on princes).
1315 - “Ambassadors” of Uzbek accompany Grand Duke Mikhail of Tverskoy (see Table of Ambassadors), and their detachments plunder Rostov and Torzhok, near which they defeat detachments of Novgorodians.
1317 - Horde punitive detachments accompany Yuri of Moscow and plunder Kostroma, and then try to rob Tver, but suffer a severe defeat.
1319 - Kostroma and Rostov are robbed again.
1320 - Rostov becomes a victim of robbery for the third time, but Vladimir is mostly destroyed.
1321 - Tribute is extorted from Kashin and the Kashin principality.
1322 - Yaroslavl and the cities of the Nizhny Novgorod principality are subjected to a punitive action to collect tribute.
1327 “Shchelkanov’s Army” - Novgorodians, frightened by the Horde’s activity, “voluntarily” pay a tribute of 2,000 rubles in silver to the Horde.
The famous attack of Chelkan’s (Cholpan’s) detachment on Tver takes place, known in the chronicles as the “Shchelkanov invasion”, or “Shchelkanov’s army”. It causes an unprecedentedly decisive uprising of the townspeople and the destruction of the “ambassador” and his detachment. “Schelkan” himself is burned in the hut.
1328 - A special punitive expedition follows against Tver under the leadership of three ambassadors - Turalyk, Syuga and Fedorok - and with 5 temniks, i.e. an entire army, which the chronicle defines as a “great army.” Along with the 50,000-strong Horde army, Moscow princely detachments also took part in the destruction of Tver.
From 1328 to 1367, “great silence” sets in for 40 years.
It is a direct result of three circumstances:
1. Complete defeat of the Tver principality as a rival of Moscow and thereby eliminating the causes of military-political rivalry in Rus'.
2. Timely collection of tribute by Ivan Kalita, who in the eyes of the khans becomes an exemplary executor of the Horde’s fiscal orders and, in addition, expresses exceptional political obedience to it, and, finally
3. The result of the understanding by the Horde rulers that the Russian population had matured in its determination to fight the enslavers and therefore it was necessary to apply other forms of pressure and consolidation of the dependence of Rus', other than punitive ones.
As for the use of some princes against others, this measure no longer seems universal in the face of possible popular uprisings uncontrolled by the “tame princes.” A turning point is coming in Russian-Horde relations.
Punitive campaigns (invasions) into the central regions of North-Eastern Rus' with the inevitable ruin of its population have since ceased.
At the same time, short-term raids with predatory (but not ruinous) purposes on peripheral areas of Russian territory, raids on local, limited areas continue to take place and are preserved as the most favorite and safest for the Horde, one-sided short-term military-economic action.
A new phenomenon in the period from 1360 to 1375 were retaliatory raids, or more precisely, campaigns of Russian armed detachments in peripheral lands dependent on the Horde, bordering with Russia - mainly in the Bulgars.
1347 - A raid is made on the city of Aleksin, a border town on the Moscow-Horde border along the Oka
1360 - The first raid is made by Novgorod ushkuiniki on the city of Zhukotin.
1365 - The Horde prince Tagai raids the Ryazan principality.
1367 - The troops of Prince Temir-Bulat invade the Nizhny Novgorod principality with a raid, especially intensively in the border strip along the Piana River.
1370 - A new Horde raid follows on the Ryazan principality in the area of the Moscow-Ryazan border. But the Horde troops stationed there were not allowed to cross the Oka River by Prince Dmitry IV Ivanovich. And the Horde, in turn, noticing the resistance, did not strive to overcome it and limited themselves to reconnaissance.
The raid-invasion is carried out by Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich of Nizhny Novgorod on the lands of the “parallel” khan of Bulgaria - Bulat-Temir;
1374 Anti-Horde uprising in Novgorod - The reason was the arrival of Horde ambassadors, accompanied by a large armed retinue of 1000 people. This is common at the beginning of the 14th century. the escort was, however, regarded in the last quarter of the same century as a dangerous threat and provoked an armed attack by the Novgorodians on the “embassy”, during which both the “ambassadors” and their guards were completely destroyed.
