1480. Moscow has not paid tribute to Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat for 7 years. He came to collect his own and stopped on the banks of the Ugra River. On the opposite bank lined up the troops of Moscow Prince Ivan III.
They stood opposite each other for more than a month. Only the river separated them.
On November 6 (according to the old style), 1480, Khan Akhmat left. " Ran from Ugra in the night of November on the 6th day“, tell us the sources of the time.
Together with Khan Akhmat, the yoke also left.
Let's not argue whether it was in Russia or not. For some of us it was a yoke, for some it was a peculiarity of political relations. Let's better describe the events of 1237-1480 in the language of numbers.
169 documented trips
committed to the Horde from 1243 to 1430 on a variety of occasions. In reality, there were probably even more trips.
11 Russian princes
were killed in the Horde. Often, people not of princely dignity, family members, accompanying people were also killed with them. This figure did not include those who died outside the Horde, such as, for example, poisoned by Khan Berke, returning home.
70 Ryazan boyars
perished in September 1380. So, at least, tells us "Zadonshchina", which was written in the 14th or 15th century.
24.000 people
died during the destruction of Moscow by Tokhtamysh in 1382. In fact, every second inhabitant of the capital died.
27 and 70 skulls
discovered archaeologists during excavations at the site of Ryazan devastated by the Mongols. The main version is traces of executions, chopping off heads.
Let us clarify that modern Ryazan is, in fact, the ancient Russian city of Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky, which began to be called that from the middle of the 14th century. That Ryazan, which was devastated in 1237, was no longer restored.
4 younger brothers
Prince Mstislav Glebovich died after the fall of Chernigov, during the ruin by the Mongols of nearby cities, such as Gomiy, Rylsk and others.
During the excavations of the devastated Gomia, archaeologists discovered a workshop destroyed by the invasion, where artisans made armor. We talked about this workshop in more detail in the article.
4,000 Mongol warriors and siege engines
were destroyed by the defending inhabitants of Kozelsk during a sortie on the third day of the assault. However, the detachment itself died, after which the city, which had lost its protection, was destroyed.
Money
14 types of tribute
paid the Mongols. They paid not only a fixed amount for the khan, but there were also various “gifts” and “honors” to the khan, his relatives and close associates, as well as trade fees, the obligation to maintain the khan’s embassy, and so on. In addition, unscheduled fundraising was periodically announced - for example, before a large military campaign.
300 rubles
spent by Dmitry Donskoy on the burial of the bodies of dead Muscovites (a ruble for 80 buried bodies) after the devastation of Moscow by Tokhtamysh. At that time - serious money, a sixth of the tribute that the Vladimir principality paid to the Golden Horde.
3.000 Lithuanian rubles
gave Kyiv as compensation to the Nogais of Edigey, who pursued the allies retreating from Vorskla in the Kyiv and Lithuanian lands. More on this battle below.
5.000 rubles
it was no longer the Russians who paid the Horde, but vice versa. The case was taken in the spring of 1376. The governor and namesake of Dmitry Donskoy, Prince Bobrok-Volynsky (future hero of the Battle of Kulikovo) invaded the Volga Bulgaria. On March 16, he defeated the united army of its rulers - Emir Hassan Khan and Muhammad Sultan, appointed by the Horde.
Time
5 days
Moscow resisted the Mongols, which was defended by Prince Vladimir Yuryevich and governor Philip Nyanka " with a small army". Pereyaslavl-Zalessky defended the same amount, which ended up in the path of the main forces of the Mongols, moving from Vladimir to Novgorod.
6 days
the siege of Ryazan continued, which fell at the end of December and was completely ruined. About this - above.
8 days
besieged Vladimir defended himself, but was nevertheless taken in early February 1238. The whole family of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich perished in the city. The Mongols hesitated, and began the assault on Vladimir only upon the return of another Mongol detachment with many prisoners from the captured Suzdal.
Almost 50 days
the siege of Kozelsk continued.
3 days
the assault on Kozelsk continued, ending its long siege by the Mongols (May 1238)
12 years
was Prince Kozelsky Vasily, when the Mongols besieged the city in which he was planted to rule. The defense was led by an experienced governor and boyars, under the formal command of the prince.
14 years in Mongol captivity
held by Prince Oleg Ingvarevich Krasny, after which he was released.
Territories
5
Russian principalities
as well as 3 principalities of the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Tokhtamysh, deprived of the Khan's throne on the eve of the Horde, with a detachment of several thousand Tatars.
All of them rose against the Golden Horde of Kutlug.
But on August 12, 1399, on the banks of the Vorskla River, the allies were defeated.
11 cities
captured by the Tatars before standing on the Ugra River in 1480 in order to exclude an attack on them from the rear.
14 cities per month
were taken by the Tatars in February 1238. If we calculate the average, then the gates of Russian cities were opened to the invaders every other day.
Suzdal, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev-Polsky, Starodub-on-Klyazma, Tver, Gorodets, Kostroma, Galich-Mersky, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Uglich, Kashin, Ksnyatin, Dmitrov, as well as the Novgorod suburbs of Vologda and Volok Lamsky fell.
On this we will put an end. Numbers are numbers.
A photo
Tatyana Ushakova and Marina Skoropadskaya, graphics - Pavel Ryzhenko and Elena Dovedova
Download this article in .pdf format.
From Hyperborea to Russia. Non-traditional history of the Slavs Markov German
Was there a Mongol-Tatar yoke? (Version by A. Bushkov)
From the book "The Russia That Wasn't"
We are told that a horde of rather wild nomads has emerged from the desert steppes. Central Asia, conquered the Russian principalities, invaded Western Europe and left behind plundered cities and states.
But after 300 years of domination in Russia, the Mongol Empire left practically no written monuments in the Mongolian language. However, letters and treaties of the Grand Dukes, spiritual letters, church documents of that time remained, but only in Russian. This means that Russian remained the state language in Russia during the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Not only Mongolian written, but also material monuments from the times of the Golden Horde Khanate have not been preserved.
Academician Nikolai Gromov says that if the Mongols really conquered and plundered Russia and Europe, then material values, customs, culture, and writing would remain. But these conquests and the personality of Genghis Khan himself became known to modern Mongols from Russian and Western sources. There is nothing like this in the history of Mongolia. And our school textbooks still contain information about the Tatar-Mongolian yoke, based only on medieval chronicles. But many other documents have been preserved that contradict what children are taught in school today. They testify that the Tatars were not the conquerors of Russia, but warriors in the service of the Russian Tsar.
Here is a quote from the book of the Habsburg ambassador to Russia, Baron Sigismund Herberstein“Notes on Muscovite Affairs”, written by him in the 15th century: “ In 1527, they (the Muscovites) again came out with the Tatars, as a result of which the well-known battle of Khanik took place.».
And in the German chronicle of 1533 it is said about Ivan the Terrible that “ he and his Tatars took Kazan and Astrakhan under his kingdom» In the view of Europeans, Tatars are not conquerors, but warriors of the Russian tsar.
