Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'

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Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus
Part of Mongol invasions and conquests

The Mongol invasion of Europe, 1236–1242
Date1223, 1237–1241
Location
Kievan Rus' (now parts of modern-day Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus)
Result Mongol victory
Territorial
changes
Rus' principalities become vassals of the Mongol Golden Horde
Belligerents
Mongol Empire
Brodnici
Commanders and leaders
Strength
1236:
  • 35,000 Mongol cavalry
1223:
  • c. 20,000 cavalry

The

Galicia-Volhynia, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, and probably Rostov and Uglich.[1][3][4][5][6]

The campaign was heralded by the

Galicia-Volhynia, Polotsk and Novgorod - if not outright vassalage, of the Golden Horde, until well into the 14th century.[2]

The invasion facilitated the breaking of the Kievan Rus' principalities, having profound ramifications for the history of Eastern Europe, including the division of the East Slavic people into separate polities.[1][7]

Background

Kievan Rus' in 1237

The Mongols had plans to conquer Eastern Europe long before

Chingizid led with him one or more tumens of the army. The Mongols prepared for an offensive in 1235 and early 1236 and subjugated the Bashkir tribes, who were forced to allocate several detachments to the Mongol army. The Mongols concentrated in the Caspian steppes in the autumn of 1236 under the general leadership of Jochi's son Batu. The first blow of the united Chingizid army hit the Volga Bulgaria.[8]

The Mongols (called "

The Secret History of the Mongols
, the only reference to this early battle is:

Then he (Chinggis Khan) sent Dorbei the Fierce off against the city of Merv, and on to conquer the people between Iraq and the Indus. He sent Subetei the Brave off to war in the North where he defeated eleven kingdoms and tribes, crossing the Volga and Ural Rivers, finally going to war with Kiev.[citation needed]

The Secret History of the Mongols reports that Ogedei sent Batu, Buri, Munk, and many other princes on a campaign to help Subetai, who was facing a strong resistance from various peoples and cities under Genghis Khan's command. The list of Genghisides who participated in the campaign is present in works such as "The Secret Legend," "Yuan Shi," and "The Collection of Chronicles" by the Persian historian Rashid ad-Din. In addition to Batu, other Chingizids who participated in the campaign included the sons of Jochi, Orda-Ezhen, Shiban, Tangkut, and Berke; the grandson of Chagatai, Buri, and the son of Chagatai, Baydar; the sons of Ogedei, Guyuk, and Kadan; the sons of Tolui, Munke, and Buchek; the son of Genghis Khan, Külkhan, and the grandson of Genghis Khan's brother, Argasun. In 1235 and early 1236, the assembled army prepared for an offensive, and then subjugated the Bashkir tribes, who were forced to allocate several detachments to the Mongol army. In the autumn of 1236, the Mongols concentrated in the Caspian steppes under the general leadership of Jochi's son Batu.[10]

The first blow of the united Chingizid army hit the

Muromo-Ryazan principalities. The parties undertook campaigns, there were constant skirmishes, and the victories in which were mainly won by Rus' troops. However, with the appearance of the Mongols at their borders, the Bulgars began to seek peace, which was met with understanding and support from the Rus' princes. Over the course of several years, the Rus' and the Bulgars normalized relations, which allowed the Volga Bulgaria to devote all its forces to preparing to repel the alleged Mongol invasion. Ramparts were created in the forests that covered the main cities, the cities themselves were fortified, and the garrisons increased. However, all these measures were in vain – the Volga Bulgaria was defeated with lightning speed and completely conquered by the spring of 1237.[citation needed
]

