Invasion of the Mongol-Tatars into Rus'. Mongol invasion of Rus' Genghis Khan's conquest of Rus'

In the first quarter of the 13th century, rich in historical events, the expanses from Siberia to Northern Iran and the Azov region were echoed by the neighing of the horses of countless invaders pouring from the depths of the Mongolian steppes. They were led by the evil genius of that ancient era - the fearless conqueror and conqueror of peoples Genghis Khan.

Son of the hero Yesugei

Temujin - this is how Genghis Khan, the future ruler of Mongolia and Northern China, was named at birth - was born in the small tract of Delyun-Boldok, nestled on the shore. He was the son of an inconspicuous local leader Yesugei, who nevertheless bore the title of bagatur, which translated means " hero." He received such an honorary title for his victory over the Tatar leader Tmujin-Ugre. In battle, having proved to his enemy who was who and captured him, he, along with other booty, captured his wife Hoelun, who nine months later became Temujin’s mother.

The exact date of this event, which affected the course of world history, has not been precisely established to this day, but 1155 is considered the most likely year. There is also no reliable information preserved about how his early years passed, but it is known for certain that already at the age of nine, Yesugei, in one of the neighboring tribes, got his son a bride named Borte. By the way, for him personally this matchmaking ended very sadly: on the way back he was poisoned by the Tatars, with whom he and his son stopped for the night.

Years of wanderings and troubles

From a young age, the formation of Genghis Khan took place in an atmosphere of a merciless struggle for survival. As soon as his fellow tribesmen learned about Yesugai’s death, they abandoned his widows (the ill-fated hero had two wives) and children (of whom there were also many left) to the mercy of fate and, taking all their property, went to the steppe. The orphaned family wandered for several years, on the verge of starvation.

The early years of Genghis Khan's (Temujin) life coincided with a period when, in the steppes that became his homeland, local tribal leaders waged a fierce struggle for power, the purpose of which was to subjugate the rest of the nomads. One of these contenders, the head of the Taichiut tribe Targutai-Kiriltukh (a distant relative of his father), even captured the young man, seeing him as a future rival, and kept him in wooden stocks for a long time.

The fur coat that changed the history of nations

But fate was willing to grant freedom to the young captive, who managed to deceive his tormentors and break free. The first conquest of Genghis Khan dates back to this time. It turned out to be the heart of the young beauty Borte - his betrothed bride. Temujin went to her as soon as he gained freedom. A beggar, with marks of stocks on his wrists, he was an unenviable groom, but how can this confuse a girl’s heart?

As a dowry, Borte's father gave his son-in-law a luxurious sable fur coat, with which, although it seems incredible, the ascent of the future conqueror of Asia began. No matter how great the temptation was to show off in expensive furs, Temujin preferred to dispose of the wedding gift differently.

With it, he went to the most powerful steppe leader at that time - the head of the Kereit tribe, Tooril Khan, and presented him with this only value of his, not forgetting to accompany the gift with suitable flattery for the occasion. This move was very far-sighted. Having lost his fur coat, Temujin acquired a powerful patron, in alliance with whom he began his path of conqueror.

The beginning of the journey

With the support of such a powerful ally as Tooril Khan, the legendary conquests of Genghis Khan began. The table given in the article shows only the most famous of them, which have become historically significant. But they could not have taken place without victories in small, local battles, which paved the way for him to world glory.

When raiding the inhabitants of neighboring uluses, he tried to shed less blood and, if possible, save the lives of his opponents. This was done not out of humanism, which was alien to the inhabitants of the steppes, but with the goal of attracting the vanquished to their side and thereby replenishing the ranks of their army. He also willingly accepted nukers - foreigners who were ready to serve for a share of the booty looted during campaigns.

However, the first years of Genghis Khan's reign were often marred by unfortunate miscalculations. One day he went on another raid, leaving his camp unguarded. The Merkit tribe took advantage of this, whose warriors, in the absence of the owner, attacked and, plundering the property, took with them all the women, including his beloved wife Bote. Only with the help of the same Tooril Khan did Temujin, having defeated the Merkits, manage to return his missus.

