The Battle of Chmielnik occurred on 18 March 1241 during the Mongol invasion of Poland. It ended in the defeat of the Polish armies of

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...

and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

provinces. The Mongols were able to move unimpeded, and plunder the abandoned city of

Background

The Mongols invaded Poland in late 1240, and were advancing westwards; they crossed the frozen

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

river and defeated the Poles in Tursko and

on February 13, 1241. Then, the Mongol forces split into two or three armies, the main of which, under

Baidar Baidar Khan, also known as Peta, was the sixth son of Chagatai Khan. He participated in the European campaign ("The elder boys campaign" as it was known in Mongolia) with his nephew Büri from 1235-1241. He commanded the Mongol army assigned to Po ...

, was heading towards

(Cracow), a large city (and capital of the fragmented Polish Kingdom) in central-southern Poland. Two other Mongol commanders,

Kadan Kadan (also Qadan) was the son of the second Great Khan of the Mongols Ögedei and a concubine. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan and the brother of Güyük Khan. During the Mongol invasion of Europe, Kadan, along with Baidar (son of Chaga ...

and

Orda Khan Orda Ichen ( Mongolian: c. 1206 – 1251) was a Mongol Khan and military strategist who ruled the eastern part of the Golden Horde (division of the Mongol Empire) during the 13th century. First Khan of the White Horde Orda Ichen (-1251 ...

, were advancing more to the north.

Battle

Details of the battle were recorded in the chronicles of

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

. Incidentally, the oldest mention of the town Chmielnik dates to the battle. In 1241, it was a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

(Chmielnik would gain

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

only in the mid-16th century). Polish forces were commanded by Włodzimierz,

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

(palatine) of

, and Pakosław, voivode of

, and represented most of Polish knights from these two provinces (the

Kraków Province Seniorate Province, also known as the Senioral Province, , was a district principality in the Duchy of Poland that was formed in 1138, following the fragmentation of the state. Its ruler held the title of the High Duke, ruling all duchies wit ...

, also known as the Seniorate Province, and the Sandomierz Province) of

fragmented Poland The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in the early 12th cen ...

. The Mongols were commanded by

. The Duke of Kraków.

Bolesław V the Chaste Bolesław V the Chaste ( pl, Bolesław Wstydliwy; 21 June 1226 – 7 December 1279) was Duke of Sandomierz in Lesser Poland from 1232 and High Duke of Poland from 1243 until his death, as the last male representative of the Lesser Polish branch o ...

, withdrew prior to the battle and did not participate. Bolesław's escape damaged the morale of the army, and caused many others to withdraw as well, weakening the forces available to Włodzimierz and Pakosław. While the Polish forces had the advantage in the first phase of the battle, the Mongols, seeing that they would not defeat the Poles in straight combat, feigned a retreat. When the Polish forces began to pursue them, they were hit by the Mongols' reinforcements and defeated comprehensively. Polish casualties were very heavy (

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a Welsh-Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor a ...

wrote: "At Chmielnik, the assembled nobility of

Malopolska Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

perished to a man"); Włodzimierz and Pakosław were slain, as were

Castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant ...

of Kraków

Klement of Brzeźnica Klement is a given name and surname. People with that name include: Given name * Klement Gottwald (1896–1953), Czechoslovak politician * Klement Slavický (1910–1999), Czech composer * Klement Steinmetz (1915–2001), Austrian football player ...

and Castellan of Sandormierz

Jakub Raciborowicz Jacob is a common male given name and a less well-known surname. It is a cognate of James, derived from Late Latin ''Iacobus'', from Greek ''Iakobos'', from Hebrew (''Yaʿaqōḇ''), the name of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob son of Isaac and Reb ...

Aftermath

Having withdrawn from the fighting, Bolesław escaped to

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...

. With the defeat of the Polish army, panic spread through the nearby Polish lands.

, one of the largest and most prosperous cities of Poland, was abandoned, as inhabitants fled, and the Mongols spent several days pillaging it and the neighboring hamlets (accounts vary on how soon after the battle Mongols entered the city, but it is certain they burned it by 24 March). In the modern town of Chmielnik there is a monument dedicated to this battle.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Chmielnik 1241 in Europe Chmielnik Chmielnik 1241 in the Mongol Empire