How Rusyns, together with the Mongols and Tatars, attacked Europe: Princely Horde

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The most western principality in Russia - Galicia-Volyn, is described in history as almost completely sovereign and independent from the Golden Horde state. However, this is the opinion of Eastern European historians. But the Hungarians, or the Poles, are unlikely to agree with this judgment. Indeed, on their lands, the Ruthenians regularly attacked as part of the khan's armies. The proof of these facts is not only the Polish, Hungarian and Vatican ancient chronicles, but also the "domestic" Ipatiev Chronicle.

A chronicle excursion into history

In the Mongol Empire, there was a clear division of peoples into dominant and completely subordinate to them. This was the key to its prosperity and the core policy of subjugating, plundering and exploiting. The conquered Eastern Slavs, without exception, were vassals of the Golden Horde. The Russian princes obeyed the orders of the Mongols and did not neglect their military assistance as their immediate superiors.

In this regard, the experience of the Slavic peoples in interaction with the Polovtsian tribes was quite good. Rusyns knew and understood the traditions of nomads very well. Consequently, it was not difficult for them to adapt to the Mongol-Tatar conquerors.

The territories of modern Kazakhstan, the Russian Urals, the Volga region, the Caucasus, Eastern and Southern Ukraine, as well as Moldova were called at that time the Polovtsian steppe. It was the main geographical component of the Jochi ulus, the eldest son of Genghis Khan. Jochi received this western ulus of the Mongol Empire from his powerful father in 1224. And already in 1266 Ulus Jochi became a separate state of nomads, which is now known as the "Golden Horde".

Already from the 40s of the XIII century, the lands of the Galicia-Volyn principality, located between the Dnieper and Dniester rivers, fell into the possession of the Jochi ulus. Beklarbek ("bek over the beks") of Kurumishi or Kurems, as Russian chroniclers called him in their works, becomes the local head here. In fact, he was the first direct suzerain of the local princes from the Romanovich clan - Danil and Vasilko Galitsky. Thus, all the southern and western lands of Russia entered the Ulus Jochi - both in economic and military aspects.

In the civil service of the Mongols

In all the territories subordinated to them, the Mongol khans immediately appointed their military representatives, who were obliged to control the collection of taxes and taxes in the conquered provinces. These representatives were called "Baskaki" (Turkic "printers"). Historians note that in Russia the Mongols appointed local nobles from the boyar or military class as Baskaks.

The Ipatiev Chronicle tells about one of these Baskaks named Kurilo. He was a "printer" under Prince Danil Galitsky. And he had very broad "military powers" as for a Baskak - he commanded an army of 3 thousand warriors-Rusyns. In addition, Prince Danilo himself personally allows Kuril to occupy one of his cities in Volyn.

The chronicle also speaks of the Mongol governors from the Rusyns in the mid-1250s. So, the foreman of the city of Bakota, a certain Miloy, after the arrival of the Tatars, immediately joined them. He did the same at the next visit of the Horde. In Kremenets, his city mayor, Andrei, openly declared that he “kept in two” - having “Batu's letter” in his hands, he without a twinge called himself “the king” (the chroniclers called himself Danil Galitsky the king of Russia) and “Tatar”.

In the Vatican documents there is evidence of Giovanni Carpini, a papal Franciscan monk, who in 1245 traveled to Karakorum, the capital of the Golden Horde. The monk writes that while driving through Kiev, he stopped there to present gifts to the local protege of the Mongols, whom the papal legate calls (like the rest of the Mongol commanders) millenarius, or "thousand-man".

Military integration

In the Golden Horde, the two state systems - tax and military, were actually one whole. And the fact that the western lands of Russia were fully integrated into the military system of the Mongol empire was proved by numerous chronicles and documentary sources. So, the same papal legate Giovanni Carpini tells how there was a recruitment of soldiers into the Horde hordes in the South and West of Russia. From each family with three sons, the Mongols took one. All single Rusyns were also recruited without fail.

The military integration was so deep that even the equipment of the soldiers of the Galicia-Volyn principality over time began to resemble the Mongol one. The Ipatiev Chronicle indicates the "yaritsy" (armor), which were worn at that time by all Rusyns. In the Golden Horde, the local Turkic population called this element of military equipment "yarik". The Austrian ambassadors, who stayed in the military camp of Danil Galitsky in 1252, also noted with surprise not only Tatar and Mongol weapons, but also the same "yariks" among the prince's soldiers.

