What time is the Tatar-Mongolian yoke. Tatar-Mongolian invasion of Russia. The truth about the Mongol-Tatar yoke

Already at the age of 12 future Grand Duke married, at the age of 16 he began to replace his father when he was absent, and at 22 he became the Grand Duke of Moscow.

Ivan III had a secretive and at the same time firm character (later these character traits appeared in his grandson).

Under Prince Ivan, the issue of coins began with the image of him and his son Ivan the Young and the signature "God All Russia". As a stern and demanding prince, Ivan III received the nickname Ivan the Terrible, but a little later, under this phrase, they began to understand another ruler Russia .

Ivan continued the policy of his ancestors - the gathering of Russian lands and the centralization of power. In the 1460s, Moscow's relations with Veliky Novgorod escalated, the inhabitants and princes of which continued to look west, towards Poland and Lithuania. After failing to improve relations with the Novgorodians twice, the conflict reached a new level. Novgorod enlisted the support Polish king and Prince Casimir of Lithuania, and Ivan stopped sending embassies. On July 14, 1471, Ivan III, at the head of a 15-20 thousandth army, defeated the almost 40,000th army of Novgorod, Casimir did not come to the rescue.

Novgorod lost most of its autonomy and submitted to Moscow. A little later, in 1477, the Novgorodians organized a new rebellion, which was also suppressed, and on January 13, 1478, Novgorod completely lost its autonomy and became part of Moscow State.

Ivan settled all the unfavorable princes and boyars of the Novgorod principality throughout Russia, and the city itself was settled by Muscovites. Thus he secured himself against further possible rebellions.

Methods of "carrot and stick" Ivan Vasilievich gathered under his rule the Yaroslavl, Tver, Ryazan, Rostov principalities, as well as the Vyatka lands.

End of the Mongol yoke.

While Akhmat was waiting for Kazimir's help, Ivan Vasilyevich sent a sabotage detachment under the command of the Zvenigorod prince Vasily Nozdrovatoy, who descended along the Oka River, then along the Volga and began to smash Akhmat's possessions in the rear. Ivan III himself moved away from the river, trying to lure the enemy into a trap, as in his time Dmitry Donskoy lured the Mongols in the battle on the Vozha River. Akhmat did not fall for the trick (either he remembered the success of Donskoy, or he was distracted by sabotage behind his back, in an unprotected rear) and retreated from the Russian lands. On January 6, 1481, immediately upon returning to the headquarters of the Great Horde, Akhmat was killed by the Tyumen Khan. Civil strife began among his sons ( Akhmatova's children), the result was the collapse of the Great Horde, as well as the Golden Horde (which formally still existed before that). The remaining khanates became fully sovereign. Thus, standing on the Ugra became the official end Tatar-Mongolian yoke, and the Golden Horde, unlike Russia, could not survive the stage of fragmentation - later several unrelated states arose from it. And here is the power Russian state started to grow.

Meanwhile, Poland and Lithuania also threatened Moscow's calm. Even before standing on the Ugra, Ivan III entered into an alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli-Gerey, the enemy of Akhmat. The same alliance helped Ivan in containing pressure from Lithuania and Poland.

The Crimean Khan in the 80s of the XV century defeated the Polish-Lithuanian troops and defeated their possessions in the territory of present-day central, southern and western Ukraine. Ivan III, on the other hand, entered the battle for the western and northwestern lands controlled by Lithuania.

In 1492, Kazimir died, and Ivan Vasilyevich took the strategically important fortress of Vyazma, as well as many settlements on the territory of the current Smolensk, Oryol and Kaluga regions.

In 1501, Ivan Vasilyevich ordered the Livonian Order to pay tribute for Yuryev - from that moment Russian-Livonian war temporarily stopped. The sequel was already Ivan IV Grozny.

Until the end of his life, Ivan maintained friendly relations with the Kazan and Crimean khanates, but later relations began to deteriorate. Historically, this is associated with the disappearance of the main enemy - the Great Horde.

In 1497, the Grand Duke developed his collection of civil laws called Sudebnik and also organized Boyar Duma.

The Sudebnik almost officially fixed such a concept as “ serfdom”, although the peasants still retained some rights, for example, the right to transfer from one owner to another in Yuriev day. Nevertheless, the Sudebnik became a prerequisite for the transition to an absolute monarchy.

October 27, 1505 Ivan III Vasilyevich died, judging by the description of the chronicles, from several attacks of a stroke.

Under the Grand Duke, the Assumption Cathedral was built in Moscow, literature (in the form of chronicles) and architecture flourished. But the most important achievement of that era - liberation of Russia from Mongolian yoke.

The possession of the Tatar-Mongolian yoke in Russia began in 1237. Great Russia disintegrated, and the formation of the Moscow state began.