In 1252, the ambassador of King Louis IX traveled with his retinue from Constantinople to the headquarters of Batu Khan William Rubrukus ( court monk Guillaume de Rubruk), who wrote in his travel notes: « Everywhere among the Tatars are scattered settlements of the Rus, who mixed with the Tatars, adopted their clothes and way of life. All routes of transportation in a vast country are served by Russians; at river crossings, Russians are everywhere».
But Rubruk traveled across Russia only 15 years after the beginning of the “Tatar-Mongol yoke”. Something too quickly happened to mix the way of life of Russians with wild Mongols. He further writes: “ The wives of the Rus, like ours, wear jewelry on their heads and trim the hem of the dress with stripes of ermine and other fur. Men wear short clothes - kaftans, chekmens and lamb hats. Women adorn their heads with headdresses similar to those worn by French women. Men wear outerwear like German". It turns out that Mongolian clothing in Russia in those days was no different from Western European. This radically changes our understanding of the wild nomadic barbarians from the distant Mongolian steppes.
And here is what an Arab chronicler and traveler wrote about the Golden Horde in his travel notes in 1333 Ibn Batuta: « There were many Russians in Saray-Berk. The bulk of the armed, service and labor forces of the Golden Horde were Russian people.».
It is impossible to imagine that the victorious Mongols for some reason arm the Russian slaves and that they constitute the main mass in their troops, without offering armed resistance.
And foreign travelers visiting Russia, enslaved by the Tatar-Mongols, idyllically depict Russian people walking around in Tatar costumes, which are no different from European ones, and armed Russian soldiers calmly serve the Khan's horde, without showing any resistance. There is a lot of evidence that the inner life of the northeastern principalities of Russia at that time developed as if there had been no invasion, they, as before, gathered veche, chose princes for themselves and drove them out. .
Something this is not very similar to the yoke.
Were there Mongols among the invaders, black-haired, slanted-eyed people whom anthropologists attribute to the Mongoloid race? Not a single contemporary mentions such a look of the conquerors in a word. The Russian chronicler among the peoples who came in the horde of Batu Khan puts in the first place the "Kumans", that is, the Kipchaks-Polovtsy (Caucasoids), who from time immemorial lived settled next to the Russians.
Arab historian Elomari wrote: "In ancient times this state (Golden Horde XIV century) was the country of the Kipchaks, but when the Tatars took possession of it, the Kipchaks became their subjects. Then they, that is, the Tatars, mingled and intermarried with them, and they all became exactly Kipchaks, as if they were of the same genus.”
Here is another curious document about the composition of Batu Khan's army. In a letter from the Hungarian king Bella IV The Pope of Rome, written in 1241, says: “When the state of Hungary, from the invasion of the Mongols, as from a plague, was for the most part turned into a desert, and like a sheepfold was surrounded by various tribes of infidels, namely Russians, roamers from the east, Bulgarians and other heretics from the south ...” It turns out that in the horde of the legendary Mongol Khan Batu, mostly Slavs fight, But where are the Mongols, or at least the Tatars?
Genetic studies by scientists-biochemists of the Kazan University of the bones of the mass graves of the Tatar-Mongols showed that 90% of them were representatives of the Slavic ethnic group. A similar Caucasoid type prevails even in the genotype of the modern indigenous Tatar population of Tatarstan. And there are practically no Mongolian words in Russian. Tatar (Bulgarian) - as much as you like. It seems that there were no Mongols in Russia at all.
Other doubts about the real existence of the Mongol Empire and the Tatar-Mongol yoke can be reduced to the following:
1. There are remnants of the cities allegedly of the Golden Horde Sarai-Batu and Sarai-Berke on the Volga in the Akhtuba region. There is a mention of the existence of the capital of Batu on the Don, but its place is not known. Famous Russian archaeologist V. V. Grigoriev in the 19th century in scientific article noted that “There are practically no traces of the existence of the Khanate. Its once flourishing cities lie in ruins. And about its capital, the famous Sarai, we don’t even know what ruins can date its big name».
2. Modern Mongols do not know about the existence of the Mongol Empire in the XIII-XV centuries and learned about Genghis Khan only from Russian sources.
3. There are no traces in Mongolia former capital empire of the mythical city of Karakorum, and if it were, the reports of chronicles about the trips of some Russian princes for labels to Karakorum twice a year are fantastic due to their significant duration due to the long distance (about 5000 km one way).
4. There are no traces of colossal treasures allegedly looted by the Tatar-Mongols in different countries Oh.
5. Russian culture, writing and the welfare of the Russian principalities flourished during Tatar yoke. This is evidenced by the abundance of coin treasures found on the territory of Russia. Only in medieval Russia at that time were the golden gates cast in Vladimir and Kyiv. Only in Russia domes and roofs of temples were covered with gold, not only in the capital, but also in provincial cities. The abundance of gold in Russia until the 17th century, according to N. Karamzin, "confirms the amazing wealth of the Russian princes during the Tatar-Mongol yoke."
6. Most of the monasteries were built in Russia during the yoke, and for some reason the Orthodox Church did not call on the people to fight the invaders. During the Tatar yoke, no appeals were made by the Orthodox Church to the forced Russian people. Moreover, from the first days of the enslavement of Russia, the church provided all kinds of support to the pagan Mongols.
And historians tell us that temples and churches were robbed, defiled and destroyed.
N. M. Karamzin wrote about this in the History of the Russian State, that “ one of the consequences of the Tatar domination was the rise of our clergy, the multiplication of monks and church estates. Church possessions, free from Horde and princely taxes, prospered. Very few of today's monasteries were founded before or after the Tatars. All others serve as a monument of this time.
Official history claims that the Tatar-Mongol yoke, in addition to plundering the country, destroying its historical and religious monuments and plunging the enslaved people into ignorance and illiteracy, stopped the development of culture in Russia for 300 years. But N. Karamzin believed that “ during this period from the 13th to the 15th century, the Russian language acquired more purity and correctness. Instead of the uneducated Russian dialect, the writers carefully adhered to the grammar of church books or ancient serbian not only in grammar, but also in pronunciation.
As paradoxical as it sounds, we have to admit that the period of the Tatar-Mongolian yoke was the heyday of Russian culture.
7. On old engravings, Tatars cannot be distinguished from Russian combatants.
They have the same armor and weapons, the same faces and the same banners with Orthodox crosses and saints.
The exposition of the Art Museum of the city of Yaroslavl exhibits a large wooden Orthodox icon of the 17th century with the life of St. Sergius of Radonezh. At the bottom of the icon is the legendary Battle of Kulikovo between the Russian Prince Dmitry Donskoy and Khan Mamai. But Russians and Tatars cannot be distinguished on this icon either. Both of them are wearing the same gilded armor and helmets. Moreover, both Tatars and Russians fight under the same battle banners with the image of the face of the Savior Not Made by Hands. It is impossible to imagine that the Tatar horde of Khan Mamai went into battle with the Russian squad under banners depicting the face of Jesus Christ. But this is not nonsense. And it is unlikely that the Orthodox Church could afford such a gross oversight on a well-known revered icon.