Victory over the Tatars and capture of Eastern Mongolia

Each new conquest of Genghis Khan raised his prestige among the steppe nomads and brought him into the ranks of the main rulers of the region. Around 1186, he created his own ulus - a kind of feudal state. Having concentrated all power in his hands, he established a strictly defined vertical of power in the territory subordinate to him, where all the key positions were occupied by his associates.

The defeat of the Tatars became one of the largest victories with which the conquests of Genghis Khan began. The table given in the article dates this event to 1200, but a series of armed clashes began five years earlier. At the end of the 12th century, the Tatars were going through difficult times. Their camps were constantly attacked by a strong and dangerous enemy - the troops of the Chinese emperors of the Jin dynasty.

Taking advantage of this, Temujin joined the Jin troops and together with them attacked the enemy. In this case, his main goal was not the booty, which he willingly shared with the Chinese, but the weakening of the Tatars, who stood in his way to undivided rule in the steppes. Having achieved what he wanted, he captured almost the entire territory of Eastern Mongolia, becoming its undivided ruler, since the influence of the Jin dynasty in this area had noticeably weakened.

Conquest of the Trans-Baikal Territory

We should pay tribute not only to Temujin’s talent as a commander, but also to his diplomatic abilities. Skillfully manipulating the ambition of tribal leaders, he always directed their enmity in a direction favorable to him. Concluding military alliances with his former enemies and treacherously attacking recent friends, he always knew how to emerge victorious.

After the conquest of the Tatars in 1202, Genghis Khan’s campaigns of conquest began in the Trans-Baikal region, where the Taijiut tribes settled in the vast wild spaces. It was not an easy campaign, in one of the battles of which the khan was dangerously wounded by an enemy arrow. However, in addition to rich trophies, he brought the khan confidence in his abilities, since the victory was won alone, without the support of his allies.

The title of the Great Khan and the code of laws "Yas"

The next five years continued his conquest of numerous peoples living on the territory of Mongolia. From victory to victory, his power grew and his army increased, replenished by yesterday’s opponents who switched to his service. In the early spring of 1206, Temujin was proclaimed Great Khan and given the highest title of “Kagan” and the name Genghis (water conqueror), with which he entered world history.

The years of Genghis Khan's reign became a period when the entire life of the peoples under his control was regulated by the laws he developed, a set of which was called “Yasa”. The main place in it was occupied by articles prescribing the provision of comprehensive mutual assistance on a campaign and, under pain of punishment, prohibiting the deception of a person who had trusted in something.

It is curious, but according to the laws of this half-wild ruler, one of the highest virtues was considered loyalty, even shown by an enemy towards his sovereign. For example, a prisoner who did not want to renounce his former master was considered worthy of respect and was willingly accepted into the army.

To strengthen during the life of Genghis Khan, the entire population under his control was divided into tens of thousands (tumens), thousands and hundreds. A chief was placed over each of the groups, with his head (literally) responsible for the loyalty of his subordinates. This made it possible to keep a huge number of people under strict subordination.

Every adult and healthy man was considered a warrior and was obliged to take up arms at the first signal. In general, at that time, Genghis Khan’s army numbered about 95 thousand people, shackled by iron discipline. The slightest disobedience or cowardice shown in battle was punishable by death.

New path of conquest

In 1211, Genghis Khan's conquest of the peoples inhabiting Transbaikalia and Siberia was practically completed. Tributes flocked to him from all over this vast region. But his rebellious soul found no peace. Ahead was Northern China - a country whose emperor had once helped him defeat the Tatars and, having grown stronger, rise to a new level of power.

Four years before the start of the Chinese campaign, wanting to secure the route of his troops, Genghis Khan captured and plundered the Tangut kingdom of Xi Xia. In the summer of 1213, he managed to capture the fortress covering the passage in the Great Wall of China and invaded the territory of the Jin state. His campaign was swift and victorious. Caught by surprise, many cities surrendered without a fight, and a number of Chinese military leaders went over to the side of the invaders.

When Northern China was conquered, Genghis Khan moved his troops to Central Asia, where they also had good luck. Having conquered vast expanses, he reached Samarkand, from where he continued his journey, conquering Northern Iran and a significant part of the Caucasus.

