11. The Rise of Tokhtamysh and Timur in the Horde, Rus 2 Russia
The Khan issued a label of grand duke, as before, because the battle of Kulikovo did not change the political relations between the Horde and Moscow:
[Note: Another “saga” replete with details, not unlike the previous chapters. We can take it as another “fairytale”, which it is. But Gumilev has a special way to tell a story, (spin a yarn). I think it is an entertaining style. I also prefer that he sorts out all the source material, and not me. I have no intent to become a researcher.
In all this turmoil, there is much to be learned in an overview level. Was this how life in mediaeval Europe was lead? What were these people really like? We’re only told of the elite, the princes and khans.]
You can cross reference this piece with our other book on the period. It is much more succinct, but with a different kind of commentary. This chapter below corresponds to the time frame here. There are also books with way more details. Gumilev’s major historical work is “Ancient Rus and the Great Steppe”. It is a shorter period of time and only investigating the relationship between the Mongols and the Russians. I have it translated, but it covers material that we are now reading in from Rus to Russia. So I will wait on that one.
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The conflict with Tokhtamysh greatly weakened the position of Grand Duke Dmitry. After all, the Moscow prince's position was at the "will" of the Horde king.
Tver decided to take advantage of the "dislike" that had arisen between Dmitry and Tokhtamysh. But attempts of Tver prince Mikhail Alexandrovich to get a grand duke supremacy from the Khan had no success: Dmitry sent his son, prince Vasily to the Horde, and he managed to retain the grand dukedom of Moscow. True, Tokhtamysh left Basil Dmitrievich in the Horde as a hostage but as early as 1385 he managed to flee to Moldavia, from where he found himself in Lithuania, where he was captured by Vitovt. Vitovt set a condition for the release of the prince to marry Sofia Vitovna, and the heir to the Moscow throne was forced to agree.
In Moscow, as we recall, the hereditary possession of the sovereigns of the Ivan Kalita dynasty was established. It is no coincidence that in his will Dmitry Donskoy blessed his son Vasily with the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, speaking of a change in relations with the Horde in a more distant political perspective: "And God will change the Horde, my children will not have the right to pay the Horde, and which son of mine will take the tribute on his appanage, that is the one". These words reflect the emotional changes introduced into relations with the Horde by Tokhtamysh's burning of Moscow. The Khan's power was still acknowledged as a given, but it was already presented as a burden which all the Russians were glad to get rid of, especially since by the late 14th century the alliance with the Golden Horde no longer had the same advantages for Moscow. The policy of the Moscow bishop after 1382 reflected this perception of the Khan's power.
Khan Tokhtamysh, who unified the White, Blue and Golden Hordes and thus restored the Jochi ulus, failed to maintain his hard-won power. This was due to Tokhtamysh's limitations as a politician. It should be remembered that Tokhtamysh originally owed his rise to power in the Horde to the assistance of the Iron Throne, Timur. The latter was of Mongolian kin Barlas and did not belong to the ranks of the Chinggisids (Genghis). A zealous Muslim, equally proficient in the Turkic and Persian languages, Timur was not only a warrior but also a writer.
This great conqueror was a man of his time, an era of the mixture of mores and traditions in the Mongol ulus of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. However, he belonged to the Islamic super-ethnos and developed traditions of Muslim culture, not the Yassas (law) of Genghis Khan. Timur relied on the Muslim population of Central Asian oases. While Chinggis Khan's troops were a nomadic militia, each of whom could ride and shoot an arrow from a gallop. Timur's military forces were formed on a different basis. It made no sense to mobilize the dekhkans who could not hold a saber, and Timur's Central Asian army consisted of professional fighters, gulams (daredevils). Professionals risked their lives, of course, not in vain - their service was very well paid. But to get a good salary, a warrior-gulyam had to demonstrate his skills, for example, to remove a ring with a spear, which the inspector held in two fingers at full gallop. It is easy to imagine how much effort went into such training. The gulyams were expected to show absolute discipline and uncompromising obedience to the commander-emirs.
Map of Russia in the XIV century.
Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. Engraving of 1850.
Grand Duke Vasily I. Engraving of 1850.
During the period under consideration, Central Asia was a solid theater of military action. The last Mongol khans fought their emirs and the emirs fought the jete (the word "jete" means "bandit gang", "partisan unit"). The jete, made up of all those who wanted to live by plundering and not listening to any authority, had considerable success. They created a separate state from the Jagatai ulus, Mogulistan, in Semirechye, which was dominated by Turks rather than Mongols. The power of the Mongol Ilkhans in Iran was also destroyed by the revolt of the Persian patriots, the Sarbadars. ("Cap ba dar" was the slogan of this movement, which read: "Let the head hang on the gate.")
At this time of the final disintegration of the Mongol states, in the tragic era of the war of all against all, Timur, at the head of his gulams, was the strongest and most successful warlord. When confronted by the urban militia of the Sarbadar conspirators, Timur defeated them head-on. The fortresses of the sarbadars were taken, and those of them who had been careless to surrender, were walled up alive by Timur's orders. Of course, it was supernatural cruelty, but since the sarbadars were just as cruel to Timur's supporters, it is understandable.
Then Timur took over the whole of Fergana. The conqueror made his capital the city of Kesh, now Shakhrisabz; he subjugated Samarkand. In 1370 the Iron Kromets conquered Balkh. The Emir of Balkh, Hussein, a former ally of Timur against the Sarbadars, surrendered on terms of his life but, unable to withstand the strain of nerves, fled. He was caught and executed because Timur believed that Huseyn had broken the treaty by escaping.
In the south, Timur's enemies were the Muzaffarids, the last Persian dynasty that ruled in Fars and Isfahan. Timur took Isfahan, sparing the inhabitants, but they rebelled and beat his garrison. After this, Isfahan was destroyed and the heads of the slain were used to build pirate mines. However, the Muzaffarids continued their resistance. Timur approached Shiraz, at the walls of which the brave Sultan Muzaffarid wanted to fight Timur himself, but was killed before he could break through to his enemy.
Tamerlane's Court. Fifteenth-century miniature.
"Between Two Fires."
Map A - The campaigns of Timur and Tokhtamysh.
Map B - Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the XIII-XV centuries.
Legend to map A:
Legend to map B:
A map of Tamerlane's power
There is an interesting episode connected with Timur's stay in Shiraz. In this city lived Hafiz, the great poet, famous throughout the Muslim world. Among his other works he wrote this love quatrain:
If this beautiful Turk
Carries my heart in her hands
For her Indian mole
I will give both Samarkand and Bukhara.
