Where did the term "Tatars" originally come from - the first answers were not bad. But here it would be necessary to recall the further development of the Golden Horde. It was also a huge empire, stretching in the west from the Crimea, and the southeastern territories of Ukraine to the Caucasus and Central Asia in the south, and Western Siberia in the East. The question is: how could it exist at all, and not fall apart immediately? And because there were unifying factors peculiar to the Ulus of Jochi (the rest former territories The Mongol Empire also had its own):
Turkic peoples lived throughout the entire territory of the Golden Horde. Nomadic, or recently former. Differences in language among the majority were not critical; so they were basically mutually intelligible. As a language of communication and official used, in different options, the Old Turkic language, or Türks. Which at the very least could be understood by the Polovtsy (the main ancestors of the Crimean Tatars); and the ancestors of the Uzbeks; and Bulgars from the Volga region; and those Turks who settled in the Caucasus, etc.
Yes, like nomads, a huge part of the population had no fundamental contradictions, as such, with the Mongols. They fit perfectly into the Mongolian war machine. The Mongols were originally a minority. Quite quickly they assimilated among the surrounding Turkic population.
Islam was soon adopted as the official religion. This strengthened the sympathy for the country of those who ended up on the territory of Z.O. Muslim Turks from the Volga region and from Central Asia. Their culture and socio-economic structure were a kind of cementing factor. And they allowed many non-settled peoples to develop simultaneously.
Both non-Turkic and non-Muslim peoples lived in the Ulus of Jochi. Say, numerous Finno-Ugric, or those who lived in the North Caucasus. But it was the Turks who professed Islam (both nomadic and settled) in such an empire, almost everything suited; they eventually began to perceive it as "their" state, and support and protect it. It was possible to create a certain community of them within the framework of such an empire.
For the Russians of the XIII-XV centuries, meanwhile, there was no particular difference between the Mongols and the Turks. There were just those villains of oriental appearance, speaking an incomprehensible language, who came on horseback to collect tribute, and periodically staged raids. He continued to call them the word under which the information about the Mongols was initially horrified in all the surrounding countries.
After Golden Horde nevertheless, it fell apart, for a Russian person, the Turks on horseback, professing Islam, with whom they had to fight as they overcame the next khanate, all the same were "Tatars". Moreover, horsemen who believed in Allah, speaking in dialects indistinguishable to the Slavic ear, did indeed appear from the Crimea and Western Siberia. And then, as the country expands and creates Russian Empire, the rule spread to almost all Turkic peoples. Roman wrote: “In general, “Tatars” in Russian is something like “Germans” (those who do not speak an understandable language, that is, “dumb”, incapable of speaking humanly), this is not the name of any particular people, A general term for "foreign", nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes from somewhere in the East." - but after all, Tatars were also called, for example, not at all nomadic Azerbaijanis - "Transcaucasian Tatars." literature XIX century, associated with the Caucasus). Karachays - "Mountain Tatars", Nogais - "Nogai Tatars", Khakasses - "Abakan Tatars", etc. In the story "The Enchanted Wanderer" by N. Leskov, the Tatars mean the Kazakhs. Even though few of them called themselves that, and the differences between, say, Karachays and Chulyms are huge.
Historically, several peoples nevertheless perceived the word as official name ethnic group: Volga Tatars, Crimean Tatars, and Siberian Tatars. And then, it finally happened only in the XX century.
So, initially, we can say that when the Mongols only invaded the territory of the Russian principalities, there were no Tatars either in the original (the exterminated Mongol tribe), or in the subsequent sense, among them. But when the state Ulus Jochi appeared - the Golden Horde, through which, first of all, the so-called yoke was carried out, the majority of the population very quickly became Tatars there.
I will supplement the previous excellent answer by Roman Khmelevsky with a remark to the second part of your question. The fact is that the term "yoke" is the traditional name for the system of relationships that developed between the ulus of Jochi and the Russian principalities in the 13th-15th centuries. At the same time, the term itself has a relatively late origin and was first used by the Polish chronicler Jan Dlugosz in the 15th century. In Russia, the term "yoke" appears no earlier than the middle of the 17th century, and the very expression "Mongol- Tatar yoke" was first used in 1817 by the German author Christian Kruse in the Atlas of European History. Thus, to designate medieval state nomadic Mongols, the term "yoke" is not applicable, it is used only to refer to the prevailing between them and ancient Russian lands relations (and at present the correctness of its use - not the phenomenon itself, but the term "yoke" - has been called into question).
