Murders in Russia and in the Golden Horde: how they looked
History Ancient Russia, as well as other medieval lands and states - continuous wars and a series of murders of princes in the struggle for power. The attitude to human life is not too scrupulous and now, in the 21st century, we see what is happening in Syria, in the Donbas, on the African continent, and how frequent are the brutal murders of mercenary or simply hooligan motivations in our country. But in the Middle Ages, murder was seen as a completely natural tool in the struggle for power. People who claimed the princely throne, did not disdain to deal with even the closest relatives - with brothers, and sometimes with their own fathers or sons.
So, the fratricide of princes and princely sons was widespread in Russia. In 1015, Vladimir I died - the prince of Kiev, the son of the famous prince Svyatoslav and the great baptist of Russia, popularly called "Vladimir the Red Sun". His death put an end to the prosperous existence and political unity of Ancient Russia. Vladimir the Red Sun left eleven sons. And, of course, none of them wanted to remain in secondary roles, but dreamed of political leadership in Russia. So the princely sons embarked on the path of a bloody and fratricidal struggle, not stopping in front of the most stringent methods against each other.
The first victims of the bloodshed were the younger sons of Kievan Prince Vladimir the Red Sun Boris and Gleb. Shortly before his death, Vladimir sent Boris and his retinue to repel the Pecheneg raid, but the nomads were not discovered by the prince and he turned back. On the way, he learned about the death of his father and that the throne was occupied by the half-brother Svyatopolk. Boris's combatants offered to take Kiev by storm and seize the throne, but Boris, a decent and religious man, refused this idea and then his army left.
Svyatopolk, in turn, sent proxies from among the Vyshegorodsky boyars with the assignment to remove Boris, who was sympathized with by many warriors and ordinary people. A group of boyars, led by a certain Putshi, arrived on the night of July 24 to Boris’s tent, which was defeated by the Alta River. Waiting until Boris went to bed, the killers broke into the tent and pierced Boris and his servant Hungarian Georgy with spears. Then Boris, seriously wounded, was wrapped in a tent-cloth and brought to Svyatopolk, who ordered the two Varyags to finish off their brother. Boris was struck with a sword in his heart, after which he was secretly buried in Vyshgorod.
The next was Gleb. Full brother Boris, he represented a threat to Svyatopolk as a potential avenger. Therefore, Svyatopolk called Gleb to Kiev. At this time, Gleb heard from Prince Yaroslav that Svyatopolk was going to kill him. But it was too late. The killers headed by Goryazer sent by Svyatopolk appeared to Hleb. The latter ordered Gleb to be slaughtered by his cook, Tork. This happened September 5 1015. Gleb's body was buried "out of nowhere," in the Smolensk region. Only in 1019, after the capture of Kiev by Yaroslav, was Gleb's body excavated and brought to Vyshgorod, where, together with Boris's body, they buried with honors at the church of St. Basil.
The killing of Boris and Gleb was one of the first and most famous political assassinations in Russia after her baptism. And, of course, the Russian chroniclers could not fail to capture this murder in miniature. It is thanks to the Russian chronicles with illustrations that we know the details of this and many other murders in Ancient Russia.
In 1568 — 1576, on the personal request of Ivan the Terrible, the Facial Chronicle was compiled - a colorful multi-volume chronicle. It consisted of 10 volumes containing 10 thousands of rag pages and 16 thousands of thumbnails. The set was made in a single copy and covered the entire history "from the creation of the world" to the modern Ivan the Terrible. The first three volumes covered the sacred biblical, ancient Greek history, the history of the Ancient East and Ancient Rome. Therefore, the remaining seven volumes are of interest to us in the context of the article, which are devoted to Russian history from 1114 to 1553.
Many miniatures of the Facial Chronicle are devoted to scenes of the murder of Russian princes. Frequently depictions of how Russian princes are killed by enemies - the Mongols, Litvin. Here is an image of Vasilko Konstantinovich’s murder. The unit prince of Rostov, 29-year-old Vasilko, killed 4 in March 1238 of the year in Mongol captivity after the defeat of Russian troops on the River City. Vasilko was seized by the Mongols, who demanded that he take the oath to the Khan. Vasilko refused and after torture and humiliation was killed. The Russian Orthodox Church has long been Vasilko canonized.
