Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'

Kievan Rus' in 1237

The Mongols had plans to conquer Eastern Europe long before Batu's campaign in 1237. In 1207, Genghis Khansent his eldest son Jochi to conquer the tribes north of the Selenga River and in the Irtysh valley, which included the lands of Eastern Europe in the Jochi Ulus. However, these plans were not implemented during the lifetime of Genghis Khan. In 1222–1224, Subedei and Jebe conducted a campaign with a 30,000-strong army in Transcaucasia and Southeastern Europe, which is traditionally considered reconnaissance. However, the Secret History and Rashid ad-Din state that the purpose of this campaign was to be supported by the forces of Jochi and included Cumans, Alans, Hungary, and Rus', including Kiev. The kurultai of 1235, after which the invasion of Europe took place, repeated these goals. The campaign of Subedei and his 30,000 troops to the Caspian steppes was a new step in the conquest of Eastern Europe, and it began in the late 1220s. In 1235, a kurultai was convened to outline a general Mongol campaign, in which the troops of other uluses were to take part. Ogedei sent Batu, Buri, Munk, and other princes on a campaign to help Subetai, and each 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.[7]

As it was undergoing fragmentation, Kievan Rus' faced the unexpected invasion of a foreign foe coming from the mysterious regions of the Far East. "For our sins", writes the Rus' chronicler of the time, "unknown nations arrived. No one knew their origin or whence they came, or what religion they practiced. That is known only to God, and perhaps to wise men learned in books".[8]

The princes of Rus' first heard of the coming Mongol warriors from the nomadic Cumans. The historical accounts after the initial invasion call them by the name Tartars. They were previously known for pillaging settlers on the frontier, the nomads now preferred peaceful relations, warning their neighbors: "These terrible strangers have taken our country, and tomorrow they will take yours if you do not come and help us". In response to this call, Mstislav the Bold and Mstislav Romanovich the Old joined forces and set out eastward to meet the foe, only to be routed on 1 April 1223, at the Battle of the Kalka River.

Although this defeat left the Rus' principalities at the mercy of invaders, the Mongol or Tartar forces retreated and did not reappear for thirteen years, during which time the princes of Rus' went on quarreling and fighting as before, until they were startled by a new and much more formidable invading force. In 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.

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 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.[9]

The first blow of the united Chingizid army hit the Volga Bulgaria. Until the mid-1220s, the Volga Bulgaria was in constant conflict with the Vladimir-Suzdal and 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.

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.

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[10] mounted archers, commanded by Batu Khan and Subutai, crossed the Volga River and invaded Volga Bulgaria in late 1236. It took them only a month to extinguish the resistance of the Volga Bulgars, the Cumans-Kipchaks and the Alans.

Immediately prior to the invasion, Friar Julian from Hungary had travelled to the eastern border of the Rus' and learned of the Mongol army, which was waiting for the onset of winter so that they could cross the frozen rivers and swamps. In his letter to the Pope's legate in Hungary, Julian described meeting Mongol messengers who had been detained by Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal on their way to Hungary. Yuri II gave their letter to Julian.[11]

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.[12]

— 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.[13]

The Mongols attacked from several directions. One section attacked Suzdal, one from the Volga, and another from the south towards Ryazan. According to Rashid al-Din Hamadani, the Siege of Ryazan was conducted by Batu, Orda, Güyük, Mengu Qa'an, Kulkan, Kadan, and Buri. The city fell after three days.[14] 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.[13]

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.