As for the term "Golden Horde", it's a bit more complicated. Traditionally, this name is used in historiography to designate public education nomadic Mongols, which existed since the 30s. XIII approximately to the end of the XV century. The word "horde" is of Turkic origin (from ordu - a fortified military camp) and at that time it meant the khan's headquarters, the place of residence of the commander in chief. It was first used by Ibn Battuta, an Arab traveler of the XIV century - this is how he called the golden tent of Khan Uzbek. It quickly took root, especially since it was quite appropriate in the context of the Mongolian tradition to designate the main and secondary headquarters of the khans. So, after the conquest of the territories included in the Juchi ulus (the inheritance of the eldest son of Genghis Khan, who was supposed to conquer it for himself), it was divided into several inheritances, which were headed by the grandchildren of Genghis - Batu’s part was called the White Horde, and part of his older brother was called the Blue Horde (in the Mongolian tradition, white denoted the west, blue - the east). But they themselves did not call their state, which had separated from the great khan by the middle of the 13th century, the Golden Horde - they simply called it "ulus", the state, adding various epithets to it (the word "ulug", great, or the name of an acting or famous in the past khan). Nevertheless, the name "Golden Horde" seems to be correct, because. long accepted in historical science. One can draw a parallel with Byzantium - this state itself was never called that (although this name was sometimes used by the Romans for the sublime naming of Constantinople), but in modern historiography this designation is most common for the Eastern Roman Empire, and even the very science of it is called Byzantine studies.
I agree with the author above. With the Tatars among the Mongols, the topic is very muddy. But in short, it goes like this:
There were Mongols, there were Tatars. There was a man named Yesigei, who at first simply fought with his brave horsemen, then decided to unite all the territories north of China, inhabited by nomads, whom the Chinese themselves called "black Mongols", while the "whites" assimilated in the northern provinces. And inside the black Mongols there was a distribution directly to the Mongols and those who are commonly called Tatars. And so the brave Yesigei Baatur with his allies killed all the enemies, including the Tatars, and united Mongolia for the first time in history. But the then Mongolian savages did not know the word "honor", and very soon Yesigei, who spent the night with the Tatars on the way home, was poisoned. Then the hunt for his family began, but now the main thing for us is that a boy named Temujin survived, who saw how the Tatars cut everything he loved. Then he grew up, found those who remained faithful to his father and declared war on the Tatars, whom he considered guilty (rightly) of the death of his father. Everything was decided in one big battle, at night, when Temujin managed to defeat the united Tatar army and took many soldiers prisoner. You yourself understand that it is better not to give exact figures here, because everything will be a lie. So Temujin became Genghis Khan, and the Tatars were forcibly poured into the Mongol army.
What did I lead all this to? I led this to the fact that, according to Mongolian military traditions, prisoners always marched as infantry in the forefront and died very quickly, because death awaited them on both sides: both in front and behind the Mongols, if they decided to retreat. So we can safely say that by the campaign of the grandson of Genghis Khan Batu to Rus' and Europe, there were few original Tatars in the army, and those that remained, with long service and loyalty, achieved commanding ranks among the Mongols and finally assimilated among their conquerors.
It's a complex and confusing story. Firstly, the "Tatars" in the "Tatar-Mongol yoke" are, in general, not at all the same "Tatars" that are in present-day Kazan and Tatarstan, and this creates the first confusion. The Tatars in Tatarstan are more likely the descendants of the population of the Volga Bulgaria, partly the Polovtsy, they have always lived there on the Volga, and have nothing to do with the Mongol tribes (although, of course, there has been a lot, since then, a lot, like everywhere). During the period of the Golden Horde (Ulus Jushi), these Tatars, like many other peoples, were part of it.
Those "Tatars" who are "Mongol-Tatars" - it was a Mongol tribe, subjugated at one time by Genghis Khan (Temuchin), and, in the process of subjugation, practically destroyed and assimilated (there is a long story why so, they killed Temuchin's father and he took revenge ).
In general, "Tatars" in Russian is something like "Germans" (those who do not speak an understandable language, that is, "dumb", incapable of speaking humanly), this is not the name of a particular people, but a general term for "foreign", nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes from somewhere in the East.2. Tatars even before Genghis Khan were numerous and made up tribal associations otuz Tatars (thirty Tatar tribes) Tokuz Tatars (nine Tatar tribes). This is written on the monument to Kul-Tegin - Turkic commander. There is no evidence that Genghis Khan destroyed all 39 Tatar tribes.
