1223 turned out to be black for our Motherland.The event in Russia happened such that it determined the political alignment in Eastern Europe for several centuries. One unsuccessful battle turned the whole course of history.
1223: an event in Russia
Из школьной программы все должны прекрасно to remember that the beginning of the 13th century is the time of the Mongol-Tatar invasion of the Polovtsian lands (the tribe adjacent to the Slavs) and the territory of Russia. The conquest of Russian lands by this wild horde occurred gradually, but what happened in 1223 in Russia? It was on May 31, 1223 (as the Lavrentiev Chronicle tells us) that the first battle of the Khan's troops and Russian soldiers took place. We all know very well from the history of this event called "The Battle of the River Kalka."
Causes of the Battle of Kalka
The battle between the Mongol-Tatars and the Russiansprincely squads sooner or later had to take place. Why? According to the strategy of the Mongols, which was developed by Genghis Khan, his state should have covered not only the true Mongolian territory, but also spread to the whole of Europe.
Why do the Mongols have such huge territories?Do not forget that they are nomads. Such people cannot sit in one place because of the way they do business. Nomads are not engaged in agriculture, but only livestock. Representatives of this people had huge herds that needed to be fed with something. The way of management meant the periodic replacement of pastures with new ones, because in the old pastures there was no longer anything for animals to eat as food. Europe needed the Mongols as a potential pasture for their livestock.
Events before the Battle of Kalka
It is clear that the situation of the Battle of Kalka did not arise.right away The victorious march of the Mongol troops began in Central Asia. Then the horde headed towards Iran. No army could stop them. Mongol campaign continued in the direction of the Caucasus. The leaders of the Horde knew that there were several wealthy large cities in the Caucasus that could be robbed. After passing through a victorious march across the Caucasus, for example, across Georgia, the troops went to the lands of modern Russia, on whose territory the tribes of Alans and Polovtsy then lived. The forces of these nomadic peoples were broken up one by one, because the diplomacy of the Mongolian conquerors also acted successfully.
1223 year ...The event in Russia, which could have happened, did not please the princes, because they understood that sooner or later these hordes would reach Kiev. Russian princes had to fight the Mongols at the request of the Polovtsy. Again, a clash with the troops of Genghis Khan would sooner or later have occurred. Understanding that the Tatars would not stop, the princes decided not to deny help to the Polovtsian khan. Having gathered in Kiev, the troops of Mstislav Galitsky and Mstislav the Remote (at that time the Kiev prince) began to march. During the campaign, the Mongols twice sent their ambassadors, whose goal was to stop the Russian army. The Mongols argued that they would cope with the Polovtsy, but would not go to Russian cities.
Battle of the Mongols
Knowing what event happened in 1223shortly before the appearance of the hordes of Batu, Genghis Khan in Russia (namely, the conquest of the rich cities of the Caucasus), the Russian princes did not believe the ambassadors of the Horde. Therefore, the campaign continued. The gang moved downstream of the Dnieper. On the territory of the present Cherkasy region of Ukraine, the princely troops had to make a crossing across the Dnieper. Already here there was the first meeting with the enemy forces. The Mongols had fast horses, so they were able to escape and lure the Russian troops to a convenient battlefield, located near the modern Kalmius River (Zaporizhia region).
Начало баталии было за русскими князьями.To some extent, this can be explained by the speed of actions of the princely troops. The Kiev prince crossed the river, studied the Mongolian camp from afar, returned to the disposition of his troops and prepared them for battle. The Mongols began to retreat. Particularly strongly pressed on them by the squad of Daniel Galitsky. But then the Golden Horde brought additional forces into battle, which led to the typical outcome for many battles in the history of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples — the flight of the Allies (Polovtsy), which destroyed the structure of the Russian princes' army. After that, the victory of the Mongol-Tatars was a matter of time and technology. Slavic army suffered heavy losses in this battle.
Conclusion
1223 year ...The event in Russia is really tragic. The defeat at Kalka put the whole of Russia in direct and complete dependence on the state "Golden Horde". The Tatar-Mongol yoke lasted almost 300 years. This huge historical period of time has postponed a negative imprint on the development of the modern lands of Russia and Ukraine.
