Khan Mamai is the great king of Golden Russia. What did his defeat at the Kulikovo field lead to. Who is Mamai and what did he do? Who is Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo

Mamai did not belong to the khan's family of Genghis Khanovich, seized power due to the ensuing general internal turmoil and was not recognized by a significant part of the tribes of both the Golden and the White Horde. His power was not recognized by the Nogai hordes and Cossacks. The attitude towards him was also defiant on the part of the Moscow prince.

Mamai, in order to strengthen his position, began to seek an alliance with the Lithuanian prince, and through him with some Russian princes. In 1377 Prince Olgerd died and his son Jagiello took his place. Mamai entered into an alliance with him and began to prepare for an internal war in order to bring the tribes recalcitrant to him into obedience, including the Moscow prince.

By that time, the possessions of the Lithuanian princes had spread far to the east and included the Ryazan principality. The Prince of Pronsk married the daughter of Prince Olgerd and, with his help, became the Prince of Ryazan. Thus, the Ryazan principality was made dependent on Lithuania. The prince of Tver was in alliance with the Lithuanian princes, continued to spread his possessions to the east and occupied several cities on the Volga. Prince Dimitry Donskoy, who by that time had matured, did not reckon with the labels of Mamai and openly began to resist the Tatar detachments attacking the borders of Russian possessions. Mamai, in order to humble the Moscow prince, sent a significant detachment under the command of Tsarevich Arapsha to the borders of the Moscow principality. Against the Tatars, Prince Dimitri sent troops under the command of his son, Ivan. The troops met on the river. Piave. During the battle, Tsarevich Ivan drowned in the river. Piyave, his troops were defeated and the Tatars occupied and defeated Nizhny Novgorod.

In 1378, Mamai sent a stronger detachment against Moscow, and they again captured Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan and destroyed them. But Prince Dimitri spoke out against this detachment of Tatars, met with them within the Ryazan possessions on the river. Vozhe and defeated them. According to the chronicler: "Demetrius fought with the Tatars on the Vozha and the Tatars ran away." Fight on the river Vozhe put Russia in a position of open war with the Golden Horde. Mamai could not put up with the disobedience of Moscow and began to prepare for a campaign against her.

By the time of the imminent war against the Golden Horde, the possessions of the Moscow principality were limited to the Moscow and Vladimir-Suzdal regions and the Yaroslavl principality. In the southeast, the Meshchersky principality, formed by Khan Togai, entered the possessions of Moscow.

The son of Tog, Makhmet Useinovich, turned his possessions into a stable principality, and his son, Belimesh, converted to Christianity, received the name Michael, baptized his squad and "many people" and recognized the power of the Moscow prince; in the position of henchmen were: Beloozero, Kargopol, Kubensk, Mypom-Eletsk and some other petty rulers of the fragmented Russian principalities. The possessions of Moscow were compressed from all sides by its opponents and were limited to the limits of the flow of the Volga and Oka rivers, and in the south of the river. Gums and the borders of the Ryazan principality. The Tver and Ryazan princes were in alliance with the Lithuanian prince and, together with him, with Khan Mamai. Prince Daniel waged war at the same time with Tver and Ryazan; these wars ended in peace treaties, according to which the princes of Tver and Ryazan promised to live in peace and fight together with a common enemy. “Your enemy will be my enemy,” the treaties said. The general situation for Moscow's open action against Mamai could not give any hope of success. The Muscovite prince could have hopes for success only on the condition of external assistance, and he could count on such assistance from the allies who appeared on his western borders.

After the death of Prince Olgerd, his eldest son Jagiello became the Lithuanian prince. He married a Polish princess, Jadwiga, converted to Catholicism and became king of the united Polish-Lithuanian kingdom. Catholicism was adopted as the dominant religion and became compulsory for all citizens. Lithuania. The independence of Lithuania was threatened by absorption by Poland. Lithuania could not reconcile with Jagiello's decision, and his three brothers rebelled against him. Prince Alexander of Pskov fled to Moscow and entered the service of the Moscow prince. Volyn and Bryansk princes got out of the power of their brother and took a position hostile to him. These Jagiello brothers decided to continue the policy of the former Lithuanian princes who created an independent Lithuania while preserving its internal life and order. They could not abandon the common goal pursued by their father - the absorption of the Moscow principality and the destruction of the Golden Horde. Despite the split that occurred as a result of the Polish-Lithuanian Union adopted by their brother, they had enough means to continue their previous policy, counting; on the forces they had at their disposal, and on the sympathy of the Russian people. Only with their help could the Moscow prince have any hope of success in an open war against Mamai.

In the brewing conflict between Moscow and the Golden Horde, the policy of Jagiello and his brothers was the same, the difference was only in tactics. Jagiello entered into an alliance with Mamai, hoping in alliance with him to break the resistance of the Moscow prince and even to finally destroy his armed forces. His brothers wanted war between the Moscow prince and the Golden Horde, but they wanted to use it in. in order to weaken both sides. They saw that in the upcoming battle, the troops of the Moscow prince, poorly armed, without experienced commanders, would have to be defeated if they were not completely destroyed, after which the Golden Horde would be strengthened and the prestige of the khan would rise .. Therefore, in order to prevent the final destruction of the troops Moscow prince and undermine the prestige of Mamai, they wanted to provide little support to Moscow.

The unexpected meeting of the troops of the Moscow prince and the Lithuanian princes when approaching the battlefield is a legend of the distant past. The Moscow prince Dimitri knew that he was not against one khan of the Golden Horde, but a whole coalition: Mamai, Jagiello, the prince of Ryazan and Tver, and without securing support from the allies in advance, he could not lead the troops to their certain death. In solving an open war against Mamai and supporting him from the Lithuanian princes, Prince Dimitri had a plan developed in advance and his Western allies were the main advisers in this matter.

