Old Russian state within the Mongol Empire. Mongol military nomadic empire

The Mongolian feudal empire arose as a result of the aggressive campaigns of Genghis Khan and his successors in the 13th-14th centuries.

At the beginning of the 13th century. On the territory of Central Asia, as a result of a long inter-tribal struggle, a single Mongolian state arose, which included all the main Mongolian tribes of nomadic herders and hunters. In the history of the Mongols, this was significant progress, a qualitatively new stage of development: the creation of a single state contributed to the consolidation of the Mongolian people, the establishment of feudal relations that replaced communal-tribal ones. The founder of the Mongolian state was Khan Temujin (1162-1227), who in 1206 was proclaimed Genghis Khan, that is, the Great Khan.

A spokesman for the interests of the warriors and the emerging class of feudal lords, Genghis Khan carried out a number of radical reforms to strengthen the centralized military-administrative system government controlled, suppression of any manifestations of separatism. The population was divided into “tens”, “hundreds”, “thousands” of nomads, who immediately became warriors in times of war. A personal guard was formed - the support of the khan. In order to strengthen the position of the ruling dynasty, all of the khan's closest relatives received large inheritances. A set of laws (“Yasa”) was compiled, where, in particular, the arats were prohibited from moving from one “ten” to another without permission. Those guilty of the slightest violations of Yasa were severely punished. Shifts were taking place in the cultural sphere. By the beginning of the 13th century. refers to the emergence of common Mongolian writing; in 1240 the famous historical and literary monument “The Secret History of the Mongols” was created. Under Genghis Khan, the capital of the Mongol Empire was founded - the city of Karakorum, which was not only administrative center, but also a center of crafts and trade.

Since 1211, Genghis Khan began numerous wars of conquest, seeing in them the main means of enrichment, satisfying the growing needs of the nomadic nobility, and establishing dominance over other countries. The conquest of new lands, the seizure of military booty, the imposition of tribute on conquered peoples - this promised rapid and unprecedented enrichment, absolute power over vast territories. The success of the campaigns was facilitated by the internal strength of the young Mongol state, the creation of a strong mobile army (cavalry), well-equipped technically, welded together with iron discipline, controlled by skilled commanders. At the same time, Genghis Khan skillfully used internecine conflicts and internal strife in the enemy’s camp. As a result, the Mongol conquerors managed to conquer many peoples of Asia and Europe and capture vast regions. In 1211, the invasion of China began, the Mongols inflicted a number of serious defeats on the troops of the Jin state. They destroyed about 90 cities and took Beijing (Yanjing) in 1215. In 1218-1221 Genghis Khan moved to Turkestan, conquered Semirechye, defeated Khorezm Shah Muhammad, captured Urgench, Bukhara, Samarkand and other centers of Central Asia. In 1223, the Mongols reached the Crimea, penetrated into Transcaucasia, devastated part of Georgia and Azerbaijan, walked along the shores of the Caspian Sea into the lands of the Alans and, having defeated them, reached the Polovtsian steppes. In 1223, Mongol troops defeated the united Russian-Polovtsian army near the Kalka River. In 1225-1227 Genghis Khan undertook his last campaign - against the Tangut state. By the end of Genghis Khan’s life, the empire included, in addition to Mongolia itself, Northern China, Eastern Turkestan, Central Asia, the steppes from the Irtysh to the Volga, most of Iran and the Caucasus. Genghis Khan divided the lands of the empire between his sons - Jochi, Chagadai, Ogedei, Tuluy. After the death of Genghis Khan, their uluses increasingly acquired the features of independent possessions, although the power of the All-Mongol Khan was nominally recognized.

Genghis Khan's successors, the khans Ogedei (reigned 1228-1241), Guyuk (1246-1248), Mongke (1251-1259), Kublai Khan (1260-1294) and others continued their wars of conquest. Grandson of Genghis Khan Batu Khan in 1236-1242. carried out aggressive campaigns against Rus' and other countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Dalmatia), moving far to the west. The huge state of the Golden Horde was formed, which was initially part of the empire. The Russian principalities became tributaries of this state, having experienced the full brunt of the Horde yoke. Another grandson of Genghis Khan, Hulagu Khan, founded the Hulagid state in Iran and Transcaucasia. Another grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, completed the conquest of China in 1279, founding the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1271 and moving the capital of the empire from Karakorum to Zhongdu (modern Beijing).

The campaigns of conquest were accompanied by the destruction of cities, the destruction of priceless cultural monuments, the devastation of vast areas, and the extermination of thousands of people. A regime of robbery and violence was introduced in the conquered countries. The local population (peasants, artisans, etc.) was subject to numerous taxes and taxes. Power belonged to the governors of the Mongol Khan, their assistants and officials, who relied on strong military garrisons and a rich treasury. At the same time, the conquerors sought to attract large landowners, merchants, and the clergy to their side; obedient rulers from among the local nobility were placed at the head of some lands.

The Mongol Empire was internally very fragile; it was an artificial conglomerate of multilingual tribes and nationalities that were at different stages of social development, often higher than those of the conquerors. Internal contradictions intensified more and more. In the 60s XIII century The Golden Horde and the Khulagid state actually separated from the empire. The entire history of the empire is filled with a long series of uprisings and revolts against the conquerors. At first they were brutally suppressed, but gradually the forces of the conquered peoples grew stronger, and the capabilities of the invaders weakened. In 1368, as a result of massive popular uprisings, Mongol rule in China fell. In 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo predetermined the overthrow of the Horde yoke in Rus'. The Mongol Empire collapsed and ceased to exist. A period of feudal fragmentation began in the history of Mongolia.

The Mongol conquests caused innumerable disasters to the conquered peoples and delayed them for a long time social development. They had a negative impact on historical development Mongolia and the situation of the people. The stolen wealth was used not for the growth of productive forces, but for the enrichment of the ruling class. The wars divided the Mongol people and depleted human resources. All this had a detrimental effect on the socio-economic development of the country in subsequent centuries.

It would be wrong to unequivocally assess the historical role of the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan. His activities were progressive in nature while there was a struggle for the unification of disparate Mongol tribes, for the creation and strengthening of a single state. Then the situation changed: he became a cruel conqueror, the conqueror of the peoples of many countries. At the same time, he was a man of extraordinary ability, a brilliant organizer, an outstanding commander and statesman. Genghis Khan - the largest figure Mongolian history. In Mongolia great attention is paid to the elimination of everything superficial, which was associated either with actual silence or with one-sided coverage of the role of Genghis Khan in history. The public organization “The Hearth of Chinggis” has been created, the number of publications about him is increasing, and a Mongolian-Japanese scientific expedition is actively working to find his burial place. The 750th anniversary of the “Secret Legend of the Mongols”, which vividly reflects the image of Genghis Khan, is widely celebrated.

The Mongol Empire was a state created in Central Asia by the talented military leader Temujin (Genghis Khan) at the beginning of the 13th century. In a short time, the Mongols conquered a huge territory in Asia and Europe from the Pacific Ocean to the Adriatic Sea and Central Europe. The capital of the empire was the city of Karakorum.

In 1206, at a kurultai meeting of representatives of the Mongolian nobility, Khan Temujin (Temujin) was elected khan of all Mongols, receiving the title of Genghis Khan (Great Leader). He managed to create a combat-ready army in which iron discipline was introduced.

Soon Genghis Khan began to pursue an aggressive policy. Over the next five years, Mongol troops, united by Genghis Khan, conquered the lands of their neighbors, and by 1215 they conquered Northern China. With the help of Chinese specialists recruited to serve the Mongols, an effective administration was created. In 1221, the hordes of Genghis Khan defeated the main forces of the Khorezm Shah, then conquered Central Asia and the Caucasus. In 1223, in the battle on the Kalka River, the vanguard of the Mongol army defeated the combined forces of the Russian princes. The Russians acted indecisively; not all regiments took part in the battle due to the fact that the princes leading them took a wait-and-see attitude.

In 1237, a huge army of Khan Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, invaded Russian lands. Almost all the principalities were conquered, the cities of Ryazan, Moscow, Vladimir, Chernigov, Kyiv and many others were burned. The Mongols did not reach Novgorod, but soon the Novgorodians were forced to agree to pay a heavy tribute to the Mongol Khan.

