Battle of the Kalka River- a battle between the united Russian-Polovtsian army and the Mongol corps, operating as part of the raid of Jebe and Subedei -1224. The Cumans and the main Russian forces were defeated on May 31, 1223; after 3 days the battle ended in complete victory for the Mongols.
Prerequisites
In 1222, the Mongol army led by Jebe and Subedei-baatur (the best commanders of Genghis Khan) invaded the Polovtsian steppes. The Tver Chronicle reports the reaction of Mstislav of Kyiv to this news: While I am in Kyiv, on this side of the Yaik, and the Pontic Sea, and the Danube River, the Tatar saber cannot be waved. Polovtsian Khan Kotyan Sutoevich turned to his son-in-law, the Galician prince Mstislav Mstislavich the Udal and other Russian princes, asking them for help against a new formidable enemy: “ Today the Tatars took our land, and tomorrow they will overrun yours too, unless we all stand together against them." The South Russian princes gathered in Kyiv for a council under the leadership of three great princes: Mstislav Romanovich, Mstislav Mstislavich and Mstislav Svyatoslavich. The northern Russian appanage princes did not have time for the Kiev gathering (see below), and at the same time the danger grew that the Polovtsians, left alone with the Mongols, would go over to their side. After much persuasion from Mstislav the Udaly and generous gifts, it was decided that “ It’s better to meet them on someone else’s land than on your own", Also " if we don’t help them, then the Polovtsians will surrender to the Tatars and it will be harder for us».
The gathering was scheduled on Zaruba, near Varyazhsky Island (the island was located opposite the mouth of the Trubezh River, now destroyed by the Kaniv Reservoir), 10 kilometers from present-day Trakhtemirov, Cherkasy region. Having learned about the fees, the Mongols sent their ambassadors with the following words: “ We don’t want war with Russia and we don’t encroach on your land. We are fighting with the Polovtsians, who have always been your enemies, and therefore, if they are now running to you, beat them and take their goods for yourself." After listening to the ambassadors, the Russian princes ordered to kill all the ambassadors. This action took into account the similar experience of the Cumans, who in 1222 succumbed to the persuasion of the Mongols to break their alliance with the Alans, after which Jebe defeated the Alans and then attacked the Cumans.
The vast army assembled marched together, but had no common commander. The squads of appanage princes obeyed only their great princes. The Polovtsians set out under the leadership of the voivode Mstislav the Udaly - Yarun. Polovtsian Khan Basty was baptized in Orthodox faith. Having crossed to the left bank of the Dnieper and discovering the advance detachment of the enemy, the Russians, after a short but bloody battle, put the Mongols to flight, and commander Gani-bek was killed. Moving east and not seeing the main forces of the enemy, Russian troops two weeks later reached the bank of the Kalka River, where they defeated another advance detachment of the Mongols.
Balance of power
The number of the Mongol army initially (at the beginning of the pursuit of Sultan Muhammad) was 30 thousand people, but then the tumen led by Tokhuchar-noyon was defeated in Iran, and Sebastatsi estimates the number of Mongols in Georgia at 20 thousand people. Perhaps the Mongols replenished the number of their troops in the North Caucasus and the Don (at the expense of the Alans, Brodniks and Polovtsians).
There is no data on the number of Russian-Polovtsian troops. Information about the participation of a 16,000-strong army in the campaigns against the Order of the Swordsmen in the winter of the 13th century can help to get an idea of the real number of Russian troops at the beginning of the 13th century. (Novgorodians and Smolensk) and 20 thousandth winter / years. (Novgorodians and Vladimirites), about the number of Polovtsians - news about the departure of Kotyan with 40 thousand of his people in 1238 to Hungary, about the defeat of two Polovtsian khans (Yuri Konchakovich and Danila Kobyakovich) in 1222 and about the union of two Polovtsian khans (Kotyan Sutoevich and Basty) with the Russian princes in 1223. In addition to the South Russian forces, Smolensk troops also took part in the campaign.