Mamai began to prepare for a campaign against Moscow. He went up the Volga and began to replenish the troops with the Volga tribes - Buryats, Cheremis and Tatars. The Moscow prince also began to gather troops and prepare to repulse the Tatars. He sent requests for help to all the princes and Novgorod. Ambassadors were sent to Mamai with rich gifts and a promise to pay tribute to the khan as before. Mamai did not agree and demanded more. Zakhary Tyutchev, who headed the embassy, ​​learned that Jagiello and the Ryazan prince Oleg kissed Mamai and concluded an agreement on a joint campaign against Moscow with the aim of dividing it. The Allied troops were to unite on the river. Oka and from there to conduct a further offensive. Neither Novgorod, nor Tver, nor Suzdal, nor Nizhny Novgorod responded to the call of the Moscow prince. Only henchmen of Beloozero, Rostov and Pereyaslavl promised to join. By the end of August 1380, the troops of the Moscow prince united at Kolomna. From Kolomna, the prince ordered the troops to move to the upper reaches of the Don. At the mouth of the Lopast River, the troops crossed the Oka and continued to move in the indicated direction. By the time the troops approached the upper reaches of the Don, there was an event that in the history of the Battle of Kulikovo borders on a miracle.

The troops of the Moscow prince were joined with the troops by the Pskov and Bryansk princes Olgerdovichi and the troops of the Volyn prince under the command of the governor Bobrok. Another miracle also dates back to the same time: the Don atamans came with the troops to the Moscow prince, about whom the chronicler reports: “There, in the upper reaches of the Don, the people of the Christian military rank live, called “Cossacks”, in joy meeting the Grand Duke Dimitry, with holy icons and with crosses congratulating him on his deliverance from the adversary, and bringing him gifts from his treasures, even if he has Miraculous Icons in his churches. The “unexpected” appearance of the troops of the Lithuanian princes and Cossacks on the way to the battlefield corresponded in the best way to the general plan of the upcoming battle. The troops of the Moscow prince, going to the upper reaches of the Don, moved away from Moscow by 250-300 miles, and approaching the battlefield, they were placed in a position surrounded on three sides by their opponents. The troops of Mamai, the Ryazan prince and Jagiello from the mouth of the Nepryadva were at the same distance, in relation to the Moscow troops, occupying an enveloping position in relation to them. The appearance of the troops of the Lithuanian kings and Cossacks from the southwest and south separated the troops of Jagiello from the troops of his allies, and, in addition, reinforced the troops of the Moscow prince with units well prepared for battle and excellent military leaders.

The Don Cossacks in the upcoming war between Mamai and Moscow were not on the side of Mamai and some of them took the side of the Moscow prince. The collapse of the Golden Horde and the seizure of power by the usurper posed the question for the Cossacks, where to look for a way out of the situation, and, if not all, then some of them joined the troops of the Moscow prince and opposed Mamai. Coming out of Moscow, "watchmen" were sent from the troops to search for the enemy, from whom no information was received. After the joining of the Lithuanian and Cossack troops, outfits of new "watchmen" were sent, under the command of Semyon Medic. Information was received from Melik that Mamai's troops were on the river. Vorone, the Lithuanian prince Jagiello - near Odoevsk, and the Ryazan prince on his territory, the distance of the location of both troops from Nepryadva was about one hundred and fifty miles, Mamai with the troops was at a closer distance. Semen Melik was all the time in contact with the troops of Mamai. From the captured Tatar, information was received that “Mamai has all the Tatar and Polovtsian strength, and he also hired Besermen, Armenians, Fryazi, Circassians, Yases and Buryats ...” and that his army is innumerable and cannot be counted. On September 2, Melik's watchmen withdrew gradually under pressure from the Tatars to Nepryadva, to Red Hill, from the top of which the whole neighborhood was visible. By September 5, the troops of the Moscow prince and his allies approached the mouth of the river. Nepryadvy. The chronicler writes: “And having come to the Don and the stash and thinking a lot ...” the Grand Duke gathered a council in the village. Chernov, and asked all the princes and governor to express their opinion on the order of the battle. At the council, some said “go the prince for the Don”, others - “do not go, for the sake of multiplying our enemies, not only the Tatars, but also Lithuania and Ryazan ...” The voice of the Volyn governor, Bobrok, turned out to be decisive. He stated: “If you want the prince to have a strong army, then they ordered him to fuss over the Don, so that there would not be a single one who thought back, but the great forces would say nothing, as God is not in power, but in truth Yaroslav is transporting the river - the Holy Regiment of Victory; and your great-grandfather, the great prince, Alexander, Izhera crossed the river, defeat the king. God also called you to do the same, if we win, then we will be saved, if we die, then we will accept all common death from the prince and to ordinary people ... ". After listening to Bobrok and the opinion of other princes, the Grand Duke said: “Brothers, the death of an evil belly is better, and it was better not to go against the godless, rather than having come, and doing nothing, to return back: their heads are all for the holy churches and for the Orthodox faith, and for our brothers, for Christianity. It was ordered to build bridges for each regiment: advanced, large, right and left hand and ambush - the troops began to cross the Don on five bridges. After the crossing, the bridges were ordered to be destroyed so that no one thought about retreat. Semyon Melik continued to observe the Tatar army and on September 7 reported that the Tatars were on the "goose ford", 8-9 versts from the river. Nepryadvy, and advised the prince to prepare for battle.