Under the Tatar-Mongol yoke they mean a cruel period of rule in which Russia was subordinate to the Golden Horde. Mongolian Tatar yoke in Russia could hold out for almost two and a half millennia. When asked how long the arbitrariness of the Horde in Russia lasted, history answers 240 years.

The events that took place during this period were very strongly reflected in the formation of Russia. Therefore, this topic was and remains relevant to this day. The Mongol-Tatar yoke is associated with the cruelest events of the 13th century. These were wild extortions of the population, the destruction of entire cities and thousands and thousands of deaths.

The board of the Tatar-Mongolian yoke is formed by two peoples: the dynasty of the Mongols and the nomadic tribes of the Tartars. The vast majority, however, were precisely the Tatars. In 1206, a meeting of the upper Mongolian estates took place, at which the leader of the Mongolian tribe Temujin was elected. It was decided to begin the era of the Tatar-Mongolian yoke. They named the leader Genghis Khan (Great Khan). The ability of the reign of Genghis Khan proved to be magnificent. He managed to rally all the nomadic peoples and form the prerequisites for the development of the cultural and economic development of the country.

Military distributions of the Tatar-Mongols

Genghis Khan created a very strong, warlike and rich state. His warriors had surprisingly very hardy qualities, they could spend the winter in their yurt, in the middle of snow and winds. They had a thin build and a thin beard. They shot accurately and were excellent riders. During attacks on states, he had punishments for cowards. In the case of an escape from the battlefield of one fighter, the entire ten were subjected to execution. If a dozen leaves the battle, then the hundred to which she belonged are shot.

Mongolian feudal lords closed a tight ring around the Great Khan. By raising him to the leadership, they planned to get a lot of wealth and jewelry. Only unleashed war and uncontrolled robbery of the conquered countries could lead them to the desired goal. Soon, after the creation of the Mongolian state, aggressive campaigns began to bring the expected results. The robbery continued for about two centuries. The Mongol-Tatars longed to rule the whole world and own all the riches.

Conquest campaigns of the Tatar-Mongolian yoke

In 1207, the Mongols enriched themselves with large volumes of metal and valuable rocks. Having attacked the tribes located to the north of the Selenga and in the Yenisei valley. This fact makes it possible to explain the emergence and expansion of weapons property.
Also in 1207, the Tangut state from Central Asia was attacked. Tanguts began to pay tribute to the Mongols.
1209 year. They were in the seizure and robbery of the land of the Khigurs (Turkestan).
1211. There was a grandiose defeat of China. The armies of the emperors were routed in a crash. The state was plundered and left devastation.
Date 1219-1221 the states of Central Asia were destroyed. The result of this three-year war was no different from the previous campaigns of the Tatars. The states were defeated and plundered, the Mongols took talented artisans with them. Leaving behind only burned houses and poor people.
By 1227, vast territories in the east of the Pacific Ocean to the west of the Caspian Sea passed into the possession of the Mongol feudal lords.

The consequences of the Tatar-Mongol invasion are the same. Thousands of dead and the same number of enslaved people. Destroyed and plundered countries, which need to be restored for a very, very long time. By the time when Tatar-Mongol yoke approached the borders of Russia, its army was extremely numerous, gained experience in combat, endurance and the necessary weapons.

Mongol conquests

Mongol invasion of Russia

The beginning of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russia has long been considered 1223. Then the experienced army of the Great Khan came close to the borders of the Dnieper. At that time, the Polovtsy provided assistance, since the principality in Russia was in dispute and disagreement, the defensive capabilities were significantly reduced.