In 1241 the Mongols attacked Poland and Hungary. The Poles and Teutonic Knights were defeated. However, due to the struggle for the Khan's throne, Batu stopped the offensive and went to the southern Russian steppes.

During his lifetime, Genghis Khan divided his empire into 4 uluses (regions), at the head of which he placed his sons. After his death, in the 40s. XIII century The uluses gradually turned into independent states. The Western Ulus, originally transferred at the beginning of Juchikhan, occupied a vast territory from the Irtysh to the Danube. In turn, this ulus was divided between the sons of Khan Jochi into two appanages (yurt). On the territory of the western yurt, the possession of the grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu Khan, a state was formed, called the Golden Horde.

The Golden Horde was founded in 1243 and was an early feudal monarchy that accepted the influence of Chinese political culture and retained many elements of the pre-state culture traditional for the nomadic Mongols. The following features were characteristic of the Mongol social system:

nomadic and semi-nomadic lifestyle of the population;

the patriarchal nature of slavery;

the significant role of tribal leaders;

hierarchy of nomadic land ownership.

The dominant position in society belonged to rich landowners (“white bone”), they constituted the Mongol-Tatar nomadic aristocracy.

The first group of feudal lords included the khan and princes from the clan of Jochi, the first khan of the Golden Horde. The second group includes the largest feudal lords, the Beks and the Nayons. The third group of feudal lords consisted of tarkhans of people who held low positions in the state apparatus. The fourth group of the privileged population were the nukers; they were part of their master’s inner circle and were dependent on him. After the adoption of Islam as the state religion, the Muslim clergy began to play a significant role in the Golden Horde.

The feudal-dependent population was called "black bone" and included nomadic pastoralists, farmers and city dwellers. The peasant population was divided into communal peasants who had their own equipment, outbuildings, etc., and impoverished members of the peasant community.

The Mongols, who formed the core of the population of the Golden Horde, soon began to dissolve among the masses of the Turkic population they conquered, primarily the Cumans (Kipchaks). By the end of the 13th century. The Mongol aristocracy and the bulk of ordinary Mongols became so Turkified that the Mongolian language was almost supplanted from official documentation by the Kipchak language.

The state of the Golden Horde was headed by a khan, who had strong despotic power. He was elected kurultai by a congress of the Mongolian aristocracy. The capital of the state was originally the city of Sarai-Batu, built in 1254 on the Volga.

The features of feudal relations here were: the nomadic and semi-nomadic nature of society; the important role played by tribal leaders; hierarchy of nomadic land ownership. The state religion in the Horde was Islam.

The surviving tribal relations were based on a nomadic hierarchy: khan, princes, beks, nayons, tarkhans, nukers. Accordingly, the military hierarchy of the Mongols was formed, based on a numerical (decimal) system: temniki (from “darkness” - 10 thousand), thousanders, centurions, tens. The entire army consisted of heavy and light cavalry.

After the defeat of the Russian principalities by the Mongols in the first half of the 13th century. the latter fell into the position of tributaries of the Horde. The Russian principalities retained their statehood, church and administration, but were forced to pay taxes, the collection of which was entrusted to one of the princes. This order was confirmed by the issuance of the khan’s “label”. Receiving this symbol seemed to give the right to the title of Grand Duke and political and military support from Sarai (the capital of the Horde).

This situation was skillfully used by some Russian princes to strengthen their role and influence on other principalities. Tributes and extortions, population counting, punitive and police functions on the territory of the Russian principalities were carried out by the Baskaks.

The Muscovite state adopted some of the administrative features used by the Mongols; This influence affected the system and procedure of taxation, the formation of the Yamsk transport service, the organization of the army and the financial department. Novgorod judgment letter horde

The central governing body in the Mongol state was the divan. It included four emirs who headed the uluses into which the territory of the Golden Horde was divided. Their work was coordinated by the vizier, the nominal head of the government. Usually the emirs were relatives of the Khan of the Horde and retained a certain independence in local government.

The state organization of the Mongol population corresponded to its military organization. It was based on the ancient decimal system. The entire population of the uluses was divided into tens, hundreds, thousands and thousands; The commanders of these units were foremen, centurions, thousanders and temniks. The main branch of the Mongol troops was light and heavy cavalry.

The Horde reached its greatest prosperity in 1313, after Uzbek Khan came to power as a result of an internecine feudal war. Under him, Islam became widespread in the Golden Horde. The beginning of the collapse of the Golden Horde dates back to the 70s. XIV century, and in the second half of the XV century. The Horde finally broke up into several independent states.

The main sources of law of the Golden Horde were:

"Great Yasa" of Genghis Khan, a collection of Mongolian laws and customs;

customary law of Mongol and other tribes;

Sharia norms;

khan's letters, labels, orders to local rulers, etc.;

“secret legend” is a later collection of legal norms.

The norms of the “Great Yasa” were of a casual nature and largely expressed religious instructions and prohibitions. For example, severe punishments threatened those who jumped over a fire, a table, a cup, washed clothes, or returned along the same road along which they set out. Under penalty of death, it was forbidden to pass through the place where the khan's headquarters was located; the same punishment threatened for lowering one's hand into flowing water.

Inheritance and marriage and family relations were based on customary law and traditions. The eldest son inherited most of the property, and the yurt, utensils and the rest of the livestock remained with the younger son, who, even after marriage, continued to live with his parents. The law required the groom to pay a ransom to the bride's parents; after the husband's death, the property was managed by the main wife until the sons reached adulthood. Many girls got married in adulthood, since the groom had to for a long time saving money for his bride price.

For the criminal law of the Golden Horde characteristic feature there was extreme cruelty in punishment for crimes committed. Failure to comply with the laws of Iasi was often punishable by death or self-harm. Thus, one of the frequently used types of the death penalty was: “to slaughter like a ram.” They could also be sentenced to death for deliberate deception, murder of a person, violation of the rules of slaughtering animals for food, witchcraft and a number of other acts.

For petty theft, the culprit was subjected to corporal punishment; he had to return the stolen property or reimburse its cost.

Higher judicial branch belonged to the khan, local justice was administered by ulus governors and local judges (Yarguchi) appointed by them, and unit commanders in the army. There was also a supreme judicial body, the divan-yargu. With the adoption of Islam, local qadi judges appeared who made decisions based on the norms of Islamic law (Sharia).

The trial was open and adversarial. Punishment was imposed only if the accused “is caught in the act and confesses.” In addition to testimony, an oath, and a duel, torture was used, and the principle of mutual responsibility and group responsibility was used.

Mongolian law applied only to the Mongols; the previous local legal norms were in effect in the conquered lands.

Russian principalities within the Golden Horde.

In the first half of the 13th century. Most Russian principalities, including Novgorod and Pskov, found themselves in the position of tributaries of the Horde. The Russian lands were forced to pay a heavy tribute to the Mongols, but retained their statehood, church and administration. The collection of tribute was carried out by the Grand Duke, whose right was secured by the khan's label. The label gave the right not only to the title of Grand Duke, but also to political and military support from the Golden Horde. Some Russian princes used this situation to increase their influence over other principalities.

On the territory of Rus', the power of the Horde was represented by special officials, the Baskaks. They controlled the collection of tribute, carried out population counts, punitive, police and other functions. The chief baskak was with the Grand Duke.

The Mongols in Rus' left in power, as their vassals, not only the Grand Duke, but also other local princes. This was done to complicate the unification of the Russian principalities. In some southern regions direct rule of the Horde was introduced.

The Muscovite state adopted some of the administrative features used by the Mongols. This affected the system and procedure of taxation, the organization of the army, the financial department, etc.

The Golden Horde khans opposed veche democracy. The city militia was disbanded. Some democratic elements (veche) survived only in Novgorod and Pskov.

The Russian princes applied the strict order established by the Mongols in the administrative sphere, in the field of taxation and military affairs. The entire population of the principalities and lands was rewritten and imposed heavy taxes. The power of the Grand Duke gradually supplanted such political institutions as the veche, elections, the agreement between the prince and the people, etc.

The Mongols, following the Chinese model, established several institutions in Rus': postal (yam) service, customs (tamga duty on transported goods).

