Discover

'Battle of the Kalka River' (May 31, 1223) was the first military engagement between the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan and the Rus warriors.
It was fought on the bank of the Kalka River, somewhere between present-day Donetsk and Mariupol.

Contents

Background

The battle

Aftermath

References

Background

Early in 1223, the Mongol armies under Subutai Bahadur and Jebei Noyon 'the Arrow' - Genghis Khan's dreaded "dogs of war" - approached the steppe occupied by the Kipchak nomads. Khan Kotian of the Kipchaks escaped to the court of his son-in-law, Mstislav the Bold of Halych, and asked him for help, saying: "Today they will slaughter us, tomorrow they will come for you." Several other princes, including Mstislav III of Kiev, joined their forces with Kipchak allies in Kiev and sailed down the Dnieper. There was no unity in the Slavic camp, as the princes were political rivals and each hoped to obtain a supreme command over the army.
The Mongols sent several emissaries to the Slavic princes offering peace. They asked Mstislav and his army to let them have their way with the Kipchaks and promised not to raid into Slavic lands. Mstislav however was confident of victory and had the ambassadors killed. The princes then spied an advance guard of the Mongols and pursued it for eight days until they reached the fateful Kalka River.

The battle

Mstislav of Kiev's forces, which had chosen not to cross the river, were attacked and besieged in their camp by the main body of the Mongol horde. Another part of the Rus army crossed the river and attacked the Mongols, but the Kipchak allies retreated in disarray and only Mstislav the Bold stood firm and then escaped from the enemy with a tenth part of original force.
The camp where other princes were besieged was assaulted for three days, and finally taken. There was no mercy for the defeated army. Six princes were taken prisoner, stretched out under the wooden boards and slowly suffocated while Mongols feasted upon the boards during their victory banquet.

Aftermath

The Battle of the Kalka River is commonly viewed as a catastrophe in the disintegrating Kievan Rus'. The Mongol commanders, however, were not inclined to conquer Rus at that time. Genghis Khan viewed their mission as a mere reconnaissance in force to prepare a better attack in the future. The Mongols returned under the leadership of Batu Khan more than a decade later, in 1237, in a more extensive campaign.

References