The years of the Tatar Mongol yoke. The Tatar-Mongol yoke or the story of how a lie became the truth

There are many rumors around the period of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, and some historians even talk about a conspiracy of silence, which was actively promoted in Soviet time. Approximately in the year 44 of the last century, for some strange and incomprehensible reasons, studies of this historical time period were completely closed to specialists, that is, they completely stopped. Many preserved the official version of history, in which the Horde period was presented as dark and troubled times when the evil invaders severely exploited the Russian principalities, placing them in vassalage. Meanwhile, Golden Horde had a huge impact on the economy, as well as the culture of Rus', throwing back its development just for the very three hundred years that it ruled and commanded. When the Mongol was finally overthrown Tatar yoke , the country began to live in a new way, and the Grand Duke of Moscow was to blame for this, which will be discussed.

Accession of the Novgorod Republic: liberation from the Mongol-Tatar yoke began with a small

It is worth saying that the overthrow of the gold Horde yoke happened under the Moscow prince, or rather Tsar Ivan III Vasilyevich e, and this process, which lasted more than half a century, ended in 1480. But it was preceded by quite exciting and amazing events. It all started with the fact that once great empire, built by Genghis Khan and presented to his son, the Golden Horde already by the middle of the fourteenth - the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, began to simply fall apart into pieces, divided into smaller khanates-uluses, after the death of Khan Dzhanibek. His grandson Isatai tried to unite his lands, but was defeated. The Great Khan Tokhtamysh, who came to power after that, a real Chingizid by blood, stopped the turmoil and internal strife, briefly restoring its former glory, and again began to terrify the controlled lands of Rus'.

Interesting

In the middle of the thirteenth century, tribute was collected from Russian merchants by Muslim merchants, who were called beautiful word"bessermen". It is interesting that this word has firmly entered the colloquial, folk language, and a person who had a different faith, as well as exorbitant "appetites", was called a Basurman for a very long time, and even now you can hear a similar word.

The situation unfolded, meanwhile, not at all favorable for the Horde, since the Horde was surrounded and pressed by enemies from all sides, not giving either sleep or rest. Already in 1347, by order of the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich (Donskoy), payments to the Horde Khan were completely stopped. Moreover, it was they who intended to combine Russian lands, but Novgorod stood in the way, along with its free republic. Moreover, the oligarchy, which established its own, rather powerful power there, tried to restrain the onslaught, both from the side of Muscovy, and the pressure of the discontented masses, the veche device began to gradually lose its relevance. The end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke was already looming on the horizon, but it was still ghostly and vague.

Great campaign against Novgorod: the overthrow of the Golden Horde yoke is a matter of technology and time

It was because of this that the people began to look more and more often at Moscow than at their own rulers, and even more so, at the Horde, who had weakened by that time. Moreover, the posadnik reform of 1410 became a turning point and the boyars came to power, pushing the oligarchy into the background. It is clear that the collapse was simply inevitable, and it came when, in the early seventies, part of the Novgorodians, under the leadership of Boretsky, completely went under the wing Lithuanian prince, this was the last point in Moscow's patience. Ivan III there was nothing more left but to annex Novgorod by force, which he successfully did, gathering under his own banners the armies of almost all subject lands and lands.

The Moscow chroniclers, whose testimonies have been preserved, considered the campaign of the Moscow tsar against Novgorod a real war for the faith, and, consequently, against the Gentiles, against the conversion of Russian lands to Catholicism, and even more so, to Islam. The key battle was fought in the lower reaches of the Shelon River, and most of the Novgorodians, frankly speaking, fought carelessly, since they did not feel any particular need to defend the oligarchy, and had no desire to.

Not an adherent of the Moscow principality, the Archbishop of Novgorod, decided to make a knight's move. He wanted to preserve the independent position of his own lands, but he hoped to negotiate with the Prince of Moscow, and not with the locals, and even more so, not with the Horde. Therefore, his entire regiment most of the time simply stood still, and did not enter into battle. These events also played a big role in the overthrow of the Tatars. Mongolian yoke, significantly bringing the end of the Golden Horde closer.