Genghis Khan's campaign against Rus'

To conquer the Slavic lands in 1221-1224, Genghis Khan sent two of his most experienced commanders - Subedei and Jebe. Having crossed the Dnieper, they invaded the borders of Kievan Rus at the head of a large army. Not hoping to defeat the enemy on their own, the Russian princes entered into an alliance with their old enemies - the Polovtsians.

The battle took place on May 31, 1223 in the Azov region, on the Kalka River. It ran out of troops. Many historians see the reason for the failure in the arrogance of Prince Mstislav Udatny, who crossed the river and began the battle before the main forces arrived. The prince’s desire to defeat the enemy alone resulted in his own death and the death of many other commanders. Genghis Khan’s campaign against Rus' turned out to be such a tragedy for the defenders of the fatherland. But even more difficult trials awaited them.

Genghis Khan's last conquest

The conqueror of Asia died at the end of the summer of 1227 during his second campaign against the state of Xi Xia. Even in winter, he began the siege of its capital, Zhongxing, and, having exhausted the forces of the city’s defenders, was preparing to accept their surrender. This was Genghis Khan's last conquest. Suddenly he felt ill and fell ill, and died a short time later. Without excluding the possibility of poisoning, researchers tend to see the cause of death in complications caused by an injury received shortly before when falling from a horse.

The exact burial place of the Great Khan is unknown, just as the date of his last hour is unknown. In Mongolia, where the Delyun-Boldok tract was once located, where, according to legend, Genghis Khan was born, today there is a monument erected in his honor.

In the 12th century, the Mongols roamed Central Asia and were engaged in cattle breeding. This type of activity required a constant change of habitats. To acquire new territories, a strong army was needed, which the Mongols had. It was distinguished by good organization and discipline, all of which ensured the victorious march of the Mongols.

In 1206, a congress of the Mongolian nobility - kurultai - took place, at which Khan Temujin was elected great khan, and he received the name Genghis. At first, the Mongols were interested in vast territories in China, Siberia and Central Asia. Later they headed west.

Volga Bulgaria and Rus' were the first to stand in their way. The Russian princes “met” the Mongols in a battle that took place in 1223 on the Kalka River. The Mongols attacked the Polovtsy, and they turned to their neighbors, the Russian princes, for help. The defeat of the Russian troops on Kalka was due to the disunity and disorganized actions of the princes. At this time, the Russian lands were significantly weakened by civil strife, and the princely squads were more occupied with internal disagreements. A well-organized army of nomads won its first victory relatively easily.

P.V. Ryzhenko. Kalka

Invasion

The victory at Kalka was just the beginning. In 1227, Genghis Khan died, and his grandson Batu became the head of the Mongols. In 1236, the Mongols decided to finally deal with the Cumans and the following year defeated them near the Don.

Now it is the turn of the Russian principalities. Ryazan resisted for six days, but was captured and destroyed. Then it was the turn of Kolomna and Moscow. In February 1238, the Mongols approached Vladimir. The siege of the city lasted four days. Neither the militia nor the princely warriors were able to defend the city. Vladimir fell, the princely family died in a fire.

After this, the Mongols split. One part moved to the northwest and besieged Torzhok. On the City River the Russians were defeated. Not reaching one hundred kilometers from Novgorod, the Mongols stopped and moved south, destroying cities and villages along the way.

Southern Rus' felt the full brunt of the invasion in the spring of 1239. The first victims were Pereyaslavl and Chernigov. The Mongols began the siege of Kyiv in the fall of 1240. The defenders fought back for three months. The Mongols were able to take the city only with heavy losses.

Consequences

Batu was going to continue the campaign to Europe, but the condition of the troops did not allow him to do this. They were drained of blood, and a new campaign never took place. And in Russian historiography, the period from 1240 to 1480 is known as the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus'.

During this period, all contacts, including trade, with the West practically ceased. The Mongol khans controlled foreign policy. The collection of tribute and the appointment of princes became mandatory. Any disobedience was severely punished.

