Mongol conquestsWars and battles
Battle of the Kalka River
The first clash between Rus’ and the Mongols: the corps of Jebe and Subutai routed the combined army of the southern Rus’ princes and the Cumans.
- Date
- 31 May 1223exact dateDate in the Julian calendar
- Place
- Kalka Riverapproximate locationtoday: Sea of Azov region, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine · Eastern Europe
- Participants
- Mongol Empire, Jebe, Subutai, Cumans, Kievan Rus’, Mstislav Mstislavich the Bold, Mstislav III of Kyiv, Daniel of Galicia
- Threads
- Mongol conquests, Rus’ in the 13th century
- Also known as
- Битва при Калке
The Cuman khan Köten, hard pressed by the Mongols, persuaded the Rus’ princes to march out with him. The allies acted without coordination: the Cumans and the troops of Mstislav the Bold and Daniel Romanovich were overrun, while Prince Mstislav Romanovich of Kyiv held out for several days in a fortified camp above the Kalka, then surrendered and was killed. At least nine princes perished.
The Kalka is most often identified with the Kalchyk River near the Sea of Azov, but the exact site of the battle has not been found, so it is marked approximately.
Connections
Causes and preconditions
- Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire1219–1221 · Central and Northern AsiaThe raid of Jebe and Subutai began as a pursuit of the Khwarazmshah
Related events
- Battle of Lipitsabetween 21 April and 22 April 1216 · Eastern EuropeMstislav the Bold, the victor at Lipitsa, was one of the leaders of the Russian forces on the Kalka seven years later
- Mongol invasion of Europe1236–1242 · Eastern EuropeThirteen years later the Mongols returned with the great western campaign
Same participants
- The first Rus’ coinsbetween 988 and 1000 – 1015 · Eastern Europevia Kievan Rus’
- Battle of Adrianople14 April 1205 · Balkans and Anatoliavia Cumans
- Battle of the Indusbetween 24 November and 9 December 1221 · South Asiavia Mongol Empire
- Death of Genghis Khanbetween 18 August and 25 August 1227 · East Asiavia Mongol Empire
- Siege of Vladimir3 February – between 7 February and 8 February 1238 · Eastern Europevia Subutai
- Siege of Kyiv5 September – between 19 November and 6 December 1240 · Eastern Europevia Kievan Rus’
- Coronation of Daniel of Galicia1253 · Eastern Europevia Daniel of Galicia
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 5 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Albigensian Crusade1209–1229
Africa
- Rock-hewn churches of Lalibelac. 1181 – c. 1221
Central and Northern Asia
- Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire1219–1221
- Siege of SamarkandMarch 1220
- Siege of BukharaFebruary 1220
South Asia
- Battle of the Indusbetween 24 November and 9 December 1221
East Asia
- Death of Genghis Khanbetween 18 August and 25 August 1227
Southeast Asia and Oceania
- Construction of Angkor Thom and the Bayon1181 – c. 1218
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Battle of the Kalka River
- Wikipedia (Russian): Битва на Калке
- Феннел Дж. Кризис средневековой Руси. 1200–1304. — М.: Прогресс, 1989.
- Wikidata: Q570204