Contrary to the hopes of the archbishop, Ivan III did not want to make compromises and agreements at all, and after the establishment of Moscow power in Novgorod, he radically solved the problem - he destroyed or exiled most of the disgraced boyars to the central part of the country, and simply seized the lands that belonged to them. Moreover, the people of Novgorod approved such actions of the tsar, because it was precisely those boyars who were destroyed who did not give life to people, establishing own rules and orders. In 1470, the end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, due to the mess in Novgorod, sparkled with new colors and approached excessively. By 1478, the republic was completely abolished, and even veche bell removed from the bell tower and taken to Muscovy. Thus, Novgorod, together with all its lands, became part of Rus', but retained its status and liberties for some time.

The liberation of Rus' from the Horde yoke: the date is known even to children

In the meantime, while Rus' forcibly planted good and bright, which in fact was the case, the Golden Horde began to be torn apart by small khans, wanting to tear off a larger piece. Each of them, in words, wished for the reunification of the state, as well as the revival of its former glory, but in reality it turned out a little differently. Ahmed Khan, the undivided ruler of the Great Horde, decided to resume campaigns against Rus', to force her to pay tribute again, receiving labels and letters from the khanate for this. For this purpose, he decided to make a deal, in fact, to enter into allied relations with Casimir IV, the Polish-Lithuanian king, which he successfully did, without even imagining what it would turn out for him.

If we talk about who defeated the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus', then the right answer would certainly be the Grand Duke of Moscow, who ruled at that time, as already mentioned, Ivan III. Tatar-Mongol yoke was overthrown under him, and the unification of many lands under the wing Ancient Rus' also his handiwork. However, the brothers of the Prince of Moscow did not at all share his views, and indeed, they believed that he did not deserve his place at all, and therefore they were only waiting for him to take the wrong step.

In political terms, Ivan the Third turned out to be an extremely wise ruler, and at a time when the Horde was experiencing the greatest difficulties, he decided to castling, and entered into an alliance with the Crimean Khan, named Mengli Giray, who had his own grudge against Ahmed Khan. The thing is that in 1476, Ivan flatly refused to visit the ruler of the Great Horde, and he, as if in retaliation, captured the Crimea, but after only two years, Mengli-Girey managed to regain Crimean lands and power, not without military support from Turkey. From that moment it just started overthrow of the Mongol yoke, after all Crimean Khan concluded an alliance with the Moscow prince, and it was a very wise decision.

Great standing at the Ugra: the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke and the fall of the Great Horde

As already mentioned, Ivan was a fairly advanced politician, he was well aware that the fall of the Mongol-Tatar yoke is inextricably linked with the reunification of the Russian lands, and this requires allies. Mengli Giray could easily help Ahmed Khan establish a new Horde and return tribute payments. Therefore, it was extremely important to enlist the support of the Crimea, especially in view of the alliance of the Horde with the Lithuanians and Poles. It was Mengli-Girey who struck Casimir's troops, preventing them from helping the Horde, but it would be better if we keep the chronology of the events that took place then.

On a quiet and hot May day in 1480, Akhmet raised his army and set out on a campaign against Rus', the Russians began to take up positions near the Oka River. Moreover, the Horde moved up the Don, ruining enough large territories that are located between Serpukhov and Kaluga. The son of Ivan the Third led his army towards the Horde, and the tsar himself went to Kolomna with a rather large detachment. In the same time Livonian Order besieged Pskov.

Ahmad reached the Lithuanian lands, which was from the south side of the Ugra River and stopped, expecting that Casimir's allied unit would also join his troops. They had to wait a long time, because just then, they had to repel the fierce attacks of Mengli Giray on Podolia. That is, they had absolutely no time for some kind of Akhmat, who with all the fibers of his soul wanted only one thing - the renewal of the former glory and wealth of his own people, or maybe the state. After some time, the main forces of both armies stood on different banks of the Ugra, waiting for someone to attack first.