The events of these years caused significant damage to the Russian lands; they fell far behind European countries. The economy was weakened, farmers went north, trying to protect themselves from the Mongols. Many artisans fell into slavery, and some crafts simply ceased to exist. Culture suffered no less damage. Many temples were destroyed and no new ones were built for a long time.

Capture of Suzdal by the Mongols.
Miniature from the Russian chronicle

However, some historians believe that the yoke stopped the political fragmentation of the Russian lands and even gave further impetus to their unification.

Genghis Khan became the founder of the Mongol Empire, the largest continental empire in human history.

He is the most famous Mongol in the entire history of the Mongolian nation.

From the biography of the great Mongol Khan:

Genghis Khan or Genghis Khan is not a name, but a title that was granted to Temuchin at the end of the 12th century at the kurultai.

Temujin was born into the family of an influential leader of one of the Mongol tribes, Yesugei, between 1155 and 1162, since the exact date of his birth is unknown. When Temuchin was nine years old, his father was poisoned by enemies, and the family had to look for a means of subsistence. His mother and children had to wander for a long time in complete poverty, and then live in a cave. The family was so poor at that time that, according to legend, Temujin killed his brother for eating the fish Temujin caught.

After the death of his father, the future commander and his family were forced to flee, since the rivals of his late parent wanted to destroy them all. The family of the future khan had to wander from place to place so that they would not be found by enemies who took away from the family the lands that rightfully belonged to them. Subsequently, Temujin had to make a lot of efforts to become the head of the Mongol tribe and eventually avenge the death of his father.

Temujin was betrothed at the age of nine to eleven-year-old Borte from the Ungirat clan, and the wedding took place when the young man turned sixteen. From this marriage four sons and five daughters were born. One of these daughters of Alangaa, in the absence of her father, ruled the state, for which she received the title “princess-ruler.” It was the descendants of these children who had the right to claim the highest power in the state. Borte was considered the main wife of Genghis Khan and bore a title equivalent to that of empress.

The second wife of the khan was the Merkit woman Khulan-Khatun, who bore the khan two sons. Only Khulan Khatun, as his wife, accompanied the khan on almost every military campaign, and she died in one of them.

Genghis Khan's two other wives, the Tatars Yesugen and Yesui, were a younger and an older sister, and the younger sister herself proposed her older sister as a fourth wife on their wedding night. Yesugen gave birth to her husband a daughter and two sons.

In addition to four wives, Genghis Khan had about a thousand concubines who came to him as a result of his campaigns of conquest and as gifts from his allies.

Genghis Khan used dynastic marriages very profitably - he gave his daughters in marriage to allied rulers. In order to marry the daughter of the great Mongol Khan, the ruler kicked out all his wives, which made the Mongol princesses first in line for the throne. After this, the ally went to war at the head of the army, and almost immediately died in battle, and the khan’s daughter became the ruler of the lands. This policy led to the fact that by the second half of the 13th century his daughters ruled from the Yellow Sea to the Caspian.

The Great Mongol Khan died in 1227 during a campaign against the Tangut state; the exact cause of his death is not known. Scientists are inclined to several versions: 1) aggravation of an injury received in 1225, received during a fall from a horse; 2) a sudden illness associated with the unfavorable climate of the Tangoust state; 3) was killed by a young concubine, whom he stole from her lawful husband.

Dying, the great khan appointed his third son from his main wife Ogedei as his heir - he, according to the khan, possessed a military strategy and a lively political mind.

The exact burial place of the khan remains a mystery to this day. Possible burial places are called Burkhan-Khaldun, Mount Altai-Khan, and the slope of Kentei-Khan. The khan himself bequeathed to keep the place of his grave secret. To carry out the order, the body of the deceased was taken deep into the desert, the slaves accompanying the body were killed by the guards. The warriors rode horses over the Khan’s grave for 24 hours to raze it to the ground, and upon returning to the camp, all the warriors participating in the funeral of Genghis Khan were killed. The secret hidden in the 13th century remains a real mystery today.

The conquests of Genghis Khan and his cruelty:

About the great Mongol conqueror, it is known that he brought terror to the endless steppes Genghis Khan, also called Temujin or Temujin, went down in history as the most successful Mongol commander of all time. He created a real empire that covered most of Asia and part of Europe, and his troops were a nightmare for the inhabitants of many other lands. One can relate to Genghis Khan in different ways, but one cannot help but admit that he was a very outstanding personality.