Many documentary sources of that time allow modern historians to quite clearly deduce the complete chronology of the participation of the rulers of the Galicia-Volyn principality in the military campaigns of the Golden Horde for almost a century. From 1259 to 1341. There are records of such military campaigns both in the Polish Jesuit chronicles and in the Gustin and Ipatiev chronicles.

Powerful nomad friends

Historians who studied a lot of materials from the end of the 13th century came to the conclusion that the Russians also participated in the campaigns of the neighboring Danube-Dniester ulus, to which the princedoms of Rus had absolutely nothing to do. As part of the hordes of Alguy, Nogai and Tele-Bug, the Rusichi participated in the military campaigns of the Mongols against Hungary and Poland. At the same time, these campaigns could not be compulsory for the Russian soldiers.

Russian princes were seriously interested in military campaigns in the West. The thing is that Russia has been waging wars with its European neighbors for a long time, even before the appearance of the Tatar-Mongols on its territory. It is quite logical that under the rule of the Golden Horde, the Russian princes used their rulers to resolve their own disputes with Western competitors.

The Galicia-Volyn Chronicle reveals the true motives of one of the joint military campaigns of the Rusyns and Tatars in 1280. According to the author of this document, Prince Lev Galitsky (son of Danil) decided to annex certain Polish lands to his possessions. To enlist the support of the Tatar-Mongol army, Leo went to Nogai "the accursed and damned" to ask him for military help "for the Poles."

Even earlier, in 1277, the same Nogai, heeding the complaints of the Galician-Volyn princes against Lithuania, sent a whole army to the Russian rulers under the command of the voivode Mamishia. Having received such support from the suzerain, the Rusyns immediately set out on the Lithuanian campaign. The most recent joint campaigns of the Mongols and the Russians to Poland (1340-1341) were also primarily due to the need for Russia.

At that time, the Polish king Casimir III, having unleashed a war with the Western Russian principality, almost completely devastated the lands of Galicia. To take revenge on the Poles, the then ruler of the Galicia-Volyn principality, boyar Detko, asked the Golden Horde for military assistance. And subsequently received it.

Not holy Rusyns

During the joint campaigns with the Horde, the rulers of the Galicia-Volyn principality not only followed their interests, but also completely adjusted to the interests of their immediate Mongol-Tatar leaders. So, to please the Mongols, the princes Roman and Lev Danilovich deceived the Polish defenders of Sandomir to come out to the Horde with gifts. Supposedly those after that will have mercy on everyone. But as soon as the Poles opened the gates, the troops of the Tatars and Rusyns broke into the fortress and staged a real massacre there.

The Ipatiev Chronicle mentions one more fact of courting the Rusyns before their conquerors. During a military campaign led by Khan Burundai, Prince Vasilko attacked a Lithuanian detachment. Having smashed it, the prince gave all the prisoners as a gift to Burunday. Received in return the praise of the Mongol governor for his loyalty.

At the same time, the Rusyns themselves were not alien to plunder and violence. So, in 1277, during the planning of the next Lithuanian campaign at the military council, princes Vladimir, Mstislav and Yuri decided not to go to Novgorod, where the Tatars had previously visited and plundered everything, but to move to a "virgin place." Excessive plundering of the Rusyns in the Ipatiev Chronicle also explains the failed Russian-Tatar campaign against Poland in 1280. According to the chroniclers, that failure was for Prince Lev Galitsky "God's punishment" for his early devastation of these lands.

In the Polish and Lithuanian chronicles, all participants in such campaigns - both Tatars and Mongols, as well as Rusyns - are called "infidels" or "pagans" by the authors. At the request of the King of Poland, the Pope in 1325 announced a crusade against the Horde and Rusyns. Again, calling the latter "pagans" and "enemies of Christ." Despite the fact that by that time almost all of Russia had already professed Christianity.

Historians explain this quite simply - all Catholics are accustomed to considering Rusyns as vassals of the Golden Horde. Consequently, like the Mongols and Tatars, the Russians in Poland, Hungary, Lithuania and the rest of Europe were regarded as pagan barbarians. Dealing only with wars and robberies. An interesting fact is that thanks to this interpretation, some modern Polish historians seriously argue that King Casimir III did not actually conquer Galicia from the Russians, but liberated it from the Golden Horde.

Whatever it was, but after the fall of the Tatar-Mongol Empire in the XIV century, the lands of the Galicia-Volyn principality, which were autonomous in its composition, were divided between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. Later, these lands were also completely included in the new state entity - the Rzeczpospolita.