Timur, of course, knew these verses. And so, having taken Shiraz, he sat on a carpet in the center of the square amidst a sea of brutality and violence: the Ghulams looted houses, chased prisoners, raped women and slaughtered the last of those who resisted. Ignoring this, Timur ordered the poet Hafiz to be brought in. After some time, the famous poet dressed in a simple robe was brought to him. And the conqueror said to the poet, alluding to a famous quatrain: "O wretched one! I have spent all my life to beautify and exalt my two favorite cities, Samarkand and Bukhara, and you want to give them up for a mole of some slut!" Hafiz replied, "Oh, Lord of the Faithful! It is because of my generosity that I am in such trouble. Timur appreciated the poet's resourcefulness - he laughed, ordered to give Hafiz a luxurious robe and let him go.
Of course, Timur's orders and actions can be condemned, but he could hardly act otherwise. Having started the war, Timur had to continue it: the gulams had to be paid, and the war fed the army. If Timur had stopped, he would have been left without an army, and then without a head.
However, let us return to Tokhtamysh. When he became the head of the ulus of Juche, he could not be guided by the orders established by Tamerlane in Central Asia. Even if he had wished to pursue such a strategy, his Noyons and local Siberian chiefs would never have accepted the role of mere servants of the Sultan rather than the Khan's free druzhinniks. The people of Tokhtamysh demanded action against the Muslim aggression that was capturing region after region in Western Siberia. In addition, according to Genghis Khan's will, the entire Khorezm oasis belonged to the descendants of the Jochi. And in 1383 Tokhtamysh made the first attempt at independence - he tried to take Khorezm from Timur. He succeeded for a while, but later Timur regained the oasis of Khorezm.
В. В. Vereshchagin. The Apotheosis of War.
Surrender of the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid I, defeated by Tamerlane. Miniature. 1600 г.
From this time the war began between two cultures: the steppe Eurasian and the Islamic, of which Timur was the representative who restored the former might of the Muslim armies. In essence, Timur's actions were an attempt to regenerate the declining ideology and culture of Islam. During this time, the main enemies of the Muslims of Central Asia were nomads inhabiting the Eurasian steppe.
In 1385 Tokhtamysh dealt a new blow to Timur's possessions. Tokhtamysh's troops passed through the Daryal Gorge and captured Tabriz in Azerbaijan, which, again according to Chinggis' ruling, should have belonged to the Jochi ulus.
Timur repulsed the Tatar army, capturing many of them. In an attempt to postpone the decisive battle, he returned the captives to freedom and sent them under escort to their native steppes. But he was not able to change the course of further events. Two years later, Tokhtamysh, having gathered a fairly large force, threw them across the Kazakh steppe and, passing through the desert of Betpak-Dala, past Hojent and Samarkand, reached Termez. On his way Khan looted all the kishlaks that were there, but did not take a single fortress: they were reliably fortified. Timur, who was at that time fighting in Persia, with selected units of his army returned to Central Asia by a forced march. Tokhtamysh began to retreat, but Timur caught up with him in Fergana and defeated him, after which Tokhtamysh fled to Western Siberia with the remnants of his army.
The Vladimir icon of the Mother of God. Fragment
Timur understood that the war with Tokhtamysh could only be won in the Tatar possessions themselves. But the Blue Horde and the Volga region were protected from the Muslims of Central Asia not so much by Tatar armies as by their vast distances. In order to wage a steppe war, it was necessary to have a sufficient number of horses, and for them the necessary forage or fodder. The vast steppes separating the Volga from the oases of Central Asia were not covered by grass all year round. In this situation Tamerlane demonstrated an exceptional talent for strategy. He took into account the fact that in the spring the Central Asian steppe grew grass, first in the south, then in central Kazakhstan, and only then in the north. Tamerlane assembled his forces and marched on, literally "following the spring"; the horses ate the grass before it wilted. The army stocked up on provisions by conducting round-up hunts in the steppe.
Tokhtamysh did not expect a Muslim rush across the steppe but began quickly gathering all the forces at his disposal. At this time, in 1389, the Grand Duke of Moscow, Dmitri Ivanovich, died. And although he, as we remember, bequeathed, contrary to all ancient customs, the great reign to his son Vasily, only the legitimate Khan of the Russian Ulus - Tokhtamysh could confirm this decision. Tokhtamysh confirmed the rights of Basil Dmitrievich and, quite naturally, in the run-up to the conflict with Tamerlane, demanded his help. Prince Vasili brought an army, but the Russian prince had no desire to fight for him: the memory of the destruction of Moscow in 1382 was still fresh, so in the crucial moment of confrontation with the Central Asian Turks, Tokhtamysh Khan was left without an ally.
Timur made a galloping attack and immediately pressed the Khan's forces against the Volga. Despite all the courage of the Tatar cavalry, Tokhtamysh was defeated. Timur's regular army and his formidable gulyams won a decisive victory in the battle at the Kondurcha River, one of the tributaries of the Volga. Tokhtamysh himself managed to cross to the right bank of the Volga, but his cause was lost. Vasily, seeing how events were turning, led his army to the lower reaches of the Kama and also left to the right bank of the Volga, fleeing from Timur. Tamerlane did not cross the river, and the Prince of Moscow successfully avoided a clash.
After this victory Tamerlane began to retreat. He was fleeing the cold and hunger along the same route as he had taken in the spring. He managed to withdraw most of his army. Timur's campaign to the Volga was victorious, but he did not solve his main task - to protect Central Asia. The core, the very heart of Tamerlane's empire, with its beautiful cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, remained unprotected from the Kazakh steppe. Indeed, Tokhtamysh soon moved against Timur again. He moved from the Volga steppes southward along the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Timur came to meet him, and the two armies met on the Terek, where a bloody battle took place. The Tartars showed exceptional heroism, but the Tatar militia again could not withstand the onslaught of the regular army. Timur was victorious, and he himself fought in the ranks of the warriors. Tokhtamysh was forced to flee. Timur moved on, passed through the Caspian steppes and invaded the center of the Golden Horde - the Volga - Don inter –
Bravest of all fought against Timur the talented commander Bek-Yaryk-oglan. He managed to lead his troops to the Dnieper, but Tamerlane rushed there one of his best commanders - Emir Osman. Osman surrounded the steppeman on the banks of the Dnieper. However, Bek-Yaryk again broke free and with part of his army rushed to the east, as he had no other way: to the west was hostile to the Tatars, Lithuania. Only near the Russian city of Yelets Emir Osman overtook Bek-Yaryk. Emir besieged Yelets. Defended by Russian-Tatar troops, the city resisted desperately, but eventually fell. Again, Bek-Yaryk- oglan with his eldest son broke through the ranks of the besiegers and marched off to Russia. Timur was so impressed by the courage, steadfastness and loyalty of the Tatar leader that he captured his family and ordered them to be escorted away, so that no one would hurt the women and children.