Not much time passed at all, and the Horde began to starve, and the lack of food supplies played a key role in the battle. So, to the question of who defeated the Mongol-Tatar yoke, there is one more answer - famine, and it is absolutely correct, although somewhat indirect, nevertheless. Then Ivan III decided to make concessions to his own brothers, and those with squads also pulled themselves up to the Ugra. They stood for quite a long time, so much so that the river was completely covered with ice. Akhmat was unwell, he was completely at a loss, and for completeness of happiness, not good news came at all - a conspiracy was planned in Sarai and fermentation of minds began among the people. In late autumn, in November of the same year, the poor fellow Akhmat decided to announce a retreat. From impotent anger, he burned and robbed everything that came in his way, and soon after the New Year he was killed by another enemy - Ibak, Khan of Tyumen.

After Rus' freed itself from the Horde yoke, tribute payments under vassalage were nevertheless resumed by Ivan. He was very busy with the war with Lithuania and Poland to argue, so he easily recognized the right of Akhmed, the son of Akhmat. For two years, 1501 and 1502, tribute was regularly collected and delivered to the treasury of the Horde, which supported its life activity. The fall of the Golden Horde led to the fact that Russian possessions began to border on the Crimean Khanate, because of which real disagreements began between the rulers, but this is not the story of the fall of the Mongol-Tatar yoke.

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, it says famous historian Gumilev. AT 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 contentious issues 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 Rus' and the Horde met on May 31, 1223 in the battle on Kalka. Russian troops led Kyiv prince Mstislav, and Subedei and Juba opposed them. 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 Rus'.
1239-1242 - a campaign against southern lands, which led to the establishment of the 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 they approached the borders of the Ryazan principality. The commander of the Asian cavalry was Batu Khan (Batu Khan), the grandson of Genghis Khan. 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. Can't install here the exact date because 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. FROM 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 Mongolian army 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 Rus'.

Invasion of 1239-1242

After a break of a year and a half, in 1239 a new invasion of Rus' 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 Rus' 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 Rus'

The consequences of the invasion of the Asian army in Rus' are described by historians unambiguously:

The country was cut, and became completely dependent on the Golden Horde.
Rus' 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 Rus' 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 set a number of simple, but very important issues to understand the current issues and the fact that with the yoke, as well as with relations between Rus' and the Horde, everything is much more complicated 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 Rus', 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: Rus', 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 Rus'). 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 Rus'. 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 Rus' there were 3 richest cities:

Kyiv is one of largest cities in Europe and ancient capital Rus'. 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 Rus', then the logic is not traced at all. Judge for yourself, Batu takes Torzhok (he spends 2 weeks on the assault). This is the 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 it could well be considered logical if not for one "but". Since Batu lost a lot of his army, then he needs to leave Rus' 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 Rus'. 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 climatologists call that era the Little Ice Age, when winters were much harsher 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 global warming in March you can get to Novgorod, and in the era ice age everyone was afraid of the flood of the rivers.

With Smolensk, the situation 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 Rus', 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 howl in winter

There is another remarkable fact that official history simply bypasses, because it is impossible to explain it. Both Tatar-Mongol invasions were committed to Rus' 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 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 the Mongol army was like. 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-Mongol army, the less number it turns out. 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 Rus'? 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 one more important fact, which 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 Rus') 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...

Like it or not, the story was, is, and also remains quite ghostly and unreliable, and those facts that we are used to taking at face value often turn out to be vague and vague upon closer examination. Who exactly, and most importantly, why rewrites that very objective information is often simply not possible to identify, for lack of eyewitnesses who can either confirm or refute it. However, it is worth saying that there are inconsistencies, outright absurdity, as well as blunders that are striking, it is worth discussing in more detail, because among the huge number of tares, it is quite possible that the truth will be found. Moreover, in the history of our country there is also enough such goodness, for example, you can discuss the Tatar-Mongolian yoke briefly, without wandering into the dark jungle of a windy girl named Clio.