In general, according to Soviet historians, Mongol rule had a negative impact on the development of the Russian state and law. (oppression, humiliation, robbery, destruction of cities). It separated Eastern Rus' from Western Europe, part of the Russian people ended up on lands captured by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. To get rid of foreign oppression, the Russian people had to wage a fierce struggle, which slowed down their political and legal development.

GENGISH KHAN – CREATOR OF THE MONGOL EMPIRE

Genghis Khan was born in 1155 in a tract on the banks of the Onon River in the family of the leader Yesugei. Genghis Khan's real name is Temujin. Its origin is curious. Yesugei defeated the Tatar leader named Temujin and named his son by this name. There were reasons for this. When he first saw his born son, he noticed specks of dried blood on his small palm, clenched into a fist. This was a symbol of his victory, and he named his son Temujin.

When the boy was 13 years old, he lost his father. The subject tribes did not want to recognize the boy as a powerful leader. Their arguments were convincing. “Even the deepest wells dry up, the hardest stones crumble. Why should we remain faithful to you,” they said to the future Genghis Khan. Some tribes broke away. The fight for their return began. The mother of the future Genghis Khan played a big role in this. And in general they believe that Genghis Khan’s mother gave him both wisdom and the will to win.

In the end, Temujin had no more than half of his father's vassals left. And they couldn’t be relied on either. With such forces it was necessary to confront other tribes surrounding him - the Naimans, Keraits, Merkits and others. Temujin managed to subjugate them and in 1206 declared himself the supreme ruler of all tribes of the Mongolian steppe. A congress of tribal leaders (kurultai) took place on the banks of the Onon River, at which Temujin was proclaimed the great khan over all tribes. He became a true ruler, in Chinese Genghis Khan (Cheng - Sze).

Only the Naiman Khan Kuchluk did not submit to Genghis Khan. But he was soon defeated, and Kuchluk fled with his ally the Merkit khan Tokhta-beki to the Irtysh.

Having united Mongolia, Genghis Khan decided to expand his possessions at the expense of the Chinese Khitan Tatars. Before this, the Khitan conquered Northern China from the Song dynasty of Chinese emperors.

First Genghis Khan conquered western part Tangut states Xi-Xia. He successfully captured several fortified Tangut cities. In the summer of 1208 there was unbearable heat, and Genghis Khan took a break. Saving his troops from the heat, he moved them to Longjin. But the rest was short-lived. Information reached him that the escaped Kuchluk and Tokhta-beks were preparing to take revenge. Genghis Khan forestalled them and completely defeated them in a battle on the banks of the Irtysh. Tokhta-beki fell in battle, Kuchluk fled to the Kandinsky Tatars (Kara - Khitan).

After this, the conquest of Northern China could be resumed. The Chinese Tatars were defeated in battles. Genghis Khan captured the fortress and the passage to the Great Wall of China. This allowed him to invade the Chinese Empire (the State of Jin) directly. Genghis Khan marched through the state of Jin all the way to Nianxi in Hanshu Province, littering the road with corpses, and invaded the central province of the Liaodong Empire. The onslaught was so powerful and cruel that it was useless to resist. Therefore, some of the Chinese commanders went over to his side (along with their garrisons).

Genghis Khan (Chinese miniature)

So Genghis Khan established his power along the entire Great Chinese wall. Then, in the fall of 1213, he sends three armies to different parts of the Chinese Empire. The army, led by the three sons of Genghis Khan - Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedei, headed to the south of China. Another army moved east towards the sea. It was led by the brothers of Genghis Khan. The third army set out in a southeastern direction. It was commanded by Genghis Khan himself. His son Tuli was also with him.

The first army took twenty-eight cities and reached Honan itself. After this, she joined the third army (Genghis Khan) on the Great Western Road. The second army, led by Genghis Khan's brothers, captured Liaoxi Province. The army under the leadership of Genghis Khan victoriously reached the sea rocky cape in Shandong province. Genghis Khan sends an ultimatum to the Chinese emperor, which included the following words: “All your possessions in Shandong and other provinces north of the Yellow River now belong to me. The only exception is your capital Yenping (modern Beijing). By the will of heaven, you are now as weak as I am strong. However, I want to leave the conquered lands, but in order to pacify my warriors, who are extremely hostile towards you, you need to give them valuable gifts.”

The Emperor accepted the terms of the ultimatum. He generously presented the conquerors with valuable gifts. He gave Genghis Khan himself the daughter of the late emperor and other princesses of the imperial house, as well as five hundred boys and girls and three thousand horses. But that didn't save him. Genghis Khan did not like that the Chinese emperor moved his court to Kaifeng, away from the conquerors. Genghis Khan returned troops to the Chinese Empire, which was doomed to destruction.

The fleeing Khan Kuchluk, who ended up with the Tatar Khan, did not let up, with the help of whom he gathered the remnants of the army defeated at the Irtysh. He then entered into an alliance with the Shah of Khorezm, Muhammad. Muhammad paid tribute to the Karakids and wanted to be freed from their power. The Karakidans were defeated in battles. Kuchluk strengthened significantly and decided to compete with Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan became aware of this, and he, well prepared, dealt Kuchluk a warning blow. In the first battle, Genghis Khan defeated the Naiman army. The Khanate of Kuchluk became an appanage principality of the Mongol Empire, which by that time had become huge. Kuchluk himself was captured.

But Genghis Khan did not stop there. He led his troops to the borders of Khorezm. He sent a “friendly” ultimatum to Shah Mohammed. "Greetings! I know how great is your power and how vast is your empire. I treat you like my beloved son. However, you should know that I have captured China and all the territories Turkic peoples north of it. You know that my country is the homeland of warriors, a land rich in silver deposits, and I have no need to seize other lands. Our interests are equal and consist in maintaining good neighborly commercial relations between our subjects."

However, peace (as in China) did not work out. The reason for the conquest of Khorezm was quickly found. Genghis Khan sent his first merchants to Transoxiana. However, they were captured, declared spies and killed. This was done by order of the ruler of Otrar, Inelyok Gair Khan. Genghis Khan demanded that the ruler of Otrar be extradited as someone who had violated the treaty. But Muhammad did not agree to this. Moreover, he beheaded one of Genghis Khan's ambassadors and cut off the beards of the remaining ambassadors. As a result, in the spring of 1219, Genghis Khan set out from Karakorum.

When conquering Central Asia, Genghis Khan divided his army into five parts. One of the army units was commanded by Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi. He was given the task of conquering Sygnak and Jenda. He accomplished this task, defeating Muhammad's army of four hundred thousand people. One hundred and sixty thousand of them remained on the battlefield. Muhammad himself fled to Samarkand.

The second part of the army was commanded by the second son of Genghis Khan, Chagatai. He struck the northern part of the Khorezm Empire, went down to the mouth of the Syr Darya (at that time Yaksort), passed Tarsus and besieged Otrar. The Otrar fortress withstood a five-month siege. But she finally fell. The ruler and his associates were executed. The city was razed to the ground, the population was slaughtered.

The third part of Genghis Khan's army surrounded and stormed Khojent, located on the Syr Darya. The fourth part of the army was commanded by Genghis Khan himself. With him was his youngest son Tuli. These troops were approaching Bukhara. Tashkent and Nur surrendered without a fight. Bukhara resisted, but not for long. Having occupied Bukhara, Genghis Khan climbed the steps of the main minaret and shouted to his soldiers: “The hay has been cut, let the horses eat.” This was a signal (order) to plunder the city and generally destroy it. The city was plundered. Most of the residents died. Few managed to escape. The city was not only plundered, but also destroyed to the ground and burned. In place of a prosperous civil city - the “center of all sciences” - ashes remained.

Fear was ahead of the advancing troops. Therefore, the next city of Samarkand did not resist. The city of Balkh also surrendered. But in vain the residents hoped for the mercy of the victors. Cities were plundered, destroyed, residents slaughtered.

Genghis Khan himself did not go further on the campaign. He sent his youngest son Tuli with an army of seventy thousand to take Khorasan. Khorasan and its capital Neseu were taken. Then Tuli approached the fortress walls of the city of Merv. The city was taken, plundered and burned. Residents everywhere faced the same fate - death or captivity. After Merv, Tuli headed to Nishapur. Here he met extremely stubborn resistance.