Now Timur intended to go further into Russia and seize Ryazan and Moscow. It is certain that he would have succeeded, had it not been for a rebellion in the rear among the Circassians, Ossetians and Tatars. Timur had to turn back. Having passed the Perekop, he collected a tribute on the Crimean Peninsula and fed his army. Although the rebellious Circassians scorched the steppes north of the Kuban, Tamerlane's troops were able to cross the scorched steppe, inflict a severe defeat on the Circassians and force them to take refuge in the mountains. Passing the Derbent Passage and entering Azerbaijan, Timur seized the fortresses of the rebels in Transcaucasia and in the Elbrus Mountains, and then returned to Samarkand, the city which was "like heaven”. But Tamerlane's victorious wars did not end there. He had to fight hard against the Ottoman Turks, and in 1402 he defeated the Ottoman sultan Bayazet and his hitherto invincible infantry - the janissaries. Timur then approached the walls of Smyrna, occupied by the Crusader garrison of the Ioannite Knights. The Turks besieged Smyrna for 20 years and could not take it, but Timur took the fortress by storm in a few days. When the Venetian and Genoese ships with aid and supplies for the besieged arrived at Smyrna, Timur's warriors hurled catapults at them with the heads of the knights of the Order of John. After that the ruler of Central Asia has again returned to Samarkand and, having paid off with the army, has continued suppression of eternally revolted Mogulistan.
Meanwhile, during Tamerlane's retreat from the Volga region, some officers of Tatar origin (Murza Yedigei and Tsarevich from the White Horde Koreichak), asked Tamerlane's permission to stay in the steppes and were let go. Timur entrusted them with the task of putting the Tatar Horde in order. However, the warlords left and did not return to the Muslim overlord, violating the order. Obviously, the ethnic factor was stronger. The Murza and the Tatar king did not help the conqueror and preferred to unite with their own people. Thus, new rulers were established in the Golden Horde, defeated by Tamerlane. However, the son of Urus-khan of the White Horde, tsarevich Koreichak, a young and fairly energetic man, died after a while, and power passed to his cousin, Temir-Kutlug. The new khan, who had lost support from Timur because of Koreichak's betrayal, soon had to defend his throne from Tokhtamysh. The latter had a sufficient number of supporters, mainly behind the Ural Mountains. Tokhtamysh seized Sarai, but Temir-Kutlug defeated him and entered into a close alliance with the Murza Yedigei, whom he appointed governor of the court, effectively the head of the government. Since an alliance with Moscow was no longer possible for Tokhtamysh, defeated, he withdrew westward into Lithuanian territory.
Basil, Vitovt, and Yedigey.
Lithuania, as we remember, signed a union with Poland in 1386, secured by the dynastic marriage of Lithuanian Duke Jagaila and Polish Queen Jadwiga. Although Jagaila took the name of Wladyslaw and began supporting Catholic expansion, it proved difficult to incorporate the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into the Polish kingdom. The Union was poorly received not only by the vast majority of the Orthodox Russian population, but also by the pagan Lithuanian nobility who sought to preserve their independence from the Poles. Lithuanian feudal princes struggled with Jagaila's policies, and Vitovt, who had escaped captivity, was fully engaged in this struggle. By 1392 Keistut's son had become Grand Duke of Lithuania and had ceased to be regarded as Yagaylo.
It was with Vitovt that Tokhtamysh agreed in 1395 to divide Rus in Moscow. He agreed to cede all Russian lands to Vitovt, so that Vitovt would help him regain the throne in Sarai. Vitovt, who had long sought to expand the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by annexing Rus', achieved some diplomatic successes by that time. For example, in 1390 Grand Prince Vasily I of Moscow, fulfilling a promise he had made in captivity, married Vitovt's daughter Sophia. By the time of the agreement with Tokhtamysh, Vitovt had seized the Smolensk principality, and a little later he annexed to Lithuania the city of Lubutsk on the Oka (near modern Kaluga). Therefore, Tokhtamysh's proposal fitted in well with Vitovt's far-reaching plans. By placing "his" khan on the throne of the Golden Horde he would get a real opportunity to conquer Moscow.
The agreement between Vitovt and Tokhtamysh, though advantageous for both sides, was, however, difficult to implement. Temir-Kutlug, who owned the Golden Horde, did not intend to cede the throne to Tokhtamysh and demanded that Vitovt extradite the fugitive. Vitovt refused. Naturally, the lawful khan was in alliance with the Moscow princedom that was hostile to Tokhtamysh, but Moscow did not even have to engage in an armed coalition struggle.
Vytautas and Tokhtamysh, who had amassed a huge army and moved it into Podolia, were met by Temir-Kutlug himself with a small Tatar detachment. Vitovt demanded unconditional surrender. He had about 100 thousand men: Lithuanians, Belarusians, Poles and German knights. Temir-Kutlug tried to delay the beginning of the battle, as he was waiting for the Murza Yedigei to come to his aid from the Black Sea steppes, and entered into negotiations with Vitovt. The Lithuanian prince made a demand of Temir-Kutlug, which, according to the 14th century etiquette, meant complete submission: minting Horde coins with his (Vytautas') image on them; he justified this step by the fact that he was much older than Temir-Kutlug. By "considering" Lithuania's demands, the Tatars gained time, and Yedigei, who approached with an army, also had an opportunity to take part in the "negotiations". The clever Murza snidely declared to the Lithuanian the following: "I understand, glorious prince, you are older than our legitimate khan Temir-Kutlug, but you are younger than me, and if judged by seniority, it is you who should check money with my seal.
View of the Serpukhov Vladychny Maiden Monastery from the northeast
Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich. Titularnik 1672.
Enraged Vitovt broke off negotiations and moved his troops against the Tatars. Yedigey put up his small detachment against the huge army of the enemy and began a slow retreat. Artillery helped the Lithuanians little, because artillery fire on scattered targets was ineffective: the cores did only random damage. Meanwhile, Temir-Kutlug and his detachment made a deep detour, got into the rear of Vitovt's troops and stabbed the Lithuanians in the back, causing panic. Everyone fled: Poles, German crusaders, Belarusian warriors and valiant Lithuanians themselves. They chaotically retreated almost 600 versts, all the way to the city of Lutsk, where they hoped to find salvation. The Tatars overtook and cut down the fugitives with almost no losses themselves.
It is clear that Tokhtamysh, who knew the tactics of the Tatars and the abilities of their commanders, preferred to lead his army along the southern Russian border to Siberia even before the battle.
Vytautas' forces, technically equipped like the Europeans, could not withstand the Tatars who relied not on technology but on the training of soldiers and a good command, i.e. on the personal qualities of the people. The European army perished; Vitovt himself fled. Such were the results of the famous battle on the Vorskla (1399). But strange as it may seem, it was not Vitovt or Tokhtamysh who suffered most of all, but the winner - Temir-Kutlug. After a short time, for some reason he disappeared from the arena of history, and the sources are very vague about the reasons for that. And in this there is nothing strange, if we consider that every Golden Horde khan of the late XIV century had to choose whom to betray: either the invader Timur, who gave him power, or his people, who did not want to obey Timur and the Timurids. Probably, Temir-Kutlug made a choice in favor of his people, and it did not go in vain. Temir-Kutlug was succeeded on the khan's throne by his brother Shadibek, also a rather talented man.