Progress of the battle
Mstislav Udaloy was the first to cross Kalka and personally went on reconnaissance. Having reached the enemy’s camp and examined it, the prince ordered his army and the Polovtsians to prepare for battle. The battle began on the morning of May 31st. " Mstislav the Udaloy sent forward the Polovtsian watchman under the leadership of Yarun, an old associate in the campaigns and the Battle of Lipetsk. The squad of Mstislav the Udaly moved to the right and took up a position along the river, the squad of Mstislav Chernigovsky stood at the crossing on both banks of the Kalka, the squad of Daniil Romanovich moved forward as impact force. Mstislav of Kiev stood behind the crossing on a rocky ridge and surrounded the camp with a palisade, fencing it with carts". At first, the battle developed successfully for the Russians. Daniil Romanovich, who was the first to enter the battle, fought with unparalleled courage, not paying attention to the wounds he received. On the left, Oleg Kursky was already pushing back the horde. The Mongol vanguard began to retreat, the Russians gave chase, lost formation and collided with the main forces of the Mongols. The Mongol right wing, the attack wing, achieved success faster than others. The Polovtsians ran to the crossing, crushing and frustrating the regiments of Mstislav of Chernigov, already ready to march.
One part of the Mongols drove those fleeing to the banks of the Dnieper, and the second besieged the camp Prince of Kyiv. He bravely fought back for three days, but after the ataman of the wanderers, Ploskinia, who was sent to negotiate, and who ultimately betrayed the prince, swore on the cross that if the Russians laid down their arms, none of them would be killed, and the princes and governors would be allowed to go home, he surrendered. The Mongols did not keep their promise: all the Russian princes and military leaders were put under the boards and crushed by the victors who sat down to feast on top. Ordinary warriors were taken into slavery. According to other sources, the agreement included “ Not a single drop of princes' blood will be shed“, since among the Mongols it was considered shameful to die outside of battle, shedding blood, and formally the promise was kept.
The folk epic also connects the death of Russian heroes with this battle: in the chronicle, among those killed, the names of Alexander of Rostov and Dobrynya of Ryazan are named - real persons and, obviously, famous warriors, since they were mentioned along with the princes. Mstislav Udaloy and Daniil Romanovich were able to reach the Dnieper and before sailing they destroyed the remaining free boats and rafts.
Losses
There is no data on Mongolian and Polovtsian losses.
Only one tenth of the Russian army survived the massacre (“The Tale of the Battle of Kalka”). The only author who names Russian losses in numerical terms (though very approximate, as he himself says) is Henry of Latvia. In his Livonian Chronicle, written around 1225, he writes: “ That year there were Tatars in the land of the pagan Valvi. Some people call valvos desks. They do not eat bread, but eat raw meat your livestock. And the Tatars fought with them, and defeated them, and exterminated everyone with the sword, while others fled to the Russians, asking for help. And the call to fight the Tatars spread throughout Russia, and kings from all over Russia came out against the Tatars, but they did not have enough strength for the battle and they fled before the enemies. And the great king Mstislav from Kyiv fell with the forty thousand soldiers that were with him. Another king, Mstislav of Galicia, escaped. Of the remaining kings, about fifty fell in this battle. And the Tatars chased after them for six days and killed more than a hundred thousand people from them (and only God knows their exact number), but the rest fled».
05/31/1223 (06/13). - Battle on the Kalka River with the Tatar-Mongol horde
Battle of the Kalka River
The Russian state at this time consisted of several large principalities, constantly competing with each other, and did not have a single large army capable of resisting the horde of nomads. It was still possible to unite forces and cope with the Cumans, but then a more serious threat appeared.
After the conquest of China and Khorezm (1219–1221), the head of the Mongol clan leaders, Genghis Khan, sent a strong cavalry corps under the command of the most talented military leaders Jebe and Subedei to explore the “western lands.” They walked along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, then, after the devastation of Northern Iran, penetrated into Transcaucasia, defeated the Georgian army (1222) and, moving north along west bank Caspian Sea, met in the North Caucasus a united army of Polovtsians, Lezgins, Circassians and Alans. There was a battle that had no decisive consequences. Then the conquerors split the ranks of the enemy. They gave gifts to the Polovtsians and promised not to touch them. The latter began to disperse to their nomadic camps. Taking advantage of this, the Mongols easily defeated the Alans, Lezgins and Circassians, and then defeated the Polovtsians piecemeal. At the beginning of 1223, the Mongols invaded Crimea, took the Russian city of Surozh (Sudak) and again moved into the Polovtsian steppes.
The Polovtsians fled to the Dnieper and turned to the Russian princes for help. This is how it is described in the chronicle: “In 1223, an unknown people appeared; an unheard of army came, godless Tatars, about whom no one knows well who they are and where they came from, and what kind of language they have, and what tribe they are, and what kind of faith they have... The Polovtsians could not resist them and ran to the Dnieper. Their Khan Kotyan was the father-in-law of Mstislav Galitsky; he came with a bow to the prince, his son-in-law, and to all the Russian princes..., and said: The Tatars took our land today, and tomorrow they will take yours, so protect us; If you don’t help us, then we will be cut off today, and you will be cut off tomorrow.”