A new raid by the Ushkuiniks, who rob not only the city of Bulgar, but are not afraid to penetrate to Astrakhan.
1375 - Horde raid on the city of Kashin, brief and local.
1376 2nd campaign against the Bulgars - The combined Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod army prepared and carried out the 2nd campaign against the Bulgars, and took an indemnity of 5,000 silver rubles from the city. This attack, unheard of in 130 years of Russian-Horde relations, by Russians on a territory dependent on the Horde, naturally provokes a retaliatory military action.
1377 Massacre on the Pyana River - On the border Russian-Horde territory, on the Pyana River, where the Nizhny Novgorod princes were preparing a new raid on the Mordovian lands that lay beyond the river, dependent on the Horde, they were attacked by a detachment of Prince Arapsha (Arab Shah, Khan of the Blue Horde ) and suffered a crushing defeat.
On August 2, 1377, the united militia of the princes of Suzdal, Pereyaslavl, Yaroslavl, Yuryevsky, Murom and Nizhny Novgorod was completely killed, and the “commander-in-chief” Prince Ivan Dmitrievich of Nizhny Novgorod drowned in the river, trying to escape, along with his personal squad and his “headquarters” . This defeat of the Russian army was explained to a large extent by their loss of vigilance due to many days of drunkenness.
Having destroyed the Russian army, the troops of Tsarevich Arapsha raided the capitals of the unlucky warrior princes - Nizhny Novgorod, Murom and Ryazan - and subjected them to complete plunder and burning to the ground.
1378 Battle of the Vozha River - In the 13th century. after such a defeat, the Russians usually lost any desire to resist the Horde troops for 10-20 years, but at the end of the 14th century. The situation has completely changed:
already in 1378, the ally of the princes defeated in the battle on the Pyana River, Moscow Grand Duke Dmitry IV Ivanovich, having learned that the Horde troops who had burned Nizhny Novgorod intended to go to Moscow under the command of Murza Begich, decided to meet them on the border of his principality on the Oka and not allow to the capital.
On August 11, 1378, a battle took place on the bank of the right tributary of the Oka, the Vozha River, in the Ryazan principality. Dmitry divided his army into three parts and, at the head of the main regiment, attacked the Horde army from the front, while Prince Daniil Pronsky and Okolnichy Timofey Vasilyevich attacked the Tatars from the flanks, in the girth. The Horde were completely defeated and fled across the Vozha River, losing many killed and carts, which Russian troops captured the next day, rushing to pursue the Tatars.
The Battle of the Vozha River had enormous moral and military significance as a dress rehearsal for the Battle of Kulikovo, which followed two years later.
1380 Battle of Kulikovo - The Battle of Kulikovo was the first serious, specially prepared battle in advance, and not random and improvised, like all previous military clashes between Russian and Horde troops.
1382 Tokhtamysh's invasion of Moscow - The defeat of Mamai's army on the Kulikovo field and his flight to Kafa and death in 1381 allowed the energetic Khan Tokhtamysh to end the power of the Temniks in the Horde and reunite it into single state, eliminating the “parallel khans” in the regions.
Tokhtamysh identified as his main military-political task the restoration of the military and foreign policy prestige of the Horde and the preparation of a revanchist campaign against Moscow.
Results of Tokhtamysh’s campaign:
Returning to Moscow in early September 1382, Dmitry Donskoy saw the ashes and ordered the immediate restoration of devastated Moscow, at least with temporary wooden buildings, before the onset of frost.
Thus, the military, political and economic achievements of the Battle of Kulikovo were completely eliminated by the Horde two years later:
1. The tribute was not only restored, but actually doubled, because the population decreased, but the size of the tribute remained the same. In addition, the people had to pay the Grand Duke a special emergency tax to replenish the princely treasury taken away by the Horde.
2. Politically, vassalage increased sharply, even formally. In 1384, Dmitry Donskoy was forced for the first time to send his son, the heir to the throne, the future Grand Duke Vasily II Dmitrievich, who was 12 years old, to the Horde as a hostage (According to the generally accepted account, this is Vasily I. V.V. Pokhlebkin, apparently, believes 1 -m Vasily Yaroslavich Kostromsky). Relations with neighbors worsened - the Tver, Suzdal, Ryazan principalities, which were specially supported by the Horde to create a political and military counterbalance to Moscow.
