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The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
in the 13th century, destroying numerous southern cities, including the largest cities, Kiev (50,000 inhabitants) and
Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...
(30,000 inhabitants), with the only major cities escaping destruction being Novgorod and Pskov, located in the north. The campaign was heralded by the
Battle of the Kalka River The Battle of the Kalka River (russian: Битва на реке Калке; uk, Битва на річці Калка) was fought between the Mongol Empire, whose armies were led by Jebe and Subutai, and a coalition of several Rus' principalit ...
in May 1223, which resulted in a Mongol victory over the forces of several Rus' principalities as well as the remnants of the Cumans under
Köten Köten (russian: Котян, hu, Kötöny, ar, Kutan, later Jonas; 1205–1241) was a Cuman–Kipchak chieftain (''khan'') and military commander active in the mid-13th century. He forged an important alliance with the Kievan Rus' against the ...
. The Mongols retreated, having gathered their intelligence, which was the purpose of the reconnaissance-in-force. A full-scale invasion of Rus' by
Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Kh ...
followed, from 1237 to 1242. The invasion was ended by the Mongol succession process upon the death of
Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khagan (also Ogodei;, Mongolian: ''Ögedei'', ''Ögüdei''; – 11 December 1241) was second khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. ...
. All Rus' principalities were forced to submit to Mongol rule and became vassals of the
Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
, some of which lasted until 1480. The invasion, facilitated by the beginning of the breakup of Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, had profound ramifications for the history of
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
, including the division of the East Slavic people into three separate nations: modern-day
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
, and the rise of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Moscow started its independence struggle from the Mongols by the 14th century, ending the Mongol rule (the so-called "Mongol yoke") in 1480, and eventually growing into the
Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I ...
.


Background

As it was undergoing fragmentation, Kievan Rus' faced the unexpected invasion of a foreign foe coming from the mysterious regions of the
Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...
. "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 In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, and perhaps to wise men learned in books". The princes of Rus' first heard of the coming
Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
warriors from the nomadic
Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...
. The historical accounts after the initial invasion call them by the name
Tartars Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bound ...
. 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 Mstislav Mstislavich the Daring (russian: Мстисла́в II Мстисла́вич Удатный, uk, Мстислав Мстиславич Удатний, translit=Mstyslav Mstyslavych Udatnyi; died c. 1228) prince of Tmutarakan and Chern ...
and Mstislav Romanovich the Old joined forces and set out eastward to meet the foe, only to be routed on April 1, 1223, at the
Battle of the Kalka River The Battle of the Kalka River (russian: Битва на реке Калке; uk, Битва на річці Калка) was fought between the Mongol Empire, whose armies were led by Jebe and Subutai, and a coalition of several Rus' principalit ...
. 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 Secret History of the Mongols'' (Middle Mongol: ''Mongɣol‑un niɣuca tobciyan''; Traditional Mongolian: , Khalkha Mongolian: , ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language. It was written for the Mongol royal fam ...
, the only reference to this early battle is:


