3.2. Mongol-Tatar invasion and its consequences At the end of the 12th century. A powerful Mongol-Tatar state was formed in the steppes of Central Asia. The struggle for power between tribal leaders brought victory to Temujin, who, under the name of Genghis Khan, was proclaimed

Most history textbooks say that in the 13th-15th centuries Rus' suffered from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. However, in Lately More and more often are the voices of those who doubt that the invasion took place at all? Did huge hordes of nomads really surge into 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 Dlugosz in 1479 called the time of existence of the Golden Horde this way. He was followed in 1517 by the historian Matvey Miechowski, 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 themselves in the Horde troops. It’s just that in Europe the name of this Asian people was well known, and therefore it spread to the Mongols. Meanwhile, Genghis Khan tried to exterminate the entire Tatar tribe, defeating their army in 1202.

The first census of Rus'

The first population 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 and their class affiliation. The main reason Such interest in statistics on the part of the Mongols was due to the need to calculate the amount of taxes imposed on their subjects.

In 1246, a 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 the so-called “besermen” from their land, who were collecting tribute for the khans of Mongolia. But the governors of the rulers of the Golden Horde, called Baskaks, lived and worked for a long time in the Russian principalities, sending collected taxes to Sarai-Batu, and later to Sarai-Berke.

Joint hikes

Princely squads and Horde warriors often carried out joint military campaigns, both against other Russians and against residents of Eastern Europe. Thus, in the period 1258-1287, the troops of the Mongols and Galician princes regularly attacked Poland, Hungary and Lithuania. And in 1277, the Russians took part in the Mongol military campaign in the North Caucasus, helping their allies conquer Alanya.

In 1333, Muscovites stormed Novgorod, and the next year the Bryansk squad marched on Smolensk. Each time, Horde troops also took part in these internecine battles. In addition, they regularly helped the great princes of Tver, considered at that time the main rulers of Rus', to pacify the rebellious neighboring lands.

The basis of the horde were Russians

The Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited the city of Saray-Berke in 1334, wrote in his essay “A Gift to Those Contemplating the Wonders of Cities and the Wonders of Travel” 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 20th century. According to the researcher, most of the Horde troops were the so-called wanderers - ethnic Slavs, inhabited the Azov region and the Don steppes. These predecessors of the Cossacks did not want to obey the princes, so they moved to the south for the sake of a free life. The name of this ethnosocial group probably comes from the Russian word “wander” (wander).

As is known from chronicle sources, in the Battle of Kalka in 1223, the Brodniks, led by the governor Ploskyna, fought on the side of the Mongol troops. Perhaps his knowledge of the tactics and strategy of the princely squads had great importance to defeat the united Russian-Polovtsian forces.

In addition, it was Ploskynya who, by cunning, lured out the ruler of Kyiv, Mstislav Romanovich, along with two Turov-Pinsk princes and handed them over to the Mongols for execution.

However, most historians believe that the Mongols forced Russians to serve in their army, i.e. the invaders forcibly armed representatives of the enslaved people. Although this seems implausible.

And a senior researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Marina Poluboyarinova, in the book “Russian People in the Golden Horde” (Moscow, 1978) suggested: “Probably, the forced participation of Russian soldiers in the Tatar army later ceased. There were mercenaries left who had already voluntarily joined the Tatar troops.”

Caucasian invaders

Yesugei-Baghatur, the father of Genghis Khan, was a representative of the Borjigin clan of the Mongolian Kiyat tribe. According to the descriptions of many eyewitnesses, both he 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 XIV c.) 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 Caucasians. It is likely that representatives of this race predominated among other invaders.

There weren't many of them

We are accustomed to believe that in the 13th century Rus' was invaded by countless hordes of Mongol-Tatars. Some historians talk about 500,000 troops. However, it is not. After all, even the population of modern Mongolia barely exceeds 3 million people, and if we take into account the brutal genocide of fellow tribesmen committed by Genghis Khan on his way to power, the size of his army could not be so impressive.