Under the influence of Mstislav, several Russian princes agreed to an alliance with the Cumans against the Mongols. At the military council, the princes decided not to wait for the arrival of the Tatars, but to attack them in the Polovtsian steppes. In addition to Mstislav the Udal, the princes agreed to go on the campaign: Mstislav of Kiev, Mstislav of Chernigov, young Daniil of Volyn, a total of 15 princes. (The powerful Grand Duke of Suzdal Yuri refused to appear himself, but then sent a military detachment led by his nephew, the Rostov prince, to help the South Russian princes. However, he did not have time to unite with the rest of the princes and, having learned about the defeat of the Russians, turned back.)
Having set out on a campaign, the combined forces of the Russian princes went down the Dnieper and on the 17th day concentrated on the right bank of the river, near the island of Khortitsa, which was chosen as a base for waging the steppe campaign. Here the Polovtsians joined the Russians. The Russian army consisted of squads of princes. Decisions were made at the council of princes, each of whom, pursuing their own interests, tried to act in their own way. The main rivals were Mstislav of Kiev and the Galician prince Mstislav Udaloy. At Zarub, between Kanev and Kiev, Mongol ambassadors came to the princes, proposing a Mongol-Russian alliance against the Polovtsians. “We heard,” they said, “that you are going against us, but we did not touch your land - neither the cities nor the villages. We came, by the will of God, to our slaves and grooms - the Polovtsians. They have caused you a lot of harm, and that is why we beat them. Better make peace with us, and drive them away.” The Russians, who at that time were on friendly terms with the Polovtsians, refused to accept the Mongols' offer. Moreover, contrary to military traditions, the princes ordered the execution of the envoys.
When all the squads converged, the allies descended the Dnieper to Oleshya, opposite Kherson. And then, on the left bank of the Dnieper, advanced reconnaissance detachments of the Mongols appeared. Prince Daniil Volynsky with the Galicians crossed the Dnieper, attacked the enemy and put him to flight. Mstislav Galitsky with a thousand horsemen organized the pursuit and defeated the advance detachment of the Mongol troops. However, this victory did not bring good luck to the Russians, but, on the contrary, gave them an exaggerated idea of own strength. Having crossed the Dnieper, the Russians moved across the steppes for eight days until they reached the Kalka River, beyond which the main Mongol forces numbering up to 30 thousand people were concentrated.
There was no unity in the command of the Russian-Polovtsian army. Mstislav Kyiv adhered to a wait-and-see tactics and objected to crossing the Kalka River. He positioned himself on the right bank of the river on a rocky height and began to fortify it. Without consulting with the Kyiv and Chernigov princes and without sufficient preparation, the Galician prince Mstislav Udaloy, the Volyn prince Daniil, other princes, as well as the Polovtsy crossed the Kalka on May 31, 1223 and attacked the Mongols. The consequences of this attack were disastrous.
The advance detachment sent towards the Mongols, consisting of the squad of Daniil of Volyn and Yarun of Polovtsian, was surrounded by the enemy. A stubborn battle ensued. According to the chronicle, the Mongols were the first to defeat the Polovtsians, whose stampede caused confusion in the Russian ranks. The forces of Mstislav the Udal and the rest of the princes, including Daniil of Volyn, were crushed and disorganized.
On the shoulders of the Polovtsians, the Mongols burst into the location of the main forces. An unequal battle began. The numerical superiority of the enemy and the disorganized resistance of the Russians, of whom almost none had time to put on armor, predetermined the outcome of the battle. A bloody massacre began: the Russians paid dearly for their carelessness. Mstislav and Daniil galloped back to the Dnieper with the remnants of the squad. Six princes, including Mstislav of Chernigov, died during this flight. Mstislav Udaloy escaped pursuit; he even managed to destroy all the Russian boats in order to prevent the Mongols from reaching the right bank of the Dnieper.
Then, for three days, the Mongols unsuccessfully besieged the fortified camp of Mstislav of Kyiv. Desperate, they offered Mstislav to release him along with the defenders of the camp for a ransom. The leader of the Brodniks, Ploskinya, who joined the Mongols, swore on their behalf that the terms of the agreement would be strictly observed. The Russians believed. However, when they left the camp, the Mongols attacked them and killed everyone.