Official version: when the Mongol yoke was formed and who might need it

First of all, you need to find out what he says about the Mongol-Tatar yoke of 1237-1480 official version history, which we very successfully studied at school. It is this version that is considered correct, therefore it is necessary to proceed from this. Fans of this version believe, based on available sources, that in the early spring of 1237, that is, at the very beginning of the thirteenth century, Genghis Khan suddenly appeared at the helm of the nomadic tribes that at that time lived communally and scattered. In just a couple of years, this really talented leader, and roughly speaking, a real, brilliant leader, gathered such a colossal army that he was immediately able to set out on his own, which turned out to be actually victorious, campaign to the northwest.

Although no, everything was somewhat not so fast, because at first, a hastily put together state, which previously consisted of completely disparate tribes and communities, conquered China, which was quite strong at that time, and at the same time its closest neighbors. Only after all this, the Golden Horde, like an endless sea, rushed in our direction, jingling with spears and playing with long beards, riding dashing horses, intending to plant the Tatar-Mongol yoke on Mother Rus', which is what we are talking about.

Tatar-Mongol yoke: start and end date, according to the official version, dates and numbers

Horror, fear, horror gripped all of ancient Rus', from edge to edge, when millions of troops entered our lands. Burning everything in its path, killing and also maiming the population, leaving behind only ashes, the "Horde" marched through the steppes and plains, capturing more and more territories, horrifying everyone who met them on the way.

Absolutely no one could prevent this incredible avalanche, fragrant with fat and soot, and our epic good fellows and heroes, apparently, were just lying on the stoves, maturing their prescribed thirty-three years. Having reached the Czech Republic and Poland itself, the victorious campaign, for completely unknown reasons, suddenly choked and stood up as if rooted to the spot, and the Tatar-Mongolian yoke stopped, splashed in place, like a real sea, establishing its own rules, as well as its rather tough regime on the conquered from amazing lightness of the territories.

It was then that the Russian princes received special letters, as well as labels from the khan for administration. That is, the country, in fact, simply continued to live its usual, everyday life. To make it clearer, it is worth saying that the yoke is in Ancient Rus' the so-called yoke worn on powerful animals, oxen, pulling an unbearable burden, for example, a cart loaded with salt. True, the Mongols and Tatars, at times, apparently for greater fear and to prevent indignation with the regime, ravaged several small villages or towns.

Tribute to the Khan had to be paid regularly and very carefully, in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts and the establishment of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus' went off with a bang. The Mongols are eastern people - quick-tempered and hot-tempered, why tempt fate? This went on for about three hundred years, until Dmitry Donskoy finally showed the Horde handsome, Khan Mamai, where these domestic crayfish hibernate, which mortally frightened the invaders, who seemed completely fearless and invincible.

At about the same time, in the middle of the fourteenth century AD, on the Ugra River, Prince Ivan the Third and the Tatar Akhmat, after standing against each other for several days, for some reason simply dispersed without even entering into battle. Moreover, the Horde "peepers" clearly lost these. This time is considered the official end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. These events are dated around 1380.

The period of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus': years and key dates

However, the invaders raged and raged for several more decades, and the consequences for the country turned out to be simply catastrophic, the horde managed to embroil the Russian princes, so much so that they were ready to tear each other's throats for labels and petitions from the Khan. At that time, the son of the notorious Genghis Khan, the elderly young man Batu, stood at the head of the Horde, and he surrendered to the enemy.

Thus, it turns out that the Tatar-Mongol yoke, which lasted about two or three hundred years, ended in nothing. Moreover, the official version of history also offers the dates of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, which are key. How long did the Tatar-Mongol yoke last in Rus'? Think for yourself, it's not at all difficult, because specific numbers are given, and then pure mathematics.

The Mongol-Tatar yoke, which we are briefly talking about, began in 1223, when an innumerable horde approached the borders of Rus'.
Even the date of the first battle is known, which marked the beginning of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. : May 31 of the same year.
Tatar-Mongol yoke: the date of the massive attack on Rus' is the winter of 1237.
In the same year, the Mongol yoke in Rus', in short, reigned, Kolomna and Ryazan were captured, and after them the entire Palo-Ryazan principality.
In the early spring of 1238, at the very beginning of March, the city of Vladimir was captured, which later became the center from which the Tatar-Mongols ruled, and Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich was also killed.
A year later, the horde also captured Chernigov.
Kyiv fell in 1240, and that was complete collapse for Rus' of that time.
Palo was captured by 1241 Galicia-Volyn principality, after which the activity of the Horde clearly stopped.

