1240 Mongol Siege of Kiev

David777

David777

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In recent months I've been increasingly adding ancient history to my usual science - techology readings and currently am reading an anthropology book on marriage. Some shocking stories of mass murder and brutality of early civilization cities by massive armies of warmongering men that besides plundering any wealth, often killed all but beautiful enough women, army men then divided up as seks slaves. Leaders would often get the other's ruling city's best concubines with a military command pecking order below that of choosing whatever women.

The below history is much later than the Mesopotamian Ubain Period 5000 BC where such warmongering in first human city states began. I'm reading about some far more massive massacres by such murderous rape crazed hordes of men I've yet to research. Since it is about Kiev (now in Ukraine) that is in our headline news again in war, I thought it might be an interesting read for members as we uncover some shameful ancient human history that ought be a warning of how fragile our society's are and how evil and brutal worst humans can be especially as massive mobs.

Mongol Siege of Kiev:

Siege of Kiev (1240) - Wikipedia

The siege of Kiev by the Mongols took place between 28 November and 6 December 1240, and resulted in a Mongol victory. It was a heavy morale and military blow to the Principality of Galicia–Volhynia, which was forced to submit to Mongol suzerainty, and allowed Batu Khan to proceed westward into Central Europe.

Batu Khan and the Mongols began their invasion in late 1237 by conquering the northeastern Rus' Principality of Ryazan. Then, in 1238 the Mongols went south-west and destroyed the cities of Vladimir and Kozelsk. In 1239, they captured both Pereyaslav and Chernigov with their sights set on Kiev.

The Mongol envoys sent to Kiev to demand submission were executed by Grand Prince Michael of Chernigov. The Mongol capture of Chernigov caused Michael to flee to Hungary in 1239 or 1240. The Smolensk prince Rostislav II Mstislavich seized the opportunity to claim Kiev for himself, but was in turn soon driven out by Daniel of Galicia-Volhynia.

The next year, Batu Khan's army under the tactical command of the great Mongol general Subutai reached Kiev (in November 1240. At the time, the city was ruled by the Principality of Galicia–Volhynia, having been recently captured by Danylo Romanovych. The chief commander in Kiev was Voivode Dmytro, while Danylo was in Hungary at that time, seeking a military union to prevent invasion.

The vanguard army under Batu's cousin Möngke came near the city. Möngke was apparently taken by the splendor of Kiev and offered the city terms for surrender, but his envoys were killed. The Mongols chose to assault the city. Batu Khan destroyed the forces of the Rus vassals, the Chorni Klobuky, who were on their way to relieve Kiev, and the entire Mongol army camped outside the city gates, joining Möngke's troops.

Scholar Alexander Maiorov (2016) compared all the dates in the surviving records of the events, concluding that the siege of Kiev lasted just nine days, from 28 November to 6 December 1240. On 28 November, the Mongols set up catapults near one of the three gates of old Kiev where tree cover extended almost to the city walls. The Mongols then began a bombardment that lasted several days. On 6 December, Kiev's walls were breached, and hand-to-hand combat followed in the streets. The Kievans suffered heavy losses and Dmytro was wounded by an arrow.

When night fell, the Mongols held their positions while the Kievans retreated to the central parts of the city. Many people crowded into the Church of the Tithes. The next day, as the Mongols commenced the final assault, the church's balcony collapsed under the weight of the people standing on it, crushing many.

After the Mongols won the battle, they plundered Kiev. Most of the population was massacred. Out of 50,000 inhabitants before the invasion, about 2,000 survived. Most of the city was burned and only six out of forty major buildings remained standing. Dmytro, however, was shown mercy for his bravery.

After their victory at Kiev, the Mongols forced both Galicia and Volhynia to submit to Batu Khan's suzerainty, and they were free to advance westward into Hungary and Poland. The Mongol advance westward only halted in September 1242, when Batu Khan heard the news that Ögedei Khan had died, and Batu needed to attend the quriltai where a successor would be chosen. Soon after, the new Mongol regime began collecting tributes through a basqaq in Kiev and elsewhere, as Carpine already observed in the 1240s...
 

from Quora post:

In ancient wars, women were also a kind of loot, especially young and beautiful women. They were even more sought-after. For the powerful Mongolian army, obtaining more women was an inexhaustible source of war.

In the first westward expedition, their goal was the beauty of Central Asia. Like a gust of wind, they destroyed the seemingly powerful flower. Everywhere the Mongolian army went, they burned and looted. Every time a city was breached, the city was inevitably slaughtered. In order to "reward" the military achievements of the Mongolian soldiers, Genghis Khan allowed them to plunder for three days.

In these three days, the Mongols would repeatedly display their base desires, killing people, and inevitably raping the women. After this battle, the Mongolian soldiers rushed to fill the bowl, and many people had female slaves of Central Asian nationality.

In the second westward expedition, the Mongols aimed at Eastern European countries. The powerful Mongolian cavalry swept the vast land from Russia to Poland, and the beautiful Russian girl became a popular commodity for the Mongols. According to the records of the Mongols at the time, the women of Ruros (Russia) were white and plump, and they were enthusiastic and unrestrained. They were good materials for female (seks) slaves.

