The Polovtsian Khan's advice to the Russian princes of the XNUMXth century led to a war with the Mongols

Despite numerous statements that allegedly no Mongol-Tatar (Tatar-Mongol, Tatar, Mongolian) yoke of Russia existed, historical the facts are stubborn. They say the opposite - that at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the lands of the individual Mongol kingdoms gathered into a single whole, starting to form an empire with imperial ambitions typical for any period of history. Among these ambitions is the spread of power and influence to the north-west, to the Russian lands.

The main factor in the success of the Mongolian socio-political system at that time was its high degree of centralization, as well as the army. By 1212, the Mongol army was the largest and most efficient army on earth. At that time, Temujin, proclaimed the Great Khan of Mongolia (Genghis Khan), was able to collect an incredible number of soldiers for those times - up to 130 thousand horsemen. The army was divided into separate formations that had high mobility and were distinguished by the effectiveness of their use. weapons (first of all, special bows). Horsemen could cover long distances during the day, which was impossible for armies with a large foot component, typical for Europe at that time.

As the Mongol influence spread, danger hung over Russia. At least this is what the official historiography thinks. But the alarm was sounded by the Polovtsians, some military leaders and "political leaders" of which at that time were related to the Russian princes.

The Polovtsian Khan Kotyan Sutoevich, who himself often participated in campaigns on the fragmented Russian lands, after the appearance of the Mongols in their territories, suddenly asked for help from the Russian princes. Kotyan (Kotyon) urged the Russians to enter the war on the distant approaches, in order to thus prevent the Mongol advance to Russia. Although it is quite clear that the Polovtsian Khan did not care much about the fate of Russia in this case, in contrast to his own fate and the fate of his lands. Therefore, the advice of the khan is in their favor.

The Russian princes, having held a council in Kiev, decided that the enemy (the Mongol army) really needed to be met before entering Russia. To what extent the Mongols then directly threatened Russia is a debatable question. Their goal at that time was precisely the Polovtsian lands.

As a result, Russian troops entered the battle on the Kalka River, despite the fact that the Mongol ambassadors dissuaded the Russian princes from taking the side of the Polovtsian Khan. By the way, the ambassadors of the Mongols were killed, and this in the then Mongolia served as a direct reason for the outbreak of war and blood feud.

The Polovtsian "allies", as they say today, "set up" the Russian squads on the Kalka River itself, when, rushing after the Mongol reconnaissance detachment, they themselves fell into a trap, and led the Russian soldiers there, who by that time had also managed to split up into separate decentralized squads. As a result, the battle on Kalka was lost, and the Mongols decided not to stop their campaign on the Polovtsian lands and go to Russia, arguing that the Russian princes were the first to unleash a war, trusting the Polovtsian khan.

It is quite possible to say that trust in the Polovtsian Khan led to a war with the Mongols, who eventually came to Russia.

Video about the Mongol invasion of Russia from the "Flywheel of History" channel:

Comments

[Anarchist]

numerous statements that allegedly no Mongol-Tatar (Tatar-Mongol, Tatar, Mongolian) yoke of Russia existed

With this in general, the trouble ... There is a statement that the Mongols were Slavs.
Others argue that the earth is flat. Some evidence is even given.
And from the theory of "quantum immortality" came the theory of the so-called "matrix". Like, in the presence of the "observer", the superposition of the quantum is lost due to the lack of power of the "divine servers" ...
We even got to the point where they started dividing by 0.
Sheer obscurantism.

[Uncle lee]

Quote: Anarchist

the earth is flat.

And here is the proof!

[Anarchist]

Uncle Lee, in your picture the earth is in the form of a hemisphere, not a plane

[Uncle lee]

Will it suit you?

[Anarchist]

I like Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" better, where all its splendor is on the back of the great A'Tuin, serenely prowling the vastness of the universe.

[uralant]

Quote: Anarchist

And from the theory of "quantum immortality" came the theory of the so-called "matrix".

Oh got it! 130 thousand riders took one horse, 130000 each horse it will be. We write two, four come to mind. Crazy herd. And if you take your whole story as a basis, then each rider led at least two more horses on the reins. These are not horses, these are locusts. European, you say, lost in mobility, and these in hunger. All this fundamental story went from Karamzin, an eyewitness and a participant in the raids. Come on, feed us further with your quantum cakes.

[paul3390]

Are these the same Polovtsians who, together with the Pechenegs and Bolsheviks, to this day fiercely interfere with our beloved guarantor in all his great undertakings to improve the life of the people?

