Who defeated the Mongolian Tatars. So was there a Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus'?
Rus' under the Mongol-Tatar yoke existed in an extremely humiliating way. She was completely subjugated both politically and economically. Therefore, the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus', the date of standing on the Ugra River - 1480, is perceived as most important event in our history. Although Rus' became politically independent, the payment of tribute in a smaller amount continued until the time of Peter the Great. The complete end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke is the year 1700, when Peter the Great canceled payments to the Crimean khans.
Mongol army
In the 12th century, Mongol nomads united under the rule of the cruel and cunning ruler Temujin. He mercilessly suppressed all obstacles to unlimited power and created a unique army that won victory after victory. He, creating a great empire, was called Genghis Khan by his nobility.
Having conquered East Asia, Mongol troops reached the Caucasus and Crimea. They destroyed the Alans and Polovtsians. The remnants of the Polovtsians turned to Rus' for help.
First meeting
There were 20 or 30 thousand soldiers in the Mongol army, it is not precisely established. They were led by Jebe and Subedei. They stopped at the Dnieper. And at this time, Khotchan persuaded the Galich prince Mstislav the Udal to oppose the invasion of the terrible cavalry. He was joined by Mstislav of Kiev and Mstislav of Chernigov. According to various sources, the total Russian army numbered from 10 to 100 thousand people. The military council took place on the banks of the Kalka River. A unified plan was not developed. spoke alone. He was supported only by the remnants of the Cumans, but during the battle they fled. The princes who did not support Galician still had to fight the Mongols who attacked their fortified camp.
The battle lasted three days. Only by cunning and a promise not to take anyone prisoner did the Mongols enter the camp. But they didn’t keep their words. The Mongols tied up the Russian governors and princes alive and covered them with boards and sat on them and began to feast on the victory, enjoying the groans of the dying. So the Kiev prince and his entourage died in agony. The year was 1223. The Mongols, without going into details, went back to Asia. In thirteen years they will return. And all these years in Rus' there was a fierce squabble between the princes. It completely undermined the strength of the Southwestern principalities.
Invasion
The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu, with a huge half-million army, having conquered the Polovtsian lands in the east and the south, approached the Russian principalities in December 1237. His tactics were not to give a big battle, but to attack individual detachments, defeating everyone one by one. Approaching the southern borders of the Ryazan principality, the Tatars ultimatively demanded tribute from him: a tenth of horses, people and princes. There were barely three thousand soldiers in Ryazan. They sent for help to Vladimir, but no help came. After six days of siege, Ryazan was taken.
The inhabitants were killed and the city was destroyed. This was the beginning. The end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke will occur in two hundred and forty difficult years. Next was Kolomna. There the Russian army was almost all killed. Moscow lies in ashes. But before that, someone who dreamed of returning to their native places buried a treasure of silver jewelry. It was found by accident during construction in the Kremlin in the 90s of the 20th century. Next was Vladimir. The Mongols spared neither women nor children and destroyed the city. Then Torzhok fell. But spring was coming, and, fearing muddy roads, the Mongols moved south. Northern swampy Rus' did not interest them. But the defending tiny Kozelsk stood in the way. For almost two months the city resisted fiercely. But reinforcements came to the Mongols with battering machines, and the city was taken. All the defenders were slaughtered and no stone was left unturned from the town. So, all of North-Eastern Rus' by 1238 lay in ruins. And who can doubt whether there was a Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus'? From the brief description it follows that there were wonderful good neighborly relations, doesn’t it?
Southwestern Rus'
Her turn came in 1239. Pereyaslavl, the Chernigov principality, Kyiv, Vladimir-Volynsky, Galich - everything was destroyed, not to mention smaller cities and villages. And how far away is the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke! How much horror and destruction its beginning brought. The Mongols entered Dalmatia and Croatia. Western Europe trembled.
However, news from distant Mongolia forced the invaders to turn back. But they didn’t have enough strength for a second campaign. Europe was saved. But our Motherland, lying in ruins and bleeding, did not know when the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke would come.
Rus' under the yoke
Who suffered the most from the Mongol invasion? Peasants? Yes, the Mongols did not spare them. But they could hide in the forests. Townspeople? Certainly. There were 74 cities in Rus', and 49 of them were destroyed by Batu, and 14 were never restored. Craftsmen were turned into slaves and exported. There was no continuity of skills in crafts, and the craft fell into decline. They forgot how to cast glassware, boil glass to make windows, and there was no more multi-colored ceramics or jewelry with cloisonné enamel. Masons and carvers disappeared, and stone construction stopped for 50 years. But it was hardest of all for those who repelled the attack with weapons in their hands - the feudal lords and warriors. Of the 12 Ryazan princes, three remained alive, of the 3 Rostov princes - one, of the 9 Suzdal princes - 4. But no one counted the losses in the squads. And there were no less of them. Professionals in military service replaced by other people who were accustomed to being pushed around. So the princes began to have full power. This process subsequently, when the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke comes, will deepen and lead to the unlimited power of the monarch.
Russian princes and the Golden Horde
After 1242, Rus' fell under the complete political and economic oppression of the Horde. In order for the prince to legally inherit his throne, he had to go with gifts to the “free king,” as our princes called the khans, to the capital of the Horde. I had to stay there for quite a long time. Khan slowly considered the lowest requests. The whole procedure turned into a chain of humiliations, and after much deliberation, sometimes many months, the khan gave a “label,” that is, permission to reign. So, one of our princes, having come to Batu, called himself a slave in order to retain his possessions.
The tribute to be paid by the principality was necessarily specified. At any moment, the khan could summon the prince to the Horde and even execute anyone he disliked. The Horde pursued a special policy with the princes, diligently fanning their feuds. The disunity of the princes and their principalities was to the advantage of the Mongols. The Horde itself gradually became a colossus with feet of clay. Centrifugal sentiments intensified within her. But this will be much later. And at first its unity is strong. After the death of Alexander Nevsky, his sons fiercely hate each other and fight fiercely for the Vladimir throne. Conventionally, reigning in Vladimir gave the prince seniority over everyone else. In addition, a decent plot of land was added to those who brought money to the treasury. And for the great reign of Vladimir in the Horde, a struggle flared up between the princes, sometimes to the death. This is how Rus' lived under the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The Horde troops practically did not stand in it. But if there was disobedience, punitive troops could always come and start cutting and burning everything.
The Rise of Moscow
The bloody feuds of the Russian princes among themselves led to the fact that during the period from 1275 to 1300, Mongol troops came to Rus' 15 times. Many principalities emerged from the strife weakened, and people fled to quieter places. Little Moscow turned out to be such a quiet principality. It went to the younger Daniel. He reigned from the age of 15 and pursued a cautious policy, trying not to quarrel with his neighbors, because he was too weak. And the Horde did not pay close attention to him. Thus, an impetus was given to the development of trade and enrichment in this area.
Settlers from troubled places poured into it. Over time, Daniil managed to annex Kolomna and Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, increasing his principality. His sons after his death continued their father's relatively quiet policies. Only the Tver princes saw them as potential rivals and tried, while fighting for the Great Reign in Vladimir, to spoil Moscow’s relations with the Horde. This hatred reached the point that when the Moscow prince and the prince of Tver were simultaneously summoned to the Horde, Dmitry Tverskoy stabbed Yuri of Moscow to death. For such arbitrariness he was executed by the Horde.