The combat disposition of the troops was entrusted to the voivode Bobrok. Bobrok "arranging half a dozen and placing them according to their property, where it is appropriate for anyone to stand." A large regiment was placed in the center under the command of the boyar Timofey Velyaminov; on the flanks - regiments of the right and left hands under the command of Prince Andrei Olgerdovich, the second - Prince Vasily Yaroslavsky; behind the left flank was put in the form of a reserve - the regiment of the Lithuanian prince Dmitry Olgerdovich; an advanced regiment was placed in front of the troops, under the command of princes Semyon Obolensky and Ivan Tarussky; in Zelenaya Grove, an "ambush regiment" was set up, under the command of the voivode Bobrok, under whom was the brother of the Grand Duke, Vladimir.

The identity of the voivode Bobrok has not been clarified to date, there is no doubt that he was one of the chieftains of the Dnieper Cossacks who came from Volhynia, whose descendants among the Don Cossacks existed until recently.

Zelenaya Grove was located in the northeast corner of the Kulikovo field and adjacent to the Don, where bridges were left, which were under the supervision of an ambush regiment, in whose firmness there was no doubt.

The number of troops is calculated by chroniclers, according to ancient custom, not taking into account reality, but with the expectation of a stronger effect on the reader's imagination. According to the chronicler Safony Ryazanets, who wrote about a hundred years after the event, it seems: “And having gathered our hundred thousand and one hundred, contrary to the Russian princes and local governors. Byache of all the strength and all the armies in the number of 150,000 or 200,000; the troops were replenished with the approaching princes of Lithuania, whose number was 40,000 and were brought to 400,000 soldiers. The number of troops, of course, is exaggerated, their number could not exceed 50,000 - 60,000 people. These considerations are based on the fact that the dimensions of the Kulikovo Field were 5 versts in length and 4 versts in depth and were not sufficient for deploying 400,000 armies. In addition, the population of the Moscow possessions could not put up such a number, which is why the actual number could not exceed 50-60 thousand. With 40,000 troops who joined from outside, all the troops could number 90-100 thousand.

Exaggerated troops and Mamai, the number of which also could not have an overwhelming superiority over Moscow.

“Mamai, hearing the arrival of the Grand Duke to the river. Don, gave the order to move with all his strength and stand at the Don against Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, until the adviser Jagiello, the prince with all the strength of Lithuania, comes to us ... ".

Mamai sent ambassadors to the Moscow prince for negotiations, and Prince Dmitry offered tribute on the previous agreement, but Mamai demanded more. From these secondary negotiations it is clear that Prince Dmitry Donskoy did not flatter himself with the hopes of liberation from the dependence of the Mongols, and, consequently, his military campaign against Mamai was forced.

Even with a favorable outcome of the upcoming battle, the prince should have foreseen that the Mongols would not leave him alone and that his own forces would not be enough to repel their invasion.


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His name entered everyday culture at the level of sayings: "how Mamai passed." One of the most famous pages of history is connected with it - the Battle of Kulikovo. He played secret political games with Lithuanians and Genoese. Beklyarbek of the Golden Horde Mamai.

Origin

Khan Mamai became the prototype of the famous character of Ukrainian folk culture - the Cossack knight (knight) Mamai. Modern Ukrainian reformist historians even seriously write about the Ukrainian origin of the khan, and esotericists call the Cossack-Mamai "the cosmogonic personification of the Ukrainian people as a whole."

For the first time in the everyday culture of the common people, it appeared rather late, in the middle of the 18th century, but it became so popular that it hung in every house next to the icons.

Mamai was half - Kipchak, half -. On his father, he is a descendant of Khan Hakopa from the Kiyat clan, and on his mother, from the clan of the Golden Horde temnik Mamai. Then it was a common name, meaning in Turkic Mohammed. He successfully married the daughter of the Sarai ruler - Khan Berdibek, who had previously killed his father and all the brothers, the Great Zamyatnya began in - a long period of civil strife. Berdibek himself was also killed, and the direct line of the Batuid dynasty on the main throne of the Horde was interrupted. Then the eastern descendants of Jochi began to lay claim to Saray.
Under these conditions, Mamai captured the western part of the Horde and installed khans there - indirect heirs of the Batuid clan. He himself could not rule without being. And here a big policy with the participation of Mamai unfolded.

“The talented and energetic temnik Mamai came from the Kiyat clan, hostile to Temujin and who lost the war in Mongolia back in the 12th century. Mamai revived the Black Sea power of the Polovtsians and Alans, and Tokhtamysh, heading the ancestors of the Kazakhs, continued the Dzhuchiev ulus. Mamai and Tokhtamysh were enemies." Lev Gumilyov.

Mamai vs Tokhtamysh

Tokhtamysh was an adherent of the old Horde order, striving to unite the splitting horde. In addition, he was a Chingizid and had uncontested rights to Sarai, as opposed to Mamai.

Tokhtamysh's father was killed by the ruler of the White Horde, Urus Khan, but after the death of the latter, the nobility there refused to obey his descendants and called Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamysh lost the internal war, but escaped after a decisive battle, having sailed across the wounded Syr Darya - into the possessions. He said: “You seem to be a courageous person; go, reclaim your khanate, and you will be my friend and ally.” Tokhtamysh took the White Horde, received the Blue Horde - by right of inheritance, and moved on Mamai.
Now everything depended on alliances formed in the West.

big politics

Since the Golden Horde weakened in strife, the Lithuanians began to strengthen in the territories formerly controlled by the Mongols. Kyiv became practically Lithuanian, Chernihiv and Severskaya were under the influence of Lithuania. Prince Olgerd was a militant anti-Orthodox, while the majority of the population in the expanded Lithuania was already Russian, and Moscow used this against the Lithuanians.

