The invasion of Batu into Russia (XIII century) - the invasion of the army of the Mongol Empire into the territory of the ancient Russian principalities. This event left a deep mark in the history of our Fatherland. Next, consider how Batu's invasion of Russia took place (briefly).
Backstory
The Mongol feudal lords who lived long before Batu had plans to conquer Eastern European territory. In the 1220s. some kind of preparation was made for the future conquest. An important part of it was the campaign of the thirty-thousandth army of Jebe and Subedei to the territory of Transcaucasia and South-Eastern Europe in 1222-24. Its purpose was exclusively reconnaissance, the collection of information. In 1223, the Battle of the Kalka took place during this campaign. The battle ended with the victory of the Mongols. As a result of the campaign, the future conquerors studied the future battlefields well, learned about the fortifications and troops, and received information about the location of the principalities of Russia. From the Polovtsian steppes, the army of Jebe and Subedei went to the Volga Bulgaria. But there the Mongols were defeated and returned to Central Asia through the steppes of modern Kazakhstan. The beginning of Batu's invasion of Russia was quite sudden.
RuinRyazan territory
The invasion of Batu into Russia, in short, pursued the goal of enslaving the people, capturing and annexing new territories. The Mongols appeared on the southern borders of the Ryazan Principality demanding to pay tribute to them. Prince Yuri asked for help from Mikhail of Chernigov and Yuri of Vladimir. At Batu's headquarters, the Ryazan embassy was destroyed. Prince Yuri led his army, as well as the Murom regiments, to the border battle, but the battle was lost. Yuri Vsevolodovich sent a united army to the aid of Ryazan. In it were the regiments of his son Vsevolod, the people of the voivode Yeremey Glebovich, the Novgorod detachments. This army was joined by the forces that retreated from Ryazan. The city fell after a six-day siege. The sent regiments managed to give battle to the conquerors near Kolomna, but were defeated.
Results of the first battles
The beginning of Batu's invasion of Russia was marked by the destruction of not only Ryazan, but also the ruin of the entire principality. The Mongols captured Pronsk, captured Prince Oleg Ingvarevich the Red. The invasion of Batu into Russia (the date of the first battle is indicated above) was accompanied by the destruction of many cities and villages. So, the Mongols destroyed Belgorod Ryazan. This city was never subsequently rebuilt. Tula researchers identify it with a settlement near the Polosnya River, near the village of Beloroditsa (16 km from modern Veneva). Was wiped off the face of the earth and Voronezh Ryazan. The ruins of the city stood deserted for several centuries. Only in 1586 a prison was built on the site of the settlement. Destroyedthe Mongols and the well-known city of Dedoslavl. Some researchers identify it with a settlement near the village of Dedilovo, on the right bank of the river. Shat.
Attack on Vladimir-Suzdal Principality
After the defeat of the Ryazan lands, Batu's invasion of Russia was somewhat suspended. When the Mongols invaded the Vladimir-Suzdal lands, they were suddenly overtaken by the regiments of Yevpaty Kolovrat, the Ryazan boyar. Thanks to this suddenness, the squad was able to defeat the invaders, inflicting heavy losses on them. On January 20, 1238, after a five-day siege, Moscow fell. Vladimir (the youngest son of Yuri) and Philip Nyanka stood on the defense of the city. At the head of the thirty thousandth detachment that defeated the Moscow squad, according to sources, was Shiban. Yuri Vsevolodovich, moving north, to the Sit River, began to gather a new squad, while waiting for help from Svyatoslav and Yaroslav (his brothers). In early February 1238, Vladimir fell after an eight-day siege. The family of Prince Yuri died in it. In the same February, in addition to Vladimir, cities such as Suzdal, Yuryev-Polsky, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Starodub-on-Klyazma, Rostov, Galich-Mersky, Kostroma, Gorodets, Tver, Dmitrov, Ksnyatin, Kashin, Uglich, Yaroslavl fell. The Novgorod suburbs of Volok Lamsky and Vologda were also captured.
The situation in the Volga region
The invasion of Batu into Russia was very large-scale. In addition to the main ones, the Mongols also had secondary forces. With the help of the latter, the capture of the Volga region was carried out. Secondary forces led by Burundai covered twicea greater distance than the main Mongol detachments during the siege of Torzhok and Tver, and approached from the side of Uglich to the City River. The Vladimir regiments did not have time to prepare for battle, were surrounded and almost completely destroyed. Some of the soldiers were taken prisoner. But at the same time, the Mongols themselves suffered serious losses. The center of Yaroslav's possessions lay directly in the path of the Mongols, advancing towards Novgorod from Vladimir. Pereyaslavl-Zalessky was taken within five days. During the capture of Tver, one of the sons of Prince Yaroslav died (his name has not been preserved). The chronicles do not contain information about the participation of the Novgorodians in the battle on the City. There is no mention of any actions of Yaroslav. Some researchers quite often emphasize that Novgorod did not send help to Torzhok.
