In 1240,

Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Kh ...

led a raid into Ruthenia as part of the

Mongol invasion of Rus' The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, destroying numerous southern cities, including the largest cities, Kiev (50,000 inhabitants) and Chernihiv (30,000 inhabitants), with the only major cities escaping de ...

. It took place three years after Batu's 1237 conquests of

Volga Bulgaria Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state wi ...

and the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal.

Events

According to the

Hypatian Codex The Hypatian Codex (also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis; be, Іпацьеўскі летапіс; russian: Ипатьевская летопись; uk, Іпатіївський літопис) is a ''svod'' (compendium) of three ''l ...

, at the end of 1238 Batu Khan retreated to the

Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...

land (presumably the Donbas area), while sending his troops to

Pereyaslav Pereiaslav ( uk, Перея́слав, translit=Pereiaslav, yi, פּרעיאַסלעוו, Periyoslov) is a historical city in the Boryspil Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) of central Ukraine, located near the confluence of Alta and Trubizh rivers ...

and

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

. During the raid on Pereyaslav on March 3, 1239, the local church of St. Michael was destroyed and plundered, while its bishop, Simeon, was killed. None of the earlier period architecture survived. When Mstislav Glebovich heard that Batu Khan's troops besieged Chernihiv he attacked them near the city walls. Mstislav's army was destroyed, but he managed to flee. On October 18, 1239 Chernihiv was taken and burnt down. Chernihiv's Bishop Porfyriy was spared, but relocated to

Hlukhiv Hlukhiv ( uk, Глу́хів, ) or Glukhov (russian: Глухов, translit=Glukhov) is a small historic town on the Esman River. It is a city of regional significance in the Sumy region of Ukraine. Hlukhiv is administratively incorporated as ...

. While scouting in the vicinity of Kiev in the fall of 1239,

Möngke Khan Möngke ( mn, ' / Мөнх '; ; 11 January 1209 – 11 August 1259) was the fourth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reform ...

(Mengu Khan) reached Horodok Pisochny, located on the left bank of

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

across Kiev. Today it is part of Kiev city, in the Troieschyna neighborhood. Mengu-Khan sent his envoys to

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and the city residents, but no one listened to them. Soon after, Michael fled Kiev to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and his throne in Kiev was temporarily taken over by Rostislav from Smolensk. However sometime during the winter

Daniel of Galicia Daniel of Galicia ( uk, Данило Романович (Галицький), Danylo Romanovych (Halytskyi); Old Ruthenian: Данило Романовичъ, ''Danylo Romanovyčъ''; pl, Daniel I Romanowicz Halicki; 1201 – 1264) was a King ...

attacked Rostislav and replaced him with his voivode (

tysyatsky A tysyatsky ( rus, тысяцкий, p=ˈtɨsʲɪt͡skʲɪj, " thousandman"), sometimes translated '' dux'' or ''herzog'', was a military leader in ancient Rus' who commanded a people's volunteer army called a ''thousand'' ( rus, тысяча, tys ...

)

Dmytro Dmytro ( uk, Дмитро́, Dmytró, ) is a Ukrainian name, derived from the Greek Demetrios. Nicknames of the name Dmytro include: Dima, Dimochka, Dimula, Dimusha, Dimusya, Metro (particularly in Canada), Mitya, Mitenka, Mityai, Mityaychik, Mityus ...

. Also in Kamianets, Yaroslav of Medzhybozh took hostage the Grand Prince of Kiev's consort and sister of Daniel Olena Romanivna as well as several boyars of Michael. Daniel managed to convince Yaroslav to release his sister, who returned to live with Daniel and Vasylko. In the summer of 1240, after unsuccessful negotiations with the King of Hungary (

Béla IV Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''wh ...

) and the High Duke of Poland ( Konrad I), Michael negotiated peace with Daniel and Vasylko who accepted his offer. Daniel promised to return Kiev to Michael, while giving his son Rostislav the city of

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lu ...

. However Michael refused to accept the princely seat in Kiev and until the fall of Kiev stayed in

Chełm Chełm (; uk, Холм, Kholm; german: Cholm; yi, כעלם, Khelm) is a city in southeastern Poland with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some ...

, the capital of the Ruthenian Kingdom. After the fall of Kiev and the further advance of Mongols, Michael and his son ran to Konrad, but later Michael tried to move to

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. On April 9, 1241 after he was robbed and his granddaughter was killed in

Środa Śląska Środa Śląska (german: Neumarkt in Schlesien) is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Środa Śląska County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Środa Śląska. The ...

, Michael returned to Konrad in

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

Siege of Kiev

{{see also, Siege of Kiev (1240) At the end of the fall, Batu's troops took Kiev. During that time Daniel stayed in

conducting negotiations. Batu Khan moved towards

Volodymyr Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, Volodýmyr, , orv, Володимѣръ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ...

. On his way Batu unsuccessfully tried to take the fortress of Kolodyazhyn ( ru:Колодяжин), near the Sluch River. However, after some negotiations, the city residents were tricked into surrendering and then were slain. Batu Khan continued to Kamianets upon Sluch (today Myropil) and

Izyaslav Iziaslav ( uk, Ізя́слав, ) or Zaslav ( uk, Заслав, links=no, ; pl, Zasław) is one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, oldest cities in Volhynia. Situated on the Horyn River, Horyn river ( uk, Горинь, links ...

, taking both of the cities. After that Batu sacked many other cities including the capital cities

and

Halych Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the P ...

. The only cities which survived were

Kremenets Kremenets ( uk, Крем'янець, Кременець, translit. ''Kremianets'', ''Kremenets''; pl, Krzemieniec; yi, קרעמעניץ, Kremenits) is a city in Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center o ...

, Chełm,Kholm
at the

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' ( uk, Енциклопедія українознавства, translit=Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was creat ...

and Danyliv.

References

External links

Map of Batu 1240 expedition

Conflicts in 1240 Ruthenia 13th century in Ukraine 1240 in Europe Military history of Kyiv Ruthenia Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'