The resistance was stubborn, but short-lived. On the fifth day the city fell. All residents (not only men, but also women and children) were killed. Four hundred master craftsmen were captured.

Genghis Khan sent two flying detachments led by Jebe and Subedei-Baghatur to pursue Muhammad. Muhammad fled to the Caspian Sea. There he was overtaken by pneumonia, and in the coastal village of Astara he died. He transferred power (over whom?) to Jalal ad-Din. Genghis Khan himself began to persecute the son of Muhammad. Leftovers former army Muhammad were defeated. Most of the soldiers were killed. Only a small part escaped. After the defeat, Jalal ad-Din himself rushed into the river on horseback and disappeared. He headed to Delhi.

Traditional yurts of Mongolian nomads

Genghis Khan's army then devastated the provinces of Lahore, Peshawar and Melikpur. Tuli established Mongol rule in Herat. But the inhabitants of the city rebelled and established their power. To restore order, Genghis Khan sent an army of eighty thousand people there. Herat defended itself for six months, but was eventually taken. It was plundered, burned, and its inhabitants slaughtered. Many were immured alive within the walls of the city.

The army that remained in China was also not idle. She conquered several new Chinese provinces north of the Yellow River. In 1223, the Chinese Emperor Xun Zong died. The Northern Chinese Empire ceased to exist. Central and Southern China remained independent. It was ruled by the imperial Song dynasty.

Mobile dwellings of the Mongols

The end of Genghis Khan himself was mysterious. Astrologers warned him about the danger to his life, since a parade of five planets was coming. Genghis Khan took this seriously and headed home, but in 1227 he died on the road. For some time, Genghis Khan's death was kept secret. He appointed his third son Ogedei as his heir. Until Ögedei was proclaimed Great Khan (emperor), Genghis Khan's death was hidden. Therefore, Genghis Khan's funeral took place in strict secrecy.

The funeral procession moved from the camp of the Great Horde to the north, to the Kerulen River. Those who came across the procession were killed. The body of Genghis Khan was carried through his native camp in the arms of his wife. Genghis Khan was buried in the valley of the Kerulen River.

The unity of Genghis Khan's empire was maintained for 40 years after his death. And the dominance of his descendants in those states that were formed after the collapse of the empire continued for about another hundred years. His sons and grandsons did not inherit natural genius. Genghis Khan was the only creator and organizer Mongol Empire.

Genghis Khan was a great, wise organizer. Genghis Khan knew how to find implementers of his plans and ideas. He made clear demands on them. Most of all, he valued and encouraged loyalty, devotion and perseverance. Most of all, he despised treason, betrayal and cowardice. Genghis Khan divided all people into two categories. For people of one type, material well-being and security are higher than their personal dignity. These people are capable of treason. At their core, they were cowards. Such people obey their bosses (masters) only because they are afraid of the boss. They know that he is capable of depriving them of their well-being or even their lives. Such people are in awe of the power of their bosses. They see nothing behind their boss (master). They, in fact, obey not their boss, but their fear. Therefore, it is not surprising that such people easily betray their master. By betraying their boss (master), such people think about liberation from the one who rules over them. They betray out of fear or material gain. Such people always remain slaves to their fear, their attachment to material well-being. These are base, vile, essentially slavish natures. Genghis Khan not only despised such people, but also mercilessly destroyed them.

Genghis Khan overthrew many people, princes and rulers during his life. Almost always, these rulers were surrounded by (in considerable numbers) traitors and traitors. They betrayed their master, thinking in doing so to gain personal gain. But Genghis Khan did not reward any of these traitors, although they contributed to his victory. Moreover, each time after the victory over one or another ruler, Genghis Khan gave the order to execute all those nobles and associates who betrayed their master. Genghis Khan did not need such accomplices with a slave psychology.

At the same time, after the conquest of each new kingdom or principality, Genghis Khan rewarded and brought closer to himself those who remained loyal to their former ruler and showed worthy resistance to Genghis Khan. These people proved that they belonged to the type of people on which Genghis Khan built his state system. These people proved their loyalty and steadfastness in practice. Such people put their honor and dignity above their safety and material well-being. These people are not afraid of the person (the boss) who can take away their life or material wealth. Most of all, they are afraid of committing an act that could dishonor them and diminish their dignity. They are afraid to belittle their dignity, first of all, in their own eyes. And this is worse for them than death.

Genghis Khan kept people of the first type in his hands through fear and material well-being; he did not allow people of a slave mentality to govern the state.

The country was ruled by people of the second psychological type. They were organized into a harmonious hierarchical system, at the highest level of which was Genghis Khan himself. They worshiped him not out of fear, but out of the understanding that he embodied their own ideal.

Genghis Khan believed that only among the nomads were the most people he could rely on. Living in cities contributes to the erosion of human ideals, and most city dwellers belong to the first type. Actually, this is fully true even now. People from the plow, from the earth, more often remain honest, pure, sacrificial and even more talented.

Among the nomadic aristocracy of the time of Genghis Khan positive traits(loyalty, courage, honesty) were aggravated by tribal traditions, a living sense of not only personal but also family honor, and a sense of responsibility to ancestors and descendants. Therefore, Genghis Khan created his military-administrative system precisely from nomads, from the ranks of the nomadic aristocracy. And not only the aristocracy. Class affiliation was not a decisive factor in the selection of performers. Genghis Khan often appointed representatives of the most seedy families to high positions of military commanders. Among them were former shepherds. For Genghis Khan, one thing was important for the cause - professional suitability and belonging to the second psychological type, the type of loyal, capable and honest people.

Genghis Khan understood how cities spoil people, their psychology. He commanded his descendants to remain nomads so as not to become base people, people of a slave psychology. But history decreed differently - Genghis Khan's empire collapsed precisely because more and more citizens became slaves to wealth and power. They destroyed the brainchild of the great Genghis Khan.

For those who create a huge community of people - an empire, it is important to correctly understand the religious problem. Genghis Khan constantly felt a connection with God. Genghis Khan expressed his attitude towards religions as follows: “I respect and honor all four (Buddha, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad) and ask the one who has the greatest truth among them to become my assistant.” You couldn't say it any wiser.

When Rus' became part of the Mongol Empire, there was no hint of persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church. Under Genghis Khan, his kingdom had no official state religion. The country practiced shamanism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity (Nestorian version).

Thus, Genghis Khan believed that the power of a ruler should be based not on any ruling class, not on any ruling nation, and not on any specific official religion, but on a certain psychological type of people. In practice this meant that senior positions occupied not only by aristocrats, but also by people from the lower strata of the people. The rulers did not belong to one people, but to different Mongolian and Turkic-Tatar tribes. They confessed different religions. Only one thing was important - that they be statesmen, and not only care about their own well-being.

The Mongol aristocracy accepted the religion of those states that the empire occupied. This is Buddhism in China, Islam in Persia, etc. If the Mongols in Rus' had accepted Orthodoxy, then there would have been no liberation of Moscow from the power of Sarai. Moscow and Sarai were the two centers of the Golden Horde. The barn had the main, fundamental significance in the administrative and state life of the Horde. But there was also a second center - first Vladimir, and then Moscow. The second center was more religious, but not only. When Sarai weakened and Moscow strengthened, two halves were formed - the Golden Horde and the Great Reign of Moscow. Hundreds of years will pass, and everything will grow together again under the auspices of Moscow. But everything could have been faster, more expedient, without much bloodshed. If the Mongol aristocracy in the Golden Horde had accepted Orthodoxy, then Sarai would have been the only center and the split would not have occurred. A single state (Russian-Mongolian or Mongolian-Russian) would have been preserved, under which all the conditions for normal development would have been ensured - international trade, security and much more, which large powerful empires provide and which ordinary provincial independent formations will never provide. It’s difficult to call them states. The fragmentation of an empire always means a fall down many steps, a rollback far back.