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.[15]

— Novgorod Chronicle

Thereupon Batu Khan divided his army into smaller units, which ransacked fourteen cities of northeastern Rus': Rostov, Uglich, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kashin, Ksnyatin, Gorodets, Galich, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yuriev-Polsky, Dmitrov, Volokolamsk, Tver, and Torzhok. Chinese siege engines were used by the Mongols under Tului to raze the walls of Rus' cities.[16] The most difficult to take was the small town of Kozelsk, whose boy-prince Vasily, son of Titus, and inhabitants resisted the Mongols for seven weeks, killing 4,000. As the story goes, at the news of the Mongol approach, the whole town of Kitezh with all its inhabitants was submerged into a lake, where, as legend has it, it may be seen to this day. Major 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.[2] The Mongols planned to advance on Novgorod, but the principality was spared the fate of its brethren by the decision to preemptively surrender.[17]

In mid-1238, Batu Khan devastated the Crimea and pacified Mordovia. In the winter of 1239, he sacked Chernihiv and Pereiaslav. After many days of siege, the horde stormed Kiev in December 1240. Despite the resistance of Danylo of Halych, Batu Khan managed to take two of his principal cities, Halych and Volodymyr. The Mongol 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).[5] Batu Khan captured Pest, and then on Christmas Day 1241, Esztergom.[5]

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,[18] except for the Principality of Polotsk.

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.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, with the rise of the Tatar khanates, 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.

Giovanni de Plano Carpini, the pope's envoy to the Mongol great khan, traveled through 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.[19]

The influence of the Mongol invasion on the territories of Kievan Rus' was uneven.[20] 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.[21] 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[20] and Tver, began to flourish under the Mongols.[20]

Moscow's eventual dominance of northern and eastern Rus' was in large part attributable to the Mongols. After the prince of Tver joined a rebellion against the Mongols in 1327, his rival prince Ivan I of Moscow joined the Mongols in crushing Tver and devastating its lands. By doing so he eliminated his rival, allowed the Russian Orthodox Church to move its headquarters to Moscow, and was granted the title of Grand Prince by the Mongols.[22]

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.[20]

Although Rus' forces defeated the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, Mongol domination of parts of Rus' territories, with the requisite demands of tribute, continued until the Great stand on the Ugra river in 1480.[22]

Historians argued 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.[23]

The maximum extent and principalities of Kievan Rus', 1220–1240. These principalities included Vladimir-Suzdal, Smolensk, Chernigov and Ryazan, the last annexed by the Duchy of Moscow in 1521.

Historians have debated the long-term influence of Mongol rule on Rus' society.[20] The Mongols have been blamed for the destruction of Kievan Rus', the breakup of the ancient Rus' nationality into three components and the introduction of the concept of "oriental despotism" into Russia.[20] Historians also credit the Mongol regime with an important role in the development of Muscovy as a state.[20] Under Mongol occupation, for example, Muscovy developed its mestnichestvo hierarchy, postal road network (based on Mongolian ortoo system, known in Russian as "yam", hence the terms yamshchik, Yamskoy Prikaz, etc.), census, fiscal system and military organization.[20][28]

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).[29]

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.[30]

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.[31]

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).[32]

The Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' left a deep mark on Russian historiography.

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.[33]

• List of battles of the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'
• List of wars involving Kievan Rus'
• Mongol invasions of Durdzuketia

• Full Collection of Russian Annals, St. Petersburg, 1908 and Moscow, 2001, ISBN 5-94457-011-3.

• Allsen, Thomas T. (2001). Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia. Cambridge UP. ISBN 9780521602709.
• Atwood, Christopher P. Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire (2004)
• Christian, David. A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia Vol. 1: Inner Eurasia from Prehistory to the Mongol Empire (Blackwell, 1998)
• Halperin, Charles J. (1987). Russia and the Golden Horde: The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History. p. 222. ISBN 9781850430575. E-book.
• Majorov, Alexander (2017), The Conquest of Russian Lands in 1237-1240
• Sinor, Denis. "The Mongols in the West." Journal of Asian History (1999): 1-44. JSTOR 41933117.
• Vernadsky, George. The Mongols and Russia (Yale University Press, 1953)
  • Halperin, Charles J. "George Vernadsky, Eurasianism, the Mongols, and Russia". Slavic Review (1982): 477–493. JSTOR 2497020.

• Media related to Mongol invasion of Rus at Wikimedia Commons