Therefore, in the war to conquer Kievan Rus, a large number of Russian girls became playthings of the Mongols, most of them returned to the Mongolian grasslands with the Mongols east. A small number of Mongolian soldiers who followed Batu Khan stayed in Russia and became dependents of the Khancha Khanate.
 
This seems to be the natural behaviour for most men. What you have described happens over and over again all over the world. How can people think of world peace when slaughter and plunder is the sole purpose of many people's lives?
 

Although the above ancient history is an utterly shameful record of what warmongering humans have done to innocents, it was the tip of far greater murderous, plundering, rapest atrocities.

https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstre...BegChughtaiBaghdad.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

...Our story begins with the birth of Chengiz Khan [Genghis]. Chosen
Khaqan in, he became lord of all dominions from Kachak to Mon-
golia. His private appellation was Temujin although he is remembered by
his pseudonyms, the Great Khan, the Great Khaqan and the title coined
by his victims, “Qahr-e Khuda,” the “Wrath of God.”

Abdul Latif, the famous Muslim historian, writes of his nation of
Mongols in these words: “Their men and their women fight in combat.
The arrow is their main weapon and meat their staple food. No one is
spared in their onslaught. They will not even let the women and children
get away.”

Chengiz had no contact with the Islamic world but his kingdom
shared a common border with the dominions of Khwarizm Shah. The
Muslims invited trouble when one of the Khwarizm’s governors rashly
ordered the execution of some Mongol traders and the confiscation of
their goods.

Chengiz wanted to establish friendly relations with the Khwarizm
Shah. He sent an emissary, demanding to have the governor tried and
punished. It was after a denial of justice and the murder of his emissary
that the Mongol took to the sword. A million Mongols are said to have
marched under his standards on the campaign against the most powerful
of the Muslim princes.

They swarmed out of the Steppes and swept away
everything before them. Khwarizm Shah assembled an army of four hun-
dred thousand to withstand the onslaught. 1 One after another the towns,
villages, Casbahs and fortresses were overrun; their populace subjected to
rapine and slaughter. Vast tracts of land, once prosperous and beautiful,
now lay in ruins. Except for corpses and piles of rubble, nothing
remained.

After leveling Khajand and slaughtering the inhabitants of Bokhara,
Chengiz marched upon Samarkand. Samarkand was a unique city in the
Islamic empire. A London or Paris of its time, it was the capital of old
Sogdiana and unrivaled in the entire world for its trade, industry and
commerce. The citadel of Samarkand had a perimeter wall of three miles,
manned by a garrison of one million. With such a large military presence,
it is easy to imagine the immense scale of the town.

Mongol troops besieged the capital. The siege was supported by the
mutiny of sixty thousand of its defenders who left the ramparts to join
Mongol ranks, but Chengiz showed little sympathy with the turncoats
and had them executed. Astonished by the multitude and valor of the Mon-
gol troops, he withdrew his forces to defend frontier towns, but the Mongols
pursued him and besieged the towns.

He pleaded for a cessation of hostilities but their pleas were ignored. The city
was ravaged and, except for some artisans and other laborers who
amounted to fifty thousand, the entire populace was put to the sword. It
is said that nine hundred and fifty thousand people perished. If the
destruction of a city of a million and the slaughter of nine hundred and
fifty thousand of its inhabitants is not the “Wrath of God” then what is?

After Samarkand and Bokhara, Chengiz Khan’s army turned towards
Balkh. The inhabitants of Balkh had heard of the fate of Samarkand;
fearing for their lives, they decided not to put up a fight. They sent emis-
saries instead, laden with gifts, to sue for peace. Chengiz Khan took the
gifts and seemingly accepted their terms.
Then he lured the inhabitants
outside the town for a census and they were slaughtered as soon as they
had assembled. The town was burnt to the ground.
After Balkh came Khiva’s turn. The population was slaughtered and
the banks of the Oxus were breached to flood the town. Not a vestige was
left of its existence.

From Khiva, Chengiz proceeded to Nesa. Seventy thousand men,
women and children were rounded up, bound, forced to lie down on the
ground and then pierced with arrows. Next came Nishapur, which was
Banu Tahir’s capital. In and around the capital city, seven
[one] million forty-seven thousand people were massacred. The city was leveled,
its foundations ploughed and, to set an example, its soil was sown with
barley.

From here Chengiz rode towards Herat, inflicting upon it the same
fate as its predecessors. The town was annihilated. One million six hun-
dred thousand people were killed. Such was the devastation that when the
Mughals of Hindustan reclaimed the town many years later, only forty
residents could be assembled in the central mosque.

Juvainμ relates that the Mongols built a tower of skulls in Nishapur. “Flies
and wolves feasted on the breasts of sadrs; eagles on mountain tops regaled them-
selves with the flesh of delicate women; vultures banqueted on the throats of
houris.”