Russian soldiers in the XIV - second half of the XVII century.
Moscow received the greatest benefit from the battle on the Vorskla. Vitovt's defeat saved it from the threat of Lithuanian capture, and the Lithuanian prince even lost Smolensk for a time (1401). However, Vitovt soon managed to rectify the situation and by 1405 reasserted his grip on Smolensk and Vyazma. Moscow had no forces to fight the renewed Lithuanian onslaught independently. Vasily Dmitrievich failed to prevent Vitovt from seizing the Upper Nenets principalities: Peremyshlsky, Odoyevsky, Novosilsky, and Vorotynsky. It became clear that he could not do without Tatar help.
Feeling the real Lithuanian threat in time, Vasily Dmitriyevich appealed for assistance to the Horde Khan. Shadibek wanted to return to the Horde policy of the previous century, i.e. the traditional policy of alliance with Moscow, and sent an army to the Muscovites to fight the Lithuanians. As one can see, the Tatars, even without such a purpose, had willed themselves to be a barrier to the Catholic forces, and thus made it possible for the Moscow principality to grow stronger. But, alas, Shadibek did not remain on the throne for long either. He disappeared, apparently murdered, and was replaced by Pulad-Temir, just a boy, who was enthroned by the victor at Vorskla, Yedigei.
View of Smolensk.
The de facto new ruler of the Horde, Yedigey demanded payment from Vassily for his further military aid in the form of an "exit" (tribute). The Moscow prince did not want to pay, so Yedigey undertook a swift raid on Moscow (1408) to admonish his vassal. Having plundered the cities of Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov, Pereyaslavl, Yedigey laid siege to the capital of the Grand Duchy. Prince Vasily Dmitrievich before the siege left the city and went north to gather troops. And again, Moscow was saved by the situation in the Horde itself: Yedigey received the news that the power of his protégé Pulad-Temir was in danger. Hastening home, Yedigey entered negotiations with Muscovites and, having made peace with a "payoff" in three thousand rubles, lifted the siege. Having returned to the Horde, Yedigey has faced the open resistance. Tokhtamysh's sons rebelled against Yedigei's power; by that time Tokhtamysh himself was dead in Tyumen. Yedigei's detachments met the troops of Tokhtamysh's sons, presumably in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya. In a fierce battle, old Yedigei, who had won so many victories and defended his principles to the end, died as a real warrior - on horseback, with a saber in his hand.
П. P. Chistyakov. Grand Duchess Sophia Vitovna at the wedding of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark in 1433 snatches from Prince Vasily Kosogo the belt that once belonged to Dmitry Donskoy
The death of Yedigei and another coup in the Horde (1411) did not bode well for Vasily Dmitrievich. Yedigei's power ended up in the hands of a protégé of the worst enemy of Russia - the Lithuanian Prince Vitovt. But the Golden Horde at this time began to gradually split. The Tatars no longer perceived themselves as a single whole. Some of them, who supported Yedigei, were called Nogai. They were, apparently, the descendants of a very ancient people - the Oguzes, who lived on Yaik. Others, the supporters of Koreichak and Temir-Kutlug, received the name Uzbek Horde, although these Tatars could not be considered Uzbeks, because they took this name only in 1428, under Khan Abulkhair, who restored the independence of his people. Abulkhair continued the war against the Central Asian Turks, and Abulkhair's grandson, Sheibani Khan, conquered Central Asia, which since then became the domain of nomadic Uzbeks.
Sword and Cross
At the beginning of the 15th century Vitovt had no means to pursue his policy of conquering and subduing Russia. For on the north-western borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania there was a continuous war with the Germans of the Livonian Order. In 1409. Zhmud rebelled against the supremacy of the German knights and the Order declared war on Yagayl. The number of the Order's troops exceeded 50 thousand men, but there were still very few knights: the Order's troops consisted mainly of enlisted volunteers, i.e. knights.
Battle of Grunwald
Knights of the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.
Implementing the decision of the Krėva Union in 1386, Vitovt entered the decisive battle with the Horde on the side of Jagaila (Pole). The main forces of Vitovt's army consisted of Russian, primarily Smolensk, regiments. Jagiello's army included many Galicians, Czechs and Hungarians. The combined forces of Poland and Lithuania slightly exceeded the number of the enemy's troops. Realizing that the decisive battle promised to be fierce, Jagaila tried to enter into negotiations with the Master of the Order Ulrich von Jungingen, but the head of the Crusaders responded with an arrogant refusal.
The opposing armies met on July 15, 1410 on the Grunwald Field (southwest of the mouth of the Vistula). Vitovt, having started the battle, struck an indestructible Lithuanian cavalry on the left flank of the Order's army. The Germans responded by attacking on the right flank and managed to noticeably displace the armies of Vitovt and Jagail. However, the knights could not finally break their defenses, primarily because they encountered fierce resistance from three Smolensk regiments.
Vytautas and Jagaila managed to achieve victory by bringing in fresh reserves - the knights were surrounded and defeated. The Grand Master von Jungingen, who had so recklessly refused to negotiate peace, perished in this bloody battle. The Battle of Grunwald put an end to the supremacy of the Order in Baltic countries, for it finally broke its power.11 The Germans were forced to conclude the Peace of Torun on painful terms with Vitovt.
However, the consequences of the 1410 victory for Polish-Lithuanian relations were much more significant. The alliance between Poland and Lithuania was noticeably stronger: The Union of Gorodelsk in 1413 strengthened the Catholic influence in Lithuania, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was forced to recognize the suzerainty of the Polish Crown. All nobles and servants of the Lithuanian state received equal rights with Polish magnates and nobles under the Horodel Union, but only if they accepted Catholicism. Naturally, sincere Orthodox subjects of Vitovt did not welcome this turn of events. Confrontation between Catholics and Orthodox believers intensified again, but Vitovt's attempt to ease religious tensions in Lithuania was not successful. When Vitovt began negotiations for a union between the Orthodox and Catholic churches, he succeeded only in separating the metropolitanate: Grigory Tsamvlak, who the prince's protégé, was appointed metropolitan of his own for Lithuania. However, the new metropolitan was unsuccessful in his negotiations with the legate of the Pope during the Council of Constance, and Vitovt had to renounce the idea of a religious union.
Since the Order no longer posed a threat to Lithuania, Vitovt was able to turn his attention eastward again. The death of Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich (1425) greatly facilitated Vitaut's efforts to extend his sphere of Lithuanian influence. After all, when Vasily Dmitrievich died, he "entrusted" his wife and ten-year-old son to the care of her father, Vitovt. Having become the legal guardian of the Grand Duke of Moscow, Vitovt began to vigorously pursue a policy of subjugating all other Russian principalities. Soon after Vasily's death he concluded alliance treaties with Moscow's two main rivals, Tver and Ryazan. Thus, by the end of the twenties of the 15th century Vitovt managed to remove the obstacles to the expansion of his state's territory both from the side of the Order and from the side of Rus. It is not surprising that his next step was connected with the desire to avoid dependence on Poland: The Grand Duke of Lithuania effectively petitioned the German Emperor for the granting of the crown to him.