[Egoza]

Involuntarily, the opera Prince Igor comes to mind ...
(Khan Konchak enters)

KONCHAK - Are you healthy, prince?
Why are you depressed, my guest?
Why are you so thoughtful?
Al networks broke?
Al hawks are not evil, and do not shoot down a bird in flight?
Take mine!

IGOR - And the net is strong, and the hawks are reliable
Yes, a falcon does not live in captivity!

KONCHAK - Do you consider yourself a prisoner of yourself here?
But do you live like a prisoner
And not my guest?
You were wounded at the Battle of Kajala and taken prisoner with your retinue
I was bailed out, and you are my guest
We honor you as a khan, all mine is at your service
Son with you, squad too, you live here as a khan,
You live the way I do!
Admit it, do the captives live like that?
Is not it?
Oh no, no friend, no prince, you are not my prisoner here
You are my guest, dear
Know friend, trust me
You, prince, fell in love with me,
For your courage, but for your courage in battle
I respect you prince
You have always been in love with me, know
Yes, I am not your enemy, prince, but I am your master
You are my dear guest - so tell me
Why is it bad for you, you tell me.
Want? take any horse, take any tent
Take the cherished damask - the sword of the grandfathers!
I shed a lot of enemy blood with this sword;
More than once, in bloody battles, the horror of death sowed my damask ...
Yes, prince, everything is here - everything is under the control of the khan
I am a threat to everyone; was a long time ago
I am brave, I am brave, fear I do not know
Everyone is afraid of me, everything trembles around;
But you were not afraid of me, you did not ask for mercy, prince.
Ah, do not be your enemy,
And a faithful ally,
And a reliable friend,
And your brother - I wanted to be
Trust me!
Do you want a captive from the distant sea, chaga
Slave because of the Caspian Sea,
If you want to say, just a word to me
I'll give it to you.
I have wonderful beauties
Braids, like snakes descend on the shoulders,
Black eyes covered with moisture
They gaze tenderly and passionately from under dark eyebrows
Why are you silent?
If you want, choose any of them!
→ http://teksti-pesenok.ru/1/AP-Borodin/tekst-pesni-Knyaz-Igor-2-deystvie-Ariya-Hana-Konchaka

[Egoza]

Well, direct "partners" in negotiations with Lavrov! )))

[Daniil Konovalenko]

It is quite possible to say that trust in the Polovtsian Khan led to a war with the Mongols, who eventually came to Russia.

"I am naive, I am gullible. I am easily deceived!" (with)

[Maks1995]

Roller later
But the description reigns supreme idealism.
In real life:
1) The Mongols conquered trade routes in the first place, it was not for nothing to work. (Great silk, etc.). The way from the Varangians to the Greeks would not have been missed in any case.
2) Polovtsi and princes calmly either became related or cut, both together and separately. The ordinary life of the state gangs, up to the present day.
So to be friends against "strangers" - how else is it?
3) Naturally, the alliance of small detachments could not withstand a large experienced well-coordinated army

[Daniil Konovalenko]

The way from the Varangians to the Greeks would not have been missed in any case.

By the time of the Mongol invasion, the Path lost its significance. The Crusaders in 1204 seized Constantinople, and trade with the Middle East was seized by the Venetians.

[Maks1995]

It's true. The value has diminished, but even such a path would not have been missed.
Plus the rest of the Volga routes.

[Daniil Konovalenko]

So they missed it, after the invasion it completely stalled. It was not for nothing that in the early 1250s, Batu was founded on the left bank of the Akhtuba River Saray-Batu. And in 1260, another city, Saray Al-Jedid, was built on the same Akhtuba. So there are more of them. worried about the Volga way than from the Varangians to the Greeks. Karpini writes about the desolation of the Dnieper.

[Maks1995]

That is all true.
But changing trade is not an instant process. Moreover, all 3 paths are relatively close, it is illogical to take 2, and not take the third.
Plus the principalities adjoin the steppe, they had to take everything

[betta]

Very interesting. What was the population of Mongolia, if they gathered an army of 130t. and what they and the horses ate in the steppe. And what is important, who was involved in the supply during the thousand-kilometer crossings, what was the logistics?