Mstislav and two other princes were captured alive; they were tied up and laid on the ground, and boards were laid on top, on which the Mongol commanders sat down to celebrate their victory. The death of the princes was painful.
The brutal defeat of the Russian army was natural. Significant in number, it was disunited in organization: there was no single beginning, each squad fought on its own; any prince could leave the battlefield of his own free will. Thus, the political disunity of Rus' was reflected in the conditions of the decline of Kyiv and the formation of new centers of statehood.
After the victory, the Mongols organized the pursuit of the remnants of the Russian army (only every tenth soldier returned from the Azov region), destroying cities and villages in the Dnieper direction, capturing civilians. However, the disciplined Mongol military leaders had no orders to linger in Rus'. They were soon recalled by Genghis Khan, who considered that the main task of the reconnaissance campaign to the west had been successfully completed. On the way back, the Mongols moved towards the Middle Volga. Here, at the mouth of the Kama, the troops of Jebe and Subedei suffered a serious defeat from the Volga Bulgars, who refused to recognize the power of Genghis Khan over themselves. After this failure, the Mongols went down to Saksin and along the Caspian steppes returned to Asia, where in 1225 they united with the main forces of the Mongol army.
The sudden appearance of the Mongols in Rus' in 1223 and their no less sudden disappearance added mystery to the bitterness of the Russian defeat. As the Novgorod chronicler wrote: “...and there was a cry, and crying, and sadness throughout the city and the village... The Tatars returned from the Dnieper River; and we don’t know where the essence came from and where it is again.” According to the division of Genghis Khan's inheritance, the lands went to his grandson, Batu. Exactly 13 years after the Battle of Kalka, Batu led the general Mongol and Europe (1236–1243). It can be assumed that the result of the battle on Kalka also pushed the Tatar-Mongol horde to conquer fragmented Rus'.
Discussion: 10 comments
Thank you, it was very helpful when I wrote it historical information about it historical event)
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Hmm, it’s a pity that before the Mongol Tatars, power in united Rus' was seized by the Scandinavians Rurik by deception and cunning. And they began to divide power and ruined Rus', weakening it to nowhere...
“An unequal battle began. The numerical superiority of the enemy and the disorganized resistance of the Russians, of whom almost none had time to put on armor, predetermined the outcome of the battle.” - in fact, there were at least 5 times fewer Mongols...
Even in those days, the Russian princes were distinguished, to put it mildly, by dishonesty... contrary to military traditions, the princes executed the envoys of the Mongols - in the end they themselves paid cruelly. God has rightly ordained their destiny, amen
It’s funny that today they curse the Kazan Tatars for all those ancient troubles))). which in those distant times were called the Volga Bulgars, who inflicted the first and only defeat on the troops of Genghis Khan during the reign of Genghis Khan, for which Volga Bulgaria probably later paid by becoming ashes...
The aforementioned persecution of Sultan Mohammed by the Mongols acquired important significance in Russian history: the first invasion of these barbarians into Rus' is associated with it. During this persecution, Jebe-Noyon and Subudai-Bagadur went far to the west, into the Caspian countries, and entered the Azerbaijan region. After the death of Mohammed, they received from Genghis Khan, along with reinforcements, permission to go from Azerbaijan further to the north to fight the countries lying beyond the Caspian and Urals, especially the Turkish people of the Kipchaks or Cumans (Cumans). The commanders crossed the Arake and Kur rivers, invaded Georgia, defeated the Georgian army and headed towards Derbent. From the ruler of Shamakhi they took ten guides who were supposed to show them the path through the Caucasus Mountains. The barbarians cut off the head of one of them, threatening to do the same to the others if they did not lead the army in better ways. But the threat had the opposite effect. The guides seized the moment and ran away at the exact time when the barbarians entered mountain gorges unknown to them. Meanwhile, some Caucasian peoples, notified of this invasion, especially the Alans and Circassians (Yas and Kasogs of the Russian chronicles), united with a detachment of Polovtsians, occupied the surrounding passes and surrounded the barbarians. The latter found themselves in a very difficult situation. But Jebe and Subudai were experienced, resourceful leaders. They sent to tell the Polovtsians that, being their fellow tribesmen, they did not want to have them as their enemies. (Turco-Tatar detachments made up the majority of the army sent to the west.) The envoys added rich gifts and a promise to share future booty to their flattering speeches. The treacherous Polovtsians were deceived and abandoned their allies. The Tatars defeated the latter and got out of the mountains on north side Caucasus. Here, on the steppe plains, they could freely deploy their cavalry and then began to plunder and destroy the vezhi of the Polovtsians themselves, who, relying on the concluded friendship, dispersed to their nomadic camps. They thus received a fitting retribution for their treachery.