But once again, nature interfered in human thoughts. Death prevented Vitovtu from carrying out his extensive plans (1430). With the death of the great Lithuanian statesman, internal conflicts began in his duchy. Because the cause of the Uniate Church was not brought to a logical conclusion, the Orthodox subjects continued to struggle against the inequality proclaimed by the Horodel privilege of 1413. But Svidrigailo, Olgerd's son, who headed the Orthodox party, proved to be a leader unworthy of his position. When he became Grand Duke of Lithuania immediately after Vitovt's death, he proved himself to be neither a military leader nor an administrator.
Vytautas' brother Sigismund, who relied on Catholics, easily wrested the grand dukedom from Svidrigaila. In an effort to secure Catholic support for himself, Sigismund first concluded a new treaty of union between Lithuania and Poland, but since most of his subjects were still Orthodox, the prince was forced to somehow accommodate their aspirations.
(11) Europe ceased to replenish the forces of the Order, for after the Christianization of Lithuania, the very existence of the Order, focused on the fight against the pagans, had lost its meaning.
In 1432 he issued a decree, according to which the Russian Orthodox princes and boyars were equalized in their rights with Catholics. This decision to some extent weakened the resistance to Sigismund's policies among the Russian nobles and made the position of Svidrigaila extremely difficult.
П. V. Shebuev. Vassily I builds the Church of the Mother of God in Moscow, where Daniel the Black and Andrei Rublev are distinguished
Svidrigailo in this situation lost the last signs of prudence and resorted to tactics of intimidation. The victim of his irrepressible suspicion was the Orthodox metropolitan Gerasim, appointed by Constantinople at the request of Svidrigailo himself. Suspecting the ruler of treason, the prince without long deliberation ordered the unfortunate man to be seized and burned. This cruel and senseless atrocity ruined Svidrigaila for good: he lost all support of his Orthodox supporters. Soon after the execution of the metropolitan, Svidrigaila faced Sigismund in a decisive battle on the River Svente, a tributary of the Vilija, and, utterly defeated, he was forced to abandon his claim to the throne of the Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Svydrigail's defeat buried the last hopes for the triumph of Orthodoxy in Lithuania. Although Sigismund fell victim to a conspiracy a few years after his victory at Svent (he was murdered in his own castle in Trakai), this fact did not change the course of events. Casimir, Jagaila's other son, was proclaimed Grand Duke (1440), and after his brother Wladyslaw III, the Polish King, was killed by the Turks in the battle of Varna, Casimir also became Grand Duke of Poland, giving the same rights to his Polish and Lithuanian subjects. Lithuania was finally transformed into a Catholic state.
But in Moscow, which was also ruled by the grandson of Vitovt, son of Sofia Vitovna, Grand Duke Vasilyevich, the attempt of the Catholics to achieve victory remained fruitless. After the death of Metropolitan Gerassimus, the See of the Metropolitans of All Russia remained vacant for some time, and Vassily Vasilyevich decided to appoint Bishop Iona of Ryazan to fill the See. In accordance with Russian church tradition, Jonah went to Constantinople for ordination, but was utterly unsuccessful there. The Greeks, for whom the most urgent problem was the struggle against the Ottoman Turks, made every effort to conclude a church union with Rome, in the vein hope of obtaining aid from the West in this way. Naturally, the Greeks also wanted "their" man on the throne of the Russian metropolitans. The Greek hierarch Isidor (1437) was chosen. Events soon confirmed that the choice of the patriarchate in Constantinople turned out to be correct: its protégé lived up to the hopes pinned on him.
Between 1438 and 1439, the Council of Ferrara-Florence, at which the question of a union between the Eastern and Western Churches was discussed, was in progress. It was with great effort, overcoming resistance on the part of the Greek Orthodox clergy, and with threats, bribery, and outright violence that the Papists signed the Uniate Act in 1439. Metropolitan Isidor, who was a staunch supporter of Uniatism, participated in the Council.
But what got accepted in Florence and garnered applause in Constantinople, ended sadly for Isidor in Russia. On his arrival in Moscow, Isidore began serving a liturgy in accordance with the new form, exalting the name of the Pope before that of the Patriarch and ordering the reading in the churches of the Council's decree of the Unia. There was no limit to the indignation of the parishioners; the Grand Duke also reacted sharply to what had happened. Vasily Vasilievich did not tolerate the betrayal of his right-worship - Isidor, who was declared a "false pastor", was imprisoned, from which, however, he soon fled to Rome. From these events it is clear that in Rus' there were also many supporters of ecclesiastical fusion with the West, but the overwhelming majority of Russians of all estates firmly adhered to the Orthodox orientation.
The deposition of Isidor was followed by an event unprecedented in the history of Rus' since Baptism. In 1441 Bishop Jonah of Ryazan was "consecrated metropolitan" not by the patriarchate of Constantinople, but by a council of Russian bishops. Thus, the centuries-old dependence in Church affairs on Constantinople was shaken, and not only because the Uniates were finally victorious there. The very scheme of church-political perceptions of the Russian people changed. Having considered it the norm to submit to the authority of the Greeks in matters of faith until then, they now saw fit to claim the independence of their church. In ethnic terms, this meant that Russia's passionarity had grown far beyond the level that would ensure its existence as an ethnos. Indeed, turning from Church history to political history, we soon see how far 15th century Rus' progressed from ethnos to super-ethnos.
Already at the very beginning of the reign of Vasily Vasilievich, changes in the nature of the struggle for power in Russia became apparent. If earlier Tver and Suzdal princes, against whom relatives and boyars of the Moscow prince were united, fought as equals for the great reigning with Moscow, now no one could challenge the descendants of Ivan Kalita for the great reigning of Vladimir. As early as 1392, Moscow boyars had achieved in the Horde the annexation of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod principality to their "ulus". Tver, which had acted on the side of Lithuania, after the Florentine Union lost not only its military-political but also its ethnic ability to oppose Moscow as a bulwark of pan-Russian Orthodoxy. But at a time when it seemed that the Moscow prince's rule in Russia had become undivided, the grand duke's relatives from Moscow began to lay claim to power.
Shemyaka
Contradictions in the Moscow princely house became apparent immediately after the death of the son of Dmitry Donskoy - Vasily Dmitrievich (1425). The deceased's brother, Yuri Dmitrievich, refused to swear allegiance to his nephew Vasily and, instead of attending his funeral, went to his town of Galich, in order to rally an army. The Grand Duke's boyars proved to be "not without baggage" and, quickly combining their forces, moved towards the overbearing Yuri. Seeing that things take a bad turn, Yuri Dmitrievich reckoned it well to enter into negotiations.
