wj1980x
25.01.06, 16:14
www.ukrstore.com.ua/4252080621
The Tartar Yoke
If the Byzantine heritage has had an important influence on the development of
Russian history and culture, so has another heritage, coming from another
direction and leaving behind more uncertain benefits. The destinies of
nations, like the fates of individuals, are sometimes profoundly affected by
events over which they have no control. The conquest by the Mongols, in the
thirteenth century, of a large portion of the then known world, including
Russia, is a good example of the decisive part which the contingent and the
unforeseen play in human affairs.
The Mongols were a mixed group of peoples who first enter upon the world state
in the area of North China and Eastern Siberia. They were nomads who raised
cattle and moved about on fleet horses. They were fierce warriors who had
perfected the art of horseback Blitzkrieg. They were always on the move,
looking for better grazing pastures and sedentary settlements to plunder.
According to tradition the various Mongol chiefs held a council in 1206 which
decided to establish an empire under the leadership of Ghingis Khan. So they
embarked on a vast program of conquest. In 1207 they took southern Siberia,
followed by long wars in China and Turkestan. By the time of Ghingis Khan's
death in 1227 they had conquered China, Siberia, central Asia and Trans-Caucasia.
Although a flying detachment of Mongol horsemen invaded Russia and defeated
her armies in 1223, giving the Russians a taste of what was to come, nothing
happened until 13 years later. In 1236, however, Batu, the grandson of the
great Khan, decided it was time to go on the warpath again. A large Mongol
army under Batu crossed the Urals and wiped out the Volga Bulgars. This time
it was more than fun and games. The Mongols brought wagons, wives, children
and cattle with them. Although the Russians did not at first realize it, the
Mongols apparently planned to stay for a while. But they made themselves
rather unwelcome by destroying cities, towns and settlements. Yet the Russian
princes made no effort to unite and organize for the defense.
The princes of Riazon, the first Russian land to be invaded, pleaded vainly
for assistance from the grand duke of Vladimir. The city of Riazan was
captured in December 1237, pillaged and burned. A similar fate befell Kalomma,
Moscow, Suzdal, Vladimir, Rostov, Yaroslav and Tver. The next spring 14 more
Russian cities fell to the conqueror. By 1239 most of Russia except Novgorod
and the northwest had been subdued. In 1241 Batu crossed the Carpathians and
invaded Hungary, Silesia, Moravia, Croatia and the Dalmatian coast of the
Adriatic. Batu was about to threaten Western Europe in 1242 when he suddenly
turned back and retreated to the Black Sea steppes. For the next 240 years the
Mongols stayed in Russia.
In the Black Sea area Batu established the autonomous Mongol state of the
Golden Horde with the newly built capital of Sarai on the lower Volga. This
state included the Russian principalities, the land of the Volga Bulgars, the
Black Sea steppes inhabited by the Cumans, the northern Caucasus, Western
Siberia and Turkestan. The Golden Horde was at first a province of the Mongol
empire. This fact forced many Russian princes to travel all the way to
Karakorum in Mongolia to consult with the great Khan himself over such things
as tribute, conformation of office and redress of grievances. But dissension
eventually weakened the empire and its autonomous states became warring factions.
In the fifteenth century it became apparent that the Mongol empire could no
longer hold together. At the same time the Russians finally succeeded in
overcoming their ancient disorders. and building up a unified state under the
leadership of the Moscow princes. The disintegration of the Golden Horde and
them consolidation of Muscovy culminated in what is traditionally known as the
"liberation from the Tatar yoke," an event that took place at the end of the
fifteenth century.
The Mongols, as a nation, were notably free from racial and religious
exclusiveness. They mixed willingly with the Chinese, absorbed and assimilated
the Cumans and other nomadic peoples whom they had conquered. In the
fourteenth century they officially embraced Islam. With the weakening of the
Golden Horde, many Tatar chieftains and dignitaries entered the Russian
service and were eventually merged with the Russian nobility.
The khans of the Golden Horde were stern masters. The principal objective of
their Russian policy was recruitment of men for the army and the raising of
revenue to meet the costs of administration and imperial expansion. Russian
soldiers are known to have fought in the ranks of the conquerors. The Russian
princes continued to draft men into their armed forces as they did before the
invasion, but under the Mongol rule these troops were largely at the disposal
of the khan.
Exaction of tribute was one of the chief concerns of the Golden Horde in
dealing with the Russian dependency. There was a variety of new taxes and
their assessment was based on census taken by the Tartars. Collection of
tribute was at first in the hands of Mongol officials, but late this function
was handed over to Russian grand dukes and princes. The most important direct
tax was the "vykhod". Its total amount was determined by the Mongols and was
then assessed by the local grand duke among the princes under his
jurisdiction, who made the final allocation and then collected it. Direct
extortion's were heavy, among them being the provision of transportation,
lodgings and maintenance for Mongol officials. No less burdensome were the
frequent trips the princes had to make to Mongolia and Sarai to appear before
the Khan. They usually brought their families and suitable presents for the
Khan and his officials.
While the devastation wrought by the invasion was great, the conquerors made
surprisingly few formal changes in the pattern of the Russian government. But
one change was unmistakable: the source of all power was now the sovereign
will of the khan of the Golden Horde. This meant in practice that the Russian
princes had to be confirmed in office by their new suzerain and that all major
issues were referred to the Golden Horde. The Mongols, however, seldom used
their absolute powers in an arbitrary fashion. As a rule they showed respect
for Russian traditional institutions and confirmed in office the princes who
appeared to be entitled to it by precedent and custom. When more than one
prince appeared to claim the position the khan usually selected the prince who
promised to raise the most tribute. Thus the Russian people usually received a
higher tax rate along with a new prince.
The dynastic position of some of the ruling families, as for instance the
princes of Moscow, was strengthened by increasing the financial burdens of the
people whom they governed. In many instances the princes came to be looked
upon, not as spokesmen of local interests before the Mongol power, but as
agents of the khan enforcing his edicts at the expense of the local
people.*Another significant change brought by the Mongols was the undermining
of the constitutional position of the veche. After the conquest the veche was
deprived of its traditional powers of making agreements with the princes and
of expelling or inviting them. This loss of authority, combined with the
devastation suffered by the commercial cities and the decline of trade during
the opening decades of the Mongol rule, was responsible for the eclipse of the
veche. With the exception of Novgorod and Pskov the veche ceased to meet in
the middle of the fourteenth century.
The church fared poorly during the invasion. Monasteries and houses of worship
were pillaged and burned, bishops and priests were butc