Battle on the Kalka River. May 31, 1223. The Mongol army numbering 30 thousand broke through the Polovtsy, and collided with the army of Russia. The first and only ones who took the blow were the princely troops of Mstislav the Udaly, who had every chance to break through the dense chain of the Mongols-Tatars. But he did not wait for support from other princes. As a result, Mstislav died, surrendering to the enemy. The Mongols received a lot of valuable military information from captured Russians. There were very big losses. But the onslaught of the enemy was still held back for a long time.
The beginning of the invasion December 16, 1237. The first on the way was Ryazan. At that time, the death of Genghis Khan occurred, and his place was taken by his grandson, Batu. The army under the command of Batu was no less fierce. They swept away and plundered everything and everyone who met them along the way. The invasion was targeted and carefully planned, so the Mongols quickly penetrated deep into the country. The city of Ryazan held out for five days under siege. Despite the fact that the city was surrounded by strong high walls, under the onslaught of enemy weapons, the walls of the city fell. The Tatar-Mongol yoke robbed and killed the people for ten days.
Battle near Kolomna. Further, Batu's army began to move towards Kolomna. On the way, they met an army of 1,700 people, subordinate to Evpatiy Kolovrat. And despite the fact that the Mongols outnumbered the army of Evpatiy many times over, he did not chicken out and repulsed the enemy with all his might. As a result, causing significant damage to him. The army of the Tatar-Mongolian yoke continued to move and set off along the Moscow River, to the city of Moscow, which lasted five days in a siege. At the end of the battle, the city was burned, and most of the people were killed. You should know that before getting to the city of Vladimir, the Tatar-Mongols conducted defensive operations all the way against the hidden Russian squad. They had to be very attentive and always be ready for a new battle. On the road, there were many battles and skirmishes with the Russians.
Grand Duke Vladimirsky Yuri Vsevolodovich, did not respond to requests for help from the Ryazan prince. But then he himself was under threat of attack. The prince competently disposed of the time that was between the Ryazan battle and Vladimir. He gathered a large army and armed it. It was decided to determine the city of Kolomna as the place of the battle. On February 4, 1238, the plan of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich began to be implemented.
It was the most grandiose battle in terms of the number of troops and the hot battle of the Tatar-Mongols and Russians. But he was also lost. The number of Mongols still significantly exceeded. The Tatar-Mongolian invasion of this city lasted exactly a month. Ending on March 4, 1238, the Russians were defeated and also plundered. The prince fell in a heavy battle, inflicting a great deportation on the Mongols. Vladimir became the last of the fourteen cities conquered by the Mongols in North-Eastern Russia.
In 1239 the cities of Chernihiv and Pereslavl were defeated.. A trip to Kyiv is planned.
December 6, 1240. Captured Kyiv. This further crippled the already shattered structure of the country. The powerfully fortified Kyiv was smashed by huge battering rams and rapids. Opened the way to Southern Russia and Eastern Europe.
1241. Palo Galicia-Volyn principality. After that, the actions of the Mongols stopped for a while.

In the spring of 1247, the Mongol-Tatars reached the opposite border of Russia and entered Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Batu put on the borders of Russia created " Golden Horde". In 1243, they began to accept and approve the princes of the regions into the horde. There were also those who stood against the Horde big cities like Smolensk, Pskov and Novgorod. These cities tried to express their disagreement and resist the rule of Batu. The first attempt was made by the great Andrey Yaroslavovich. But his efforts were not supported by the majority of church and secular feudal lords, who, after so many battles and attacks, finally established business with the Mongol khans.

In short, after the established order, the princes and church feudal lords did not want to get off their seats and agreed to recognize the power of the Mongol khans and the established tribute extortion from the population. The plundering of Russian lands will continue.

The country had more and more attacks of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. And it was increasingly difficult to give a fitting rebuff to the robbers. In addition to the fact that the country was already pretty tired, the people, impoverished and downtrodden, the princely showdowns did not make it possible to get up from their knees.

In 1257, the Horde started a population census in order to securely establish a yoke and impose an unbearable tribute on the people. Become the unshakable and undeniable ruler of the Russian lands. Russia managed to defend its political system and reserved the right to build a social and political stratum.

The Russian land was subjected to endless painful invasions of the Mongols, which would last until 1279.

The overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke

The end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russia came in 1480. The Golden Horde began to gradually disintegrate. Many large principalities were divided and lived in constant skirmishes with each other. The liberation of Russia from the Tatar-Mongol yoke is the service of Prince Ivan III. Ruled from 1426 to 1505. The prince united the two large cities of Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod and went to the goal of overthrowing the Mongol-Tatar yoke.

In 1478, Ivan III put forward a refusal to pay tribute to the Horde. In November 1480, the famous "standing on the Ugra River" took place. The name is characterized by the fact that neither side decided to start the battle. After spending a month on the river, the deposed Khan Akhmat broke camp and went to the Horde. How many years the Tatar-Mongol rule lasted, ruining and destroying the Russian people and Russian lands can now be answered with confidence. Mongolian yoke in Russia

Most history textbooks say that in the XIII-XV centuries Russia suffered from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Recently, however, voices of those who doubt that the invasion took place at all have been heard more and more often. Did the huge hordes of nomads really flood the 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 Dlugosh in 1479 called the time of the existence of the Golden Horde so. He was followed in 1517 by the historian Matvey Mekhovsky, who worked at the University of Krakow. This interpretation of the relationship between Russia 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 in the Horde troops themselves. It’s just that in Europe they knew the name of this Asian people well, and therefore it spread to the Mongols. Meanwhile, Genghis Khan tried to exterminate the entire Tatar tribe by defeating their army in 1202.

The first census of the population of Russia

The first census in the history of Russia was carried out by representatives of the Horde. They had to collect accurate information about the inhabitants of each principality, about their class affiliation. The main reason for such an interest in statistics on the part of the Mongols was the need to calculate the amount of taxes that were levied on subjects.

In 1246, the census took place in Kyiv and Chernigov, the Ryazan principality was subjected to statistical analysis in 1257, the Novgorodians were counted two years later, and the population of the Smolensk region - in 1275.