The Polovtsians tried in vain to resist; they were constantly defeated. The Tatars spread horror and destruction to the very borders of Rus', or to the so-called Polovtsian Wall, which separated it from the steppe. In these battles, the noblest khans of Kipchak, Daniil Kobyakovich and Yuri Konchakovich, fell, who were related to Russian princes and, as we see, bore Russian names. Kotyan, who remained the oldest among the khans, with several others fled to Galich to his son-in-law Mstislav the Udal and began to beg him for help. The Galician prince was not such as to abandon military affairs, so as not to measure himself against a new, not yet tested enemy.
Winter came. The Tatars settled down to spend it in the southern Polovtsian nomadic camps. They took advantage winter time and in order to penetrate the Tauride Peninsula, where they took large booty and, among other places, destroyed the city of Sugdia (Sudak), flourishing with trade.
Meanwhile, at the request of Mstislav Mstislavich, the South Russian princes gathered at the Sejm in Kyiv to general council think about protecting Russian land. The senior princes here were three Mstislavs: in addition to Udaly, the Kiev Grand Duke Mstislav Romanovich and the Chernigov Mstislav Svyatoslavich. They were followed in seniority by Vladimir Rurikovich Smolensky. Probably, the fourth Mstislav (Yaroslavich), nicknamed Mute, the eldest of the Volyn princes, was also present here; at least he later participated in the militia. Kotyan and his comrades were also here.
The Polovtsian khans persistently asked the Russian princes to join them in taking up arms against the Tatars and gave the following argument: “If you don’t help us, then we will be beaten today, and you tomorrow.” They supported their requests with generous gifts, consisting of horses, camels, cattle and beautiful captives. One of the khans, named Basty, was baptized during the Sejm. Their most zealous intercessor was, of course, Mstislav Udaloy. “It is better to meet enemies in a foreign land than in our own,” he said. “If we do not help the Polovtsians, then they will probably go over to the side of the Tatars, and they will have even more power against us.” Finally he captivated the entire diet; a general campaign was decided. The princes dispersed to gather their regiments and meet together at the appointed places. They also sent to ask for help from the Grand Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal Yuri Vsevolodovich. He did not refuse and sent the Suzdal squad with his nephew Vasilko Konstantinovich Rostovsky to the south. They also sent to the Ryazan princes, but for some unknown reason they did not give any help.
The campaign in the steppe, according to custom, began in the spring, in April. The main gathering place during such campaigns was near the right-bank town of Zaruba and the so-called Varyazhsky Island. Here they crossed the Dnieper on the way from Kyiv to Pereyaslavl, which lay nearby, on the other side. The cavalry came here by land, and the infantry sailed by ship. According to the chronicle, there were so many ships that the soldiers crossed them like dry land from one bank to the other. The princes of Kyiv, Smolensk, Chernigov, Seversk, Volyn and Galicia gathered here, each with his own retinue. Ambassadors from the Tatar military leaders came here to the Russian princes. The latter heard about the strong army and tried, according to their custom, to separate the allies through clever negotiations.
“We heard,” said the ambassadors, “that you are coming against us; we did not occupy your land, did not touch your cities and villages, and did not come against you, but against the Polovtsians, our slaves and grooms. Take peace with us: from us "There is no army with you. We heard that the Polovtsians are doing a lot of evil to you too. We beat them from here, and if they run to you, then beat them away from you and take their property." The trick used with the Cumans in the Caucasus Mountains was, without a doubt, already known to the Russian princes. The latter not only did not want to listen to the flattering Tatar speeches, but also, contrary to all customs, at the instigation of the Polovtsy, they ordered the ambassadors themselves to be killed. From Zarub, the militia, keeping to the right bank, moved further to the south and passed the rapids. Meanwhile, the Galician infantry, under the command of two governors, Yuri Domamirich and Derzhikrai Volodislavich, (according to the chronicler) descended down the Dniester into the sea in a thousand boats; then she climbed up the Dnieper, passed Oleshye and stopped near the rapids at the mouth of the Khortitsa River, “at the ford at the protolcha,” where she met the army; coming from above. The main Polovtsian army also arrived. The entire united militia almost reached one hundred thousand warriors. And it contained the color of the Russian tribe.