Invasion of Batu Khan

The vast Mongolian Great Khanate army of around 40,000
mounted archer A horse archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow and able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, it was a highly successful technique for hunting, f ...
s, commanded by
Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Kh ...
and Subutai, crossed the
Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchme ...
and invaded Volga Bulgaria in late 1236. It took them only a month to extinguish the resistance of the
Volga Bulgars Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state wi ...
, the
Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...
- Kipchaks and the
Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the A ...
. Immediately prior to the invasion,
Friar Julian Friar Julian ( hu, Julianus barát) was one of a group of Hungarian Dominican friars who, in 1235, left Hungary in order to find those Magyars who — according to the chronicles — remained in the eastern homeland. After travelling a gr ...
from
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
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 Yuri II (russian: Ю́рий–II), also known as George II of Vladimir or Georgy II Vsevolodovich (26 November 11884 March 1238), was the fourth Grand Prince of Vladimir (1212–1216, 1218–1238) who presided over Vladimir-Suzdal ...
of
Vladimir-Suzdal Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...
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. 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 Ryazan, capital of the Principality of Ryazan, was the first Russian city to be besieged by the Mongol invaders under Batu Khan. Prelude In the autumn of 1237 the Mongol Horde led by Batu Khan invaded the Rus' principality of Ryazan. The Pr ...
was conducted by Batu, Orda, Güyük, Mengu Qa'an, Kulkan,
Kadan Kadan (also Qadan) was the son of the second Great Khan of the Mongols Ögedei and a concubine. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan and the brother of Güyük Khan. During the Mongol invasion of Europe, Kadan, along with Baidar (son of Chaga ...
, and Buri. 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 Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...
. Having burnt down
Kolomna Kolomna ( rus, Колóмна, p=kɐˈlomnə) is a historical city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Population: History Mentioned for the first time in 1177, Ko ...
and Moscow, the horde laid siege to Vladimir on February 4, 1238. Three days later, the capital of
Vladimir-Suzdal Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...
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 The Battle of the Sit River was fought in the northern part of the present-day Sonkovsky District of Tver Oblast of Russia, close to the selo of ''Bozhonka'', on March 4, 1238 between the Mongol Hordes of Batu Khan and the Rus' under Grand Pri ...
on March 4. Thereupon Batu Khan divided his army into smaller units, which ransacked fourteen cities of modern-day Russia:
Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While ...
,
Uglich Uglich ( rus, У́глич, p=ˈuɡlʲɪtɕ) is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River. Population: History The city was first documented in 1148 as ''Ugliche Pole'' (''Corner Field''). The town's name is though ...
,
Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...
,
Kostroma Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russia, Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is lo ...
, Kashin,
Ksnyatin Sknyatino (russian: Скнятино) is a village in Kalyazinsky District of Tver Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Nerl and the Volga Rivers, about halfway between Uglich and Tver. It is the site of the medieval town of Ksnya ...
, Gorodets, Galich,
Pereslavl-Zalessky Pereslavl-Zalessky ( rus, Переславль-Залесский, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈslavlʲ zɐˈlʲɛskʲɪj, lit. ''Pereslavl beyond the woods''), also known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the main Mosc ...
, Yuriev-Polsky,
Dmitrov Dmitrov ( rus, Дмитров, p=ˈdmʲitrəf) is a town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Moscow on the Yakhroma River and the Moscow Canal. Population: History Dmitrov ...
,
Volokolamsk Volokolamsk (russian: Волокола́мск) is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Po ...
,
Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
, and
Torzhok Torzhok (russian: Торжо́к) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The town is famous for its folk craft of ...
. Chinese
siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while oth ...
s were used by the Mongols under Tului to raze the walls of Rus' cities. 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. The only major cities to escape destruction were Novgorod and Pskov. 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 Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
and pacified
Mordovia The Republic of Mordovia (russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, r=Respublika Mordoviya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə; mdf, Мордовия Республиксь, ''Mordovija Respublikś''; myv, Мордовия Рес ...
. In the winter of 1239, he sacked
Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...
and Pereiaslav. After many days of
siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...
, the horde stormed Kiev in December 1240. Despite the resistance of
Danylo of Halych Daniel of Galicia ( uk, Данило Романович (Галицький), Danylo Romanovych (Halytskyi); Old Ruthenian: Данило Романовичъ, ''Danylo Romanovyčъ''; pl, Daniel I Romanowicz Halicki; 1201 – 1264) was a King ...
, Batu Khan managed to take two of his principal cities,
Halych Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the P ...
and
Volodymyr Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, Volodýmyr, , orv, Володимѣръ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ...
. 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). Batu Khan captured Pest, and then on Christmas Day 1241,
Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...
.


Age of Mongol rule

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 The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
. For the next three hundred years, all of the Rus' states, including Novgorod,
Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...
, Galich and Pskov, submitted to Mongol rule. 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 The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
khanates, the
slave raids Slave raiding is a military raid for the purpose of capturing people and bringing them from the raid area to serve as slaves. Once seen as a normal part of warfare, it is nowadays widely considered a crime. Slave raiding has occurred since ant ...
on the Slavic population became significant, with the purpose of trading slaves with the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. The raids were catastrophic for both Muscovy and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and they largely prevented the settlement of the "
Wild Fields The Wild Fields ( uk, Дике Поле, translit=Dyke Pole, russian: Дикое Поле, translit=Dikoye Polye, pl, Dzikie pola, lt, Dykra, la, Loca deserta or , also translated as "the wilderness") is a historical term used in the Polish ...
" – the steppes extending from about south of
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
to the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
– and contributed to the development of the Cossacks.