Ivan Kalita and “great silence”
The fourth son of Prince Daniil seemed to have no chance of winning the Moscow throne. But his older brothers died, and he began to reign in Moscow. By the will of fate, he also became the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Under him and his sons, Mongol raids on Russian lands stopped. Moscow and the people in it became richer. Cities grew and their population increased. An entire generation grew up in North-Eastern Rus' and stopped trembling at the mention of the Mongols. This brought closer the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus'.
Dmitry Donskoy
By the birth of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich in 1350, Moscow was already turning into the center of political, cultural and religious life in the northeast. The grandson of Ivan Kalita did not live long, 39 years, but bright life. He spent it in battles, but now it is important to dwell on the great battle with Mamai, which took place in 1380 on the Nepryadva River. By this time, Prince Dmitry defeated the punitive Mongol detachment between Ryazan and Kolomna. Mamai began to prepare a new campaign against Rus'. Dmitry, having learned about this, in turn began to gather strength to fight back. Not all princes responded to his call. The prince had to turn to Sergius of Radonezh for help in order to gather a people's militia. And having received the blessing of the holy elder and two monks, at the end of summer he gathered a militia and moved towards the huge army of Mamai.
On September 8 at dawn it took place great battle. Dmitry fought in the front ranks, was wounded, and was found with difficulty. But the Mongols were defeated and fled. Dmitry returned victorious. But the time has not yet come when the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus' will come. History says that another hundred years will pass under the yoke.
Strengthening Rus'
Moscow became the center of the unification of Russian lands, but not all princes agreed to accept this fact. Dmitry's son, Vasily I, ruled for a long time, 36 years, and relatively calmly. He defended Russian lands from the encroachments of the Lithuanians, annexed the Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod principalities. The Horde weakened, and was taken into account less and less. Vasily visited the Horde only twice in his life. But there was no unity within Rus' either. Riots broke out endlessly. Even at the wedding of Prince Vasily II a scandal broke out. One of the guests was wearing the gold belt of Dmitry Donskoy. When the bride found out about this, she publicly tore it off, causing an insult. But the belt was not just a piece of jewelry. He was a symbol of the grand ducal power. During the reign of Vasily II (1425-1453), feudal wars took place. The Moscow prince was captured, blinded, his entire face was wounded, and for the rest of his life he wore a bandage on his face and received the nickname “Dark.” However, this strong-willed prince was released, and young Ivan became his co-ruler, who, after the death of his father, would become the liberator of the country and receive the nickname the Great.
The end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus'
In 1462, the legitimate ruler Ivan III ascended the Moscow throne, who would become a transformer and reformer. He carefully and prudently united the Russian lands. He annexed Tver, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Perm, and even obstinate Novgorod recognized him as sovereign. He made the double-headed Byzantine eagle his coat of arms and began building the Kremlin. This is exactly how we know him. Since 1476, Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Horde. A beautiful but untrue legend tells how this happened. Having received the Horde embassy, the Grand Duke trampled the Basma and sent a warning to the Horde that the same thing would happen to them if they did not leave his country alone. The enraged Khan Ahmed, having gathered a large army, moved towards Moscow, wanting to punish her for disobedience. About 150 km from Moscow, near the Ugra River on Kaluga lands, two troops stood opposite each other in the fall. The Russian was headed by Vasily's son, Ivan the Young.
Ivan III returned to Moscow and began supplying the army with food and fodder. So the troops stood opposite each other until early winter came with lack of food and buried all of Ahmed’s plans. The Mongols turned around and went to the Horde, admitting defeat. This is how the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke took place bloodlessly. Its date is 1480 - a great event in our history.
The meaning of the fall of the yoke
Having suspended the political, economic and cultural development of Rus' for a long time, the yoke pushed the country to the margins of European history. When in Western Europe The Renaissance began and flourished in all areas, when the national identities of peoples took shape, when countries became rich and flourished with trade, sent naval fleet in search of new lands, there was darkness in Rus'. Columbus discovered America already in 1492. For Europeans, the Earth was growing rapidly. For us, the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus' marked the opportunity to leave the narrow medieval framework, change laws, reform the army, build cities and develop new lands. In short, Rus' gained independence and began to be called Russia.
Most history textbooks say that in the 13th-15th centuries Rus' suffered from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. However, in Lately More and more often are the voices of those who doubt that the invasion took place at all? Did huge hordes of nomads really surge into peaceful principalities, enslaving their inhabitants? Let's analyze historical facts, many of which may be shocking.
The yoke was invented by the Poles
The term “Mongol-Tatar yoke” itself was coined by Polish authors. The chronicler and diplomat Jan Dlugosz in 1479 called the time of existence of the Golden Horde this way. He was followed in 1517 by the historian Matvey Miechowski, who worked at the University of Krakow. This interpretation The relationship between Rus' and the Mongol conquerors was quickly picked up in Western Europe, and from there it was borrowed by domestic historians.
Moreover, there were practically no Tatars themselves in the Horde troops. It’s just that in Europe the name of this Asian people was well known, and therefore it spread to the Mongols. Meanwhile, Genghis Khan tried to exterminate the entire Tatar tribe, defeating their army in 1202.
The first census of Rus'
The first population census in the history of Rus' was carried out by representatives of the Horde. They had to collect accurate information about the inhabitants of each principality and their class affiliation. The main reason Such interest in statistics on the part of the Mongols was due to the need to calculate the amount of taxes imposed on their subjects.
In 1246, a census took place in Kyiv and Chernigov, the Ryazan principality was subjected to statistical analysis in 1257, the Novgorodians were counted another two years later, and the population of the Smolensk region - in 1275.
Moreover, the inhabitants of Rus' raised popular uprisings and drove out the so-called “besermen” who were collecting tribute for the khans of Mongolia from their land. But the governors of the rulers of the Golden Horde, called Baskaks, for a long time lived and worked in the Russian principalities, sending collected taxes to Sarai-Batu, and later to Sarai-Berke.
Joint hikes
Princely squads and Horde warriors often carried out joint military campaigns, both against other Russians and against residents of Eastern Europe. Thus, in the period 1258-1287, the troops of the Mongols and Galician princes regularly attacked Poland, Hungary and Lithuania. And in 1277, the Russians took part in the Mongol military campaign in the North Caucasus, helping their allies conquer Alanya.
In 1333, Muscovites stormed Novgorod, and the next year the Bryansk squad marched on Smolensk. Each time, Horde troops also took part in these internecine battles. In addition, they regularly helped the great princes of Tver, considered at that time the main rulers of Rus', to pacify the rebellious neighboring lands.
The basis of the horde were Russians
The Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited the city of Sarai-Berke in 1334, wrote in his essay “A Gift to Those Contemplating the Wonders of Cities and the Wonders of Wanderings” that there are many Russians in the capital of the Golden Horde. Moreover, they make up the bulk of the population: both working and armed.
This fact was also mentioned by the White émigré author Andrei Gordeev in the book “History of the Cossacks,” which was published in France in the late 20s of the 20th century. According to the researcher, most The Horde troops were made up of the so-called Brodniks - ethnic Slavs who inhabited the Azov region and the Don steppes. These predecessors of the Cossacks did not want to obey the princes, so they moved to the south for the sake of a free life. The name of this ethnosocial group probably comes from the Russian word “wander” (wander).
As is known from chronicle sources, in the Battle of Kalka in 1223, the Brodniks, led by the governor Ploskyna, fought on the side of the Mongol troops. Perhaps his knowledge of the tactics and strategy of the princely squads had great importance to defeat the united Russian-Polovtsian forces.
In addition, it was Ploskynya who, by cunning, lured out the ruler of Kyiv, Mstislav Romanovich, along with two Turov-Pinsk princes and handed them over to the Mongols for execution.
