Ryazan
Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...
, capital of the
Principality of Ryazan
The Grand Duchy of Ryazan (1078–1521) was a duchy with the capital in Old Ryazan (destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1237), and then in Pereyaslavl Ryazansky, which later became the modern-day city of Ryazan. It originally split off from the Ch ...
, was the first
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
city to be
besieged
Besieged may refer to:
* the state of being under siege
* ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci
{{disambiguation ...
by the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
invaders under
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 Khan. ...
.
Prelude
In the autumn of 1237 the Mongol Horde led by Batu Khan invaded the Rus'
principality of Ryazan
The Grand Duchy of Ryazan (1078–1521) was a duchy with the capital in Old Ryazan (destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1237), and then in Pereyaslavl Ryazansky, which later became the modern-day city of Ryazan. It originally split off from the Ch ...
. The Prince of Ryazan, Yuriy Igorevich, asked Yuriy Vsevolodovich, the prince of Vladimir, for help, but did not receive any.Basil Dmytryshyn, ''Medieval Russia: A source book, 850–1700'', 146.
Siege
The Mongols defeated the vanguard of the Ryazan army at the
Voronezh River
The Voronezh (russian: Воро́неж, ), also romanized as Voronež, is a river in Tambov, Lipetsk, and Voronezh oblasts in Russia, a left tributary of the Don. The Voronezh is long, with a drainage basin of . and on December 16, 1237 besieged the capital of the principality (this site is now known as Old Ryazan, ''Staraya Ryazan'', and is situated some 50 km from the modern city of
Ryazan
Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...
). The townspeople repelled the first Mongol attacks. The Mongols then used
catapult
A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...
s to destroy the city's
fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
s. On December 21, Batu Khan's troops stormed the walls, plundered Ryazan, killed Prince Yuriy and his wife, executed nearly all of the city's inhabitants, and burned the city to the ground. "But God saved the Bishop, for he had departed the same moment when the troops invested the town."
Casualties
The population of Ryazan in the XIII century is hard to estimate. Archaeological excavations on the site of Old Ryazan in 1915 and 1979 uncovered 97 severed heads on the site of the former church, and 143 bodies in several mass graves, all of whom met violent deaths during the sack of the city.
Aftermath
The writer of the Rus chronicle described the aftermath of the battle with the words "''There was none left to groan and cry''". The city of Old Ryazan was completely destroyed and was never rebuilt.
After the destruction of Ryazan, Batu Khan's horde pushed on into the principality of
Vladimir-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...
.
Notes
References
*
Full Collection of Russian Chronicles
The Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles (, abbr. ''PSRL'') is a series of published volumes aimed at collecting all medieval East Slavic chronicles, with various editions published in Imperial Russia, the Soviet Union, and Russian Federati ...
Ryazan
Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...
Ryazan
Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...