On all Russian medieval miniatures depicting the Tatar-Mongol raids, for some reason the Mongol khans are depicted in royal crowns and the chroniclers call them not khans, but kings. on Russian cities” Batu Khan is fair-haired with Slavic features and has a princely crown on his head. Two of his bodyguards are typical Zaporizhzhya Cossacks with forelocks-settlers on their shaved heads, and the rest of his soldiers are no different from the Russian squad.
And here is what medieval historians wrote about Mamai - the authors of the handwritten chronicles "Zadonshchina" and "The Legend of the Battle of Mamai":
« And King Mamai came with 10 hordes and 70 princes. It can be seen that the Russian princes have treated you notably, there are no princes or governors with you. And immediately the filthy Mamai ran, crying, saying bitterly: We, brethren, will not be in our land and will no longer see our retinue, neither with princes, nor with boyars. Why are you, filthy Mamai, stalking on Russian soil? After all, the Zalessky horde has beaten you now. Mamaevs and princes, and Yesauls and boyars beat Tokhtamysha with their foreheads.
It turns out that Mamai's horde was called a squad, in which princes, boyars and governors fought, and the army of Dmitry Donskoy was called the Zalessky horde, and he himself was called Tokhtamysh.
8. Historical documents give serious grounds to assume that the Mongol khans Batu and Mamai are twins of the Russian princes, since the actions of the Tatar khans surprisingly coincide with the intentions and plans of Yaroslav the Wise, Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy to establish central power in Russia.
There is a Chinese engraving that depicts Batu Khan with an easily readable inscription "Yaroslav". Then there is a chronicle miniature, which again depicts a bearded man with gray hair in a crown (probably a grand prince's) on a white horse (as a winner). The caption reads "Khan Batu enters Suzdal." But Suzdal hometown Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. It turns out that he enters his own city, for example, after the suppression of the rebellion. On the image, we read not “Batu”, but “Batya”, as, according to the assumption of A. Fomenko, the head of the army was called, then the word “Svyatoslav”, and on the crown the word “Maskvich” is read, through “A”. The fact is that on some ancient maps of Moscow it was written "Maskova". (From the word “mask”, the icons were called before the adoption of Christianity, and the word “icon” is Greek. “Maskova” is a cult river and a city where there are images of the gods). Thus, he is a Muscovite, and this is in the order of things, because it was a single Vladimir-Suzdal principality, which included Moscow. But the most interesting thing is that "Emir of Russia" is written on his belt.
9. The tribute that the Russian cities paid to the Golden Horde was the usual tax (tithe), which then existed in Russia for the maintenance of the army - the horde, as well as the recruitment of young people into the army, from where the Cossack soldiers, as a rule, did not return home, devoting themselves military service. This military set was called "tagma", a tribute in blood, which the Russians allegedly paid to the Tatars. For refusal to pay tribute or evasion of recruitment, the military administration of the Horde unconditionally punished the population with punitive expeditions in the offending areas. Naturally, such pacification operations were accompanied by bloody excesses, violence and executions. In addition, internecine squabbles constantly took place between individual princes, with armed clashes between princely squads and the capture of cities on the warring sides. These actions are now presented by historians as supposedly Tatar raids on Russian territories.
This is how Russian history was falsified.
Russian scientist Lev Gumilyov(1912-1992) argues that the Tatar-Mongol yoke is a myth. He believes that at that time there was an unification of the Russian principalities with the Horde under the leadership of the Horde (according to the principle “a bad peace is better”), and Russia, as it were, was considered a separate ulus that joined the Horde under an agreement. They were a single state with their internal strife and struggle for centralized power. L. Gumilyov believed that the theory of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russia was created only in the 18th century by German historians Gottlieb Bayer, August Schlozer, Gerhard Miller under the influence of the idea of the allegedly slave origin of the Russian people, according to a certain social order of the ruling house of the Romanovs, who wanted look like the saviors of Russia from the yoke.
An additional argument in favor of the fact that the "invasion" is completely invented is the fact that the imaginary "invasion" did not bring anything new into Russian life.
Everything that happened under the "Tatars" existed before in one form or another.
There is not the slightest trace of the presence of a foreign ethnic group, other customs, other rules, laws, regulations. And examples of especially disgusting "Tatar atrocities" upon closer examination turn out to be fictitious.
A foreign invasion of a particular country (if it was not just a predatory raid) has always been distinguished by the establishment in the conquered country of new orders, new laws, a change in ruling dynasties, a change in the structure of administration, provincial boundaries, a fight against old customs, the imposition of a new faith, and even a change country names. None of this was in Russia under the Tatar-Mongol yoke.
In the Laurentian Chronicle, which Karamzin considered the most ancient and complete, three pages, which told about the invasion of Batu, were cut out and replaced by some literary clichés about the events of the 11th-12th centuries. L. Gumilyov wrote about this with reference to G. Prokhorov. What was so terrible there that they went to the forgery? Probably something that could give food for thought about the strangeness of the Mongol invasion.
In the West, for more than 200 years, they were convinced of the existence in the East of a huge kingdom of a certain Christian ruler. "Presbyter John" whose descendants were considered in Europe the khans of the "Mongol Empire". Many European chroniclers “for some reason” identified Prester John with Genghis Khan, who was also called “King David”. someone Philip, Dominican Priest wrote that "Christianity dominates everywhere in the Mongolian east." This "Mongolian East" was Christian Russia. The belief about the existence of the kingdom of Prester John held out for a long time and began to be displayed everywhere on the geographical maps of that time. According to European authors, Prester John maintained a warm and trusting relationship with Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, the only European monarch who did not experience fear at the news of the invasion of the "Tatars" in Europe and corresponded with the "Tatars". He knew who they really were.
You can draw a logical conclusion.
There has never been any Mongol-Tatar yoke in Russia. There was a specific period of the internal process of the unification of the Russian lands and the strengthening of the Tsar-Khan power in the country. The entire population of Russia was divided into civilians, ruled by princes, and a permanent regular army, called a horde, under the command of governors, who could be Russians, Tatars, Turks or other nationalities. At the head of the horde army was a khan or king, who owned the supreme power in the country.
At the same time, A. Bushkov in conclusion admits that an external enemy in the person of the Tatars, Polovtsy and other steppe tribes living in the Volga region (but, of course, not the Mongols from the borders of China) invaded Russia at that time and these raids were used by Russian princes in their struggle for power.
After the collapse of the Golden Horde, several states existed on its former territory at different times, the most significant of which are: the Kazan Khanate, the Crimean Khanate, the Siberian Khanate, the Nogai Horde, the Astrakhan Khanate, the Uzbek Khanate, the Kazakh Khanate.
Concerning Battle of Kulikovo 1380, then many chroniclers wrote (and copied) about it, both in Russia and in Western Europe. There are up to 40 duplicate descriptions of this very large event, dissimilar from each other, since they were created by multilingual chroniclers from different countries. Some Western chronicles described the same battle as a battle on European territory, and later historians puzzled over where it happened. Comparison of different chronicles leads to the idea that this is a description of the same event.