The next stage of the campaign was an attack on the

Polovtsians and Alans. From the Lower Volga region, the Mongols moved on a broad front to the mouth of the Don, where another concentration of troops took place. The offensive continued until the autumn of 1237 and ended with the defeat of the Polovtsians and Alans. After that, the Mongols captured the lands of the Burtases, Moksha, and Erzi. The grandiose Zolotarevskoe battle took place near a strategic crossing over the Sura River. According to the historian Kargalov, the fighting in 1237 was undertaken to create a springboard for a campaign against Rus'. By the end of the year, a huge Mongol army and detachments allied with Batu stood on the borders of Russia. Preparations for a winter campaign against North-Eastern Rus' by the Mongols began in the autumn of 1237. Their troops were grouped near Voronezh, and detachments that had previously fought with the Polovtsy and Alans were drawn there.[citation needed
]

Invasion of Batu Khan

The sacking of Suzdal by Batu Khan in February 1238; miniature from the 16th-century chronicle.

The vast Mongolian Great Khanate army of around 40,000

Kipchaks and the Alans.[citation needed
]

Immediately prior to the invasion,

Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal on their way to Hungary. Yuri II gave their letter to Julian.[12]

In November 1237, Batu Khan sent his envoys to the court of Yuri II and demanded his submission. According to the Laurentian Codex, the Mongols actually came seeking peace, but Yuri II treated them with disdain:

As they did before, the messengers came, those evil bloodsuckers, saying: "Make peace with us". He did not want that, as the prophet said: "Glorious war is better than disgraceful peace". These godless men with their deceitful peace will cause great dismay to our lands, as they have already done much evil here.

Yuri II

Regardless of what impression Yuri II may have given the Mongol delegations, of which several are mentioned, he did his best to avoid direct conflict. He sent them away with what were described as gifts, which were essentially tribute or bribes to keep them from invading.[14]

The Mongols attacked from several directions. One section attacked

Güyük, Mengu Qa'an, Kulkan, Kadan, and Buri. The city fell after three days.[15] Alarmed by the news, Yuri II sent his sons to detain the invaders, but they were defeated and ran for their lives. Yuri II also fled Vladimir for Yaroslavl.[14]

Having burnt down Kolomna and Moscow, the horde laid siege to Vladimir on 4 February 1238. Three days later, the capital of Vladimir-Suzdal was taken and burnt to the ground. The royal family perished in the fire, while the grand prince retreated northward. Crossing the Volga, Vladimir mustered a new army, which was encircled and totally annihilated by the Mongols in the Battle of the Sit River on 4 March.[citation needed]

And the Tartars took the town [of Ryazan] on December 21... They likewise killed the [Prince] and Knyaginya, and men, women and children, monks, nuns and priests, some by fire, some by the sword and violated nuns, priests' wives, good women and girls in the presence of their mothers and sisters.

Novgorod Chronicle

Thereupon Batu Khan divided his army into smaller units, which ransacked fourteen cities of northeastern Rus':

Rus' principalities and urban centres which escaped destruction or suffered little to no damage from the Mongol invasion included the Novgorod Republic, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, and probably Rostov and Uglich.[3] The Mongols planned to advance on Novgorod, but the principality was spared the fate of its brethren by the decision to preemptively surrender.[18] In mid-1238, Batu Khan devastated the Crimea and pacified Mordovia. In the winter of 1239, he sacked Chernihiv and Pereiaslav
.

While

Kiev and its Grand Prince was still formally acknowledged as senior amongst the Rus' principalities, frequent internecine dynastic feuding between rival claimants had left the city weakened. Indeed, by the time Kiev fell to the Mongols, the head of the city’s defenses owed allegiance to Prince Danylo of Galicia-Volhynia. Prince Danylo had taken the Rus’ capital under his protection the previous year by arrangement with Prince Mykhailo of Kiev, who fled after originally resisting the Mongols, then losing to them his main stronghold, Chernihiv
.

The Mongols approach on Kiev in November 1240 apparently made a grim impression upon its defenders. The chronicler writes: “And nothing could be heard above the squeaking of his carts, the bawling of his [Batu’s] innumerable camels, and the neighing of his herds of horses, and the Land of Rus’ was full of enemies." After many days of

St. Sophia Cathedral survived intact.[1] Historian Serhii Plokhy relates the description of one Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, an ambassador of Pope Innocent IV
who passed through Kiev in six years later: “When we were journeying through that land, we came across countless skulls and bones of dead men lying about on the ground.”