3. The Tatars were Türkic-speaking - on the monument to Kul-Tegin they are described as Türks. Later, mingling with the Mongol-speaking peoples, they adopted their language.
4. The Mongols of the Middle Ages are mostly Turks and they have nothing to do with modern Mongols (Khalkha). The fact that Genghis Khan was a Khalkha Mongol can be successfully refuted on the grounds that he did not speak Mongolian, but Tatar. This is evidenced by the story of the Flemish monk - the Franciscan Guillaume de Rubruk, who at one time visited the headquarters of Batu Khan. Rubruk retells a widespread parable of the time. An Arab who came to the headquarters of Mengu Khan (one of the grandsons of the Shaker of the Universe) began to describe his dream to him, saying that he dreamed of Genghis Khan, who demanded that Muslims in his possessions be executed everywhere.
And then Mengu Khan asked the Arab: “What language did my illustrious ancestor speak to you?” "In Arabic," was the answer. “So you’re all lying,” Mengu Khan was angry. “My ancestor didn’t know any other language except Tatar.”
And the same story almost one to one leads in his "Collection of Chronicles" and Rashid-ad-Din.
Answer
Comment
The Mongol-Tatar yoke is the dependent position of the Russian principalities on the states of the Mongol-Tatars for two hundred years from the beginning of the Mongol-Tatar invasion in 1237 to 1480. It was expressed in the political and economic subordination of the Russian princes from the rulers of the first Mongol Empire, and after its collapse - the Golden Horde.Mongolo-Tatars are all nomadic peoples living in the Trans-Volga region and further to the East, with whom Rus' fought in the 13th-15th centuries. Named after one of the tribes
“In 1224 an unknown people appeared; an unheard-of army came, godless Tatars, about whom no one knows very well who they are and where they came from, and what kind of language they have, and what tribe they are, and what faith they have ... "
(I. Brekov “The World of History: Russian Lands in the 13th-15th Centuries”)
Mongol-Tatar invasion
- 1206 - Congress of the Mongol nobility (kurultai), at which Temujin was elected leader of the Mongol tribes, who received the name Genghis Khan (Great Khan)
- 1219 - Beginning of the three-year aggressive campaign Genghis Khan to Central Asia
- 1223, May 31 - The first battle of the Mongols and the combined Russian-Polovtsian army near the borders of Kievan Rus, on the Kalka River, near the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov
- 1227 - Death of Genghis Khan. Power in the Mongolian state passed to his grandson Batu (Batu Khan)
- 1237 - The beginning of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. The Batu army crossed the Volga in its middle course and invaded the borders of North-Eastern Rus'
- 1237, December 21 - Ryazan is taken by the Tatars
- 1238, January - Kolomna is taken
- February 7, 1238 - Vladimir is taken
- February 8, 1238 - Suzdal is taken
- 1238, March 4 - Pal Torzhok
- 1238, March 5 - The battle of the squad of Moscow Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich with the Tatars near the Sit River. The death of Prince Yuri
- 1238, May - Capture of Kozelsk
- 1239-1240 - Batu's army encamped in the Don steppe
- 1240 - Devastation by the Mongols of Pereyaslavl, Chernigov
- 1240, December 6 - Kyiv destroyed
- 1240, end of December - The Russian principalities of Volhynia and Galicia are destroyed
- 1241 - Batu's army returned to Mongolia
- 1243 - Formation of the Golden Horde, the state from the Danube to the Irtysh, with the capital Saray in the lower reaches of the Volga
The Russian principalities retained statehood, but were subject to tribute. In total, there were 14 types of tribute, including directly in favor of the Khan - 1300 kg of silver per year. In addition, the khans of the Golden Horde reserved the right to appoint or overthrow the princes of Moscow, who were supposed to receive a label in Sarai for a great reign. The power of the Horde over Russia lasted more than two centuries. It was a time of complex political games, when the Russian princes either united with each other for the sake of some momentary benefits, or were at enmity, while at the same time attracting the Mongol detachments as allies with might and main. A significant role in the politics of that time was played by the Polish-Lithuanian state that arose near the western borders of Rus', Sweden, the German knightly orders in the Baltic states, and the free republics of Novgorod and Pskov. Creating alliances with each other and against each other, with the Russian principalities, the Golden Horde, they waged endless wars
In the first decades of the fourteenth century, the rise of the Moscow principality began, which gradually became the political center and collector of Russian lands.