Near Tula on the Kulikovo field near the Nepryadva River, no evidence of a big battle has yet been found, despite repeated attempts. There are no mass graves or significant finds of weapons.
Now we already know that in Russia the words "Tatars" and "Cossacks", "army" and "horde" meant the same thing. Therefore, Mamai brought to the Kulikovo field not a foreign Mongol-Tatar horde, but Russian Cossack regiments, and the Kulikovo battle itself, in all likelihood, was an episode of internecine war.
According to Fomenko the so-called Battle of Kulikovo in 1380 was not a battle between the Tatars and the Russians, but a major episode of the civil war between the Russians, possibly on religious basis. An indirect confirmation of this is the reflection of this event in numerous church sources.
Hypothetical variants of "Muscovy Commonwealth" or "Russian Caliphate"
Bushkov analyzes in detail the possibility of adopting Catholicism in the Russian principalities, unification with Catholic Poland and Lithuania (then single state Zhechi Commonwealth), the creation on this basis of a powerful Slavic "Muscovy Commonwealth" and its influence on European and world processes. There were reasons for this. In 1572, the last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Sigmund II Augustus, died. The gentry insisted on the election of a new king and one of the candidates was the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible. He was a Rurikovich and a descendant of the Glinsky princes, that is, a close relative of the Jagiellons (whose ancestor was Jagello, also Rurikovich by three quarters). In this case, Russia, most likely, would have become Catholic, united with Poland and Lithuania into a single powerful Slavic state in the east of Europe, whose history could have gone differently.
A. Bushkov is also trying to imagine what could change in world development if Russia accepted Islam and became Muslim. There were reasons for this too. Islam in its fundamental basis is not negative. Here, for example, was the order of Caliph Omar ( Umar ibn al-Khattab(581–644, second caliph of the Islamic Caliphate) to their soldiers: “You must not be treacherous, dishonest or intemperate, you must not mutilate captives, kill children and old people, chop or burn palm trees or fruit trees, kill cows, sheep or camels. Do not touch those who devote themselves to prayer in their cell.”
Instead of the baptism of Russia, Prince Vladimir he could well have made her "circumcised". And later there was a possibility of becoming an Islamic state and by someone else's will. If the Golden Horde had existed a little longer, the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates could have strengthened and conquered the Russian principalities, which were fragmented at that time, as they themselves were later subjugated by united Russia. And then the Russians could be converted to Islam voluntarily or by force, and now we would all worship Allah and diligently study the Koran at school.
This text is an introductory piece. From the book History of Russia from Rurik to Putin. People. Events. Dates author Anisimov Evgeny ViktorovichThe Mongol-Tatar invasion of Russia Genghis Khan (Temujin), the son of a failed tribal leader, thanks to his talent and luck, became the founder of the great empire of the Mongols, and where by onslaught and courage, and where by cunning and deceit he managed to exterminate or subjugate many khans
From the book Russia and the Horde. Great empire of the Middle Ages author2.3. "Mongol-Tatar" invasion according to Russian chronicles Russians are at war with Russians The very description of the Mongol-Tatar conquest of Russia in Russian chronicles suggests that the "Tatars" are Russian troops led by Russian princes. Let's open the Laurentian Chronicle. She is
From the book of Tatars and Rus [Handbook] author Pokhlebkin William VasilievichPrologue THE MONGOLO-TATAR INVASION ON RUSSIA (20-30s of the XIII century) How did the Tatar peoples end up on the southern and eastern borders of Russia? In 1222, the 30,000-strong detachment of Khan Jebe and the chief Mongol commander Subudai-Bagatur, crossing the Caucasus Range, attacked in the foothills of the Northern
From the book New Chronology and the Concept of the Ancient History of Russia, England and Rome author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich"Mongol-Tatar" invasion according to Russian chronicles: Russians are fighting Russians The very description of the Mongol-Tatar conquest of Russia in Russian chronicles suggests that the "Tatars" are Russian troops led by Russian princes. Let's open the Laurentian Chronicle. She is
From the book of Rurik. Collectors of the Russian Land author Burovsky Andrey MikhailovichMongol-Tatar "yoke" The term "yoke", meaning the cruel and humiliating power of the Golden Horde over Russia, is not found in Russian chronicles. It was first used by the Polish historian from Lvov Jan Dlugosz in 1479 and the professor at the University of Krakow Matvey Miechovsky in 1517
From the book Textbook of Russian History author Platonov Sergey Fyodorovich§ 34. The Mongol-Tatar yoke With the formation of the Golden Horde, the permanent political dependence of Russia on the Tatars began. Being nomads, the Tatars did not remain to live in Russian regions rich in forests; they went south, to the open steppes, and left in Russia to observe their
authorCHAPTER VIII. The Mongol-Tatar invasion and its consequences § 1. "EURASIANITY" AND HISTORICAL SCIENCE Until recently, the problem of the Mongol-Tatar invasion and its consequences did not raise any doubts: all sources - Russian and foreign, data from archeology
From the book HISTORY OF RUSSIA from ancient times to 1618. Textbook for universities. In two books. Book one. author Kuzmin Apollon Grigorievich§ 3. MONGOLO-TATOR INVASION ON RUSSIAN LANDS Genghis Khan died in 1227. Previously, he distributed the uluses among his sons. The western lands were assigned to the elder Jochi - Europe proper. Jochi died in 1227, while his father was still alive (it is believed that Genghis Khan himself eliminated him, considering
From the book HISTORY OF RUSSIA from ancient times to 1618. Textbook for universities. In two books. Book one. author Kuzmin Apollon GrigorievichTO CHAPTER VIII. THE MONGOLO-TATAR INVASION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES Below is reproduced the "Eurasian" view of the history of Russia and the psychology of the Russian people. It is in the cited article by N.S. Trubetskoy follows the Young Turk "order" of various Turkic peoples from the Adriatic to
From the book History of Russia the author Ivanushkina V V5. The Mongol-Tatar invasion and the German-Swedish expansion By the beginning of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, Russia had been in conditions of feudal fragmentation for more than a hundred years. This weakened Russia both politically and militarily. Gradually in the first third of the XIII century.
From the book From Hyperborea to Russia. Non-traditional history of the Slavs author Markov GermanThere was no Mongol-Tatar yoke. (A. Maksimov's version) From the book "Rus that was" Yaroslavl researcher Albert Maksimov in the book "Rus that was" offers his version of the history of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, basically confirming the main conclusion that there was no
author Kargalov Vadim Viktorovich From the book Foreign Policy Factors in the Development of Feudal Russia author Kargalov Vadim Viktorovich From the book Pre-Petrine Russia. historical portraits. author Fedorova Olga PetrovnaMongol-Tatar invasion of Russia Having captured Northern China, Central Asia and Northern Iran, the troops of Genghis Khan under the command of his commanders Jebe and Subudai came to the Black Sea steppes, threatening the Polovtsy who were nomads there. As you know, relations between Russians and
From the book Ancient Russia. Events and people author Curd Oleg ViktorovichMONGOLO-TATAR INVASION 1237 - Batu, together with other Mongol commanders who came to his aid (Guyuk Khan, Mengukhan, Kulkan, etc.), moved to the Ryazan principality. According to V.V. Kargalov, the army of Batu numbered 120-140 thousand people. Batu
From the book History of State and Law of Ukraine: Textbook, manual author Muzychenko Petr Pavlovich3.2. Mongol-Tatar invasion and its consequences At the end of the XII century. in the steppes of Central Asia, a powerful Mongol-Tatar state was formed. The struggle for power between the tribal leaders brought victory to Temuchin, who, under the name of Genghis Khan, was proclaimed in 1206
Mongol-Tatar yoke - the period of the capture of Russia by the Mongol-Tatars in the 13-15 centuries. The Mongol-Tatar yoke lasted for 243 years.
