Mongol conquests at 13
Mongol conquests in the 13th century, a series of major wars of conquest and individual campaigns organized by the Mongol feudal lords with the aim of seizing military booty, enslaving and robbing the peoples of Asia and East. Europe. The Mongol feudal lords, having created a military organization, involved the majority of the people in wars of conquest. The main strength of their army was a numerous and very mobile cavalry, consisting of nomadic arats. The Mongol feudal lords also used the military forces of the conquered countries and their technical achievements (for example, siege weapons) in campaigns. The army had a unified command, strong discipline, was well armed and surpassed the feudal militias of neighboring countries in their fighting qualities. Success M. h. contributed to internal strife and betrayal of the ruling elite in many countries of Asia and Eastern Europe.
M. h. began after the formation of the Mongolian early feudal state headed by Genghis Khan (ruled 1206-27) and continued with short interruptions until the end of the 13th century. In 1207-11 the peoples of Siberia and East Turkestan were subjugated: Buryats, Yakuts, Oirots, Kirghiz, Uighurs; campaigns were undertaken against the Tangut state of Xi-Xia (finally defeated by 1227). In 1211, an offensive began against the Jurchen state of Jin (Northern China). Mongol detachments destroyed about 90 cities and in 1215 took Peking (Yanjing). By 1217, all the lands north of the river had been conquered. Huanghe. In 1218 the power of the Mong. feudal lords spread to Semirechye.
In 1219 Mong. an army of over 150 thousand people. led by Genghis Khan invaded Central Asia. Khorezmshah Mohammed dispersed the army over the fortified cities, which made it easier for the Mongols to conquer their possessions. Mongolian detachments took Otrar, Khujand, Urgench and other cities. Bukhara and Samarkand surrendered without a fight. Mohammed fled and soon died on one of the islands of the Caspian Sea. In 1221, the conquest of Central Asia was completed with the capture of Khorezm. Military operations were transferred to the territory of modern Afghanistan, where the son of the Khorezmshah, Jalal-ad-din, continued to fight. Genghis Khan pursued him to the river. Indus and defeated on November 24, 1221. By 1225 the main Mongol army had gone to Mongolia. Only the 30,000-strong detachment of the Mongol commanders Jebe and Subedei continued the war in the west. Through Northern Iran, the Mongol detachment broke into Transcaucasia, devastated part of Georgia and Azerbaijan, penetrated the lands of the Alans along the Caspian Sea (1222) and, having defeated them, went out into the Polovtsian steppes. In the battle on the river Kalka On May 31, 1223, the Mongol detachment defeated the combined Russian-Polovtsian army, pursued it to the river. Dnieper, and then retreated to the middle Volga, but, having been defeated in Bulgaria, the Volga-Kama, returned to Mongolia (1224). It was a deep reconnaissance raid of the Mongol cavalry, preparing a future campaign to the west.
After the kurultai of 1229, who elected Ogedei as the Great Khan, M. z. went in two directions. The conquest of northern China (1231–34) was completed in East and the war with Korea (1231–32) began. Most of Korea was conquered by 1273 after a series of large campaigns of the Mongol army (1236, 1254, 1255, 1259). In 1229 to the river. Yaik approached Subedei with 30,000 troops. Together with the army of Batu, the ruler of the Jochi ulus, he managed to oust the Saksins and Polovtsians from the Caspian steppes. In 1232, the Mongol army tried to invade the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, but was repulsed. The Bashkirs also continued to fight against the conquerors. The offensive to the west by the forces of one ulus of Jochi failed.
At kurultai 1235, it was decided to send "to help and reinforce Batu" the military forces of other uluses. 14 Genghis Khans participated in the campaign, the general Mongol army reached 150 thousand people. In the autumn of 1236, the Mongol army again invaded the Volga-Kama Bulgaria and defeated it, in the spring and summer of 1237 it continued to fight the Alans, Polovtsians and the peoples of the Middle Volga region, and in the fall they concentrated in the area of \u200b\u200bmodern Voronezh to march on North-Eastern Rus'. At the beginning of the winter of 1237, Batu attacked the Ryazan principality and defeated the squads of local princes. On December 21, after a six-day assault, Ryazan fell. The heroism of the defenders of the Ryazan land is glorified in the legend of Evpaty Kolovrat. In January 1238, Vladimir squads were defeated near Kolomna, trying to detain Batu near the borders of the Vladimir principality. The Mongolian army destroyed Kolomna, Moscow, and on February 4 laid siege to Vladimir. Grand Duke Vladimirsky Yuri Vsevolodovich "with a small squad" went beyond the Volga, to the river. Sit (a tributary of the Mologa), where he began to gather a new army. On February 5, the Mongol detachment ravaged Suzdal, and on February 7, after a fierce assault, Vladimir was taken. After that, Batu divided the army into several large detachments, which went along the main river routes to the north-east, north and north-west. and in February 1238 they took 14 Russian cities (Rostov, Uglich, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kashin, Ksnyatin, Gorodets, Galich-Mersky, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev, Dmitrov, Volok-Lamsky, Tver, Torzhok). On March 4, the army of the Mongol commander Burundai surrounded and destroyed the grand ducal regiments on the river. City; Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich also died in this battle. The entire interfluve of the Oka and the Volga was devastated by the Mongols. A small detachment of the Mongol cavalry raided the north and returned 100 km short of Novgorod. When retreating to the steppes, the Mongol army marched in a wide front of small detachments, "round up", once again devastating the Russian lands. Kozelsk offered stubborn resistance to the enemy, which the Mongol army besieged for 7 weeks, suffering heavy losses.
In the Polovtsian steppes (summer 1238 - autumn 1240), the Mongol army waged a protracted war with the Polovtsians and Alans, made campaigns in the Crimea, in the Mordovian land, where an uprising against the conquerors rose, in Pereyaslavl-South and Chernigov (1239). In the autumn of 1240, a campaign against South Rus' began. At the end of December, after a multi-day assault, Kyiv fell. Mongolian troops took and destroyed Vladimir-Volynsky, Galich and other cities. However, Danilov, Kremenets and Kholm fought off all the attacks of the Mongol army. In the spring of 1241, the Mongol army, although significantly weakened by the heroic resistance of the Russian people and other peoples of Eastern Europe, nevertheless advanced further to the west.
The main forces of Batu through the Carpathian passes broke into Hungary, the 60,000-strong army of King Bela IV was defeated in the battle of Shaio (April 11, 1241). The capital of Hungary - the city of Pest was taken and destroyed, a significant part of the country was devastated. Another Mongol detachment invaded Poland, defeated the militia of Polish and German princes near Legnica. The Polish, Moravian and Slovak lands were devastated. Separate Mongol detachments penetrated as far as East Bohemia, but were repulsed by King Wenceslas I. At the end of 1241, all Mongol troops concentrated in Hungary, where the masses continued to fight the conquerors. It was not possible to gain a foothold in the Hungarian steppes for a further offensive on Z. Batu, and he moved through Austria and Croatia to the Adriatic Sea. In the autumn of 1242, after an unsuccessful siege of coastal fortresses, Batu began to retreat through Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria. Mongol invasion of Central Europe ended.
Somewhat longer were M. h. to the west - in Asia Minor and the Middle East. After the conquest of Transcaucasia (1236), the Mongol army defeated the Rum Sultanate. In 1256 Hulagu conquered Iran and Mesopotamia, in 1258 Baghdad, the capital of the Arab Caliphate, fell. Mongol troops penetrated into Syria, preparing to invade Egypt, but in 1260 they were defeated by the Egyptian sultan. M. h. Z. ended.