Prince of Tver Mikhail Yaroslavich was brutally murdered as well, then also ranked as a saint. It happened in 1318 year. Mikhail of Tver was competing for power with the Prince of Moscow, Yuri Danilovich. Both princes rushed to the Golden Horde - for support from the Khan. But Mikhail stayed on the way and arrived at the Horde, to the Uzbek khan, later his rival. At this time, Uzbek was already opposed to Mikhail of Tver by his opponent, Yuri Danilovich. By decision of the Khan's court, the prince concluded in the deck. Month was Michael in captivity, until his murder happened.
In the tent to the people of Michael of Tver broke the people of Yuri Danilovich. There they saw a man kneeling and praying. The assassins grabbed Michael by the wooden deck on his neck and hit the prince. Mikhail managed to jump up from his knees, but those who broke in began to beat him and kick him. A certain Ivanets grabbed the prince by the ears and beat him with his head on the ground, and then a certain Romanets, armed with a large knife, hit Michael in the ribs, in the right side and thrust the knife into the prince's side several times. Thus ended one of the most famous Russian princes at that time, who could well claim leadership in the then “Russian world”.
Only a year later, the coffin with the body of Mikhail of Tver was brought to Tver - this was preceded by an agreement between Yuri Danilovich and Mikhail's son Alexander of Tver. Prince was buried in the Transfiguration Cathedral on the banks of the Volga. The church honors Michael of Tver as a holy martyr who has accepted a terrible death.
Seven years after the murder of Mikhail of Tver, in 1325, the same fate befell the “customer” of the crime, Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich. It all started with the fact that in 1321, Dmitry Tverskaya recognized the label of Yuri Danilovich and handed him the Horde tribute. But Yuri, who was not distinguished by financial cleanliness, as they would say today, brought tribute to Novgorod and there simply sold off. These actions infuriated the Horde Khan Uzbek and he gave the label to the reign of Dmitry of Tver. Yuri went to the Novgorod land, escaping Dmitry Tversky, who was pursuing him.
Three years passed and Yury Danilovich, having gathered courage or impudence, went to the capital of the Horde Saray-Berke for an audience with Khan Uzbek, hoping to receive a label for a great reign. However, there he was met by the Grand Duke Dmitry Mikhailovich the Terrible Ochi. He immediately burned with anger and in a fit hempered Yury Danilovich.
Angry Horde grabbed Dmitry the Terrible Eyes and placed him in custody. A year later, Khan ordered the execution of Dmitry the Terrible Eyes, and the label for the great reign was transferred to his brother Alexander Mikhailovich Tversky. Alexander became the prince of Novgorod.
The following fourteen years passed, as they say, with varying success. The prince then fell into disfavor with Khan Uzbek, then returned his confidence. In 1339, Ivan Kalita of Moscow arrived in the Horde, who managed to blacken Prince Alexander Mikhailovich in front of Khan Uzbek. And when Alexander Mikhailovich himself arrived in the Horde, he and his son Fyodor were brutally killed - their heads were cut off, and then the bodies were cut to pieces.
Do not forget, by the way, the Russian chroniclers to paint and murders committed in the Golden Horde by the Horde themselves. After all, the Horde not only did not yield to Russian princes in cruelty, but also surpassed them. And for the Khan's throne no less battles unfolded than for the power in the ancient Russian principalities.
For example, one of the miniatures depicts the killing of his wife Khansha Tovlunbek by Khan Tokhtamysh. This happened in 1386 year. Interestingly, the miniature and the killed khansha, and her killer, Khan Tokhtamysh, are depicted in clothes that are not distinguishable from the old Russian costumes of the nobility, although it is clear that the Mongolian khans had a completely different style of dressing. But did the chroniclers know this? Or did they simply follow the uniform tradition adopted in the miniature of that time?