It is difficult to imagine how to feed an army of half a million, moreover, traveling on horses. The animals simply would not have enough pasture. But each Mongolian horseman brought with him at least three horses. Now imagine a herd of 1.5 million. The horses of the warriors riding at the forefront of the army would eat and trample everything they could. The rest of the horses would have starved to death.

According to the most daring estimates, the army of Genghis Khan and Batu could not have exceeded 30 thousand horsemen. While the population Ancient Rus', according to the historian Georgy Vernadsky (1887-1973), before the invasion there were about 7.5 million people.

Bloodless executions

The Mongols, like most peoples of that time, executed people who were not noble or disrespected by cutting off their heads. However, if the condemned person enjoyed authority, then his spine was broken and left to slowly die.

The Mongols were sure that blood was the seat of the soul. To shed it means to complicate the afterlife path of the deceased to other worlds. Bloodless execution was applied to rulers, political and military figures, and shamans.

The reason for a 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 steppe

The method of burial of a 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 killed in battle were often simply left in the steppe, where their life’s journey ended.

In troubled conditions 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 worthy person will be quickly eaten by scavengers and vultures. But if birds and animals did not touch the body for a long time, according to popular beliefs, this meant that the soul of the deceased had a grave sin.

The myth of the Mongol-Tatar yoke it is so firmly embedded in the consciousness of each of us by official historiography that it is extremely difficult to prove that there really was no yoke. But I'll try anyway. At the same time, I will not use speculative statements, but facts cited in his books by the great historian Lev Nikolaevich Gumilyov.

Let's start with the fact that the ancient Russians themselves were not familiar with the word “yoke”. It was first used in a letter from the Zaporozhye Cossacks to Peter I, containing a complaint against one of the governors.

Further. Historical facts indicate that the Mongols never intended to conquer Rus'. The appearance of the Mongols in Rus' is associated with their war with the Cumans, whom the Mongols, ensuring the security of their borders, drove beyond the Carpathians. For this reason, a deep cavalry raid through Rus' was carried out. But the Mongols did not annex Russian lands to their state and did not leave garrisons in the cities.

Without critically perceiving the anti-Mongol chronicles, historians claim terrible devastation caused by the Tatars, but cannot explain why churches in Vladimir, Kyiv and many other cities were not destroyed and have survived to this day.

Little is known that Alexander Nevsky was the adopted son of Khan Batu. It is even less known that it was the alliance of Alexander Nevsky with Batu, and subsequently with Batu’s son Berku, that stopped the onslaught of the crusaders on Rus'. Alexander's treaty with the Mongols was, in fact, a military-political alliance, and the “tribute” was a contribution to the general treasury for the maintenance of the army.

It is also little known that Batu (Batu) emerged victorious from the confrontation with another Mongol khan, Guyuk, largely thanks to the support he received from the sons of Grand Duke Yaroslav - Alexander Nevsky and Andrei. This support was dictated by deep political calculations. From the beginning of the 13th century Catholic Church began a crusade against the Orthodox: Greeks and Russians. In 1204, the Crusaders captured the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople. Latvians and Estonians were conquered and turned into serfs. A similar fate awaited Rus', but Alexander Nevsky managed to defeat the crusaders in 1240 on the Neva, in 1242 on Lake Peipsi and thereby stop the first onslaught. But the war continued, and in order to have reliable allies, Alexander fraternized with Batu’s son, Spartacus, and received Mongolian troops to fight the Germans. This union survived even after the death of Alexander Nevsky. In 1269, the Germans, having learned about the appearance of a Mongol detachment in Novgorod, sued for peace: “The Germans, having made peace according to the entire will of Novgorod, were extremely afraid of the name of the Tatar.” Thus, thanks to the support of the Mongols, the Russian land was saved from the invasion of the Crusaders.

