Battle of Kulikovo

For the opera 'The Battle of Kulikovo' see Dmitry Donskoy (opera)
Battle of Kulikovo
Part of Mongol Yoke
Kulikovo05.jpg
XVII century illustration
Date September 8, 1380
Location Kulikovo Field near the Don River
Result Decisive Russian victory
Belligerents
Combined Russian armies The Golden Horde
Commanders and leaders
Dmitri Ivanovich of Moscow Mamai
Strength
50,000-60,000 [1] 100,000[2] – 150,000[3]
Casualties and losses
20,000 killed Almost entire army killed
Mongol invasions

Central Asia (Khwarizm) – Georgia and Armenia – Volga Bulgaria (Samara Bend – Bilär) – Anatolia – Europe (Dzurdzuketia – Rus' – Poland – Hungary) – Tibet – Baghdad – Korea – India – Japan (Bun'ei – Kōan) – Vietnam (Bạch Đằng) – China (Jin – Song) – Burma (Ngasaunggyan – Pagan  – Bhamo) – Java – Syria – Palestine (Ain Jalut)

Kalka River – Ryazan – Sit River – Kiev

The Battle of Kulikovo (Russian: Куликовская битва, битва на Куликовом поле) was a battle between Tatar Mamai and Muscovy Dmitriy and portrayed by the Russian historiography as a stand-off between Russians and Golden Horde. However the political situation at time was much complicated. The battle took place on September 8, 1380 at the Kulikovo Field near the Don River (now Tula Oblast) and resulted in a victory of Dmitri Donskoi. The battle's site is commemorated by a memorial church built from a design by Aleksey Shchusev.

Contents

Background

Moscow, along with many other Russian lands, was conquered by the armies of Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan in the 13th century, and was made a tribute payer to the Golden Horde. Russian leaders long sought for independence. Under Prince Dmitri Ivanovich the Grand Duchy of Moscow became one of the most powerful among the Russian princedoms.

The civil war has ensued on the territory of the falling Golden Horde and the new political powers were appearing such as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Grand Duchy of Ryazan, and others. Right before the Tatar warlord Mamai took power in the Golden Horde as a regent over the immature khan Muhammad Bolak, the Battle of Blue Waters took place. As Mamai was not a Genghisid, his position remained vulnerable as there were legal descendants of Genghis Khan who were in a position to lay claim to the throne. Mamai sought to affirm his sovereignty over the tributary lands of the Golden Horde. In 1378 he sent forces led by warlord Murza Begich to enforce the Moscow Prince's obedience. But the Horde army was defeated at the battle of the Vozha River and Begich was killed. Simultaneously another khan Tokhtamysh (in Middle Asia) challenged the throne of the Golden Horde in 1378. Although unsuccessful at first, he managed to find more solid support to establish himself as the new khan of the Golden Horde.

Two years later Mamai himself led his armies to Rus. Prior to invading, he conducted negotiations with Prince Jogaila of Lithuania and Russian prince Oleg of Ryazan, a fierce enemy of Dmitry. The armies of Lithuania and Ryazan were sent to join the Tatars. Mamai set his camp on the shore of Don, waiting for allies.

Dmitry mobilised his troops and allies in Kolomna to resist the invasion. In Troitse-Sergieva Lavra he met St. Sergius of Radonezh, who blessed the Russian armies before the battle . Dmitri knew about the approaching armies of Lithuania and Ryazan, and decided not to wait but to attack Mamai immediately, before he could be reinforced. On September 7, 1380, the Russians crossed the Don.

Forces

Memorial column on the Kulikovo field was designed by Alexander Brullov in 1848
Duel of Alexander Peresvet and Mamai's champion. By Victor Vasnetsov

Combined Russian armies under the command of the Grand Prince of Vladimir, Dmitri Ivanovich of Moscow (called "Dmitry of the Don", in Russian "Donskoy", afterwards) faced a much larger Tatar force under the command of Mamai, a strongman of the Golden Horde. Mamai's allies, Grand Prince Oleg of Ryazan and Grand Prince Jogaila of Lithuania were late to the battle. The old Russian poem Zadonshchina lists 150,000 Russians and 300,000 Tartaro-Mongols, but the actual size of the Kulikovo Field would not allow such a quantity of troops. Most likely the figures were closer to 60,000 Russians, including seven thousand rebel Lithuanians, and 125,000 Tatars.

The battle

Dmitry Donskoy in the thick of fray.
Exhausted Dmitry having his wounds cared after the battle. By Vasily Sazonov

On the morning of September 8, a thick fog covered the Kulikovo Field. The fog cleared around 11 A.M, at which point both armies began simultaneously advancing on each other.

The battle was opened by a single combat of two champions. The Russian champion was Alexander Peresvet, a monk from the Trinity Abbey sent to the battle by Saint Sergius. The Horde champion was Temir-murza (also Chelubey or Cheli-bey). The champions killed each other in the first run, though, according to Russian sources, Peresvet did not fall from the saddle, while Temir-murza fell.

Dmitry exchanged his armor with young Moscow boyarin Mikhail Brenok, pretending to be an ordinary knight. Brenok was to imitate the Prince himself, bearing his banner and wearing his armor. The trick was successful: Tatars aimed to Dmitry's banner, and ultimately killed Mikhail Brenok, believing he was the Prince. Dmitry himself survived, although wounded while fighting, and immediately after the battle fainted from bleeding and exhaustion.

After approximately three hours of battle (from noon to 3 p.m.) the Russian forces were successful, although suffering great casualties, in holding off the Horde's attack. The cavalry of Vladimir, Prince of Serpukhov (Dmitri's cousin), led by Dmitri Bobrok, Prince of Volynia launched a flanking surprise counter strike and achieved victory over the Horde forces. Mamai escaped to Crimea, where he was assassinated by his enemies, leaving the Horde under the command of Tokhtamysh.

Legacy

This victory was the early signal of the end of the Mongol yoke, which officially ended with the great standing on the Ugra river a century later. Its spiritual importance for the unification of the Russian lands was even more important. As Nikolay Karamzin said, the Russians went to the Kulikovo Field as citizens of various principalities and returned as a united Russian nation.

A minor planet 2869 Nepryadva discovered in 1980 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh was named to honor the Russian victory over Tataro-Mongols in the battle at Kulikovo near Nepryadva River on September 8, 1380.[4]

See also

"The Field of Kulikovo" (1890s). A large-scale hand-drawn lubok by I.G. Blinov (ink, tempera, gold).

Persons

Related battles

References

  1. ↑ Разин Е. А. История военного искусства VI — XVI вв. С.-Пб.: ООО «Издательство Полигон», 1999. — 656 с. Тираж 7000 экз. ISBN 5-89173-040-5 (VI — XVI вв.). ISBN 5-89173-038-3. (Военно-историческая библиотека)[1]
  2. ↑ Карнацевич В. Л. 100 знаменитых сражений. — Харьков., 2004. - стр. 139
  3. ↑ Мерников А. Г., Спектор А. А. Всемирная история войн. — Минск., 2005.
  4. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (5th ed.). New York: Springer Verlag. pp. 236. ISBN 3540002383. http://books.google.com/books?q=2869+Nepryadva. 

External links