The siege of Vladimir in February 1238 was part of the

Mongol invasion of Kievan 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 ...

Prelude

After the destruction of Ryazan on 21 December 1237, Grand Prince

Yuri II Yuri II (russian: Ю́рий–II), also known as George II of Vladimir or Georgy II Vsevolodovich (26 November 11884 March 1238), was the fourth Grand Prince of Vladimir (1212–1216, 1218–1238) who presided over Vladimir-Suzdal ...

left the Suzdalian capital city of Vladimir on the Klyazma in charge of his son Vsevolod and fled to

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence ...

, seeking help from his cousins, Princes of Rostov and

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, the speed of the Mongols was such that Kolomna fell barely 10 days after Ryazan, and Moscow only 3 weeks later, leaving the people of Vladimir to fend for themselves.

Siege

The defense of Vladimir was entrusted to the Grand Prince's sons Vsevolod and Mstislav, but their forces were weak, as most of the army perished at the

siege of Kolomna Following the Battle of Voronezh River in December 1237, Yuri II of Vladimir sent both of his sons with "all his men" and Voivode Yeremey to defend the fortress of Kolomna, which was on the border to the Wild Fields. Battle In Kolomna, the Vl ...

, hoping to stop the invaders on the border. Thus, after receiving word of the destruction of Kolomna in January 1238, Bishop Mitrofan let most of the citizens take monastic vows in order to prepare for their imminent death. After weak resistance the city was taken on 8 February 1238.{{Cite book, title=Batu-kan : istorijski roman, last=Grigorjevič., first=Jan, Vasilij, date=1991, publisher=Prosveta, others=Lobačev, Đorđe., BIGZ), isbn=8607005944, location= Beograd, oclc=438360055, language=sr

Aftermath

Receiving word of the siege of Vladimir, Grand Prince

attempted to reach the city and break the siege, but his small army was surrounded and defeated at the Battle of the Sit River.

References

Vladimir Vladimir Vladimir 1238 in Europe Vladimir 13th century in Kievan Rus' Vladimir