Attack of the Tatars on Rus'. Tatar-Mongol invasion
Genghis Khan(in childhood and adolescence - Temujin, Temujin) is the founder and also the first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. During his reign, he, like Prince Oleg and other Russian princes, united many disparate tribes (in this case, Mongolian and partially Tatar) into one powerful state.
Genghis Khan's entire life after gaining power consisted of many campaigns of conquest in Asia and later in Europe. Thanks to this, in 2000, the American edition of the New York Times named him a man of the millennium (meaning the period from 1000 to 2000 - during this time he created the most large empire in human history).
By 1200, Temujin united all the Mongol tribes, and by 1202 - the Tatar ones. By 1223-1227, Genghis Khan simply wiped out many ancient states from the face of the earth, such as:
- Volga Bulgaria;
- Baghdad Caliphate;
- Chinese Empire ;
- the state of the Khorezmshahs (the territories of present-day Iran (Persia), Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Iraq and many other small states of Central and South-West Asia).
Genghis Khan died in 1227 from inflammation after a hunting injury (or from a virus or bacteria not typical eastern Asia- let's not forget about the level of medicine at that time) at the age of about 65 years.
The beginning of the Mongol invasion.
By the early 1200s, Genghis Khan was already planning his conquest Eastern Europe. Later, after his death, the Mongols reached Germany and Italy, conquering Poland, Hungary, Ancient Rus' and so on, including attacks on the Baltic states and other lands of northern and northeastern Europe. Long before this, on behalf of Genghis Khan, his sons Jochi, Jebe and Subedey set out to conquer the territories adjacent to Rus', simultaneously testing the soil of the Old Russian state .
The Mongols, using force or threats, conquered the Alans (present-day Ossetia), the Volga Bulgars and most of lands of the Polovtsians, as well as the territories of the South and North Caucasus, and Kuban.
After the Polovtsians turned to the Russian princes for help, a council gathered in Kyiv under the leadership of Mstislav Svyatoslavovich, Mstislav Mstislavovich and Mstislav Romanovich. All the Mstislavs then came to the conclusion that, having finished off the Polovtsian princes, Tatar-Mongols will take over Rus', and in the worst case scenario, the Polovtsians will go over to the side Mongols, and together they will attack the Russian principalities. Guided by the principle “it is better to beat the enemy on foreign soil than on your own,” the Mstislavs gathered an army and moved south along the Dnieper.
Thanks to intelligence Mongol-Tatars learned about this and began to prepare for the meeting, having previously sent ambassadors to the Russian army.
The ambassadors brought the news that the Mongols did not touch Russian lands and were not going to touch them, saying they only had scores to settle with the Polovtsians, and expressed a desire that Rus' would not interfere in affairs that were not their own. Genghis Khan was often guided by the principle of “divide and conquer,” but the princes did not fall for this move. Historians also admit that stopping the campaign could, at best, delay the Mongol attack on Rus'. One way or another, the ambassadors were executed, and the campaign continued. A little later, the Tatar-Mongols sent a second embassy with a repeated request - this time they were released, but the campaign continued.
Battle of the Kalka River.
In the Azov region, somewhere in the territory of the present Donetsk region, a clash occurred, known in history as Battle of Kalka. Before this, the Russian princes defeated the vanguard of the Mongol-Tatars and, emboldened by their success, entered into battle near the river now known as Kalchik (which flows into the Kalmius). Exact quantity The troops of the parties are unknown. Russian historians They call the number of Russians from 8 to 40 thousand, and the number of Mongols from 30 to 50 thousand. Asian chronicles talk about almost a hundred thousand Russians, which is not surprising (remember how Mao Zedong boasted that Stalin served him at a tea ceremony, although the Soviet leader only showed hospitality and handed him a mug of tea). Adequate historians, based on the fact that Russian princes usually gathered from 5 to 10 thousand soldiers on a campaign (maximum 15 thousand), came to the conclusion that there were about 10-12 thousand Russian troops, and about 15-25 thousand Tatar-Mongols ( Considering that Genghis Khan sent 30 thousand to the west, but some of them were defeated as part of the vanguard, as well as in previous battles with the Alans, Cumans, etc., plus a discount for the fact that not everyone available to the Mongols could have participated in the battle reserves).