Results of the capture of the Volga lands
Historian Tatishchev, speaking about the results of the battles, draws attention to the fact that the losses in the Mongols were several times greater than those of the Russians. However, the Tatars made up for them at the expense of prisoners. There were more of them at that time than the invaders themselves. So, for example, the assault on Vladimir began only after a detachment of Mongols returned from Suzdal with prisoners.
Defense of Kozelsk
The invasion of Batu into Russia from the beginning of March 1238 took place according to a certain plan. After the capture of Torzhok, the remnants of Burundai's detachment, having joined with the main forces, suddenly turned into the steppes. The invaders did not reach Novgorod for about 100 miles. Different sources give different versions of this turn. ATsome say that the reason was the spring thaw, others - the threat of famine. One way or another, the invasion of Batu's troops into Russia continued, but in a different direction.
Now the Mongols are divided into two groups. The main detachment passed east of Smolensk (30 km from the city) and made a stop in the lands of Dolgomostye. In one of the literary sources there is information that the Mongols were defeated and fled. After that, the main detachment moved south. Here, the invasion of Rus by Batu Khan was marked by an invasion of the Chernigov lands, the burning of Vshchizh, located in close proximity to the central regions of the principality. According to one of the sources, 4 sons of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich died in connection with these events. Then the main forces of the Mongols turned sharply to the northeast. Bypassing Karachev and Bryansk, the Tatars took possession of Kozelsk. The eastern group, meanwhile, passed in the spring of 1238 near Ryazan. Buri and Kadan were at the head of the detachments. At that time, Vasily reigned in Kozelsk - the 12-year-old grandson of Mstislav Svyatoslavovich. The battle for the city dragged on for seven weeks. By May 1238, both groups of Mongols united near Kozelsk and captured it three days later, albeit with heavy losses.
Further developments
The invasion of Russia by Batu Khan by the middle of the 13th century began to take on an episodic character. The Mongols invaded only the border lands, in the process of suppressing uprisings in the Polovtsian steppes and the Volga region. In the annals, at the end of the story aboutcampaign in the northeastern territories, mention is made of the lull that accompanied Batu's invasion of Russia ("the year of peace" - from 1238 to 1239). After him, on October 18, 1239, Chernigov was besieged and taken. After the fall of the city, the Mongols began to plunder and ravage the territories along the Seim and the Desna. Rylsk, Vyr, Glukhov, Putivl, Gomiy were devastated and destroyed.
Hiking on the territory near the Dnieper
To help the Mongolian detachments involved in the Transcaucasus, a corps led by Bukdai was sent. This happened in 1240. Around the same period, Batu decides to send Munk, Buri and Guyuk home. The remaining detachments regrouped, replenished a second time at the expense of captured Volga and Polovtsy. The next direction was the territory of the right bank of the Dnieper. Most of them (Kiev, Volyn, Galicia and, presumably, the Turov-Pinsk principality) by 1240 were united under the rule of Daniil and Vasilko, the sons of Roman Mstislavovich (Volyn ruler). The first, considering himself unable to resist the Mongols on his own, set off on the eve of the invasion of Hungary. Presumably, Daniel's goal was to ask King Bela VI for help in repelling Tatar attacks.
Consequences of Batu's invasion of Russia
As a result of the barbarian raids of the Mongols, a huge number of the population of the state died. A significant part of large and small towns and villages was destroyed. Chernigov, Tver, Ryazan, Suzdal, Vladimir, Kyiv suffered significantly. exceptionbecame Pskov, Veliky Novgorod, the cities of Turov-Pinsk, Polotsk and Suzdal principalities. As a result of the invasion, the relatively developed culture of large settlements suffered irreparable damage. Within a few decades, stone construction was almost completely stopped in cities. In addition, such complex crafts as the manufacture of glass jewelry, the production of granulation, niello, cloisonne enamel, and glazed polychrome ceramics have disappeared. Russia lagged behind in its development. It was thrown back several centuries ago. And while the Western guild industry was entering the stage of primitive accumulation, the Russian craft had to again go through that segment of the historical path that had been done before the invasion of Batu.
In the southern lands, the settled population has disappeared almost completely. The surviving inhabitants left for the forest territories of the northeast, settling along the interfluve of the Oka and the Northern Volga. These areas had a colder climate and not as fertile soils as in the southern regions, destroyed and devastated by the Mongols. Trade routes were controlled by the Tatars. Because of this, there was no connection between Russia and other overseas states. The socio-economic development of the Fatherland in that historical period was at a very low level.
Opinion of military historians
Researchers note that the process of formation and merging of rifle detachments and regiments of heavy cavalry, which specialized in direct strikes with cold weapons, broke off in Russia immediately afterinvasion of Batu. During this period, there was a unification of functions in the person of a single feudal warrior. He was forced to shoot with a bow and at the same time fight with a sword and spear. From this we can conclude that even the exceptionally selective, feudal part of the Russian army in its development was thrown back a couple of centuries ago. Chronicles do not contain information about the existence of individual rifle detachments. This is quite understandable. For their formation, people were needed who were ready to break away from production and sell their blood for money. And in the economic situation in which Russia was, mercenarism was completely unaffordable.