The truth about the Mongol-Tatar yoke
The Russian princes at that time were in a state of enmity, so they could not give a fitting rebuff to the invaders. Despite the fact that the Cumans came to the rescue, the Tatar-Mongol army quickly seized the advantage.
The first direct clash between the troops took place on the Kalka River, on May 31, 1223, and was quickly lost. Even then it became clear that our army would not be able to defeat the Tatar-Mongols, but the onslaught of the enemy was held back for quite a long time.
In the winter of 1237, a targeted invasion of the main troops of the Tatar-Mongols into the territory of Russia began. This time, the enemy army was commanded by the grandson of Genghis Khan - Batu. The army of nomads managed to move quickly enough inland, plundering the principalities in turn and killing everyone who tried to resist on their way.
The main dates of the capture of Russia by the Tatar-Mongols
- 1223. The Tatar-Mongols approached the border of Russia;
- May 31, 1223. First battle;
- Winter 1237. The beginning of a targeted invasion of Russia;
- 1237. Ryazan and Kolomna were captured. Palo Ryazan principality;
- March 4, 1238. Killed Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich. The city of Vladimir is captured;
- Autumn 1239. Captured Chernigov. Palo Chernihiv Principality;
- 1240 year. Kyiv captured. The Kiev principality fell;
- 1241. Palo Galicia-Volyn principality;
- 1480. The overthrow of the Mongol-Tatar yoke.
Causes of the fall of Russia under the onslaught of the Mongol-Tatars
- the absence of a unified organization in the ranks of Russian soldiers;
- numerical superiority of the enemy;
- the weakness of the command of the Russian army;
- poorly organized mutual assistance from scattered princes;
- underestimation of the strength and number of the enemy.
Features of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Russia
In Russia, the establishment of the Mongol-Tatar yoke with new laws and orders began.
actual center political life Vladimir became, it was from there that the Tatar-Mongol Khan exercised his control.
The essence of the management of the Tatar-Mongol yoke was that the Khan handed the label to reign at his own discretion and completely controlled all the territories of the country. This increased the enmity between the princes.
The feudal fragmentation of the territories was strongly encouraged, as it reduced the likelihood of a centralized rebellion.
Tribute was regularly levied from the population, the “Horde output”. The collection of money was carried out by special officials - Baskaks, who showed extreme cruelty and did not shy away from kidnappings and murders.
Consequences of the Mongol-Tatar conquest
The consequences of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Russia were terrible.
- Many cities and villages were destroyed, people were killed;
- Agriculture, handicrafts, and the arts declined;
- Feudal fragmentation increased significantly;
- Significantly reduced population;
- Russia began to noticeably lag behind Europe in development.
The end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke
Complete liberation from the Mongol-Tatar yoke occurred only in 1480, when Grand Duke Ivan III refused to pay money to the horde and declared the independence of Russia.
It has long been no secret that there was no "Tatar-Mongol yoke", and no Tatars with Mongols conquered Russia. But who falsified history and why? What was hidden behind the Tatar-Mongol yoke? Bloody Christianization of Russia...
There are a large number of facts that not only unequivocally refute the hypothesis of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, but also indicate that history was deliberately distorted, and that this was done with a very specific purpose ... But who deliberately distorted history and why? What real events did they want to hide and why?
If we analyze the historical facts, it becomes obvious that the "Tatar-Mongol yoke" was invented in order to hide the consequences of the "baptism" Kievan Rus. After all, this religion was imposed in a far from peaceful way ... In the process of "baptism" most of the population of the Kyiv principality was destroyed! It definitely becomes clear that those forces that were behind the imposition of this religion, in the future, fabricated history, juggling historical facts for themselves and their goals ...
These facts are known to historians and are not secret, they are publicly available, and anyone can easily find them on the Internet. Omitting scientific research and justification, which have already been described quite extensively, let's summarize the main facts that refute the big lie about the "Tatar-Mongol yoke".
French engraving by Pierre Duflos (1742-1816)
1. Genghis Khan
Previously, in Russia, 2 people were responsible for governing the state: the Prince and the Khan. The prince was responsible for governing the state in peacetime. Khan or "war prince" took over the reins of government during the war, in peacetime he was responsible for the formation of the horde (army) and maintaining it in combat readiness.
Genghis Khan is not a name, but the title of "war prince", which, in the modern world, is close to the position of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. And there were several people who bore such a title. The most prominent of them was Timur, it is about him that they usually talk about when they talk about Genghis Khan.
In the 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 the representative Mongoloid race, but fully fits the description of the Slavic appearance (L.N. Gumilyov - “Ancient Russia and the Great Steppe”.).
In modern "Mongolia" there is not a single folk tale that would say that this country once conquered almost all of Eurasia in ancient times, just like there is nothing about the great conqueror Genghis Khan ... (N.V. Levashov "Visible and invisible genocide).
Reconstruction of the throne of Genghis Khan with a family tamga with a swastika
2. Mongolia
The state of Mongolia appeared only in the 1930s, when the Bolsheviks came to the nomads living in the Gobi desert and informed them that they were the descendants of the great Mongols, and their “compatriot” created the Great Empire at one time, which they were very surprised and delighted with . The word "Mogul" is of Greek origin and means "Great". This word the Greeks called our ancestors - the Slavs. It has nothing to do with the name of any people (N.V. Levashov "Visible and invisible genocide").
3. The composition of the army "Tatar-Mongols"
70-80% of the army of the "Tatar-Mongols" were Russians, the remaining 20-30% were other small peoples of Russia, in fact, as now. This fact is clearly confirmed by a fragment of the icon of Sergius of Radonezh "The Battle of Kulikovo". It clearly shows that the same warriors are fighting on both sides. And this fight is more like civil war than to go to war with a foreign conqueror.
The museum description of the icon reads: “... In the 1680s. an attachment with a picturesque legend about the “Mamaev Battle” was added. On the left side of the composition, cities and villages are depicted that sent their soldiers to help Dmitry Donskoy - Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Rostov, Novgorod, Ryazan, the village of Kurba near Yaroslavl and others. On the right is Mamaia's camp. In the center of the composition is the scene of the Battle of Kulikovo with the duel between Peresvet and Chelubey. On the lower field - a meeting of the victorious Russian troops, the burial of dead heroes and the death of Mamai.