Metropolitan Photius, the de facto head of Moscow's government, went to visit Yuri in Galich. Vladyka proved to be an outstanding diplomat. The prince, wishing to show the metropolitan the large number of his forces and the strength of his claims, gathered in Galich a great number of armed peasants and artisans for his arrival. But the lord easily guessed Yuri Dmitrievich's trick and said to him: "Son, Prince Yuri! I never saw so many men in sheep's wool", - thus making him understand that it was impossible for the militia of Yuriy to compete with the Moscow noble cavalry, which consisted of professional thugs. Photii succeeded in getting Yurii to promise not to bring in the grand duke's throne at his own discretion, but to agree to the decision of the Horde Khan. The uncle and nephew "snapped about the great reign" and departed for justice in the Horde.
Grand Duke Vasily Vasilievich. Titularnik, 1672.
In the struggle for the great throne Yuri Dmitrievich relied, on the one hand, on the support of his brother-in-law - Lithuanian Grand Duke Svidrigail Olgerdovich, and on the other - on the intercession of his friend - an influential Horde murza Tegini - before the khan. But Moscow boyars, led by a talented diplomat Ivan Dmitriyevich Vsevolozhsky, perfectly understood the balance of power. Ivan Dmitrievich managed to turn the majority of the Horde murzas against Tegini, and thus made them supporters of his prince. When at the court of khan Yuri Dmitrievich began to substantiate his claims to great reigning by references to ancient patrimonial right, the Moscow diplomat with one phrase achieved khan's decision in his favor, having said: "Prince Yuri seeks the great reign by his father's will, and Prince Vasily by your mercy."
Image from the Moscow coat of arms seal
Khan, greatly delighted with such a display of obedience from the Muscovites, ordered to issue a label to Vasilii and even ordered Yuri Dmitrievich, as a sign of submission to the will of Khan, to lead under the bridle of a horse with the Grand Duke sitting on it. But Vassily, showing his inherent nobility and not wishing to humiliate his own uncle, refused to do so. Nevertheless, even after Khan's verdict Yuri Dmitriyevich did not moderate his pretensions.
The following episode served as a trigger for the continuation of the war. In 1433 during Vasily Vasilievich's wedding his mother Sophia Vitovna tore a precious golden sash from another Vasily - Yuri Dmitrievich's son. Earlier one of the old boyars had told Sophia that this belt had once belonged to Dmitry Donskoy, but had been stolen and ended up in Yuri Dmitrievich's family. The scandal, it must be said, was loud: the prince appeared at the wedding feast wearing a stolen item! Of course, Vasily Yuryevich and his brother Dmitry Shemyaka immediately left Moscow. Their father, Yuri Dmitriyevich, did not hesitate to take advantage of the good occasion provided and moved an army against his nephew.
Russian Boyars
Russian Boyars
In the battle at Klyazma a small army of Vasily Vasilievich was defeated by Yuri Dmitrievich, and the Grand Duke himself was captured and sent by Yuri to Kolomna. In the Holy Week of 1434 Yuri Dmitrievich entered Moscow, but he was not welcome in it. The boyars, servicemen, posadtsy were resolutely against Prince Yuri, for everyone saw him as a usurper. Muscovites fled to Kolomna to their lawful sovereign, and Yuri, seeing the general rejection, was forced to leave Moscow.
Some time later the armed struggle resumed. Yuri managed again to defeat Vasily and returned to the capital city, capturing also the mother of the great prince. Soon, however, Yuri Dmitrievich died. Vasily Vasilievich sat on the great table and "made peace" with his cousins.
But this peace did not last long. Vasily Yurievich broke it and, like his father, headed to Kostroma to gather troops against the grand duke. The opponents met at the village of Skoretin (near the present-day city of Rostov). Concluding with Vasily Vasilievich a truce until morning, Vasily Yurievich again failed to keep his word and suddenly went on the offensive. But the Grand Duke managed to raise his regiments, and at the battle of Skoretin the troops of the pretender to the throne were defeated, he himself was captured, taken to Moscow and there blinded by order of the Grand Duke. The first round of the struggle was over.
The next five years, until 1445, passed relatively quietly. Forced outwardly to reconcile with the domination of his cousin, Shemyaka waited for an opportunity. Shemyaka was helped by the situation in the Horde, where in the absence of any order there was continuous internecine warfare. Everyone who had any military powers either fought with internal rivals in the Horde, or raided Russian cities at their own risk.
In 1438 Ulug-Muhammed Khan, knocked out of the Horde by his relative Kishi-Mahmet, "outcast" took the Russian city of Belev. Grand Duke Vasily sent against him the regiments under the command of Dmitry Shemyaka. Advancing to Belev, Shemyaka, despite Ulug-Muhammed's desire to enlist the support of the Russian princes "on all their will", inflicted a serious defeat on the Tatars. Ulug-Muhammad left Belev for Kazan, but in 1439 he appeared near the walls of Moscow. Having subsequently occupied Nizhny Novgorod, Ulug-Muhammed entrenched there and in 1445 sent an army led by his sons Mahmutek and Yakub against the Grand Duke.
Shemyaka promised to send regiments to help Basil, but did not fulfill his promise. The grand duke, who had been feasting carelessly the night before the battle, found himself facing the enemy with a small number of troops. The superior forces of the Tatars defeated Vassily and took him prisoner. The Tatar princes themselves had not expected such a turn. They thought long about what to do with such a noble prisoner, and first sent to Moscow Vasily's mother and wife his body cross, so they did not doubt the mournful news. Dmitry Shemyaka through his envoys begged the Tatars not to set Basil free, but the Grand Duke managed to be released from captivity at the price of a huge "payoff" in 200 thousand rubles.
To raise this enormous sum, Tatar noblemen and detachments of soldiers were sent to Russia along with Vasilii, many of whom immediately entered "the service" of Vasilii. Of course, the Grand Duke was obliged to receive the Tatars fondly, and displeasure about Vasilii's Tatar orientation spread throughout the country: "Why did you bring the Tatars to the Russian land, and did you give them towns and districts to feed them? But the policy of the Grand Duke proved to be far-sighted: with the admission of the Tatars to Russian service Moscow strengthened, and the Horde weakened. Nevertheless, for most of his contemporaries the Tatar migration seemed an unheard-of violation of their rights, which also cost a great deal of money.
К. V. Lebedev. Ushkuyniki. (Settlement of the free Novgorod team in the Finnish Zavolzhye)
The discontent was spreading. Shemyaka decided to use it. During one of Vasily Vasilievich's visits to the Trinity Monastery, Shemyaka and his supporters unexpectedly seized Moscow and murdered the Grand Duke's wife and mother. Shemyaka then marched swiftly to Trinity. Although Vasily was warned and guards were posted, Shemyaka managed to fool the vigilance of the guards by hiding his men in wagons of hay. Vasily did not have time to flee and had to hide in church, and then came out to his enemy with an icon in his arms, begging for mercy and permission to take monastic vows. Mercy was promised him, but Shemyaka - for the umpteenth time - did not keep his word. Vasily heard: "Caught by the Grand Prince Dmitry Yurievich"; on a simple sleigh the unfortunate was taken to Moscow, blinded (hence the nickname of the prince - "Dark") and then exiled to Uglich with his wife. Vasily's mother Sophia Vitovna was also sent into exile - to Chukhloma.