Impact on development

Giovanni de Plano Carpini, the pope's envoy to the Mongol great khan, traveled through Kiev in February 1246 and wrote: The influence of the Mongol invasion on the territories of Kievan Rus' was uneven.
Colin McEvedy Colin Peter McEvedy (6 June 1930 – 1 August 2005) was a British polymath scholar, psychiatrist, historian, demographer and non-fiction author. Early life Colin Peter McEvedy was born in Salford, Lancashire on 6 June 1930. He was the third so ...
(''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.Colin McEvedy, Atlas of World Population History (1978)
/ref> Centres such as Kiev took centuries to rebuild and recover from the devastation of the initial attack. The
Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...
continued to prosper, and new entities, the rival cities of Moscow and
Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
, began to flourish under the Mongols. 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 , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
to move its headquarters to Moscow, and was granted the title of
Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king ...
by the Mongols. Richard Pipes. (1995). ''Russia Under the Old Regime.'' New York: Penguin Books. pp. 61-62 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. Although Rus' forces defeated the Golden Horde at the
Battle of Kulikovo The Battle of Kulikovo (russian: Мамаево побоище, Донское побоище, Куликовская битва, битва на Куликовом поле) was fought between the armies of the Golden Horde, under the command ...
in 1380, Mongol domination of parts of Rus' territories, with the requisite demands of tribute, continued until the
Great stand on the Ugra river The Great Stand on the Ugra River (russian: Великое cтояние на реке Угре, also russian: Угорщина, translit=Ugorshchina, derived from " Ugra") was a standoff between the forces of Akhmat Khan of the Great Horde, an ...
in 1480. Historians argued that without the Mongol destruction of Kievan Rus', the Rus' would not have unified into the
Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I ...
and, subsequently, the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
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 Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.


Historiography

The Mongol conquest of Rus' left a deep mark on Russian historiography. The ability of pagan nomads from inner Asia to subjugate parts of Russia is according to Charles J. Halperin a source of embarrassment among the "educated Russian society". This embarrassment is thought to be a contributing cause to the emergence of New Chronology, a
pseudohistory Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseudohi ...
that claims the conquest is a forgery.


Influence on Rus' society

Historians have debated the long-term influence of Mongol rule on Rus' society. 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. Historians also credit the Mongol regime with an important role in the development of Muscovy as a state. Under Mongol occupation, for example, Muscovy developed its
mestnichestvo In Russian history, ''Mestnichestvo'' (russian: ме́стничество, ; from ме́сто, a position) was a feudal hierarchical system in Russia from the 15th to 17th centuries. ''Mestnichestvo'' was a complicated system of seniority wh ...
hierarchy, postal road network (based on Mongolian '' ortoo'' system, known in Russian as "yam", hence the terms ''yamshchik'', ''Yamskoy Prikaz'', etc.),
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
, fiscal system and military organization. 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 Vasily Vasiliyevich (russian: Василий Васильевич; 10 March 141527 March 1462), also known as Vasily II the Blind (Василий II Тёмный), was the Grand Prince of Moscow whose long reign (1425–1462) was plagued by th ...
, 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 Bulgakov (russian: Булгаков) is a Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anatoly Bulgakov (footballer, born 1944), Russian football coach and former player * Anatoly Bulgakov (footballer, born 1979), Russian football pl ...
(descendants of Bulgak) and Chaadaev (descendants of Genghis Khan's son
Chagatai Khan Chagatai Khan ( Mongolian: ''; Čaɣatay''; mn, Цагадай, translit=Tsagadai; chg, , ''Čaġatāy''; ug, چاغاتاي خان, ''Chaghatay-Xan''; zh, 察合台, ''Chágětái''; fa, , ''Joghatây''; 22 December 1183 – 1 July 1242) ...
). 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 The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
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' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
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).Vernadsky, George. (1970). ''The Mongols and Russia. A History of Russia, Vol. III.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 354-357


See also

*
List of conflicts in Europe during Turco-Mongol rule This article lists conflicts in Europe during the invasions of and subsequent occupations by the Mongol Empire and its successor states. The Mongol invasion of Europe took place in the 13th century. This resulted in the occupation of much of Easter ...
* Mongol invasions of Durdzuketia


References


Further reading

* * 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. ''Russia, and the golden horde: the Mongol impact on medieval Russian history'' (Indiana University Press, 1985) * * Sinor, Denis. "The Mongols in the West." ''Journal of Asian History'' (1999): 1-44
in JSTOR
* 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
in JSTOR


Sources

* ''Full Collection of Russian Annals, St. Petersburg, 1908 and Moscow'', 2001, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Mongol Invasion Of Rus' 13th century in Kievan Rus' History of Kyiv Rus Invasions of Belarus Invasions of Russia Invasions of Ukraine 1230s conflicts 1240s conflicts 1230s in the Mongol Empire 1240s in the Mongol Empire Batu Khan