The wind from Nepryadva: how the Russians defeated Mamai's horde
On September 8, 1380, the Russian army defeated the Horde on Kulikovo Field, thwarting the conquest plans of the Crimean beklarbek Mamai. Muscovite Russia took the first decisive step towards liberation from the Mongol yoke and overcoming feudal fragmentation. Izvestia recalled how it was.
Dmitry and Mamai
Ivan Kalita's grandson, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, is in a special position in the line of princes of Moscow. He absorbed all the best that his predecessors had, from the time of Vladimir Monomakh and Alexander Nevsky. He turned the Moscow Kremlin into a powerful fortress. He expanded the borders of the principality, took care of the welfare of his subjects. Only such an experienced ruler could resist the new invasion of Russia. Dmitry was also a thoughtful reformer of the army. He joined the ranks of the princely squad. They were professional warriors who devoted their whole lives to martial arts. Well armed and equipped. Squads of "watchmen" conducted reconnaissance and reported on the movements of the enemy. The commanders skillfully dealt unexpected blows to the enemy. With such a "forged army", the prince could count on victory.
Reproduction of an icon depicting Dmitry Donskoy, who was canonized in 1988
And now let's talk about Mamai, not the most successful, but the bright Bonaparte of the Golden Horde. In the Mongol states, only the Genghisids, descendants of Genghis Khan, could have khan power. Mamai was not like that. He was born in Crimea, which was then part of the Golden Horde. The peninsula was his ancestral estate. A lot of Europeans lived there — Italians, Greeks. Mamai used them to form a mercenary infantry. They could fight. These fighters also participated in the Battle of Kulikovo. From 1361 to 1380, during the decline of the khan's power due to civil strife, Mamai, as a talented commander and politician, adviser to the monarchs, possessed the strongest power. He became beklarbek, the khan's governor. He was respected by the troops. The Batuid khans (descendants of the great warrior Batu) were puppets in his hands. Mamai married the daughter of the legitimate khan, Genghisid Berdibek. After his death, internecine warfare intensified. Mamai dominated it, but he could not concentrate power over the entire Golden Horde in his hands. He occupied the capital, Sarai, only a few times. He treated Metropolitan Alexy with respect. Dmitry was given a label for the grand duchy. However, later he gave it to Prince Mikhail Tversky, who moved to live in the Horde altogether.
The painting "Khan Mamai" by Viktor Motorin, presented at the Museum of the Battle of Kulikovo in the village of Mokhovoye in the Tula region.
In Russia, Mamai was considered a usurper, he was not recognized as a king. And the war against him was considered legitimate, it did not violate the established foundations that existed between the Russian princes and the Genghisids. Did Prince Dmitry Ivanovich think about complete liberation from addiction? Here we enter the realm of legends and speculation, which cannot be dispensed with when it comes to such a distant past. But he was accumulating strength to assert the independence of the Moscow state, and for this it was necessary to learn how to defeat the Horde.
Rus, Lithuania, Horde
In 1377, Khan Tokhtamysh launched a war against Mamai in order to take over the entire Golden Horde. Mamai and the young Genghisid Muhammad Bulak went to war against Muscovy. It was advantageous for Beklarbek to divide the majority of the Russian principalities with Grand Duke Jagiello of Lithuania, having received military support from him against Tokhtamysh. Mamai was going to mobilize thousands of Russian guys into his troops.
Memorial on the Red Hill in the Kulikovo Field Museum-Reserve. Monument-column to Dmitry Donskoy is the oldest monument to the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo
Moscow led the union of Russian principalities, united in the face of the threat of new ruin. The army was joined by volunteers from those lands that were not officially included in the military alliance. The princes and voivodes decided, like Vladimir Monomakh, not to wait for the invasion of enemies, but to go towards Mamai. Historians are still arguing about what kind of army the Russian princes managed to assemble and what forces the Horde had at their disposal. One thing is certain: the scale of the confrontation was great by the standards of Eastern Europe at that time.
A trip to the Don
Prince Dmitry Ivanovich's counter-march to the East can be considered an example of the military art of that time. He managed to prevent Mamai's connection with his Lithuanian ally Jagiello. Both chronicles and folklore record the prince's decision to burn bridges behind him as he moved to the edge where the Nepryadva flows into the Don. This meant the determination to fight to the last breath, without hesitation: "If we beat, then we will be saved, if we die, then we will accept all common death from the prince to the common scum."
Collection "The Tale of the Mamaev massacre"
For the first time in many years of the yoke, the Russian army reached the Don and crossed to the other side of the great river. This campaign gave us not only a victory, but also a banner. The "Legend of the Mamayev Massacre" testifies that on the banks of the Don and Nepryadva, Russian troops went into battle under a banner depicting the image of the Savior.