After Herat came Zilla’s turn. Zilla was a seat of governance.
Hamadan and Dunbawar fell after, their fate equally grim. From here,
Chengiz pursued Jalaluddin Khwarizmi to the banks of Indus.
The Mongol hordes left a trail of scorched earth behind them. The
caliph’s armies stopped Genghis from entering Arabian Iraq but Tran-
soxiana, Khorasan and Iran lay in ruins, their civilizations turned into
deserts, their famed cities in rubble, their roads desolate. Chengiz Khan
died on the return journey. Over twenty million people perished in his
massacres. This number will suffice for now, although some historians
claim that the actual figure is far greater.

Chengiz Khan had close to a hundred sons and grandsons. The well-
known ones include: Batu Khan, Mangu Khan, Kublai Khan, Chughtai
Khan, Hulegu Khan, and others. Kublai Khan became emperor of
Cathay, Batu Khan sat upon his father’s throne, and Chughtai Khan
became famous for his progeny...
 
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San Francisco is notorious for its history of Chinese prostitution slavery.

They made big profits, not only locally but also in selling Chinese girls downstate and into other Western States. This even continued into the 20th Century.

Glass houses.
 
from above...
Chengiz Khan had close to a hundred sons and grandsons. The well-
known ones include: Batu Khan, Mangu Khan, Kublai Khan, Chughtai
Khan, Hulegu Khan, and others. Kublai Khan became emperor of
Cathay, Batu Khan sat upon his father’s throne, and Chughtai Khan
became famous for his progeny...

They left off Chaka Khan, his most well known descendent...
 
hollydolly said:
Fascinating, I've never heard of this until now. Why Kiev ..do you know ?... why were the Chinese willing to go to such a far off country ?
Click to expand...

Genghis of Mongolia needed reasons to keep his massive army of horse riding crazed warriors occupied. They had already replaced Chinese leaders in their region so slowly migrated west across the continent. The prize of riches like gold, silver, and jewels, were alone strong incentives especially for his generals and military officers, but for his myriad warriors, the glory of fighting, battle, and killings were strong male bonding pursuits with after victories, destructively plundering cities raping, and enslaving women a physically addicting factor.

What Motivated the Mongol Conquests of Genghis Khan?
 
David777 said:
Genghis of Mongolia needed reasons to keep his massive army of horse riding crazed warriors occupied. They had already replaced Chinese leaders in their region so slowly migrated west across the continent. The prize of riches like gold, silver, and jewels, were alone strong incentives especially for his generals and military officers, but for his myriad warriors, the glory of fighting, battle, and killings were strong male bonding pursuits with after victories, destructively plundering cities raping, and enslaving women a physically addicting factor.

What Motivated the Mongol Conquests of Genghis Khan?
Click to expand...
The Mongols attacked Kiev in 1240 because the authorities in Kiev killed Mongol ambassadors:




  • Background
    The Mongols had been planning to conquer Eastern Europe for a long time. In 1223, they defeated a united Rus' army at the Battle of the Kalka River. In 1237, they began their invasion of Kievan Rus' by conquering Ryazan. They then captured Pereyaslav and Chernigov in 1239.


  • The attack
    In 1240, Batu Khan's army, led by the Mongol general Subutai, reached Kiev. The city was ruled by the Principality of Galicia–Volhynia, and the chief commander was Voivode Dmytro. The Mongols sacked and burned Kiev after the authorities killed Mongol ambassadors.
The Mongols' invasion of Kievan Rus' led to the establishment of the Golden Horde, a western extension of the Mongol Empire. Some of the taxes and laws imposed by the Mongols remained in place until 1480, and had a lasting impact on Russia.
 
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@hollydolly the following 84 minute 6 chapter documentary Youtube video best describes 12,000 years of murderous barbarians versus civilization human conflict. For centuries myriad defensive walls were built, but eventually became ineffective. A powerful statement against those religious who thought [insert a god's name] protected them. Recommend watching the whole well crafted video with many superb images and art, video for understanding our shameful human past.


1:01:00
13th Century AD
Genghis Khan insisted that then Mongols should always be, in his own words, a people whose tents were protected by skirt of felt. In return, he would reward them with things he takes from earthen walled cities. The Mongols looked with disgust on the civilized peoples to their south. They build city walls one remarked. They won't run away from us, carrying off the walls of their cities. Genghis knew just how to deal with people like them.

He would cut them to pieces. Seize their possessions. Make their loved ones cry and rape their women. This he said was man's GREATEST JOY.

The Mongols invasions devastated China. At Beijing Genghis slaughtered the survivors of the siege. Fires burned in the city for a month. Skeletons lay heaped in piles. A visitor arriving just a month after Mongols departed remarked "the ground was still oily with human fat. Allegedly years later, massive pyramids of human skulls could still be seen.

The rest of China fared no better. In 1207, the last census before the Mongol invasions found 120 million people living there. By 1290 the population had recovered to just 60 million.

In Genghis's mind, the fate of the civilized was just. Heaven is weary of the inordinate luxury of China he said.
---------------------------

Following that chapter V, the final chapter VI describes the final destruction of the last great walled city of Western civilization Christians at Constantinople by Turkish Islamic armies that were descended from Khan's steppe warriors.
 
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