August 11, 1378 Moscow army Prince Dmitry defeated the Mongols in the battle on the Vazha River On September 8, 1380, the Moscow army of Prince Dmitry defeated the Mongols in the battle on the Kulikovo field. And although in 1382 Mongolian khan Tokhtamysh plundered and burned Moscow, the myth of the invincibility of the Tatars collapsed. Gradually, the state of the Golden Horde itself fell into decay. It split into the khanates of Siberia, Uzbek, Kazan (1438), Crimean (1443), Kazakh, Astrakhan (1459), Nogai Horde. Of all the tributaries, only Rus' remained with the Tatars, but she also periodically rebelled. In 1408, the Moscow prince Vasily I refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde, after which Khan Edigey made a devastating campaign, robbing Pereyaslavl, Rostov, Dmitrov, Serpukhov, Nizhny Novgorod. In 1451, Moscow Prince Vasily the Dark again refuses to pay. The raids of the Tatars are fruitless. Finally, in 1480, Prince Ivan III officially refused to submit to the Horde. The Mongol-Tatar yoke ended.
Lev Gumilyov about the Tatar-Mongol yoke
- “The army of Batu, who opposed the Polovtsy, with whom the Mongols had been at war since 1216, in 1237-1238 passed through Rus' to the rear of the Polovtsy, and forced them to flee to Hungary. At the same time, Ryazan and fourteen cities in the Vladimir principality were destroyed. In total, there were about three hundred cities there at that time. The Mongols did not leave garrisons anywhere, they did not impose tribute on anyone, being content with indemnities, horses and food, which was done in those days by any army during the offensive "
- (As a result) “Great Russia, then called Zalessky Ukraine, voluntarily united with the Horde, thanks to the efforts of Alexander Nevsky, who became the adopted son of Batu. And the primordial Ancient Rus' - Belarus, Kiev region, Galicia with Volhynia - almost without resistance submitted to Lithuania and Poland. And now, around Moscow - the "golden belt" of ancient cities, which remained intact under the "yoke", and in Belarus and Galicia there were not even traces of Russian culture left. Novgorod was defended from the German knights by Tatar help in 1269. And where the Tatar help was neglected, everyone lost. In the place of Yuryev - Derpt, now Tartu, in the place of Kolyvan - Revol, now Tallinn; Riga closed the river route along the Dvina for Russian trade; Berdichev and Bratslav - Polish castles - blocked the roads to the "Wild Field", once the fatherland of Russian princes, thereby taking control of Ukraine. In 1340 Rus' disappeared from political map Europe. It was revived in 1480 in Moscow, on the eastern outskirts of former Rus'. And its core, ancient Kievan Rus, captured by Poland and oppressed, had to be saved in the 18th century "
- “I believe that Batu’s“ invasion ”was actually a big raid, a cavalry raid, and further developments have only an indirect connection with this campaign. IN Ancient Rus' the word "yoke" meant something that fastens something, a bridle or collar. It also existed in the meaning of a burden, that is, something that is carried. The word “yoke” in the meaning of “domination”, “oppression” was first recorded only under Peter I. The Union of Moscow and the Horde was kept as long as it was mutually beneficial”
The term "Tatar yoke" originates in Russian historiography, as well as the provision about his overthrow by Ivan III, from Nikolai Karamzin, who used it as an artistic epithet in the original meaning of “a collar worn around the neck” (“they bowed the neck under the yoke of the barbarians”), possibly borrowing this term from the Polish author XVI century Maciej Miechowski
Rus' under the Mongol-Tatar yoke existed in an extremely humiliating way. She was completely subjugated both politically and economically. Therefore, the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus', the date of standing on the Ugra River - 1480, is perceived as major event in our history. Although Rus' became politically independent, the payment of tribute in a smaller amount continued until the time of Peter the Great. The complete end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke is the year 1700, when Peter the Great canceled payments to the Crimean khans.
Mongolian army
In the XII century, the Mongol nomads united under the rule of the cruel and cunning ruler Temujin. He mercilessly suppressed all obstacles to unlimited power and created a unique army that won victory after victory. He, creating a great empire, was called by his nobility Genghis Khan.
