The famous battle on the sandpiper field. What really happened on the Kulikovo Field

Battle of Kulikovo (Mamaevo Massacre), a battle between the united Russian army led by the Moscow Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and the army of the temnik of the Golden Horde Mamai, which took place on September 8, 1380 on the Kulikovo field (a historical area between the Don, Nepryadva and Krasivaya Mecha rivers in the south- east of the Tula region.

Strengthening the Moscow Principality in the 60s of the 14th century. and the unification around him of the remaining lands of North-Eastern Rus' occurred almost simultaneously with the strengthening of the power of the temnik Mamai in the Golden Horde. Married to the daughter of the Golden Horde Khan Berdibek, he received the title of emir and became the arbiter of the destinies of that part of the Horde, which was located west of the Volga to the Dnieper and in the steppe expanses of the Crimea and Ciscaucasia.

Militia of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich in 1380 Lubok, 17th century.

However, the ambitious Mamai continued to consider the defeat of the Moscow principality, which had escaped subordination, as the main factor in strengthening his own positions in the Horde. In 1376, the Khan of the Blue Horde, Arab Shah Muzzaffar (Arapsha of Russian chronicles), who went over to the service of Mamai, ravaged the Novosilsk principality, but returned back, avoiding a battle with the Moscow army that had gone beyond the Oka border. In 1377 he was on the river. It was not the Moscow-Suzdal army that defeated Pian. The governors sent against the Horde showed carelessness, for which they paid: “And their princes, and boyars, and nobles, and governors, consoling and having fun, drinking and fishing, imagining the existence of the house,” and then ruined the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan principalities.

In 1378, Mamai, trying to force him to pay tribute again, sent an army led by Murza Begich to Rus'. The Russian regiments that came out to meet were led by Dmitry Ivanovich himself. The battle took place on August 11, 1378 in Ryazan land, on a tributary of the Oka river. Vozhe. The Horde were completely defeated and fled. The Battle of Vozha showed the increased power of the Russian state emerging around Moscow.

Mamai attracted armed detachments from the conquered peoples of the Volga region and the North Caucasus to participate in the new campaign; his army also included heavily armed infantrymen from the Genoese colonies in the Crimea. The Horde's allies were the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello and the Ryazan Prince Oleg Ivanovich. However, these allies were on their own: Jagiello did not want to strengthen either the Horde or the Russian side, and as a result, his troops never appeared on the battlefield; Oleg Ryazansky entered into an alliance with Mamai, fearing for the fate of his border principality, but he was the first to inform Dmitry about the advance of the Horde troops and did not participate in the battle.

In the summer of 1380 Mamai began his campaign. Not far from the place where the Voronezh River flows into the Don, the Horde set up their camps and, wandering, awaited news from Jagiello and Oleg.

In the terrible hour of danger hanging over the Russian land, Prince Dmitry showed exceptional energy in organizing resistance to the Golden Horde. At his call, military detachments and militias of peasants and townspeople began to gather. All of Rus' rose up to fight the enemy. The gathering of Russian troops was appointed in Kolomna, where the core of the Russian army set out from Moscow. The court of Dmitry himself, the regiments of his cousin Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and the regiments of the Belozersk, Yaroslavl and Rostov princes walked separately along different roads. The regiments of the Olgerdovich brothers (Andrei Polotsky and Dmitry Bryansky, the Jagiello brothers) also moved to join the troops of Dmitry Ivanovich. The brothers' army included Lithuanians, Belarusians and Ukrainians; citizens of Polotsk, Drutsk, Bryansk and Pskov.

After the troops arrived in Kolomna, a review was held. The assembled army on the Maiden Field was striking in its numbers. The gathering of troops in Kolomna had not only military, but also political significance. The Ryazan prince Oleg finally got rid of his hesitations and abandoned the idea of ​​​​joining the troops of Mamai and Jagiello. A marching battle formation was formed in Kolomna: Prince Dmitry led the Big Regiment; Serpukhov Prince Vladimir Andreevich with the Yaroslavl people - the regiment of the Right Hand; Gleb Bryansky was appointed commander of the Left Hand regiment; The leading regiment was made up of Kolomna residents.

Saint Sergius of Radonezh blesses Saint Prince Demetrius Donskoy.
Artist S.B. Simakov. 1988

The entire campaign of the Russian army to the Oka was carried out in a relatively short time. The distance from Moscow to Kolomna is about 100 km; the troops covered it in 4 days. They arrived at the mouth of Lopasnya on August 26. Ahead there was a guard guard, which had the task of protecting the main forces from a surprise attack by the enemy.

On August 30, Russian troops began crossing the Oka River near the village of Priluki. Okolnichy Timofey Velyaminov and his detachment monitored the crossing, awaiting the approach of the foot army. On September 4, 30 km from the Don River in the Berezuy tract, the allied regiments of Andrei and Dmitry Olgerdovich joined the Russian army. Once again, the location of the Horde army was clarified, which, awaiting the approach of the allies, was wandering around the Kuzmina Gati.