However, most historians believe that the Mongols forced Russians to serve in their army, i.e. the invaders forcibly armed representatives of the enslaved people. Although this seems implausible.
And a senior researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Marina Poluboyarinova, in her book “Russian People in the Golden Horde” (Moscow, 1978) suggested: “Probably, the forced participation of Russian soldiers in the Tatar army later ceased. There were mercenaries left who had already voluntarily joined the Tatar troops.”
Caucasian invaders
Yesugei-Baghatur, the father of Genghis Khan, was a representative of the Borjigin clan of the Mongolian Kiyat tribe. According to the descriptions of many eyewitnesses, both he and his legendary son were tall, fair-skinned people with reddish hair.
The Persian scientist Rashid ad-Din wrote in his work “Collection of Chronicles” (beginning of the 14th century) that all the descendants of the great conqueror were mostly blond and gray-eyed.
This means that the elite of the Golden Horde belonged to Caucasians. It is likely that representatives of this race predominated among other invaders.
There weren't many of them
We are accustomed to believe that in the 13th century Rus' was invaded by countless hordes of Mongol-Tatars. Some historians talk about 500,000 troops. However, it is not. After all, even the population of modern Mongolia barely exceeds 3 million people, and if we take into account the brutal genocide of fellow tribesmen committed by Genghis Khan on his way to power, the size of his army could not be so impressive.
It is difficult to imagine how to feed an army of half a million, moreover, traveling on horses. The animals simply would not have enough pasture. But each Mongolian horseman brought with him at least three horses. Now imagine a herd of 1.5 million. The horses of the warriors riding at the forefront of the army would eat and trample everything they could. The remaining horses would have starved to death.
According to the most daring estimates, the army of Genghis Khan and Batu could not have exceeded 30 thousand horsemen. While the population of Ancient Rus', according to historian Georgy Vernadsky (1887-1973), before the invasion was about 7.5 million people.
Bloodless executions
The Mongols, like most peoples of that time, executed people who were not noble or disrespected by cutting off their heads. However, if the condemned person enjoyed authority, then his spine was broken and left to slowly die.
The Mongols were sure that blood was the seat of the soul. To shed it means to complicate the afterlife path of the deceased to other worlds. Bloodless execution was applied to rulers, political and military figures, and shamans.
The reason for a death sentence in the Golden Horde could be any crime: from desertion from the battlefield to petty theft.
The bodies of the dead were thrown into the steppe
The method of burial of a Mongol also directly depended on his social status. Rich and influential people they found peace in special burials, in which valuables, gold and silver jewelry, and household items were buried along with the bodies of the dead. And the poor and ordinary soldiers killed in battle were often simply left in the steppe, where their life’s journey ended.
In the alarming conditions of nomadic life, consisting of regular skirmishes with enemies, it was difficult to arrange funeral rites. The Mongols often had to move on quickly, without delay.
It was believed that the corpse of a worthy person would be quickly eaten by scavengers and vultures. But if birds and animals have not touched the body for a long time, folk beliefs this meant that the soul of the deceased had a grave sin.
When historians analyze the reasons for the success of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, among the most important and significant reasons they name the presence of a powerful khan in power. Often the khan became the personification of strength and military might, and therefore he was feared by both the Russian princes and representatives of the yoke itself. Which khans left their mark on history and were considered the most powerful rulers of their people.
The most powerful khans of the Mongol yoke
During the entire existence of the Mongol Empire and the Golden Horde, many khans changed on the throne. Rulers changed especially often during the Great Zamyatna, when the crisis forced brother to go against brother. Various internecine wars and regular military campaigns have confused the family tree of the Mongol khans, but the names of the most powerful rulers are still known. So, which khans of the Mongol Empire were considered the most powerful?
- Genghis Khan because of the mass of successful campaigns and the unification of lands into one state.
- Batu, who managed to completely subjugate Ancient Rus' and form the Golden Horde.
- Khan Uzbek, under whom the Golden Horde achieved its greatest power.
- Mamai, who managed to unite the troops during the great turmoil.
- Khan Tokhtamysh, who made successful campaigns against Moscow and returned Ancient Rus' to the captive territories.
Each ruler deserves special attention, because his contribution to the history of the development of the Tatar-Mongol yoke is enormous. However, it is much more interesting to talk about all the rulers of the yoke, trying to restore the family tree of the khans.
Tatar-Mongol khans and their role in the history of the yoke
Name and years of Khan's reign | His role in history |
Genghis Khan (1206-1227) | Even before Genghis Khan, the Mongol yoke had its own rulers, but it was this khan who managed to unite all the lands and make surprisingly successful campaigns against China, Northern Asia and against the Tatars. |
Ogedei (1229-1241) | Genghis Khan tried to give all his sons the opportunity to rule, so he divided the empire between them, but it was Ogedei who was his main heir. The ruler continued his expansion into Central Asia and Northern China, strengthening the position in Europe. |
Batu (1227-1255) | Batu was only the ruler of the Jochi ulus, which later received the name Golden Horde. However, the successful Western campaign, the expansion of Ancient Rus' and Poland, made Batu national hero. He soon began to extend his sphere of influence throughout the entire territory of the Mongol state, becoming an increasingly authoritative ruler. |
Berke (1257-1266) | It was during the reign of Berke that the Golden Horde almost completely separated from the Mongol Empire. The ruler emphasized urban development, improvement social status citizens. |
Mengu-Timur (1266-1282), Tuda-Mengu (1282-1287), Tula-Bugi (1287-1291) | These rulers did not leave a big mark on history, but they were able to further isolate the Golden Horde and defend its rights to freedom from the Mongol Empire. The basis of the economy of the Golden Horde remained tribute from the princes of Ancient Rus'. |
Khan Uzbek (1312-1341) and Khan Janibek (1342-1357) | Under Khan Uzbek and his son Janibek, the Golden Horde flourished. The offerings of the Russian princes regularly increased, urban development continued, and the residents of Sarai-Batu adored their khan and literally worshiped him. |
Mamai (1359-1381) | Mamai was in no way related to the legitimate rulers of the Golden Horde and had no connection with them. He seized power in the country by force, seeking new economic reforms and military victories. Despite the fact that Mamai’s power grew stronger every day, problems in the state grew due to conflicts on the throne. As a result, in 1380 Mamai suffered a crushing defeat from Russian troops on the Kulikovo field, and in 1381 he was overthrown by the legitimate ruler Tokhtamysh. |
Tokhtamysh (1380-1395) | Perhaps the last great khan of the Golden Horde. After the crushing defeat of Mamai, he managed to regain his status in Ancient Rus'. After the campaign against Moscow in 1382, tribute payments resumed, and Tokhtamysh proved his superiority in power. |
Kadir Berdi (1419), Haji Muhammad (1420-1427), Ulu Muhammad (1428-1432), Kichi Muhammad (1432-1459) | All these rulers tried to establish their power during the period of state collapse of the Golden Horde. After the start of the internal political crisis, many rulers changed, and this also affected the deterioration of the country’s situation. As a result, in 1480, Ivan III managed to achieve the independence of Ancient Rus', throwing off the shackles of centuries-old tribute. |
As often happens, a great state falls apart due to a dynastic crisis. Several decades after the liberation of Ancient Rus' from the hegemony of the Mongol yoke, the Russian rulers also had to endure their own dynastic crisis, but that is a completely different story.
Today we will talk about something very “slippery” from the point of view modern history and science, but also an equally interesting topic.