However, the Tatar-Mongol yoke did not end there, and for another forty years the Russians paid tribute to the Horde Khan, because official history says that it ended only in 1280. To get a clearer idea of the events taking place, it is worth considering the map of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, everything is quite transparent and simple there, if you take everything on faith.

Tatar-Mongol yoke: historical fact or fiction

What do alternative sources say, so to speak, was the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus' really, or was it specially invented for some specific purpose? Let's start with Genghis Khan himself, an extremely interesting and even, one might say, entertaining personality. Who was this "leader of the Comanches", the most talented of all existing rulers, leaders and organizers, who probably outdid Adolf Hitler himself? Mysterious phenomenon, but the Mongol by genus and tribe, it turns out, was quite European in appearance! A Persian historian, a contemporary of the Mongol-Tatar campaigns, named Rashidad-Din, frankly writes in his chronicles:

“All children from the clan of Genghis Khan were born with blond hair, and besides, they also had gray eyes. The Great One himself had the yellow-green eyes of a wild cougar.”

It turns out that he is not a Mongol at all, a great Mongol! For a snack, there is more information, and quite reliable: In the twelfth-thirteenth centuries, when the invasion took place, the Mongolian and Tatar peoples simply did not have a written language! Therefore, they definitely could not write their own sources purely physically. Well, they didn't know how to write, and that's it! It is a pity, because their words would be useful to us in establishing the truth.

These peoples learned to write after as many as five centuries, that is, much later than the Tatar-Mongol yoke allegedly existed in Rus', and even that is far from all. If you thoroughly delve into the historical reports of other peoples, then nothing is written about the black-eyed and black-haired invaders of vast territories, from China to the Czech Republic and Poland. The trace is lost and it is impossible to find it.

The Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus' lasted a long time, but left no traces behind

When Russian travelers, exploring more and more new lands, turned their feet to the east, to the Urals and Siberia, then on their way, they would certainly have met at least some traces of the presence of the once multi-million army. After all, the Tatar-Mongols, according to legend, were supposed to “keep” these territories too. Moreover, no burials were found that more or less resemble Turkic ones. It turns out that no one has died in them for three hundred years? Cossack travelers did not find even a hint of the city or any infrastructure "decent" for their time. But it was here that the very tract was supposed to pass, along which tribute was brought from all over Rus'. A strange forgetfulness was observed among the people who occupied these lands for centuries - they did not know about any yoke either in sleep or in spirit.

In addition to the complete "lack of presence", as everyone's favorite humorist Mikhail Zadornov would say, one can also note the elementary impossibility of existence, and even more so the victorious march of an army of half a million people in those dense times! According to the same evidence on which official history relies, it turns out that every nomad had at his disposal at least two horses, and sometimes even three or four. It is difficult to imagine this herd of several million horses, and even more difficult to figure out how to feed such a host of hungry animals. In one day, these countless hordes of ungulates were supposed to gobble up all the greenery within a radius of several hundred kilometers and leave behind a landscape that most of all resembles the consequences nuclear attack Or a zombie invasion.

Perhaps, under the attack and rule of the Mongols, someone skillfully disguised something else, completely unrelated to the poor nomadic peoples? It is hard to imagine that they, accustomed to living in a rather warm steppe, felt calm in the severe Russian frosts, and even the more persistent and hardy Germans could not stand them, although they were equipped the latest technology and armament. And the very fact of such a well-coordinated and well-functioning control mechanism is rather strange to expect from nomads. The most interesting thing is that completely wild people, at times, were depicted in early paintings dressed in armor and chain mail, and during hostilities they could calmly roll out a ram to the gates of the city. With the idea of the Tatar-Mongols of that time, these facts somehow do not fit at all.