The situation was really difficult; in 1383, Dmitry Donskoy had to “compete” in the Horde for the great reign, to which Mikhail Alexandrovich Tverskoy again made his claims. The reign was left to Dmitry, but his son Vasily was taken hostage into the Horde. The “fierce” ambassador Adash appeared in Vladimir (1383, see “Golden Horde Ambassadors in Rus'”). In 1384, it was necessary to collect a heavy tribute (half a ruble per village) from the entire Russian land, and from Novgorod - Black Forest. The Novgorodians began looting along the Volga and Kama and refused to pay tribute. In 1385, it was necessary to show unprecedented leniency towards the Ryazan prince, who decided to attack Kolomna (annexed to Moscow back in 1300) and defeated the troops of the Moscow prince.
Thus, Rus' was actually thrown back to the situation in 1313, under the Uzbek Khan, i.e. practically, the achievements of the Battle of Kulikovo were completely erased. Both in military-political and economic terms, the Moscow principality was thrown back 75-100 years. The prospects for relations with the Horde, therefore, were extremely gloomy for Moscow and Rus' as a whole. One could have assumed that the Horde yoke would be secured forever (well, nothing lasts forever!), if a new historical accident had not occurred:
The period of wars between the Horde and the empire of Tamerlane and the complete defeat of the Horde during these two wars, the violation of all economic, administrative, political life in the Horde, the death of the Horde army, the ruin of both of its capitals - Sarai I and Sarai II, the beginning of a new unrest, the struggle for power of several khans in the period from 1391-1396. - all this led to an unprecedented weakening of the Horde in all areas and made it necessary for the Horde khans to focus on the turn of the 14th century. and XV century exclusively on internal problems, temporarily neglect external ones and, in particular, weaken control over Russia.
It was this unexpected situation that helped the Moscow principality gain significant respite and restore its strength - economic, military and political.
Here, perhaps, we should pause and make a few notes. I do not believe in historical accidents of this magnitude, and there is no need to explain the further relations of Muscovite Rus' with the Horde as an unexpected happy accident. Without going into details, we note that by the early 90s of the 14th century. Moscow somehow solved the economic and political problems that arose. The Moscow-Lithuanian Treaty concluded in 1384 removed the Principality of Tver from the influence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Mikhail Alexandrovich Tverskoy, having lost support both in the Horde and in Lithuania, recognized the primacy of Moscow. In 1385, the son of Dmitry Donskoy, Vasily Dmitrievich, was released from the Horde. In 1386, a reconciliation between Dmitry Donskoy and Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky took place, which in 1387 was sealed by the marriage of their children (Fyodor Olegovich and Sofia Dmitrievna). In the same 1386, Dmitry managed to restore his influence there with a large military demonstration under the Novgorod walls, take the black forest in the volosts and 8,000 rubles in Novgorod. In 1388, Dmitry also faced the discontent of his cousin and comrade-in-arms Vladimir Andreevich, who had to be brought “to his will” by force and forced to recognize the political seniority of his eldest son Vasily. Dmitry managed to make peace with Vladimir two months before his death (1389). In his spiritual will, Dmitry blessed (for the first time) his eldest son Vasily “with his fatherland with his great reign.” And finally, in the summer of 1390, in a solemn atmosphere, the marriage of Vasily and Sophia, the daughter of the Lithuanian prince Vitovt, took place. IN Eastern Europe Vasily I Dmitrievich and Cyprian, who became metropolitan on October 1, 1389, are trying to prevent the strengthening of the Lithuanian-Polish dynastic union and replace the Polish-Catholic colonization of Lithuanian and Russian lands with the consolidation of Russian forces around Moscow. An alliance with Vytautas, who was against the Catholicization of the Russian lands that were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was important for Moscow, but could not be durable, since Vytautas, naturally, had his own goals and his own vision of what center the Russians should gather around lands.
