Mongol invasion of Rus | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Part of Mongol conquest of Eastern Europe | |||||||
Mongols under the walls of Vladimir. | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Mongol Empire | Vladimir-Suzdal | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Burundai Kulkan † |
Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich Prince Vladimir Yuryevich Voivode Yeremey † Prince Roman Ingvarevich of Ryazan † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
At least one tumen(10.000) of nomad cavalry | Several hundred cavalry, up to 15.000 militia on foot, some Ryazan survivors | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Significant | Entire force |
|
Following the Battle of Voronezh River in December 1237, Yuri II of Vladimir sent both of his sons with "all his men"[1] and Voivode Yeremey to defend the fortress of Kolomna, which was on the border to the Wild Fields.
Battle[]
In Kolomna, Vladimir-Suzdal army met some of the Ryazan survivors from the Battle of Voronezh River led by Prince Roman Ingvarevich.[2] After some heavy fighting under the walls of Kolomna, the young princes Vsevolod and Vladimir retreated to Vladimir and Moscow, respectively.[1][3] The small Russian force left in Kolomna was besieged and annihilated a few days after the destruction of Ryazan.[4] This left the capital, Vladimir, open for the next Tatar onslaught.
Opposing forces[]
According to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, the contemporary historian of the Ilkhanate, Kolomna was the fiercest battle of the entire campaign: Kulkan, son of Genghis Khan, died in battle.[5] Reasons for Mongol casualties, which were heavier than usual, might be:
- Kolomna was attacked by only a fraction of Mongol force, while the main army was occupied with the siege of Ryazan.[2]
- Russian forces at Kolomna included almost all the warriors of Vladimir-Suzdal, the strongest state of Kievan Rus' at the time. The capital city of Vladimir was probably left defencless, as it was taken after just 2 days[1]-much smaller Ryazan resisted longer, even after the defeat on the Voronezh River.[3] Soviet historians estimated the Russian army at Kolomna up to 15.000 men.[6]
- Vladimir-Suzdal army was apparently a relief force,[3] and Voivode Yeremey is specifically mentioned as "captain of the guards",[2] so it is reasonable to assume that most of Grand Prince Yuri's Druzhina was there as well. So the army had a small, but well equipped core of professional soldiers.
Aftermath[]
According to The Tale of the Destruction of Ryazan, a few days after the fall of Kolomna, the main Mongol army was suddenly attacked "in the land of Suzdal".[7] On January 11, 1238, the last remnant of Ryazan defenders, 1700 men under Evpaty Kolovrat, made a last stand for their country. Though probably fictional, the tale of their sacrifice is "one of the greatest epics in the history of Russia".[8]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Никифоровская летопись. Никифорівський літопис. Том 35. Литовсько-білоруські літописи". http://litopys.org.ua/psrl3235/lytov15.htm.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Новгородская летопись". http://krotov.info/acts/12/pvl/novg07.htm.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Michell, Robert; Shakhmaton, A. A.; Forbes, Nevill; Beazley, C. Raymond (Charles Raymond) (1914). The chronicle of Novgorod, 1016-1471. University of California Libraries. London, Offices of the society. https://archive.org/details/chronicleofnovgo00michrich.
- ↑ Grigorjevič., Jan, Vasilij (1991). Batu-kan : istorijski roman. Lobačev, Đorđe., BIGZ). Beograd: Prosveta. ISBN 8607005944. OCLC 438360055. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/438360055.
- ↑ ад-Дин, Рашид (1952). Сборник летописей / Пер. с персидского О. И. Смирновой,редакция проф. А. А. Семенова. Издательство Академии Наук СССР. pp. Т. 1, кн. 2. — С. 71..
- ↑ Маевский, И. В. (2004). Очерки по истории Коломенского края. Коломна: Тираж. pp. 11.
- ↑ Евпатий Коловрат // Советская военная энциклопедия.. Военное издательство Министерства обороны СССР. 1977. pp. 282.
- ↑ Likhachev, D. S. (1987). "Великое наследие". Избранные работы в трех томах. 2.. Leningrad: Khudozh. Lit.. pp. 244–263.
The original article can be found at Siege of Kolomna and the edit history here.