Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'

The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of the Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Ryazan, Yaroslavl, Pereyaslavl and Vladimir, including the largest: Kiev (50,000 inhabitants) and Chernigov (30,000 inhabitants). The siege of Kiev in 1240 by the Mongols is generally held to mark the end of the state of Kievan Rus', which had already been undergoing fragmentation.

The Mongol campaign was heralded by the Battle of the Kalka River on 31 May 1223, which resulted in a Mongol victory over the forces of several principalities as well as the remnants of the Cumans under Köten. The Mongols retreated, having gathered their intelligence, which was the purpose of the reconnaissance-in-force. A full-scale invasion by Batu Khan followed, with most of Kievan Rus' overrun in 1236–1238.

The invasion was ended by the Mongol succession process upon the death of Ögedei Khan. Even those principalities who avoided physical conquest were eventually forced to accept Mongol supremacy in the form of tribute – as in the case of Galicia–Volhynia, Polotsk and Novgorod – if not outright vassalage, of the Golden Horde, until well into the 14th century.

The princes of Galicia–Volhynia and Chernigov initially defeated the Mongols at Battle of Oleshia in May 1223. The Mongols (called "Tartars" in contemporary accounts) then defeated a united Rus' army led by Mstislav the Bold and Mstislav Romanovich the Old on 31 May 1223 at the Battle of the Kalka River. In 1237, they besieged and took Ryazan, and Vladimir fell in early February 1238. Although this defeat left the principalities at the mercy of invaders, the Mongol or Tartar forces retreated and did not reappear for another 13 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:

The Secret History of the Mongols reports that Ögedei sent Batu, Büri, Möngke, and many other princes on a campaign to help Subutai, 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 Jami' al-tawarikh. In addition to Batu, other Chingizids who participated in the campaign included the sons of Jochi, Orda, Shiban, Tangkut and Berke; the son of Chagatai, Baidar, and the grandson of Chagatai, Büri; the sons of Ögedei, Güyük and Kadan; the sons of Tolui, Möngke and Ariq Böke; 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 on the Caspian steppes under the general leadership of Jochi's son Batu.

thumb|Europe around 1230, showing Mongol incursions in the east

The first blow of the united Chingizid army struck Volga Bulgaria. Until the mid-1220s, Volga Bulgaria was in constant conflict with the Vladimir-Suzdal and Murom-Ryazan principalities. The parties undertook campaigns, there were constant skirmishes, 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 Cumans 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 Cumans and Alans. After that, the Mongols conquered the lands of the Burtas, Mokshas, and Erzyas. The grandiose Zolotarevskoe battle took place near a strategic crossing over the Sura. According to the historian Vadim Kargalov (1932-2009), 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 Northeastern Rus' by the Mongols began in the autumn of 1237. Their troops were grouped near Voronezh, and detachments that had previously fought with the Cumans and Alans were drawn there.

Invasion of Batu Khan

thumb|The [[Kurultai|quriltay of Mongol princes prior to the Russian campaign of 634 (1236 CE). Jami al-Tawarikh, late 14th century (Asiatic Society, D.31, Folio 20 verso)]]

The vast Mongolian Great Khanate army of around 120,000 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 on their way to Hungary. Yuri II gave their letter to Julian.

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:

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.

thumb|[[Siege of Ryazan in December 1237]]

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, Möngke, Kulkan, Kadan, and Büri. The city fell after three days. 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.

200px|thumb|The sacking of [[Suzdal by Batu Khan in February 1238, miniature from the Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible]]

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.

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, Yuryev-Polsky, Dmitrov, Volokolamsk, Tver, and Torzhok. Chinese siege engines were used by the Mongols under Tolui to raze the walls of many cities. The most difficult to take was the small town of Kozelsk, whose boy-prince Vasily, son of Titus Mstislavich, 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 principalities and urban centres which escaped destruction or suffered little to no damage from the Mongol invasion included Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, and probably Rostov and Uglich. The Mongols planned to advance on Novgorod, but the principality was spared the fate of its brethren by the decision to preemptively surrender. In mid-1238, Batu Khan devastated the Crimea and pacified Mordovia. In the winter of 1239, he sacked Chernigov and Pereyaslavl.

