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| Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theMongol invasions and conquests | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Mongol Empire | Volga Bulgaria | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Subutai Jebe (1223) Sunitay and Kukedey (1229–1230) Batu and Subutai (1236) | Ghabdula Chelbir | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Predominantlyhorse archers and othercavalry | Unknown | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 1223: Less than 20,000 1229: 20,000 1236: ~35,000[1][2] | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavy | ||||||||
TheMongol invasion ofVolga Bulgaria lasted from 1223 to 1236. TheBulgar state, centered in lowerVolga andKama, was the center of the fur trade in Eurasia throughout most of its history. Before the Mongol conquest,Russians ofNovgorod andVladimir repeatedly looted and attacked the area, thereby weakening the Bulgar state's economy and military power.[3] The latterambushed the Mongols in the later 1223 or in 1224.[4] Several clashes occurred between 1229–1234, and theMongol Empire conquered the Bulgars in 1236.
Strengthening the power and strengthening theTatar (Mongol) troops allowedBatu to move on to the task of capturing the Middle andLower Volga. TheBulgars (Oghurs) lived on the Middle Volga, and the Lower Volga had always been under thePolovtsians (Kipchaks). The Arab author of the late 13th centuryIbn Vasil reports:
"in 627 (1229/30) the flames of war broke out between theTatars (Mongol tribes) and theKipchaks (Polovtsians)."
Genghis Khan gave Jochi the task of continuing his conquests in Eastern Europe, but he evaded it. Then Genghis Khan sent Jebe and Subedei to Transcaucasia and the Black Sea steppes.
In 1222, thePolovtsians (Kipchaks) succumbed to the persuasion of theTatars (Mongols) and broke their alliance with the Alans, after which the Tatar (Mongol) army invaded thePolovtsian steppes (Crimea,Azov,Caspian,Lower Volga) from theNorth Caucasus. The lateTver Chronicle reports on the reaction ofMstislav ofKiev to the news of the approach of the Tatar (Mongols) to the borders of Rus':[5]
"So long as I am in Kiev, on this side of the Laik, the Pontic Sea, and the Danube, the Tatar sabre cannot be brandished."[5]
ThePolovtsian KhanKotyan Sutoevich, together with other Polovtsian khans, turned to his son-in-law, theGalician PrinceMstislav Mstislavich Udatny, and other Russian princes, asking for their help against the new formidable enemy:
"Our land has been taken away today, and yours will be taken tomorrow when they come."
Kotyan supported his words with large gifts to the Galician prince. Mstislav Udatny took the initiative in organizing a congress of princes to discuss a campaign against the approaching Tatars (Mongols). He said that if the Russian princes did not help thePolovtsians (Cuman), they could join the Tatar (Mongols), and then the danger would be greater.
After which the famous "Battle on the Kalka River" of 1221-1224 took place. On the way back, theTatars (Mongols) met theBulgars for the first time and suffered a defeat, they remembered this for a long time and did not forgive them for this disgrace.
The original text comes from the Laurentian Chronicle according to theSuzdal copy, and it dates from 1377, one of the oldest surviving Russian chronicles, based on earlier chronicle collections, including materials from the 13th century. In 1236, when theTatars (Mongol) under the leadership of Batu began their conquest of theVolga Bulgaria, a Russian annalist wrote:[6]
«В лѣто 6744. Приидоша отъ восточныя страны в Болгарскую землю безбожнии Татари, и взяша славныи Великыи городъ Болгарскыи, и избиша оружьемъ от старца и до унаго и до сущаго младенца, и взяша товара множество, а городъ ихъ пожгоша огнемъ, и всю землю ихъ поплениша.»
i.e.,
"In the autumn of 6744 (1236), there came from the countries of the East into the Bulgar lands the godless Tatars and sacked the good city of Bolgar and killed everyone from the old to the young and the tiniest suckling, and looted a lot of goods, and set the city on fire, and captured the whole of their land."[6]
Later, when thePolovtsian Kipchaks became subjects of theTatars (Mongol tribes), the ethnonym Tatars was transferred to theKipchaks, since they merged into a single people, asIbn Fadlallah al-Umari noted, that through generations, the realTatars (Mongols) dissolved in the Kipchaks and looked the same with them, as if there were no differences. The language of theGolden Horde became the predominantKipchak, becoming the state language, and after the reforms ofKhan Uzbek,Islam became the state religion.