The movement of the Russian army from the mouth of Lopasnya to the west was intended to prevent the Lithuanian army of Jagiello from uniting with the forces of Mamai. In turn, Jagiello, having learned about the route and number of Russian troops, was in no hurry to unite with the Mongol-Tatars, hovering around Odoev. The Russian command, having received this information, decisively sent troops to the Don, trying to forestall the formation of enemy units and strike at the Mongol-Tatar horde. On September 5, the Russian cavalry reached the mouth of the Nepryadva, which Mamai learned about only the next day.

To develop a plan for further action, on September 6, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich convened a military council. The votes of the council members were divided. Some suggested going beyond the Don and fighting the enemy on the southern bank of the river. Others advised staying on the northern bank of the Don and waiting for the enemy to attack. The final decision depended on the Grand Duke. Dmitry Ivanovich uttered the following significant words: “Brothers! An honest death is better than an evil life. It was better not to go out against the enemy than to come and do nothing and return back. Today we will all cross the Don and there we will lay our heads for the Orthodox faith and our brothers.” The Grand Duke of Vladimir preferred offensive actions that made it possible to maintain the initiative, which was important not only in strategy (hitting the enemy in parts), but also in tactics (choosing the location of the battle and the surprise of a strike on the enemy’s army). After the council in the evening, Prince Dmitry and voivode Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky moved beyond the Don and examined the area.

The area chosen by Prince Dmitry for the battle was called Kulikovo Field. On three sides - west, north and east, it was limited by the Don and Nepryadva rivers, cut by ravines and small rivers. The right wing of the Russian army forming into battle formation was covered by the rivers flowing into the Nepryadva (Upper, Middle and Lower Dubiki); on the left is the rather shallow Smolka River, which flows into the Don, and dried-up stream beds (beams with gentle slopes). But this lack of terrain was compensated for - behind Smolka there was a forest in which a general reserve could be placed to guard the fords across the Don and strengthen the wing’s battle formation. Along the front, the Russian position had a length of over eight kilometers (some authors significantly reduce it and then question the number of troops). However, the terrain convenient for enemy cavalry action was limited to four kilometers and was located in the center of the position - near the converging upper reaches of Nizhny Dubik and Smolka. Mamai's army, having an advantage in deployment along a front of more than 12 kilometers, could attack the Russian battle formations with cavalry only in this limited area, which excluded maneuver by cavalry masses.

On the night of September 7, 1380, the crossing of the main forces began. Foot troops and convoys crossed the Don along built bridges, and cavalry forded. The crossing was carried out under the cover of strong guard detachments.

Morning on the Kulikovo field. Artist A.P. Bubnov. 1943–1947.

Battle of Kulikovo. Artist A. Yvon. 1850

Mamai’s army, which arrived on the morning of September 8 and stopped 7-8 kilometers from the Russians, numbered about 90-100 thousand people. It consisted of a vanguard (light cavalry), the main forces (mercenary Genoese infantry were in the center, and heavy cavalry deployed in two lines on the flanks) and a reserve. Light reconnaissance and security detachments scattered in front of the Horde camp. The enemy's plan was to cover the Russian. army from both flanks, and then surround it and destroy it. The main role in solving this problem was assigned to powerful cavalry groups concentrated on the flanks of the Horde army. However, Mamai was in no hurry to join the battle, still hoping for Jagiello’s approach.

But Dmitry Ivanovich decided to draw Mamai’s army into the battle and ordered his regiments to march. The Grand Duke took off his armor, handed it over to boyar Mikhail Brenk, and he himself put on simple armor, but not inferior in its protective properties to the prince’s. The Grand Duke's dark red (black) banner was raised in the Big Regiment - a symbol of honor and glory of the united Russian army. It was handed to Brenk.

Duel between Peresvet and Chelubey. Artist. V.M. Vasnetsov. 1914

For three hours, Mamai’s army unsuccessfully tried to break through the center and right wing of the Russian army. Here the onslaught of the Horde troops was repulsed. Andrei Olgerdovich’s detachment was active. He repeatedly launched a counterattack, helping the center regiments hold back the enemy onslaught.

Then Mamai concentrated his main efforts against the Left Hand regiment. In a fierce battle with a superior enemy, the regiment suffered heavy losses and began to retreat. Dmitry Olgerdovich's reserve detachment was brought into the battle. The warriors took the place of the fallen, trying to hold back the onslaught of the enemy, and only their death allowed the Mongol cavalry to move forward. The soldiers of the Ambush Regiment, seeing the difficult situation of their military brothers-in-arms, were eager to fight. Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovskoy, who commanded the regiment, decided to join the battle, but his adviser, the experienced governor Bobrok, held the prince back. Mamaev's cavalry, pressing the left wing and breaking through the battle formation of the Russian army, began to go to the rear of the Big Regiment. The Horde, reinforced by fresh forces from the Mamaia reserve, bypassing Green Dubrava, attacked the soldiers of the Big Regiment.

The decisive moment of the battle had arrived. The Ambush Regiment, the existence of which Mamai did not know, rushed into the flank and rear of the Golden Horde cavalry that had broken through. The attack by the Ambush Regiment came as a complete surprise to the Tatars. “I fell into great fear and horror of wickedness... and cried out, saying: “Alas for us!” ... the Christians have become wise over us, the daring and daring princes and governors have left us in hiding and have prepared plans for us that are not tired; our arms are weakened, and the shoulders of the Ustasha, and our knees are numb, and our horses are very tired, and our weapons are worn out; and who can go against them?...” Taking advantage of the emerging success, other regiments also went on the offensive. The enemy fled. Russian squads pursued him for 30–40 kilometers - to the Beautiful Sword River, where the convoy and rich trophies were captured. Mamai's army was completely defeated. It practically ceased to exist.

