From the 1220s to the 1240s, the Mongols conquered the Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania and Iranian state of Alania, and various principalities in Eastern Europe. Following this, they began their invasion into Central Europe by launching a two-pronged invasion of then-fragmented Poland, culminating in the Battle of Legnica (April 9, 1241), and the Kingdom of Hungary, culminating in the Battle of Mohi (April 11, 1241). Invasions were also launched into the Caucasus against the Kingdom of Georgia, the Chechens, the Ingush, and Circassia though they failed to fully subjugate the latter. More invasions were launched in Southeast Europe against Bulgaria, Croatia, and the Latin Empire. The operations were planned by General Subutai (1175–1248) and commanded by Batu Khan () and Kadan (d. ), two grandsons of Genghis Khan. Their conquests integrated much of Eastern European territory into the empire of the Golden Horde. Warring European princes realized they had to cooperate in the face of a Mongol invasion, so local wars and conflicts were suspended in parts of central Europe, only to be resumed after the Mongols had withdrawn. After the initial invasions, subsequent raids and punitive expeditions continued into the late 13th century.
Melik, one of the princes from the Ögedei family who participated in the expedition, invaded the Transylvania region of the Hungarian kingdom, called Sasutsi in sources.new yuan history episode 270
General overview
Composition of Mongolian army
The Mongolian army that invaded Europe in the 13th century (principally the 1236–1242 campaigns led by Batu Khan and Subutai) was highly diverse and ethnically mixed, with ethnic Mongols often comprising a minority of the total force. While the leadership, elite cavalry, and core command in the Tumen units remained Mongol (mainly the Borjigin sub-clan, but also Merkits and Khitans), a significant majority of the soldiers—estimated by some historians to be 70–80% and so the "core army"—were Turkic nomads of the Eurasian Steppe (mainly Cumans/Kipchaks, Bashkirs, Volga Bulgars, Volga Tatars, Kazakhs, and Uyghurs), which were identified in contemporary European sources as "Tatars".
There were also significant numbers of conscripts from conquered sedentary populations, like Chinese people from Northern China, Iranian peoples from Greater Persia, and Caucasians; the Mongol army operationally took soldiers and technology from the peoples they conquered. Chinese specialists, prized due to their expertise in siegecraft, gunpowder, metallurgy and road construction, were primarily kept in the rear echelon operating siege machinery or managing logistics. Some academics have theorized that Mongolian reliance on Chinese and Muslim siege engineers, and their struggles when those non-Mongol specialists were killed or bogged down by European stone fortifications, were more important reasons for the Mongolian withdrawal of Europe than the death of Ögedei Khan.
On the other hand, the Iranians and other Muslims served as the sole bureaucratic, financial, and logistical backbone of the Mongol war machine because Mongols historically despised the tedious work of sedentary administration and urbanization. According to primary sources (like Ata-Malik Juvayni or Rashid al-Din), the Iranians established a network of overseers that was responsible for taking the census, drafting local European men into the infantry (the khashar), and collecting the taxes that funded the westward march. In the end, they settled in the Volga region to manage the empire's western frontier in modern European Russia, being key players in the Islamization of the Golden Horde.
Later, troops from the Russian principalities were recruited after the fall of the Kievan Rus', and were deployed against Poland, Hungary and the HRE during the European advance.Maiorov A. V. Troops of Rus' in the Mongol Army. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History, 2024, vol. 69, issue 3, рp. 548–565. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu02.2024.301 (In Russian)
Invasion of Kievan Rus'
In 1223, Mongols routed a near 50,000 army of Kievan Rus' at the Battle of the Kalka River, near modern-day Mariupol, before turning back for nearly a decade.
Ögedei Khan ordered Batu Khan to conquer Rus' in 1235. The main force, headed by Jochi's sons, and their cousins, Möngke Khan and Güyük Khan, arrived at Ryazan in December 1237. Ryazan refused to surrender, and the Mongols sacked it and then stormed Suzdalia. Many Rus' armies were defeated; Grand Prince Yuri was killed on the Sit River (March 4, 1238). Major cities such as Vladimir, Torzhok, and Kozelsk were captured.
Afterward, the Mongols turned their attention to the steppe, crushing the Kipchaks and the Alans, and sacking Crimea. Batu appeared in Kievan Rus' in 1239, sacking Pereyaslavl and Chernigov. The Mongols sacked Kiev on December 6, 1240, destroyed Sutiejsk, and conquered Galicia along with Vladimir-Volynsky. Batu sent a small detachment to probe the Poles before passing on to Central Europe. One column was routed by the Poles while the other defeated the Polish army and returned.
Invasion of Central Europe
The attack on Europe was planned and executed by Subutai, who achieved perhaps his most lasting fame with his victories there. Having devastated the various Rus' principalities, he sent spies into Poland and Hungary, and as far as eastern Austria, in preparation for an attack into the heartland of Europe.Bitwa pod Legnicą Chwała Oręża Polskiego Nr 3. Rzeczpospolita and Mówią Wieki. Primary author Rafał Jaworski. 12 August 2006 . p. 8 Having a clear picture of the European kingdoms, he prepared an attack nominally commanded by Batu Khan and two other familial-related princes. Batu Khan, son of Jochi, held supreme command, but Subutai was the strategist and commander in the field, and as such, was present in both the northern and southern campaigns against Rus' principalities.Bitwa pod Legnicą Chwała Oręża Polskiego Nr 3. Rzeczpospolita and Mówią Wieki. Primary author Rafał Jaworski. 12 August 2006 . p. 4 He also commanded the central column that moved against Hungary. While Kadan's northern force won the Battle of Legnica and Güyük's army triumphed in Transylvania, Subutai was waiting for them on the Hungarian plain. The newly reunited army then withdrew to the Sajó river where they inflicted a decisive defeat on King Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi. Again, Subutai masterminded the operation, and it would prove one of his greatest victories.