All these pictures, taken from both Russian and European sources, depict the battles of the Russians with the Mongol-Tatars, but nowhere is it possible to determine who is Russian and who is Tatar. Moreover, in the latter case, both the Russians and the "Mongol-Tatars" are dressed in almost the same gilded armor and helmets, and fight under the same banners with the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands. Another thing is that the "Spas" of the two warring parties, most likely, was different.
4. What did the "Tatar-Mongols" look like?
Pay attention to 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, Krakow and Poland, placed on the grave in Breslau of this prince, who was killed in the battle with the Tatars at Liegnitz on April 9, 1241.” As we can see, this "Tatar" has a completely Russian appearance, clothes and weapons.
In the next image - "the Khan's palace in the capital of the Mongol Empire, Khanbalik" (it is believed that Khanbalik is allegedly Beijing).
What is "Mongolian" and what is "Chinese" here? Again, as in the case of the tomb of Henry II, before us are people of a clearly Slavic appearance. Russian caftans, archer caps, the same broad beards, the same characteristic blades of sabers called "elman". The roof on the left is almost an exact copy of the roofs of the old Russian towers ... (A. Bushkov, "Russia, which was not").
5. Genetic expertise
According to the latest data obtained as a result of genetic research, it turned out that Tatars and Russians have very similar genetics. Whereas 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 completely European) and the Mongolian (almost completely Central Asian) are really great - it’s like two different worlds ...”
6. Documents during the Tatar-Mongol yoke
During the existence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, not a single document in the Tatar or Mongolian language has been preserved. But there are many documents of this time in Russian.
7. Lack of objective evidence supporting the hypothesis of the Tatar-Mongol yoke
At the moment, there are no originals of any historical documents that would objectively prove that there was a Tatar-Mongol yoke. But on the other hand, there are many fakes designed to convince us of the existence of a fiction called the "Tatar-Mongol yoke." Here is one of those 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 come down to us in its entirety ... About the Tatar-Mongol invasion”:
“Oh, bright and beautifully decorated Russian land! You are glorified by many beauties: you are famous for many lakes, locally revered rivers and springs, mountains, steep hills, high oak forests, clear 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 full of everything, Russian land, O Orthodox Christian faith! .. "
There is not even a hint of the "Tatar-Mongol yoke" in this text. But on the other hand, in this “ancient” document there is such a line: “You are full of everything, the Russian land, about the Orthodox Christian faith!”
Before Nikon's church reform, which was carried out in the middle of the 17th century, Christianity in Russia was called "orthodox". It began to be called Orthodox only after this reform... Therefore, this document could have been written no earlier than the middle of the 17th century and has nothing to do with the era of the "Tatar-Mongol yoke"...
On all maps that were published before 1772 and were not corrected in the future, you can see the following picture.
The western part of Russia is called Muscovy, or Moscow Tartaria ... In this small part of Russia, the Romanov dynasty ruled. Until the end of the 18th century, the Moscow Tsar was called the ruler of Moscow Tartaria or the Duke (Prince) of Moscow. The rest of Russia, which occupied almost the entire continent of Eurasia in the east and south of Muscovy at that time, is called Tartaria or the Russian Empire (see map).
In the 1st edition of the British Encyclopedia of 1771, the following is written about this part of Russia:
“Tartaria, a huge country in the northern part of Asia, bordering Siberia in the north and west: which is called Great Tartaria. Those Tartars living south of Muscovy and Siberia are called Astrakhan, Cherkasy and Dagestan, living in the north-west of the Caspian Sea are called Kalmyk Tartars and which occupy the territory between Siberia and the Caspian Sea; Uzbek Tartars and Mongols, who live north of Persia and India, and, finally, Tibetan, living northwest of China ... "
Where did the name Tartaria come from
Our ancestors knew the laws of nature and the real structure of the world, life, and man. But, as now, the level of development of each person was not the same in those days. People who in their development went much further than others, and who could control space and matter (control the weather, heal diseases, see the future, etc.), were called Magi. Those of the Magi who knew how to control space at the planetary level and above were called Gods.
That is, the meaning of the word God, among our ancestors, was not at all the same as it is now. The gods were people who had gone much further in their development than the vast majority of people. For an ordinary person, their abilities seemed incredible, however, the gods were also people, and the capabilities of each god had their own limit.
Our ancestors had patrons - God Tarkh, he was also called Dazhdbog (giving God) and his sister - Goddess Tara. These Gods helped people in solving such problems that our ancestors could not solve on their own. So, the gods Tarkh and Tara taught our ancestors how to build houses, cultivate the land, write and much more, which was necessary in order to survive after the catastrophe and eventually restore civilization.
Therefore, more recently, our ancestors told strangers "We are the children of Tarkh and Tara ...". They said this because in their development, they really were children in relation to Tarkh and Tara, who had significantly departed in development. And the inhabitants of other countries called our ancestors "Tarkhtars", and later, because of the difficulty in pronunciation - "Tartars". Hence the name of the country - Tartaria ...
Baptism of Russia
And here the baptism of Russia? some may ask. As it turned out, very much so. After all, baptism did not take place in a peaceful way ... Before baptism, people in Russia were educated, almost everyone knew how to read, write, count (see the article “Russian culture is older than European”).
Recall from school curriculum according to history, at least, the same "Birch bark letters" - letters that peasants wrote to each other on birch bark from one village to another.
Our ancestors had a Vedic world view as described above, it was not a religion. Since the essence of any religion comes down to the blind acceptance of any dogmas and rules, without a deep understanding of why it is necessary to do it this way and not otherwise. The Vedic worldview gave people precisely an understanding of the real laws of nature, an understanding of how the world works, what is good and what is bad.
People saw what happened after the "baptism" in neighboring countries, when, under the influence of religion, a successful, highly developed country with an educated population, in a matter of years, plunged into ignorance and chaos, where only representatives of the aristocracy could read and write, and then not all of them. ..
Everyone perfectly understood what the “Greek religion” carried in itself, into which Prince Vladimir the Bloody and those who stood behind him were going to baptize Kievan Rus. Therefore, none of the inhabitants of the then Kyiv principality (a province that broke away from Great Tartary) accepted this religion. But there were large forces behind Vladimir, and they were not going to retreat.
In the process of "baptism" for 12 years of forced Christianization, with rare exceptions, almost the entire adult population of Kievan Rus was destroyed. Because such a “teaching” could only be imposed on unreasonable children, who, due to their youth, could not yet understand that such a religion turned them into slaves both in the physical and spiritual sense of the word. All those who refused to accept the new "faith" were killed. This is confirmed by the facts that have come down to us. If before the "baptism" on the territory of Kievan Rus there were 300 cities and 12 million inhabitants, then after the "baptism" there were only 30 cities and 3 million people! 270 cities were destroyed! 9 million people were killed! (Diy Vladimir, "Orthodox Russia before the adoption of Christianity and after").