So, the battle began on May 31, 1223. The beginning of the battle was successful for the Russians; Prince Daniil Romanovich defeated the advanced positions of the Mongols and rushed to pursue them, despite his injury. But then he encountered the main forces of the Mongol-Tatars. By that time, part of the Russian army had already managed to cross the river. The Mongol forces closed in and defeated the Russians and Cumans, while the rest of the Cuman forces fled. The rest of the Mongol-Tatar forces surrounded the troops of the Prince of Kyiv. The Mongols offered to surrender with the promise that then “no blood would be shed. Mstislav Svyatoslavovich fought the longest, who surrendered only on the third day of the battle. The Mongol leaders kept their promise extremely conditionally: they took all the ordinary soldiers into slavery, and executed the princes (as they promised - without shedding blood, they covered them with planks along which the entire Mongol-Tatar army marched in formation).
After this, the Mongols did not dare to go to Kyiv, and went to conquer the remnants of the Volga Bulgars, but the battle progressed unsuccessfully, and they retreated and returned to Genghis Khan. The Battle of the Kalka River was the beginning
Timusheva Nadezhda. Rus' and the Horde
Batu's first campaign to Rus'(7 DK 1237-MR 1238). In 1235 kagan Ogedei and the kurultai decided on a new campaign in Europe. The forces of others were sent to help Batu Khan. uluses. IN 1236 the Mongols ravaged Volga Bulgaria and finally defeated Polovtsians between the Volga and Don rivers. The lands were severely devastated Burtasov And Mordovians in the Middle Volga. Later autumn 1237 main forces Batu concentrated in the upper reaches of the river. Voronezh for the invasion of the Northeast Rus. Ratio strength: Mongolian Tatars had about 140 thousand soldiers in the army, more than half of whom were representatives of non-Mongolian tribes. If efforts were combined, Rus' could field about 300 thousand soldiers (in Rus' there were about 300 cities). However, inter-princely strife prevented this from happening. princes they used the tactic of “sitting”, which was disastrous in this case. Monk Plano Carpini wrote: “And you also need to know that the Tatars love people more to lock themselves up in cities and fortresses than to fight them on the field. Namely, they say that these are their piglets locked in a barn, which is why they are assigned to them guards, as stated above."
Basic military events: defeat of the Ryazan princes on the Voronezh River, capture by the Mongols Ryazan (7 DK 1237) - enemy demanded“a tenth of everything” and received the answer: “If we are not there, everything will be yours.” After a six-day siege the city was destroyed ( modern Ryazan is located 60 km from the old one). Only part of the Ryazan residents retreated to the Oka and united with the Suzdal troops. Evpatiy Kolovrat, Ryazan Ambassador to Chernigov, returning to the ashes, with a squad of 1,700 people caught up with Batu in the territory Principality of Vladimir and died in an unequal battle in n.YAN 1238. In two battles (at Kolomna in YAN 1238 and on the City River 4 MP 1238) troops of the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Yuri Vsevolodovich were defeated, and the prince himself died. During the FW, 14 more cities were taken, incl. Moscow ( 2 FV 1238), Vladimir ( 7 FV 1238), Rostov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Uglich, Galich, Dmitrov, Tver, Yuryev.
After this, one part of the Mongols besieged Torzhok on the way to Novgorod. Before reaching about 100 versts Novgorod, the Mongol-Tatars, obliging the Novgorodians to pay tribute, turned back to steppes. Apparently, the refusal to take Novgorod was caused by fear of muddy roads and the fact that the Mongols had already secured their campaign in Europe from a Russian attack in the rear. In addition, the wooded areas of Northern Rus' were not suitable for nomadic farming. The Mongols did not intend to live here, but getting tribute they have already provided. The return of the Mongol troops to the south was in the nature of a raid. Some cities managed to fight back (Smolensk), but most were devastated. 7 weeks until MY 1238 The city of Kozelsk on the Zhizdra River held out, during the assault of which the Mongols lost 4 thousand. Human, for which it received the name “evil city” from the Mongols. Batu spent the summer of 1238 in the Don steppes. Spring 1239 they were defeated Principality of Pereyaslavl on the left bank of the Dnieper, and in the fall Chernigov- Severskaya Earth.