Batu Khan's forces went on to ravage much of

Daniel of Galicia's fierce resistance. The Tartars then resolved to "reach the ultimate sea", where they could proceed no further and invaded Hungary (under Batu Khan) and Poland (under Baidar and Kaidu).[6] Batu Khan captured Pest, and then on Christmas Day 1241, Esztergom.[6]

Age of Mongol rule

Prince Michael of Chernigov was passed between fires in accordance with ancient Turco-Mongol tradition. Batu Khan ordered him to prostrate himself before the tablets of Genghis Khan. The Mongols stabbed him to death for his refusal to do obeisance to Genghis Khan's shrine.

The former Rus' principalities became part of the Jochid appanage ruled by Batu. Batu sited a semi-nomadic capital, called Sarai or Sarai Batu (Batu's Palaces), on the lower Volga. The Jochid appanage came to be known as the Golden Horde. For the next three hundred years, all of the Rus' states, including Novgorod, Smolensk, Galich and Pskov, submitted to Mongol rule,[19] except for the Principality of Polotsk.[citation needed]

After Mongol and Turco-Mongol suzerainty was fought off, this period of rule by the Golden Horde is commonly referred to negatively by Russian historiography as the Mongol or Tatar "yoke". The Golden Horde Tartars instituted census, taxes, and tributes on the conquered lands, which were usually collected by local princes and brought to Sarai.[citation needed]

In the 14th and 15th centuries, with the rise of the

slave raids on the Slavic population became significant, with the purpose of trading slaves with the Ottoman Empire. The raids were catastrophic for both Muscovy and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and they largely prevented the settlement of the "Wild Fields" – the steppes extending from about 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Moscow to the Black Sea – and contributed to the development of the Cossacks.[citation needed
]

Impact on development

Kiev
in February 1246 and wrote:

They (the Mongols) attacked Rus', where they made great havoc, destroying cities and fortresses and slaughtering men; and they laid siege to Kiev, the capital of Rus'; after they had besieged the city for a long time, they took it and put the inhabitants to death. When we were journeying through that land we came across countless skulls and bones of dead men lying about on the ground. Kiev had been a very large and thickly populated town, but now it has been reduced almost to nothing, for there are at the present time scarce two hundred houses there and the inhabitants are kept in complete slavery.[20]

The influence of the Mongol invasion on the territories of Kievan Rus' was uneven.[21] Colin McEvedy (Atlas of World Population History, 1978) estimates the population of Kievan Rus' dropped from 7.5 million prior to the invasion to 7 million afterwards.[22] Centres such as Kiev took centuries to rebuild and recover from the devastation of the initial attack. The Novgorod Republic continued to prosper, and new entities, the rival cities of Moscow[21] and Tver,[citation needed] began to flourish under the Mongols.[21]

Moscow's eventual dominance of northern and eastern Rus' was in large part attributable to the Mongols. After the prince of Tver

Grand Prince by the Mongols.[23]

As such, the Muscovite prince became the chief intermediary between the Mongol overlords and the Rus' lands, which paid further dividends for Moscow's rulers. While the Mongols often raided other areas of Rus', they tended to respect the lands controlled by their principal collaborator. This, in turn, attracted nobles and their servants who sought to settle in the relatively secure and peaceful Moscow lands.[21]

Although Rus' forces defeated the Golden Horde at the

Great stand on the Ugra river in 1480.[23]

Historians argued[by whom?] that without the Mongol destruction of Kievan Rus', the Rus' would not have unified into the Tsardom of Russia and, subsequently, the Russian Empire would not have risen. Trade routes with the East went through Rus' territory, making them a center of trade between east and west. Mongol influence, while destructive to their enemies, had a significant long-term effect on the rise of modern Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.[24]

