Tatar invasions
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The Tatar invasions of Europe from the east took place over the course of three centuries, from the Middle Ages to the early modern period.
The term Tatars is applied to nomadic Turkic peoples, mainly to Kipchaks.
Mongol-Tatar Golden Horde forces led by Batu Khan began attacking Europe in 1223, starting with Kievan Rus'. They continued to defeat German, Polish, and Hungarian armies before turning back to go home, upon learning of the death of their Great Khan in 1241. It was during this series of invasions that Kraków was sacked.
The Tatars succeeded in establishing control over Rus' principalities. It included both pillages and bloody massacres in Russian cities.
- 1252: Horde of Nevruy devastated Pereyaslavl-Zalesskiy and Suzdal.
- 1273: Tatar twice attacked Novgorod territory, devastated Vologda and Bezhiza.
- 1274: Tatars devastated Smolensk
- 1275: Tatar invasion of south-eastern Russia, pillage of Kursk.
- 1278: Tatars pillaged Ryazan principality.
- 1281: The horde of Kovdygay and Alchiday destroyed Murom and Pereslavl, ruined vicinities of Suzdal, Rostov, Vladimir, Yuriev-Polskiy, Tver, Torzhok.
- 1285: The Tatar commander Eltoray, the son of Temir, pillaged Ryazan and Murom.
- 1293: The Tatar commander Dyuden came to Russia and devastated 14 towns, including Murom, Moscow, Kolomna, Vladimir, Suzdal, Yuriev, Pereslavl, Mozhaisk, Volok, Dmitrov, Uglitch. In the same summer Tatar tsarevitch Takhtamir looted Tver' principality and captived slaves in Vladimir principality.
In 1380 Tatars were defeated in the Battle of Kulikovo by the Grand Prince of Muscovy, Dmitri Donskoi. Muscovy remained a vassal of the Golden Horde until the Great standing on the Ugra river in 1480.
Poland was invaded by Tatars from the Crimean Khanate in 1506 with an army of 10,000 men, who were summarily destroyed. The Ottoman Turks invaded in the summer of 1524, but were prevented from deeply breaching the boundary of Polish lands by Hetman Jan Tarnowski. Tatar forces invaded again in 1589, invading Lwów and Tarnopol, but were beaten back by Cossack forces.
From 1569 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth suffered a series of Tatar invasions, the goal of which was to loot, pillage and capture slaves into jasyr. The borderland area to the south-east was in a state of semi-permanent warfare until the 18th century.
The Muscovy was being invaded by Nogai Horde and Crimean Khanate which were successors of the Golden Horde.
In the beginning of 16th century the wild steppe began near old Ryazan on Oka and Elets on Sosna, inflow of Don. Crimean tatars owning tactics of attacks in perfection, choosed a way on watersheds. The main way to Moscow was "Muravski shliach", gone from crimean Perekop up to Tula between the rivers of two basins, Dnieper and Northern Donets. Having gone deep in the populated area on 100-200 kilometers, Tatars turned back and, having unwrapped wide wings, looted and captured slaves. Captives were on sale to Turkey and even in the European countries. The Crimean city of Kafa was the main slave market.
Annually Moscow mobilized in the spring up to 65 thousand soldiers for boundary service. The defensive lines were applied, consisting of a circuit of fortresses and cities. Cossacks and young noblemen were in structure of sentry and patrol services that observed Crimean Tatars and nomads of Nogai Horde in steppe.
To protect of invasions of Nogai Horde wandering between the Volga and Irtysh rivers, the Volga cities of Samara in 1586, Tsaritsyn in 1589, Saratov in 1590 have been found.
In 1571 the Crimean khan Devlet I Giray with hordes in 120 thousand horsemen devastated Moscow.
Annually Russian population of the borderland suffered of Tatar invasions and tens thousand soldiers protected the southern boundaries that was heavy burden for the state and slowed its social and economic development.
Since Crimean Tatars did not permit settlement of Russians to southern regions where soil is better and the season is long enough, Muscovy had to depend on poorer regions and labour intensive agriculture.
See also
- Battle of Vienna
- Mongol invasion of Russia
- Rogerius of Apulia
- Crimean Tatars invasion into Russia in 1571
Source
- Vasily Klyuchevsky, The Course of Russian History, Vol. 2.