The siege of Kozelsk was one of the main events of the Western (Kipchak) March of the Mongols (1236–1242) and 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 destr ...
(1237–1240) at the end of the Mongol campaign in North-Eastern Russia (1237–1238). The Mongols laid a siege in the spring of 1238 and eventually conquered and destroyed the town of
Kozelsk
Kozelsk (russian: Козе́льск) is a town and the administrative center of Kozelsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River (Oka's tributary), southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Populatio ...
, one of the subsidiary princely centers of the
Principality of Chernigov
The Principality of Chernigov ( orv, Чєрниговскоє кънѧжьство; uk, Чернігівське князівство; russian: Черниговское княжество) was one of the largest and most powerful states within ...
.
Background
Taking the city of
Torzhok
Torzhok (russian: Торжо́к) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The town is famous for its folk craft of g ...
on 5 March 1238 after a two-week siege, the Mongols continued to
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
. However, they failed to reach the city, mainly because they had difficulties moving in the woods, and after advancing around 100 kilometers at the unknown place designated in the chronicles as the Ignach Cross, they abandoned the plans to conquer Novgorod, turned south, and divided into two groups.
Some of the forces led by Kadan and Storms passed over the Eastern route through the Ryazan land. The main forces led by Batu Khan passed through Dolgomost 30 km east of Smolensk, then entered the Chernigov Principality on the upper Gums, burned Vshchizh, but then abruptly turned to the northeast, bypassing the Bryansk and Karachev, at the end of March 1238 went to the Kozelsk on the
Zhizdra River
The Zhizdra () is a river in Kaluga Oblast in Russia, Oka's left tributary. The length of the river is . The area of its basin is .Duration of freeze-up. Map # Civilian V. A. Memory. Roman-Gazeta, No. 16-17 (950-951). Goskomizdat, 1982
Literature
* Nikiforovsky chronicle. Volume 35
* Rashid-Eddin. The Book Of Chronicles. History Of The Mongols. Essay Rashid-Eddine. Introduction: About the Turkish and Mongolian tribes, Transl. from Persian, with introduction and notes by I. P. Berezina // Note the Empire. Architecture. society. 1858. T. 14.
* Karamzin Nikolay Mikhailovich. History of the Russian state. Volume 3
Kozelsk
Kozelsk (russian: Козе́льск) is a town and the administrative center of Kozelsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River (Oka's tributary), southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Populatio ...
Kozelsk
Kozelsk (russian: Козе́льск) is a town and the administrative center of Kozelsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River (Oka's tributary), southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Populatio ...
Kozelsk
Kozelsk (russian: Козе́льск) is a town and the administrative center of Kozelsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River (Oka's tributary), southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Populatio ...
Kozelsk
Kozelsk (russian: Козе́льск) is a town and the administrative center of Kozelsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River (Oka's tributary), southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Populatio ...