Many of the bloody battles of the Great Khan took place only because of revenge. So, at the age of twenty, he decided to take revenge on the tribe that was responsible for the death of his father. Having defeated them, Genghis Khan gave the order to cut off the heads of all Tatars whose height exceeded the height of the axle of the cart wheel (about 90 cm), thus, only children under three years of age survived.

The next time, Genghis Khan avenged the death of his son-in-law Tokuchar, who died from an arrow from one of Nishapur’s warriors. Having attacked the settlement, the khan's troops killed everyone in their path - even women and children did not escape revenge, even cats and dogs were killed. By order of the khan's daughter, the widow of the deceased, a pyramid was built from their heads.

Genghis Khan did not always strive only to conquer foreign lands; sometimes he wanted to improve relations diplomatically. This is what happened with the kingdom of Khorezm, where an embassy was sent on behalf of the Great Khan. However, the ruler of the kingdom did not believe in the sincerity of the ambassadors’ intentions and gave the order to behead them; their fate was repeated by the next embassy sent by the Mongols. Genghis Khan brutally took revenge for the murdered diplomats - the two hundred thousand Mongol army killed the entire population of the kingdom and destroyed every house in the region, moreover, by order of the khan, even the river bed was moved to another place so that the river flowed through the area where the king of Khorezm was born. Genghis Khan did everything to wipe the kingdom off the face of the earth and any mention of it disappeared.

During the conflict with Khorezm, the neighboring Tangut state, the kingdom of Xi Xia, which had previously been conquered by the Mongols, also suffered. Genghis Khan asked the Tanguts to send an army to help the Mongol army, but was refused. The consequence of this was the complete destruction of the Tangut kingdom, the population was killed, and all cities were destroyed to the ground. The existence of the kingdom remained only mentioned in the documents of neighboring states.

The largest-scale military operation of Genghis Khan was the campaign against the Jin Empire - the territory of modern China. Initially, it seemed that this campaign had no future, since the population of China was over 50 million, and the Mongols were only one million. However, the Mongols were victorious. In three years, the Mongol army was able to reach the walls of Zhongdu, present-day Beijing, the city was considered impregnable - the height of the walls reached 12 meters, and they stretched 29 km around the city. The city was under Mongol siege for several years; famine began to rage in the capital, which led to cases of cannibalism - in the end, the city surrendered. The Mongols plundered and burned all of Zhongdu, the emperor had to conclude a humiliating treaty with the Mongols.

25 interesting facts from the life of Genghis Khan:

1.The exact date of birth of Genghis Khan is unknown. He is believed to have been born between 1155 and 1162.

2. What his appearance was is not known for certain, but surviving evidence suggests that he had green eyes and red hair.

3. Such an unusual appearance of Genghis Khan was due to a unique mixture of Asian and European genes. Genghis Khan was 50% European, 50% Asian.

4. Mongolian legends claim that the newborn Genghis Khan squeezed a blood clot in his palm, which was regarded as a symbol of the future conqueror of the world awaiting him.

5. At birth he was named Temujin - this was the name of the military leader whom his father defeated.

6.The name “Chingiz” is translated as “lord of the boundless, like the sea.”

7. Genghis Khan went down in history as the creator of the largest continental empire in history.

8.Neither the Romans nor Alexander the Great could achieve such a scale.

9. Under him, Mongolia rapidly expanded its territories. Genghis Khan created the Mongol Empire by uniting disparate tribes from China to Russia.

10.The Mongol Empire went down in history. His empire became the largest united state in history. It extended from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe.

11. According to the research of individual scientists, Genghis Khan is responsible for the death of more than 40 million people.

12. Genghis Khan cruelly took revenge for his entourage. When the Persians beheaded the Mongol ambassador, Genghis flew into a rage and destroyed 90% of their people. Iranians still have nightmares about Genghis Khan. According to some estimates, the population of Iran (formerly Persia) could not reach pre-Mongol levels until the 1900s.