Moreover, the inhabitants of Russia raised popular uprisings and drove out from their land the so-called "besermen", who collected tribute for the khans of Mongolia. But the governors of the rulers of the Golden Horde, called Baskaks, lived and worked in the Russian principalities for a long time, sending the collected taxes to Saray-Batu, and later to Saray-Berka.

Joint trips

The princely squads and the Horde warriors often made joint military campaigns, both against other Russians and against the inhabitants of Eastern Europe. So, in the period 1258-1287, the troops of the Mongols and Galician princes regularly attacked Poland, Hungary and Lithuania. And in 1277, the Russians participated in the military campaign of the Mongols in the North Caucasus, helping their allies conquer Alania.

In 1333 Muscovites stormed Novgorod, and the following year the Bryansk squad went to Smolensk. Each time, the Horde troops also participated in these internecine wars. In addition, they regularly helped the great princes of Tver, who were considered at that time the main rulers of Russia, to pacify the recalcitrant neighboring lands.

The basis of the horde was the Russians

The Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited the city of Saray-Berke in 1334, wrote in his essay “A Gift to those who contemplate 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 twentieth century. According to the researcher, most of the Horde troops were the so-called wanderers - ethnic Slavs who inhabited the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov and the Don steppes. These predecessors of the Cossacks did not want to obey the princes, so they moved south for the sake of a free life. The name of this ethno-social group probably comes from the Russian word "roam" (to wander).

As is known from chronicles, in the Battle of Kalka in 1223, roamers fought on the side of the Mongol troops, led by the voivode Ploskynya. Perhaps his knowledge of the tactics and strategy of the princely squads had great importance to defeat the combined Russian-Polovtsian forces.

In addition, it was Ploskinya who lured the ruler of Kyiv, Mstislav Romanovich, along with two Turov-Pinsk princes, by cunning, and handed them over to the Mongols for execution.

However, most historians believe that the Mongols forced the Russians to serve in their army, i.e. the invaders forcibly armed the representatives of the enslaved people. Although this seems unlikely.

A senior Researcher Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Marina Poluboyarinova in the book “Russian people in the Golden Horde” (Moscow, 1978) suggested: “Probably, the forced participation of Russian soldiers in the Tatar army stopped later. There were mercenaries who had already voluntarily joined the Tatar troops.”

Caucasian Invaders

Yesugei-bagatur, the father of Genghis Khan, was a representative of the Borjigin clan of the Mongolian tribe Kiyat. According to the descriptions of many eyewitnesses, both he himself and his legendary son were tall fair-skinned people with reddish hair.

The Persian scholar Rashid-ad-Din in his work "Collection of Chronicles" (beginning of the 14th century) wrote 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 the Caucasians. Probably, representatives of this race also predominated among other invaders.

There were few

We are accustomed to believe that in the XIII century, Russia was filled with countless hordes of Mongol-Tatars. Some historians speak of a 500,000-strong army. However, it is not. After all, even the population of modern Mongolia barely exceeds 3 million people, and given the brutal genocide of fellow tribesmen committed by Genghis Khan on the way to power, the size of his army could not be so impressive.

It is difficult to imagine how to feed the half-million army, which also traveled on horseback. Animals simply would not have enough pasture. But each Mongolian horseman led at least three horses with him. Now imagine a herd of 1.5 million. The horses of the warriors riding in the vanguard of the army would have eaten and trampled everything they could. The rest of the horses would die of starvation.

According to the most daring estimates, the army of Genghis Khan and Batu could not exceed 30 thousand horsemen. While the population Ancient Russia, according to the historian Georgy Vernadsky (1887-1973), before the start of 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 respected by cutting off their heads. However, if the sentenced person enjoyed authority, then his spine was broken and left to die slowly.

The Mongols were sure that blood is the seat of the soul. Shedding it means complicating the afterlife of the deceased to other worlds. Bloodless execution was applied to rulers, political and military figures, shamans.

The reason for the 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 steppes

The method of burial of the Mongol also directly depended on his social status. Rich and influential people 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 who died in battle were often simply left in the steppe, where their life path ended.

In the disturbing conditions of a 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 the birds and animals did not touch the body for a long time, according to popular beliefs, this meant that a serious sin was registered behind the soul of the deceased.

Studying the works of chroniclers, the testimonies of European travelers who visited Russia and the Mongol Empire, the far from unambiguous interpretation of the events of the 10th–15th centuries by academician N.V. Levashov, L.N. Gumilyov, one cannot help but wonder a range of questions: there was a Tatar-Mongolian yoke or it was invented on purpose, for a specific purpose, this historical fact or deliberate design.