By the way, the characters of the other miniatures, depicting the killing of Khan Berdibek in 1359, are dressed in the same clothes. Mohammed Berdibek Khan, the son and successor of Khan Janibek, was the eighth ruler of the Golden Horde and ruled the former Juchi ulus in 1357-1359. Janibek sent Berdibek on a campaign to Persia, where the Khan's son remained to rule in Tabriz, but having received news of his father's illness, he hurried to return to the Golden Horde, so as not to miss the Khan's throne.
In the Horde, Berdibek ordered the destruction of all members of the Batu Khan clan in order to protect themselves from potential competitors in the struggle for the throne. Twelve people were killed, and the Khan personally dealt with his eight-month-old brother, throwing his head on the ground. But cruelty did not bring Berdibek long power and deliverance from rivals.
Two years after the accession of Berdibek at the head of the Golden Horde, a coup occurred in the khan's headquarters. In the autumn of 1359, Berdibek was killed by his rivals, and a new khan, Kulp, was established on the Khan's throne. He declared himself the son of Janibek, who allegedly had the right to the khan's throne. But Kulp also stayed at the head of the Golden Horde for only six months - they soon overthrew him and, along with his two sons, killed him. And this episode also captured the Facial Chronicle.
The next kill in the power struggle in the Golden Horde was not long in coming. Five months later, after the murderer of Kulpa Nauruz-Khan Mohammed reigned on the throne of the Golden Horde, the same fate awaited him. Nauruz Khan was murdered by order of Khizr, the first representative of the Ord-Yezhen clan, the eldest son of Jochi. But Khizr was also killed three months later by his own son Timur-Khoja.
It is possible to list the Horde khans, which change every six months or a year, for a very long time. Almost all of them came to power as a result of coups, accompanied by the murders of their predecessors, and just as well after a very short time, they even cracked down on themselves. Therefore, these “short-term” Khans, unlike such “Titans” as Batu-Khan or Uzbek, practically did not leave any memory of themselves. And today we can read about them, including, thanks to the Facial Chronicle, which showed the struggle for power in the Golden Horde as a continuous series of political assassinations.
Thus, we see that the medieval history of both Russia and the Golden Horde are continuous murders as a result of the struggle for power. Actually, the murder of princes and khans then could be studied and Russian, and the Horde story. The facial chronicle collection depicted scenes in a very colorful and accurate manner of reprisals against princes and hanes, although it is difficult for modern man to perceive such miniatures. But the value of the chronicle in miniatures is undoubted: it allows us to take a more objective look at the history of that time, to see it “in colors”.
So, the fratricide of princes and princely sons was widespread in Russia. In 1015, Vladimir I died - the prince of Kiev, the son of the famous prince Svyatoslav and the great baptist of Russia, popularly called "Vladimir the Red Sun". His death put an end to the prosperous existence and political unity of Ancient Russia. Vladimir the Red Sun left eleven sons. And, of course, none of them wanted to remain in secondary roles, but dreamed of political leadership in Russia. So the princely sons embarked on the path of a bloody and fratricidal struggle, not stopping in front of the most stringent methods against each other.
The first victims of the bloodshed were the younger sons of Kievan Prince Vladimir the Red Sun Boris and Gleb. Shortly before his death, Vladimir sent Boris and his retinue to repel the Pecheneg raid, but the nomads were not discovered by the prince and he turned back. On the way, he learned about the death of his father and that the throne was occupied by the half-brother Svyatopolk. Boris's combatants offered to take Kiev by storm and seize the throne, but Boris, a decent and religious man, refused this idea and then his army left.
Svyatopolk, in turn, sent proxies from among the Vyshegorodsky boyars with the assignment to remove Boris, who was sympathized with by many warriors and ordinary people. A group of boyars, led by a certain Putshi, arrived on the night of July 24 to Boris’s tent, which was defeated by the Alta River. Waiting until Boris went to bed, the killers broke into the tent and pierced Boris and his servant Hungarian Georgy with spears. Then Boris, seriously wounded, was wrapped in a tent-cloth and brought to Svyatopolk, who ordered the two Varyags to finish off their brother. Boris was struck with a sword in his heart, after which he was secretly buried in Vyshgorod.
