Everything about Batu Khan totally explained
Batu Khan () (c. 1205–1255) was a
Mongol ruler and the founder of the
Blue Horde. Batu was a son of
Jochi and grandson of
Genghis Khan. His Blue Horde became the
Golden Horde (or Kipchak Khanate), which ruled
Rus and the
Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies of
Poland and
Hungary.
Bloodline of the Kipchak Khans
Although Genghis Khan recognized Jochi as his son, his parentage was always in question, as his mother
Börte, Genghis Khan's wife, had been captured and he was born shortly after her return. During the lifetime of Genghis, this issue was public knowledge but it was taboo to publicly discuss it. Still, it drove a wedge between Jochi and his father; just before Jochi's death, he and Genghis almost fought a civil war because of Jochi's sullen refusal to join in military campaigns. Jochi also was given only 4,000 Mongol soldiers to carve out his own
Khanate. Jochi's son Batu got most of his soldiers by recruiting amongst the
Turkic people he defeated, mostly
Kipchak Turks. Batu was later instrumental in setting the house of his uncle
Ögedei aside in favor of the house of
Tolui, his other uncle.
After Jochi and Genghis died, Jochi's lands were divided between Batu and his older brother
Orda. Orda's
White Horde ruled the lands roughly between the
Volga river and
Lake Balkhash, while Batu's Golden Horde ruled the lands west of the Volga.
When Batu and his son
Sartak died, Batu's brother
Berke inherited the
Golden Horde. Berke wasn't inclined to unity with his cousins in the Mongol family, making war on
Hulagu Khan, though Berke officially recognized the
Khanate of China as his overlord—in theory only. In fact, Berke was an independent ruler by then. Fortunately for
Europe, Berke didn't share Batu's interest in conquering it.
Batu had at least two children:
Invasion of Rus
» Main articles: Mongol invasion of Rus, Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria.
In 1235 Batu, who earlier had directed the conquest of the
Crimea, was assigned an army of possibly 130,000 to oversee an invasion of Europe. The army, actually commanded by
Subutai, crossed the
Volga and invaded
Volga Bulgaria in 1236. It took them a year to extinguish the resistance of the
Volga Bulgarians,
Kypchaks, and
Alani.
In November 1237 Batu Khan sent his envoys to the court of
Yuri II of
Vladimir and demanded his allegiance. A month later, the hordes besieged
Ryazan. After six days of the bloody battle, the city was totally annihilated, and never restored its former glory. Alarmed by the news, Yuri II sent his sons to detain the horde, but these were soundly defeated. Having burnt
Kolomna and
Moscow, the horde laid siege to
Vladimir on
February 4,
1238. Three days later the capital of
Vladimir-Suzdal was taken and burnt to the ground. The royal family perished in the fire, while the grand prince hastily retreated northward. Crossing the
Volga, he mustered a new army, which was totally exterminated by the Mongols
on the Sit' River on
March 4.
Thereupon Batu Khan divided his army into smaller units, which ransacked fourteen Rus' cities:
Rostov,
Uglich,
Yaroslavl,
Kostroma,
Kashin,
Ksnyatin,
Gorodets,
Galich,
Pereslavl-Zalessky,
Yuriev-Polsky,
Dmitrov,
Volokolamsk,
Tver, and
Torzhok. The most difficult to take was the small town of
Kozelsk, whose boy-prince Titus and inhabitants resisted the Mongols for seven weeks. As the story goes, at the news of Mongol approach, a city of
Kitezh was submerged into a lake with all its inhabitants, where it may be seen to this day. The only major cities to escape destruction was
Smolensk, who submitted to the Mongols and agreed to pay tribute, and
Novgorod with
Pskov, which couldn't be reached by the Mongols on account of considerable distance and winter weather.
In the summer of 1238, Batu Khan devastated the
Crimea and pacified
Mordovia. In the winter of 1239, he sacked
Chernigov and
Pereyaslav. After several months of siege, the horde stormed
Kyiv in December 1239. Despite fierce resistance of
Danylo of Halych, Batu Khan managed to take two principal capitals of his land,
Halych and
Volodymyr-Volyns'kyi. The Rus' states were left as vassals rather than integrated into the central Asian empire.