In the 2nd half of the 13th c. M. h. were sent to the countries of East and Southeast Asia. Mongolian troops captured the countries surrounding the South Sung Empire: the state of Dali (1252-53), Tibet (1253). In 1258, Mongol troops invaded South China from various sides, but the unexpected death of the Great Khan Möngke (1259) delayed the conquest of the South Sung Empire. Southern China was conquered by the new Great Khan Kublai Khan in 1267-79. In 1281, the Mongol feudal lords tried to conquer Japan by sending 1,000 ships with a 100,000-strong army to its shores, but the fleet was destroyed by a typhoon. The expansion in Southeast Asia did not bring success to the Mongol feudal lords, although they used the Chinese army and navy in their campaigns. Mongol-Chinese troops after several campaigns (1277 - twice, 1282, 1287) occupied Burma, but were soon expelled (1291). Mongol-Chinese troops and fleet repeatedly attacked Vietnam (1257, 1258, 1284, 1285, 1287-88), but failed to subdue the Vietnamese people. The state of Tjampu (in the southeast of Indochina) also defended its independence. The attempt to conquer Fr. Java, although large forces were sent there (1,000 ships with a 70,000-strong army).
M. h. ended with a campaign of 1300 in Burma. After that, the Mongol feudal lords stopped active hostilities and switched to the systematic exploitation of the conquered countries, using the Chinese management experience and the Chinese administration.
M. h. brought disaster to the peoples of Asia and Eastern Europe. They were accompanied by the mass extermination of the population, the devastation of vast territories, the destruction of cities, the decline of agricultural culture, especially in areas of irrigated agriculture. M. h. for a long time delayed the socio-economic and cultural development of the countries that became part of the Mongol feudal empire.
Lit .: Tatar-Mongols in Asia and Europe. Sat. Art., M., 1970; Bartold V.V., Turkestan in the era of the Mongol invasion, Soch., vol. 1, M., 1963; Kargalov VV, Foreign policy factors in the development of feudal Rus'. Feudal Rus' and nomads, M., 1967; Grekov B. D., Yakubovsky A. Yu., Golden Horde and its fall, M. - L., 1950; Merpert N. Ya., Pashuto V. T., Cherepnin L. V., Genghis Khan and his legacy, "History of the USSR", 1962, No. 5.
The Mongol conquests began with the unification of the tribes, which was completely completed by Khan Temuchin, today better known as Genghis Khan. It was he who in 1206 was elected the ruler of all the Mongols.
Even before the Mongol conquest of Asia began, Genghis Khan conquered the surrounding tribes - Naimans, Kereites and Zhalairs, who partially fell under his rule, partially migrated.
To conquer all the lands of the world, as Genghis Khan intended, a powerful and disciplined army was required, on the creation of which he concentrated his efforts. The basis of the army was the cavalry, which allowed the army to move quickly and attack unexpectedly - this gave a significant military advantage. With his help, the southern part of Siberia and the northern part of China were conquered.
The Mongols dealt ruthlessly with those who resisted them, but in the conquered territories they showed a rare religious tolerance, allowing peoples to pray to their gods.
After Genghis Khan adopted such important inventions as gunpowder and throwing tools from the Chinese, he conquered Northern Iran and Khorezm in Central Asia.
Rice. 1. Genghis Khan.
However, he was not only a conqueror - thanks to him, the postal business developed, trade flourished. The Great Silk Road was very safe, as caravan robbers were severely punished.
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In 1227, the great Khan of the Mongols died, and his sons shared power over the people. The most famous among them was Ogedei, who went to conquer the west. But the grandson of Genghis Khan Batu is much more famous, who undertook a campaign against Rus' in 1237-1241, almost completely conquered it, and then went to Hungary and Poland. Having defeated both the Polish and German knights, the Mongol army reached the Adriatic Sea. In Europe, his invasion was considered a harbinger of the end of the world, it was so terrible.
Rice. 2. Baty.
Having conquered so many lands and peoples, the Mongols for some reason turned to the Middle East. This fact is still a mystery to historians.
After the conquest of the Arab Caliphate, the Mongol Empire began to disintegrate. Her successor was the Golden Horde.
After the Mongol state collapsed, Tamerlane seized power in one of its parts in 1370. He, following the example of Genghis Khan, created a strong army and also conquered the lands one by one. He conquered a significant part of the East and defeated the Khan of the Golden Horde Tokhtamysh. In 1395, Tamerlane invaded Rus', but immediately withdrew his army. In 1404 he completely defeated the Turks near Ankara. The state he created occupied a vast territory.
Rice. 3. Tamerlane.
In 1405 the great Tamerlane died without fulfilling his desire to conquer China.
On the one hand, the Mongols destroyed cities and drove people into slavery, their invasions caused a demographic crisis and cultural decline, as well as economic decline due to the huge tribute paid by the conquered population.
On the other hand, the Mongols patronized trade, laid the foundations of statehood in Asia.
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After the resounding victories won in Central Asia, the Mongolian nobility directed their thoughts to the conquest of East Turkestan, Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The Mongolian state was separated from the empire of Khorezmshahs by a buffer possession, headed by Kuchluk Khan. He was the leader of the Naimans who fled to the west as a result of the defeat in 1204 from the army of Temujin. Kuchluk went to the Irtysh valley, where he united with the Merkit khan Tokhtoa-beki. However, after another defeat in 1205, Kuchluk, with the remnants of the Naimans and Kereites, fled to the valley of the river. Chu. As a result of a long struggle with local Turkic tribes and Kara-Kitays, he established himself in East Turkestan and South Semirechie. However, in 1218 a huge Mongol army under the command of Jebe Noyon defeated the detachments of Kuchluk Khan. Genghis Khan, having conquered East Turkestan and South Semirechye, came close to the borders of the power of Khorezmshahs, which included Central Asia and most of Iran.
After the capture by the Mongols of a significant territory of the Jin empire, Khorezmshah Muhammad II (1200-1220) sent his ambassadors to the court of Genghis Khan. The main purpose of this diplomatic mission was to obtain information about the armed forces and further military plans of the Mongols. Genghis Khan received the envoys from Khorezm favorably, expressing his hope for the establishment of intensive trade relations with the Muslim East. He ordered to convey to Sultan Muhammad that he considers him the ruler of the West, and himself - the ruler of Asia. After that, he sent a response embassy to Urgench, the capital of the state of Khorezmshahs. The formidable warrior proposed through his ambassadors to conclude an agreement on peace and trade between the two world powers.
In 1218, the Mongols sent a large trade caravan to Central Asia, carrying many expensive goods and gifts. However, upon arrival in the border town of Otrar, the caravan was looted and killed. This became a convenient pretext for organizing a grandiose campaign of the Mongol rati. In the autumn of 1219, Genghis Khan moved his army from the banks of the Irtysh to the west. In the same year it invaded Maverannahr.
The news of this alarmed the Sultan's court in Urgench. The urgently assembled supreme state council was unable to work out a reasonable plan of military action. Shihab ad-din Khivaki, the closest associate of Muhammad II, proposed to assemble a people's militia and meet the enemy on the banks of the Syr Darya with all the fighting forces. Other plans for military operations were also proposed, but the Sultan chose the tactics of passive defense. Khorezmshah and the dignitaries and generals who supported him, underestimating the siege art of the Mongols, relied on the fortress of the cities of Maverannahr. The Sultan decided to concentrate the main forces on the Amu Darya, reinforcing them with militias from neighboring regions. Muhammad and his commanders, having settled in the fortresses, expected to attack the Mongols after they had scattered throughout the country in search of prey. However, this strategic plan did not materialize, which led to the death of thousands of rural and urban populations in Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan.
The huge army of Genghis Khan reached Otrar in the autumn of 1219 and captured it after a five-month siege (1220). From here, the Mongols moved forward in three directions. One of the detachments under the command of Jochi Khan went to capture the cities in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya. The second detachment moved to conquer Khujand, Benaket and other points of Maverannahr. The main forces of the Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan himself and his youngest son, Tului, headed for Bukhara.
The Mongolian army, like a fiery tornado, fell on the cities and villages of Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Everywhere they met resistance from ordinary peasants, artisans, and shepherds. Heroic resistance to foreigners was put up by the population of Khojent, led by Emir Timur Malik.