But despite the fact that almost the entire adult population of Kievan Rus was destroyed by the "holy" baptists, the Vedic tradition did not disappear. On the lands of Kievan Rus, the so-called dual faith was established. Most of the population purely formally recognized the imposed religion of slaves, while they themselves continued to live according to the Vedic tradition, though without showing it off. And this phenomenon was observed not only among the masses, but also among part of the ruling elite. And this state of affairs continued until the reform of Patriarch Nikon, who figured out how to deceive everyone.
But the Vedic Slavic-Aryan Empire (Great Tartary) could not calmly look at the intrigues of its enemies, which destroyed three-quarters of the population of the Kyiv Principality. Only her response could not be instantaneous, due to the fact that the army of the Great Tartary was busy with conflicts on its Far Eastern borders. But these retaliatory actions of the Vedic empire were carried out and entered into modern history in a distorted form, under the name of the Mongol-Tatar invasion of the hordes of Batu Khan to Kievan Rus.
Only by the summer of 1223 did the troops of the Vedic Empire appear on the Kalka River. And the united army of the Polovtsians and Russian princes was completely defeated. So they beat us into history lessons, and no one could really explain why the Russian princes fought with the "enemies" so sluggishly, and many of them even went over to the side of the "Mongols"?
The reason for such absurdity was that the Russian princes, who had adopted an alien religion, knew perfectly well who came and why ...
So, there was no Mongol-Tatar invasion and yoke, but there was a return of the rebellious provinces under the wing of the metropolis, the restoration of the integrity of the state. Batu Khan had the task of returning the Western European province-states under the wing of the Vedic Empire, and stopping the invasion of Christians in Russia. But the strong resistance of some princes, who felt the taste of the still limited, but very large power of the principalities of Kievan Rus, and new unrest on the Far Eastern border did not allow these plans to be completed (N.V. Levashov “Russia in Crooked Mirrors”, Volume 2.).
findings
In fact, after baptism in the principality of Kiev, only children and a very small part of the adult population survived, who adopted the Greek religion - 3 million people out of a population of 12 million before baptism. The principality was completely devastated, most of the cities, villages and villages were looted and burned. But exactly the same picture is drawn to us by the authors of the version of the “Tatar-Mongol yoke”, the only difference is that the same cruel actions were allegedly carried out there by the “Tatar-Mongols”!
As always, the winner writes history. And it becomes obvious that in order to hide all the cruelty with which the Kiev principality was baptized, and in order to stop all possible questions, the “Tatar-Mongol yoke” was subsequently invented. Children were brought up in the traditions of the Greek religion (the cult of Dionysius, and later Christianity) and history was rewritten, where all the cruelty was blamed on “wild nomads”…
The famous statement of President V.V. Putin about the Battle of Kulikovo, in which the Russians allegedly fought against the Tatars with the Mongols ...
Tatar-Mongol yoke- the biggest myth of history
In the section: News of Korenovsk
July 28, 2015 marks the 1000th anniversary of the memory of Grand Duke Vladimir the Red Sun. On this day, festive events were held in Korenovsk on this occasion. Read more on...
If all lies are removed from history, this does not mean at all that only the truth will remain - as a result, nothing may remain at all.
Stanislav Jerzy Lec
The Tatar-Mongol invasion began in 1237 with the invasion of Batu's cavalry into the Ryazan lands, and ended in 1242. The result of these events was a two-century yoke. So they say in the textbooks, but in fact the relationship between the Horde and Russia was much more complicated. In particular, the famous historian Gumilyov speaks about this. In this material, we will briefly consider the issues of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar army from the point of view of the generally accepted interpretation, and also consider the controversial issues of this interpretation. Our task is not to offer for the thousandth time a fantasy about medieval society, but to provide our readers with facts. Conclusions are everyone's business.
The beginning of the invasion and background
For the first time, the troops of Russia and the Horde met on May 31, 1223 in the battle on Kalka. The Russian troops were led by the Kyiv prince Mstislav, and Subedei and Juba opposed them. The Russian army was not only defeated, it was actually destroyed. There are many reasons for this, but all of them are discussed in the article about the battle on Kalka. Returning to the first invasion, it took place in two stages:
- 1237-1238 - a campaign against the eastern and northern lands of Russia.
- 1239-1242 - a campaign in the southern lands, which led to the establishment of a yoke.
Invasion of 1237-1238
In 1236, the Mongols launched another campaign against the Polovtsy. In this campaign, they achieved great success and in the second half of 1237 approached the borders of the Ryazan principality. Khan Baty (Batu Khan), the grandson of Genghis Khan, commanded the Asian cavalry. He had 150,000 people under him. Subedey, who was familiar with the Russians from previous clashes, participated in the campaign with him.
Map of the Tatar-Mongol invasion
The invasion took place at the beginning of the winter of 1237. It is impossible to establish the exact date here, since it is unknown. Moreover, some historians say that the invasion did not take place in the winter, but in the late autumn of the same year. With great speed, the Mongols' cavalry moved around the country, conquering one city after another:
- Ryazan - fell at the end of December 1237. The siege lasted 6 days.
- Moscow - fell in January 1238. The siege lasted 4 days. This event was preceded by the Battle of Kolomna, where Yuri Vsevolodovich with his army tried to stop the enemy, but was defeated.
- Vladimir - fell in February 1238. The siege lasted 8 days.
After the capture of Vladimir, virtually all the eastern and northern lands were in the hands of Batu. He conquered one city after another (Tver, Yuriev, Suzdal, Pereslavl, Dmitrov). In early March, Torzhok fell, thus opening the way for the Mongol army to the north, to Novgorod. But Batu made a different maneuver and instead of marching on Novgorod, he deployed his troops and went to storm Kozelsk. The siege went on for 7 weeks, ending only when the Mongols went to the trick. They announced that they would accept the surrender of the Kozelsk garrison and let everyone go alive. People believed and opened the gates of the fortress. Batu did not keep his word and gave the order to kill everyone. Thus ended the first campaign and the first invasion of the Tatar-Mongolian army into Russia.
Invasion of 1239-1242
After a break of a year and a half, in 1239 a new invasion of Russia by the troops of Batu Khan began. This year based events took place in Pereyaslav and Chernihiv. The sluggishness of Batu's offensive is due to the fact that at that time he was actively fighting the Polovtsy, in particular in the Crimea.
In the autumn of 1240, Batu led his army under the walls of Kyiv. The ancient capital of Russia could not resist for a long time. The city fell on December 6, 1240. Historians note the special brutality with which the invaders behaved. Kyiv was almost completely destroyed. There is nothing left of the city. The Kyiv that we know today has nothing in common with the ancient capital (except geographical location). After these events, the invading army split up:
- Part went to Vladimir-Volynsky.
- Part went to Galich.
Having captured these cities, the Mongols went on a European campaign, but we are of little interest in it.
The consequences of the Tatar-Mongol invasion of Russia
The consequences of the invasion of the Asian army in Russia are described by historians unambiguously:
- The country was conquered and became completely dependent on the Golden Horde.
- Russia began to pay tribute to the winners every year (in money and people).
- The country fell into a stupor in terms of progress and development due to an unbearable yoke.
This list can be continued, but, in general, it all comes down to the fact that all the problems that were in Russia at that time were written off as a yoke.