Decline of cities

The invasion had significant consequences for the Kievan Rus'. Many cities and fortified points were wiped out, with only a fraction surviving. The once flourishing cities of Kiev,

Vladimir suffered a sharp decline, with their populations shrinking to a fraction of what they were before the invasion. For example, Kiev, which had around 50,000 people, had only about 200 houses left after the invasion, according to the papal legate Plano Carpini.[25]

The decline of cities was also accompanied by a decline in culture, crafts, and trade. The pre-Mongol period was considered the heyday of culture, crafts, and trade in Ancient Rus', but after the invasion, many cities fell into decay, and stone construction was halted for a long time. Economic ties between cities and surrounding villages were severed, and it took more than 100 years for Russian cities to recover from the invasion of Batu Khan and its consequences.[26]

The destruction of cities and the decline in culture and economy had long-term consequences for Russia. The country was left behind in terms of economic development, and it took centuries for it to catch up with the rest of Europe. The Mongol-Tatar invasion also had a significant impact on Russia's political development, as it paved the way for the emergence of the centralized Moscow state, which gradually absorbed other principalities and became the dominant power in Russia. Overall, the invasion of Batu Khan had a profound and lasting impact on the history of Russia.[citation needed]

Economical setbacks

Stone construction in Russian cities practically ceased for several decades. The production of complex crafts, such as glass jewelry, cloisonne enamel, niello, granulation, and polychrome glazed ceramics stopped. As a result, the Russian handicraft industry regressed several centuries, while the guild industry in the West progressed to the era of primitive accumulation. The Russian handicraft industry had to reacquire the gains that had been made before the invasion.[27]

Population migration

As a result of the invasion many people were forced to flee in front of the advancing tumens of Batu, and in North-Eastern Rus', residents of the Vladimir-Suzdal and Ryazan principalities sought refuge in more northern lands beyond the Volga. Others fled to sparsely populated areas, taking refuge in dense forests. However, after the departure of the Mongol-Tatars, most of them returned to their former places of residence.

In fact, just a year after the fall of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the number of returnees was so great that Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich was able to gather a large army among them for a campaign against the Lithuanians. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of South Russia's principalities, such as Kiev, Pereyaslav, and Chernigov, fled to North-Eastern Russia immediately after the invasion.[28]

However, this was not the end of population migrations. Vladimir, Suzdal, Pereslavl-Zalessky, and other cities of North-Eastern Rus' were repeatedly targeted by Mongol-Tatar campaigns in the second half of the 13th century. As a result, many of their inhabitants gradually moved either to the vicinity of Moscow and Tver, or to the north in regions such as Yaroslavl, Galich, Veliky Ustyug, and more.[citation needed]

Influence on society

Duchy of Moscow
in 1521.

Historians have debated the long-term influence of Mongol rule on Rus' society.

ortoo system, known in Russian as "yam", hence the terms yamshchik, Yamskoy Prikaz, etc.), census, fiscal system and military organization.[21][29]

The period of Mongol rule over the former Rus' polities included significant cultural and interpersonal contacts between the Slavic and Mongolian ruling classes. By 1450, the Tatar language had become fashionable in the court of the Grand Prince of Moscow, Vasily II, who was accused of excessive love of the Tatars and their speech, and many Russian noblemen adopted Tatar surnames (for example, a member of the Veliamanov family adopted the Turkic name "Aksak" and his descendants were the Aksakovs).[30]

Many Russian boyar (noble) families traced their descent from the Mongols or Tatars, including Veliaminov-Zernov, Godunov, Arseniev, Bakhmetev, Bulgakov (descendants of Bulgak) and Chaadaev (descendants of Genghis Khan's son Chagatai Khan). In a survey of Russian noble families of the 17th century, over 15% of the Russian noble families had Tatar or Oriental origins.[31]

The Mongols brought about changes in the economic power of states and overall trade. In the religious sphere, St. Paphnutius of Borovsk was the grandson of a Mongol baskak, or tax collector, while a nephew of Khan Bergai of the Golden Horde converted to Christianity and became known as the monk St. Peter Tsarevich of the Horde.[32]