At the beginning of 1220, after a short siege, Genghis Khan took, destroyed and burned Bukhara. Most of the townspeople, with the exception of the local nobility who went over to the side of the conquerors and some of the captured artisans, were killed. Accidentally surviving from the massacre, the inhabitants were mobilized into militias to conduct siege work.
In March 1220, the hordes of Genghis Khan appeared near Samarkand, where a strong garrison of the Khorezmshah was concentrated. However, the city was taken, destroyed and completely robbed.
The defenders of Samarkand were killed; only a part of skilled artisans escaped this fate, but was driven into slavery. Soon the whole of Maverannahr was under the rule of the Mongols.
The resulting critical situation required urgent and decisive measures, but the weak-willed Sultan and his closest associates did nothing to organize a rebuff to the enemy. Mad with fear, they sowed panic, sending decrees everywhere about the non-interference of the civilian population in hostilities. Khorezmshah decided to flee to Iraq. Genghis Khan sent a detachment of the Mongol army to pursue Muhammad, who had gone to Nishapur, and from there to Qazvin. The Mongol cavalry rapidly moved in the footsteps of the Khorezmshah to Northern Khorasan. Detachments of Jebe, Subedai and Toguchar-noyon captured in 1220 Nisa and other cities and fortresses of Khorasan and Iran. Fleeing from the persecution of the Mongols, the Khorezmshah crossed over to a deserted island in the Caspian Sea, where he died in December 1220.
In late 1220 - early 1221, Genghis Khan sent his generals to conquer Khorezm. Here at that time concentrated the remnants of the Sultan's army, consisting mainly of the Kipchaks. The sons of Khorezmshah Muhammad, Ak-sultan and Ozlag-sultan, were in Khorezm, who did not want to cede power to their elder brother, Jalal ad-din. The forces of the Khorezmians were divided into two camps, which made it easier for the Mongols to capture the country. As a result of sharp disagreements with his brothers, Jalal ad-din was forced to leave Khorezm, he crossed the Karakum and went to Iran, and from there to Afghanistan. While in Herat and later in Ghazni, he began to assemble a combat-ready anti-Mongolian force.
At the beginning of 1221, the army of Genghis Khan under the command of the princes Jochi, Ogedei and Chagatai captured almost the entire left-bank part of the lower reaches of the Amu Darya. The Mongol detachments began the siege of Urgench, the capture of which was given special importance by Genghis Khan. The blockade of the city for six months did not produce any results. Only after the assault, Urgench was captured, destroyed, and its remains were flooded by the waters of the Amu Darya (April 1221).
Jalal ad-din, who gathered a large army, offered fierce resistance to the Mongols. In the summer of 1221, he defeated the thirty-thousandth army of the Mongols in a battle in the Pervan steppe. Genghis Khan, concerned about the successes of Jalal ad-din and the rebels in Khorasan, personally opposed him. Jalal ad-din was defeated in a battle on the banks of the river. Indus and went deep into India, where, however, he did not receive the support of local feudal lords, in particular, the Delhi sultan Shams ad-din Iltutmysh. In the meantime, Mongolian detachments suppressed popular uprisings and again captured Northern Khorasan.
In October 1224, the main contingent of Genghis Khan's army crossed the Amu Darya and moved to Mongolia. One of the important reasons for her departure to Central Asia was the uprising of the inhabitants of Tangut. Genghis Khan transferred the management (primarily tax) of Central Asia to the Khorezm merchant Mahmud Yalovach (his heirs performed these functions until the beginning of the 14th century). The conquerors placed their representatives of power, or chief rulers (daruga) in the conquered regions; military garrisons were kept in cities and fortresses.
Taking advantage of Genghis Khan's departure to Mongolia, Jalal ad-din returned from India to Iran. His power was recognized by the local rulers - Fars, Kerman and Persian Iraq. In 1225, he took Tabriz and announced the restoration of the power of the Khorezmshahs. With the support of the city militia, Jalal ad-din won a victory over the Mongols near Isfahan in 1227, although he himself suffered heavy losses. At the same time, for a number of years, he made campaigns against the local feudal lords of Transcaucasia and Asia Minor. Jalal ad-din was a brave commander, but did not have flexibility politician. With his ambitious behavior, predatory attacks, he turned against himself many representatives of the local nobility and the general population. In 1231, unable to withstand the dominance of the Khorezmians, artisans and the urban poor of Ganja rose up. Jalal ad-din suppressed the uprising, but a coalition of the rulers of Georgia, the Rum Sultanate, and the Ahlat Emirate formed against him.
After the death of Genghis Khan (1227), at the kurultai of 1229, his son Ogedei (1229-1241) was elevated to the throne of the Mongol Empire. Continuing the aggressive policy of his father, the great khan (kaan) ordered to move a huge army to Khorasan and Iran. The Mongolian army under the command of noyon Chormagun opposed Jalal ad-din. Having devastated Khorasan, she entered the borders of Iran. Under the onslaught of the Mongols, Jalal ad-din retreated to Southern Kurdistan along with the remnants of his troops. In 1231 he was killed near Diyarbakir. The death of Jalal ad-din opened the way for the Mongols deep into the countries of the Near and Middle East.
In 1243, Khorasan and the regions of Iran captured by Chormagun were handed over to Emir Arghun by order of Ogedei-kaan. He was appointed governor (Baskak) in the region almost completely devastated by the Mongols. Argun made an attempt to establish economic life and restore the rural settlements and cities of Khorasan. However, such a policy met with resistance from the Mongol steppe nobility, accustomed to robberies.
The Mongol conquest dealt a terrible blow to the development of the productive forces of the conquered countries. Huge masses of people were exterminated, and those left alive were turned into slaves. "The Tatars," wrote the 13th-century historian Ibn al-Asir, "did not take pity on anyone, but beat women, babies, ripped open the wombs of pregnant women and killed the fetuses." Rural settlements and cities became ruins, and some of them lay in ruins as early as the beginning of the 14th century. The agricultural oases of most regions were turned into nomadic pastures and camps. The local pastoral tribes also suffered from the conquerors. Plano Carpini wrote in the 40s of the 13th century that they "are also exterminated by the Tatars and live in their land, and those who remain are enslaved." The growth in the proportion of slavery under the Mongols led to the social regression of the conquered countries. The naturalization of the economy, the strengthening of the role of cattle breeding at the expense of agriculture, the reduction of domestic and international trade led to a general decline.
The countries and peoples conquered by the Mongols were divided among the offspring of Genghis Khan. Each of them was allocated an ulus (lot) with a certain number of troops and dependent people. Tuluy, younger son Genghis Khan, according to custom, received Mongolia as an inheritance - the indigenous possession (yurt) of his father. 101 thousand soldiers out of 129 thousand people of the regular army were given over to him. Ogedei, the third son of Genghis Khan, was allocated an ulus in Western Mongolia centered on the upper Irtysh and Tarbagatai. After enthronement in 1229, he settled in Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire. The heirs of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, were given lands located west of the Irtysh and "from the borders of Kayalyk (in Semirechye) and Khorezm to the places of Saksin and Bulgar (on the Volga), up to those limits where the hooves of the Tatar horses reached." In other words, this inheritance included the northern part of the Semirechye and the Eastern Dashti Kipchak, including the Lower Volga region. The boundaries of the Dzhuchiev ulus were expanded under Batu Khan, who made a trip to Kama Bulgaria, to Rus' and to Central Europe. After the formation of the Golden Horde, the Lower Volga region became the center of the Jochid ulus. Chagatai, the second son of Genghis Khan, received from his father 4 "darkness" (or tumena, Mong. "10,000", as well as "countless"), which included the territories of the Barlas and Kungrat tribes, and lands from the Southern Altai and the river. Or to the Amu Darya. His possessions covered Eastern Turkestan, a significant part of Semirechye and Maverannahr. The main territory of his ulus was called Il-Alargu, the center of which was the city of Almalyk.