This is the question raised in the May order table by ihoraksjuta “now let’s move on, the so-called Tatar-Mongol yoke, I don’t remember where I read it, but there was no yoke, these were all the consequences of the baptism of Rus', the bearer of the faith of Christ fought with those who did not want, well, as usual, with sword and blood, remember the Crusades hiking, can you tell us more about this period?”Controversy over the history of the invasion Tatar-Mongol and the consequences of their invasion, the so-called yoke, do not disappear, probably will never disappear. Under the influence of numerous critics, including Gumilyov’s supporters, new, interesting facts began to be woven into the traditional version of Russian history Mongol yoke that I would like to develop. As we all remember from our school history course, the prevailing point of view is still the following:
In the first half of the 13th century, Russia was invaded by the Tatars, who came to Europe from Central Asia, in particular, China and Central Asia, which they had already captured by this time. The dates are precisely known to our Russian historians: 1223 - Battle of Kalka, 1237 - fall of Ryazan, 1238 - defeat of the united forces of the Russian princes on the banks of the City River, 1240 - fall of Kyiv. Tatar-Mongol troops destroyed individual squads of princes Kievan Rus and subjected it to a monstrous defeat. The military power of the Tatars was so irresistible that their dominance continued for two and a half centuries - until the “Standing on the Ugra” in 1480, when the consequences of the yoke were eventually completely eliminated, the end came.
For 250 years, that’s how many years, Russia paid tribute to the Horde in money and blood. In 1380, Rus' for the first time since the invasion of Batu Khan gathered forces and gave battle to the Tatar Horde on the Kulikovo field, in which Dmitry Donskoy defeated the temnik Mamai, but from this defeat all the Tatar-Mongols did not happen at all, this was, so to speak, a won battle in lost war. Although even the traditional version of Russian history says that there were practically no Tatar-Mongols in Mamai’s army, only local nomads from the Don and Genoese mercenaries. By the way, the participation of the Genoese suggests the participation of the Vatican in this issue. Today, new data, as it were, has begun to be added to the known version of Russian history, but intended to add credibility and reliability to the already existing version. In particular, there are extensive discussions about the number of nomadic Tatars - Mongols, the specifics of their martial art and weapons.
Let's evaluate the versions that exist today:
I suggest starting with a very interesting fact. Such a nationality as the Mongol-Tatars does not exist, and never existed at all. The only thing the Mongols and Tatars have in common is that they roamed the Central Asian steppe, which, as we know, is large enough to accommodate any nomadic people, and at the same time give them the opportunity not to intersect on the same territory at all.
The Mongol tribes lived at the southern tip of the Asian steppe and often raided China and its provinces, as the history of China often confirms to us. While other nomadic Turkic tribes, called from time immemorial in Rus' Bulgars (Volga Bulgaria), settled in the lower reaches of the Volga River. In those days in Europe they were called Tatars, or TatAryans (the most powerful of the nomadic tribes, unbending and invincible). And the Tatars, the closest neighbors of the Mongols, lived in the northeastern part of modern Mongolia, mainly in the area of Lake Buir Nor and up to the borders of China. There were 70 thousand families, making up 6 tribes: Tutukulyut Tatars, Alchi Tatars, Chagan Tatars, Queen Tatars, Terat Tatars, Barkuy Tatars. The second parts of the names are apparently the self-names of these tribes. There is not a single word among them that sounds close to the Turkic language - they are more consonant with Mongolian names.
Two related peoples - the Tatars and the Mongols - fought a war of mutual extermination for a long time with varying success, until Genghis Khan seized power throughout Mongolia. The fate of the Tatars was predetermined. Since the Tatars were the killers of Genghis Khan’s father, destroyed many tribes and clans close to him, and constantly supported the tribes opposing him, “then Genghis Khan (Tei-mu-Chin) ordered the general massacre of the Tatars and not leave even one alive until the limit determined by law (Yasak); so that women and small children should also be killed, and the wombs of pregnant women should be cut open in order to completely destroy them. …”.
That is why such a nationality could not threaten the freedom of Rus'. Moreover, many historians and cartographers of that time, especially Eastern European ones, “sinned” to call all indestructible (from the point of view of Europeans) and invincible peoples TatAriev or simply in Latin TatArie.
This can be easily seen from ancient maps, for example, Map of Russia 1594 in the Atlas of Gerhard Mercator, or Maps of Russia and TarTaria by Ortelius.
One of the fundamental axioms of Russian historiography is the assertion that for almost 250 years, the so-called “Mongol-Tatar yoke” existed on the lands inhabited by the ancestors of the modern East Slavic peoples - Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians. Allegedly, in the 30s - 40s of the 13th century, the ancient Russian principalities were subjected to a Mongol-Tatar invasion under the leadership of the legendary Batu Khan.
The fact is that there are numerous historical facts that contradict the historical version of the “Mongol-Tatar yoke.”
First of all, even the canonical version does not directly confirm the fact of the conquest of the northeastern ancient Russian principalities by Mongol-Tatar invaders - supposedly these principalities became vassals of the Golden Horde ( public education occupied large territory in the southeast of Eastern Europe and Western Siberia, founded by the Mongol prince Batu). They say that the army of Khan Batu made several bloody predatory raids on these very northeastern ancient Russian principalities, as a result of which our distant ancestors decided to go “under the arm” of Batu and his Golden Horde.
However, it is known historical information that the personal guard of Khan Batu consisted exclusively of Russian soldiers. Very strange circumstance for the lackey vassals of the great Mongol conquerors, especially for the newly conquered people.
There is indirect evidence of the existence of Batu’s letter to the legendary Russian prince Alexander Nevsky, in which the all-powerful khan of the Golden Horde asks the Russian prince to take in his son and make him a real warrior and commander.
Some sources also claim that Tatar mothers in the Golden Horde frightened their naughty children with the name of Alexander Nevsky.
As a result of all these inconsistencies, the author of these lines in his book “2013. Memories of the Future” (“Olma-Press”) puts forward a completely different version of the events of the first half and mid-13th century on the territory of the European part of the future Russian Empire.
According to this version, when the Mongols, at the head of nomadic tribes (later called Tatars), reached the northeastern ancient Russian principalities, they actually entered into quite bloody military clashes with them. But Khan Batu did not achieve a crushing victory; most likely, the matter ended in a kind of “battle draw”. And then Batu proposed an equal military alliance to the Russian princes. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain why his guard consisted of Russian knights, and why Tatar mothers frightened their children with the name of Alexander Nevsky.
All these horror stories about the “Tatar-Mongol yoke” were composed much later, when the Moscow kings had to create myths about their exclusivity and superiority over the conquered peoples (the same Tatars, for example).
Even in modern school curriculum, this historical moment is briefly described as follows: “At the beginning of the 13th century, Genghis Khan gathered a large army of nomadic peoples, and, subordinating them to strict discipline, decided to conquer the whole world. Having defeated China, he sent his army to Rus'. In the winter of 1237, the army of “Mongol-Tatars” invaded the territory of Rus', and subsequently defeating the Russian army on the Kalka River, went further, through Poland and the Czech Republic. As a result, having reached the shores of the Adriatic Sea, the army suddenly stops and, without completing its task, turns back. From this period the so-called “ Mongol-Tatar yoke"over Russia.
But wait, they were going to conquer the whole world... so why didn't they go further? Historians answered that they were afraid of an attack from behind, defeated and plundered, but still strong Rus'. But this is just funny. Will the plundered state run to defend other people's cities and villages? Rather, they will rebuild their borders and wait for the return of the enemy troops in order to fight back fully armed.