In 1223, after defeatingRussian andCuman/Kipchak armies at theBattle of Kalka, a Mongol army under the generalsSubutai andJebe was sent to subdueVolga Bulgaria.Genghis Khan's troops were seen as invincible at that time. However, in late 1223 (or 1224), the Bulgars may havefought with the Mongols. There is no historical mention except a short account by the Arab historian Ibn al-Athir, writing in Mosul some 1,800 km (1,100 mi) away from the event. After several sharp skirmishes with the Bulgars, the tiring Mongols moved back down to the Volga. Meanwhile, the Rus continuously attacked the Bulgar State trying to attain supremacy over their wealthy region.In 1229,Ögedei Khan, sent another Mongol army under the command of Kukday and Bubedey to conquer the region. This force defeated Bulgar frontier guards at theUral River and occupied the upper Ural valley. In 1232 the Mongol cavalry subjugated the southeastern part of theBashkiria and occupied southern portions of Volga Bulgaria.
Led byBatu Khan, Mongol forces numbering 25-35,000 invaded Europe in 1236.[1][2] The Mongolsbesieged and sacked Bilär,Bolghar,Suar,Cükätaw, and most other cities and castles of Volga Bulgaria; killing or enslaving virtually all inhabitants. Volga Bulgaria became a part of theUlus Jochi, later known as theGolden Horde. The territory was later divided into duchies; each of which eventually received or gained varying levels of autonomy as vassals of the Golden Horde.
The surviving agricultural population was forced to leave the steppe lands. The majority settled along the Kama river and in adjacent areas further north. The area aroundKazan, which was settled byMari people some years before, became the nucleus of the ("Kazan Tatar") population. Kazan andÇallı became new major political and trade centers[citation needed].
Some cities, such asBolghar andCükätaw, were rebuilt, but they were primarily trading centers and the population was not, for the most part, Bolgar .
After the Mongols left Volga Bulgaria to conquer the Russian land, the Bulgars rebelled, led by the nobility. The Mongols then returned and put down the rebellions.
According to some historians, over 80% of the country's population was killed during the invasion. The remaining population mostly relocated to the northern forested areas (territories of modernChuvashia andTatarstan). Some autonomous duchies appeared in those areas. The southern steppe areas of Volga Bulgaria may have been settled by nomadicKipchaks, and agricultural development suffered a severe decline.
Over time, the cities of Volga Bulgaria were rebuilt and became trade and craft centers of the Golden Horde. Some Bulgarians, primarily masters and craftsmen, were forcibly moved toSarai and other southern cities of the Golden Horde. Volga Bulgaria remained a center of agriculture and handicraft.
The population of Volga Bulgaria was mostlyMuslim. Under the influence of Bulgar culture, more and more nomadic Mongols and Kipchaks were converted toIslam. The language used by Muslims of the Golden Horde transformed into theKipchak language, adopted by all Muslim Volga Bulgars. As a result of a later mixing of Kipchak andBulgar, the literary language of the Golden Horde became what is now called theOld Tatar language, and eventually evolved into the modernTatar language. Some of Bulgaria's non-Islamic population kept the Bulgar language, which was influenced by theMari language, a language commonly used in the territories to which they had relocated. This led to the development of the modernChuvash language.
Some historians hypothesize that during the rule of the Mongols, the ethnic makeup of the population of Volga Bulgaria did not change, remaining largely Bulgar and partlyFinno-Ugric. Alternatively, some hypothesize that some Kipchaks and Russians were forcibly relocated to Bulgaria. Undoubtedly, some Bulgars were forcibly relocated to the territory of modernAstrakhan Oblast, the population of which was previously nomadic.
Volga Bulgaria's Muslim community preferred to call themselvesMuslims (Möselmannar), but used the wordBulghar to distinguish themselves from nomadic Muslim Kipchaks. They did not call themselvesTatars until the 19th century. Russian sources originally distinguished Volga Bulgars from nomadic Tatars, but later the word "Tatar" became synonymous with "Turkic Muslim". To distinguish between themselves, they started to use names of the khanates: the population ofKhanate of Kazan called themselves thepeople of Kazan (Qazanlı); this name was also used by the steppe Tatars and by the Russians.
...but of the year 1236 the Russian annalist wrote with great sadness: 'In the autumn of 6744 (1236), there came from the countries of the East into the Bulgar lands the godless Tatars and sacked the good city of Bolgar and killed everyone from the old to the young and the tiniest suckling, and looted a lot of goods, and set the city on fire, and captured the whole of their land.'