The second time Tatar envoys appeared and said: “You listened to the Polovtsians, you killed our ambassadors and are going against us; but we did not touch you in any way; let God judge us.” This time the ambassadors were released.
Meanwhile, having heard about the proximity of the advanced Tatar detachments, Daniil Romanovich Volynsky and other young princes, accompanied by Yuri Domamirich, hastened with a light squad to cross the river and galloped into the steppe to look at hitherto unseen enemies. Returning to the camp, the youth said that the Tatars looked like the simplest people, so they were “more” (worse) than the Polovtsians. But Yuri Domamirich, experienced in military affairs, argued that these were good warriors and good shooters. He persuaded the princes not to waste time and rush into the field. Bridges of rooks were built, and the troops began crossing to the left bank of the Dnieper. Mstislav Udaloy was one of the first to cross. With an advanced detachment, he attacked the enemy's guard regiment, defeated it, chased it far and captured a lot of cattle. The Tatar governor Gemibek hid in one of those burial mounds that are so abundant in our southern steppes, but was found. The Polovtsians begged him from Mstislav and killed him. Encouraged by this victory, the Russian princes boldly went deeper into the steppes, following the usual Zalozny route, which led to the Sea of Azov. The Tatars retreated, and only the guard detachments started minor clashes from time to time. After an eight- or nine-day steppe campaign, the Russian army approached the shores of the Sea of Azov. Here the Tatars stopped and chose a convenient place for themselves across the Kalka River (a tributary of the Kalmius).
The first successes and retreat of the Tatars strengthened the self-confidence and certain carelessness that already existed among the Russian people: they began to look down on the enemy, who was obviously inferior to them in both numbers and weapons. But the unanimity of the princes, as usual, did not last long; Already during the campaign, rivalries and various bickering arose. There was no general boss; but there were several senior princes, and each of them disposed of his regiments separately, having little control over the others. The state of the Russian army and its weak sides, in all likelihood, did not hide from such experienced, skillful military leaders as Jebe and Subudai, who acquired great skill in fighting and managing a wide variety of peoples. It was not for nothing that they spent the winter in the Polovtsian nomads and, no doubt, found the opportunity to find out everything they needed to know in relation to Rus' and its leaders. There is no doubt that they tried to find defectors and traitors with gifts, affection and promises, as they did in other countries. At least our chronicle mentions a free squad of Russian wanderers who, with their governor Ploskiya, ended up on Kalka in the Tatar militia. There were probably especially many defectors among the Polovtsians. When deciding to accept the battle, the Tatar governors could most of all count on Russian discord, and they were not mistaken.
The main culprit of the disaster was the same Mstislav the Udaloy, who spent his entire life in military affairs and then enjoyed the glory of the first hero in Rus'. There is no doubt that the assembled princes would have temporarily recognized his seniority and submitted to his leadership if he had any political meaning and strength of character. But this arrogant grunt not only did not bother with any military precautions, but on the contrary, considering the Tatars to be a sure prey for his sword, he was afraid that someone else would take away the glory of victory from him. Moreover, at the most decisive moment he managed to find himself in some kind of dispute with his cousin Mstislav Romanovich of Kyiv. Without warning the latter, Udaloy, apparently leading the advanced or guard army, crossed Kalka with the Galician-Volyn regiments and a detachment of Polovtsians and began to advance on the Tatars, sending ahead of him Yarun with the Polovtsians and his son-in-law Daniil Romanovich with the Volynians. The Tatars, covering themselves with shields woven from brushwood, accurately hit the attackers with arrows. The Russians cheerfully continued their attack. Daniil Romanovich especially distinguished himself in this; he cut into crowds of enemies and in the heat of the moment did not feel the wound he received in the chest. Another of the young princes, Oleg Kursky, fought with him. One of the Volyn governors (Vasilko Gavrilovich), who fought in front, was knocked off his horse. Daniil Romanovich's cousin, Mstislav Nemoy, thought that it was his nephew who fell; Despite his advanced years, he rushed to his rescue and also began to hit his enemies hard. Victory seemed close. But suddenly the Tatars quickly attacked the Polovtsians; the latter could not withstand their onslaught, rushed back to the Russian regiments and threw them into confusion. The skillful enemy took a moment to, without giving time to come to his senses, inflict a complete defeat on the Galicians and Volynians. And when they fled, the Tatars attacked other Russian detachments that had not yet had time to line up for battle, and crushed them piece by piece. The remnants of the defeated militia fled back to the Dnieper.