A new stage in the history of the Golden Horde coincided with the death of Dmitry. It was then that Tokhtamysh came out of the reconciliation with Tamerlane and began to lay claim to the territories under his control. A confrontation began. Under these conditions, Tokhtamysh, immediately after the death of Dmitry Donskoy, issued a label for the reign of Vladimir to his son, Vasily I, and strengthened it, transferring to him the Nizhny Novgorod principality and a number of cities. In 1395, Tamerlane's troops defeated Tokhtamysh on the Terek River.
At the same time, Tamerlane, having destroyed the power of the Horde, did not carry out his campaign against Rus'. Having reached Yelets without fighting or looting, he unexpectedly turned back and returned to Central Asia. Thus, Tamerlane’s actions at the end of the 14th century. became a historical factor that helped Rus' survive in the fight against the Horde.
1405 - In 1405, based on the situation in the Horde, the Grand Duke of Moscow officially announced for the first time that he refused to pay tribute to the Horde. During 1405-1407 The Horde did not react in any way to this demarche, but then Edigei’s campaign against Moscow followed.
Only 13 years after Tokhtamysh’s campaign (Apparently, there is a typo in the book - 13 years have passed since Tamerlane’s campaign) could the Horde authorities again remember the vassalage of Moscow and gather forces for a new campaign in order to restore the flow of tribute, which had ceased since 1395.
1408 Edigei's campaign against Moscow - December 1, 1408, a huge army of Edigei's temnik approached Moscow along the winter sled road and besieged the Kremlin.
On the Russian side, the situation during Tokhtamysh’s campaign in 1382 was repeated in detail.
1. Grand Duke Vasily II Dmitrievich, hearing about the danger, like his father, fled to Kostroma (supposedly to gather an army).
2. In Moscow, Vladimir Andreevich Brave, Prince Serpukhovsky, a participant in the Battle of Kulikovo, remained as the head of the garrison.
3. The Moscow suburb was burned out again, i.e. all wooden Moscow around the Kremlin, for a mile in all directions.
4. Edigei, approaching Moscow, set up his camp in Kolomenskoye, and sent a notice to the Kremlin that he would stand all winter and starve out the Kremlin without losing a single fighter.
5. The memory of Tokhtamysh’s invasion was still so fresh among Muscovites that it was decided to fulfill any demands of Edigei, so that only he would leave without hostilities.
6. Edigei demanded to collect 3,000 rubles in two weeks. silver, which was done. In addition, Edigei's troops, scattered throughout the principality and its cities, began to gather Polonyanniks for capture (several tens of thousands of people). Some cities were severely devastated, for example Mozhaisk was completely burned.
7. On December 20, 1408, having received everything that was required, Edigei’s army left Moscow without being attacked or pursued by Russian forces.
8. The damage caused by Edigei’s campaign was less than the damage caused by Tokhtamysh’s invasion, but it also fell heavily on the shoulders of the population
The restoration of Moscow's tributary dependence on the Horde lasted from then on for almost another 60 years (until 1474)
1412 - Payment of tribute to the Horde became regular. To ensure this regularity, the Horde forces from time to time made frighteningly reminiscent raids on Rus'.
1415 - Ruin of the Yelets (border, buffer) land by the Horde.
1427 - Raid of Horde troops on Ryazan.
1428 - Raid of the Horde army on the Kostroma lands - Galich Mersky, destruction and robbery of Kostroma, Ples and Lukh.
1437 - Battle of Belevskaya Campaign of Ulu-Muhammad to the Trans-Oka lands. The Battle of Belev on December 5, 1437 (the defeat of the Moscow army) due to the reluctance of the Yuryevich brothers - Shemyaka and Krasny - to allow the army of Ulu-Muhammad to settle in Belev and make peace. Due to the betrayal of the Lithuanian governor of Mtsensk, Grigory Protasyev, who went over to the side of the Tatars, Ulu-Mukhammed won the Battle of Belev, after which he went east to Kazan, where he founded the Kazan Khanate.