But the weirdness doesn't end there. For some unimaginable reason, during the reign of the House of Romanov, dozens of chronicles describing the events of the “time of the Horde” disappear. For example, “The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land,” historians believe that this is a document from which everything that would indicate the Ige was carefully removed. They left only fragments telling about some kind of “trouble” that befell Rus'. But there is not a word about the “invasion of the Mongols.”
There are many more strange things. In the story “about the evil Tatars,” the khan from the Golden Horde orders the execution of a Russian Christian prince... for refusing to bow to the “pagan god of the Slavs!” And some chronicles contain amazing phrases, for example: “Well, with God!” - said the khan and, crossing himself, galloped towards the enemy.
So, what really happened?
At that time, Europe was already thriving " new faith"namely Faith in Christ. Catholicism was widespread everywhere, and governed everything, from the way of life and the system, to the state system and legislation. At that time, crusades against infidels were still relevant, but along with military methods, “tactical tricks” were often used, akin to bribing authorities and inducing them to their faith. And after receiving power through the purchased person, the conversion of all his “subordinates” to the faith. Just so secret crusade and then took place in Rus'. Through bribery and other promises, church ministers were able to seize power over Kiev and nearby regions. Just relatively recently, by the standards of history, the baptism of Rus' took place, but history is silent about the civil war that arose on this basis immediately after the forced baptism. And the ancient Slavic chronicle describes this moment as follows:
« And the Vorogs came from overseas, and they brought faith in alien gods. With fire and sword they began to implant in us an alien faith, shower the Russian princes with gold and silver, bribe their will, and lead them astray from the true path. They promised them an idle life, full of wealth and happiness, and remission of any sins for their dashing deeds.
And then Ros broke up into different states. The Russian clans retreated north to the great Asgard, and named their empire after the names of their patron gods, Tarkh Dazhdbog the Great and Tara, his Sister the Light-Wise. (They called her the Great TarTaria). Leaving the foreigners with the princes purchased in the Principality of Kiev and its environs. Volga Bulgaria also did not bow to its enemies, and did not accept their alien faith as its own.
But the Principality of Kiev did not live in peace with TarTaria. They began to conquer the Russian lands with fire and sword and impose their alien faith. And then the military army rose up for a fierce battle. In order to preserve their faith and reclaim their lands. Both old and young then joined the Ratniki in order to restore order to the Russian Lands.”
And so the war began, in which the Russian army, the land of the Great Aria (tattAria) defeated the enemy and drove him out of the primordially Slavic lands. It drove away the alien army, with their fierce faith, from its stately lands.
By the way, the word Horde translated by initial letters ancient Slavic alphabet, means Order. That is, the Golden Horde is not a separate state, it is a system. "Political" system of the Golden Order. Under which the Princes reigned locally, planted with the approval of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Defense, or in one word they called him KHAN (our defender).
This means that there was not more than two hundred years of oppression, but there was a time of peace and prosperity of the Great Aria or TarTaria. By the way, modern history also has confirmation of this, but for some reason no one pays attention to it. But we will definitely pay attention, and very closely:
The Mongol-Tatar yoke is a system of political and tributary dependence of the Russian principalities on the Mongol-Tatar khans (until the early 60s of the 13th century, the Mongol khans, after the khans of the Golden Horde) in the 13th-15th centuries. The establishment of the yoke became possible as a result Mongol invasion to Rus' in 1237-1241 and occurred for two decades after it, including in lands that were not devastated. In North-Eastern Rus' it lasted until 1480. (Wikipedia)
Battle of the Neva (July 15, 1240) - a battle on the Neva River between the Novgorod militia under the command of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich and the Swedish army. After the victory of the Novgorodians, Alexander Yaroslavich received the honorary nickname “Nevsky” for his skillful management of the campaign and courage in battle. (Wikipedia)
Doesn’t it seem strange to you that the battle with the Swedes is taking place right in the middle of the “Mongol-Tatars” invasion of Rus'? Rus', blazing in fires and plundered by the “Mongols,” is attacked by the Swedish army, which safely drowns in the waters of the Neva, and at the same time the Swedish crusaders do not encounter the Mongols even once. And the Russians, who defeated the strong Swedish army, lose to the Mongols? In my opinion, this is just nonsense. Two huge armies are fighting on the same territory at the same time and never intersect. But if you turn to the ancient Slavic chronicles, then everything becomes clear.
Since 1237 Rat Great TarTaria began to win back their ancestral lands, and when the war was coming to an end, the losing representatives of the church asked for help, and the Swedish crusaders were sent into battle. Since it was not possible to take the country by bribery, then they will take it by force. Just in 1240, the army of the Horde (that is, the army of Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich, one of the princes of the ancient Slavic family) clashed in battle with the army of the Crusaders, which came to the rescue of its minions. Having won the Battle of the Neva, Alexander received the title of Prince of the Neva and remained to rule Novgorod, and the Horde Army went further to drive the adversary out of the Russian lands completely. So she persecuted “the church and the alien faith” until she reached the Adriatic Sea, thereby restoring her original ancient borders. And having reached them, the army turned around and went north again. Having installed 300 year period of peace.
Again, confirmation of this is the so-called end of the Yoke. Battle of Kulikovo"Before which 2 knights Peresvet and Chelubey took part in the match. Two Russian knights, Andrei Peresvet (superior light) and Chelubey (beating the forehead, Telling, narrating, asking) Information about which was cruelly cut out from the pages of history. It was Chelubey’s loss that foreshadowed the victory of the army of Kievan Rus, restored with the money of the same “Churchmen” who nevertheless penetrated Rus' from the dark, albeit more than 150 years later. It will be later, when all of Rus' is plunged into the abyss of chaos, all sources confirming the events of the past will be burned. And after the Romanov family came to power, many documents will take on the form we know.
By the way, this is not the first time that the Slavic army defends its lands and expels infidels from its territories. Another extremely interesting and confusing moment in History tells us about this.
Army of Alexander the Great, consisting of many professional warriors, was defeated by a small army of some nomads in the mountains north of India (Alexander’s last campaign). And for some reason no one is surprised by the fact that a large trained army that has crossed half the world and reshaped world map, was so easily broken by an army of simple and uneducated nomads.
But everything becomes clear if you look at the maps of that time and just even think about who the nomads who came from the north (from India) could have been. These are precisely our territories that originally belonged to the Slavs, and where to this day the remains of the Eth-Russian civilization are found .
The Macedonian army was pushed back by the army Slavyan-Ariev who defended their territories. It was at that time that the Slavs “for the first time” walked to the Adriatic Sea, and left a huge mark on the territories of Europe. Thus, it turns out that we are not the first to conquer “half the globe.”
So how did it happen that even now we don’t know our history? Everything is very simple. The Europeans, trembling with fear and horror, never ceased to be afraid of the Rusichs, even when their plans were crowned with success and they enslaved the Slavic peoples, they were still afraid that one day Rus' would rise up and shine again with its former strength.
At the beginning of the 18th century, Peter the Great founded Russian Academy Sci. Over the 120 years of its existence, there were 33 academic historians in the historical department of the Academy. Of these, only three were Russians (including M.V. Lomonosov), the rest were Germans. It turns out that the history of Ancient Rus' was written by the Germans, and many of them did not know not only the way of life and traditions, they did not even know the Russian language. This fact is well known to many historians, but they do not make any effort to carefully study the history that the Germans wrote and get to the bottom of the truth.
Lomonosov wrote a work on the history of Rus', and in this field he often had disputes with his German colleagues. After his death, the archives disappeared without a trace, but somehow his works on the history of Rus' were published, but under the editorship of Miller. At the same time, it was Miller who oppressed Lomonosov in every possible way during his lifetime. Computer analysis confirmed that Lomonosov’s works on the history of Rus' published by Miller are falsifications. Little remains of Lomonosov's works.