The next was Gleb. Full brother Boris, he represented a threat to Svyatopolk as a potential avenger. Therefore, Svyatopolk called Gleb to Kiev. At this time, Gleb heard from Prince Yaroslav that Svyatopolk was going to kill him. But it was too late. The killers headed by Goryazer sent by Svyatopolk appeared to Hleb. The latter ordered Gleb to be slaughtered by his cook, Tork. This happened September 5 1015. Gleb's body was buried "out of nowhere," in the Smolensk region. Only in 1019, after the capture of Kiev by Yaroslav, was Gleb's body excavated and brought to Vyshgorod, where, together with Boris's body, they buried with honors at the church of St. Basil.
The killing of Boris and Gleb was one of the first and most famous political assassinations in Russia after her baptism. And, of course, the Russian chroniclers could not fail to capture this murder in miniature. It is thanks to the Russian chronicles with illustrations that we know the details of this and many other murders in Ancient Russia.
In 1568 — 1576, on the personal request of Ivan the Terrible, the Facial Chronicle was compiled - a colorful multi-volume chronicle. It consisted of 10 volumes containing 10 thousands of rag pages and 16 thousands of thumbnails. The set was made in a single copy and covered the entire history "from the creation of the world" to the modern Ivan the Terrible. The first three volumes covered the sacred biblical, ancient Greek history, the history of the Ancient East and Ancient Rome. Therefore, the remaining seven volumes are of interest to us in the context of the article, which are devoted to Russian history from 1114 to 1553.
Many miniatures of the Facial Chronicle are devoted to scenes of the murder of Russian princes. Frequently depictions of how Russian princes are killed by enemies - the Mongols, Litvin. Here is an image of Vasilko Konstantinovich’s murder. The unit prince of Rostov, 29-year-old Vasilko, killed 4 in March 1238 of the year in Mongol captivity after the defeat of Russian troops on the River City. Vasilko was seized by the Mongols, who demanded that he take the oath to the Khan. Vasilko refused and after torture and humiliation was killed. The Russian Orthodox Church has long been Vasilko canonized.
Prince of Tver Mikhail Yaroslavich was brutally murdered as well, then also ranked as a saint. It happened in 1318 year. Mikhail of Tver was competing for power with the Prince of Moscow, Yuri Danilovich. Both princes rushed to the Golden Horde - for support from the Khan. But Mikhail stayed on the way and arrived at the Horde, to the Uzbek khan, later his rival. At this time, Uzbek was already opposed to Mikhail of Tver by his opponent, Yuri Danilovich. By decision of the Khan's court, the prince concluded in the deck. Month was Michael in captivity, until his murder happened.
In the tent to the people of Michael of Tver broke the people of Yuri Danilovich. There they saw a man kneeling and praying. The assassins grabbed Michael by the wooden deck on his neck and hit the prince. Mikhail managed to jump up from his knees, but those who broke in began to beat him and kick him. A certain Ivanets grabbed the prince by the ears and beat him with his head on the ground, and then a certain Romanets, armed with a large knife, hit Michael in the ribs, in the right side and thrust the knife into the prince's side several times. Thus ended one of the most famous Russian princes at that time, who could well claim leadership in the then “Russian world”.
Only a year later, the coffin with the body of Mikhail of Tver was brought to Tver - this was preceded by an agreement between Yuri Danilovich and Mikhail's son Alexander of Tver. Prince was buried in the Transfiguration Cathedral on the banks of the Volga. The church honors Michael of Tver as a holy martyr who has accepted a terrible death.
Seven years after the murder of Mikhail of Tver, in 1325, the same fate befell the “customer” of the crime, Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich. It all started with the fact that in 1321, Dmitry Tverskaya recognized the label of Yuri Danilovich and handed him the Horde tribute. But Yuri, who was not distinguished by financial cleanliness, as they would say today, brought tribute to Novgorod and there simply sold off. These actions infuriated the Horde Khan Uzbek and he gave the label to the reign of Dmitry of Tver. Yuri went to the Novgorod land, escaping Dmitry Tversky, who was pursuing him.
Three years passed and Yury Danilovich, having gathered courage or impudence, went to the capital of the Horde Saray-Berke for an audience with Khan Uzbek, hoping to receive a label for a great reign. However, there he was met by the Grand Duke Dmitry Mikhailovich the Terrible Ochi. He immediately burned with anger and in a fit hempered Yury Danilovich.