Thus, a significant part of Central Asia and East Kazakhstan became part of the possessions of Chagatai. However, his power extended directly to the nomadic Mongols and the steppe Turkic-speaking tribes conquered by them, the actual control in the western regions of the Chagatai ulus was carried out according to the order of Genghis Khan by Mahmud Yalovach. Having chosen Khojent as his residence, he ruled in the region with the help of military contingents of Mongolian Baskaks and darugachi (or daruga).
The situation of the settled population of Maverannahr after the invasion of Genghis Khan was very difficult. The domination of foreigners was accompanied by acts of brutal violence, extortion and robbery of civilians. In this, the Mongolian aristocracy was helped by the Central Asian nobility, who went over to the side of the conquerors. The dominance of newcomers and local feudal lords led to an uprising of the masses of Bukhara. In 1238, the villagers of Tarab, one of the villages in the vicinity of Bukhara, rose to fight. The rebels were led by sieve maker Mahmud Tarabi. Gathering peasant detachments, he entered Bukhara and occupied the palace of the Sadr dynasty that ruled the city. However, the rebels were soon defeated, and Mahmud Tarabi died in a battle with the Mongol army. After that, Mahmud Yalovach was recalled to Karakorum and removed from his post. His son Masud-bek was appointed instead of him.
In the late 40s - early 50s of the XIII century. fierce strife and a struggle for power between the descendants of Genghis Khan began. With significant military forces and economic power, they strove for independence in every possible way. This process was also based on the further development of the specific feudal system in the Mongol Empire. The absence of strong economic, political and cultural ties, the multi-tribal nature of the empire, the struggle of the conquered peoples against their enslavers led to the disintegration of the vast Mongol state into independent states.
Chagatai, being the eldest in the Genghisid family, enjoyed great authority and influence, and Khan Ogedei did not make important decisions without his consent. Chagatai appointed as his heir Kara Hulagu, the son of his brother, Matugen. After the death in 1241 of Ogedei, and then of Chagatai, as a result of a sharp confrontation in 1246, Guyuk (1246-1248) became the great khan. Yesu Mongke was proclaimed the ruler of the Chagatai ulus. Kara Hulagu was removed from power by the united heirs of the Chagatai and Ogedei uluses. However, after the death of Guyuk, the flames of a new internecine turmoil flared up. During a fierce struggle between the descendants of Ogedei and Tului, Möngke (1251-1259), the eldest son of Tului, came to power. Many princes from the Chagatai and Ogedei clans were executed. Orkyna, the widow of Kara Khulagu (died in 1252), became the ruler of the Chagatai ulus.
Mongol Empire in the middle of the XIII century. was actually divided between the heirs of Tului and Jochi. The border lines of the possessions of Batu, the son of Jochi, and the great Khan Mongke passed for a long time. Chu and Talas. Semirechye was under the rule of Mongke, and Maverannahr fell into the hands of the Jochids for a while.
In 1259, after the death of Mongke, a new round of feudal strife took place in the Mongol state, culminating in the proclamation of Khubilai, Mongke's brother, the supreme ruler of the Mongol Empire (1260).
The Genghisid state was considered as the property of the ruling dynasty, its numerous representatives. The great kaan had wide prerogatives, combining military, legislative and administrative-judicial power in one person. In the political structure of the Mongolian state, the kurultai, a council of nomadic nobility under the auspices of the Genghisids, was preserved. Formally, the kurultai was considered the highest authority, where the supreme khan was elected. Kurultai resolved issues of peace and war, domestic policy, considered important disputes and lawsuits. He gathered, however, in fact only to approve the decisions prepared in advance by the kaan and his inner circle. The councils of the Mongol nobility met until 1259 and ceased only with the death of Möngke Khan.
The Mongol empire, despite the existence of the supreme khan's power, actually consisted of a number of independent and semi-dependent possessions, or destinies (uluses). Ulus rulers - Genghisids - received income and taxes from their destinies, maintained their own court, troops, and civil administration. However, they were usually not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the administration of agricultural regions, in which the supreme khans appointed special officials.
The ruling layer of the Mongolian uluses consisted of the highest nobility, headed by the direct and lateral branches of the Chinggisid dynasty. Civil administration in the appanages was carried out over the settled population with the help of the old local bureaucracy. In the state of the Chagataids under Masud-bek, a monetary reform was carried out, which played an important role in the rise of the economy of Central Asia.
In some cases, civil administration in the state of the Chagataids was carried out with the help of old dynasts, who bore the title of "malik". There were such rulers in a number of large regions and cities of Maverannahr, in particular in Khojent, Ferghana, Otrar. In the conquered regions and cities of Central Asia and East Turkestan, the Mongol authorities proper, the daruga, were also appointed. Initially, their power was limited to the execution military function on the ground, but over time their prerogatives have expanded significantly. The Daruga began to fulfill the duties of a population census, recruiting troops, organizing postal service, collection and delivery of taxes to the khan's horde.
The bulk of the nomadic and settled population of the Chagatai ulus was in various stages feudal system. The most developed feudal relations were in the agricultural regions, which retained the former socio-economic institutions. The nomadic population, which consisted of the Mongol proper and subjugated Turkic-speaking tribes, was at the early feudal stage of development with strong remnants of the tribal system. Nomads were obliged to perform military service, performed various duties and paid taxes in favor of their masters. The nomads were divided into dozens, hundreds, thousands and "darkness" to which they were attached. According to the regulations of Genghis Khan, they did not have the right to transfer from one owner or boss to another. Unauthorized passage or flight was punishable by death.
Mongolian arats paid taxes in favor of their nobility and the supreme khan's court. During the reign of Mongke, they collected the so-called kupchur in the amount of 1 head of cattle from 100 heads of animals. Kupchur was paid by peasants, as well as artisans and townspeople. In addition, the agricultural population paid a land tax - kharaj and other taxes and fees. Rural residents paid, in particular, a special tax in kind (tagar) for the maintenance of the Mongol army. They also had to bear the responsibility for the maintenance of postal stations (pits). The levying of numerous taxes was aggravated by the rapacious farming system, which ruined the masses of farmers and pastoralists.
At the beginning of the XIV century. the importance of the Chagataid clan in Central Asia and the Semirechye rapidly increased. The Chagataid rulers sought to centralize power and to further rapprochement with the settled nobility of Maverannahr. Kebek-khan (1318-1326) tried to restore city life, establish agriculture and trade. He carried out a monetary reform, which copied a similar reform of the Hulaguid ruler of Iran, Ghazan Khan. The silver coin introduced by him in 1321 became known as "kebeks". In violation of the ancient traditions of the nomadic Mongols, Kebek Khan rebuilt in the valley of the river. Kashkadarya Palace (Mong. Karshi), around which the city of Karshi grew. These innovations met with stubborn resistance from the backward patriarchal layers of the Mongolian aristocracy. Therefore, Kebek Khan's reforms were generally limited.
Under the brother and successor of Kebek Khan, Tarmashirin (1326-1334), the next step was taken towards rapprochement with the local nobility - the proclamation of Islam as the official religion. Tarmashirin fell victim to the nomadic Mongols, who held to patriarchal traditions and pagan beliefs.
In the late 40s - 50s of the XIV century. The Chagatai ulus broke up into a number of independent feudal estates. The western regions of the state were divided among the leaders of the Turkic-Mongolian tribes (Barlas, Dzhelair, Arlat, Kauchin). The northeastern territories of the Chagatai ulus became isolated in the 40s of the XIV century. in the independent state of Moghulistan. It included the lands of Eastern Turkestan, the steppes of the Irtysh and Balkhash regions. In the west, the borders of this state reached the middle reaches of the Syradya and the Tashkent oasis, in the south - the Ferghana Valley, and in the east - Kashgar and Turfan.