13. At the age of 15, Genghis Khan was captured and fled, which later brought him recognition.

14. The matured Genghis Khan began to little by little conquer the entire steppe, uniting other tribes around himself and mercilessly destroying his rivals. At the same time, he, unlike most other Mongol leaders, always tried not to kill enemy soldiers, but to save their lives in order to later take them into his service.

14. Genghis Khan believed that the more offspring a person has, the more significant he is. There were several thousand women in his harem, and many of them gave birth to children from him.

15. There are many direct descendants of Genghis Khan living in the modern world.

16.Genetic studies have shown that approximately 8% of Asian men have Genghis Khan genes on their Y chromosomes, i.e. they are descendants of Genghis Khan.

17. The dynasty of Genghis Khan’s descendants was named Genghisids in his honor.

18.Under Genghis Khan, for the first time, disparate tribes of nomads united into a huge single state. Having completely conquered the steppes, the commander took the title of kagan. A khan is the leader of a tribe, albeit a large one, and the kagan is the king of all khans.

19. Many peoples understood the greatness of the horde and paid tribute to it. Many nations swore allegiance to Temujin, and he became their ruler, or khan.

20. Then he changed his name to Chingiz, which means “Right”.

21. Genghis Khan replenished the ranks of his army with captives from the tribes he conquered, and thus his army grew.

22. Nobody knows where Genghis Khan's grave is. Many archaeologists are still searching for it without success. According to some reports, Genghis Khan's grave was flooded by the river. Supposedly, he demanded that his grave be flooded by the river so that no one could disturb it.

23. Some historians call Genghis Khan the father of “Scorched Earth,” that is, such military technologies that can destroy almost any trace of civilization.

24.The cult of Genghis Khan flourishes in modern Mongolia. There are huge monuments to this commander everywhere, and the streets are named after him.

25.His portrait began to be printed on Mongolian banknotes in the 90s of the last century.

Huge statue of Genghis Khan in Ulaanbaatar

photo from the Internet

One of the most tragic pages of Russian history is the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. The passionate appeal to the Russian princes about the need for unification, sounded from the lips of the unknown author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” alas, was never heard...

Reasons for the Mongol-Tatar invasion

In the 12th century, nomadic Mongol tribes occupied a significant territory in the center of Asia. In 1206, a congress of the Mongolian nobility - the kurultai - proclaimed Timuchin the great Kagan and gave him the name Genghis Khan. In 1223, the advanced troops of the Mongols, led by the commanders Jabei and Subidei, attacked the Cumans. Seeing no other way out, they decided to resort to the help of Russian princes. Having united, both of them set out towards the Mongols. The squads crossed the Dnieper and moved east. Pretending to retreat, the Mongols lured the combined army to the banks of the Kalka River.

The decisive battle took place. The coalition troops acted separately. The princes' disputes with each other did not stop. Some of them did not take part in the battle at all. The result is complete destruction. However, then the Mongols did not go to Rus', because did not have sufficient strength. In 1227, Genghis Khan died. He bequeathed to his fellow tribesmen to conquer the whole world. In 1235, the kurultai decided to begin a new campaign in Europe. It was headed by the grandson of Genghis Khan - Batu.

Stages of the Mongol-Tatar invasion

In 1236, after the destruction of Volga Bulgaria, the Mongols moved towards the Don, against the Polovtsians, defeating the latter in December 1237. Then the Ryazan principality stood in their way. After a six-day assault, Ryazan fell. The city was destroyed. Batu’s detachments moved north, into, ravaging Kolomna and Moscow along the way. In February 1238, Batu's troops began the siege of Vladimir. The Grand Duke tried in vain to gather a militia to decisively repel the Mongols. After a four-day siege, Vladimir was stormed and set on fire. The city's residents and the princely family, who were hiding in the Assumption Cathedral, were burned alive.

The Mongols split up: some of them approached the Sit River, and the second besieged Torzhok. On March 4, 1238, the Russians suffered a brutal defeat in the City, the prince died. The Mongols moved towards, however, before reaching a hundred miles, they turned around. Ruining the cities on the way back, they met unexpectedly stubborn resistance from the city of Kozelsk, whose residents repelled Mongol attacks for seven weeks. Still, taking it by storm, the khan called Kozelsk an “evil city” and razed it to the ground.