Angry Horde grabbed Dmitry the Terrible Eyes and placed him in custody. A year later, Khan ordered the execution of Dmitry the Terrible Eyes, and the label for the great reign was transferred to his brother Alexander Mikhailovich Tversky. Alexander became the prince of Novgorod.
The following fourteen years passed, as they say, with varying success. The prince then fell into disfavor with Khan Uzbek, then returned his confidence. In 1339, Ivan Kalita of Moscow arrived in the Horde, who managed to blacken Prince Alexander Mikhailovich in front of Khan Uzbek. And when Alexander Mikhailovich himself arrived in the Horde, he and his son Fyodor were brutally killed - their heads were cut off, and then the bodies were cut to pieces.
Do not forget, by the way, the Russian chroniclers to paint and murders committed in the Golden Horde by the Horde themselves. After all, the Horde not only did not yield to Russian princes in cruelty, but also surpassed them. And for the Khan's throne no less battles unfolded than for the power in the ancient Russian principalities.
For example, one of the miniatures depicts the killing of his wife Khansha Tovlunbek by Khan Tokhtamysh. This happened in 1386 year. Interestingly, the miniature and the killed khansha, and her killer, Khan Tokhtamysh, are depicted in clothes that are not distinguishable from the old Russian costumes of the nobility, although it is clear that the Mongolian khans had a completely different style of dressing. But did the chroniclers know this? Or did they simply follow the uniform tradition adopted in the miniature of that time?
By the way, the characters of the other miniatures, depicting the killing of Khan Berdibek in 1359, are dressed in the same clothes. Mohammed Berdibek Khan, the son and successor of Khan Janibek, was the eighth ruler of the Golden Horde and ruled the former Juchi ulus in 1357-1359. Janibek sent Berdibek on a campaign to Persia, where the Khan's son remained to rule in Tabriz, but having received news of his father's illness, he hurried to return to the Golden Horde, so as not to miss the Khan's throne.
In the Horde, Berdibek ordered the destruction of all members of the Batu Khan clan in order to protect themselves from potential competitors in the struggle for the throne. Twelve people were killed, and the Khan personally dealt with his eight-month-old brother, throwing his head on the ground. But cruelty did not bring Berdibek long power and deliverance from rivals.
Two years after the accession of Berdibek at the head of the Golden Horde, a coup occurred in the khan's headquarters. In the autumn of 1359, Berdibek was killed by his rivals, and a new khan, Kulp, was established on the Khan's throne. He declared himself the son of Janibek, who allegedly had the right to the khan's throne. But Kulp also stayed at the head of the Golden Horde for only six months - they soon overthrew him and, along with his two sons, killed him. And this episode also captured the Facial Chronicle.
The next kill in the power struggle in the Golden Horde was not long in coming. Five months later, after the murderer of Kulpa Nauruz-Khan Mohammed reigned on the throne of the Golden Horde, the same fate awaited him. Nauruz Khan was murdered by order of Khizr, the first representative of the Ord-Yezhen clan, the eldest son of Jochi. But Khizr was also killed three months later by his own son Timur-Khoja.
It is possible to list the Horde khans, which change every six months or a year, for a very long time. Almost all of them came to power as a result of coups, accompanied by the murders of their predecessors, and just as well after a very short time, they even cracked down on themselves. Therefore, these “short-term” Khans, unlike such “Titans” as Batu-Khan or Uzbek, practically did not leave any memory of themselves. And today we can read about them, including, thanks to the Facial Chronicle, which showed the struggle for power in the Golden Horde as a continuous series of political assassinations.
Thus, we see that the medieval history of both Russia and the Golden Horde are continuous murders as a result of the struggle for power. Actually, the murder of princes and khans then could be studied and Russian, and the Horde story. The facial chronicle collection depicted scenes in a very colorful and accurate manner of reprisals against princes and hanes, although it is difficult for modern man to perceive such miniatures. But the value of the chronicle in miniatures is undoubted: it allows us to take a more objective look at the history of that time, to see it “in colors”.
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