One part of the Tatar army set out to pursue the fleeing, and the other besieged the Grand Duke of Kyiv Mstislav Romanovich. The latter is the second, after the Galician prince, to blame for the defeat. It is not clear that he is trying to maintain the meaning of his oldest table and establish unanimity in the Russian militia. On the contrary, there is news that, relying on his own regiment, he indulged in carelessness and boasted of destroying his enemies alone. He settled down on the elevated rocky bank of the Kalka and, having fenced his camp with carts, fought off the attack of the Tatars here for three days. The barbarians resorted to the usual cunning. They suggested that the Grand Duke pay for himself and retire peacefully with his regiment. Voivode Brodnik Ploskiņa swore an oath on the cross to fulfill the treaty. But as soon as the Kyivians left the fortified camp, the Tatars attacked them and carried out a merciless beating. Mstislav Romanovich and the two younger princes who were with him were strangled and thrown under the boards on which the leaders of the barbarians sat for lunch. Chroniclers say that up to ten thousand Kievites alone died on Kalka; so great was our defeat.
The Tatars, dispatched to pursue the fleeing, also managed to beat up many people and, in addition, six or seven princes; including Mstislav Chernigovsky who fell. The rest of his regiment escaped with his nephew Mikhail Vsevolodovich (later martyred in the Horde). During his flight, Vladimir Rurikovich Smolensky managed to gather several thousand people around him, fought off his enemies and went beyond the Dnieper. The main culprit of the disaster, Mstislav Udaloy, also managed to reach the Dnieper crossing together with Mstislav Nemy and Daniil Romanovich; after which he ordered the boats to be burned and chopped down to prevent the Tatars from crossing to the other side. Residents of some border towns thought to appease the barbarians and came out to meet them with crosses, but were beaten.
The barbarians, however, did not go deeper into the borders of Rus', but turned back to the Polovtsian steppe. Then they headed to the Volga, passed through the land of the Kama Bolgars, whom they also managed to inflict a great defeat on, and through the Ural steppes, rounding the Caspian Sea, they returned to Asia to their master. Thus, the Mongol conquerors experienced the condition of Eastern Europe and the paths that led to it. And they will not hesitate to take advantage of this experience.
Meanwhile, how did the Russian princes take advantage of the same experience? Have they thought about taking more effective measures to protect Rus' in the future? Not at all. The same carelessness and arrogance that preceded the Kalka defeat followed it. This disaster did not disrupt the normal course of Russian life and inter-princely relations with their petty feuds and disputes about the volosts. The Tatars disappeared into the steppes, and the Russians thought that a thunderstorm had just happened to pass by. A modern chronicler naively noted that these barbarians “no one knows well what tribe they are and where they came from. Only wise men who were well-read in books knew: some called them Tatars, others Taurmen, others Pechenegs, others considered them the same people, who, according to Methodius of Patara, was driven by Gideon into the desert between the east and the north, and before the end of the world he will appear and captivate the entire earth from the East to the Euphrates, the Tigris and to the Pontic Sea." The extent to which Russian politicians of that time knew little about the great revolutions taking place in the depths of the Asian continent, and how little they feared for the future of the Russian land, is shown by the words of the same contemporary Suzdal chronicler about Vasilko Konstantinovich Rostov. This prince was late with his northern squad: when he reached Chernigov, news of the Kalka massacre arrived here. The people of Suzdal hastened to return home, and the chronicler is very happy about such a safe return of the prince. The simple-minded scribe, of course, did not foresee what a storm was gathering over Suzdal Russia itself and what a martyrdom awaited Vasilko at the hands of the same barbarians! The words and tone of this chronicler serve as an echo of the Northern Russian society itself, in the midst of which he lived. Only later, when the Tatars imposed their heavy yoke, our ancient scribes more appreciated the unfortunate Kalka massacre and began to decorate it with some legends, for example, about the death of seventy Russian heroes, including Dobrynya of the Golden Belt and Alexander Popovich with his servant Torop.
Full Collection Rus. chronicles. Especially the Ipatiev list, identical with it the Academic and Novgorod years. To Laurent. abridged, although obviously this is a story by the same author. V. Lavrent. and Acad. The Kalka battle is given under 1223, in Ipat. and Novgorod. - under 1224. Or rather, the first year. See Kunik "On the recognition of 1223 as the time of the Battle of Kalka." (Scholarship of the Western Academic Sciences in the 1st and 3rd departments, vol. II, issue 5. St. Petersburg. 1854. Ibidem of his notes: “On the connection of the Trebizond-Seljuk War of 1223 with the first invasion of the Tatars on the northern Black Sea region.” About the transfer of the icon of Nicholas from Korsun to Novgorod in 1223,” “On the campaign of the Tatars according to the Neibourg Chronicle,” etc.) by him: Renseignements sur les sources et recherches relatives a la premiere invasion des Tatares en Russie (Melanges Asiatiques. Vol. II. Issue 5. S-Ptrsb. 1856).