It should be noted that the first so-called Mongol campaign against Rus' was in 1237, and the Russian princes began to pay tribute only twenty years later, when the Pope declared a crusade against the Orthodox. To protect Rus' from the onslaught of the Germans, Alexander Nevsky recognized the sovereignty of the Khan of the Golden Horde and agreed to pay a kind of tax on military assistance to the Tatars, which was called tribute.

It is indisputable that where the Russian princes entered into an alliance with the Mongols, a great power grew - Russia. Where the princes refused such a union, and these are White Rus', Galicia, Volyn, Kyiv and Chernigov, their principalities became victims of Lithuania and Poland.

A little later, during the so-called Mongol-Tatar yoke, Russia was threatened both from the East by the Great Lame (Timur) and from the West by Vytautas, and only an alliance with the Mongols made it possible to protect Russia from invasion.

Mongol-Tatars are to blame for the desolation of Rus'

Here is the generally accepted version. In the 12th century, Kievan Rus was a rich country, with excellent crafts and brilliant architecture. TO XIV century this country became so desolate that in the 15th century it began to be repopulated by immigrants from the north. In the interval between the eras of prosperity and decline, Batu’s army passed through these lands, therefore, it was the Mongol-Tatars who were responsible for the decline Kievan Rus.

But in reality, everything is not so simple. The fact is that the decline of Kievan Rus began in the second half of the 12th century or even in the 11th century, when the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” lost its significance due to the fact that Crusades opened an easier road to the riches of the East. And the invasion of the Tatars only contributed to the desolation of the region, which began 200 years ago.

The widespread opinion that almost all the cities (“they are countless”) in Rus' were taken by the Tatars is also incorrect. The Tatars could not stop at every city to destroy it. They bypassed many fortresses, and forests, ravines, rivers, and swamps sheltered both villages and people from the Tatar cavalry.

Mongol-Tatars are a primitive, uncivilized people

The view that the Tatars were savage and uncivilized is widespread due to the fact that this was the official opinion of Soviet historiography. But, as we have seen more than once, the official is not at all identical to the true.

To debunk the myth about the backwardness and primitiveness of the Mongol-Tatars, we will once again use the works of Lev Nikolaevich Gumilyov. He notes that the Mongols, indeed, killed, robbed, drove away cattle, took away brides and committed many such acts that are usually condemned in any textbook for young children.

Their actions were far from gratuitous. As their habitat expanded, the Mongols encountered rivals. The war with them was a completely natural rivalry. Cattle driving is a kind of sport associated with a risk to the life of, first of all, the horse thief. Bride kidnapping was explained by concern for the offspring, since stolen wives were treated no less delicately than those matched by consent of both families.

All this, of course, brought a lot of blood and grief, but, as Gumilyov notes, unlike other so-called civilized regions, in the Great Steppe there were no lies and deception of those who trusted.

Speaking about the uncivilization of the Mongols, we “reproach” them for the fact that they did not have cities and castles. In fact, the fact that people lived in felt yurts - gers - cannot in any way be considered a sign of uncivilization, because this is saving the gifts of nature, from which they took only what was necessary. It is worth noting that animals were killed exactly as much as was needed to satisfy hunger (unlike “civilized” Europeans who hunted for fun). It is also important that clothes, houses, saddles and horse harnesses were made from unstable materials that returned back to Nature along with the bodies of the Mongols. The culture of the Mongols, according to L.N. Gumilyov, “crystallized not in things, but in words, in information about ancestors.”

A thorough study of the way of life of the Mongols allows Gumilyov to draw, perhaps a somewhat exaggerated, but essentially correct conclusion: “Just think... the Mongols lived in the sphere of earthly sin, but outside the sphere of otherworldly evil! And other nations drowned in both.”