In the judicial sphere, under Mongol influence capital punishment, which during the times of Kievan Rus' had only been applied to slaves, became widespread, and the use of torture became a regular part of criminal procedure. Specific punishments introduced in Moscow included beheading for alleged traitors and branding of thieves (with execution for a third arrest).[33]

Historiography

The Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' left a deep mark on Russian historiography.[citation needed]

According to Charles J. Halperin (2011), Fomenko and Nosovskii's popular pseudohistorical Novaia khronologiia (New Chronology), which received some attention in the early 1980s, arose out of "the dilemma of the Mongol conquest in Russian historiography": embarrassment among defensive Russian nationalists who object to "Russophobic" arguments that Russia acquired "barbarian" customs, institutions, and culture from uncivilized nomads.[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ a b "Rusland §2. Het Rijk van Kiëv". Encarta Encyclopedie Winkler Prins (in Dutch). Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum. 2002.
  3. ^ a b Halperin 1987, p. 99.
  4. .
  5. ^ "The Mongol Invasion of Russia in the 13th Century | Study.com". Study.com. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Douglas, Robert Kennaway; Jülg, Bernhard (1911). "Mongols" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 712–721.
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  9. ^ Michell, Robert; Forbes, Nevell (1914). "The Chronicle of Novgorod 1016–1471". Michell. London, Offices of the society. p. 64. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  10. ^ Zharko SB, Martynyuk AV. "История восточных славян. Монгольское нашествие на Русь" [History of the Eastern Slavs. Mongol invasion of Russia]. Belarusian State University. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ May, Timothy (1 November 2018). "Genghis Khan's Secrets of Success". HistoryNet. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  12. ^ Majorov 2017, p. 88.
  13. ^ Majorov 2017, p. 86.
  14. ^ a b Majorov 2017, p. 87.
  15. ^ Majorov 2017, p. 89.
  16. ^ "The Novgorod Chronicle: Selected Annals". www.sourcebooks.fordham.edu. Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.
  17. . Retrieved 28 November 2011. The Mongols invaded the Russian steppes at this time, reaching the Crimea before turning back at the Khan's orders. The youngest son of Genghis, Tului, was given the special task of destroying walled cities during this campaign, employing the Chinese engines
  18. ^ Frank McLynn, Kublia Khan (2015).
  19. ^ Henry Smith Williams The Historians' History of the World, p.654
  20. ^ "The Destruction of Kiev". Tspace.library.utoronto.ca. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  21. ^
    OCLC 36351361. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link
    )
  22. ^ Colin McEvedy, Atlas of World Population History (1978)
  23. ^ a b Richard Pipes. (1995). Russia Under the Old Regime. New York: Penguin Books. pp. 61–62
  24. ^ "The Consequences of Mongolian Invasion". russia.rin.ru. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  25. ^ "Археологические исследования показали, что Свислочь в 100 км юго-восточнее Минска была подвергнута монгольскому нашествию 1237—1240 годов" [Archaeological studies have shown that Svisloch, 100 km southeast of Minsk, was subjected to the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240.]. 26 August 2011. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  26. .
  27. ^ Rybakov, Boris. "Ремесло Древней Руси" [Craft of Ancient Rus]. Bohemia Digital library: 525–533. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  28. .
  29. ^ See Ostrowski, page 47.
  30. ^ Vernadsky, George. (1970). The Mongols and Russia. A History of Russia, Vol. III. New Haven: Yale University Press pp. 382–385.
  31. House of Rurik
    and 42 were of unspecified "Russian" origin.
  32. ^ Website of the Orthodox Church calendar, accessed 6 July 2008
  33. ^ Vernadsky, George. (1970). The Mongols and Russia. A History of Russia, Vol. III. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 354–357
  34. . Retrieved 15 June 2016.

Primary sources

Further reading

External links