Such inconsistencies, large and small, can be found, if you dig, not on one volume scientific work. Who and why needed to falsify history, "sinning" the poor Mongols and Tatars, who were not even aware of something like that? To be honest, it should be admitted that these peoples learned about their heroic past much later, and most likely already from the words of Europeans. It's funny, isn't it? What did they want to hide from their descendants, laying responsibility for the destruction and years of unbearable tribute on Genghis Khan? So far, all this is just theory and conjecture, and it is not at all a fact that the objective truth will ever be clarified.

The question of the date of the beginning and end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in national historiography generally did not cause controversy. In this short post, he will try to dot the i's in this matter, at least for those who are preparing for the exam in history, that is, as part of the school curriculum.

The concept of the "Tatar-Mongol yoke"

However, to begin with, it is worth dealing with the very concept of this yoke, which is an important historical phenomenon in the history of Russia. If you turn to ancient Russian sources(“The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu”, “Zadonshchina”, etc.), then the invasion of the Tatars is perceived as a God-given reality. The very concept of "Russian land" disappears from the sources and other concepts arise: "Horde Zalesskaya" ("Zadonshchina"), for example.

The very same "yoke" was not called such a word. The words "captivity" are more common. Thus, within the framework of the medieval providential consciousness, the invasion of the Mongols was perceived as the inevitable punishment of the Lord.

Historian Igor Danilevsky, for example, also believes that such a perception is due to the fact that, due to their negligence, the Russian princes in the period from 1223 to 1237: 1) did not take any measures to protect their lands, and 2) continued to maintain a fragmented state and create civil strife. It is for fragmentation that God punished the Russian land - in the view of contemporaries.

The very concept of "Tatar-Mongolian yoke" was introduced by N.M. Karamzin in his monumental work. By the way, he deduced from it and substantiated the need for an autocratic form of government in Russia. The emergence of the concept of the yoke was necessary in order, firstly, to justify Russia's lagging behind the countries of Europe, and, secondly, to justify the need for this Europeanization.

If you look into different school textbooks, then the dating of this historical phenomenon will be different. However, it often dates from 1237 to 1480: from the beginning of the first campaign of Batu to Rus' and ending with the Standing on the Ugra River, when Khan Akhmat left and thus tacitly recognized the independence of the Muscovite state. In principle, this is a logical dating: Batu, having captured and defeated North-Eastern Rus', has already subjugated part of the Russian lands to himself.

However, in my classes I always determine the date of the beginning of the Mongol yoke in 1240 - after the second campaign of Batu, already on Southern Rus'. The meaning of this definition is that at that time the whole Russian land was already subordinate to Batu and he already imposed duties on it, arranged Baskaks in the occupied lands, etc.

If you think about it, the date of the beginning of the yoke can also be determined in 1242 - when Russian princes began to come to the Horde with gifts, thereby recognizing dependence on the Golden Horde. Quite a bit of school encyclopedias place the start date of the yoke under this year.

The date of the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke is usually placed in 1480 after Standing on the river. Acne. However, it is important to understand that for a long time the Moscow kingdom was disturbed by the "fragments" of the Golden Horde: Kazan Khanate, Astrakhan, Crimean ... Crimean Khanate and in general it was liquidated in 1783. Therefore, yes, we can talk about formal independence. But with reservations.

Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov

o (Mongol-Tatar, Tatar-Mongolian, Horde) - the traditional name for the system of exploitation of Russian lands by nomadic conquerors who came from the East from 1237 to 1480.

This system was intended to mass terror and robbery of the Russian people by exacting cruel requisitions. It acted primarily in the interests of the Mongol nomadic military-feudal nobility (noyons), in whose favor the lion's share of the collected tribute came.

The Mongol-Tatar yoke was established as a result of the invasion of Batu Khan in the 13th century. Until the early 1260s, Rus' was ruled by the great Mongol khans, and then by the khans of the Golden Horde.