Returning from the chase, Vladimir Andreevich began to gather an army. The Grand Duke himself was shell-shocked and knocked off his horse, but was able to get to the forest, where he was found unconscious after the battle under a felled birch tree. But the Russian army also suffered heavy losses, amounting to about 20 thousand people.

For eight days the Russian army collected and buried the dead soldiers, and then moved to Kolomna. On September 28, the winners entered Moscow, where the entire population of the city was waiting for them. The Battle of Kulikovo Field was of great importance in the struggle of the Russian people for liberation from the foreign yoke. It seriously undermined the military power of the Golden Horde and accelerated its subsequent collapse. The news that “Great Rus' defeated Mamai on the Kulikovo field” quickly spread throughout the country and far beyond its borders. For his outstanding victory, the people nicknamed Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich “Donskoy”, and his cousin, Prince Vladimir Andreevich of Serpukhov, nicknamed him “Brave”.

Jagiello's troops, having not reached the Kulikovo field 30-40 kilometers and having learned about the Russian victory, quickly returned to Lithuania. Mamai’s ally did not want to take risks, since there were many Slavic troops in his army. In the army of Dmitry Ivanovich there were prominent representatives of Lithuanian soldiers who had supporters in Jagiello’s army, and they could go over to the side of the Russian troops. All this forced Jagiello to be as careful as possible in making decisions.

Mamai, abandoning his defeated army, fled with a handful of comrades to Kafa (Feodosia), where he was killed. Khan Tokhtamysh seized power in the Horde. He demanded that Rus' resume the payment of tribute, arguing that in the Battle of Kulikovo it was not the Golden Horde that was defeated, but the usurper of power, Temnik Mamai. Dmitry refused. Then, in 1382, Tokhtamysh undertook a punitive campaign against Rus', captured and burned Moscow by cunning. The largest cities of the Moscow land - Dmitrov, Mozhaisk and Pereyaslavl - were also subjected to merciless destruction, and then the Horde marched through the Ryazan lands with fire and sword. As a result of this raid, Horde rule over Russia was restored.

Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field. Artist V.K. Sazonov. 1824.

Burial of fallen soldiers after the Battle of Kulikovo.
1380. Front chronicle of the 16th century.

Assessing the results of the Battle of Kulikovo and the activities of Dmitry Donskoy preceding it, a number of modern scientists who have most fully studied this issue do not believe that the Moscow prince set himself the goal of leading the anti-Horde struggle in the broad concept of the word, but only spoke out against Mamai as a usurper of power in Zolotaya Horde. So, A.A. Gorsky writes: “Open disobedience to the Horde, which developed into an armed struggle against it, occurred during a period when power there fell into the hands of an illegitimate ruler (Mamai). With the restoration of “legitimate” power, an attempt was made to limit ourselves to a purely nominal, without payment of tribute, recognition of the supremacy of the “king,” but the military defeat of 1382 thwarted this. Nevertheless, the attitude towards foreign power has changed: it has become obvious that, under certain conditions, its non-recognition and successful military opposition to the Horde are possible.” Therefore, as other researchers note, despite the fact that protests against the Horde occur within the framework of previous ideas about the relationship between the Russian princes - “ulusniks” and the Horde “kings”, “The Battle of Kulikovo undoubtedly became a turning point in the formation of a new self-awareness of the Russians people,” and “the victory on the Kulikovo field secured Moscow’s role as the organizer and ideological center of the reunification of the East Slavic lands, showing that the path to their state-political unity was the only path to their liberation from foreign domination.”

Monument-column, made according to the design of A.P. Bryullov at the Ch. Berd plant.
Installed on the Kulikovo field in 1852 on the initiative of the first explorer
battles of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod S. D. Nechaev.