The main population of Moghulistan consisted of a pastoral population - the descendants of mixed Turkic-Mongolian tribes. Among them were Kangly, Kereites, Arlats, Barlas, Dughlats, from whose midst the local khan's family originated. In 1348, the nobility of the eastern regions of the Chagatai ulus elected Togluk-Timur as the supreme khan. Relying on the top of the Duglats and other clans, he subjugated Semirechye and part of East Turkestan. Togluk-Timur converted to Islam, enlisted the support of the Muslim clergy and began the struggle for the possession of Maverannahr. In 1360, he invaded from Semirechie into the Syr Darya valley, but disagreements between the military leaders interrupted his further advance into the depths of the Central Asian Mesopotamia. In the early spring of the following year, Togluk-Timur again set out on a campaign against Maverannahr, where Timur, who had previously received the city of Kesh (Shakhrisabz) from Togluk-Timur, went over to the side of the Mongols. The Moghulistan army occupied Samarkand and advanced south to the Hindu Kush mountain ranges. However, the power of Togluk-Timur in Maverannahr was short-lived. Soon he returned to Moghulistan, which was used by the local nomadic leaders to overthrow his son, Ilyas-Khoja, who had been left in the region as a governor. Timur also opposed him in alliance with the Chagataid, the ruler of Balkh, Emir Hussein. Ilyas-Khoja fled to Moghulistan, where turmoil began after the death of Togluk-Timur.
In 1365, Ilyas-Khoja attacked Maverannahr and defeated Hussein and his ally Timur in a battle on the banks of the Syr Darya. Having robbed the cities and villages of Tashkent and other oases, the Moghulistan army headed for Samarkand. Ilyas-Khoja could not capture the city, its defense was organized by the inhabitants themselves, headed by the Serbedars. Ilyas-Khodja was forced to withdraw back to Semirechye.
MONGOLO-TATAR INVASION
Formation of the Mongolian state. At the beginning of the XIII century. in Central Asia in the territory from Lake Baikal and the upper reaches of the Yenisei and Irtysh in the north to the southern regions of the Gobi Desert and the Great Chinese wall the Mongolian state was formed. By the name of one of the tribes that roamed near Lake Buirnur in Mongolia, these peoples were also called Tatars. Subsequently, all the nomadic peoples with whom Rus' fought began to be called Mongolo-Tatars.
The main occupation of the Mongols was extensive nomadic cattle breeding, and in the north and in the taiga regions - hunting. In the XII century. among the Mongols there was a disintegration of primitive communal relations. From the environment of ordinary community members-cattle breeders, who were called karachu - black people, noyons (princes) stood out - to know; having squads of nukers (warriors), she seized pastures for livestock and part of the young. The noyons also had slaves. The rights of the noyons were determined by "Yasa" - a collection of teachings and instructions.
In 1206, a congress of the Mongol nobility - kurultai (Khural) took place on the Onon River, at which one of the noyons was elected the leader of the Mongol tribes: Temuchin, who received the name Genghis Khan - "great khan", "sent by God" (1206-1227). Having defeated his opponents, he began to rule the country through his relatives and the local nobility.
Mongolian army. The Mongols had a well-organized army that maintained tribal ties. The army was divided into tens, hundreds, thousands. Ten thousand Mongol warriors were called "darkness" ("tumen").
Tumens were not only military, but also administrative units.
The main striking force of the Mongols was the cavalry. Each warrior had two or three bows, several quivers with arrows, an ax, a rope lasso, and was proficient with a saber. The warrior's horse was covered with skins, which protected it from the arrows and weapons of the enemy. The head, neck and chest of the Mongol warrior from enemy arrows and spears were covered with an iron or copper helmet, leather armor. The Mongolian cavalry had high mobility. On their undersized, shaggy-maned, hardy horses, they could travel up to 80 km per day, and up to 10 km with carts, wall-beating and flamethrower guns. Like other peoples, passing through the stage of state formation, the Mongols were distinguished by their strength and solidity. Hence the interest in expanding pastures and in organizing predatory campaigns against neighboring agricultural peoples, who were at a much higher level of development, although they experienced a period of fragmentation. This greatly facilitated the implementation of the conquest plans of the Mongol-Tatars.
Defeat of Central Asia. The Mongols began their campaigns with the conquest of the lands of their neighbors - Buryats, Evenks, Yakuts, Uighurs, Yenisei Kirghiz (by 1211). Then they invaded China and in 1215 took Beijing. Three years later, Korea was conquered. Having defeated China (finally conquered in 1279), the Mongols significantly increased their military potential. Flamethrowers, wall-beaters, stone-throwing tools, vehicles were taken into service.
In the summer of 1219, almost 200,000 Mongol troops led by Genghis Khan began the conquest of Central Asia. The ruler of Khorezm (a country at the mouth of the Amu Darya), Shah Mohammed, did not accept a general battle, dispersing his forces over the cities. Having suppressed the stubborn resistance of the population, the invaders stormed Otrar, Khojent, Merv, Bukhara, Urgench and other cities. The ruler of Samarkand, despite the demand of the people to defend himself, surrendered the city. Mohammed himself fled to Iran, where he soon died.
The rich, flourishing agricultural regions of Semirechye (Central Asia) turned into pastures. Irrigation systems built up over centuries were destroyed. The Mongols introduced a regime of cruel requisitions, artisans were taken into captivity. As a result of the conquest of Central Asia by the Mongols, nomadic tribes began to inhabit its territory. Sedentary agriculture was supplanted by extensive nomadic pastoralism, which slowed down the further development of Central Asia.
Invasion of Iran and Transcaucasia. The main force of the Mongols with the loot returned from Central Asia to Mongolia. The 30,000-strong army under the command of the best Mongol commanders Jebe and Subedei set off on a long-range reconnaissance campaign through Iran and Transcaucasia, to the West. Having defeated the united Armenian-Georgian troops and causing enormous damage to the economy of Transcaucasia, the invaders, however, were forced to leave the territory of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as they met with strong resistance from the population. Past Derbent, where there was a passage along the coast of the Caspian Sea, the Mongolian troops entered the steppes of the North Caucasus. Here they defeated the Alans (Ossetians) and Polovtsy, after which they ravaged the city of Sudak (Surozh) in the Crimea. The Polovtsy, led by Khan Kotyan, the father-in-law of the Galician prince Mstislav Udaly, turned to the Russian princes for help.
Battle on the Kalka River. On May 31, 1223, the Mongols defeated the allied forces of the Polovtsian and Russian princes in the Azov steppes on the Kalka River. This was the last major joint military action of the Russian princes on the eve of the invasion of Batu. However, the powerful Russian prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir-Suzdal, the son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, did not participate in the campaign.
Princely strife also affected during the battle on the Kalka. The Kiev prince Mstislav Romanovich, having fortified himself with his army on a hill, did not take part in the battle. Regiments of Russian soldiers and Polovtsy, having crossed the Kalka, struck at the advanced detachments of the Mongol-Tatars, who retreated. The Russian and Polovtsian regiments were carried away by the persecution. The main Mongol forces that approached, took the pursuing Russian and Polovtsian warriors in pincers and destroyed them.
The Mongols laid siege to the hill, where the prince of Kiev fortified. On the third day of the siege, Mstislav Romanovich believed the promise of the enemy to honorably release the Russians in the event of voluntary surrender and laid down his arms. He and his warriors were brutally killed by the Mongols. The Mongols reached the Dnieper, but did not dare to enter the borders of Rus'. Rus' has not yet known a defeat equal to the battle on the Kalka River. Only a tenth of the troops returned from the Azov steppes to Rus'. In honor of their victory, the Mongols held a "feast on the bones". The captured princes were crushed with boards on which the victors sat and feasted.
Preparation of a campaign to Rus'. Returning to the steppes, the Mongols made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Volga Bulgaria. Reconnaissance in force showed that wars of conquest against Russia and its neighbors could be waged only by organizing a general Mongol campaign. At the head of this campaign was the grandson of Genghis Khan - Batu (1227-1255), who inherited from his grandfather all the territories in the west, "where the foot of the Mongol horse sets foot." His main military adviser was Subedei, who knew the theater of future military operations well.