However, other Russian princes, on the contrary, used Lithuania against Moscow - first of all, Suzdal and Novgorod. There was also a division according to Western politics in the Horde.
Mamai bet on Lithuania, and Tokhtamysh on Moscow. Mamai led a pro-Western line, because he needed money to fight Tokhtamysh. The Crimean Genoese promised to help with money in exchange for concessions for the extraction of furs in the north of Russia. Mamai tried for a long time to persuade Moscow to fulfill the conditions of the Genoese in exchange for a label and other privileges. Both the Muscovites accepted. Metropolitan Alexy, who ruled de facto when Dmitry was a child, used Mamai to elevate, both legally and de facto, the Principality of Moscow. But in the end, Moscow turned its back on Mamai, and the so-called “great peace” took place.

Not without influence, who said that there could be no business with the Latins (Genoese and Latins). From the “Word on the Life and Repose of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia”: “Mamai, instigated by crafty advisers who adhered to the Christian faith, and themselves did the deeds of the wicked, said to his princes and nobles: “I will seize the Russian land, and destroy the Christian churches … Where there were churches, I’ll put murmurs here.”

Before the Battle of Kulikovo

Interesting events took place before the Battle of Kulikovo. Since Mamai hoped to conclude an alliance either with Moscow, and then with other principalities against Moscow, he often sent embassies to Russia. To Ryazan, Tver, Moscow itself, etc. These embassies were often mistreated. This happened in Nizhny Novgorod (then under the reign of the Suzdalians), where the Suzdal Bishop Dionysius was sitting. He raised the townspeople against the Tatar embassy.
As Lev Gumilyov writes, “all the Tatars were killed in the most cruel way: they were stripped naked, released onto the ice of the Volga and poisoned by dogs.”

Mamai overtook the drunken Suzdal troops on the Pyana River and cut them, repeating the same thing a little later in Nizhny. On adrenaline, Mamai decided to continue moving towards Moscow, but the troops of Mamaisky Murza Begich were defeated on the Vozha River. After that, the main open clash between Mamai and Moscow became inevitable.
The princes of Glinsky called themselves descendants of Mamai. According to their family legend, the descendants of Mamai served in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and supposedly the Glinskys descended from Mamai's son Mansur Kiyatovich. If so, then Mamai was an ancestor

His name entered everyday culture at the level of sayings: "how Mamai passed." One of the most famous pages of history is connected with it - the Battle of Kulikovo. He played secret political games with Lithuanians and Genoese. Beklyarbek of the Golden Horde Khan Mamai.

Origin

Khan Mamai became the prototype of the famous character of Ukrainian folk culture - the Cossack knight (knight) Mamai. Modern Ukrainian reformist historians even seriously write about the Ukrainian origin of the khan, and esotericists call the Cossack-Mamai "the cosmogonic personification of the Ukrainian people as a whole." For the first time in the everyday culture of the common people, it appeared rather late, in the middle of the 18th century, but it became so popular that it hung in every house next to the icons.

Mamai was half Polovtsian - Kipchak, half - Mongol. By father, he is a descendant of Khan Hakopa from the Kiyan clan, and by mother, from the clan of the Golden Horde temnik Mamai. Then it was a common name, meaning in Turkic Mohammed. He successfully married the daughter of the ruler of the Sarai - Khan Berdibek, who had previously killed his father and all the brothers, the Great Zamyatnya began in the Horde - a long period of civil strife. Berdibek himself was also killed, and the direct line of the Batuid dynasty on the main throne of the Horde was interrupted. Then the eastern descendants of Jochi began to lay claim to Saray. Under these conditions, Mamai captured the western part of the Horde and installed khans there - indirect heirs of the Batuid clan. He himself could not rule without being Genghisides. And here a big policy with the participation of Mamai unfolded.




“The talented and energetic temnik Mamai came from the Kiyan clan, hostile to Temujin and who lost the war in Mongolia back in the 12th century. Mamai revived the Black Sea power of the Polovtsians and Alans, and Tokhtamysh, heading the ancestors of the Kazakhs, continued the Dzhuchiev ulus. Mamai and Tokhtamysh were enemies." Lev Gumilyov.

Mamai vs Tokhtamysh

Tokhtamysh was an adherent of the old Horde order, striving to unite the splitting horde. In addition, he was a Chingizid and had uncontested rights to Sarai, as opposed to Mamai. Tokhtamysh's father was killed by the ruler of the White Horde, Urus Khan, but after the death of the latter, the nobility there refused to obey his descendants and called Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamysh lost the internal war, but escaped after a decisive battle, having sailed across the wounded Syr Darya - to the possessions of Tamerlane. He said: "You, apparently, are a courageous person; go, return your khanate to yourself, and you will be my friend and ally." Tokhtamysh took the White Horde, received the Blue Horde - by right of inheritance, and moved on Mamai. Now everything depended on alliances formed in the West.

big politics

Since the Golden Horde weakened in strife, the Lithuanians began to strengthen in the territories formerly controlled by the Mongols. Kyiv became practically Lithuanian, Chernihiv and Severskaya were under the influence of Lithuania. Prince Olgerd was a militant anti-Orthodox, while the majority of the population in the expanded Lithuania was already Russian, and Moscow used this against the Lithuanians. However, other Russian princes, on the contrary, used Lithuania against Moscow - first of all, Suzdal and Novgorod. There was also a division according to Western politics in the Horde.