[Andybuts]

Well, the article does not directly say that they all went on a campaign against Russia. it is not clear about 1212, but after the conquest of the Chinese state, Jing could well. And the Mongols reached the Polovtsians after the capture of Central Asia, Khorezm. And the use of the troops of the captured peoples - this was a feature of the Mongols. Well, Mongols flew into Russia from 10 to 25 thousand maximum, according to modern researchers such as Klim Zhukov, Oleg Dvurechensky, etc.
Then it is possible that in those years the population of the Mongolian steppes was an order of magnitude larger than today's Mongolia. Only during the conquests did the Mongols move south to China and southwest to Central Asia. And there, especially in China, the conquerors were assimilated. Therefore, from the present it is not clear how several hundred Mongols were able to capture half of the world. True, these are only reflections, I have not studied this issue.
And history is full of examples of assimilation. For example, the Frankish elite in Gaul was assimilated by the Gauls, or the Bulgars in Bulgaria were assimilated by the Slavs. And they took the names from their invaders. And our Vikings Rurikovich were also assimilated in Russia.

[betta]

"... it is possible that in those years the population of the Mongolian steppes was an order of magnitude larger than the present Mongolia." And what about their pastures? Will it feed such a large population? And where was their metallurgy? If 0,7kg is one sword, then 0,7 * 140000 = 98t. high-quality metal, but for everything else? Where is iron mined in Mongolia? This is a small part of the questions.

[Andybuts]

And where was their metallurgy? If 0,7kg is one sword, then 0,7 * 140000 = 98t. high-quality metal, but for everything else?

nomads are light cavalry, the sword is already the lot of heavy cavalry and infantry. Well, China was also the most developed state in the world at that time, everything was in order there with metallurgy.

And what about their pastures? Will it feed such a large population?

the territories there are huge, the steppes, for a nomadic way of life, would be quite enough. But the logistics in the campaign is a big question, because the figure of 10 thousand Mongols who conquered Russia looks more realistic than the 150 thousand or 600 thousand that we were told about at school. I think that the principle was akin to Napoleonic - the war should feed itself.
Well, do not forget that their invasion took place before the Little Ice Age, in the medieval climatic optimum and the climate could be strikingly different from the climate now.
PS about the size of the population of the Mongolian steppes of those years in comparison with the current amount, I meant the share of the population of Mongolia from the share of the population of all Asia and the world, and not the number of inhabitants

[betta]

I probably will not argue, but in my opinion your arguments are rather weak.

[betta]

I didn’t think to write yet, but I decided to check what is the norm for cattle grazing: “In Soviet agricultural reference books there are norms. For a horse, as well as for a cow - 1 hectare of cultivated pastures, that is, with sown high-quality grasses. Accordingly, the area of ​​wild low-quality pastures doubles, triples. Plus hayfields - also depends on the quality of the grass stand. "
So tell me how to collect an army, if collecting it requires a huge area, which they will quickly trample or eat all the greens. Nomads cannot create a high-quality state, especially an army, there are no economic conditions for this. China in this capacity will be much stronger, there is agriculture, crafts, etc. BECAUSE THEY LEAD A SECRET LIFESTYLE !.

[KLM77]

So you also take into account that cattle breeding is NOMINAL! There is no hut, no barn, no winter reserves, cattle all year on grazing and pasture is not limited to 1 hectare.
The army did not concentrate in one place and did not move along the same road.

[betta]

Wonderful! If the army is not concentrated, then what kind of army is it? And what kind of state is this, if everyone wanders endlessly, what is their strength? And how to organize metallurgical production in such a life? Only a SEATED, UNITED, CENTRALIZED, STRUCTURED state can become strong.

[KLM77]

You are asking questions that have long been sorted out. As a result, nomadic states have sunk into oblivion, precisely because they began to lose economically.

[KLM77]

Isn't it easier to look into the reference book and figure out what and how from the available data? At the same time, see the availability of minerals.

[Ural resident]

Quote: betta

Very interesting. What was the population of Mongolia, if they gathered an army of 130t. and what they and the horses ate in the steppe. And what is important, who was involved in the supply during the thousand-kilometer crossings, what was the logistics?

Both men and women fought with them, so that the total number was 140 thousand (10 thousand stayed at home)))

[Woodman]

As a result, Russian troops entered the battle on the Kalka River, despite the fact that the Mongol ambassadors dissuaded the Russian princes from taking the side of the Polovtsian Khan. By the way, the ambassadors of the Mongols were killed, and this in the then Mongolia served as a direct reason for the outbreak of war and blood feud.

Served in this form, as if they were offering to repent.

As a result, the battle on Kalka was lost, and the Mongols decided not to stop their campaign on the Polovtsian lands and go to Russia, arguing that the Russian princes were the first to unleash a war, trusting the Polovtsian khan.