In 1235, at the Khural in the capital of Mongolia, Karakorum, a decision was made on a general Mongol campaign to the West. In 1236 the Mongols captured the Volga Bulgaria, and in 1237 they subjugated the nomadic peoples of the Steppe. In the autumn of 1237, the main forces of the Mongols, having crossed the Volga, concentrated on the Voronezh River, aiming at the Russian lands. In Rus', they knew about the impending formidable danger, but the princely feuds prevented the sips from uniting to repel a strong and treacherous enemy. There was no unified command. Fortifications of cities were erected for defense against neighboring Russian principalities, and not from steppe nomads. The princely cavalry squads were not inferior to the Mongol noyons and nukers in terms of armament and fighting qualities. But the bulk of the Russian army was made up of the militia - urban and rural warriors, inferior to the Mongols in weapons and combat skills. Hence the defensive tactics, designed to deplete the enemy's forces.
Defense of Ryazan. In 1237, Ryazan was the first of the Russian lands to be attacked by invaders. The Princes of Vladimir and Chernigov refused to help Ryazan. The Mongols laid siege to Ryazan and sent envoys who demanded obedience and one-tenth "in everything." The courageous answer of the people of Ryazan followed: "If we are all gone, then everything will be yours." On the sixth day of the siege, the city was taken, the princely family and the surviving inhabitants were killed. In the old place, Ryazan was no longer revived (modern Ryazan is a new city located 60 km from the old Ryazan, it used to be called Pereyaslavl Ryazansky).
Conquest of North-Eastern Rus'. In January 1238, the Mongols moved along the Oka River to the Vladimir-Suzdal land. The battle with the Vladimir-Suzdal army took place near the city of Kolomna, on the border of the Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal lands. In this battle, the Vladimir army died, which actually predetermined the fate of North-Eastern Rus'.
Strong resistance to the enemy for 5 days was provided by the population of Moscow, led by the governor Philip Nyanka. After the capture by the Mongols, Moscow was burned, and its inhabitants were killed.
February 4, 1238 Batu besieged Vladimir. The distance from Kolomna to Vladimir (300 km) was covered by his troops in a month. On the fourth day of the siege, the invaders broke into the city through gaps in the fortress wall near the Golden Gate. The princely family and the remnants of the troops closed in the Assumption Cathedral. The Mongols surrounded the cathedral with trees and set it on fire.
After the capture of Vladimir, the Mongols broke into separate detachments and crushed the cities of North-Eastern Rus'. Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, even before the approach of the invaders to Vladimir, went to the north of his land to gather military forces. Hastily assembled regiments in 1238 were defeated on the Sit River (the right tributary of the Mologa River), and Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich himself died in the battle.
The Mongol hordes moved to the north-west of Rus'. Everywhere they met stubborn resistance from the Russians. For two weeks, for example, a distant suburb of Novgorod, Torzhok, defended itself. North-Western Rus' was saved from defeat, although it paid tribute.
Having reached the stone Ignach Cross - an ancient sign on the Valdai watershed (one hundred kilometers from Novgorod), the Mongols retreated south, to the steppe, in order to restore losses and give rest to tired troops. The retreat was in the nature of a "raid". Divided into separate detachments, the invaders "combed" the Russian cities. Smolensk managed to fight back, other centers were defeated. Kozelsk, which held out for seven weeks, put up the greatest resistance to the Mongols during the "raid". The Mongols called Kozelsk an "evil city".
Capture of Kyiv. In the spring of 1239, Batu defeated South Rus' (Pereyaslavl South), in the fall - the Chernigov principality. In the autumn of the next 1240, the Mongol troops crossed the Dnieper and laid siege to Kyiv. After a long defense, led by the governor Dmitr, the Tatars defeated Kyiv. In the next 1241, the Galicia-Volyn principality was attacked.
Batu's campaign against Europe. After the defeat of Rus', the Mongol hordes moved to Europe. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the Balkan countries were devastated. The Mongols reached the borders of the German Empire, reached the Adriatic Sea. However, at the end of 1242 they suffered a series of setbacks in Bohemia and Hungary. From distant Karakorum came the news of the death of the great Khan Ogedei - the son of Genghis Khan. It was a convenient excuse to stop the difficult campaign. Batu turned his troops back to the east.
A decisive world-historical role in the salvation of European civilization from the Mongol hordes was played by the heroic struggle against them by the Russian and other peoples of our country, who took the first blow from the invaders. In fierce battles in Rus', the best part of the Mongol army perished. The Mongols lost their offensive power. They could not but reckon with the liberation struggle unfolding in the rear of their troops. A.S. Pushkin rightly wrote: "A great destiny was determined for Russia: its boundless plains absorbed the power of the Mongols and stopped their invasion on the very edge of Europe ... the emerging enlightenment was saved by torn to pieces by Russia."
Fight against the aggression of the crusaders. The coast from the Vistula to the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea was inhabited by Slavic, Baltic (Lithuanian and Latvian) and Finno-Ugric (Ests, Karelians, etc.) tribes. IN late XII- the beginning of the XIII century. the peoples of the Baltic states are completing the process of disintegration of the primitive communal system and the formation of an early class society and statehood. These processes were most intense among the Lithuanian tribes. The Russian lands (Novgorod and Polotsk) exerted a significant influence on their western neighbors, who did not yet have a developed state of their own and church institutions (the peoples of the Baltic were pagans).
The attack on Russian lands was part of the predatory doctrine of the German chivalry "Drang nach Osten" (onslaught to the East). In the XII century. it began the seizure of lands belonging to the Slavs beyond the Oder and in the Baltic Pomerania. At the same time, an offensive was carried out on the lands of the Baltic peoples. The invasion of the crusaders into the lands of the Baltic states and North-Western Rus' was sanctioned by the Pope and the German Emperor Frederick II. German, Danish, Norwegian knights and troops from other northern European countries also took part in the crusade.
Knightly orders. In order to conquer the lands of the Estonians and Latvians, the knightly Order of the Sword-bearers was created in 1202 from the Crusaders defeated in Asia Minor. The knights wore clothes with the image of a sword and a cross. They pursued an aggressive policy under the slogan of Christianization: "Whoever does not want to be baptized must die." Back in 1201, the knights landed at the mouth of the Western Dvina (Daugava) River and founded the city of Riga on the site of the Latvian settlement as a stronghold for subjugating the Baltic lands. In 1219, the Danish knights captured part of the Baltic coast, founding the city of Revel (Tallinn) on the site of an Estonian settlement.
In 1224 the crusaders took Yuriev (Tartu). To conquer the lands of Lithuania (Prussians) and the southern Russian lands in 1226, the knights of the Teutonic Order arrived, founded in 1198 in Syria during crusades. Knights - members of the order wore white cloaks with a black cross on the left shoulder. In 1234, the Swordsmen were defeated by the Novgorod-Suzdal troops, and two years later, by the Lithuanians and Semigallians. This forced the crusaders to join forces. In 1237, the swordsmen united with the Teutons, forming a branch of the Teutonic Order - the Livonian Order, named after the territory inhabited by the Liv tribe, which was captured by the Crusaders.
Neva battle. The offensive of the knights especially intensified due to the weakening of Rus', which bled in the fight against the Mongol conquerors.
In July 1240, the Swedish feudal lords tried to take advantage of the plight of Rus'. The Swedish fleet with an army on board entered the mouth of the Neva. Having risen along the Neva to the confluence of the Izhora River, the knightly cavalry landed on the shore. The Swedes wanted to capture the city of Staraya Ladoga, and then Novgorod.
Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, who was 20 years old at that time, with his retinue quickly rushed to the landing site. "We are few," he turned to his soldiers, "but God is not in power, but in truth." Covertly approaching the Swedes' camp, Alexander and his warriors hit them, and a small militia led by Misha from Novgorod cut off the Swedes' path along which they could flee to their ships.
Alexander Yaroslavich was nicknamed Nevsky by the Russian people for the victory on the Neva. The significance of this victory is that it stopped the Swedish aggression to the east for a long time, retained Russia's access to the Baltic coast. (Peter I, emphasizing the right of Russia to the Baltic coast, founded the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in the new capital on the site of the battle.)