It is believed that there was still a chance of preserving the Russian-Mongol empire. Some sources report that Batu’s son Sartak converted to Orthodoxy. Others think more real option that Sartak was very close to Orthodoxy. It is known that Sartak was a persecutor of Muslims. When he succeeded Batu, he had to go to worship the great Khan Menka. The historian al-Jowzdani reports that on the way back, Sartak passed by the Horde of his uncle Berke and turned aside without seeing him. When Berke found out about this, he sent to ask Sartak what was the matter. Sartak replied: “You are a Muslim, and I profess Christian faith; to see the face of a Muslim is a misfortune.” But Sartak soon died. He was succeeded by Berke, who officially converted to Islam. True, he did not carry out the forced Islamization of the Horde. Khan Uzbek was very inclined towards Orthodoxy. Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich was married to his sister. It is curious that on coins from Uzbek times there are images of a double-headed eagle and a woman with a baby (Virgin Mary).

The attitude of the Mongols towards the Russian Orthodox Church was the most friendly, if not more. There were no obstacles to the transition of the Mongol-Tatars to Orthodoxy.

As soon as the Mongols conquered Rus', the fathers of the Russian Orthodox Church began to establish contacts with the authorities of the Golden Horde, with Sarai.

The metropolitan's chair was in Kyiv before the Mongol invasion. But in 1240 the Mongols destroyed it. The metropolitans moved to Vladimir on Klyazma, and then to Moscow. Moreover, every metropolitan in the 13th – 14th centuries had to travel to Sarai frequently. As a rule, he stayed there for a long time. In 1261, Metropolitan Kirill established an episcopal see in Sarai. It was a kind of Orthodox representation in the Golden Horde. Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich (Nevsky) also worked on the establishment of the Sarai diocese.

The Sarai bishop served as an intermediary between the metropolitan and the Mongol khan, on the one hand, and the ecumenical Emperor of Constantinople and the patriarch, on the other. A bishop went to the Patriarch and the Greek Tsar in Constantinople with letters from the Tsar of the Horde and from the Metropolitan of All Rus'. Thus, both Moscow and Sarai cared about the church structure of Rus'. At the same time, Moscow was the main center in church terms. In state and administrative terms, Sarai was the main one.

In 1312, Metropolitan Peter of Moscow deprived the bishop of Sarai of both his rank and his diocese. In the middle of the 15th century, Bishop Vassion of Sarai moved his see to Moscow. He settled in Krutitsy. Actually, already from the end of the 13th century, Krutitsy served as a courtyard for the Sarai bishops in Moscow. So the Bishop of Sarai turned into the Bishop of Krutitsky. It should also be said about the principles on which the army of Genghis Khan and his successors was built.

The alliance of the house of Genghis Khan with leading representatives of the local elites (the conquered ones) was cemented by dynastic marriages. The doors to entry into the initially narrow group of ruling nobility that formed the flower of the unified Mongol state were kept open. The personal merits of the applicant were determined by the usefulness ruling house. One could even meet a former slave as part of the higher noyons. Such were Muholi and Bukha.

Genghis Khan said this: “Who was Sorkhan-Shira? Serf serf, arat at Taichiupsky Todeche. And who were Bedeya and Kishlik? Tserenovsky grooms. Now you are my confidants. Prosper in your clergy” (“Secret Legend”).

Nukers Genghis Khan was selected from different tribes. More often they came from the family aristocracy. Example: Shigi-Khutuhu - from the Tatars, Jelme - Uriankha, Borohul - Dzhurkin, Boorchu - Taichung.

From nukering The service of the Keshikten guards grew.

There were three elite groups at the Khan's court.

The first are the night guards - the kebteuls. They worked according to the formula: “cut off the head to the very shoulders and the shoulders to the dump” of anyone who tried to get to the khan at night. They were in charge of the distribution of weapons and kept the symbols of the khan's power - military banners and drums. Kebteuls managed palace affairs, conducted funeral feasts at graves and participated in the sacrificial rites of the khan family.

The second are the day guards. Their names were Turkhauds. The first guards detachment of Genghis Keshikten consisted of 150 people. 80 of them were kebteuls of the night guard, and 70 were turkhauds of the day guard.

At the same time, “a thousand heroes” were selected under the khan. They fought directly under the command of Genghis Khan. In peacetime, they were with him as turkhakh-keshikten.

In 1206, another kurultai took place. After the kurultai, Genghis Khan appointed 95 thousand officers (noyons). The number of the first two elite groups was increased many times over. There were 8,000 Turkhauds. The Kebteuls, together with the archers, numbered 2,000.

Army officers were ranked one step lower in the table of ranks. Thus, an army commander was considered lower than an ordinary Keshiktene. A stirrup keshiktena was considered superior to a centurion.

In the army there was a large number of non-Mongols. Thus, in 1211, Genghis Khan’s army included the Khitan Jiu troops, who served in the Jin Empire. Since 1215, “troops of the northern Chinese” joined the army. In 1281, guard formations from Kipchaks were created. In 1322 they were divided into left (eastern) and right (western) guards. Guards from Kipchaks and Ossetian-Asu carried out patrol and police service in the areas northwest of Beijing, in the Juyunguan - Nanbeikou region. In 1328, there were ten thousand Kipchak families in one left guard. Recruitment for service was carried out through the Golden Horde.

The guards under Genghis Khan were in a special position. The guards and Genghis Khan had the same heraldic symbols: their horse belts and saddles were decorated with figures of curled dragons.

For their courage and loyalty they could be awarded the title of hero.

The emblem of the emperor and his guard was formed between 1204 – 1206 and 1217.

IN Chinese tradition dragon is a symbol of imperial power, wisdom, strength, including male power nature – yang. Only the emperor himself and his immediate relatives had the right to the emblem of a dragon with five claws. More distant relatives had the right to an emblem with a dragon with four claws. Dignitaries and distant relatives had the right to depict a certain snake-like creature on the emblem.

Kipchaks, Ossetians-Asu and Russians were constantly included in the guards under the Yuan (Beijing) emperors.

In 1330, during the reign of Tuch Temur, it was established special department command of the Russian Guards Corps “showing loyalty.” Temnik commanded the corps. At the beginning of 1330, up to ten thousand Russians were gathered, who were allocated 100 qin (about 600 hectares) of arable land for self-sufficiency. According to a long-standing Chinese tradition, Russian soldiers and their families were military settlers, whose status was similar to that of the future Russian Cossacks. In 1332, Russian settlers were allocated oxen for plowing, seeds and agricultural implements. According to other sources, 300 qing (1800 hectares) of arable land were allocated. The settlements were located north of the capital Yuan in the city of Dadu (Beijing) in the area of the modern village of Juyunguan.

Thus, the Mongol army transformed over time. Until 1206 it was the army of the Mongols of Genghis Khan. Not all Mongol tribes were included in it. After the great state of the Mongols was divided, Mongol army warriors from the nomadic population were included modern territory Mongolia and southern Siberia - Kerents, Neumanns, Merkits, Tatars, Oirats, Kirghiz, Khori-Tumats, etc. After the start of the war with Jin (1211), many Khitans, Chinese, Jurchens, and Tanguts went over to the side of Genghis Khan.

Chinese military technology was mastered, primarily stone-throwing artillery, used for the siege of cities, and the use and use of the incendiary and explosive properties of powder mixtures. The Chinese general Gao Ming took part in the campaign to the West. He was developing plans for the campaign. The Chinese Yang Wei-chung was the ambassador of the Mongol Empire to 13 Western countries. During the campaign to the West, the Chinese Shitian-lin acted as a judge. A multinational army, which was well trained and equipped, was moving to the West. The Yuan Shi says that Batu’s soldiers received the same ration for two that was given to ten in the rest of the army.

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At the end of the XII - beginning of the XIII centuries. events took place in Central Asia that had a huge impact on the history of China, Central Asia, the Caucasus and of Eastern Europe. These events are associated with the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars and the formation of the Mongol Empire - a state created in Central Asia by the talented military leader Temujin (Genghis Khan) at the beginning of the 13th century.

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When considering the development of the Mongol-Tatar tribes, it is necessary to take into account the most diverse historical conditions of that era, the internal situation of these tribes, the level of feudal relations that developed in them, and, finally, economic and political factors.