September 21 (September 8 according to the Julian calendar) in accordance with the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 No. 32-FZ “On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia” is the Day of Military Glory of Russia - Victory Day of the Russian regiments led by Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy over the Mongol-Tatar troops in the Battle of Kulikovo.
A chronicle collection called the Patriarchal or Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. St. Petersburg, 1897. P. 27.
Quote by: Borisov N.S. And the candle would not go out... Historical portrait of Sergius of Radonezh. M., 1990. P.222.
Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 56.
Kirpichnikov A.N. Battle of Kulikovo. L., 1980. P. 105.
This number was calculated by the Soviet military historian E.A. Razin based on the total population of Russian lands, taking into account the principles of recruiting troops for all-Russian campaigns. See: Razin E.A. History of military art. T. 2. St. Petersburg, 1994. P. 272. The same number of Russian troops is determined by A.N. Kirpichnikov. See: Kirpichnikov A.N. Decree. Op. P. 65. In the works of historians of the 19th century. this number varies from 100 thousand to 200 thousand people. See: Karamzin N.M. History of Russian Goverment. T.V.M., 1993.S. 40; Ilovaisky D.I. Collectors of Rus'. M., 1996. P. 110.; Soloviev S.M. History of Russia from ancient times. Book 2. M., 1993. P. 323. Russian chronicles provide extremely exaggerated data on the number of Russian troops: Resurrection Chronicle - about 200 thousand. See: Resurrection Chronicle. PSRL. T. VIII. St. Petersburg, 1859. P. 35; Nikon Chronicle - 400 thousand. See: Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 56.
See: Skrynnikov R.G. Battle of Kulikovo // Battle of Kulikovo in the cultural history of our Motherland. M., 1983. S. 53-54.
Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 60.
Right there. P. 61.
“Zadonshchina” talks about the flight of Mamai himself-nine to the Crimea, that is, about the death of 8/9 of the entire army in the battle. See: Zadonshchina // Military stories of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. P. 167.
See: The Legend of the Massacre of Mamaev // Military Tales of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. P. 232.
Kirpichnikov A.N. Decree. Op. P. 67, 106. According to E.A. Razin’s Horde lost about 150 thousand, the Russians killed and died from wounds - about 45 thousand people (See: Razin E.A. Op. cit. T. 2. pp. 287–288). B. Urlanis speaks of 10 thousand killed (See: Urlanis B.Ts. History of military losses. St. Petersburg, 1998. P. 39). The “Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev” says that 653 boyars were killed. See: Military stories of Ancient Rus'. P. 234. The figure given there for the total number of dead Russian combatants of 253 thousand is clearly overestimated.
Gorsky A.A. Moscow and Horde. M. 2000. P. 188.
Danilevsky I.N. Russian lands through the eyes of contemporaries and descendants (XII-XIV centuries). M. 2000. P. 312.
Shabuldo F.M. The lands of Southwestern Rus' as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Kyiv, 1987. P. 131.

Battle of Kulikovo (briefly)

Battle of Kulikovo - brief description

Prince of Moscow (since 1359) Dmitry Donskoy, as well as Prince of Vladimir (since 1362) and Novgorod (since 1363) was born on October 12, 1350 in the family of Princess Alexandra and Ivan the Red. He received his nickname, the Don Prince, after a significant historical victory as a result of the Battle of Kulikovo, which took place in 1380.

The main reason for the Battle of Kulikovo researchers consider the growing influence of the Moscow Principality, as well as a sharp deterioration of relations with the Mongol Horde. But the formal reason for the outbreak of the military conflict is the refusal of the Prince of Moscow to increase the amount of tribute given to the Golden Horde.

Despite the high pace of development of the Moscow principality, Dmitry understood that he needed the support of the other appanage princes. It was for this reason that he sought (and received) a blessing from Sergius of Radonezh, whose images on icons can still be seen in most Russian churches today. But even despite this, neither Tver nor Ryazan responded to his call. And the Suzdal princes generally took the side of Mamai.

Both participants in the Battle of Kulikovo wanted to gather as large an army as possible. So Donskoy had at his disposal the soldiers of the Vladimir and Moscow principalities, as well as the soldiers of Andrei Olgerdovich. As modern history researchers have calculated, the total number of Donskoy soldiers reached one hundred thousand people (some historians do not agree with this opinion, insisting on the figure of fifty to seventy thousand). In turn, the Horde army consisted, according to researchers, from sixty to one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers (as well as the soldiers of the Lithuanian prince Jagiello). The main task of Dmitry Donskoy was to prevent the unification of all Mamai’s troops, which he succeeded in doing. In addition, in Mamaev’s army there were about four to five thousand Genoese, Yasses, mercenary Muslims and others.

As the surviving chronicles tell, the Battle of Kulikovo took place near the mouth of the Don and the Nepryadva River, the left bank of which, according to researchers, was covered with dense forest at that time. However, historians who conducted archaeological excavations did not find a single military weapon in these places, which calls into question the reliability of the chronicle information.

So, on September 7, Donskoy’s troops were lined up into combat regiments (the central one was commanded by Velyaminov, the right one was Andrei Olgerdovich, and the left one was Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky). There is no exact information about the placement of the ambush regiment.

The result of this battle was the flight of Mamaev’s troops. Dmitry Donskoy himself was knocked off his horse during the battle and was found only after the battle.

On September 8, 1380 according to the Julian calendar (September 21 according to the new style), the historical battle of Russian troops and the Golden Horde took place.


1. The Battle of Kulikovo was not the first successful battle of Russian troops against the Golden Horde. In 1365, the Horde were defeated at the Shishevsky forest, in 1367 on the Pyana River, and in 1378, the army of Dmitry Donskoy defeated the army of Murza Begich on the Vozha River.



2. Due to inconsistencies in data from sources about the Battle of Kulikovo, there are extremely contradictory estimates of the number of its participants. The smallest number of Russian and Horde troops is indicated at 5-10 thousand people, the largest - at 800 thousand people only as part of the Golden Horde army.

3. The immediate cause of the conflict that led to the Battle of Kulikovo was the refusal of the Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy to pay tribute to the Golden Horde on pre-existing conditions. At the same time, Dmitry Donskoy did not dispute the Horde’s right to tribute, but had reason to resist Mamai, who was a usurper and not the legitimate ruler of the Golden Horde.

4. The outcome of the Battle of Kulikovo was decided by the strike of an ambush regiment led by Dmitry Andreevich Bobrok-Volynsky and Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky. A century and a half earlier, in 1242, a similar technique brought the squad of Alexander Nevsky victory over the German knights in the battle on Lake Peipus.