1. In 1223 and in 1237 - 1240. Russian principalities were attacked by the Mongol-Tatars. The result of this invasion was the loss of independence by most of the Russian principalities and the Mongol-Tatar yoke that lasted for about 240 years - the political, economic and, in part, cultural dependence of the Russian lands on the Mongol-Tatar conquerors. The Mongol-Tatars are an alliance of numerous nomadic tribes in East and Central Asia. Your name this union The tribes were named after the dominant tribe of the Mongols, and the most warlike and cruel tribe of the Tatars.
Tatars of the 13th century should not be confused with modern Tatars - descendants of the Volga Bulgars, who in the 13th century. Along with the Russians, they were subjected to the Mongol-Tatar invasion, but subsequently inherited the name.
At the beginning of the 13th century. under the rule of the Mongols, neighboring tribes were united, which formed the basis of the Mongol-Tatars:
- Chinese;
- Manchus;
- Uighurs;
- Buryats;
- Transbaikal Tatars;
— other small nationalities of Eastern Siberia;
- subsequently - the peoples of Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East.
The consolidation of the Mongol-Tatar tribes began at the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries. The significant strengthening of these tribes is associated with the activities of Genghis Khan (Temujin), who lived in 1152/1162 - 1227.
In 1206, at the kurultai (congress of the Mongolian nobility and military leaders), Genghis Khan was elected all-Mongolian kagan (“khan of khans”). With the election of Genghis Khan as kagan, the following significant changes occurred in the life of the Mongol tribe:
— strengthening the influence of the military elite;
- overcoming internal disagreements within the Mongolian nobility and its consolidation around military leaders and Genghis Khan;
- strict centralization and organization of Mongolian society (population census, unification of the mass of scattered nomads into paramilitary units - tens, hundreds, thousands, with a clear system of command and subordination);
- introduction of strict discipline and collective responsibility (for disobedience to the commander - death penalty, for the offenses of an individual warrior, the entire ten were punished);
- the use of scientific and technical achievements that were advanced for that time (Mongolian specialists studied methods of storming cities in China, and battering guns were also borrowed from China);
- a radical change in the ideology of Mongolian society, the subordination of the entire Mongolian people to a single goal - the unification of neighboring Asian tribes under the rule of the Mongols, and aggressive campaigns against other countries in order to enrich and expand the habitat.
Under Genghis Khan, a unified and binding written legislation was introduced for all - Yasa, violation of which was punishable by painful types of death penalty.
2. From 1211 and in the next 60 years, the Mongol-Tatar campaigns of conquest were carried out. Conquests were carried out in four main directions:
- conquest of Northern and Central China in 1211 - 1215;
- conquest of the states of Central Asia (Khiva, Bukhara, Khorezm) in 1219 - 1221;
- Batu’s campaign against the Volga region, Rus' and the Balkans in 1236 - 1242, the conquest of the Volga region and Russian lands;
- Kulagu Khan’s campaign in the Near and Middle East, the capture of Baghdad in 1258.
The empire of Genghis Khan and his descendants, stretching from China to the Balkans and from Siberia to the Indian Ocean and including Russian lands, lasted about 250 years and fell under the blows of other conquerors - Tamerlane (Timur), the Turks, as well as the liberation struggle of the conquered peoples.
3. The first armed clash between the Russian squad and the Mongol-Tatar army occurred 14 years before Batu’s invasion. In 1223, the Mongol-Tatar army under the command of Subudai-Baghatur went on a campaign against the Polovtsians in close proximity to Russian lands. At the request of the Polovtsians, some Russian princes provided military assistance to the Polovtsians.
May 31, 1223 on the Kalka River near Sea of Azov A battle took place between the Russian-Polovtsian troops and the Mongol-Tatars. As a result of this battle, the Russian-Polovtsian militia suffered a crushing defeat from the Mongol-Tatars. The Russian-Polovtsian army suffered heavy losses. Six Russian princes died, including Mstislav Udaloy, the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan and more than 10 thousand militiamen.
The main reasons for the defeat of the Russian-Polish army were:
- the reluctance of the Russian princes to act as a united front against the Mongol-Tatars (most Russian princes refused to respond to the request of their neighbors and send troops);
- underestimation of the Mongol-Tatars (the Russian militia was poorly armed and was not properly prepared for battle);
— inconsistency of actions during the battle (Russian troops were not a single army, but scattered squads of different princes acting in their own way; some squads withdrew from the battle and watched from the sidelines).