Invasion of Poland
The Mongols invaded Central Europe with three armies. One army defeated an alliance which included forces from fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry II the Pious, Duke of Silesia in the Battle of Legnica. A second army crossed the Carpathian Mountains and a third followed the Danube. The armies re-grouped and crushed Hungary in 1241, defeating the Hungarian army at the Battle of Mohi on April 11, 1241. The devastating Mongol invasion killed half of Hungary's population. The armies swept the plains of Hungary over the summer, and in early 1242 regained impetus and launched campaigns into Dalmatia and Moravia. The Great Khan had, however, died in December 1241, and on hearing the news, all the "Princes of the Blood," against Subutai's recommendation, went back to Mongolia to elect the new Khan.Hildinger, Erik. Mongol Invasions: Battle of Liegnitz . First published as: "The Mongol Invasion of Europe" in Military History, (June, 1997).
After sacking Kiev,The Destruction of Kiev Batu Khan sent a smaller group of troops to Poland, destroying Lublin and defeating an inferior Polish army. Other elements, not part of the main Mongol force, encountered difficulty near the Polish-Halych border.
The Mongols then reached Polaniec on the Czarna Hańcza, where they set up camp.Trawinski, Allan. The Clash of Civilizations. Page Publishing, Inc. (March 20, 2017). Section 15. There, the Voivode attacked them with the remaining Cracovian knights, which were few in number, but determined to vanquish the invader or die. Surprise gave the Poles an initial advantage and they managed to kill many Mongol soldiers. When the invaders realized the actual numerical weakness of the Poles, they regrouped, broke through the Polish ranks and defeated them. During the fighting, many Polish prisoners of war found ways to escape and hide in the nearby woods. The Polish defeat was partly influenced by the initially successful Polish knights having been distracted by looting.
Invasion of German lands On April 9, 1241, Mongol detachments entered the Margravate of Meissen and the March of Lusatia following a decisive Mongol victory at the Battle of Legnica in Poland. The Mongol light reconnaissance units, led by Orda Khan, pillaged through Meissen and burned most of the city of Meissen to the ground. The Chronica sancti Pantaleonis records these attacks.
Invasion of Lands of the Bohemian crown (Bohemia, Moravia) After the defeat of the European forces at Legnica, the Mongols then continued pillaging throughout Poland's neighboring states, particularly Moravia. King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia returned to protect his kingdom after arriving in Legnica a day late. He gathered reinforcements from Thuringia and Saxony on his way back. He stationed his troops in the mountainous border regions of Bohemia where the Mongols would not be able to utilize their cavalry effectively.de Hartog, Leo. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. Tauris Parke Paperbacks (January 17, 2004). p. 173.
By that time, Mongolian forces had divided into two, one led by Batu and Subutai who were planning to invade Hungary, and another led by Baidar and Kadan who were ravaging their way through Silesia and Moravia. When they arrived to attack Bohemia, the kingdom's defenses discouraged them from attacking and they withdrew to the town of Otmuchów in Poland.Hildinger, Eric. Warriors Of The Steppe: Military History Of Central Asia, 500 Bc To 1700 Ad. Da Capo Press; 3rd printing edition (July 21, 1997). p. 144. A small force of Mongolians did attack the strategically located (on the way to the mountain passes) Bohemian town of Kladsko (Kłodzko) but Wenceslaus' cavalry managed to fend them off. August 29, 2016Zimmermann, Wilhelm. A Popular History of Germany from the Earliest Period to the Present Day . Nabu Press (February 24, 2010). p. 1109. The Mongols then tried to take the town of Olomouc, but Wenceslaus with the aid of Austrian Babenbergs repulsed the raid.Maurice, Charles Edmund. The Story of Bohemia from the Earliest Times to the Fall of National Independence in 1620: With a Short Summary of Later Events – Primary Source Edition. Nabu Press (March 18, 2014). p. 75. Berend, Nora, Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary and Poland, c.900–c.1300 . Cambridge University Press (February 17, 2014). p. 447. A Mongol commander was captured in a sortie near Olomouc.Długosz, The Annals, 181. However, due to limited historical data, the at this time is questionable. Under Wenceslaus' leadership during the Mongol invasion, Bohemia remained one of a few central European kingdoms that was never pillaged by the Mongols even though most countries around it such as Poland and Hungary were ravaged. Such was his success that chroniclers sent messages to Emperor Frederick II of his victorious defense. After these failed attempts, Baidar and Kadan continued raiding Moravia (via the Moravian Gate route into the valley of the river Morava towards the Danube) before finally going southward to reunite with Batu and Subutai in Hungary.
Invasion of Hungary