Mongol tribes until the end of the 12th century. lived on the territory of modern Mongolian People's Republic. They did not form a single nationality, did not have their own statehood and spoke different dialects Mongolian language. Among the Mongolian tribes during this period, a large tribe of Tatars, living in the eastern part of Mongolia, stood out. The Mongol-Tatar tribes led a nomadic lifestyle. The most numerous were the steppe Mongols, who were engaged in cattle breeding and hunting. Forest Mongols were mainly engaged in hunting and fishing. The Mongols roamed in large kurens, and each kuren had significant political independence: it waged wars, entered into alliances, etc.

The Mongols were subsistence farmers and produced extremely little food. There was no money circulation, and trade took place in the form of exchange. The development of class relations, the impoverishment of ordinary nomads and the accumulation of wealth in the hands of individual families led to the disintegration of kuren communities into smaller economic associations: ails, yurts, one-family tents.

By the beginning of the 13th century. The Mongol-Tatar tribes switched to the early feudal system, although they still retained remnants of tribal relations. In the process of mutual clashes between clans, tribal alliances were formed. The tribes were headed by special leaders or chiefs, the strongest, most dexterous, and rich (nayons, bogaturs). They had their own detachments of nukers, who participated with them in raids, hunts, feasts, and helped with advice in decisions.

The fierce struggle between the tribes culminated in the formation of the city by the beginning of the 13th century. The Mongolian state, which had a strong military organization. After long and bloody wars, the leader of one of the Mongol tribes, Temujin, conquered the rest of the tribes.

In 1206, at a kurultai - a meeting of representatives of the Mongolian nobility - Khan Temujin (Temujin) was elected khan of all Mongols, receiving the title of Genghis Khan (Great Leader). He managed to create a combat-ready army in which iron discipline was introduced.

In 1237, a huge army of Batu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, invaded Russian lands. Almost all the principalities were conquered, the cities of Ryazan, Moscow, Vladimir, Chernigov, Kyiv and many others were burned. The Mongols did not reach Novgorod, but soon the Novgorodians were forced to agree to pay a heavy tribute to the Mongol Khan.

During his lifetime, Genghis Khan divided his empire into 4 uluses (regions), at the head of which he placed his sons. After his death, in the 40s. XIII century The uluses gradually turned into independent states. The Western Ulus, originally transferred to the beginning of Jochi Khan, occupied a vast territory from the Irtysh to the Danube. In turn, this ulus was divided between the sons of Khan Jochi into two appanages (yurt). On the territory of the western yurt, the possession of the grandson of Genghis Khan - Batu Khan, a state was formed, which received the name of the Golden Horde.

Nomadic and semi-nomadic lifestyle of the population;

The patriarchal nature of slavery;

Significant role of tribal leaders;

Hierarchy of nomadic land ownership.

The economic basis of the state was feudal production relations, a characteristic feature of which was feudal ownership of land, pastures, and livestock. According to some researchers, it was class property, recognized by ordinary nomads by giving a certain share of the resulting product to their master. Smaller feudal lords (foremen, centurions) depended on larger ones (thousanders, temniks), which determined the nature of the structure of the Golden Horde based on the hierarchy of nomadic land ownership. All the land was nominally the property of the Golden Horde Khan, but each landowner, within the land granted to him, disposed of the nomads of the people who depended on him, and distributed the best pastures at his own discretion. The majority of Mongol-Tatars retained semi-feudal relations with numerous remnants of tribal life.

The feudal class, or “white bone” - the top of the Golden Horde society - included the Mongol-Tatar nomadic aristocracy. At the top of the social ladder were the khan and princes (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) from the house of Jochi, the first khan of the Golden Horde. Over time, the Jochid clan grew greatly. With the adoption of Islam, which allowed polygamy, the number of princes increased and the struggle for power between them intensified.

The second group of the ruling class consisted of beks (Turkic title) and nayons (Mongolian title) - the largest feudal lords. Each large Golden Horde landowner received huge incomes from his possessions - 100-200 thousand dinars per year.

The third group of Golden Horde feudal lords was represented by Tarkhans, people of average income who occupied relatively low positions in the state apparatus.

Finally, the last group of the ruling class included the nukers. They were part of their master's inner circle and were dependent on him. The number of nukers depended on the wealth and nobility of their leader.

An important role in the Golden Horde state was played by the church with a complex system of church institutions. Religious tolerance was allowed in the Golden Horde, but with the adoption of Islam the role of the Muslim clergy increased. Its representatives occupied important positions in the state and judicial apparatus. Church organizations had large material resources.

The feudal-dependent population was called "black bone" and consisted of nomadic pastoralists, farmers and city dwellers. Nomadic pastoralists - Karachus lived in ails, ran individual households, owned livestock and grazed them on pastures owned by the landowner. The economic duties of pastoralists were generated by a general despotic system. For example, paying duty in milk, nomadic herders had to bring mare’s milk to their master “every third day.” Karacha was also carried military service, supported officials and military units, provided them with transport for movement. When dividing the spoils of war, they received a small part of it.

Peasant population in settled agricultural areas of Central Asia, Crimea, Volga region, etc. called sobanchi and urtakchi. Sobanchi are communal peasants, dependent on the landowner. They cultivated the master's land with their own implements, carried duties from the vineyards, outbuildings (barns, threshing floor), and paid duties from the irrigation ditches. The Urtakchi are impoverished members of the peasant community, deprived of land and equipment. They worked on the master's land for a share of the products (half, one third, quarter).

In the XIII - XIV centuries. in the Golden Horde there is a revival of urban planning. The Golden Horde cities arose as administrative and political settlements, determined by the needs of the state. However, most of them were destroyed as a result of Timur's campaigns. During 1395 - 1396 The town-planning culture of the Golden Horde was completely destroyed and could no longer be revived.

The urban population consisted mainly of artisans, small traders and merchants and was quite numerous. According to some scientists, there were associations of artisans in the Golden Horde cities. Numerous officials who worked in the executive, managerial and tax apparatus also lived in the cities.

At the very bottom of the social ladder were slaves. Their number in the Golden Horde was extremely large. The source of slavery was captivity. The slave trade flourished in the Golden Horde.

However, slaves, as a rule, were turned into dependent peasants, shepherds and artisans. For example, the son of a slave was most often attached to the ground as a sobanchi or urtakchi.

Political system. Supreme authorities and management. Genghis Khan divided the entire state into 4 uluses (districts), each of which was headed by one of his sons.

Khan. At the head of the Golden Horde was a khan from the clan of Genghis, who had strong despotic power. The military structure to which the administrative division of the country was adapted permeated it from top to bottom. He was elected by the kurultai - a congress of the Mongolian aristocracy. The capital of the state was originally the city of Sarai-Batu, built in 1254 on the Volga.

Travelers who arrived in the Golden Horde from Europe, torn apart by feudal unrest, were first of all amazed that “the khan has amazing power over everyone.” The khans were surrounded by the top of the nomadic aristocracy, which directed and controlled their activities. Kurultai - a congress of the Mongol-Tatar nobility - was convened to decide the most important issues(elections of the khan, planning campaigns, hunting, etc.). Its convening was usually timed to coincide with religious holidays. The Kurultai was an advisory body. He made decisions pleasing to the khan. However, in most cases the khan resolved issues independently, in narrow circle court nobility. Women (khatuni), representatives of the ruling elite, were present at the kurultai and took an active part in its work.

The central apparatus consisted of the head of state (khan), court nobility, administrative apparatus, various departments and the judicial apparatus. Divans (offices) acted as central bodies of sectoral management in the Golden Horde state. An important official was the vizier - the nominal head of the government.

Among the highest officials, sources name four ulus emirs (governors). The eldest of the emirs was called beklyaribek (commander-in-chief of the troops) and was considered the first person in the state after the khan.

In the central control system great importance had the position of bakol, in charge of supplying the troops. The temniks (commanders of ten-thousand-strong detachments) were subordinate to the Bakouls. The temniks were subordinate to the thousand-man units (commanders of thousands of detachments), and the latter were subordinate to the centurions and tens. Among other officials, the sources mention customs officers, falconers, station guards, etc.

Local government authorities were in the hands of the Mongol-Tatar feudal nobility. Local managers were Darugs and Baskaks, who had their own offices with a staff of officials.