Having won a victory on Kalka, the army of Subudai-Baghatur did not build on its success and went to the steppes.
4. After 13 years, in 1236, the Mongol-Tatar army led by Khan Batu (Batu Khan), the grandson of Genghis Khan and the son of Jochi, invaded the Volga steppes and Volga Bulgaria (the territory of modern Tataria). Having won a victory over the Cumans and Volga Bulgars, the Mongol-Tatars decided to invade Rus'.
The conquest of Russian lands was carried out during two campaigns:
- the campaign of 1237 - 1238, as a result of which the Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal principalities - the northeast of Rus' - were conquered;
- campaign of 1239 - 1240, as a result of which Chernigov and Principality of Kiev, other principalities of southern Rus'. The Russian principalities offered heroic resistance. Among the most important battles of the war with the Mongol-Tatars are:
- defense of Ryazan (1237) - the very first large city, which was attacked by the Mongol-Tatars - almost all the inhabitants participated and died during the defense of the city;
- defense of Vladimir (1238);
- defense of Kozelsk (1238) - the Mongol-Tatars stormed Kozelsk for 7 weeks, for which they called it the “evil city”;
- Battle of the City River (1238) - the heroic resistance of the Russian militia prevented the further advance of the Mongol-Tatars to the north - to Novgorod;
- defense of Kyiv - the city fought for about a month.
December 6, 1240 Kyiv fell. This event is considered the final defeat of the Russian principalities in the fight against the Mongol-Tatars.
The main reasons for the defeat of the Russian principalities in the war against the Mongol-Tatars are considered to be:
- feudal fragmentation;
— lack of a single centralized state and a unified army;
- enmity between princes;
- the transition of individual princes to the side of the Mongols;
- the technical backwardness of the Russian squads and the military and organizational superiority of the Mongol-Tatars.
5. Having won a victory over most of the Russian principalities (except for Novgorod and Galicia-Volyn), Batu’s army invaded Europe in 1241 and marched through the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia.
Having reached the Adriatic Sea, in 1242 Batu stopped his campaign in Europe and returned to Mongolia. The main reasons for the end of the Mongol expansion into Europe
— fatigue of the Mongol-Tatar army from the 3-year war with the Russian principalities;
- clash with the Catholic world under the rule of the Pope, who, like the Mongols, had a strong internal organization and became a strong competitor to the Mongols for more than 200 years;
- aggravation of the political situation within the empire of Genghis Khan (in 1242, Genghis Khan’s son and successor Ogedei, who became the all-Mongol Kagan after Genghis Khan, died, and Batu was forced to return to take part in the struggle for power).
Subsequently, at the end of the 1240s, Batu was preparing a second invasion of Rus' (at Novgorod land), however Novgorod voluntarily recognized the power of the Mongol-Tatars.
Having rested, the Mongol army attacked Southern Rus' in 1239. In 1240, the most beautiful Russian city of Kyiv was destroyed. Then all of Galician Rus' was conquered.
After the defeat of Rus', Batu went to Europe. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the Balkan countries were devastated. The Mongols approached the borders of the German Empire, but here Batu received news that the Great Khan had died in Karakorum. Batu wanted to participate in the division of power. So I turned back.
Thus, European civilization was saved from destruction by nomads. And the decisive role in this belongs to the Russian and other peoples of our country.
In 1243, the main part of the Mongol army arrived in the Caspian lands. Here Batu learned that his opponent was likely to come to power in Karakorum. A trip to Mongolia could cost him his life. He decided to stop on the lower Volga. 100 km. north of modern Astrakhan, he founded the city of Sarai - the capital of his state, which the Mongols themselves would call the Golden Horde (1243 - 1503).