Invasion of Central Europe
Batu Khan then decided to "reach the ultimate sea", where the Mongols could proceed no further. Some modern historians speculate that Batu Khan intended primarily to assure his flanks were safe for the future from possible interference from the Europeans, and partially as a precursor to further conquest. Most believe he intended the conquest of all Europe, as soon as his flanks were safe, and his forces ready.
The Mongols invaded central Europe in three groups. One group conquered
Poland, defeating a combined force under
Henry the Pious, Duke of Silesia and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order at
Legnica. A second crossed the
Carpathians and a third followed the
Danube. The armies re-grouped and crushed
Hungary in 1241, defeating the army led by
Béla IV of Hungary at the
Battle of Mohi on
April 11. The armies swept the plains of Hungary over the summer and in the spring of 1242 regained impetus and extended their control into
Austria and
Dalmatia as well as invading
Bohemia.
This attack on Europe was planned and carried out by
Subutai, under the nominal command of Batu. Subutai achieved perhaps his most lasting fame with his victories there. Having devastated the various Rus principalities, he sent spies into Poland, Hungary, and as far as Austria, in preparation for an attack into the heartland of Europe. Having gotten a clear picture of the European kingdoms, he brilliantly prepared an attack nominally commanded by Batu Khan and two other princes of the blood. Batu Khan, son of Jochi, was the overall leader, but Subutai was the actual commander in the field, and as such was present in both the northern and southern campaigns against Rus. While Kaidu's northern force won the
Battle of Legnica and Kadan's army triumphed in
Transylvania, Subutai was waiting for them on the Hungarian plain. The newly reunited army then withdrew to the Sajo river where they inflicted the tremendous defeat on King Béla IV at the
Battle of Mohi.
Aftermath
By late 1241, Batu and Subutai were finishing plans to invade Austria,
Italy and Germany, when the news came of the death of
Ögedei Khan (died in December, 1241), and the Mongols withdrew in the late spring of 1242, as the Princes of the blood, and Subutai, were recalled to
Karakorum where the
kurultai was held. Batu was a potential
Great Khan and when he failed to win this he turned to consolidate his conquests in
Asia and the
Urals. He didn't have Subutai with him when he returned—Subutai had remained in Mongolia where he died in 1248—and Batu's animosity to
Guyuk Khan made any further European invasion impossible. He had to keep his troops ready in the event of attack from the East, as the deterioration of relations between the grandsons of Genghis Khan ultimately brought about the end of the Mongol Empire. After his return, Batu Khan established the capital of his
khanate at
Sarai on the lower
Volga in 1242. He was planning new campaigns after Guyuk's death, (he was intent on carrying out Subutai's original plans to invade Europe) but he died in 1255 and the khanate passed to
Sartaq. He decided against the invasion of Europe. The
Kipchak Khanate ruled Russia through local princes for the next 230 years.
Berke didn't share Batu's interest in conquering Europe. He was more interested in fighting his cousins, especially Hulagu, whom he loathed for destroying Baghdad. For Berke, a devout Muslim, what Hulagu had done was despicable, and in 1262, when Hulagu prepared to move on Egypt to avenge the defeat of his army (during his absence) at the
Battle of Ain Jalut, Berke Khan had Kipchak raiding parties despoil lands considered part of the Il-Khanate. Enraged, Hulagu gathered his armies and marched north, and suffering severe defeat in an attempted invasion north of the Caucasus in 1263, after Berke Khan had lured him north, and away from the Holy Land.
The Kipchak Khanate was known in Rus and Europe as the
Golden Horde (
Zolotaya Orda) some think because of the Golden colour of the Khan's tent. "Horde" comes from the Mongol word "orda/ordu" or camp. "Golden" is thought to have had a similar meaning to "royal" (Royal Camp). Of all the Khanates, the Golden Horde ruled longest. Long after the
Yuan Dynasty had been driven out of China, and
Il Khanate of the Middle East had fallen, the descendants of Batu Khan continued to rule the Russian steppes.
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