Mamai bet on Lithuania, and Tokhtamysh on Moscow. Mamai led a pro-Western line, because he needed money to fight Tokhtamysh. The Crimean Genoese promised to help with money in exchange for concessions for the extraction of furs in the north of Russia. Mamai tried for a long time to persuade Moscow to fulfill the conditions of the Genoese in exchange for a label and other privileges. Both the Muscovites accepted. Metropolitan Alexy, who ruled de facto when Dmitry was a child, used Mamai to elevate, both legally and de facto, the Principality of Moscow. But in the end, Moscow turned its back on Mamai, and the so-called “great peace” took place. Not without the influence of Sergius of Radonezh, who said that there could be no business with the Latins (Genoese and Latins).

From the “Word on the Life and Repose of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia”: “Mamai, instigated by crafty advisers who adhered to the Christian faith, and themselves did the deeds of the wicked, said to his princes and nobles: “I will seize the Russian land, and I will destroy the Christian churches … Where there were churches, I’ll put murmurs here.”

Before the Battle of Kulikovo

Interesting events took place before the Battle of Kulikovo. Since Mamai hoped to conclude an alliance either with Moscow, and then with other principalities against Moscow, he often sent embassies to Russia. To Ryazan, Tver, Moscow itself, etc. These embassies were often mistreated. This happened in Nizhny Novgorod (then under the reign of the Suzdalians), where the Suzdal Bishop Dionysius was sitting. He raised the townspeople against the Tatar embassy. As Lev Gumilyov writes, “all the Tatars were killed in the most cruel way: they were stripped naked, released onto the ice of the Volga and poisoned by dogs.” Mamai overtook the drunken Suzdal troops on the Pyana River and cut them, repeating the same thing a little later in Nizhny. On adrenaline, Mamai decided to continue moving towards Moscow, but the troops of Mamaisky Murza Begich were defeated on the Vozha River. After that, the main open clash between Mamai and Moscow became inevitable.

His name entered everyday culture at the level of sayings: "how Mamai passed." One of the most famous pages of history is connected with it - the Battle of Kulikovo. He played secret political games with Lithuanians and Genoese. Beklyarbek of the Golden Horde Mamai.

Origin

Khan Mamai became the prototype of the famous character of Ukrainian folk culture - the Cossack knight (knight) Mamai. Modern Ukrainian reformist historians even seriously write about the Ukrainian origin of the khan, and esotericists call the Cossack-Mamai "the cosmogonic personification of the Ukrainian people as a whole." For the first time in the everyday culture of the common people, it appeared rather late, in the middle of the 18th century, but it became so popular that it hung in every house next to the icons.

Mamai was half Polovtsian - Kipchak, half - Mongol. On his father, he is a descendant of Khan Hakopa from the Kiyat clan, and on his mother, from the clan of the Golden Horde temnik Mamai. Then it was a common name, meaning in Turkic Mohammed. He successfully married the daughter of the ruler of the Sarai - Khan Berdibek, who had previously killed his father and all the brothers, the Great Zamyatnya began in the Horde - a long period of civil strife. Berdibek himself was also killed, and the direct line of the Batuid dynasty on the main throne of the Horde was interrupted. Then the eastern descendants of Jochi began to lay claim to Saray. Under these conditions, Mamai captured the western part of the Horde and installed khans there - indirect heirs of the Batuid clan. He himself could not rule without being Genghisides. And here a big policy with the participation of Mamai unfolded.

“The talented and energetic temnik Mamai came from the Kiyat clan, hostile to Temujin and who lost the war in Mongolia back in the 12th century. Mamai revived the Black Sea power of the Polovtsians and Alans, and Tokhtamysh, heading the ancestors of the Kazakhs, continued the Dzhuchiev ulus. Mamai and Tokhtamysh were enemies." Lev Gumilyov.

Mamai vs Tokhtamysh

Tokhtamysh was an adherent of the old Horde order, striving to unite the splitting horde. In addition, he was a Chingizid and had uncontested rights to Sarai, as opposed to Mamai. Tokhtamysh's father was killed by the ruler of the White Horde, Urus Khan, but after the death of the latter, the nobility there refused to obey his descendants and called Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamysh lost the internal war, but escaped after a decisive battle, having sailed across the wounded Syr Darya - to the possessions of Tamerlane. He said: "You, apparently, are a courageous person; go, return your khanate to yourself, and you will be my friend and ally." Tokhtamysh took the White Horde, received the Blue Horde - by right of inheritance, and moved on Mamai. Now everything depended on alliances formed in the West.

big politics

Since the Golden Horde weakened in strife, the Lithuanians began to strengthen in the territories formerly controlled by the Mongols. Kyiv became practically Lithuanian, Chernihiv and Severskaya were under the influence of Lithuania. Prince Olgerd was a militant anti-Orthodox, while the majority of the population in the expanded Lithuania was already Russian, and Moscow used this against the Lithuanians. However, other Russian princes, on the contrary, used Lithuania against Moscow - first of all, Suzdal and Novgorod. There was also a division according to Western politics in the Horde.

Mamai bet on Lithuania, and Tokhtamysh on Moscow. Mamai led a pro-Western line, because he needed money to fight Tokhtamysh. The Crimean Genoese promised to help with money in exchange for concessions for the extraction of furs in the north of Russia. Mamai tried for a long time to persuade Moscow to fulfill the conditions of the Genoese in exchange for a label and other privileges. Both the Muscovites accepted. Metropolitan Alexy, who ruled de facto when Dmitry was a child, used Mamai to elevate, both legally and de facto, the Principality of Moscow. But in the end, Moscow turned its back on Mamai, and the so-called “great peace” took place. Not without the influence of Sergius of Radonezh, who said that there could be no business with the Latins (Genoese and Latins).