The Golden Horde ruled the conquered peoples brutally. For example, on the territory of Rus', a Baskak military-political organization was created, consisting of foremen, centurions, thousanders and temniks.

The Baskaks kept order in the country, checked the payment of tribute and the fulfillment of other duties in favor of the Golden Horde. Special military detachments, partly staffed from the local population, were formed by force. They were commanded by the Mongol-Tatars. These military contingents were placed at the disposal of the Baskaks, who lived in the principalities and exercised control over these principalities. The Baskaks were subordinate to the “great” or chief Baskaq, who was located in Vladimir. The local nobility was also involved in the management of the conquered peoples.

The military organization of the Golden Horde had a decimal character. The entire population was divided into tens, hundreds, thousands, darkness (10 thousand). The nature of the Mongols' occupation (nomadic herders) also determined the main branch of their army - numerous highly mobile cavalry, which was divided into light and heavy. Rams, movable siege towers and other structures were used as siege equipment.

Preservation of the ancestral bond, iron discipline, good organization and the great mobility of the cavalry masses, skillfully executed reconnaissance and surprise of the attack, enormous combat experience and flexible tactics gave the steppe inhabitants an advantage over the sedentary feudal militias of sedentary peoples and allowed them to win victories over them.

Judicial institutions in the Golden Horde had a pronounced class character. The highest judicial power belonged to the khan. Locally, justice was administered by the governors of regions and military units.

There was a special judicial body - the divan-yargu, which was headed by the chief judge. The lowest levels of judicial institutions were local courts headed by a yarguchi (judge), which considered less dangerous cases.

With the adoption of Islam, Muslim judges - qadis - appeared. When making decisions, they were guided by Sharia law (i.e., the norms of Islamic law).

The Horde reached its greatest prosperity in 1313, after Uzbek Khan came to power as a result of an internecine feudal war. Under him, Islam became widespread in the Golden Horde. The Uzbek army consisted of more than 300 thousand soldiers. With its help, he subjugated the Blue Horde (the eastern part of the empire) and strengthened power over all the conquered lands, including over Russia.

The beginning of the collapse of the Golden Horde dates back to the 70s. XIV century, and in the second half of the XV century. The Horde finally broke up into several independent states.

In the traditional view of the European reader, Mongolian laws are exclusively associated with the famous Yasa Code, established in 1206 by the “great conqueror of the world” Genghis Khan. Meanwhile, even after the collapse of the Chinggisid Empire in the second half of the 13th century, the life of Mongolian legislation did not cease. A unique find - the discovery in 1914 in abandoned ruins of a miraculously preserved armful of birch bark sheets covered with old Mongolian inscriptions - led to the discovery of a remarkable monument of Mongolian law of the late 16th - early 17th centuries, “Eighteen Steppe Laws”.

The main sources of law of the Golden Horde were:

1) letters, paizi, labels, orders to local rulers and other documents - the result of the legislative activities of the Golden Horde khans;

2) by the very beginning of the 12th century. refers to a record of Genghis Khan’s instructions on various issues of the state and social system, known in literature under the name “Yasa” (“Yasa of Genghis Khan”, “Great Yasa”). This was the only written source of Mongol law in the 12th century. The nature of these instructions clearly illustrates the despotic power of Genghis Khan. Of the 36 passages of Yasa that have come down to us, 13 deal with the death penalty.

3) Secret legend (a legal monument of later origin).

4) Sharia (cases of religious crimes were considered according to Sharia).

5) Customary law of Mongolian tribes.

In general, Yasa recognized the following groups of offenses as crimes subject to punishment: against religion, morals and established customs; against the khan and the state; and against the life and interests of the individual.

A characteristic feature of the criminal law of the Golden Horde was the extreme cruelty of punishment for crimes committed. Failure to comply with the laws of Iasi was often punishable by death or self-harm. Thus, one of the frequently used types of the death penalty was: “to slaughter like a ram.” They could also be sentenced to death for deliberate deception, murder of a person, violation of the rules of slaughtering animals for food, witchcraft and a number of other acts.

For petty theft, the culprit was subjected to corporal punishment; he had to return the stolen property or reimburse its cost.

Military crimes and crimes against government were punished with particular cruelty, for the purpose of intimidation. Extrajudicial reprisals by military detachments were often used against conquered peoples. Thus, in 1293, the Mongols invaded North-Eastern Rus' and, as the chronicler noted, “created the whole earth empty.”

The main purpose of punishment, in Yasa’s understanding, was the physical destruction of the criminal. That's why the death penalty plays important role in this code. Yasa recognizes the temporary isolation of the offender through imprisonment, deportation, removal from office, and intimidation through infliction of pain or fines. In some cases, not only the criminal himself, but also his wife and children are subject to punishment.

The death penalty was prescribed for almost all types of crimes. It followed a significant portion of crimes against religion, morals or established customs; for most crimes against the khan and the state; for certain property crimes; for the third bankruptcy; for horse theft - in a case where the thief could not pay the fine.

Punishment through imprisonment and deportation was provided for violation of Yasa by members of the khan's family. Each officer of a military unit was subject to demotion if he failed to cope with his official duties. Warriors and hunters were punished by inflicting pain for minor offenses against military discipline. Murder was punishable by a fine. For stealing a horse, the criminal was subject to repression, a fine, or even the death penalty.

Civil legislation. Evidence regarding the civil law of Yasa is scanty. This is perhaps explained not only by the incompleteness of the existing fragments, but also by the fact that such relations were regulated by generally accepted generic law. However, one important article regarding inheritance was included in the Yasa: “Nothing is taken from a deceased person who has no heir for the benefit of the khan, but his property must be given to the person who looked after him.”

Commercial law. It is known that Genghis Khan paid great attention to trade. Maintaining the security of commercial routes for international trade was one of the important goals of his policies. It is therefore natural to assume that the Yasa contained some kind of statute regarding trade. However, among the fragments there is only one surviving piece of trade legislation: “If anyone takes goods on credit and goes bankrupt, then takes goods again and goes bankrupt again, and then takes goods again and goes bankrupt, he shall be sentenced to death after his third bankruptcy."

Inheritance and marriage and family relations were based on customary law and traditions. The eldest son inherited most of the property, and the yurt, utensils and the rest of the livestock remained with the younger son, who, even after marriage, continued to live with his parents. The law required the groom to pay a ransom to the bride's parents; after the husband's death, the property was managed by the main wife until the sons reached adulthood. Many girls got married at an adult age, since the groom had to save money for a long time to buy his bride.

From all that has been said, it is clear that the Great Yasa was basically a harsh law, with cruel provisions aimed at keeping the people calm. As a monument of feudal law, the Great Yasa asserted the absolute power of the Mongol khan over his subjects. However, an analysis of the above-mentioned legal norms indicates that it was more severe than other codes of eastern countries. Thus, the Babylonian laws under Hammurabi or the ancient Chinese laws were harsh to the point of cruelty. Characterizing the punitive system of Yasa, V.A. Ryazanovsky wrote: “The death penalty is used very often, but Yasa also knows how to pay off execution for murder, theft, and, probably, for some smaller crimes and misdemeanors.” Yasa does not know mutilating punishments and qualified death penalty. If we compare the punitive system of Yasa with the indicated eastern systems, as well as with medieval European criminal law, then, of course, the Great Yasa cannot be called an exceptionally harsh code.

The highest judicial power belonged to the khan, local justice was administered by ulus governors and local judges (yarguchi) appointed by them, and in the army - by unit commanders. There was also a higher judicial body - the divan-yargu. With the adoption of Islam, qadis appeared - local judges who made decisions based on the norms of Islamic law (Sharia).

Mongol people and the Mongol Empire

At the end of the 12th century, a rapid formation of a people from separate ethnic groups took place among the Mongols. This is due to the activities of Temujin. First, Temujin conquers the neighboring Mongol ethnic groups and becomes Genghis Khan, the supreme ruler of all the Mongols. Then he expands the zone of his political interests and includes more and more new ethnic groups in the new rapidly emerging people. Those ethnic groups that submit to Genghis Khan become part of his army-people. Those who resist are mercilessly slaughtered by Genghis Khan. This is how a new Laos is created - the Mongol-Tatar people.