While Kiev and its grand prince was still formally acknowledged as senior amongst the principalities of Rus', frequent internecine dynastic feuding among 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 Daniel of the Principality of Galicia–Volhynia. Prince Daniel had taken Kiev under his protection the previous year by arrangement with Prince Michael of Kiev, who fled after originally resisting the Mongols, then losing to them his main stronghold, Chernigov.

The Mongols approach on Kiev in November 1240 apparently made a grim impression upon its defenders. The chronicler wrote, "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 siege, the horde stormed Kiev in December 1240. The city was ransacked and pillaged immensely, although the building of St. Sophia Cathedral survived intact. Historian Serhii Plokhy relates the description of one Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, an ambassador of Pope Innocent IV who passed through Kiev 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". 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). Batu Khan captured Pest, and then on Christmas Day 1241, Esztergom.

Legacy

Carpine's account

The Ystoria Mongalorum, written by Italian diplomat Giovanni da Pian del Carpine () in Latin just after he visited Kiev in 1246, contains a brief passage mentioning the siege of Kiev that happened several years earlier. Although frequently cited by earlier historians, the accuracy of this account has been questioned, especially because the passage from the first redaction of Carpini's manuscript copies was substantially expanded in the second redaction, which breaks the narrative of the first, and partially contradicts it.

{| class="wikitable"

! width="50%" | First redaction of Carpini's Ystoria Mongalorum

! width="50%" | Second redaction of Carpini's Ystoria Mongalorum<br /><small>(authenticity disputed)</small>

|- valign="top" style="background-color:MintCream;"

| Subduing this country they attacked Rus', where they made great havoc, destroying cities and fortresses and slaughtering men; and they laid siege of Kiev, the capital of Rus'; after they had besieged the city for a long time, they took it and put the inhabitants to death.

| –

| style="background-color:OldLace;" | 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 to almost nothing, for there are at the present time scarce two hundred houses there and the inhabitants are kept in complete servitude.

|- valign="top" style="background-color:MintCream;"

| Going on from there, fighting as they went, the Tatars destroyed the whole of Rus'.

While the first redaction text states that the Mongols "put the inhabitants to death", suggesting that the entire population was killed and there were no survivors, this is contradicted by the second-redaction statement that "the inhabitants are kept in complete servitude", meaning that at least some had to be left alive to be "kept in complete servitude". The added text thus seems likely to be an inauthentic interpolation. Questions have also been raised as to whether Carpini really "was describing Kiev or some other town he was told was Kiev", as there are no other extant descriptions of what Kiev looked like at the time, and Carpini does not mention any landmarks such as Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv that would make this identification unambiguous.

Impact on development

The influence of the Mongol invasion on the territories was uneven. Colin McEvedy estimates the population dropped from 7.5 million prior to the invasion to seven million afterwards. Centres such as Kiev took centuries to rebuild and recover from the devastation of the initial attack. The Novgorod Republic continued to prosper, and a new entity, the Principality of Moscow, began to flourish under the Mongols. In the 14th century, the Muscovite princes began "gathering Russian lands" to increase its population and wealth. While the Mongols often raided other territories, 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 lands of Moscow.

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.

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. 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.

Economic setbacks

Stone construction in Russian cities practically ceased for several decades. The production of complex crafts, such as glass jewelry, Cloisonné 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.

Population migration

As a result of the invasion many people were forced to flee in front of the advancing tumens of Batu, and in northeastern 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 northeastern Russia immediately after the invasion.

However, this was not the end of population migrations. Vladimir, Suzdal, Pereslavl-Zalessky, and other cities of northeastern 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.

Influence on society

thumb|The [[Golden Horde and its tributaries in 1313 under Özbeg Khan]]

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

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).

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.

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.

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).

Donald Ostrowski argues that Muscovy's adoption of Mongol institutions and practices may demonstrate the pragmatism of the Muscovite leaders, which enabled them to eventually "triumph over their competitors in northeastern Rus'".

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.

American Cold War analysts, also linked the Soviet government's autocratic rule to Tatar influences during its history, and biographies of Russian leaders often stressed their possible Asiatic ancestries. They maintained that Asiatic influences rendered the Russians untrustworthy.

Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'

Invasion of Batu Khan

Legacy

Carpine's account

Impact on development

Economic setbacks

Population migration

Influence on society

Historiography

See also

Notes

References

Primary sources

Further reading

External links