In contact with

Russians and Mongols

Deceased in 978 Kyiv prince Yaroslav the Wise had to do so how the british do it, in which the entire inheritance is given to the eldest son, and the rest become either priests or naval officers, then we would not have formed several separate regions given to the heirs of Yaroslav.

Specific disunity of Russia

Each prince who received the land divided it among his sons, which contributed to an even greater weakening Kievan Rus, although she expanded her possessions by moving the capital to forest Vladimir.

Our state do not be specific disunity, would not allow the Tatar-Mongols to enslave themselves.

Nomads at the walls of Russian cities

At the end of the 9th century, Kyiv was surrounded by the Hungarians, who were forced out to the west by the Pechenegs. Following them, by the middle of the 11th century, Torks followed, followed by the Polovtsy; then the invasion of the Mongol Empire began.

Approaches to the Russian principalities repeatedly besieged by powerful troops steppe dwellers, after a while the former nomads were replaced by others who enslaved them with greater prowess and better weapons.

How did the empire of Genghis Khan develop?

Late XII period - early XIII century was marked by the unification of several Mongolian clans, directed by the extraordinary Temujin who took the title of Genghis Khan in 1206.

The endless feuds of the governors-noyons were stopped, ordinary nomads were subjected to exorbitant dues and obligations. To strengthen the position of the common population and the aristocracy, Genghis Khan moved his huge army first into the prosperous Celestial Empire, later to Islamic lands.

The state of Genghis Khan had an organized military administration, government staff of employees, had postal communication, constant taxation. The code of canons "Yasa" balanced the powers of adherents of any beliefs.

The foundation of the empire was the army, based on the principles of universal army duty, military order, and strict restraint. Yurtzh quartermasters planned routes, halts, stocked food. Information about future points of attack brought merchants, heads of convoys, special missions.

Attention! The result of the aggressive campaigns of Genghis Khan with his followers was a gigantic superpower that covered the Celestial Empire, Korea, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Transcaucasia, Syria, steppes of Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan.

Successes of the Mongols

From the southeast, imperial troops unloaded on the Japanese Islands, the islands of the Malay Archipelago; reached Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula, to the north they approached the European borders of Austria. 1219 - the army of Genghis Khan conquered the greatest Central Asian state - Khorezm, which then became part of the Golden Horde. By 1220 Genghis Khan founded Karakorum- the capital of the Mongol Empire.

Having rounded the Caspian Sea from the south, the cavalry troops invaded Transcaucasia, through the Derbent Gorge they reached the North Caucasus, where they met with the Polovtsians and Alans, defeating whom, they captured the Crimean Sudak.

Steppe nomads persecuted by the Mongols asked for protection from the Russians. The Russian princes accepted the offer to fight with an unknown army outside the borders of their land. In 1223, by a cunning trick, the Mongols lured the Russians and Polovtsians to the shores. The squads of our commanders resisted separately and were completely overturned.

1235 - the meeting of the Mongolian aristocracy approved the decision on the campaign to capture Russia, detaching most of the imperial soldiers, about 70 thousand combat units under the control of Genghis Khan's grandson Batu.

This army was defined symbolically as "Tatar-Mongolian". "Tatars" were called Persians, Chinese, Arabs of the steppes living on northern border with them.

By the middle of the 13th century, in the mighty state of Chingizids, the chiefs of military districts and selected privileged fighters were Mongol, the other troops remained a characteristic imperial army, representing the soldiers of the defeated territories - the Chinese, Alans, Iranians, and countless Turkic tribes. Having captured Silver Bulgaria, the Mordvins and the Kipchaks, this cloud moved closer in the cold of 1237 to the borders of Russia, covered Ryazan, then Vladimir.

Important! The historical countdown of the Tatar-Mongol yoke begins in 1237, with the capture of Ryazan.

Russians defend themselves

Since that time, Russia began to pay tribute to the conquerors, very often subjected to the most severe raids of the Tatar-Mongol troops. Rusichi heroically responded to the invaders. Little Kozelsk entered the history, which the Mongols called the evil city because he fought back and fought to the last; defenders fought: women, old people, children - everything, who could hold a weapon or pouring molten resin from the walls of the city. Not a single person in Kozelsk survived, some died in battle, the rest were finished off when the enemy army broke through the defenses.

The name of the Ryazan boyar Yevpaty Kolovrat is well known, who, having returned to his native Ryazan and seeing what the invaders had done there, rushed after the Batyev detachments with a small army, fought them to the death.

1242 - Khan Batu founded the newest settlement on the Volga plains Genghisid Empire - Golden Horde. The Russians gradually guessed with whom they were to come into conflict. From 1252 to 1263, Alexander Nevsky was the highest lord of Vladimir, in fact, then the Tatar yoke was established as a concept of legal subordination to the Horde.