The Great Battle
The troops converged "between Nepryadva and the Don", on Kulikovo Field, the exact location of which historians are arguing to this day. In the center of the Russian positions stood an Advanced regiment, followed by a Large regiment, on the flanks were regiments of the Right and Left hands, followed by a reserve, selected cavalry. And an Ambush regiment is hidden in an oak grove. The Mongols managed to contain the powerful onslaught in the center at the cost of considerable losses and with the help of a reserve. Dmitry Donskoy himself, according to one version, fought in the first ranks of the squad. But he exchanged his military attire with boyar Mikhail Brenok. A boyar in princely armor died holding back the Horde's advance. Dmitry himself, who fought in more modest armor, was wounded. After the battle, he was found among the fallen.
Sergei Prisekin's painting "The Battle of Kulikovo"
The ambush regiment, commanded by Prince Serpukhovskoy Vladimir Andreevich the Brave and Voivode Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky, played a decisive role in the battle. Both were distinguished by their courage and rich military experience. According to legend, Bobrok restrained the prince when he wanted to help the faltering Russian troops ahead of time. It was necessary to wait for the most favorable moment to crush the enemy with a surprise attack to the rear. This maneuver proved victorious.
The Russian cavalry pursued the retreating Horde for 50 versts. Mamai managed to escape. But, unfortunately for him, the young khan Mohammed Bulak, whom he wanted to use as a puppet, died in battle. After that, Mamai tried to raise a new army in the Crimea, but was killed by Tokhtamysh's men. Thus ended the days of one of the most desperate adventurers of the 14th century. Dmitry Donskoy, who reigned from the age of nine, alas, also did not live to old age — he died at thirty-nine. He lived less than a decade after the Kulikovo victory.
The Battle of the Blue Water
In Russian chronicles and legends, the victory over Mamai was interpreted in a religious context. But the Kulikovo victory changed the consciousness of the Russian people. From now on, defending the Fatherland with weapons in their hands in Russia began to be considered the highest valor. Submission towards the Horde disappeared.
The testament of Prince Dmitry, signed by St. Sergius of Radonezh. The personal seal of Prince Dmitry is depicted.
There are countless perverse versions of this campaign. Russian Russian chroniclers told about the Battle of Kulikovo something like this: "At the same time, there was a big battle at the blue water between Russians and Tatars; about 400,000 died on both sides, the Russians won." This is Dietmar from Lubeck. Some authors add that Dmitry did not triumph for long — and soon his squads were completely defeated by Jagiello's troops. Neither Russian nor Lithuanian chronicles confirm this. Dmitry, nicknamed Donskoy, not only repelled the offensive from the East, but also was not inferior to his powerful western neighbor, Lithuania.
For Russian contemporaries, the Battle of Kulikovo was a symbol of the end of the world, which some mystics were waiting for just in 1380. However, it came only for Mamai. Nevertheless, it is no coincidence that many of our thinkers consider Kulikovo Field to be the birthplace of the Russian people. The Hundred Years' War and the string of victories associated with the exploits of Joan of Arc played approximately the same role in the history of France.
The famous aphorism of the historian Lev Gumilev: "The armies of Muscovites, Vladimirites, Suzdalians, etc. went to Kulikovo Field, and the army of Russians returned, who went to live in Moscow, Vladimir, Suzdal, etc. This was the beginning of their awareness of themselves as a single entity, Russia." Formally, this was reflected in the fact that after the victory of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, the Grand Duchy of Vladimir became the hereditary property of the Moscow dynasty. Dmitry Ivanovich, dying, handed over the grand ducal power to his son by his own choice, and not by the will of the Barn. The Horde could no longer give a label to the grand duchy to anyone who arranged the khans. It was an important step towards gaining sovereignty. The strengthened state became the core of the future Russia. Victory — overcoming external and internal enemies in a fair fight — has become a unifying idea for our people.
Monument to Dmitry Donskoy in the Museum of the Battle of Kulikovo in the Tula region
Khan Tokhtamysh managed to stop the collapse of Batu's empire for a while. But the Horde could no longer permanently hold power over a vast territory. Moscow has become a center of power that can challenge the Barn.
"And eternal battle"
The Battle of Kulikovo is one of those historical achievements that only become more significant as the years pass. The victory on the shores of Nepryadva became a symbol and a starting point for the rebirth of Russia. The memory of this battle has not been erased. In 1911, architect Alexey Shchusev built the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh on Kulikovo Field. There has been a wonderful monument nearby since 1848, a cast—iron obelisk designed by Alexander Bryullov. Alexander Blok created a series of poems about Russia — "On the Kulikov Field":
And eternal battle! We only dream of peace.
Through blood and dust...
The steppe mare is flying, flying
And he squeezes the hobble...
Participant in the reconstruction of the battle within the framework of the military historical festival "Kulikovo Field", dedicated to the anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo
In Soviet times, the anniversaries of the glorious battle became the central events of cultural life. They even made a cartoon about the great Sich — "The Swans of Nepryadva." The image of a knight with a sword in his hands, who defeated enemies on the banks of the Don and Nepryadva, remains familiar and recognizable to us.
Every year, tens of thousands of people come to the Kulikovo Field Museum-Reserve to worship those who stood for the Russian land. Archaeologists work there, folk art fairs are held, and battle reenactments are held. The field of military glory attracts us as a historical shrine, as the cradle of the Russian state.
The author is the deputy editor—in-chief of the magazine "Historian"
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