Mongols - destroyers of cultural oases of Central Asia

According to the established opinion, the cruel Mongol-Tatars destroyed the cultural oases of agricultural cities. But was this really the case? After all, the official version is based on legends created by Muslim court historiographers. Lev Nikolaevich Gumilyov talks about the value of these legends in his book “From Rus' to Russia”. He writes that the fall of Herat was reported by Islamic historians as a disaster in which the entire population of the city was exterminated, except for a few men who managed to escape in the mosque. The city was completely devastated, and only wild animals wandered the streets and tormented the dead. After sitting for some time and coming to their senses, the surviving inhabitants of Herat went to distant lands to rob caravans, guided by the “noble” goal of regaining their lost wealth.

Gumilyov further continues: “This is a typical example of myth-making. After all, if the entire population big city was exterminated and lay corpses on the streets, then inside the city, in particular in the mosque, the air would have been contaminated with cadaveric poison, and those hiding there would simply have died. No predators, except jackals, live near the city, and they very rarely penetrate into the city. It was simply impossible for exhausted people to move to rob caravans several hundred kilometers from Herat, since they would have to walk, carrying heavy loads - water and provisions. Such a “robber”, having met a caravan, would not be able to rob it, since he would only have enough strength to ask for water.”

Even more ridiculous are the reports of Islamic historians about the fall of Merv. The Mongols took it in 1219 and allegedly exterminated all the inhabitants of the city there until last person. Nevertheless, already in 1220 Merv rebelled, and the Mongols had to take the city again (and exterminate everyone again). But two years later, Merv sent a detachment of 10 thousand people to fight the Mongols.

There are many similar examples. They once again clearly show how much you can trust historical sources.

Controversy continues over how the Mongols ruled Russia. Some believe that the Horde tortured the Russian land, destroying its population and depleting its resources. Others believe that the Mongols were not as tyrannical as they are described, but on the contrary, they very soon moved away and delegated all powers to the Russian princes. Our experts argued about who the Mongol-Tatars were, how they ruled Russia and influenced the formation of statehood in the country.

Questions:

Who were the Mongol-Tatars?

Konstantin Kuksin

Mongol-Tatars are a collective name for the nomads who came to Rus' in the 13th century. The few Mongols (800,000 people) were the dominant people in the horde, which included many other tribes. The Mongols called all Turkic-speaking tribes “Tatars,” since the Turkic languages ​​were similar to the language of the Tatars, longtime opponents and blood enemies of the Mongols, conquered by Genghis Khan. After the formation of the state in 1206, the Mongols began their campaigns of conquest. Almost all of these campaigns were either preventive strikes (China) or revenge for killed ambassadors (Khorezm, Rus'). The fact that a handful of Mongols managed to conquer a fifth of the planet’s inhabited landmass and hold these territories for many years speaks not only of the weakness of all the conquered countries, but also of the brilliant organizational abilities of the Mongols.

Alexander Golubev

The core of Genghis Khan's army was the Mongols. This is a collection of nomadic tribes, similar in language, culture, and way of life, who roamed the steppes north of China. Another thing is that while this army was moving along Southern Siberia, along the southern Russian steppes, along North Caucasus and so on, it absorbed, of course, local nomads. So a conglomerate has already reached Rus', in which command staff and the most combat-ready units were then still Mongolian. Besides them there were Cumans, Bulgars, and many other nomadic tribes. As for the Tatars, they are very, very curious historical anecdote. Tatars were one of the Mongol tribes that lived on the very border with China. And since the Chinese mainly communicated with them, they called all the Mongols Tatars. When Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes, he physically destroyed the Tatar tribe. He cut it out because they once poisoned his father. But by such irony, the name of the destroyed tribe was assigned to all Mongols. Why did it take root in Rus'? Because it was associated with tartarus - with hell. That is, people from hell came.

Was there an occupation of Rus'?

Konstantin Kuksin

Occupation of Rus' (unlike China, Central Asia and other territories) were not. There was a raid by Batu Khan (Batu), after which the Russian principalities became part of the Great Mongol Ulus as vassals. Subsequently, even the Russian princes themselves were entrusted with collecting tribute; the Mongols practically did not appear in Rus'.