5. Before the start of the battle, Prince Dmitry Donskoy exchanged clothes with the Moscow boyar Mikhail Brenok and took his place among the ordinary warriors. Mikhail Brenok, who replaced the prince, died during an attack by the Horde, who hoped to disorganize the Russian army by killing the commander.


6. On the side of the troops of the Golden Horde, led by Mamai, the troops of Prince Jagiello of Lithuania and the squad of Prince Oleg of Ryazan were supposed to act. These plans were thwarted by the decisive march of the Russian army towards the Horde. As a result, the Lithuanians and Ryazans, who did not have time for the battle, were noted only by attacks on Russian convoys returning after the battle with the wounded and booty.

7. Dmitry Donskoy decided to give battle to the army of the Golden Horde, crossing the Oka and moving towards the Don. Thus, the prince ruled out the possibility of a sudden appearance of Mamai’s Lithuanian allies in his rear. The maneuver was unexpected not only for the Horde, but also for the Russians. In many cities that sent regiments to the battle with Mamai, it was believed that Dmitry Donskoy was leading the army to certain death

8. The triumphant of the Battle of Kulikovo, Prince Dmitry Donskoy, who received the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh for the battle, was canonized under Soviet rule by the decision of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988.

9. Victories on the Kulikovo Field and in the Great Patriotic War were won under the banner of the same color - red. In the Battle of Kulikovo, Russian regiments fought under a dark red banner depicting the golden image of Jesus Christ.

10. The defeat of Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo led to his defeat in the struggle with Khan Tokhtamysh for power in the Golden Horde. Two years later, in 1382, Tokhtamysh sacked and burned Moscow and forced the payment of tribute.

The famous battle in 1380 between the troops of Moscow Prince Dmitry and his allies, on the one hand, against the hordes of the Tatar-Mongol Khan Mamai and his allies, on the other, was called the Battle of Kulikovo.

A brief background to the Battle of Kulikovo is as follows: relations between Prince Dmitry Ivanovich and Mamai began to worsen back in 1371, when the latter gave the label for the great reign of Vladimir to Mikhail Alexandrovich Tverskoy, and the Moscow prince opposed this and did not allow the Horde protege into Vladimir. And a few years later, on August 11, 1378, Dmitry Ivanovich’s troops inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mongol-Tatar army led by Murza Begich in the Battle of the Vozha River. Then the prince refused to increase the tribute paid to the Golden Horde and Mamai gathered a new large army and moved it towards Moscow.

Before setting out on the campaign, Dmitry Ivanovich visited the holy Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, who blessed the prince and the entire Russian army for the battle with foreigners. Mamai hoped to unite with his allies: Oleg Ryazan and the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, but did not have time: the Moscow ruler, contrary to expectations, crossed the Oka on August 26, and later moved to the southern bank of the Don. The number of Russian troops before the Battle of Kulikovo is estimated from 40 to 70 thousand people, Mongol-Tatar - 100-150 thousand people. The Muscovites received great help from Pskov, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Novgorod, Bryansk, Smolensk and other Russian cities, whose rulers sent troops to Prince Dmitry.

The battle took place on the southern bank of the Don, on the Kulikovo Field on September 8, 1380. After several skirmishes, the advance detachments left in front of the troops from the Tatar army - Chelubey, and from the Russian - the monk Peresvet, and a duel took place in which they both died. After this the main battle began. Russian regiments went into battle under a red banner with a golden image of Jesus Christ.

Briefly speaking, the Battle of Kulikovo ended in victory for the Russian troops, largely thanks to military cunning: an ambush regiment under the command of Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky hid in an oak grove located next to the battlefield. Mamai concentrated his main efforts on the left flank, the Russians suffered losses, retreated, and it seemed that victory was close. But at this very time, an ambush regiment entered the Battle of Kulikovo and struck the unsuspecting Mongol-Tatars in the rear. This maneuver turned out to be decisive: the troops of the Khan of the Golden Horde were defeated and fled.

The losses of Russian forces in the Battle of Kulikovo amounted to about 20 thousand people, Mamai’s troops died almost completely. Prince Dmitry himself, later nicknamed Donskoy, exchanged horse and armor with the Moscow boyar Mikhail Andreevich Brenok and took an active part in the battle. The boyar died in the battle, and the prince, knocked off his horse, was found unconscious under a felled birch tree.

This battle was of great importance for the further course of Russian history. Briefly speaking, the Battle of Kulikovo, although it did not liberate Rus' from the Mongol-Tatar yoke, but created the preconditions for this to happen in the future. In addition, the victory over Mamai significantly strengthened the Moscow Principality.

Dmitry Donskoy, Prince of Moscow, Grand Duke of Vladimir, from 1363 Prince of Novgorod. Born October 12, 1350. Son of Ivan the Red and Princess Alexandra, his second wife. The Prince received the nickname Donskoy after his victory in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.