Battle on the Ice. In the summer of the same 1240, the Livonian Order, as well as Danish and German knights, attacked Rus' and captured the city of Izborsk. Soon, due to the betrayal of the posadnik Tverdila and part of the boyars, Pskov was taken (1241). Strife and strife led to the fact that Novgorod did not help its neighbors. And the struggle between the boyars and the prince in Novgorod itself ended with the expulsion of Alexander Nevsky from the city. Under these conditions, individual detachments of the crusaders found themselves 30 km from the walls of Novgorod. At the request of the veche, Alexander Nevsky returned to the city.
Together with his retinue, Alexander liberated Pskov, Izborsk and other captured cities with a sudden blow. Having received the news that the main forces of the Order were coming at him, Alexander Nevsky blocked the way for the knights, placing his troops on the ice of Lake Peipus. Russian prince showed himself as outstanding commander. The chronicler wrote about him: "Winning everywhere, but we won't win at all." Alexander deployed troops under the cover of a steep bank on the ice of the lake, eliminating the possibility of enemy reconnaissance of his forces and depriving the enemy of freedom of maneuver. Taking into account the construction of the knights by a "pig" (in the form of a trapezoid with a sharp wedge in front, which was heavily armed cavalry), Alexander Nevsky arranged his regiments in the form of a triangle, with a tip resting on the shore. Before the battle, part of the Russian soldiers were equipped with special hooks to pull the knights off their horses.
On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi, which was called the Battle of the Ice. The knight's wedge broke through the center of the Russian position and hit the shore. The flank strikes of the Russian regiments decided the outcome of the battle: like pincers, they crushed the knightly "pig". The knights, unable to withstand the blow, fled in panic. The Novgorodians drove them for seven versts across the ice, which by the spring had become weak in many places and collapsed under heavily armed soldiers. The Russians pursued the enemy, "flashed, rushing after him, as if through air," the chronicler wrote. According to the Novgorod chronicle, "400 Germans died in the battle, and 50 were taken prisoner" (German chronicles estimate the death toll at 25 knights). The captured knights were led in disgrace through the streets of the Lord Veliky Novgorod.
The significance of this victory lies in the fact that the military power of the Livonian Order was weakened. The response to the Battle of the Ice was the growth of the liberation struggle in the Baltic states. However, relying on the help of the Roman Catholic Church, the knights at the end of the XIII century. captured a significant part of the Baltic lands.
Russian lands under the rule of the Golden Horde. In the middle of the XIII century. one of the grandsons of Genghis Khan, Khubulai moved his headquarters to Beijing, founding the Yuan dynasty. The rest of the Mongol state was nominally subordinate to the great khan in Karakorum. One of the sons of Genghis Khan - Chagatai (Jagatai) received the lands of most of Central Asia, and the grandson of Genghis Khan Zulagu owned the territory of Iran, part of Western and Central Asia and Transcaucasia. This ulus, singled out in 1265, is called the Hulaguid state after the name of the dynasty. Another grandson of Genghis Khan from his eldest son Jochi - Batu founded the state of the Golden Horde.
Golden Horde. The Golden Horde covered a vast territory from the Danube to the Irtysh (Crimea, the North Caucasus, part of the lands of Rus' located in the steppe, former lands Volga Bulgaria and nomadic peoples, Western Siberia and part of Central Asia). The capital of the Golden Horde was the city of Sarai, located in the lower reaches of the Volga (a shed in Russian means a palace). It was a state consisting of semi-independent uluses, united under the rule of the khan. They were ruled by the Batu brothers and the local aristocracy.
The role of a kind of aristocratic council was played by the "Divan", where military and financial issues were resolved. Being surrounded by the Turkic-speaking population, the Mongols adopted Turkic. The local Turkic-speaking ethnic group assimilated the newcomers-Mongols. A new people was formed - the Tatars. In the first decades of the existence of the Golden Horde, its religion was paganism.
The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of its time. At the beginning of the XIV century, she could put up a 300,000th army. The heyday of the Golden Horde falls on the reign of Khan Uzbek (1312-1342). In this era (1312), Islam became the state religion of the Golden Horde. Then, just like other medieval states, the Horde experienced a period of fragmentation. Already in the XIV century. the Central Asian possessions of the Golden Horde separated, and in the 15th century. the Kazan (1438), Crimean (1443), Astrakhan (mid-15th century) and Siberian (end of the 15th century) khanates stood out.
Russian lands and the Golden Horde. The Russian lands devastated by the Mongols were forced to recognize vassal dependence on the Golden Horde. The unceasing struggle waged by the Russian people against the invaders forced the Mongol-Tatars to abandon the creation of their own administrative authorities in Rus'. Rus' retained its statehood. This was facilitated by the presence in Rus' of its own administration and church organization. In addition, the lands of Rus' were unsuitable for nomadic cattle breeding, in contrast, for example, to Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the Black Sea region.
In 1243, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (1238-1246), the brother of the Grand Duke of Vladimir, who was killed on the Sit River, was called to the Khan's headquarters. Yaroslav recognized vassal dependence on the Golden Horde and received a label (letter) for the great reign of Vladimir and a golden plaque ("paydzu"), a kind of pass through the Horde territory. Following him, other princes reached out to the Horde.
To control the Russian lands, the institution of Baskak governors was created - the leaders of the military detachments of the Mongol-Tatars, who monitored the activities of the Russian princes. The denunciation of the Baskaks to the Horde inevitably ended either with the summoning of the prince to Sarai (often he lost his label, and even his life), or with a punitive campaign in the unruly land. Suffice it to say that only in the last quarter of the XIII century. 14 similar campaigns were organized in Russian lands.
Some Russian princes, in an effort to quickly get rid of vassal dependence on the Horde, took the path of open armed resistance. However, the forces to overthrow the power of the invaders were still not enough. So, for example, in 1252 the regiments of the Vladimir and Galician-Volyn princes were defeated. This was well understood by Alexander Nevsky, from 1252 to 1263. Grand Duke Vladimirsky. He set a course for the restoration and recovery of the economy of the Russian lands. The policy of Alexander Nevsky was also supported by the Russian Church, which saw a great danger in Catholic expansion, and not in the tolerant rulers of the Golden Horde.
In 1257, the Mongol-Tatars undertook a census of the population - "recording the number." Besermens (Muslim merchants) were sent to the cities, and the collection of tribute was paid off. The size of the tribute ("exit") was very large, only the "royal tribute", i.e. tribute in favor of the khan, which was first collected in kind, and then in money, amounted to 1300 kg of silver per year. The constant tribute was supplemented by "requests" - one-time extortions in favor of the khan. In addition, deductions from trade duties, taxes for "feeding" the khan's officials, etc. went to the khan's treasury. In total there were 14 types of tributes in favor of the Tatars. Census of the population in the 50-60s of the XIII century. marked by numerous uprisings of Russian people against the Baskaks, Khan's ambassadors, tribute collectors, scribes. In 1262, the inhabitants of Rostov, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Suzdal, and Ustyug dealt with the tribute collectors, the Besermen. This led to the fact that the collection of tribute from the end of the XIII century. was handed over to the Russian princes.
The consequences of the Mongol conquest and the Golden Horde yoke for Rus'. The Mongol invasion and the Golden Horde yoke became one of the reasons for the Russian lands lagging behind developed countries Western Europe. Huge damage was done to the economic, political and cultural development of Rus'. Tens of thousands of people died in battle or were driven into slavery. A significant part of the income in the form of tribute went to the Horde.
The old agricultural centers and the once developed territories were abandoned and fell into decay. The border of agriculture moved to the north, the southern fertile soils were called the "Wild Field". Russian cities were subjected to mass ruin and destruction. Many handicrafts were simplified and sometimes disappeared, which hampered the creation of small-scale production and ultimately delayed economic development.
Mongol conquest canned political fragmentation. It weakened the ties between various parts states. Traditional political and trade ties with other countries were disrupted. The vector of Russian foreign policy, which ran along the "south - north" line (the fight against the nomadic danger, stable ties with Byzantium and through the Baltic with Europe), radically changed its direction to the "west - east". The pace of cultural development of the Russian lands slowed down.