This concept can be found on the website of Omsk State University:
We will formulate our concept, hypothesis immediately, without
preliminary preparation of the reader.
Let's pay attention to the following strange and very interesting
data. However, their strangeness is based only on generally accepted
chronology and the version of ancient Russian instilled in us from childhood
stories. It turns out that changing the chronology removes many oddities and
<>.
One of the main moments in the history of ancient Rus' is this
called the Tatar-Mongol conquest by the Horde. Traditionally
it is believed that the Horde came from the East (China? Mongolia?),
captured many countries, conquered Rus', swept to the West and
even reached Egypt.
But if Rus' had been conquered in the 13th century with any
was from the sides - or from the east, as modern ones claim
historians, or from the West, as Morozov believed, would have to
remain information about the clashes between the conquerors and
Cossacks who lived both on the western borders of Rus' and in the lower reaches
Don and Volga. That is, exactly where they were supposed to pass
conquerors.
Of course, in school courses on Russian history we are intensively
they convince that the Cossack troops allegedly arose only in the 17th century,
allegedly due to the fact that the slaves fled from the power of the landowners to
Don. However, it is known, although this is usually not mentioned in textbooks,
- that, for example, the Don Cossack state existed STILL IN
XVI century, had its own laws and history.
Moreover, it turns out that the beginning of the history of the Cossacks dates back to
to the XII-XIII centuries. See, for example, the work of Sukhorukov<>in DON magazine, 1989.
Thus,<>, - no matter where she came from, -
moving along the natural path of colonization and conquest,
would inevitably have to come into conflict with the Cossacks
regions.
This is not noted.
What's the matter?
A natural hypothesis arises:
NO FOREIGN
THERE WAS NO CONQUEST OF Rus'. THE HORDE DIDN'T FIGHT WITH THE COSSACKS BECAUSE
THE COSSACKS WERE AN COMPONENT PART OF THE HORDE. This hypothesis was
not formulated by us. It is substantiated very convincingly,
for example, A. A. Gordeev in his<>.
BUT WE ARE SAYING SOMETHING MORE.
One of our main hypotheses is that the Cossacks
the troops not only formed part of the Horde - they were regular
troops of the Russian state. Thus, THE HORDE WAS
JUST A REGULAR RUSSIAN ARMY.
According to our hypothesis, modern terms ARMY and WARRIOR,
- Church Slavonic in origin, - were not Old Russian
terms. They came into constant use in Rus' only with
XVII century. And the old Russian terminology was: Horde,
Cossack, khan
Then the terminology changed. By the way, back in the 19th century
Russians folk proverbs words<>And<>were
interchangeable. This can be seen from the numerous examples given
in Dahl's dictionary. For example:<>and so on.
On the Don there is still the famous city of Semikarakorum, and on
Kuban - Hanskaya village. Let us remember that Karakorum is considered
THE CAPITAL OF GENGIZ KHAN. At the same time, as is well known, in those
places where archaeologists are still persistently searching for Karakorum, there is no
For some reason there is no Karakorum.
In desperation, they hypothesized that<>. This monastery, which existed back in the 19th century, was surrounded
an earthen rampart only about one English mile long. Historians
think that famous capital The Karakorum was entirely located on
territory subsequently occupied by this monastery.
According to our hypothesis, the Horde is not a foreign entity,
captured Rus' from the outside, but there is simply an Eastern Russian regular
an army that was part of an integral integral part into Old Russian
state.
Our hypothesis is this.
1) <>IT WAS JUST A WAR PERIOD
MANAGEMENT IN THE RUSSIAN STATE. NO ALIENS Rus'
CONQUERED.
2) THE SUPREME RULER WAS THE COMMANDER-KHAN = TSAR, AND B
CIVIL GOVERNORS SITTED IN THE CITIES - PRINCE WHO WERE DUTY
WERE COLLECTING TRIBUTE IN FAVOR OF THIS RUSSIAN ARMY, FOR ITS
CONTENT.
3) THUS, THE ANCIENT RUSSIAN STATE IS REPRESENTED
A UNITED EMPIRE, IN WHICH THERE WAS A STANDING ARMY CONSISTED OF
PROFESSIONAL MILITARY (HORDE) AND CIVILIAN UNITS THAT DID NOT HAVE
ITS REGULAR TROOPS. SINCE SUCH TROOPS WERE ALREADY PART OF THE
COMPOSITION OF THE HORDE.
4) THIS RUSSIAN-HORDE EMPIRE EXISTED SINCE THE XIV CENTURY
UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF THE 17TH CENTURY. HER STORY ENDED WITH A FAMOUS GREAT
THE TROUBLES IN Rus' AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 17TH CENTURY. AS A RESULT OF THE CIVIL WAR
RUSSIAN HORDA KINGS, - THE LAST OF WHICH WAS BORIS
<>, - WERE PHYSICALLY EXTERMINED. AND THE FORMER RUSSIAN
THE ARMY-HORDE ACTUALLY SUFFERED DEFEAT IN THE FIGHT WITH<>. AS A RESULT, POWER IN Rus' CAME TO PRINCIPALLY
NEW PRO-WESTERN ROMANOV DYNASTY. SHE SEIZED POWER AND
IN THE RUSSIAN CHURCH (FILARET).
5) A NEW DYNASTY WAS NEEDED<>,
IDEOLOGICALLY JUSTIFYING ITS POWER. THIS NEW POWER FROM THE POINT
THE VIEW OF THE PREVIOUS RUSSIAN-HORDA HISTORY WAS ILLEGAL. THAT'S WHY
ROMANOV NEEDED TO RADICALLY CHANGE THE COVERAGE OF THE PREVIOUS
RUSSIAN HISTORY. WE NEED TO GIVE THEM THEM'S DEPENDENCE - IT WAS DONE
COMPETENTLY. WITHOUT CHANGING MOST OF THE ESSENTIAL FACTS, THEY COULD BEFORE
UNRECOGNITION WILL DISTORT ENTIRE RUSSIAN HISTORY. SO, PREVIOUS
HISTORY OF Rus'-HORDE WITH ITS CLASS OF FARMERS AND MILITARY
THE CLASS - THE HORDE, WAS DECLARED BY THEM AN ERA<>. AT THE SAME TIME, THERE IS OWN RUSSIAN HORDE-ARMY
TURNED, - UNDER THE PENS OF ROMANOV HISTORIANS, - INTO MYTHICAL
ALIENS FROM A DISTANT UNKNOWN COUNTRY.
Notorious<>, familiar to us from Romanovsky
history, was simply a GOVERNMENT TAX inside
Rus' for the maintenance of the Cossack army - the Horde. Famous<>, - every tenth person taken into the Horde is simply
state MILITARY RECRUITMENT. It’s like conscription into the army, but only
from childhood - and for life.
Next, the so-called<>, in our opinion,
were simply punitive expeditions to those Russian regions
who for some reason refused to pay tribute =
state filing. Then the regular troops punished
civilian rioters.
These facts are known to historians and are not secret, they are publicly available, and anyone can easily find them on the Internet. Skipping scientific research and justifications, which have already been described quite widely, let us summarize the main facts that refute the big lie about the “Tatar-Mongol yoke.”
1. Genghis Khan
Previously, in Rus', 2 people were responsible for governing the state: the Prince and the Khan. The prince was responsible for governing the state in Peaceful time. The khan or “war prince” took the reins of control during war; in peacetime, the responsibility for forming a horde (army) and maintaining it in combat readiness rested on his shoulders.