Actually, from this moment begins the long struggle of the Russian state with the Kazan Khanate, which Rus' had to wage in parallel with the heir of the Golden Horde - the Great Horde and which only Ivan IV the Terrible managed to complete. The first campaign of the Kazan Tatars against Moscow took place already in 1439. Moscow was burned, but the Kremlin was not taken. The second campaign of the Kazan people (1444-1445) led to the catastrophic defeat of the Russian troops, the capture of the Moscow prince Vasily II the Dark, a humiliating peace and the eventual blinding of Vasily II. Further, the raids of the Kazan Tatars on Rus' and the retaliatory Russian actions (1461, 1467-1469, 1478) are not indicated in the table, but they should be kept in mind (See "Kazan Khanate");
1451 - Campaign of Mahmut, son of Kichi-Muhammad, to Moscow. He burned the settlements, but the Kremlin did not take them.
1462 - Ivan III stopped issuing Russian coins with the name of the Khan of the Horde. Statement by Ivan III on the renunciation of the khan's label for the great reign.
1468 - Khan Akhmat's campaign against Ryazan
1471 - Campaign of the Horde to the Moscow borders in the Trans-Oka region
1472 - The Horde army approached the city of Aleksin, but did not cross the Oka. The Russian army marched to Kolomna. There was no clash between the two forces. Both sides feared that the outcome of the battle would not be in their favor. Caution in conflicts with the Horde is a characteristic feature of the policy of Ivan III. He didn't want to take any risks.
1474 - Khan Akhmat again approaches the Zaoksk region, on the border with the Moscow Grand Duchy. Peace, or, more precisely, a truce, is concluded on the terms of the Moscow prince paying an indemnity of 140 thousand altyns in two terms: in the spring - 80 thousand, in the fall - 60 thousand. Ivan III again avoids a military conflict.
1480 Great Standing on the Ugra River - Akhmat makes a demand Ivan III pay tribute for 7 years, during which Moscow stopped paying it. Goes on a campaign against Moscow. Ivan III advances with his army to meet the Khan.
We formally end the history of Russian-Horde relations with the year 1481 as the date of death of the last khan of the Horde - Akhmat, who was killed a year after the Great Standing on the Ugra, since the Horde really ceased to exist as a state organism and administration and even as a certain territory to which jurisdiction and real the power of this once unified administration.
Formally and in fact, new Tatar states were formed on the former territory of the Golden Horde, much smaller in size, but manageable and relatively consolidated. Of course, the virtual disappearance of a huge empire could not happen overnight and it could not “evaporate” completely without a trace.
People, peoples, the population of the Horde continued to live their former lives and, feeling that catastrophic changes had occurred, nevertheless did not realize them as a complete collapse, as the absolute disappearance from the face of the earth of their former state.
In fact, the process of the collapse of the Horde, especially at the lower social level, continued for another three to four decades during the first quarter of the 16th century.
But the international consequences of the collapse and disappearance of the Horde, on the contrary, affected themselves quite quickly and quite clearly, distinctly. The liquidation of a gigantic empire, which controlled and influenced events from Siberia to the Balakans and from Egypt to the Middle Urals for two and a half centuries, led to a complete change in the international situation not only in this area, but also radically changed the overall international situation The Russian state and its military-political plans and actions in relations with the East as a whole.
Moscow was able to quickly, within one decade, radically restructure the strategy and tactics of its eastern foreign policy.
The statement seems too categorical to me: it should be taken into account that the process of fragmentation of the Golden Horde was not a one-time act, but occurred throughout the entire 15th century. The policy of the Russian state changed accordingly. An example is the relationship between Moscow and the Kazan Khanate, which separated from the Horde in 1438 and tried to pursue the same policy. After two successful campaigns against Moscow (1439, 1444-1445), Kazan began to experience increasingly persistent and powerful pressure from the Russian state, which was formally still in vassal dependence on the Great Horde (in the period under review these were the campaigns of 1461, 1467-1469, 1478). ).
Firstly, an active, offensive line was chosen in relation to both rudiments and completely viable heirs of the Horde. The Russian tsars decided not to let them come to their senses, to finish off the already half-defeated enemy, and not to rest on the laurels of the victors.