Having conquered East Asia, the Mongol troops reached the Caucasus and Crimea. They destroyed the Alans and Polovtsians. The remnants of the Polovtsians turned to Rus' for help.
First meeting
There were 20 or 30 thousand soldiers in the Mongol army, it has not been precisely established. They were led by Jebe and Subedei. They stopped at the Dnieper. Meanwhile, Khotyan was persuading the Galich prince Mstislav Udaly to oppose the invasion of the terrible cavalry. He was joined by Mstislav of Kiev and Mstislav of Chernigov. According to various sources, the general Russian army consisted of 10 to 100 thousand people. The military council took place on the banks of the Kalka River. A unified plan was not developed. performed alone. He was supported only by the remnants of the Polovtsy, but during the battle they fled. The princes of Galicia who did not support the princes still had to fight the Mongols who attacked their fortified camp.
The battle lasted for three days. Only by cunning and a promise not to take anyone prisoner did the Mongols enter the camp. But they did not keep their words. The Mongols tied the Russian governor and the prince alive and covered them with boards and sat on them and began to feast on the victory, enjoying the groans of the dying. So they died in agony Kyiv prince and his environment. The year was 1223. The Mongols, without going into details, went back to Asia. They will return in thirteen years. And all these years in Rus' there was a fierce squabble between the princes. It completely undermined the forces of the Southwestern Principalities.
Invasion
The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu, with a huge army of half a million, having conquered the Polovtsian lands in the south in the east, approached the Russian principalities in December 1237. His tactic was not to give a big battle, but to attack individual units, breaking them all one by one. Approaching the southern borders of the Ryazan principality, the Tatars demanded tribute from him in an ultimatum: a tenth of the horses, people and princes. In Ryazan, three thousand soldiers were barely recruited. They sent for help to Vladimir, but no help came. After six days of siege, Ryazan was taken.
The inhabitants were destroyed, the city was destroyed. It was the beginning. The end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke will take place in two hundred and forty difficult years. Kolomna was next. There, the Russian army was almost all killed. Moscow lies in ashes. But before that, someone who dreamed of returning to his native places buried it in a treasure trove of silver jewelry. It was found by chance when construction was underway in the Kremlin in the 90s of the XX century. Vladimir was next. The Mongols spared neither women nor children and destroyed the city. Then Torzhok fell. But spring came, and, fearing a mudslide, the Mongols moved south. Northern swampy Rus' did not interest them. But the defending tiny Kozelsk stood in the way. For nearly two months, the city resisted fiercely. But reinforcements came to the Mongols with wall-beating machines, and the city was taken. All the defenders were cut out and left no stone unturned from the town. So, the whole North-Eastern Rus' by 1238 lay in ruins. And who can doubt whether there was a Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus'? From short description it follows that there were wonderful good neighborly relations, right?
Southwestern Rus'
Her turn came in 1239. Pereyaslavl, Chernihiv Principality, Kyiv, Vladimir-Volynsky, Galich - everything is destroyed, not to mention smaller cities and villages and villages. And how far is the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke! How much horror and destruction brought its beginning. The Mongols went to Dalmatia and Croatia. Western Europe trembled.
However, news from distant Mongolia forced the invaders to turn back. And they didn’t have enough strength to go back. Europe was saved. But our Motherland, lying in ruins, bleeding, did not know when the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke would come.
Rus' under the yoke
Who suffered the most from the Mongol invasion? Peasants? Yes, the Mongols did not spare them. But they could hide in the woods. Townspeople? Certainly. There were 74 cities in Rus', and 49 of them were destroyed by Batu, and 14 were never restored. Artisans were turned into slaves and exported. There was no continuity of skills in crafts, and the craft fell into decay. They forgot how to pour dishes from glass, cook glass for making windows, there were no multi-colored ceramics and decorations with cloisonne enamel. Stonemasons and carvers disappeared, and stone construction was suspended for 50 years. But it was hardest of all for those who repelled the attack with weapons in their hands - the feudal lords and combatants. Of the 12 princes of Ryazan, three survived, of the 3 of Rostov - one, of the 9 of Suzdal - 4. And no one counted the losses in the squads. And there were no less of them. professionals in military service replaced by other people who are used to being pushed around. So the princes began to have full power. This process later, when the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke comes, will deepen and lead to the unlimited power of the monarch.