The death of 70 heroes, or “braves,” was mentioned in later vaults (Voskresensky, Nikonovsky, Tver, Novgorod fourth). The main character of the legend about them is the same Rostov hero Alexander Popovich with his servant Torop, who distinguished themselves in the Battle of Lipitsa. The legend (placed in the Tver vault) goes like this: after the death of Konstantin Vsevolodovich of Rostov, this Alexander gathered other heroes and persuaded them, instead of serving different princes and beating each other in civil strife, to all go to Kiev and enter the service of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Mstislav Romanovich. Probably, not without connection with this heroic squad, the following boast of Mstislav Romanovich, said upon receiving the news of the Tatar invasion, is given: “While I am sitting in Kiev, then along the Yaiko and along the Pontic Sea, and along the Danube River, do not wave the (enemy) saber.” .
About the events of the South-West. Rus', see Volyn Chronicle according to Ipat. list. About the earthquake and solar eclipse see Lavrent.
Kalka.The capture of Grand Duke Mstislav Romanovich against the backdrop of a mound built from the bodies of Russian soldiers.
Artist Pavel Ryzhenko, 1996
When the event took place:
Where the event took place:
on the Kalka River (modern Donetsk region)
Participants:
Russian-Polovtsian troops
Mongols under Jebe and Sudebey
Causes:
Mongol-Tatars: conquer the Polovtsian lands, advance to the West.
Russians and Cumans: to prevent the devastating raids of the Tatar-Mongols, to give them a decisive rebuff.
Rus' during the Battle of Kalka
Rus' in this period experienced fragmentation, which led to the weakening of the country's military power and the decentralization of military command.
During this period, the power of Genghis Khan, who conquered China, increased. Central Asia and moved west.
Along the way, Genghis Khan had to overcome the resistance of the Polovtsians, who by that time were distinguished by good military training and organization and had mobile cavalry troops. Against them he sent his best temniks (commanders of 10 thousand troops) - Jebe and Sudebey. However, the Polovtsians were unable to repel the Mongols and were defeated. They turned to the Russian princes for help (the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan turned to his son-in-law Mstislav the Udal of Galicia for help)
With Russia in this moment The Mongols did not want to fight and even sent ambassadors with a proposal to take a neutral position for Rus'. However, the ambassadors were killed by the Russians, and for this they had to pay back cruelly.
Polovtsian Khan Kotyan and the Russian princes decided to jointly oppose the Mongols. Russian troops were led Mstislav Kyiv, Mstislav Udaloy Galitsky, Mstislav Chernigovsky and Daniil Romanovich Volynsky.
Move
The troops of the Russians and Cumans numbered 80 thousand, and the Mongols were only 20 thousand. However, the allies were unable to organize such an army, and even the supreme commander was not chosen.
The Volyn prince Daniil was the first to start the battle and immediately fell into the “net” of the Mongols, who used their favorite technique: they pretended to be running, dragging the enemy deeper, where the main forces met them.
Mstislav of Chernigov did not help Daniil, but fled; his army was all destroyed.
Mstislav of Kiev was waiting for the enemy on the hill, where he was surrounded. He gave up. The prisoners were not killed, but boards were placed on them and they feasted. Almost all the soldiers died from injuries.
A tenth of the Russian soldiers survived. The rest all died.
However, the Mongols did not celebrate their victory for long. On the way back they were attacked by troops of the Volga Bulgaria, and most of them died.
The battle lasted three days and ended in the defeat of the joint forces of the Russians and Cumans.
Causes of defeat:
Rus' completely lost to the enemy in the Battle of Kalka, showing its inability to fight back. The Mongols took advantage of this by attacking Rus' in 1237.
Death large quantity Russian soldiers, many princes and representatives of the nobility.
Lack of a unified army
Lack of unified leadership
Underestimating the enemy's strength
Escape of the Polovtsians from the battlefield
Results:
Meaning
The Battle of Kalka in the history of Rus' had great value, although negative for the country. The defeat of the Russian troops showed the Mongols that Rus' was militarily much weaker, that there was no unity in it. This was their kind of “reconnaissance in force.”