It seemed that Shemyaka could celebrate the final victory, but affected the friendship between Vasily the Dark and the Tatars. In general, supporters of the dazzled prince were much more than enemies: for Vasily the Dark stood Tatar prince Kasim and Yakub - the sons of Ulug Muhammad, one of whom once took a grand duke in captivity, supported him, "called in metropolitan" Bishop Jonah, for the return of Vasily throne were ready to fight many boyars. The efforts of the supporters of the rightful grand duke bore fruit. Vasily the Dark, having gone to a regular pilgrimage to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, managed to flee from there to Tver, where he secured the support of the Tver prince. In 1447, Vassily returned victoriously to Moscow and took the throne. But it took him several years of struggle to finally overthrow Shemyaka. In 1450. Shemyaka was knocked out of his fiefdom - Galich - and fled to Novgorod - the center of opposition to the grand duke - where he died (he was believed to have been poisoned by order of Vassily).
The seals of Grand Duke Vasily II
The Novgorodians firmly supported Shemyaka, and this did not go in vain. In the winter of 1456, bearing in mind old grievances, Vasily the Dark with an army reinforced by Tatar troops moved towards Novgorod. After capturing the town of Staraya Russa, the Moscow voevods let the main forces go and then, leaving with a detachment of two hundred men, ran into a Novgorod army of five thousand horsemen. It would seem that resistance was out of the question, but the passionate Moscow voevods found a way out. They ordered to shoot at the horses of the Novgorodians, and achieved a complete victory. The Novgorodians, clad in armor, fell under the hoofs of the horses, demonstrating the complete absence of any will to resist.
After their defeat at Rousse, Novgorodians thought only of making peace with Vasily through the mediation of the new archbishop and received their wish on the most humiliating terms. However, Vassily the Dark was not entirely satisfied with the results of the campaign of 1456. He constantly complained to Metropolitan Jonah that the Novgorodians did not honor him as they should have and it was only through the latter's intercession that he abstained from a new campaign against the unruly "secular republic". His death prevented him from fully realizing his plans to subject Novgorod to Moscow. This mission along with the unification of the country fell on his son, Ivan III.
The Tsar of All Russia
The inheritance received by the eldest son of Vassily the Dark, Ivan III Vasilyevich, was enviable. All Russian princes were in fact at the complete will of the Moscow prince, family feuds subsided, and the threat from the Golden Horde virtually disappeared. As already mentioned, the Horde Khan Ulug-Mohammed had three sons: Mahmutek, Yakub and Kasim. The first two eventually became enemies. Mahmutek, seeking independence, murdered his father and seized power in Kazan, thus creating the Kazan Khanate, which had separated from the Horde. Vasily II owed his return to the throne in 1447 to his participation in the revenge of his father's murder. In return for his loyal service Vasily gave him a town on the Oka that would later be called Kasimov for life.
Grand Duke and Tsar Ivan Vasilievich. Titularnik, 1672.
The population of the Kasimov servant khanate long retained all its ethnographic features, including the confession of Islam. The Crimean Khanate also broke away from the Horde, after which the Golden Horde proper included only the area immediately adjacent to Sarai, and ceased to be a serious threat to Russia. However, in 1465 Golden Horde khan Akhmat was going to attack Moscow in order to make Muscovites pay the "yield" as before, but a sudden attack of Crimean Tatars ruined his plans.
Ivan III. took an active part in the unceasing struggle between Kasim and Mahmutek. In 1467 some of the Murzes of Kazan, dissatisfied with the rule of young Ibrahim - the son of Mahmutek, turned to Kasim with a proposal to take the Kazan throne. Reinforced by a Russian army given to him by Ivan III, (K)Qasim moved on to Kazan, but was unsuccessful. A second campaign was undertaken two years later, already after the death of Kasim. When the Grand Ducal regiments of Moscow and Kasim again approached Kazan, Ibrahim was forced to make peace on the terms proposed by Moscow.
After the reconciliation with Kazan, Ivan III was able to continue his father's policy towards Novgorod. The Novgorodians by that time had lost all ability to maintain any semblance of independence. Two parties fought in the city: the pro-Lithuanian party, which consisted of the boyars headed by Boretsky, and the pro-Moscow party, which consisted of the "younger chad", i.e. ordinary people. Since the boyars had access to power and made decisions, it is not surprising that in 1471 Novgorod entered into an alliance with the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the Polish king Casimir Jagellon. Casimir put his deputy in Novgorod and promised "Lord Great Novgorod" protection from Moscow. The third member of the anti-Moscow coalition was the Golden Horde Khan Akhmat, also in alliance with Casimir.
The Seal of Grand Duke Ivan III
When Ivan III, a clever and cautious politician, saw that such a serious coalition had been formed against him, he also decided to look for allies. He naturally turned his eyes to the Crimean Khanate, hostile to Saray. In 1473 an alliance agreement with the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray became a reality. The Crimeans promised to fight the Lithuanians, expecting Ivan's help against Akhmat.
Ivan III began the war against the anti-Moscow coalition with Novgorod, and not by chance. The resentment of Novgorod's alliance with Kazimir and Akhmat was extremely great in the Low Lands. The Muscovites saw the Novgorodians' act as a betrayal of the Russian cause and compared Ivan III's campaign to that of Dmitriy Donskoy against Mamay.
The chronicler wrote that Ivan III marched on Novgorod "not as if they were Christians, but as if they were pagans and apostates of Orthodoxy". The latter circumstance is very important for ethnic diagnosis. At the end of the 15th century, the new ethnic group of Muscovites stopped perceiving a relic of ancient Russia - the Novgorodians - as "their own", since the indicator of ethnic sympathy at this time was religious belief. Muscovites who chose an alliance with Catholics were equated with pagans.
With the support of all-Russian troops, a vast army was sent to Novgorod, led by the best military commander in Moscow, Prince Daniil of Kholmsk. Units of the Kasimov tsarevitch Daniyar also marched with the Russian army. When Muscovite troops encountered Novgorod's forces on the River of Shelonka they won a complete victory as they were opposed by the well armed, but untrained militia and no Lithuanian aid came. The results of the battle on the Shelonka were hard for Novgorod. Novgorodians had to abandon their plans of the alliance with Lithuania and paid to the grand duke a big monetary contribution - over 15 thousand rubles.
But while Lithuanians did not come to Novgorod's aid, the Golden Horde khan Akhmat tried to help him. In a forced march he reached the Oka. By order of the Grand Duke, the tsarevitchs of Kasimov, Daniyar and Murtaza, advanced to meet Akhmat at the border of Kolomna and Serpukhov, ready to cut off Akhmat's army from the convoy in case of his further advance to Moscow. The Golden Horde khan, upon learning of this, decided not to mess with the Kasimovs and quickly retreated.