Russian principalities were not directly part of Mongolian state and retained the local princely administration, whose activities were controlled by the Baskaks - representatives of the khan in the conquered lands. The Russian princes were tributaries of the Mongol khans and received from them labels for the possession of their principalities. Formally, the Mongol-Tatar yoke was established in 1243, when Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich received a label from the Mongols for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. Rus', according to the label, lost the right to fight and had to regularly pay tribute to the khans twice a year (in spring and autumn).

On the territory of Rus' there was no permanent Mongol-Tatar army. The yoke was supported by punitive campaigns and repressions against recalcitrant princes. The regular flow of tribute from the Russian lands began after the census of 1257-1259, conducted by the Mongolian "numerals". The units of taxation were: in cities - the yard, in rural areas - "village", "plough", "plough". Only the clergy were exempt from tribute. The main "Horde hardships" were: "exit", or "Tsar's tribute" - a tax directly for the Mongol Khan; trading fees ("myt", "tamka"); transport duties ("pits", "carts"); the content of the khan's ambassadors ("fodder"); various "gifts" and "honors" to the khan, his relatives and associates. Every year, Russian lands left in the form of tribute great amount silver. Large "requests" for military and other needs were periodically collected. In addition, the Russian princes were obliged, by order of the khan, to send soldiers to participate in campaigns and in battue hunts (“catchers”). In the late 1250s and early 1260s, tribute from the Russian principalities was collected by Muslim merchants (“besermens”), who bought this right from the great Mongol khan. Most of tribute went to the great khan in Mongolia. During the uprisings of 1262, the "besermen" from Russian cities were expelled, and the duty of collecting tribute passed to the local princes.

The struggle of Rus' against the yoke was gaining more and more breadth. In 1285, Grand Duke Dmitry Alexandrovich (son of Alexander Nevsky) defeated and expelled the army of the “Horde prince”. AT late XIII- the first quarter of the XIV century, performances in Russian cities led to the elimination of the Basques. With the strengthening of the Moscow principality, the Tatar yoke is gradually weakening. Moscow Prince Ivan Kalita (reigned in 1325-1340) won the right to collect "exit" from all Russian principalities. From the middle of the XIV century, the orders of the khans of the Golden Horde, not supported by a real military threat, were no longer carried out by the Russian princes. Dmitry Donskoy (1359-1389) did not recognize the khan's labels issued to his rivals and seized the Grand Duchy of Vladimir by force. In 1378 he defeated Tatar army on the river Vozha Ryazan land, and in 1380 he defeated the Golden Horde ruler Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo.

However, after the campaign of Tokhtamysh and the capture of Moscow in 1382, Rus' was again forced to recognize the power of the Golden Horde and pay tribute, but already Vasily I Dmitrievich (1389-1425) received the great reign of Vladimir without a khan's label, as "his fiefdom." Under him, the yoke was nominal. Tribute was paid irregularly, the Russian princes pursued an independent policy. The attempt of the Golden Horde ruler Edigey (1408) to restore full power over Russia ended in failure: he failed to take Moscow. The strife that began in the Golden Horde opened before Russia the possibility of overthrowing the Tatar yoke.

However, in the middle of the 15th century, Muscovite Rus' itself experienced a period internecine war, which weakened its military potential. During these years, the Tatar rulers organized a series of devastating invasions, but they were no longer able to bring the Russians to complete obedience. The unification of the Russian lands around Moscow led to the concentration in the hands of the Moscow princes of such political power, which the weakened could not cope with. Tatar khans. The Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III Vasilyevich (1462-1505) in 1476 refused to pay tribute. In 1480 after unsuccessful campaign Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat and "standing on the Ugra" the yoke was finally overthrown.

The Mongol-Tatar yoke had negative, regressive consequences for the economic, political and cultural development of the Russian lands, was a brake on the growth of the productive forces of Rus', which were at a higher socio-economic level compared to the productive forces of the Mongol state. It artificially preserved long time purely feudal natural character of the economy. AT politically the consequences of the yoke were manifested in the violation natural process state development Rus', in the artificial maintenance of its fragmentation. The Mongol-Tatar yoke, which lasted two and a half centuries, was one of the reasons for the economic, political and cultural backwardness of Rus' from Western European countries.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources.