On August 26, 1382, the Khan of the Golden Horde, Tokhtamysh, tricked the inhabitants of Moscow into opening the gates in front of his troops, and then completely ruined the city.
The Horde did not engage in confrontation with the main forces of the Moscow principality, which Dmitry Donskoy gathered in Kostroma, and retreated.
Tokhtamysh's raid weakened Moscow, so the principality again had to pay tribute to the Golden Horde.
However, the khan did not want the conflict to escalate, therefore he secured the great reign for Moscow and refused to interfere in its internal affairs.
Prerequisites for a raid
In the second half of the XIV century, the Golden Horde began to lose influence on the Russian lands.
Between representatives of the Horde aristocracy there was an internecine struggle for power, and in the lands of North-Eastern Russia there was a process of gradual political consolidation around Moscow.
Prince Dmitry Donskoy stopped paying tribute to the Horde.
In 1378 and 1380, Russian troops on the Vozha River and on the Kulikovo field won major victories over the forces of the influential Horde statesman Mamai, who ruled the Golden Horde through khans controlled by him.
Mamai began to prepare the next campaign against Moscow, but at that time a new contender for power appeared in the Golden Horde - Tokhtamysh, who, unlike Mamai himself, belonged to the Genghisid dynasty and could officially claim the khan's throne.
The armies of Mamai and Tokhtamysh clashed on the Kalka River.
Tokhtamysh turned out to be stronger, and the Horde aristocrats, previously controlled by Mamai, began to massively switch to his side.
Mamai fled to the Crimean port of Kaffa (modern Feodosia), where he was killed - presumably by his former allies, the Genoese, who were flattered by his treasury.
Tokhtamysh, having become a full-fledged khan of the Golden Horde, set about restoring control over the lands previously dependent on it.
He sent envoys to Russia with a notice that Mamai had been defeated and that there was now a new power in the Horde.
According to historians, Tokhtamysh approved the actions of Dmitry Donskoy’s troops on the Kulikovo field as a fight against the usurper Mamai, but at the same time demanded that the Russian princes submit to the “legitimate khan” and begin to pay tribute to the Golden Horde again.
“Many Russian soldiers died in the Battle of Kulikovo: several princes, hundreds of boyars, thousands of warriors.
Having defeated Mamai, Dmitry Donskoy needed a respite to restore the troops, so he was not ready to resume active struggle.
He hoped that the strife in the Horde would distract Tokhtamysh for a while, ”Andrey Bogdanov, a leading researcher at the IRI RAS, said in a conversation with RT.
According to experts, Dmitry Donskoy sent congratulations and rich gifts to Tokhtamysh, but did not go to him personally and avoided paying tribute.
"Dmitry Donskoy prays before the battle", the work of Vasily Vereshchagin, 1891
© Wikimedia Commons
“The supreme power of Tokhtamysh was formally recognized by Dmitry Donskoy.
At the same time, the payment of tribute did not resume, because it was not clear what would happen next in the Horde and whether the internecine war would resume, ”Anton Gorsky, chief researcher of the IRI RAS, emphasized in a comment to RT.
According to historians, Dmitry Donskoy wanted to avoid restoring full Horde control over his principality, but avoided direct confrontation due to lack of strength.
Tokhtamysh, in turn, was afraid that if Moscow strengthened, he would not be able to do anything with it.
Therefore, the khan began to urgently prepare a campaign against the Moscow principality.
“Tokhtamysh in no way underestimated the strength of the Russians.
He saw his only chance in surprise and speed, ”wrote historian Georgy Vernadsky in the scientific work Mongols and Russia.
Khan Tokhtamysh, a fragment of an illustration for an annals of the 16th century
© Wikimedia Commons
According to Andrey Bogdanov, the Horde Khan ordered to kill the Russian merchants on the Volga so that they would not have time to warn Dmitry Donskoy about the attack, and he himself, with the cavalry at his disposal, moved towards Moscow with maximum speed.
The ruin of Moscow
When Tokhtamysh invaded the Russian lands, some of the princes, fearing for the fate of their possessions, went over to his side.
The Grand Duke of Nizhny Novgorod and Suzdal Dmitry sent his sons Vasily and Semyon to the Khan with rich gifts and an expression of humility.
And the Grand Duke of Ryazan Oleg provided Tokhtamysh with guides who showed him the fords across the Oka.
Due to the unexpectedness of the attack, Dmitry Donskoy did not have enough strength to give battle to the enemy near Moscow.
He left for Kostroma to gather troops there for the defense of the principality.
And his cousin Vladimir Serpukhovsky began to gather forces near Volokolamsk.
“This was a common tactic for the time when the ruler preferred not to sit in a siege, but to control the situation from the outside.
Moscow seemed impregnable.
It could only be taken by cunning, ”said Anton Gorsky.
According to historians, Dmitry Donskoy was so confident in the impregnability of Moscow that he left his wife, Princess Evdokia, Metropolitan Cyprian and the princely treasury in the city.
However, after the departure of Dmitry Donskoy, disagreements began among the townspeople, resulting in riots.
Some of the wealthy Muscovites tried to leave the city, and this aroused indignation among ordinary citizens.
The exit from Moscow was blocked.
The capital of the principality was left by Princess Evdokia, who went to her husband, and Metropolitan Cyprian, who temporarily settled in Tver.
“The defense of Moscow was officially headed by Prince Alexander Ostey from the Gediminovich dynasty.
According to the assumptions of historians, while in the Russian service, he led one of the detachments of the princely squad left in Moscow, ”said Vitaly Zakharov, a professor at Moscow State Pedagogical University, in a conversation with RT.
"Defense of Moscow", illustration by G. Lissner for the book by V. Kargalov "Rus and nomads"
© Wikimedia Commons
Muscovites, in order to deprive the Horde of cover, burned the settlements located behind the fortress walls in advance.
On August 23, 1382, the forward detachments of Tokhtamysh's troops reached Moscow.
The Horde asked the Muscovites who were on the walls if the prince was in the city.
Having received a negative answer, they circled the fortifications and withdrew.
The next day, Tokhtamysh's army laid siege to Moscow and began its assault.
The townspeople fired at the enemy with bows and crossbows, threw stones, poured boiling water over the Horde.
“It is believed that during the defense of Moscow from Tokhtamysh in Russia, for the first time in history, cannons were used,” said Vitaly Zakharov.
"Invasion of Tokhtamysh", painting by V. Smirnov, 19th century
© Wikimedia Commons
After several unsuccessful assault attempts, Tokhtamysh's troops suffered heavy losses.
Convinced of the futility of the assault actions, the Khan entered into negotiations with the Muscovites.
The ambassadors of Tokhtamysh told the townspeople that the Horde ruler was ready to lift the siege, satisfied with "small gifts."
The sincerity of the khan was sworn to the Muscovites by the sons of the prince of Nizhny Novgorod and Suzdal Dmitry - Vasily and Semyon, brothers of Dmitry Donskoy's wife Evdokia.
Believing the promises of the khan, Muscovites opened the city gates on August 26.
Prince Ostei, together with the priests, left the city with gifts for Tokhtamysh.
However, the Horde killed the delegation, and then broke into Moscow.
The city was completely looted and burned.
A huge number of citizens and people who took refuge behind the Moscow walls were killed or driven into slavery.
According to some estimates, the death toll in the city has reached 24 thousand people.
Having ruined Moscow, the Horde began to plunder the rest of the territory of the principality.
In particular, they captured Pereyaslavl (modern Pereslavl-Zalessky), whose inhabitants escaped by boating into the waters of Lake Pleshcheyevo.
However, near Volokolamsk, the advance detachment of the Horde was defeated by the forces of Vladimir Serpukhovsky.
In addition, rumors reached Tokhtamysh that Dmitry Donskoy had gathered a strong army in Kostroma and was preparing to attack the enemy.
The Horde began to hastily retreat.
On the way back, they ruined the Ryazan principality.
"The ruin of Moscow by Tokhtamysh", illustration from the chronicle, 16th century
© Wikimedia Commons
“Tokhtamysh was unable to win a full-fledged military victory, and therefore captured Moscow by deceit.
But Dmitry Donskoy was not defeated.
He missed the raid, but did not lose the war, ”Andrey Bogdanov emphasized.
According to Anton Gorsky, Moscow recovered quickly.
But against the background of its ruin, many of the Russian princes hastened to establish relations with Tokhtamysh.
“Feudal fragmentation once again prevailed over all-Russian interests for a while,” historian Vadim Kargalov stated in the book Rus and the Nomads.
Dmitry Donskoy had to enter into negotiations with Tokhtamysh, who, according to historians, did not want to continue the confrontation with Moscow.
Khan gave Dmitry a label for the great reign of Moscow, and Moscow again began to pay tribute to the Horde.
“Moscow’s formal dependence on the Golden Horde and tribute payments were restored, but the old order, under which the khan intervened in the internal political processes in Russia, did not allow the “half-victory” during the raid of 1382 to be revived.
In the future, Dmitry Donskoy transferred his power not by the will of the Khan, but by his own will.
Moscow princes became "semi-vassals" for the Golden Horde.
98 years later, Akhmat, the last khan who hoped to keep Moscow in subjection, was defeated, and Russia gained complete independence, ”summed up Andrei Bogdanov.