What you need to know about these topics:
Archaeological, linguistic and written evidence about the Slavs.
Tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs in the VI-IX centuries. Territory. Classes. "The Way from the Varangians to the Greeks". social order. Paganism. Prince and squad. Campaigns to Byzantium.
Internal and external factors that prepared the emergence of statehood among the Eastern Slavs.
Socio-economic development. Formation of feudal relations.
Early feudal monarchy of the Rurikids. "Norman theory", its political meaning. Management organization. Internal and foreign policy first Kyiv princes(Oleg, Igor, Olga, Svyatoslav).
The heyday of the Kievan state under Vladimir I and Yaroslav the Wise. Completion of the unification of the Eastern Slavs around Kyiv. Border defense.
Legends about the spread of Christianity in Rus'. Adoption of Christianity as the state religion. The Russian Church and its role in the life of the Kyiv state. Christianity and paganism.
"Russian Truth". The establishment of feudal relations. organization of the ruling class. Princely and boyar estates. Feudal-dependent population, its categories. Serfdom. Peasant communities. City.
The struggle between the sons and descendants of Yaroslav the Wise for the grand ducal power. fragmentation tendencies. Lyubech Congress of Princes.
Kievan Rus in the system of international relations in the 11th - early 12th centuries. Polovtsian danger. Princely feuds. Vladimir Monomakh. The final collapse of the Kievan state at the beginning of the XII century.
culture Kievan Rus. Cultural heritage of the Eastern Slavs. Oral folk art. Epics. The origin of Slavic writing. Cyril and Methodius. Beginning of chronicle. "The Tale of Bygone Years". Literature. Education in Kievan Rus. Birch bark letters. Architecture. Painting (frescoes, mosaics, iconography).
Economic and political reasons feudal fragmentation of Rus'.
feudal landownership. Urban development. Princely power and boyars. The political system in various Russian lands and principalities.
The largest political formations on the territory of Rus'. Rostov-(Vladimir)-Suzdal, Galicia-Volyn principality, Novgorod boyar republic. Socio-economic and internal political development of principalities and lands on the eve of the Mongol invasion.
International position of Russian lands. Political and cultural ties between Russian lands. Feudal strife. Fighting external danger.
The rise of culture in the Russian lands in the XII-XIII centuries. The idea of the unity of the Russian land in the works of culture. "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".
Formation of the early feudal Mongolian state. Genghis Khan and the unification of the Mongol tribes. The conquest by the Mongols of the lands of neighboring peoples, northeastern China, Korea, Central Asia. Invasion of Transcaucasia and South Russian steppes. Battle on the Kalka River.
Campaigns of Batu.
Invasion of North-Eastern Rus'. The defeat of southern and southwestern Rus'. Campaigns of Batu in Central Europe. Rus''s struggle for independence and its historical meaning.
Aggression of the German feudal lords in the Baltic. Livonian order. The defeat of the Swedish troops on the Neva and the German knights in the Battle of the Ice. Alexander Nevskiy.
Formation of the Golden Horde. Socio-economic and political system. Control system for conquered lands. The struggle of the Russian people against the Golden Horde. The consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion and the Golden Horde yoke for further development our country.
The inhibitory effect of the Mongol-Tatar conquest on the development of Russian culture. Destruction and destruction of cultural property. Weakening of traditional ties with Byzantium and other Christian countries. Decline of crafts and arts. Oral folk art as a reflection of the struggle against the invaders.
Shortly after coming to power, Genghis Khan began campaigns of conquest. His armies attacked the nations Southern Siberia and Central Asia. The conquest of China began in 1211 (finally conquered by the Mongols in 1276).
In 1219, the Mongols attacked Central Asia, which was under the rule of the ruler of Khorezm (a country at the mouth of the Amu Darya) Muhammad. The vast majority of the population hated the power of the Khorezmians. The nobility, the merchants and the Muslim clergy were opposed to Muhammad. Under these conditions, the troops of Genghis Khan successfully carried out the conquest of Central Asia. Bukhara and Samarkand were captured. Khorezm was devastated, its ruler fled from the Mongols to Iran, where he soon died. One of the corps of the Mongolian army, led by the commanders Jebe and Subudai, continued the campaign and went on a long-range reconnaissance to the West. Rounding the Caspian Sea from the south, the Mongol troops invaded Georgia and Azerbaijan and then broke through to the North Caucasus, where they defeated the Polovtsy. The Polovtsian khans turned to the Russian princes for help. At the princely congress in Kyiv, it was decided to go to the steppe against a new unknown enemy. In 1223 on the shore R. Kalki, flowing into the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, a battle took place between the Mongols and detachments of Russians and Polovtsy. The Polovtsians fled almost from the very beginning. The Russians did not know either the nature of the new enemy or his methods of warfare; there was no unity in their army. Some of the princes, including Daniil Romanovich Galitsky, actively participated in the battle from the very beginning, while other princes preferred to wait. As a result, the Russian army was defeated, and the captured princes were crushed under the boards on which the victors feasted.
Having won a victory at Kalka, the Mongols did not continue, however, the campaign to the north. They turned east against Volga Bulgaria. Having not achieved success there, Jebe and Subudai returned back to report on their campaign to Genghis Khan.
In 1227 Genghis Khan died. In accordance with his will, the vast possessions of the Mongols were divided into regions (uluses) headed by his sons and grandsons. One of the grandsons of Genghis Khan, Batu, got part of the land from the Irtysh and further west to those limits "to which the hooves of the Mongol horses reached." This territory had yet to be conquered. The new campaign of the Mongols to the west, headed by Batu, became a general Mongol affair. A number of Mongol princes, experienced military leaders, including Subudai, and the troops of a number of conquered peoples took part in it. Regarding the specific number of conquering warriors, historians do not have a unanimous opinion: the number of 150 thousand people, apparently, is greatly overestimated.
Having conquered the Polovtsy and the Volga Bulgarians, the conquerors in the winter of 1237 moved against Rus'. Unfortunately, the necessary conclusions were not drawn from the defeat at Kalka, the Russians still had a poor idea of the nature of the formidable enemy.
The Ryazan principality was the first of the Russian lands to be devastated. Ryazan princes refused to submit to the Mongols. At the same time, their request for help, addressed to the great Vladimir prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, remained unanswered. The Ryazan principality was devastated and ruined. The capital of the Principality of Ryazan, after several days of continuous assault, was taken and plundered, its population was slaughtered. From the very beginning of the invasion of the conquerors, the population of Rus' offered them stubborn resistance. There is a legend about the remarkable feat of the Ryazan boyar Yevpaty Kolovrat, who himself attacked the army of Batu, managed to inflict heavy losses on the enemy and died heroically in battle with the invaders.
Having devastated the Ryazan land, the troops of Batu moved to the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. The Mongols ravaged and burned Kolomna, Moscow. In February 1238 they approached the capital of the principality - Vladimir. At this time, Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich was outside the capital, gathering the army necessary for resistance. After a fierce assault, Vladimir was taken and subjected to complete destruction. Shortly thereafter, on the City (the right tributary of the Mologa River), the Vladimir army was destroyed by the Mongols, Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich himself died during the battle.
Having ravaged the Vladimir land, the Mongols moved to Novgorod, but about 100 km from Novgorod, Batu turned south. Losses in people and horse composition forced the Mongols to interrupt the campaign for a while and go to the Polovtsian steppes for rest.
About a year and a half later, the invaders attacked the South Russian lands. They destroyed Pereyaslavl and Chernigov. In the winter of 1240, Batu's troops took and plundered Kyiv. Then, through the Galicia-Volyn land, the conquering troops invaded Hungary and Poland and, in their advance to the west, reached the Adriatic. However, fatigue from a long campaign, the intensification of the struggle for power around the throne of the ruler of the Mongol Empire, and most importantly, the ongoing resistance of the devastated, but not completely conquered Russian lands, forced the conquerors to stop further war in Europe.