Russian princes and the Golden Horde
After 1242, Rus' fell under the complete political and economic oppression of the Horde. So that the prince could legally inherit his throne, he had to go with gifts to the "free king", as our princes of khans called it, in the capital of the Horde. It took quite a long time to be there. Khan slowly considered the lowest requests. The whole procedure turned into a chain of humiliations, and after much deliberation, sometimes many months, the khan gave a "label", that is, permission to reign. So, one of our princes, having come to Batu, called himself a serf in order to keep his possessions.
It was necessary to stipulate the tribute that the principality would pay. At any moment, the khan could summon the prince to the Horde and even execute the objectionable in it. The Horde pursued a special policy with the princes, diligently inflating their strife. The disunity of the princes and their principalities played into the hands of the Mongols. The Horde itself gradually became a colossus with feet of clay. Centrifugal moods intensified in her. But that will be much later. And in the beginning its unity is strong. After the death of Alexander Nevsky, his sons fiercely hate each other and fiercely fight for the throne of Vladimir. Conditionally reigning in Vladimir gave the prince seniority over all the others. In addition, a decent allotment of land was attached to those who bring money to the treasury. And for the great reign of Vladimir in the Horde, a struggle flared up between the princes, it happened to the death. This is how Rus' lived under the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The troops of the Horde practically did not stand in it. But in case of disobedience, punitive troops could always come and start cutting and burning everything.
Rise of Moscow
The bloody strife of the Russian princes among themselves led to the fact that the period from 1275 to 1300 Mongol troops came to Rus' 15 times. Many principalities emerged from the strife weakened, people fled from them to more peaceful places. Such a quiet principality turned out to be a small Moscow. It went to the inheritance of the younger Daniel. He reigned from the age of 15 and led a cautious policy, trying not to quarrel with his neighbors, because he was too weak. And the Horde didn't pay close attention to him. Thus, an impetus was given to the development of trade and enrichment in this lot.
Immigrants from troubled places poured into it. Daniel eventually managed to annex Kolomna and Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, increasing his principality. His sons, after his death, continued the relatively quiet policy of their father. Only the princes of Tver saw them as potential rivals and tried, fighting for the Great reign in Vladimir, to spoil Moscow's relations with the Horde. This hatred reached the point that when the Moscow prince and the prince of Tver were simultaneously summoned to the Horde, Dmitry of Tver stabbed Yuri of Moscow to death. For such arbitrariness, he was executed by the Horde.
Ivan Kalita and "great silence"
The fourth son of Prince Daniel, it seemed, had no chance of the Moscow throne. But his older brothers died, and he began to reign in Moscow. By the will of fate, he also became the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Under him and his sons, the Mongol raids on Russian lands stopped. Moscow and the people in it grew rich. Cities grew, their population increased. In North-Eastern Rus', a whole generation has grown up that has ceased to tremble at the mention of the Mongols. This brought the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus' closer.
Dmitry Donskoy
By the time of the birth of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich in 1350, Moscow was already turning into the center of the political, cultural and religious life of the northeast. The grandson of Ivan Kalita lived a short, 39 years old, but bright life. He spent it in battles, but now it is important to dwell on the great battle with Mamai, which took place in 1380 on the Nepryadva River. By this time, Prince Dmitry had defeated the punitive Mongol detachment between Ryazan and Kolomna. Mamai began to prepare a new campaign against Rus'. Dmitry, having learned about this, in turn began to gather strength to fight back. Not all princes responded to his call. The prince had to turn to Sergius of Radonezh for help in order to assemble the people's militia. And having received the blessing of the holy elder and two monks, at the end of the summer he gathered a militia and moved towards the huge army of Mamai.
September 8 at dawn took place great battle. Dmitry fought in the forefront, was wounded, he was found with difficulty. But the Mongols were defeated and fled. Dmitry returned with a victory. But the time has not yet come when the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus' will come. History says that another hundred years will pass under the yoke.
Strengthening Rus'
Moscow became the center of the unification of Russian lands, but not all princes agreed to accept this fact. Dmitry's son, Vasily I, ruled for a long time, 36 years, and relatively calmly. He defended the Russian lands from the encroachments of the Lithuanians, annexed Suzdal and the Horde weakened, and it was considered less and less. Vasily visited the Horde only twice in his life. But even within Rus' there was no unity. Riots broke out without end. Even at the wedding of Prince Vasily II, a scandal erupted. One of the guests was wearing Dmitry Donskoy's golden belt. When the bride found out about this, she publicly tore it off, causing an insult. But the belt was not just a jewel. He was a symbol of the great princely power. During the reign of Vasily II (1425-1453) there were feudal wars. The prince of Moscow was captured, blinded, his whole face was wounded, and for the rest of his life he wore a bandage on his face and received the nickname "Dark". However, this strong-willed prince was released, and the young Ivan became his co-ruler, who, after the death of his father, would become the liberator of the country and receive the nickname Great.