The reason for the Battle of Kulikovo was the worsening of relations with the Golden Horde and the growing influence of the Moscow Principality. However, the formal reason for the outbreak of the conflict was the refusal of the Moscow prince to increase the amount of tribute paid. Mamai planned an armed conflict with the Moscow squad back in 1378. But the army of Murza Begich suffered a serious defeat on the Vozha River. Despite the serious strengthening of Moscow, Dmitry needed the support of other appanage princes. In many ways, for this, the prince sought and received the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh, whose icons can be seen today in many churches. But, despite this, neither Ryazan nor Tver responded to his call. And the princes of Suzdal generally took the side of Mamai.

Participants in the Battle of Kulikovo sought to gather as many troops as possible. Dmitry Donskoy had at his disposal only the soldiers of the Moscow and Vladimir principalities, as well as the soldiers of Prince Andrei Olgerdovich. According to modern estimates by historians, their total number reached 50 - 100 thousand people. The Lithuanian prince Jagiello hurried to the Horde army, which, according to various experts, amounted to from 60 to 150 thousand soldiers. Dmitry tried to prevent the connection of Mamai’s troops and he succeeded. Also, in Mamai’s army there were about 4 thousand Genoese, Muslim mercenaries, Yasses and others.

From chronicle sources it is known that the Battle of Kulikovo took place near the mouth of the Nepryadva and Don. However, it is reliably known that at that time the left bank of the Nepryadva was covered with forest. And the small field that exists today is too small for such a large-scale battle to take place. No ancient weapons or remains were found in these places. Thus, the question of the location of the battle remains open for many researchers.

A brief description of the Battle of Kulikovo, which took place on September 8, 1380, will not take much time. From the life of Sergius of Radonezh it is known that the battle was preceded by a duel between two heroes Peresvet and Chelubey. However, early sources do not mention him. Before the start of the Battle of Kulikovo, on September 7, Russian troops were lined up in battle formations. The main regiment was located in the center and was under the command of the okolnichy Velyaminov. The regiment of the right hand was placed under the command of Andrei Olgerdovich, the Lithuanian prince, the regiment of the left hand was commanded by Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky. It is not known exactly where the ambush regiment was located. Probably behind the shelf of the left hand. It was he who decided the outcome of the battle.

The result of the Battle of Kulikovo was the flight of Mamai and his troops. Moreover, the ambush regiment pursued the enemies another 50 versts to the Krasnaya Mecha River. Dmitry Donskoy himself was knocked off his horse in this battle. He was found only after the end of the battle.

The consequences of the Battle of Kulikovo had a serious impact on the further history of Rus'. Although the Horde yoke did not end, as many had hoped, the amount of tribute collected decreased. The authority of Moscow and Prince Dmitry increased, which allowed the Moscow Principality to become the center of unification of the lands of Rus'. The significance of the Battle of Kulikovo is also that it showed the possibility of a final victory over the Horde and the closeness of the end of the yoke.

Short story

When in 1371 Mamai gave the label for the great reign of Vladimir to Mikhail Alexandrovich Tverskoy. Dmitry Ivanovich told Ambassador Achikhozha “ I’m not going to the label, I won’t let Prince Mikhail reign in the land of Vladimir, but for you, ambassador, the path is clear“, which was a turning point in relations between Moscow and the Horde. In 1372, Dmitry achieved the termination of Lithuanian assistance to the Tver principality, and in 1375 he obtained recognition from Tver of the condition “ and the Tatars will come against us or against you, you and I will go against them; If we go against the Tatars, then you, together with us, will go against them", after which, in the spring of 1376, the Russian army led by D.M. Bobrok-Volynsky invaded the middle Volga, took a ransom of 5,000 rubles from Mamaev’s proteges and put Russian customs officers there.

In 1376, Khan of the Blue Horde Arapsha, who came into the service of Mamai from the left bank of the Volga, ruined the Novosilsk principality. avoiding a battle with the Moscow army that had gone beyond the Oka, in 1377 on the river. Pyana defeated the Moscow-Suzdal army, which did not have time to prepare for battle, and ruined the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan principalities.

In 1378, Mamai finally decided on a direct confrontation with Dmitry, but the army he sent under the command of Murza Begich suffered a crushing defeat on the river. Vozha. The Ryazan principality was immediately devastated by Mamai again, but in 1378-1380 Mamai lost his position on the lower Volga in favor of Tokhtamysh.

Sources: otvet.mail.ru, rhistory.ucoz.ru, historykratko.com, prezentacii.com, dic.academic.ru

Non-standard cargo transportation

Along with the usual auto, rail and air transportation around the world, goods are sometimes delivered using completely unusual transport. ...

The mystery of the Sumerians

According to modern science, the Sumerian tribes appeared approximately 7,000 years ago. The mystery of the Sumerians begins with their origin: ...

From school history textbooks, everyone knows that on September 16 (September 8, old style) 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo took place. Russian regiments led by Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy on the Kulikovo field defeated the Horde army under the command of Mamai. The turning point in the battle was provided by the strike of an ambush regiment under the command of Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky. However, in 1382, the Horde Khan Tokhtamysh organized a campaign into Russian lands and ravaged Moscow.

A more detailed study reveals that the Battle of Kulikovo - one of the most “resonant” events in Russian history - surprisingly turned out to be one of its “white” (or, if you prefer, “dark”) spots. In recent years, many popular books and articles have appeared in which very, very bizarre interpretations are given to it. Moreover, in academic science there is now a widespread point of view that in every possible way “minimizes” the significance of the battle: they say, the textbook description of the battle was created on the basis of later sources (primarily, “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev”); There is simply no reliable data on its progress and the number of troops that converged on the Kulikovo Field. This suggests that the idea of ​​its outstanding historical significance is greatly exaggerated.