This is how, briefly, the Tatar-Mongol invasion appears from the point of view of official history and what we are told in textbooks. In contrast, we will consider Gumilyov's arguments, and also ask a number of simple, but very important questions for understanding the current issues and the fact that with the yoke, as well as with relations between Russia and the Horde, everything is much more complex than it is customary to say.
For example, it is absolutely incomprehensible and inexplicable how a nomadic people, who several decades ago still lived in a tribal system, created a huge empire and conquered half the world. After all, considering the invasion of Russia, we are considering only the tip of the iceberg. The empire of the Golden Horde was much larger: from Pacific Ocean to the Adriatic, from Vladimir to Burma. Giant countries were conquered: Russia, China, India ... Neither before nor after, no one was able to create a military machine that could conquer so many countries. And the Mongols could ...
To understand how difficult it was (if not to say that it was impossible), let's look at the situation with China (so as not to be accused of looking for a conspiracy around Russia). The population of China at the time of Genghis Khan was approximately 50 million people. No one conducted a census of the Mongols, but, for example, today this nation has 2 million people. If we take into account that the number of all the peoples of the Middle Ages is increasing by now, then the Mongols were less than 2 million people (including women, the elderly and children). How did they manage to conquer China of 50 million inhabitants? And then also India and Russia ...
The strangeness of the geography of movement of Batu
Let's return to the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Russia. What were the goals of this trip? Historians talk about the desire to plunder the country and subdue it. It also states that all these goals have been achieved. But this is not entirely true, because in ancient Russia There were 3 richest cities:
- Kyiv is one of the largest cities in Europe and the ancient capital of Russia. The city was conquered by the Mongols and destroyed.
- Novgorod is the largest trading city and the richest in the country (hence its special status). Generally not affected by the invasion.
- Smolensk, also a trading city, was considered equal in wealth to Kyiv. The city also did not see the Mongol-Tatar army.
So it turns out that 2 of the 3 largest cities did not suffer from the invasion at all. Moreover, if we consider plunder as a key aspect of Batu's invasion of Russia, then the logic is not traced at all. Judge for yourself, Batu takes Torzhok (he spends 2 weeks on the assault). This is poorest city, whose task is to protect Novgorod. But after that, the Mongols do not go to the North, which would be logical, but turn to the south. Why was it necessary to spend 2 weeks on Torzhok, which no one needs, just to turn south? Historians give two explanations, logical at first glance:
- Near Torzhok, Batu lost many soldiers and was afraid to go to Novgorod. This explanation could well be considered logical if not for one "but". Since Batu lost a lot of his army, then he needs to leave Russia to replenish his troops or take a break. But instead, the khan rushes to storm Kozelsk. Here, by the way, the losses were huge and as a result, the Mongols hastily left Russia. But why they did not go to Novgorod is not clear.
- The Tatar-Mongols were afraid of the spring flood of the rivers (it was in March). Even in modern conditions March in the north of Russia is not distinguished by mild climate and you can safely move around there. And if we talk about 1238, then that era is called by climatologists the Little Ice Age, when winters were much more severe than modern ones and in general the temperature is much lower (this is easy to check). That is, it turns out that in the era of global warming in March, you can get to Novgorod, and in the era of the Ice Age, everyone was afraid of river floods.
The situation with Smolensk is also paradoxical and inexplicable. Having taken Torzhok, Batu set off to storm Kozelsk. This is a simple fortress, a small and very poor city. The Mongols stormed it for 7 weeks, lost thousands of people killed. What was it for? There was no benefit from the capture of Kozelsk - there is no money in the city, there are no food depots either. Why such sacrifices? But just 24 hours of cavalry movement from Kozelsk is Smolensk - the richest city in Russia, but the Mongols do not even think of moving towards it.
Surprisingly, all these logical questions are simply ignored by official historians. Standard excuses are given, they say, who knows these savages, that's how they decided for themselves. But such an explanation does not stand up to scrutiny.
Nomads never fight in winter
There is one more remarkable fact, which the official history simply bypasses, because. it is impossible to explain it. Both Tatar-Mongol invasions were committed to Russia in winter (or started in late autumn). But these are nomads, and nomads start fighting only in the spring to finish the battles before winter. After all, they move on horses that need to be fed. Can you imagine how you can feed the many thousands of Mongolian army in snowy Russia? Historians, of course, say that this is a trifle and you should not even consider such issues, but the success of any operation directly depends on the provision:
- Charles 12 was unable to organize the provision of his army - he lost Poltava and the Northern War.
- Napoleon was unable to establish security and left Russia with a half-starved army, which was absolutely incapable of combat.
- Hitler, according to many historians, managed to establish security for only 60-70% - he lost the Second World War.
And now, understanding all this, let's see what kind of army the Mongols were. It is noteworthy, but there is no definite figure for its quantitative composition. Historians give figures from 50 thousand to 400 thousand horsemen. For example, Karamzin speaks of the 300,000th army of Batu. Let's look at the provision of the army using this figure as an example. As you know, the Mongols always went on military campaigns with three horses: riding (the rider moved on it), pack (carried the rider's personal belongings and weapons) and combat (went empty so that at any moment she could fresh into battle). That is, 300 thousand people is 900 thousand horses. Add to this the horses that carried the ram guns (it is known for certain that the Mongols brought the guns assembled), the horses that carried food for the army, carried additional weapons, etc. It turns out, according to the most conservative estimates, 1.1 million horses! Now imagine how to feed such a herd in a foreign country in a snowy winter (during the Little Ice Age)? The answer is no, because it can't be done.
So how many armies did Dad have?
It is noteworthy, but the closer to our time there is a study of the invasion of the Tatar-Mongolian army, the smaller the number is obtained. For example, the historian Vladimir Chivilikhin speaks of 30 thousand who moved separately, because they could not feed themselves in a single army. Some historians lower this figure even lower - up to 15 thousand. And here we come across an insoluble contradiction:
- If there really were so many Mongols (200-400 thousand), then how could they feed themselves and their horses in the harsh Russian winter? The cities did not surrender to them in peace in order to take provisions from them, most of the fortresses were burned.
- If the Mongols were really only 30-50 thousand, then how did they manage to conquer Russia? After all, each principality fielded an army in the region of 50 thousand against Batu. If there were really so few Mongols and if they acted independently, the remnants of the horde and Batu himself would have been buried near Vladimir. But in reality, everything was different.
We invite the reader to look for conclusions and answers to these questions on their own. For our part, we did the main thing - we pointed out the facts that completely refute the official version of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. At the end of the article, I want to note another important fact that the whole world has recognized, including official history, but this fact is hushed up and published in few places. The main document, according to which the yoke and invasion were studied for many years, is the Laurentian Chronicle. But, as it turned out, the truth of this document raises big questions. Official history admitted that 3 pages of the annals (which speak of the beginning of the yoke and the beginning of the Mongol invasion of Russia) have been changed and are not original. I wonder how many more pages from the history of Russia have been changed in other chronicles, and what actually happened? But it's almost impossible to answer this question...