Alexander Golubev

There was no occupation in the modern sense. In fact, the Horde regime was changing. In the first years it was one thing, then he gradually became less and less rigid. At first, tax collectors - Baskaks, and tax farmers - Besermens - acted in Rus'. They were supported and guarded by small detachments. But gradually it was possible to ensure that the collection of tribute - and this was almost the main form of dependence - passed into the hands of the Russian princes. In addition, the Tatars, as you know, issued labels for reigning, that is, each prince had to receive confirmation of his throne. At first, they paid the tax in blood - that is, just like from other territories, the Tatars demanded that the Russians participate in their further campaigns. But gradually the princes managed to buy their way out of it. Archaeologists have calculated that out of 75 Russian cities known at that time, the Tatars burned 45, and 25 of them were never restored. If this is not a physical seizure, then I don’t know what is. And there was one more nuance - you see, although the Tatars were not present on Russian territory, at the first opportunity they sent a punitive army. Let's say, over the last quarter of the 13th century there were 15 major punitive campaigns against North-Eastern Rus', which were accompanied by the burning of cities, and massacres, thefts into slavery, and so on. That is, Rus' was completely defenseless.

Was there oppression from the Horde?

Konstantin Kuksin

Of course. The first years after Batu's raid: baskaks (tax collectors), military service (for the Horde), deprivation of real power to the princes (the label for reign was issued by the khan).

Alexander Golubev

The word oppression is not a scientific term, but an emotional one. What do you mean by this? Firstly, the Horde output, that is, tribute, that is, they pumped out quite a large part of the surplus product that was produced in Rus'. Blood tax - but it was for several decades, then it stopped. They constantly interfered in princely strife. It’s one thing when two princes fight with each other - this, of course, is not good, but this is on a small scale. And when each of these princes or one of them leads the Tatar army behind him, then this petty princely strife turns into a disaster.

How did the population of Rus' relate to the Horde?

Konstantin Kuksin

Twofold. On the one hand, the Horde saw the Tsar in the Khan, as before in Byzantine emperor. The Khan was the last, highest authority where one could complain even about one’s own prince. On the other hand, the Horde was perceived as an additional burden, since the burden of taxes fell on the shoulders of ordinary people.

Alexander Golubev

If you read the chronicles specifically from the time of the Horde, it is striking that it was perceived as something incredible. Something monstrous. Raids by nomads were commonplace, but Rus' had never experienced such a defeat. And there was no explanation for this, other than that it was God’s punishment. Of course, over several centuries people somehow gradually got used to it. It was an established order in which some died, others were born and lived their lives. It was something familiar, despite all the disadvantages and suffering.

How did the Horde influence the development of Rus', did it leave any imprint?

Konstantin Kuksin

The entry of Russian principalities into the most developed state of the 13th century certainly influenced the development of Russian statehood. After the collapse of the Horde, the Russian tsars became “gatherers of lands”, which had previously led to the Horde. Modern Russia- the heiress not of the fragmented Russian principalities, but of the Great Mongolian ulus. A clear vertical of power, a huge apparatus of officials, total control over the population - this is the legacy of the Horde. When the Mongolian system of government fell on the Orthodox culture, where the ruler is deified, being the “anointed one of God,” the most big state on the planet. “The sixth part of the Earth with the short name Rus”

Alexander Golubev

It is known that the Horde were the first to use the population census. The Yamskaya service is considered the legacy of the Horde. Perhaps that's all. But they greatly influenced the development of Rus'. Firstly, in my opinion, this is the only explanation for the lag of Rus' from Europe, which became apparent already by the 15th century. Before the Horde yoke there was no such gap. And secondly, the need to somehow protect itself from the Horde and from other neighbors who took advantage of the opportunity led to the state turning into a huge military machine that begins to live according to the laws of war. This is the specificity of the Russian state, it was preserved both in the 16th and in XVII centuries. Russian empire was also primarily a military state. This tradition was consolidated precisely as a result of the Horde invasion.