Genghis Khan is not a name, but a title of “military prince”, who, in modern world, close to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Army. And there were several people who bore such a title. The most outstanding of them was Timur, it is he who is usually discussed when they talk about Genghis Khan.
In surviving historical documents, this man is described as a tall warrior with blue eyes, very white skin, powerful reddish hair and a thick beard. Which clearly does not correspond to the signs of a representative Mongoloid race, but completely fits the description of Slavic appearance (L.N. Gumilyov - “Ancient Rus' and the Great Steppe.”).
In modern “Mongolia” there is not a single folk epic that would say that this country once in ancient times conquered almost all of Eurasia, just as there is nothing about the great conqueror Genghis Khan... (N.V. Levashov “Visible and invisible genocide").
2. Mongolia
The state of Mongolia appeared only in the 1930s, when the Bolsheviks came to the nomads living in the Gobi Desert and told them that they were the descendants of the great Mongols, and their “compatriot” had created the Great Empire in his time, which they were very surprised and happy about. . The word "Mughal" has Greek origin, and means "Great". The Greeks used this word to call our ancestors – the Slavs. It has nothing to do with the name of any people (N.V. Levashov “Visible and Invisible Genocide”).
3. Composition of the “Tatar-Mongol” army
70-80% of the army of the “Tatar-Mongols” were Russians, the remaining 20-30% were made up of other small peoples of Rus', in fact, the same as now. This fact is clearly confirmed by a fragment of the icon of Sergius of Radonezh “Battle of Kulikovo”. It clearly shows that the same warriors are fighting on both sides. And this battle is more like civil war than going to war with a foreign conqueror.
4. What did the “Tatar-Mongols” look like?
Note the drawing of the tomb of Henry II the Pious, who was killed on the Legnica field. The inscription is as follows: “The figure of a Tatar under the feet of Henry II, Duke of Silesia, Cracow and Poland, placed on the grave in Breslau of this prince, killed in the battle with the Tatars at Liegnitz on April 9, 1241.” As we see, this “Tatar” has a completely Russian appearance, clothes and weapons. The next image shows “the Khan’s palace in the capital of the Mongol Empire, Khanbalyk” (it is believed that Khanbalyk is supposedly Beijing). What is “Mongolian” and what is “Chinese” here? Once again, as in the case of the tomb of Henry II, before us are people of a clearly Slavic appearance. Russian caftans, Streltsy caps, the same thick beards, the same characteristic blades of sabers called “Yelman”. Roof on the left - almost exact copy roofs of old Russian towers...(A. Bushkov, “Russia that never existed”).
5. Genetic examination
According to the latest data obtained as a result genetic research, it turned out that Tatars and Russians have very close genetics. While the differences between the genetics of Russians and Tatars from the genetics of the Mongols are colossal: “The differences between the Russian gene pool (almost entirely European) and the Mongolian (almost entirely Central Asian) are really great - it’s like two different worlds..." (oagb.ru).
6. Documents during the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke
During the period of existence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, not a single document in the Tatar or Mongolian language has been preserved. But there are many documents from this time in Russian.
7. Lack of objective evidence confirming the hypothesis of the Tatar-Mongol yoke
At the moment there are no originals of any kind historical documents, which would objectively prove that there was a Tatar-Mongol yoke. But there are many fakes designed to convince us of the existence of a fiction called the “Tatar-Mongol yoke.” Here is one of these fakes. This text is called “The Word about the Destruction of the Russian Land” and in each publication it is declared “an excerpt from a poetic work that has not reached us intact... About the Tatar-Mongol invasion”:
“Oh, bright and beautifully decorated Russian land! You are famous for many beauties: you are famous for many lakes, locally revered rivers and springs, mountains, steep hills, high oak forests, clean fields, marvelous animals, various birds, countless great cities, glorious villages, monastery gardens, temples of God and formidable princes, honest boyars and many nobles. You are filled with everything, Russian land, O Orthodox faith Christian!..»
There is not even a hint of the “Tatar-Mongol yoke” in this text. But this “ancient” document contains the following line: “You are filled with everything, Russian land, O Orthodox Christian faith!”
More opinions:
The plenipotentiary representative of Tatarstan in Moscow (1999 - 2010), doctor political sciences Nazif Mirikhanov: “The term “yoke” appeared only in the 18th century,” he is sure. “Before that, the Slavs did not even suspect that they were living under oppression, under the yoke of certain conquerors.”
"In fact, Russian empire, and then the Soviet Union, and now the Russian Federation are the heirs of the Golden Horde, that is, the Turkic empire created by Genghis Khan, whom we need to rehabilitate, as they have already done in China,” Mirikhanov continued. And he concluded his reasoning with the following thesis: “The Tatars at one time frightened Europe so much that the rulers of Rus', who chose the European path of development, in every possible way dissociated themselves from their Horde predecessors. Today it is time to restore historical justice.”
The result was summed up by Izmailov:
“The historical period, which is commonly called the time of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, was not a period of terror, ruin and slavery. Yes, the Russian princes paid tribute to the rulers from Sarai and received labels for reign from them, but this is ordinary feudal rent. At the same time, the Church flourished in those centuries, and beautiful white stone churches were built everywhere. What was quite natural: scattered principalities could not afford such construction, but only a de facto confederation united under the rule of the Khan of the Golden Horde or Ulus Jochi, as it would be more correct to call our common state with the Tatars.”
N A S H K A L E N D A R B
November 24, 1480 - the end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus'
In the distant fifties, the author of this article, then a graduate student of the State Hermitage, took part in archaeological excavations in the city of Chernigov. When we reached the layers of the mid-13th century, terrible pictures of the traces of Batu’s invasion of 1239 unfolded before our eyes.
Ipatiev Chronicle under. 1240 describes the storming of the city in the following way: “The city of Chernigov was surrounded (“Tatarov” - B.S.) in heavy strength... Prince Mikhail Glebovich came to the foreigners with his troops, and the battle was fierce near Chernigov... But Mstislav was quickly defeated and a lot of howls (warriors - B.S.) beat him up quickly. And she took the hail and set it on fire...” Our excavations confirmed the accuracy of the chronicle record. The city was ravaged and burned to the ground. A ten-centimeter layer of ash covered the entire area of one of the richest cities of Ancient Rus'. Fierce battles took place for every house. The roofs of houses often bore traces of impacts from heavy stones of Tatar catapults, the weight of which reached 120-150 kg (The chronicles noted that these stones could barely be lifted by four strong men.) Residents were either killed or taken prisoner. The ashes of the burned city were mixed with the bones of thousands of dead people.
After graduating from graduate school, already as a museum researcher, I worked on creating a permanent exhibition “Russian culture of the VI-XIII centuries.” In the process of preparing the exposition Special attention was devoted to the fate of a small ancient Russian fortress city, erected in the 12th century. on the southern borders of Ancient Rus', near the modern city of Berdichev, now called Raiki. To some extent, its fate is close to the fate of the world famous ancient Italian city of Pompeii, destroyed in 79 AD. during the eruption of Vesuvius.
But Raiki was completely destroyed not by the forces of the raging elements, but by the hordes of Batu Khan. The study of material material stored in the State Hermitage and written reports on excavations made it possible to reconstruct the terrible picture of the death of the city. It reminded me of the pictures of Belarusian villages and cities burned by the occupiers, seen by the author during our offensive during the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War, in which the author took part. Residents of the city desperately resisted and all died in an unequal struggle. Residential buildings were excavated, on the thresholds of which two skeletons lay - a Tatar and a Russian, killed with a sword in his hand. There were terrible scenes - the skeleton of a woman covering a child with her body. A Tatar arrow was stuck in her vertebrae. After the defeat, the city did not come to life, and everything remained in the same form as the enemy left it.