At the southern borders of Rus', Batu created a huge state - from the Danube to the Irtysh (Crimea, Northern Caucasus, part of the steppe lands of Rus', the lands of the former Volga Bulgaria, Western Siberia, part of Central Asia). The time has come to organize the internal life of the state. There were few Mongols themselves in the Golden Horde - about 50 thousand people. The Mongols themselves could only fight. On the Volga they found themselves surrounded by the Turkic-speaking population of Volga Bulgaria, who had experience in state building. And then other peoples began to play a leading role in the Mongolian state. The Mongols disappeared into the peoples living on the Volga. Over time, from the merger of the Bulgars, Polovtsians, Mongols, Finno-Ugrians, Russians, etc., a new people, he took for himself the name of the Mongol tribe once slaughtered by Genghis Khan - the Tatars. On the basis of Turkic, a new language emerged - Tatar. In the first decades of the existence of the Golden Horde, the Tatars did not have a national religion. The Horde was tolerant. But in 1312, Uzbek Khan converted to Islam. Islam became the state religion of the Horde.
So, Rus' was conquered in a short period of time - from 1237 to 1240. The reason for such a rapid conquest of Rus' is explained not only feudal fragmentation Rus'. For the period from 1211 to 1240. The Mongols crushed many of the strongest states in Asia. At that time there was no equal to the Mongol army.
Rus' has become integral part The Mongol Empire and then the Golden Horde. Grand Duke Vladimirsky became a vassal of the great Mongol Khan. Meanwhile, the Mongols did not set as their goal the destruction of Rus' and its population. Their goal was to use the material potential of Rus' in order to strengthen and prosper the Mongol Empire and the Golden Horde.
Empires on the territory of ancient Russian principalities. This event left a deep mark on the history of our Fatherland. Next, let's look at how Batu's invasion of Rus' took place (briefly).
Background
The Mongol feudal lords who lived long before Batu had plans to conquer Eastern European territory. In the 1220s. preparations were made in some way for a future conquest. An important part of it was the campaign of the thirty thousand army of Jebe and Subedei to the territory of Transcaucasia and South-Eastern Europe in 1222-24. Its purpose was exclusively reconnaissance and collection of information. In 1223, the battle took place during this campaign and ended in victory for the Mongols. As a result of the campaign, the future conquerors thoroughly studied future battlefields, learned about fortifications and troops, and received information about the location of the principalities of Rus'. From the army of Jebe and Subedei, they headed to 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 Rus' was quite sudden.
Devastation of the Ryazan territory
Batu’s invasion of Rus', 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 that tribute be paid to them. Prince Yuri asked for help from Mikhail Chernigovsky and Yuri Vladimirsky. 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 help Ryazan. It included the regiments of his son Vsevolod, the people of the governor Eremey Glebovich, and Novgorod detachments. The forces that retreated from Ryazan also joined this army. 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 Rus' was marked by the destruction of not only Ryazan, but also the ruin of the entire principality. The Mongols captured Pronsk and captured Prince Oleg Ingvarevich the Red. Batu's invasion of Rus' (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 restored. Tula researchers identify it with a settlement near the Polosni River, near the village of Beloroditsa (16 km from modern Veneva). Voronezh Ryazan was also wiped off the face of the earth. The ruins of the city stood deserted for several centuries. Only in 1586 a fort was built on the site of the settlement. The Mongols also destroyed the fairly famous 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 the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality
After the defeat of the Ryazan lands, Batu's invasion of Rus' was somewhat suspended. When the Mongols invaded the Vladimir-Suzdal lands, they were unexpectedly overtaken by the regiments of Evpatiy Kolovrat, a Ryazan boyar. Thanks to this surprise, the squad was able to defeat the invaders, inflicting heavy losses on them. In 1238, after a five-day siege, Moscow fell. Vladimir (Yuri’s youngest son) and Philip Nyanka stood in defense of the city. At the head of the thirty thousand strong detachment that defeated the Moscow squad, according to sources, was Shiban. Yuri Vsevolodovich, moving north to the Sit River, began to assemble a new squad, while expecting help from Svyatoslav and Yaroslav (his brothers). In early February 1238, after an eight-day siege, Vladimir fell. The family of Prince Yuri died there. In the same February, in addition to Vladimir, such cities 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
Batu's invasion of Rus' was very large-scale. In addition to the main ones, the Mongols also had secondary forces. With the help of the latter, the Volga region was captured. Over the course of three weeks, secondary forces led by Burundai covered twice the distance than the main Mongol troops during the siege of Torzhok and Tver, and approached the City River from the direction of Uglich. The Vladimir regiments did not have time to prepare for battle; they were surrounded and almost completely destroyed. Some of the warriors were taken prisoner. But at the same time, the Mongols themselves suffered serious losses. The center of Yaroslav's possessions lay directly on the path of the Mongols, who were advancing towards Novgorod from Vladimir. Pereyaslavl-Zalessky was captured 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 Novgorodians in the Battle of the City. There is no mention of any actions of Yaroslav. Some researchers quite often emphasize that Novgorod did not send help to help Torzhok.