Secondly, pitting one Tatar group against another was used as a new tactical technique that gave the most useful military-political effect. Significant Tatar formations began to be included in the Russian armed forces to carry out joint attacks on other Tatar military formations, and primarily on the remnants of the Horde.
So, in 1485, 1487 and 1491. Ivan III sent military detachments to strike the troops of the Great Horde, who were attacking Moscow's ally at that time - the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey.
Particularly significant in military-political terms was the so-called. spring campaign of 1491 to the “Wild Field” along converging directions.
1491 Campaign to the “Wild Field” - 1. The Horde khans Seid-Akhmet and Shig-Akhmet besieged Crimea in May 1491. Ivan III dispatched a huge army of 60 thousand people to help his ally Mengli-Girey. under the leadership of the following military leaders:
a) Prince Peter Nikitich Obolensky;
b) Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Repni-Obolensky;
c) Kasimov prince Satilgan Merdzhulatovich.
2. These independent detachments headed for the Crimea in such a way that they had to approach the rear of the Horde troops from three sides in converging directions in order to squeeze them into pincers, while they would be attacked from the front by the troops of Mengli-Girey.
3. In addition, on June 3 and 8, 1491, the allies were mobilized to attack from the flanks. These were again both Russian and Tatar troops:
a) Kazan Khan Muhammad-Emin and his governors Abash-Ulan and Burash-Seyid;
b) Ivan III's brothers appanage princes Andrei Vasilyevich Bolshoi and Boris Vasilyevich with their troops.
Another new tactical technique introduced in the 90s of the 15th century. Ivan III in his military policy regarding Tatar attacks is a systematic organization of pursuit of Tatar raids invading Russia, which has never been done before.
1492 - The pursuit of the troops of two governors - Fyodor Koltovsky and Goryain Sidorov - and their battle with the Tatars in the area between the Bystraya Sosna and Trudy rivers;
1499 - Pursuit after the Tatars’ raid on Kozelsk, which recaptured from the enemy all the “full” and cattle he had taken away;
1500 (summer) - The army of Khan Shig-Ahmed (Great Horde) of 20 thousand people. stood at the mouth of the Tikhaya Sosna River, but did not dare to go further towards the Moscow border;
1500 (autumn) - A new campaign of an even more numerous army of Shig-Akhmed, but further than the Zaokskaya side, i.e. territory of the north of the Oryol region, it did not dare to go;
1501 - On August 30, the 20,000-strong army of the Great Horde began the devastation of the Kursk land, approaching Rylsk, and by November it reached the Bryansk and Novgorod-Seversk lands. The Tatars captured the city of Novgorod-Seversky, but this army of the Great Horde did not go further to the Moscow lands.
In 1501, a coalition of Lithuania, Livonia and the Great Horde was formed, directed against the union of Moscow, Kazan and Crimea. This campaign was part of the war between Muscovite Rus' and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for the Verkhovsky principalities (1500-1503). It is incorrect to talk about the Tatars seizing the Novgorod-Seversky lands, which were part of their ally - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and were captured by Moscow in 1500. According to the truce of 1503, almost all of these lands went to Moscow.
1502 Liquidation of the Great Horde - The army of the Great Horde remained to winter at the mouth of the Seim River and near Belgorod. Ivan III then agreed with Mengli-Girey that he would send his troops to expel Shig-Akhmed’s troops from this territory. Mengli-Girey fulfilled this request, inflicting a strong blow on the Great Horde in February 1502.
In May 1502, Mengli-Girey defeated the troops of Shig-Akhmed for the second time at the mouth of the Sula River, where they migrated to spring pastures. This battle effectively ended the remnants of the Great Horde.
This is how Ivan III dealt with it at the beginning of the 16th century. with the Tatar states through the hands of the Tatars themselves.
Thus, from the beginning of the 16th century. the last remnants of the Golden Horde disappeared from the historical arena. And the point was not only that this completely removed from the Moscow state any threat of invasion from the East, seriously strengthened its security - the main, significant result was a sharp change in the formal and actual international legal position of the Russian state, which manifested itself in a change in its international -legal relations with the Tatar states - the “successors” of the Golden Horde.