Batu's invasion of Southern Rus' dates back to the spring of 1239. Pereslavl fell in March. In October - Chernigov. In September 1240, Batu's main forces besieged Kyiv, which at that time belonged to Daniil Romanovich Galitsky. The Kievans managed to hold back the hordes of Mongols for three whole months, and only at the cost of huge losses were they able to capture the city. By the spring of 1241, Batu’s troops were on the threshold of Europe. However, drained of blood, they were soon forced to return to the Lower Volga. The Mongols no longer decided on a new campaign. So Europe was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion

The Russian land lay in ruins. The cities were burned and plundered, the inhabitants were captured and taken to the Horde. Many cities were never rebuilt after the invasion. In 1243, Batu organized the Golden Horde in the west of the Mongol Empire. The captured Russian lands were not included in its composition. The dependence of these lands on the Horde was expressed in the fact that the obligation to pay annual tribute hung over them. In addition, it was the Golden Horde Khan who now approved the Russian princes to rule with his labels and charters. Thus, Horde rule was established over Russia for almost two and a half centuries.

• Some modern historians are inclined to argue that there was no yoke, that the “Tatars” were immigrants from Tartaria, crusaders, that a battle between Orthodox Christians and Catholics took place on the Kulikovo Field, and Mamai was just a pawn in someone else’s game. Is this really so - let everyone decide for themselves.

The Mongolian feudal empire arose as a result of the aggressive campaigns of Genghis Khan and his successors in the 13th-14th centuries.

At the beginning of the 13th century. On the territory of Central Asia, as a result of a long inter-tribal struggle, a single Mongolian state arose, which included all the main Mongolian tribes of nomadic herders and hunters. In the history of the Mongols, this was significant progress, a qualitatively new stage of development: the creation of a single state contributed to the consolidation of the Mongolian people, the establishment of feudal relations that replaced communal-tribal ones. The founder of the Mongolian state was Khan Temujin (1162-1227), who in 1206 was proclaimed Genghis Khan, that is, the Great Khan.

A spokesman for the interests of the warriors and the emerging class of feudal lords, Genghis Khan carried out a number of radical reforms to strengthen the centralized military-administrative system of government and suppress any manifestations of separatism. The population was divided into “tens”, “hundreds”, “thousands” of nomads, who immediately became warriors in times of war. A personal guard was formed - the support of the khan. In order to strengthen the position of the ruling dynasty, all of the khan's closest relatives received large inheritances. A set of laws (“Yasa”) was compiled, where, in particular, the arats were prohibited from moving from one “ten” to another without permission. Those guilty of the slightest violations of Yasa were severely punished. Shifts were taking place in the cultural sphere. By the beginning of the 13th century. refers to the emergence of common Mongolian writing; in 1240 the famous historical and literary monument “The Secret History of the Mongols” was created. Under Genghis Khan, the capital of the Mongol Empire was founded - the city of Karakorum, which was not only an administrative center, but also a center of crafts and trade.

Since 1211, Genghis Khan began numerous wars of conquest, seeing in them the main means of enrichment, satisfying the growing needs of the nomadic nobility, and establishing dominance over other countries. The conquest of new lands, the seizure of military booty, the imposition of tribute on conquered peoples - this promised rapid and unprecedented enrichment, absolute power over vast territories. The success of the campaigns was facilitated by the internal strength of the young Mongol state, the creation of a strong mobile army (cavalry), well-equipped technically, welded together with iron discipline, controlled by skilled commanders. At the same time, Genghis Khan skillfully used internecine conflicts and internal strife in the enemy camp. As a result, the Mongol conquerors managed to conquer many peoples of Asia and Europe and capture vast regions. In 1211, the invasion of China began, the Mongols inflicted a number of serious defeats on the troops of the Jin state. They destroyed about 90 cities and took Beijing (Yanjing) in 1215. In 1218-1221 Genghis Khan moved to Turkestan, conquered Semirechye, defeated Khorezm Shah Muhammad, captured Urgench, Bukhara, Samarkand and other centers of Central Asia. In 1223, the Mongols reached the Crimea, penetrated into Transcaucasia, devastated part of Georgia and Azerbaijan, walked along the shores of the Caspian Sea into the lands of the Alans and, having defeated them, reached the Polovtsian steppes. In 1223, Mongol troops defeated the united Russian-Polovtsian army near the Kalka River. In 1225-1227 Genghis Khan undertook his last campaign - against the Tangut state. By the end of Genghis Khan’s life, the empire included, in addition to Mongolia itself, Northern China, Eastern Turkestan, Central Asia, the steppes from the Irtysh to the Volga, most of Iran and the Caucasus. Genghis Khan divided the lands of the empire between his sons - Jochi, Chagadai, Ogedei, Tuluy. After the death of Genghis Khan, their uluses increasingly acquired the features of independent possessions, although the power of the All-Mongol Khan was nominally recognized.