Finally, the Russians understood that it was necessary to unite against a terrible enemy. 1378 - Russian squads on the Vozha River defeated the huge Tatar-Mongolian hordes under the leadership of an experienced Murza Begich. Offended by this defeat, the temnik Mamai put together an innumerable army and moved to Muscovy. At the call of Prince Dmitry to save his native land, all of Russia rose.

1380 - Mamai's temnik was finally defeated on the Don River. After that great battle, Dmitry began to be called Donskoy, the battle itself was named after the historical town of Kulikovo field between the rivers Don and Nepryadva, where the massacre took place, called.

But Russia did not come out of bondage. How many years still could not she gain final independence. Two years later, Tokhtamysh Khan burned Moscow, because Prince Dmitry Donskoy left to gather an army, he could not give worthy rebuff to the attackers. For another hundred years, the Russian princes continued to obey the Horde, and it became weaker and weaker due to the strife of Genghisides - the bloodlines of Genghis.

1472 - Ivan III, Grand Duke of Moscow, defeated the Mongols, refused to pay tribute to them. A few years later, the Horde decided to restore its rights and moved with the next campaign.

1480 - Russian troops settled on one bank of the Ugra River, Mongolian - on the other. "Standing" on the Ugra lasted 100 days.

Finally, the Russians moved away from the coast to make room for a future battle, but the Tatars did not have the courage to cross, they left. The Russian army returned to Moscow, and the opponents returned to the Horde. The question is who won- Slavs or the fear of their enemies.

Attention! In 1480 came the end of the yoke in Russia, its north and northeast. However, a number of researchers believe that Moscow's dependence on the Horde continued until the reign.

The results of the invasion

Some scholars believe that the contributed to the regression of Russia, but this is a lesser evil compared to the Western Russian enemies, who took away our allotments, demanding the transition of the Orthodox to Catholicism. Positive thinkers believe that the Mongol Empire helped Muscovy rise. The strife ceased, the divided Russian principalities united against a common enemy.

After the establishment of stable ties with Russia, the rich Tatar murzas with convoys amicably reached out to Muscovy. The arrivals converted to Orthodoxy, married Slavs, gave birth to children with non-Russian surnames: Yusupov, Khanov, Mamaev, Murzin.

The classic history of Russia is refuted

Among some historians there is a different opinion about the Tatar-Mongol yoke and about those who invented it. Here are some interesting facts:

The gene pool of the Mongols is different from the gene pool of the Tatars, so they cannot be combined into a common ethnic group.
Genghis Khan had a Caucasian appearance.
Lack of writing Mongols and Tatars of the 12th–13th centuries, as a consequence of this - the lack of perpetuated evidence of their victorious raids.
Our chronicles, confirming the bondage of the Russians for almost three hundred years, have not been found. There are some pseudo-historical documents that describe the Mongol-Tatar yoke only since the beginning of the reign.
Confusion causes lack of archaeological artifacts from the place of famous battles, for example, from the Kulikovo field,
The entire territory over which the Horde roamed did not give archaeologists either a lot of weapons of that time, or the burial places of the dead, or mounds with the bodies of the dead on the camps of the steppe nomads.
The ancient Russian tribes had paganism with a Vedic worldview. Their patrons were the God Tarkh and his sister, the Goddess Tara. From here came the name of the people "Tarkhtars", later simply "Tartars". The population of Tartaria was Russian, further to the east of Eurasia they were diluted with scattered multilingual tribes, nomadic in search of food. All of them were called Tartars, in the present - Tatars.
Later chroniclers covered up the fact of the violent, bloody imposition of the Greek Catholic faith on Russia by the invasion of the Horde, carried out the order of the Byzantine Church and the ruling elite of the state. The new Christian doctrine, which received the name Orthodox Christianity after the reform of Patriarch Nikon, led the masses to a split: some accepted Orthodoxy, those who disagree exterminated or exiled to the northeastern provinces, to Tartaria.
The Tartars did not forgive the destruction of the population, the ruin of the Kyiv principality, but its army failed to respond with lightning speed, distracted by turmoil on the Far Eastern borders of the country. When the Vedic empire gained strength, it repulsed those who planted the Greek religion, the real Civil War: Russians with Russians, the so-called pagans (Old Believers) with the Orthodox. Lasting almost 300 years modern historians filed a confrontation of their own against ours as a “Mongol-Tatar invasion”.
After the forced baptism by Vladimir the Red Sun, the Kiev principality was destroyed, settlements devastated, burned, most of the inhabitants destroyed. They could not explain what was happening, so they covered it with a Tatar-Mongol yoke to mask the cruelty transition to a new faith(not without reason Vladimir after that began to be called Bloody) the invasion of "wild nomads" was called.

Tatars in Russia

Kazan's past

The Kazan fortress of the end of the 12th century becomes the patronal city of the state of the Volga-Kama Bulgars. After some time, the country submits to the Mongols, for three centuries it submits to the Golden Horde, the Bulgarian rulers, akin to the Moscow princes, pay dues, correct subordinate functions.