From the “Word on the Life and Repose of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia”: “Mamai, instigated by crafty advisers who adhered to the Christian faith, and themselves did the deeds of the wicked, said to his princes and nobles: “I will seize the Russian land, and I will destroy the Christian churches … Where there were churches, I’ll put murmurs here.”

Before the Battle of Kulikovo

Interesting events took place before the Battle of Kulikovo. Since Mamai hoped to conclude an alliance either with Moscow, and then with other principalities against Moscow, he often sent embassies to Russia. To Ryazan, Tver, Moscow itself, etc. These embassies were often mistreated. This happened in Nizhny Novgorod (then under the reign of the Suzdalians), where the Suzdal Bishop Dionysius was sitting. He raised the townspeople against the Tatar embassy. As Lev Gumilyov writes, “all the Tatars were killed in the most cruel way: they were stripped naked, released onto the ice of the Volga and poisoned by dogs.” Mamai overtook the drunken Suzdal troops on the Pyana River and cut them, repeating the same thing a little later in Nizhny. On adrenaline, Mamai decided to continue moving towards Moscow, but the troops of Mamaisky Murza Begich were defeated on the Vozha River. After that, the main open clash between Mamai and Moscow became inevitable.

The princes of Glinsky called themselves descendants of Mamai. According to their family legend, the descendants of Mamai served in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and supposedly the Glinskys descended from Mamai's son Mansur Kiyatovich. If so, then Mamai was the ancestor of Ivan IV the Terrible by his mother, Elena Glinskaya.

Doom

In the Battle of Kulikovo, about which we have written a lot, Mamai lost not only the army, but also legitimacy: the infant Khan Mohammed, who ruled de jure in Saray, was killed. Thus, Tokhtamysh almost did not have to fight in order to finish off the remnants of Mamai's army on the Kalka River - people themselves went over to a more legitimate ruler. Mamai went to the Genoese in Kafa (present-day Feodosia), but it is clear that they were no longer interested in him. There he was killed. Whether by the Genoese, or Tokhtamysh's scouts: this is not so important, since his fate was sealed, and his time was over.


In our time, there is still a lot of information in various chronicles and other historical literature about the personality of the Tatar temnik (commander) Mamai. Many of our contemporaries tried to explore his biography, but, having come across very meager, but capacious information, they began to wane and modestly repeat the hackneyed words about the Tatar invader. Lev Gumilyov believed that Poles, Crimeans, Genoese, Yasy, Kasogs fought on the side of Temnik Mamai, but there were few Volga Tatars in his army.

One hundred and fifty years ago, the most Russian German, E.I. Klassen, drew the attention of scientists to common mistakes in writing history and designating peoples: in the classification of peoples and nationalities, scientists collect all conceivable and inconceivable signs - religious, professional, territorial, derived from the names of their own commanders, names of places, rivers, seas and mountains (toponymy).

Thus, a modern resident of the Krasnodar Territory may have more than one "nationality", guided by scientific classifications.

Let me give you an example: a resident of the Taman Peninsula, washed by two seas, can be Krasnodar (by the name of the region), Kuban-Kubman, Taman, Pontic (Black Sea), Meot (resident of the coast of the Meotian lake or swamp), Azov (Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov), Caucasian, Caucasian , bitter (inhabitant of the mountains), Asian, Christian, Muslim (from the commander and priest of Mosul), Mohammedan (follower of Mohammed), Islamist (follower of the teachings of Ismail, close to Mohammedanism), Anapchan, Sind, Cossack, Aryan, border guard (Ukrainian), builder , doctor, baker, shield maker (shield maker or chipper), Scythian (shooter), Celt (owner of a battle ax), armored man (manufacturer or owner of armor), Rus (by hair color), Alan, etc., not counting the surname , name and patronymic.

What do we see in the historians of antiquity? According to their version, almost all of the listed peoples live here. The same disease haunts modern scientists. At the same time, none of the scientists (with rare exceptions in relation to small peoples) says how these peoples call themselves.

Adhering to these rules, one thing can be understood, that any small family is a multinational state. Just what the politicians and their mercenary historians wanted! Since these peoples lived here, it means that they have the right to modern living.

Returning to our hero, you can find all the same signs. Therefore, to this day, our scientists are guessing, what was the nationality of Mamai.

The first of the modern scientists, who declared loudly about the origin of Mamai, was Yu.A. Shilov, now a Ukrainian scientist. He reminded readers of the thoughts (tales) about the Cossack Mamai, revealing his glorious past in the struggle for a united Russia and the preservation of ancient traditions. But not everyone liked it: for so many years they cherished the idea of ​​splitting the two Aryan branches: Turkic and Slavic, and now a man has appeared who destroys the ideological device “Divide and rule!”.

Let me remind the reader of some moments in history several centuries before the onset of the notorious Mongol-Tatar yoke.

In 965, the Kyiv prince-prince Svyatoslav made a long campaign through the vassal lands of Kozaria (this is exactly what is written in the surviving lists from the annals, these lands will become Khazaria through the efforts of later historians) and destroyed several cities in Kozaria itself. Chroniclers indicate the route of Svyatoslav's squad: Kyiv - Upper Volga region - Don - Lower Volga region - Samkerts (Taman) - Kyiv. To decide on such an enterprise, it was necessary to have huge funds and stocks of food and fodder in order to feed the army during a campaign of such duration, but this is not the point. After the defeat of Kozaria, part of its population, professing Old Testament Judaism, called Karaites under the name of Karaites, moved to Gotthia or Taurida (as Crimea was called in those days) and some of this population went to the Baltic states, where it successfully lives to this day, keeping the ancient Turkic language clean . The main population of Kozaria professed paganism in the form of sun worship and they were called Tatars (tata Ra - father God). They also moved to Gotthia and the Caucasus to take refuge in the highlands from extermination by Christians. In these places, peoples related in language lived, but there was another branch of Christianity, not as radical in its essence as that coming from Europe (at that time still Venedia).