To me, such attempts to spread “fog over the Kulikovo field” seem insufficiently justified. However, I must admit that the textbook anniversary gloss from this event really needs to be removed. I would like to talk about one misconception associated with this event - the traditional dating of the battle. Already from the 18th - early 19th centuries, the idea was established that the battle on the Don took place on Saturday 8/16 September 1380. It is based on the statement of a number of chronicles in which this event is indeed dated on Saturday, September 8, 6888. Formally, everything here is correct: if you subtract 5508 years from the date of the creation of the world, you get the textbook figure of 1380. The trouble, however, is that such dating is taken in isolation from the surrounding context. In addition, data from other sources that claim otherwise are not taken into account.

Meanwhile, almost all chronicles under the year 6890 tell how the Horde Khan Tokhtamysh took Moscow on August 26 third year of his reign. But according to the traditional version, these events are separated by less than two years! At the same time, the Rogozh Chronicle, the earliest (early 15th century) and describing in detail the events of the 14th century, on the one hand, gives a traditional dating, on the other hand, somehow strangely talks about the exchange of embassies between Dmitry Donskoy and Tokhtamysh. This legitimate “tsar” according to the ideas of that time, having defeated the “temporary” Mamai in a short strife, already in the first winter after the Battle of Kulikovo informed Rus' about his accession to the throne, and the Russian princes sent their embassies to the Horde in the same winter and the following spring. Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich himself sent his, as they said then, Kilicheev Mokshey and Tolbuga to Tokhtamysh “in the fall,” that is, a year after the “Battle of the Don.”

They stayed there for a whole year and left the Horde on “Madam’s Day,” that is, August 15 or September 8 (the days of the Dormition or Nativity of the Virgin Mary). After this, in the spring of the next year, Tokhtamysh sent his envoys to Rus', but Tsarevich Ak-Khodja only got to Nizhny Novgorod, and “did not dare to go to Moscow” and returned home. Tokhtamysh took this as an act of defiance on the part of Moscow and launched a quick raid on Rus', which caught the Grand Duke by surprise.

Thus, almost three years passed between the victory on the Don and the fall of Moscow, which means that either the first event should be attributed to 1379, or the second to 1383. The second is impossible, since according to any system of counting years used in chronicles, the year 1383 cannot correspond to the chronicle year 6890. At the same time, the chronicles indicate that at the beginning of the next year 6891, the feast of the Annunciation fell on “Bright Wednesday,” and this exactly corresponds to Easter in 1383: Easter was celebrated on March 22, which means that the day of the Annunciation on March 25 really turns out to be the Wednesday of Easter week. This fact makes any attempts to extend the invasion of Tokhtamysh beyond 1382 fruitless and, therefore, forces us to date the Battle of Kulikovo to 1379.

And there are no obstacles to this, except for the chronicle reference to the Sabbath. Firstly, the date 6888 can be considered ultra-Martian (conversion formula: -5509 years), and therefore corresponding to the year 1379. Secondly, there are no substantive contradictions with this. It is well known that a major battle between the Russians and the Tatars took place on Wednesday, August 11, 1378 on the Vozha River. Then the Russians won, and with the traditional dating of the Battle of Kulikovo, the two-year delay of the Horde ruler Mamai with a punitive campaign against Rus' turns out to be completely unmotivated. Dating the Battle of Kulikovo to 1379 puts everything in its place: as one would expect, the very next summer Mamai gathered all his troops to restore his power over the rebellious ulus.

Meanwhile, if you look closely at the chronology of the same Rogozhsky chronicler, it turns out that not only the Battle of Kulikovo, but also a number of other events of that time are inaccurately dated. More precisely, the indications for the day of the week, on the basis of which the recalculation of chronicle datings to modern chronology is based, are not original: they were inserted into the chronicle during the processing of primary sources, where, most likely, there were no such indications at all.

Here are some facts. The chronicle under 6886 gives a description of the lunar eclipse, dating it to Sunday, December 5, “in memory of the Holy Father Sava.” Meanwhile, a total lunar eclipse occurred, by modern standards, on the night of December 4-5, which, according to ancient Russian ideas, still belonged to December 4: the day was then counted from sunrise. This means that the references to “week”-Sunday and “in memory of the Holy Father Sava” are erroneous, that they were in fact calculated retroactively.

Another chronological incident requires a little comment. In February 1378, Metropolitan Alexei died, and Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich decided to make him the successor of his trusted man, priest Michael, whom he first elevated to the rank of archimandrite of the Spassky Monastery, and then locum tenens of the metropolitan table. This caused protests from some bishops and abbots: by that time, another metropolitan, Cyprian, had already been installed as Byzantine patriarch, whom the Moscow prince did not want to recognize. Therefore, Dmitry Ivanovich, having provided “Mitya” (as the chronicles disparagingly call him) with everything necessary, sent him to Byzantium for elevation to the rank of metropolitan. This happened, according to the Rogozhsky chronicler, “on the 26th day of July according to Borisha days in memory of the holy martyr Ermola on Tuesday,” which corresponds to July 26, 1379.