By the fifties of the XV century, following the obvious division of the Mongol Empire, its former ruler Udu-Muhammed, who found himself without property, invaded the Bulgarian capital, executed the governor Ali-Bek, seized his throne.

1552 - Tsarevich Yediger arrived in Kazan - the heir of the Khan of Astrakhan. Ediger descended on 10,000 foreigners, self-willed nomads wandering around the steppe.

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, Tsar of All Russia, conquers the capital of Bulgaria

The battle for Kazan was played out not with the native inhabitants of the state, but with the military masses of Yediger, who had been overtaken by him from Astrakhan. The army of many thousands of Ivan the Terrible was opposed by a flock of Genghisides, consisting of the peoples of the Middle Volga region, Turkic tribes, Nogais, Mari.

October 15, 1552 after 41 days courageous defense, during a frenzied assault, the glorious fertile city of Kazan surrendered. After the defense of the capital, almost all of its defenders perished. The city was completely destroyed. A merciless punishment awaited the surviving residents: wounded men, old people, children - all were finished off by victors at the behest of the Moscow Tsar; young women with tiny babies were sent into slavery. If the tsar of all Russia, having finished with Kazan and Astrakhan, planned to perform the rite of baptism against the will of all Tatars, then, of course, he would have committed another lawlessness.

Even Peter I advocated the creation of a mono-confessional Christian state, but during his reign, the peoples of Russia did not reach the universal baptism.

The baptism of the Tatars in Russia took place from the first half of the 18th century. 1740 - Empress Anna Ioannovna issued a decree according to which all the heterodox peoples of Russia were to accept Orthodoxy. According to the prescriptions, it was not fitting for new converts to live with non-Christians; non-Christs were to be resettled in separate localities. Among the Muslim Tatars who recognized Orthodoxy there was a small share much less in comparison with the pagans. The situation gave rise to the displeasure of the crown and the administration, who adopted the practice of the last quarter of the 16th century. Those in power initiated cardinal sanctions.

Radical measures

It was not possible to baptize the Tatars in Russia several centuries ago and remains problematic in our time. Actually, the refusal of the Tatars to accept Orthodoxy, as well as the resistance to the course of Christianization of the Orthodox priesthood, led to the implementation of the intention to destroy Muslim churches.

The Islamic people not only rushed to the authorities with petitions, but also reacted extremely disapprovingly to the widespread destruction of mosques. It spawned dominant power concern.

Orthodox priests of the Russian army became preachers among non-Christian servicemen. Upon learning of this, some of the heterodox recruits preferred to be baptized even before mobilization. In order to induce the adoption of Christianity, tax discounts were used by the baptized, and non-Orthodox had to pay additional contributions.

Documentary film about the Mongol-Tatar yoke

Alternative history, Tatar-Mongol yoke

conclusions

As you understand, many opinions are offered today about the features of the Mongol invasion. Maybe in the future, scientists will be able to find solid evidence of the fact of its existence or fiction, what politicians and rulers covered up with the Tatar-Mongol yoke, and for what purpose this was done. Perhaps the true truth about the Mongols (the "great" as other tribes called Genghisides) will be revealed. History is a science where there can be no unambiguous view on this or that event, as it is always considered from different points of view. Scientists collect facts, and descendants will draw conclusions.

The Russian principalities before the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the Muscovite state after gaining legal independence are, as they say, two big differences. It will not be an exaggeration that one Russian state, whose direct successor is modern Russia, was formed during the period of the yoke and under its influence. The overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke was not only the cherished goal of Russian self-consciousness during the second half of the 13th-15th centuries. It also turned out to be a means of creating a state, a national mentality and cultural identity.

Approaching the Battle of Kulikovo...

The idea of most people about the process of overthrowing the Tatar-Mongol yoke comes down to a very simplified scheme, according to which, before the Battle of Kulikovo, Russia was enslaved by the Horde and did not even think about resistance, and after the Battle of Kulikovo, the yoke lasted another hundred years simply due to a misunderstanding. In reality, everything was more complicated.

The fact that the Russian principalities, although they generally recognized their vassal position in relation to the Golden Horde, did not stop trying to resist, is evidenced by a simple historical fact. From the moment the yoke was established and throughout its entire length, about 60 major punitive campaigns, invasions and large-scale raids of the Horde troops on Russia are known from Russian chronicles. Obviously, in the case of completely conquered lands, such efforts are not required - which means that Russia resisted, actively resisted for centuries.