This was precisely the main historical meaning, the main historical meaning liberation of Russia from Horde dependence.
For the Moscow state, vassal relations ceased, it became sovereign state, subject of international relations. This completely changed his position both among the Russian lands and in Europe as a whole.
Until then, for 250 years, the Grand Duke received only unilateral labels from the Horde khans, i.e. permission to own his own fiefdom (principality), or, in other words, the khan’s consent to continue to trust his tenant and vassal, to the fact that he will temporarily not be touched from this post if he fulfills a number of conditions: pay tribute, conduct loyalty to the khan politics, send “gifts,” and participate, if necessary, in the military activities of the Horde.
With the collapse of the Horde and the emergence of new khanates on its ruins - Kazan, Astrakhan, Crimean, Siberian - a completely new situation arose: the institution of vassal submission to Rus' disappeared and ceased. This was expressed in the fact that all relations with the new Tatar states began to occur on a bilateral basis. The conclusion of bilateral treaties on political issues began at the end of wars and at the conclusion of peace. And this was precisely the main and important change.
Outwardly, especially in the first decades, there were no noticeable changes in the relations between Russia and the khanates:
The Moscow princes continued to occasionally pay tribute to the Tatar khans, continued to send them gifts, and the khans of the new Tatar states, in turn, continued to maintain the old forms of relations with the Moscow Grand Duchy, i.e. Sometimes, like the Horde, they organized campaigns against Moscow right up to the walls of the Kremlin, resorted to devastating raids for the meadows, stole cattle and plundered the property of the Grand Duke’s subjects, demanded that he pay indemnity, etc. and so on.
But after the end of hostilities, the parties began to draw legal conclusions - i.e. record their victories and defeats in bilateral documents, conclude peace or truce treaties, sign written obligations. And it was precisely this that significantly changed their true relations, leading to the fact that the entire relationship of forces on both sides actually changed significantly.
That is why it became possible for the Moscow state to purposefully work to change this balance of forces in its favor and ultimately achieve the weakening and liquidation of the new khanates that arose on the ruins of the Golden Horde, not within two and a half centuries, but much faster - in less than 75 years old, in the second half of the 16th century.
"From Ancient Rus' to the Russian Empire." Shishkin Sergey Petrovich, Ufa.
V.V. Pokhlebkina "Tatars and Rus'. 360 years of relations in 1238-1598." (M. " International relationships" 2000).
Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary. 4th edition, M. 1987.
Tataro- Mongol invasion and the 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 devastating effect on the state Old Russian state, for development Agriculture and culture. What exactly were the prerequisites for the 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. The aggressive military policy was based on an invincible army, consisting of a clearly organized groups 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 in the 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.
State of the Mongol-Tatars.
The Mongol-Tatar state was formed in 1206 and was initially located in the territory from Lake Baikal and the upper reaches of the Yenisei and Irtysh in the north to the southern regions of the Gobi Desert and the Great Wall of China. At the congress of the Mongolian nobility, Temujin (Genghis Khan, 1206-1227) was elected the first leader of the Mongolian state. The Mongol-Tatars, like other peoples who were going through the stage of state formation, were distinguished by their strength and solidity.
The Mongol-Tatars, who were engaged in nomadic cattle breeding, were especially interested in expanding pastures and organizing predatory campaigns. They began by conquering the lands of their neighbors - the Buryats, Evenks, Yakuts, Uighurs, and Yenisei Kyrgyz. Then they invaded China and Korea. In 1219 the Mongol army conquered Central Asia (Khorezm, Merv, Bukhara, Urgench), then invaded Iran and Transcaucasia and entered the steppes along the western coast of the Caspian Sea North Caucasus, where he defeats the Alans and Polovtsians. The Polovtsians turned to the Russian princes for help. The united army of the Polovtsians and Russians in 1223. entered into battle with the Mongol-Tatars on the Kalka River. This was the first clash between the Russians and the Mongol-Tatar army. The Mongols won.