Judging by the surviving data, Mamai's homeland was Lukomorye - the same Lukomorye of Russian fairy tales, the coast of the Russian (Black) Sea, the territory (terra Torah) of the legendary Black Russia, a stretch of coast from the Crimea to the Dnieper. From here began his ascent up the steps of the military ladder, and here he fled after the defeat in 1380. Here or in the Cafe (Kerch) he found his last refuge, leaving in the memory of the people toponymic names in the rivers (Mamaika), hills (Mamaev Kurgan) and numerous Russian surnames and folk legends in the southern Russian lands. Only one document contains evidence that Mamai belonged to the Kyyan family (which allows Ukrainian scientists to consider Mamai their countryman).

The first mention of Mamai in domestic chronicles refers to 1361 according to the new chronology. That year, Mamai, the commander of Altyn Urus (Golden Russia, after being ruled by the globalizers - the Golden Horde) supported the young prince Dmitry, the son of the deceased Ivan II Ivanovich, in the struggle for the throne of Vladimir. At that time (1359), the power of the Grand Duke went to Dmitry Konstantinovich of Suzdal, who had a solid squad and authority among the specific princes. The heir to the late Moscow prince, 9-year-old Dmitry Ivanovich, could not oppose anything to him. That's when the messenger of the Horde appeared, a talented commander and a reasonable politician Mamai. At that time, he could not yet imagine what such support could turn out for him.

The Great (Big) Horde of that period was already experiencing complex internal processes. In the same year, 1361, Muslim Khorezm separated from the Great Horde. In the Volga region, the khans hardly keep the situation in their hands: part of the Horde converted to Christianity, but an even larger part accepts Islam (the teaching of the commander of the Asian Torks or Guzes of Mosul about the one God). Similar fermentations already exist on the lands of the Horde from the Volga to the Dnieper, although most of the population of the Horde in this region still professes a solar cult, but the positions of Islam, Mohammedanism and Christianity are already strong.

Internal religious contradictions in the Horde led to the beginning of its collapse and the rise of the Temnik Mamai. We do not know when this man was born, but we can assume that he was much older than the boy Dmitry, whom Mamai put on the throne of the Grand Duke at the request of the Moscow boyars and Metropolitan Alexy. In 1364-65, Mamai had to prove by force of arms to the Suzdal prince the right of the young prince Dmitry to the grand throne in Vladimir. The war between Moscow and Suzdal ended with the complete victory of Moscow, supported by the Tatars. Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich of Suzdal recognized the right to the throne of the Moscow prince and in 1366 gave him his daughter Evdokia as a sign of reconciliation.

In the same year, the Mordovian prince Bulat, who converted to Christianity, separated from the Horde. The Grand Duchy of Russia, Litvinsk and Samogitian (at a later time, when Rus was created from Muscovy, this name was changed to Lithuania by the decree of the tsar in 1840) continues to expand its possessions and defeats the Tatar troops in Blue Waters. Tver enters into an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and declares war on Moscow in 1367 in the struggle for the throne of Vladimir (Olgerd's father-in-law, Mikhail of Tverskoy from the Rurik clan, had considerable reason to be the Grand Duke). The following year, Grand Duke Olgerd defeats the Moscow regiments at Lake Trostenskoye, reinforced by the Tatars, and finds himself already under the walls of Moscow (“the first Lithuanian land”), but after a short siege, as Mamai’s detachments approach, he withdraws his troops and retreats.

The beginning of 1371 is significant for the Moscow prince in that the neighboring state, the Grand Duchy of Ryazan, intervenes in the struggle for greater power. Mamai arrives in Moscow with his people and solemnly presents another label to reign to Dmitry Ivanovich, confirming his sympathy for the Moscow prince. After that, the united troops go to Ryazan and force her to accept the "hand of the Moscow prince" - to become a tributary of Moscow, and Oleg Ryazansky - "Dmitry Ivanovich's assistant."

In 1372, the Golden Horde finally disintegrates into seven territories: the kingdom of Mamai between the Volga and the Dnieper; New Barn; former Bulgaria on the Kama; Mordovia; As Tarkhan (later Astrakhan); Shed; Crimea. In the Trans-Volga lands, we continue to meet the name Big (Great) Horde.

In the same year, Moscow and Lithuanian rati meet near Lubutsk. After a long standing and negotiations, without tempting fate, both princes made peace and dispersed. The following year is known for the rapprochement between Olgerd and Metropolitan Cyprian and the alliance with Oleg Ryazansky.

In 1374, the Nizhny Novgorod people killed the ambassadors of Mamai, and the Ryazan people attacked a small Tatar detachment. In retaliation, Mamai sent his troops to pacify the rebels: Ryazan and several Nizhny Novgorod settlements across the Pyana River were taken and burned. At this time, Olgerd invaded the lands of Mamai from the west with a crusade. Olgerd's invasion was successfully repelled at the end of the year, and Mamai again sent his detachment to the Nizhny Novgorod lands and to the city of Novosil.