The Horde detachments suffered their first significant military defeat on the territory controlled by Russia about a hundred years before the Battle of Kulikovo. True, this battle took place during internecine war for the grand-ducal throne of the Vladimir principality, flared up between the sons of Alexander Nevsky . In 1285, Andrei Alexandrovich attracted the Horde prince Eltorai to his side and set off with his army against his brother Dmitry Alexandrovich, who reigned in Vladimir. As a result, Dmitry Alexandrovich won a convincing victory over the Tatar-Mongolian punitive corps.

Further, individual victories in military clashes with the Horde happened, although not too often, but with stable constancy. Distinguished by peacefulness and a penchant for political solutions to all issues, the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich, the youngest son of Nevsky, in 1301 defeated the Mongol detachment near Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky. In 1317, Mikhail of Tverskoy defeated the army of Kavgady, which was attracted to his side by Yuri of Moscow.

The closer to the Battle of Kulikovo, the more confident the Russian principalities became, and unrest and unrest were observed in the Golden Horde, which could not but affect the balance of military forces.

In 1365, they defeated the Horde detachment near the Shishevsky forest Ryazan forces, in 1367 the Suzdal army won the Pyan. Finally, in 1378, Dmitry of Moscow, the future Donskoy, won his dress rehearsal in the confrontation with the Horde: on the Vozha River, he defeated the army under the command of Murza Begich, close to Mamai.

The overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke: the great Battle of Kulikovo

Once again, it is unnecessary to talk about the significance of the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, as well as to retell the details of its immediate course. Since childhood, everyone has known the dramatic details of how Mamai's army pressed on the center of the Russian army and how, at the most decisive moment, the Ambush Regiment hit the rear of the Horde and their allies, which changed the fate of the battle. As well as it is well known that for the Russian self-consciousness it became an event of great importance, as for the first time after the establishment of the yoke Russian army was able to give a large-scale battle to the invader and win. But it is worth remembering that the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo, for all its great moral significance, did not lead to the overthrow of the yoke.

Dmitry Donskoy managed to take advantage of the difficult political situation in the Golden Horde and embody his military leadership and the fighting spirit of his own army. However, two years later, Moscow was taken by the forces of the legitimate Khan of the Horde Tokhtamysh (Temnik Mamai was a temporary usurper) and almost completely destroyed.

The young Moscow principality was not yet ready to fight on equal terms with the weakened, but still powerful Horde. Tokhtamysh imposed an increased tribute on the principality (the previous tribute was retained at the same rate, but the population was actually halved; in addition, an emergency tax was introduced). Dmitry Donskoy undertook to send his eldest son Vasily to the Horde as a hostage. But political power over Moscow, the Horde has already lost - Prince Dmitry Ivanovich managed to transfer power by inheritance on his own, without any label from the khan. In addition, a few years later Tokhtamysh was defeated by another eastern conqueror, Timur, and for a certain period Russia stopped paying tribute.

In the 15th century, tribute was generally paid with serious fluctuations, taking advantage of more and more constant periods of internal instability in the Horde. In the 1430s - 1450s, the Horde rulers undertook several devastating campaigns against Russia - however, in fact, these were already predatory raids, and not attempts to restore political supremacy.

In fact, the yoke did not end in 1480 ...

In school exam papers in the history of Russia as the correct answer to the question "When and with what event did the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russia end?" will be considered "In 1480, Standing on the Ugra River." In fact, this is the correct answer - but from a formal point of view, it does not correspond to historical reality.

Indeed, in 1476 the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the Khan of the Great Horde, Akhmat. Until 1480, Akhmat dealt with his other opponent, Crimean Khanate, after which he decided to punish the recalcitrant Russian ruler. The two armies met near the Ugra River in September 1380. An attempt by the Horde to cross the river was thwarted by Russian troops. After that, the Stand itself began, which lasted until the beginning of November. As a result, Ivan III was able to force Akhmat to retreat without unnecessary loss of life. First, there were strong reinforcements on the approach to the Russians. Secondly, Akhmat's cavalry began to experience a shortage of fodder, and illness began in the army itself. Thirdly, the Russians sent a sabotage detachment to the rear of Akhmat, which was supposed to plunder the defenseless capital of the Horde.

As a result, the khan ordered a retreat - and on this the Tatar-Mongol yoke lasting almost 250 years ended. However, from a formal diplomatic standpoint, Ivan III and Moscow State remained in vassal dependence on the Great Horde for another 38 years. In 1481, Khan Akhmat was killed, and another wave of struggle for power arose in the Horde. In the difficult conditions of the late XV - early XVI For centuries, Ivan III was not sure that the Horde would not be able to mobilize its forces again and organize a new large-scale campaign against Russia. Therefore, being in fact a sovereign ruler and no longer paying tribute to the Horde, for diplomatic reasons, in 1502 he officially recognized himself as a vassal of the Great Horde. But soon the Horde was finally defeated by eastern enemies, so that in 1518 all vassal relations, even at a formal level, between the Muscovite state and the Horde were terminated.

Alexander Babitsky