Ivan III clearly understood the insufficiency of the successes achieved. The existence of a strong Lithuanian party in Novgorod and the allied Lithuanian khanate of Golden Horde made it doubtful that Novgorod would fulfill its obligations to Moscow. Therefore, Ivan III sought the final subjugation of Novgorod and the overthrow of the Golden Horde. Taking advantage of the fact that the "younger generation of Novgorod" complained to him about the pro-Lithuanian boyars, begged for protection and called him "ruler", Ivan III in 1478 presented Novgorodians with new demands and undertook a new campaign. His program was laconic: "There would be no vechu, no posadnik, and we will hold the entire state". After a short period of resistance, the Novgorodians submitted to the will of the Grand Duke. The symbol of old Novgorod's freedom - the Veche bell - was taken down and sent to Moscow, and dozens of the noblest families of Novgorod were transferred ("sposmed") to the region of the Grand Duchy as servants.
Jacob Gastoldi's map of Muscovy at the end of the 15th century
Local Cavalry
Thus ended the history of the last ethnic fragment of ancient Russia, incorporated into the new ethnos. The example of Novgorod is a brilliant example of the death of the ethnic system, in which, as a rule, it is not the people themselves that disappear. Just the people remain and are included in the new ethnic groups, but it is the specific system of behavior that once bound these people together, making them "one's own", that finally disappears. Together with the independence of Novgorod, all the stereotypes of behavior that were characteristic of Veche Russia disappeared, and the people themselves retained only the memory of their origins.
Undoubtedly, the annexation of Novgorod to Moscow was the summit of the unifying policy of Ivan III. However, it was not the end. In 1484 in Moscow, it "was learned" that Prince Mikhail Borisovich of Tver had made a treaty with Grand Duke Casimir of Lithuania. Such a treaty was in direct violation of Mikhail's agreements with Ivan III. and the Grand Duke of Moscow declared war on Tver. The aid from the West that Kazimir had promised, as usual, did not come, and Mikhail had no choice but to recognize the primacy of Ivan III and "take the peace". Meanwhile, the Tver boyars in their entire families left their prince and begged Ivan III to admit them into his service. Thus, deprived of the support of his entourage, Mikhail Borisovich again "established a line" with Kazimir and this ultimately ruined him. Proclaiming Mikhail a traitor, Ivan III marched his forces to Tver and laid siege to the city. Betrayed by his fellow-boyars, the Prince of Tver fled to Lithuania and Ivan's son was put in charge of Tver.
In the summer of 1480, the Golden Horde Khan Akhmat came with an army to the border the Moscow River Ugra, a northern tributary of the Oka, and encamped there because he was waiting for help from his ally Casimir. His expectations were in vain: as an experienced politician, Ivan III foresaw the coming clashes with Akhmat, and the Russian-Crimean alliance directed against him was effective. Therefore, Casimir was forced to throw his forces into the defense of Lithuania against the Crimean Khan Mengli-Giray. The Moscow army stood on the opposite bank of the Ugra, but neither Ivan III, nor Akhmat dared to start a battle. The famous "Standing on the Ugra" lasted until late fall. The outcome was decided by the raid of the Russian-Tatar detachment under the command of voivode Nozdrevatogo and Tsarevich Nur-Daulet-Girey into the rear of Ahmat, in the Volga. Upon learning of the threat to his possessions, Akhmat quickly retreated. And Ivan III, feeling the strength to resist Khan, banished his ambassadors and refused to renew the payment of tribute.
It is easy to see that the standing on the Ugra was merely an episode in a long struggle between two coalitions: Novgorod-Lithuanian-Golden Horde and Moscow-Kasimov-Krymian (Crimea). There is certainly no reason to believe that the standing on the Ugra marked the "overthrow of the Horde yoke". As we see, the father of Ivan III, Vasily the Dark, who included the ethnic fragments of the Golden Horde into his grand duchy, practically ceased to reckon with the Horde. Even his contemporaries perceived the war with Akhmat not as the overthrow of the yoke, but as a war of faith with an impious opponent, an enemy of Orthodoxy. It seems that with regard to the events of 1480 one should not speak about "the collapse of the yoke", which did not happen, but about the creation of a system of opposing political alliances between states that emerged on the ruins of the Golden Horde: The Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Crimean and Kazan khanates, the Nogai Horde. The Akhmat and the Akhmatovichi were oriented toward Lithuania, while the Crimean Tatars were oriented toward Moscow until the formal fall of the Golden Horde.
Scheme of the Battle of the River Shelon in 1471.
Н. Nekrasov. Veche in Novgorod
А. D. Kivshenko. The conquest of Novgorod: Martha the Saddler and Veche Bell are sent to the camp of Ivan III. 1478 г.
It was in alliance with the Crimean Khan that Ivan III also solved the Kazan problem. When one of the widows of King Ibrahim of Kazan married Mengli Giray, Ibrahim's son Mahmet Ahmin claimed his rights to Kazan and turned to Ivan III for help. Ivan III supported the claimant, giving him an army led by the victor at Shelon, Prince Daniil of Kholm. The allied forces laid siege to Kazan and established the power of their protégé there.
In 1491 Ivan III supported Mengli-Girei in his fight against the children of Akhmat. This was the beginning of the final collapse of the Golden Horde. In 1502 the Crimean Khan achieved a complete victory over the last king of the Golden Horde - Shikhmat.
In the same period there were other changes in the anti-Moscow coalition. In 1492 the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Casimir died. His son Alexander was elected, like his father, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and to the throne of the Polish king sat another son of Casimir - Jan-Albrecht. Thus, the personal union of Lithuania and Poland was ruined. Ivan III took advantage of the moment of general confusion in the Polish-Lithuanian state and unexpectedly invaded Lithuanian borders.
The battle on the Ugra River that ended the Horde yoke. Miniature from the Illuminated Compass of Chronicles. XVI century.
The Lithuanians and Poles proved unprepared for the war and the peace that crowned it secured for the Moscow tsar the title of "Grand Duke of All Russia", because the lands previously seized by Lithuania in the upper reaches of the Oka, which had once belonged to local appanage princes who had converted to Moscow service, were reassigned to Moscow. Although the outcome of the war was secured by a dynastic marriage between Ivan III's daughter Helen and Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander, war over the northern lands soon broke out with renewed vigor. The decisive victory was won by Muscovite troops at the Battle of Vedroshe (1500), largely due to the cavalry raids of the Kazan' tsar Mahmet-Akhmian who had diverted large enemy forces. So, by the beginning of the 16th century Ivan III had every reason to call himself Grand Prince of All Russia. Indeed, the entire territory of ancient Russia, with the exception of the part occupied by Poland, became part of a new Russian state, which was now to step into an entirely different historical time.
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