There are two discrepancies here. Firstly, the death of the elderly Metropolitan Alexei, who had been ill for a long time, was expected, and it is not clear why the Grand Duke delayed so long in sending his protege to the patriarch. Secondly, it is known that “Mityai” never reached the Greek capital: at first he was “yat” by Mamai, and then, released by him to go home, he died on the road. What is important for us is that “Mityai”, in order to gain freedom, recognized the power of Mamai, as evidenced by the label, which is precisely dated by indicating the “sheep year”, as well as the month and day of the Muslim calendar (“Sylgata of the month on the tenth nova” equal to the month of Dhu-l-Qaada on the 10th day of the waxing Moon). This date, February 27, 1379, indisputably proves that “Mityai” left for the Horde in the summer not in 1379, but in 1378. Thus, in this case, too, the “full date” of the Rogozh Chronicle turns out to be purely calculated: references to Tuesday and the memory of Ermolai were added retroactively.

Finally, if we turn to the chronicle dating of the capture of Moscow by Tokhtamysh, then here too we will find chronological confusion: most often this event is dated to Thursday, August 26, 6890. The most remarkable thing is that the day of the week - Thursday - does not correspond to the year from the creation of the world: August 26 turns out to be Thursday only in 1378 and 1389. All this says that in the period from 1378 to 1392, the chronicle datings were subject to later recalculations, and that in fact it is simply impossible to rely on instructions about the days of the week. Thus, the traditional dating of the Battle of Kulikovo essentially hangs in the air.

If we turn to the numerous copies of “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev”, in more detail than the chronicles describing the war between Rus' and the Horde, the same picture will be revealed. It’s worth starting with the fact that the vast majority of the “Tales” lists date the battle not to 6888, but to 6887, which corresponds to 1379 or, at most, 1378, but not 1380.

If we take into account the “full dating”, it turns out that according to the overwhelming majority of lists, the battle actually took place on September 8 - but not on Saturday, but on Friday. Sometimes called Wednesday (in “Zadonshchina”) or Sunday. If we look at the dating of other events, we will find a surprising variety of them. Thus, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich appointed a gathering of troops in Kolomna, according to one version, on the day of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, that is, August 15, according to another - on the meat emptying of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, that is, on the Dormition Fast preceding the above-mentioned holiday. The prince left Moscow on Thursday, August 9, 19, 20, 21, 22 or 27, and arrived in Kolomna on the day of memory of Moses Murin, August 28 - Wednesday or Saturday. In the latter case, it turns out that the prince covered the distance from Moscow to Kolomna in a day, which was physically impossible at that time.

Dmitry's speech from Kolomna, according to the chronicle, falls on August 20 or 28, and the crossing of the Oka took place “a week before Semenya on the day of the week” near the mouth of the Lopastnya River, that is, on August 25. According to the “Tale,” Dmitry reviewed his troops on Sunday or Wednesday, August 29, near Kolomna, after which he began crossing the river on the same day. At the same time, Dmitry Ivanovich, before going to Kolomna, visited the Trinity Monastery on Sunday “on the day of Florus and Laurus,” that is, August 18.

All the dates listed above, indicating not only the date, but also the day of the week, do not correspond to 1380 and give a range from 1378 to 1383. Skeptics who deny the authenticity of the “Tale” do not try to answer who and why retroactively invented such diverse and so confusing dates.

Meanwhile, they have an extremely interesting pattern: three leaders are clearly identified - 1378, 1381 and the year does not correspond to anything: 1374 and 1385, formally arising from one series of complete dates, are obviously false. But the most remarkable thing is that in the sources There is absolutely no dating to 1379, that is, precisely the one that, based on the chronicle and other chronological material, looks most likely. This alone makes us think that the dating of that very “wrong” year arose as an attempt to hide the true date of the massacre.

Metropolitan Cyprian, as evidenced by his biographical data, was invited by Prince Dmitry to Moscow in the spring of 1380, that is, six months after the Russian victory on the Kulikovo Field. And therefore, when creating and editing chronicle and non-chronicle stories about the battle, its dating, not without the assistance of Cyprian, began to be corrected so that it began to seem to the reader that the Metropolitan was really in Moscow on the eve of the battle and inspired the Grand Duke to the feat. In the chronicles, for this purpose, the day of the week was correctly calculated for the year 1380: this is how the indication for Saturday appeared. In the original “Tale,” apparently, there were many dates for 1379 indicating the days of the week: they also began to recalculate them for 1380, but they did not take into account that this year was a leap year. For correct recalculation, it was necessary to shift the days of the weeks not by one, but by two days: September 8, 1379 was Thursday, but in 1380 this day fell on Saturday. The editors of the Tale, without noticing this, attributed the battle to a Friday that did not correspond to any year. Later, one such error gave rise to a chain reaction of others: the dates began to be “edited” down or up, getting 1378 and 1381, respectively.

The reader may ask: what difference does it really make to us - 1380 or 1379? The difference is significant! - is that the clarification of the date of the battle makes us treat with great confidence the contents of the “Tale of the Battle of Mamayev”: the recounts described above could only have taken place during the life of Cyprian, that is, at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries. This refutes the currently widespread idea of ​​its late origin.

Partner news