The end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus'
In 1462, the legitimate ruler Ivan III took the throne of Moscow, who would become a reformer and reformer. He carefully and prudently united the Russian lands. He annexed Tver, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Perm, and even the obstinate Novgorod recognized him as sovereign. He made the emblem of the double-headed Byzantine eagle, began to build the Kremlin. That is how we know him. From 1476, Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Horde. A beautiful but untruthful legend tells how it happened. Having accepted the Horde embassy, Grand Duke trampled on the Basma and sent a warning to the Horde that the same would happen to them if they did not leave his country alone. Enraged Khan Ahmed, having gathered a large army, moved to Moscow, wanting to punish her for her disobedience. Approximately 150 km from Moscow, near the Ugra River on the Kaluga lands, two troops stood opposite in autumn. Russian was headed by the son of Vasily, Ivan Molodoy.
Ivan III returned to Moscow and began to carry out deliveries for the army - food, fodder. So the troops stood opposite each other until the early winter approached with starvation and buried all the plans of Ahmed. The Mongols turned around and left for the Horde, admitting defeat. So the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke happened bloodlessly. Its date - 1480 - is a great event in our history.
The meaning of the fall of the yoke
Having suspended the political, economic and cultural development of Rus' for a long time, the yoke pushed the country to the back European history. When in Western Europe The Renaissance began and flourished in all areas, when the national self-consciousness of peoples took shape, when countries grew rich and flourished in trade, sent a fleet in search of new lands, there was darkness in Rus'. Columbus discovered America in 1492. For Europeans, the Earth grew rapidly. For us, the end of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus' marked the opportunity to get out of the narrow medieval framework, change laws, reform the army, build cities and develop new lands. And in short, Rus' gained independence and began to be called Russia.
Most history textbooks say that in the XIII-XV centuries Rus' suffered from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. However, in Lately more and more often there are voices of those who doubt that the invasion took place at all? Did the huge hordes of nomads really flood the peaceful principalities, enslaving their inhabitants? Let's analyze historical facts, many of which may be shocking.
The yoke was invented by the Poles
The term "Mongol-Tatar yoke" itself was coined by Polish authors. The chronicler and diplomat Jan Dlugosh in 1479 called the time of the existence of the Golden Horde so. He was followed in 1517 by the historian Matvey Mekhovsky, who worked at the University of Krakow. This interpretation of the relationship between Rus' and the Mongol conquerors was quickly picked up in Western Europe, and from there it was borrowed by domestic historians.
Moreover, there were practically no Tatars in the Horde troops themselves. It’s just that in Europe they knew the name of this Asian people well, and therefore it spread to the Mongols. Meanwhile, Genghis Khan tried to exterminate the entire Tatar tribe by defeating their army in 1202.
The first census of the population of Rus'
The first census in the history of Rus' was carried out by representatives of the Horde. They had to collect accurate information about the inhabitants of each principality, about their class affiliation. The main reason for such an interest in statistics on the part of the Mongols was the need to calculate the amount of taxes that were levied on subjects.
In 1246, the census took place in Kyiv and Chernigov, the Ryazan principality was subjected to statistical analysis in 1257, the Novgorodians were counted two years later, and the population of the Smolensk region - in 1275.
Moreover, the inhabitants of Rus' raised popular uprisings and drove out from their land the so-called "besermen", who collected tribute for the khans of Mongolia. But the governors of the rulers of the Golden Horde, called Baskaks, lived and worked in the Russian principalities for a long time, sending the collected taxes to Saray-Batu, and later to Saray-Berka.
Joint trips
The princely squads and the Horde warriors often made joint military campaigns, both against other Russians and against the inhabitants of Eastern Europe. So, in the period 1258-1287, the troops of the Mongols and Galician princes regularly attacked Poland, Hungary and Lithuania. And in 1277, the Russians participated in the military campaign of the Mongols in the North Caucasus, helping their allies conquer Alania.