You can always find a reason for war, if there is a desire. And the Mongols had it. As there were strengths and opportunities. They had already conquered more than one people by that time and the Russian princes could not but know about it. And the Polovtsians are a familiar enemy and it is better to unite with them against a new strong enemy than to hope that the Mongols will stop at the Russian borders.
By the way, when the Alans conquered the Mongols, the Alans turned to the Polovtsians for help. But the Mongolian ambassadors told the Polovtsians in the same way that they (the Mongols) were at war with the Alans, and had no claims to the Polovtsians. The Polovtsi believed. And in the end, after the conquest of the Alans, it was the turn of the Polovtsians. For the Russian princes, I believe this moment was not in vain when deciding on an alliance with the Polovtsy.
With regard to the murder of the ambassadors. The ambassadors arrived not in the capital of one of the principalities, but in the camp of the army that went on the campaign, i.e. in case of unsuccessful negotiations, these ambassadors should at least be detained so that they could not tell either about the number or about the composition of the united Russian army. In addition, the Mongols themselves also killed ambassadors and it was unlikely for them that this was considered such a terrible crime.

One of the famous acts of the first Mongol Khan Khabul Khan, whose descendant was Genghis Khan, was the assassination of the embassy of the Northern Chinese emperor of the Jin dynasty. This without any condemnation, as a heroic deed and youth, is reported by the Chinggisid court chronicler Rashid-ad-Din

Next:

No less characteristic is the fact: not a single eastern source dating back to the Mongols at all mentions the murder of Mongol ambassadors by Russian princes. The Arab historian Ibn al-Athir, giving a detailed story about the wars of the Mongols with the Polovtsians and the battle on Kalka, does not mention the murder of the Mongol ambassadors by the Russians, as if it had not happened. Rashid-ad-Din is also silent about this episode, but he specifically emphasizes that the Mongols "attacked" the lands of the Uruses. The Chinese "Yuan shi", containing a detailed biography of the commander Subedei, does not mention the murder of the ambassadors not a single word.

[KLM77]

As for the ambassadors, are you quoting Kholmogorov? So, he lies, how he breathes. “Khabul Khan, obviously, led a very strong alliance of Mongol tribes at that time. It is no coincidence that Rashid ad-Din talks about him as“ the sovereign and leader (pisva) of his tribes and subordinates (atba) ”[55]. According to his story, Khabul Khan was invited to the court of the Jin emperor, who, wishing to get closer to him, threw a feast in his honor and presented him with expensive gifts. Then the Jin emperor, on the advice of his ministers, sent a messenger after him to seize and execute him as a dangerous enemy But Khabul Khan refused to return to the court. In the end, the Jin ambassadors seized him, but Khabul Khan managed to escape. When the ambassadors arrived at his headquarters, Khabul Khan interrupted them. [56] These events took place immediately after joining throne of the Jin emperor Holom (1135-1149), whose coronation was attended by Khabul Khan.After the assassination of the ambassadors in 1137, the Jin emperor sent a significant army against the Mongols. b on r. Nonni, penetrated deep into Mongolian territory, but retreated due to a lack of food. Then the Mongols, under the leadership of Khabul Khan, began to pursue the Jin army and defeated it in Hailin (probably the Hailar-gol river) [57]

[Stirbjorn]

The Polovtsian Khan Kotyan Sutoevich, who himself often participated in campaigns on the fragmented Russian lands, after the appearance of the Mongols in their territories, suddenly asked for help from the Russian princes. Kotyan (Kotyon) urged the Russians to enter the war on the distant approaches, in order to thus prevent the Mongol advance to Russia. Although it is quite clear that the Polovtsian Khan did not care much about the fate of Russia in this case, in contrast to his own fate and the fate of his lands. Therefore, the advice of the khan is in their favor.

The same could be said about each of the Russian princes of that time, only without adjusting for nationality.

and the Mongols decided not to stop their campaign on the Polovtsian lands and go to Russia, arguing that the Russian princes were the first to unleash a war, trusting the Polovtsian khan.

Volga Bulgars also unleashed a war !? Well, there are further down the list - Hungarians, Poles, Czechs, Croats, etc. Then it was not bread for the Mongols - let them be offended, followed by an envious campaign.

[Edward Vashchenko]

The same could be said about each of the Russian princes of that time, only without adjusting for nationality.

Ask the State Duma members to introduce a law prohibiting the mention of nationalities when describing historical events.

[Sahalinets]

And what if the princes had not set out on a campaign, the Mongols would not have attacked Russia?
Some kind of nonsense. They sought to conquer and plunder all the world they knew and attacked other countries simply because they could.

[Daniil Konovalenko]

Khan Kotyan Sutoevich, ended badly, on the eve of the Mongol invasion of Hungary, the conspiratorial nobles killed Kotyan and his sons in Pest, suspecting that Kotyan might go over to Batu.