Conquest of Russian lands by the Mongol-Tatars
The Mongol-Tatars made two campaigns, as a result of which they managed to conquer Russian lands. The first campaign took place in 1237-1238, during which the eastern and northeastern lands of Rus' were attacked. In 1237 Ryazan was the first of the Russian lands to take the blow of the invaders. The princes of neighboring principalities did not help her. The people of Ryazan bravely defended their city for five days, and only on the sixth day of the siege the city was taken and the surviving residents were killed. In January 1238, the Mongols moved along the Oka River to the Vladimir-Suzdal land. The battle with the army of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality took place near the city of Kolomna, on the border with Ryazan land. In this battle, the Vladimir army died, which actually predetermined the fate of the North-Eastern land. After a five-day siege, Moscow was taken; on the fourth day of the siege of Vladimir, the invaders broke into the city through gaps in the fortress wall and captured it. Then the Mongol-Tatars moved to the north-west of Rus', but, not reaching 100 kilometers from Novgorod, they turned south, to the steppes, to restore losses and give rest to tired troops.
The second campaign of the Mongol-Tatars took place in 1239-1241, during which the southern and southwestern lands of Rus' were attacked. In 1239, Batu captured the Pereyaslavl and then the Chernigov principalities. In 1240, Mongol troops besieged Kiev and, after a long siege, captured it. In 1241, the Galicia-Volyn principality was attacked.
Reasons for the defeat of Russian lands:
1. feudal fragmentation of Rus'; princely feuds prevented us from uniting forces to fight back strong enemy, each principality defended itself from the Mongol-Tatars;
2. the superiority of the Mongol army in numbers, weapons, organization, and military art; The princely cavalry squads were not inferior to the Mongolian nukers in terms of armament and fighting qualities, but they were small in number; the bulk of the Russian army was made up of militia - urban and rural warriors, inferior to the Mongols in weapons and combat skills.
Golden Horde
After the defeat of Rus', the Mongol hordes moved to Europe, but in 1242 they suffered a series of setbacks in the Czech Republic and Hungary, and they decided to return back to the east. But the Mongol-Tatars did not remain on Russian lands either, since they were not suitable for nomadic cattle breeding. Batu leads his hordes to the Volga steppes and creates the state of the Golden Horde. The Golden Horde covered a vast territory from the Danube to the Irtysh. The capital of the Golden Horde was the city of Saray, located in the lower reaches of the Volga. The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of its time. At the beginning of the 14th century, she could field an army of 300,000. The heyday of the Golden Horde occurred during the reign of Khan Uzbek (1312-1342). During this era, Islam became the state religion of the Golden Horde. Then, just like other medieval states, the Horde experienced a period of fragmentation. Already in the 14th century, the Central Asian possessions of the Horde separated, in 1438 the Kazan Khanate emerged, in 1443 - the Crimean Khanate, in 1459 - the Astrakhan Khanate at the end of the 15th century. - Siberian Khanate. The collapse of the Golden Horde facilitated the struggle of the Russian lands against the Golden Horde yoke. In 1502, the Crimean Khanate dealt a crushing blow to the Golden Horde, after which it ceased to exist.
As a result of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, Rus' did not lose its statehood; it retained its own administration and church organization, but fell into vassal dependence on the Golden Horde. The yoke of the Golden Horde was expressed in economic and political terms.
Economically:
1. annual payment of tribute (“exit”) to the Golden Horde;
3. fulfillment of duties by the Russian population (carriage, construction in favor of the conquerors);
4. creation of favorable conditions for Horde merchants.
Politically:
1. Russian princes, before ascending the throne, had to receive a “label” from the Golden Horde - permission to reign;
2. the institution of Baskaks was created - leaders of military detachments of the Mongol-Tatars, who monitored the activities of the Russian princes;
3. constant punitive raids of Mongol troops on Russian lands;
4. terror against Russian princes.
The Mongol conquest and the Golden Horde yoke had enormous consequences for Russia:
The devastation of Russian lands and cities led to a delay in the economic, cultural and political development of Rus'. Russian lands are beginning to lag behind European states in their development;
Reinforced the feudal fragmentation of lands;
Severed ties between northeastern and southwestern Russia;
Rus' falls out of the number European countries and switches to the eastern (Asian) path of development.
Loading...