In 1333 Muscovites stormed Novgorod, and the following year the Bryansk squad went to Smolensk. Each time, the Horde troops also participated in these internecine wars. In addition, they regularly helped the great princes of Tver, who were considered at that time the main rulers of Rus', to pacify the recalcitrant neighboring lands.
The basis of the horde was the Russians
The Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited the city of Saray-Berke in 1334, wrote in his essay “A Gift to those who contemplate the wonders of cities and the wonders of wanderings” that there are many Russians in the capital of the Golden Horde. Moreover, they make up the bulk of the population: both working and armed.
This fact was also mentioned by the white émigré author Andrei Gordeev in the book “History of the Cossacks”, which was published in France in the late 20s of the twentieth century. According to the researcher, most of the Horde troops were the so-called wanderers - ethnic Slavs who inhabited the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov and the Don steppes. These predecessors of the Cossacks did not want to obey the princes, so they moved south for the sake of a free life. The name of this ethno-social group probably comes from the Russian word "roam" (to wander).
As is known from chronicles, in the Battle of Kalka in 1223, roamers fought on the side of the Mongol troops, led by the voivode Ploskynya. Perhaps his knowledge of the tactics and strategy of the princely squads had great importance to defeat the combined Russian-Polovtsian forces.
In addition, it was Ploskinya who lured the ruler of Kyiv, Mstislav Romanovich, along with two Turov-Pinsk princes, by cunning, and handed them over to the Mongols for execution.
However, most historians believe that the Mongols forced the Russians to serve in their army, i.e. the invaders forcibly armed the representatives of the enslaved people. Although this seems unlikely.
And Marina Poluboyarinova, a senior researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in her book “Russian people in the Golden Horde” (Moscow, 1978) suggested: “Probably, the forced participation of Russian soldiers in the Tatar army stopped later. There were mercenaries who had already voluntarily entered into Tatar troops».
Caucasian Invaders
Yesugei-bagatur, the father of Genghis Khan, was a representative of the Borjigin clan of the Mongolian tribe Kiyat. According to the descriptions of many eyewitnesses, both he himself and his legendary son were tall fair-skinned people with reddish hair.
The Persian scholar Rashid-ad-Din in his work "Collection of Chronicles" (beginning of the 14th century) wrote that all the descendants of the great conqueror were mostly blond and gray-eyed.
This means that the elite of the Golden Horde belonged to the Caucasians. Probably, representatives of this race also predominated among other invaders.
There were few
We are accustomed to believe that in the XIII century, Rus' was filled with countless hordes of Mongol-Tatars. Some historians speak of a 500,000-strong army. However, it is not. After all, even the population of modern Mongolia barely exceeds 3 million people, and given the brutal genocide of fellow tribesmen committed by Genghis Khan on the way to power, the size of his army could not be so impressive.
It is difficult to imagine how to feed the half-million army, which also traveled on horseback. Animals simply would not have enough pasture. But each Mongolian horseman led at least three horses with him. Now imagine a herd of 1.5 million. The horses of the warriors riding in the vanguard of the army would have eaten and trampled everything they could. The rest of the horses would die of starvation.
According to the most daring estimates, the army of Genghis Khan and Batu could not exceed 30 thousand horsemen. While the population of Ancient Rus', according to the historian Georgy Vernadsky (1887-1973), before the start of the invasion was about 7.5 million people.
Bloodless executions
The Mongols, like most peoples of that time, executed people who were not noble or respected by cutting off their heads. However, if the sentenced person enjoyed authority, then his spine was broken and left to die slowly.
The Mongols were sure that blood is the seat of the soul. Shedding it means complicating the afterlife of the deceased to other worlds. Bloodless execution was applied to rulers, political and military figures, shamans.
The reason for the death sentence in the Golden Horde could be any crime: from desertion from the battlefield to petty theft.
The bodies of the dead were thrown into the steppes
The method of burial of the Mongol also directly depended on his social status. Rich and influential people found peace in special burials, in which valuables, gold and silver jewelry, and household items were buried along with the bodies of the dead. And the poor and ordinary soldiers who died in battle were often simply left in the steppe, where their life path ended.
In the disturbing conditions of a nomadic life, consisting of regular skirmishes with enemies, it was difficult to arrange funeral rites. The Mongols often had to move on quickly, without delay.
It was believed that the corpse of a worthy person would be quickly eaten by scavengers and vultures. But if the birds and animals did not touch the body for a long time, according to popular beliefs, this meant that a serious sin was registered behind the soul of the deceased.