The armies of Genghis Khan, and after his death – his heirs, capture Manchuria, the entire Eurasian steppe from the Pacific Ocean to Pannonia, China, the possessions of the Khorezm Shah, which included all of Central Asia, Afghanistan and Persia, all the Russian principalities, reach Syria in the Middle East (where they are defeated by the Egyptian Mamluks), capture Hungary and come close to Vienna, from where they return. This is how a mega-empire is formed, headed by the Mongols as the “leading ethnic group.” In its entirety, Genghis Khan's empire does not last long, and his children and grandchildren become rulers of its individual parts, repeating the general scenario of the collapse of most mega-empires.

Now let’s turn to the “Golden Horde,” created by Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu, which included the Russian principalities conquered by the Mongols. " Golden Horde"At first it was an integral part of the Mongolian mega-empire, but later it gradually became autonomous and began to represent an independent state. For more than 200 years, the Russian people find themselves part of a new type of statehood established from the outside. This period is usually called the “Mongol-Tatar yoke”, since in comparison with the historical experience of their own statehood, the Russians perceived Mongol rule as a “regression”, a “catastrophe” and a historical “loss”.

Typologically, we can say that the Slavs again returned to a situation where they found themselves tributaries of nomadic empires, the center of which was located outside their territories, as happened more than once in the pre-Kievan period. The only difference was that now the Slavs knew what their state was, which they had lost, and what historical existence, whereas previously they apparently perceived external domination as something that did not affect their ethnic existence. Now the Russians had something to compare with: the memory of Kievan Rus, which contrasted sharply with the current situation of the conquered people.

The fate of the Russian people in the Mongol era was determined by a number of external and internal factors. On the one hand, the influence of the “Golden Horde” and its socio-political, cultural, religious system, as well as the development of the Horde policy itself, on which the Russians involuntarily depended, and on the other – political decisions made by certain grand dukes and appanage princes. Princely feuds played a huge role, to which different stages The Mongols also joined in.

First of all, you should pay attention to the value system of the Golden Horde.

· absolute military spirit,

· proclamation of the prevalence of military heroic conquest. ethics above all other cultural forms,

· complete identification of society and troops, army,

· demand for total obedience to superiors,

· glorification of courage, bravery, endurance and all other military virtues,

· contempt for peaceful labor, pampering, sedentary and especially urban forms of existence,

· glorification of extreme cruelty towards the enemy,

· hatred of betrayal and imperative punishment for it,

preference for the death penalty for any form of serious violation of the law,

· restrictions on food, drinking and pleasures,

· total and obligatory religious tolerance in relation to all religions and categorical refusal to support any one faith to the detriment of another,

· placing ministers of religious cults outside the general rules and preserving their life and freedom even in the event of the wholesale extermination of the population of those countries and societies to which they belong.

These principles, one way or another, were guided by almost all the Golden Horde khans, who made these principles the basis of their rule. Over the course of more than two hundred years, the Russians fully assimilated this heroic style and subsequently began to build their statehood precisely on such a value system.

And finally, the most important element of the Golden Horde system is the veneration of the khan himself, who is perceived not just as an administrative authority, but as a bearer of absolute and indisputable power, not comparable to the competence of all other lower aristocrats.

Assimilation and use by Russian society of Horde social principles

In practice, the listed principles of the Golden Horde social structure formed the most important features of the future Moscow kingdom. Thanks to religious tolerance, Russians have preserved and strengthened their Orthodox identity many times over. During this period, religion became what made the people people, that is, it allowed them to be themselves in conditions when state independence was lost. Most likely, as will become clear from further, post-Horde history, it was during these more than two hundred years that the Russian people deeply assimilated Orthodox principles.

The most important result for the sociological structure of Russian society was the principle of absolute khan power, previously unknown to the Russians in all its completeness and radicality. No matter how prestigious the title of Grand Duke was, it still remained in the eyes of other princes no more than first among equals. Having become acquainted with the Horde form of power, the Vladimir and later Moscow princes made a very important conclusion for themselves: if it is necessary to maintain the unity of a great state, it is necessary to establish precisely such a model of governance when the supreme ruler is not just the first among equals, but is superior to everyone who is close to him to the same extent that he is superior to ordinary smerds.

Two paths of Russian principalities in the Mongol period

All of the listed moments of Mongol influence did not make themselves felt immediately, but gradually, as the Russians became acquainted with the Horde way of life over more than 200 years. All this time, fragmentation continued in Rus' itself, strife between appanage princes, clashes between smaller princes and battles for the grand duke.

At the same time, the border between Western Russia and Eastern Russia became increasingly clear. Western Rus' included the Polotsk, Smolensk, Galicia-Volyn principalities, as well as the territory of the principalities of Kyiv, Pereyaslavl and part of Chernigov. To the East - the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, Ryazan, Novgorod and the east of the Seversk land. Almost all of these and a number of lands belonging to the northwestern ocarinas of the Principality of Polotsk paid tribute to the “Golden Horde” and were part of its territory. But politically and sociologically, the fate of these two halves of Rus' gradually diverged.

Western Rus': the desire to resist Mongol invasion based on Western Europe and Catholicism.

Eastern Rus': cooperation with the Mongols, strengthening of Rus', opposition to the West and Catholicism (Alexander Nevsky)

These two vectors predetermined two orientations for subsequent ethno-sociological processes - in the zones of Western and Eastern Rus' in the era of the Mongol conquests, from the remains of a single ancient Russian people and mostly Slavic ethnic groups, transformed in the course of previous history and acquiring new properties, two candidates for the people are gradually formed - Western Russian and Eastern Russian. Later, the Western Russian “people” will be called “Belarusians” (in the north) and “Little Russians” (in the south), and the Eastern Russian people will be called “Great Russians”.

The Rise of Moscow

Since the era of Alexander Nevsky, Vladimir Rus' has become the center of formation of the Great Russian people. Gradually the focus shifts to Moscow. The dynasty of Moscow princes began with Prince Daniil of Moscow, son of Alexander Nevsky. Daniil of Moscow, like the entire subsequent line of Moscow princes, most consistently continues the traditions of Alexander Nevsky, striving in every possible way to strengthen, expand and build up the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, later Moscow, while maintaining loyalty to the Horde, fidelity to Orthodoxy and wariness towards the West.

Ivan Kalita: to expand Moscow's possessions, buying or annexing by force many Russian cities and regions, mainly in the north of the country . Ivan Kalita integrates into the Horde elite, harshly collects tribute from the Russian population for the khan, subjugates the surrounding principalities, and receives the label for a great reign. Moscow becomes the center of Russian Orthodoxy. The children of Ivan Kalita, the Grand Dukes Simeon the Proud and Ivan II the Red, acted in the same vein, strengthening Moscow, working closely with the Mongols and trying to strengthen Russian Orthodoxy as much as possible.

Dmitry Donskoy went down in history with his victory over the Horde army of Mamai on the Kulikovo Field, when Russian troops for the first time in the history of the Horde demonstrated their ability to defeat the Mongols and their army. Many historians see this as a turning point in the formation of the Great Russian people.

After 1380, about another hundred years would pass until Moscow was finally freed from Mongol yoke, although after the Kulikovo Field the role of the Horde decreased significantly. The Horde itself began to weaken and turned from the unquestionable highest imperial principle into a strong and powerful, but declining state, on which Moscow still depended and to which it paid tribute (“exit”), but which no longer determined its fate.

This is how the maturation of the Great Russian people, which emerged during the Mongolian period from the eastern part of the Old Russian people - the inhabitants of the eastern and northern principalities of Rus' (Vladimir-Suzdal, Ryazan, Tver, Novogorod), ends.

This people - the Great Russians - was based on a predominantly Slavic population with a significant proportion of Finno-Ugric ethnicity. At the same time, over the centuries of statehood, a political elite has firmly emerged, consisting of the princely Rurik dynasty, the ancient boyars, as well as a significant number of Turkic, Mongolian, Lithuanian nobility, integrated into the ruling class in the course of historical and political vicissitudes.

The most important element holding this people together - both among the masses and among the elites - was Orthodoxy.

At the same time, the political and social structure of the Golden Horde had a huge influence on him.