Genghis Khan's successors, the khans Ogedei (reigned 1228-1241), Guyuk (1246-1248), Mongke (1251-1259), Kublai Khan (1260-1294) and others continued their wars of conquest. Grandson of Genghis Khan Batu Khan in 1236-1242. carried out aggressive campaigns against Rus' and other countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Dalmatia), moving far to the west. The huge state of the Golden Horde was formed, which was initially part of the empire. The Russian principalities became tributaries of this state, having experienced the full weight of the Horde yoke. Another grandson of Genghis Khan, Hulagu Khan, founded the Hulagid state in Iran and Transcaucasia. Another grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, completed the conquest of China in 1279, founding the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1271 and moving the capital of the empire from Karakorum to Zhongdu (modern Beijing).

The campaigns of conquest were accompanied by the destruction of cities, the destruction of priceless cultural monuments, the devastation of vast areas, and the extermination of thousands of people. A regime of robbery and violence was introduced in the conquered countries. The local population (peasants, artisans, etc.) was subject to numerous taxes and taxes. Power belonged to the governors of the Mongol Khan, their assistants and officials, who relied on strong military garrisons and a rich treasury. At the same time, the conquerors sought to attract large landowners, merchants, and the clergy to their side; obedient rulers from among the local nobility were placed at the head of some lands.

The Mongol Empire was internally very fragile; it was an artificial conglomerate of multilingual tribes and nationalities that were at different stages of social development, often higher than those of the conquerors. Internal contradictions intensified more and more. In the 60s XIII century The Golden Horde and the Khulagid state actually separated from the empire. The entire history of the empire is filled with a long series of uprisings and revolts against the conquerors. At first they were brutally suppressed, but gradually the forces of the conquered peoples grew stronger, and the capabilities of the invaders weakened. In 1368, as a result of massive popular uprisings, Mongol rule in China fell. In 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo predetermined the overthrow of the Horde yoke in Rus'. The Mongol Empire collapsed and ceased to exist. A period of feudal fragmentation began in the history of Mongolia.

The Mongol conquests caused innumerable disasters to the conquered peoples and delayed their social development for a long time. They had a negative impact on the historical development of Mongolia and on the position of the people. The stolen wealth was used not for the growth of productive forces, but for the enrichment of the ruling class. The wars divided the Mongol people and depleted human resources. All this had a detrimental effect on the socio-economic development of the country in subsequent centuries.

It would be wrong to unequivocally assess the historical role of the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan. His activities were progressive in nature while there was a struggle for the unification of disparate Mongol tribes, for the creation and strengthening of a single state. Then the situation changed: he became a cruel conqueror, the conqueror of the peoples of many countries. At the same time, he was a man of extraordinary ability, a brilliant organizer, an outstanding commander and statesman. Genghis Khan is the largest figure in Mongolian history. In Mongolia, much attention is paid to the elimination of everything superficial, which was associated either with actual silence or with one-sided coverage of the role of Genghis Khan in history. The public organization “The Hearth of Chinggis” has been created, the number of publications about him is increasing, and a Mongolian-Japanese scientific expedition is actively working to find his burial place. The 750th anniversary of the “Secret Legend of the Mongols”, which vividly reflects the image of Genghis Khan, is widely celebrated.