Results of the seizure of the Volga lands
The historian Tatishchev, speaking about the results of the battles, draws attention to the fact that the losses in the Mongols’ detachments were several times greater than those of the Russians. However, the Tatars made up for them at the expense of prisoners. At that time there were more of them 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
Batu's invasion of Rus' from the beginning of March 1238 took place according to a certain plan. After the capture of Torzhok, the remnants of Burundai’s detachment, uniting with the main forces, suddenly turned to the steppe. The invaders did not reach Novgorod by about 100 versts. IN different sources Various versions of this turn are given. Some say that the cause was the spring thaw, others say the threat of famine. One way or another, the invasion of Batu’s troops into Rus' continued, but in a different direction.
The Mongols were now 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. One of the literary sources contains information that the Mongols were defeated and fled. After this, the main detachment moved south. Here, the invasion of Khan Batu into Rus' was marked by the invasion of the Chernigov lands and 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. Having bypassed Karachev and Bryansk, the Tatars took possession of Kozelsk. The eastern group, meanwhile, took place in the spring of 1238 near Ryazan. The detachments were led by Buri and Kadan. At that time, Vasily, the 12-year-old grandson of Mstislav Svyatoslavovich, was reigning in Kozelsk. The battle for the city dragged on for seven weeks. By May 1238, both groups of Mongols united at Kozelsk and captured it three days later, albeit with heavy losses.
Further developments
By the middle of the 13th century, the invasion of Rus' 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 chronicle, at the end of the story about the campaign in the northeastern territories, there is mention of the calm that accompanied Batu’s invasion of Rus' (“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 destroy the territories along the Seim and Desna. Rylsk, Vyr, Glukhov, Putivl, Gomiy were devastated and destroyed.
Hiking in the area near the Dnieper
A corps led by Bukday was sent to help the Mongol troops involved in Transcaucasia. This happened in 1240. Around the same period, Batu decided to send Munke, Buri and Guyuk home. The remaining detachments regrouped, replenished a second time with captured Volga and Polovtsian prisoners. The next direction was the territory of the right bank of the Dnieper. Most of them (Kiev, Volyn, Galician 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 Béla VI for help in repelling the Tatar attacks.
Consequences of Batu's invasion of Rus'
As a result of the barbaric raids of the Mongols, a huge number of the population of the state died. A significant part of large and small cities and villages was destroyed. Chernigov, Tver, Ryazan, Suzdal, Vladimir, and Kyiv suffered significantly. The exceptions were Pskov, Veliky Novgorod, the cities of Turovo-Pinsk, Polotsk and Suzdal principalities. As a result of the invasion of comparative development, the culture of large settlements suffered irreparable damage. Within a few decades, cities had almost completely stopped stone construction. In addition, such complex crafts as the production of glass jewelry, the production of grain, niello, cloisonne enamel, and glazed polychrome ceramics disappeared. Rus' is significantly behind in its development. It was thrown back several centuries ago. And while the Western guild industry was entering the stage of primitive accumulation, Russian craft had to again go through that section of the historical path that had been done before Batu’s invasion.
In the southern lands, the settled population disappeared almost completely. The surviving residents went to the forest areas of the northeast, settling along the interfluve of the Oka and Northern Volga. In these areas there was more cold climate and not like that fertile soils, as in the southern regions, destroyed and ravaged 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 forming and merging rifle detachments and heavy cavalry regiments, which specialized in direct strikes with edged weapons, ended in Rus' immediately after Batu’s invasion. 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 exclusively selected, feudal part of the Russian army in its development was thrown back a couple of centuries. The chronicles do not contain information about the existence of individual rifle detachments. This is 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 Rus' was, mercenaryism was completely unaffordable.