Hundreds of Russian cities shared the tragic fate of Raikov and Chernigov.
The Tatars destroyed about a third of the entire population of Ancient Rus'. Considering that at that time about 6 - 8,000,000 people lived in Rus', at least 2,000,000 - 2,500,000 were killed. Foreigners passing through the southern regions of the country wrote that Rus' had practically been turned into a dead desert, and there is no such state on the map Europe is no more. In Russian chronicles and literary sources, such as “The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land”, “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan” and others, describe in detail the horrors of the Tatar-Mongol invasion. The tragic consequences of Batu's campaigns were greatly multiplied by the establishment of an occupation regime, which not only led to the total plunder of Rus', but drained the soul of the people. He delayed the forward movement of our Motherland for more than 200 years.
The Great Battle of Kulikovo in 1380 inflicted a decisive defeat on the Golden Horde, but could not completely destroy the yoke of the Tatar khans. The Grand Dukes of Moscow were faced with the task of completely, legally eliminating Rus'’s dependence on the Horde.
November 24 of the new style (11 of the old) on the church calendar marks a remarkable date in the history of our Motherland. 581 years ago, in 1480, the “Standing on the Ugra” ended. The Golden Horde Khan Akhma (? - 1481) turned his tumen from the borders of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and was soon killed.
This was the legal end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Rus' became a completely sovereign state.
Unfortunately, this date was not reflected either in the media or in the minds of the general public. Meanwhile, it is quite obvious that on that day a dark page in our history was turned, and a new stage in the independent development of the Fatherland began.
It is worth recalling, at least briefly, the development of events of those years.
Although the last khan of the Great Horde stubbornly continued to consider the Grand Duke of Moscow as his tributary, in fact, Ivan Sh Vasilyevich (reigned 1462 - 1505) was actually independent of the khan. Instead of regular tribute, he sent minor gifts to the Horde, the size and regularity of which he determined himself. The Horde began to understand that the times of Batu were gone forever. The Grand Duke of Moscow became a formidable opponent, and not a silent slave.
In 1472, the Khan of the Great (Golden) Horde, at the inspiration of the Polish king Casimir IV, who promised him support, undertook the usual Tatar campaign against Moscow. However, it ended in complete failure for the Horde. They could not even cross the Oka, which was the traditional defensive line of the capital.
In 1476, the Khan of the Great Horde sent an embassy to Moscow, headed by Akhmet Sadyk, with a formidable demand to completely restore tributary relations. In Russian written sources, in which legends and reports of true facts are intricately intertwined, the negotiations were complex. During the first stage, Ivan III, in the presence of the Boyar Duma, played for time, realizing that a negative answer meant war. It is likely that Ivan III made the final decision under the influence of his wife Sophia Fominichna Paleolog, a proud Byzantine princess, who allegedly angrily told her husband: “I married the Grand Duke of Russia, not a Horde slave.” At the next meeting with the ambassadors, Ivan III changed tactics. He tore up the khan's letter and trampled the basma underfoot (a basma or paiza box filled with wax with an imprint of the khan's heel was given to ambassadors as a credential). And he expelled the ambassadors themselves from Moscow. Both in the Horde and in Moscow it became clear that a large-scale war was inevitable.
But Akhmat did not immediately take action. In the early eighties, Casimir IV began to prepare for war with Moscow. A traditional alliance of the Horde and the Polish crown against Russia emerged. The situation in Moscow itself worsened. At the end of 1479, there was a quarrel between the Grand Duke and his brothers Boris and Andrei the Great. They rose from their estates with families and “yards” and headed through the Novgorod lands to the Lithuanian border. Arose real threat combining the internal separatist opposition with the attack of external enemies - Poland and the Horde.
Considering this circumstance, Khan Akhmat decided that the time had come to strike a decisive blow, which should be supported by an invasion of the Russian borders by Polish-Lithuanian troops. Having gathered a huge army, the khan of the Great Horde in the late spring of 1480, when the grass necessary to feed his cavalry turned green, moved towards Moscow. But not directly to the North, but bypassing the capital, from the southwest, to the upper reaches of the Oka, towards the Lithuanian border to connect with Casimir IV. In the summer, the Tatar hordes reached the right bank of the Ugra River, not far from its confluence with the Oka (Modern Kaluga region). There were about 150 km left to Moscow.
For his part, Ivan III took decisive measures to strengthen his positions. His special services established contact with the enemy of the Great Horde - the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, who attacked the southern regions of Lithuania and thereby prevented Casimir IV from coming to the aid of Akhmat. Ivan III moved his main forces towards the Horde, which approached the northern left bank of the Ugra, covering the capital.
Besides, Grand Duke sent an auxiliary corps by water along the Volga to the capital of the Horde - the city of Sarai. Taking advantage of the fact that the main forces of the Horde were on the banks of the Ugra, the Russian landing force defeated it, and, according to legend, plowed up the ruins of the city, as a sign that the threat to Rus' would never come from this place again (Now the village of Selitryany is located in this place) .
Two huge armies met on the banks of a small river. The so-called “Standing on the Ugra” began, when both sides did not dare to start a general battle. Akhmat waited in vain for Casimir's help, and Ivan had to deal with his brothers. As an extremely cautious person, the Grand Duke took decisive action only in cases where he was confident of victory.
Several times the Tatars tried to cross the Ugra, but when met by powerful fire from Russian artillery, commanded by the famous Italian architect Aristotle Fiorovanti, builder of the Assumption Cathedral in 1479, they were forced to retreat.
At this time, Ivan III, abandoning his troops, returned to Moscow, which caused unrest in the capital, since the threat of a breakthrough by the Tatar troops was not eliminated. Residents of the capital demanded active action, accusing the Grand Duke of indecisiveness.
Rostov Archbishop Vassian in the famous “Message to the Ugra” called the Grand Duke a “runner” and called on him to “harrow his fatherland.” But Ivan’s caution is understandable. He could not start a general battle without a reliable rear. In Moscow, with the assistance of church hierarchs, on October 6, he made peace with his brothers, and their squads joined the grand ducal army.
Meanwhile, the situation favorable for Akhmat changed dramatically. Busy with the defense of the southern borders, the Polish-Lithuanian troops never came to the aid of Akhmat. Strategically, the khan had already lost the failed battle. Time passed towards autumn. Winter was approaching, the Ugra River froze, which gave the Tatars the opportunity to easily cross to the other side. Getting used to warm winters on the banks of the Black and Azov seas, the Tatars endured the cold weather worse than the Russians.
In mid-November, Ivan III gave the command to retreat to winter quarters in Borovsk, located 75 km from Moscow. On the banks of the Ugra he left a “watchman” to monitor the Tatars. Further events developed according to a scenario that no one in the Russian camp could have foreseen. On the morning of November 11, old style - 24 new, the guards unexpectedly saw that the right bank of the Ugra was empty. The Tatars secretly withdrew from their positions at night and went south. The speed and well-camouflaged retreat of the Khan's troops were perceived by the Russians as an escape that they did not expect.
Ivan III Vasilyevich, Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus', as a winner, returned to Moscow.
Khan Akhmat, who had no reason to return to the burned Sarai, went to the lower reaches of the Volga, where on January 6, 1481 he was killed by the Nogai Tatars.
Thus, the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which brought untold disasters to our people, was eliminated.
November 24 of the new style is one of the most significant dates in Russian history, the memory of which cannot dissolve over the centuries.