The next year, Mamai's detachments spend in a number of campaigns to pacify the southeastern Nizhny Novgorod lands. In the summer in the Horde, Mamai presents a label for the great reign of Vladimir to Mikhail Alexandrovich of Tver. In response to these actions, a united army of the princes of North-Eastern Russia is sent to Tver. After an eight-day siege of Tver, a peace treaty is signed, in which Mikhail of Tverskoy recognizes himself as the “young brother” of the Moscow prince Dmitry, renunciation of claims to the great reign and the opportunity to conduct foreign policy and trade. In the same year, the Novgorod ushkuiniki raided the Horde lands from Kostroma to Astrakhan (1375) and Dmitry Ivanovich's campaign against the lands of the Volga Tatars. Thus, a clash between Mamai and the growing Dmitry of Moscow became inevitable.

In 1376, the Litvins (Belarusians) captured Galicia (Chervona Rus) and with their participation Cyprian was appointed to the metropolitan throne in Kyiv. At the same time, Tokhtamysh seized power in part of the lands of the Golden Horde (the Volga region, the North Caucasus, the North Black Sea region) and created the White Horde. After the seizure of the lands that were part of the lands of the kingdom of Mamai, Tokhtamysh becomes the worst enemy of King Mamai. We decided to use this factor in our scenario with globalizers.

The following year, in the Grand Duchy of Litvinsky (White Russia), Jagiello comes to power, who seeks an alliance with Mamai to strengthen his own power. Moscow Prince Dmitry Ivanovich defeated the Golden Horde army of Murza Begich on the Vozha River. This was the first major victory of the Moscow troops over the large army of Altyn Urus. In 1379, Dmitry Ivanovich goes with an army to the western Russian lands.

In 1380, Mamai entered into an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, who was joined by Oleg Ryazansky.

Next, I will give a few excerpts from the chronicle "The Legend of the Battle of Mamaev", which is more like a poetic work than a serious historical document, in which, among the praises of Christian values, real facts sometimes slip through. Sometimes the information diverges from common sense and the hand of a late ruler is felt (In those days there was a clear distinction between where the Russian lands were, where the Slovenian ones, and where the Moscow ones. For several more centuries, Muscovy was not called the Russian land, they continued to travel from "Moscow to Russia" when it was necessary to get to the Dnieper).

Not all facts can be trusted, but I will try to comment on them. For example, Grand Duke Olgerd has been dead for several years, but he continues to appear along with his sons Andrei Polotsky and Dmitry Bryansky, who left the Lithuanian troops and came to the aid of the Muscovites. Everything is clear here: they did not inherit power in the GDL after their Christian father, in what was then still a pagan state, and according to the law, the best of the princes, Jagiello, was elected. About Mamai himself, the chronicle says that "... named after Mamai, a pagan by faith, an idolater and iconoclast, an evil persecutor of Christians." In the words of Dmitry Moskovsky dozens of times there is a desire to "suffer or die for the Christian faith against the godless Tatars." Saint Sergius, blessing the prince, “...sprinkled him with sacred water and all his Christ-loving army, and overshadowed the Grand Duke with the cross of Christ - a sign on his forehead. And he said: "Go, sir, to the filthy Polovtsy, calling on God, and the Lord God will be your helper and intercessor."


Here, for the first time, Mamai's warriors were named by their real name - "Polovtsy". Let me remind you that in the official history of the Polovtsians (Kipchaks - in Arabic) have sunk into oblivion two centuries ago. The idea of ​​​​the religion of the army of Mamai is expressed by the following words: “The great prince said to his brother, Prince Vladimir:“ Let's hurry, brother, towards the godless pagans, filthy Tatars ... ". (Author's note)

The whole story is devoted to the long preparation of Prince Dmitry for a campaign in foreign lands, then setting up guard posts and preparing the site for the upcoming battle. A few days before the battle itself, the united Muscovite army arrived at the place of the battle, chosen by its commanders two weeks ago. “Then the great prince Dmitry Ivanovich began with his brother Vladimir Andreevich, and with the Lithuanian princes Andrei and Dmitry Olgerdovich, up to the sixth hour, arrange shelves. A certain governor came with the Lithuanian princes, named Dmitry Bobrok, originally from the Volyn land, who was a noble commander, he well arranged the regiments, how and who should stand.

As the reader sees, the “Lithuanians” bear Russian names, more precisely, Christian ones and came from Bryansk, Polotsk and Volyn - modern Belarusian lands. This once again speaks in favor of the fact that "Lithuania" is an artificial name that replaced "Litvinia". In modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, one of the most common surnames is Litvin, Litvinov, Litvinenko, confirming the origin of the bearers of this surname. (Author's note)

After the alignment of the regiments that hid behind the built fortifications and left a narrow strip of land in front of the river, the prince wished to inspect the alignment of the regiments and recognized it as very good: “The great prince, seeing his regiments adequately arranged, got off his horse and fell on his knees right in front of the regiment with a black banner, on which is embroidered the image of our lord, our Lord Jesus Christ. The next day, the Grand Duke, having changed his horse, again reviewed his regiments and addressed them with a speech: “Fathers and my brothers, for the Lord’s sake, fight and the saints for the sake of the churches and the Christian faith, for this death is now not death for us, but eternal life ; and think of nothing earthly, brothers, we will not retreat, and then Christ the God and Savior of our souls will crown us with crowns of victory.

“Having strengthened the regiments, he again returned under his black banner, and got off his horse, and sat on another horse, and threw off his royal clothes, and dressed in another. He gave his former horse to Mikhail Andreevich Brenk and put those clothes on him, for he loved him beyond measure, and ordered his black banner to his squire to hold over Brenk. Under that banner, he was killed instead of the Grand Duke.

Here Tatar or pagan regiments were met. “And menacingly both great forces converged, fighting firmly, brutally destroying each other, not only from weapons, but also from terrible crowding under horse hooves, they breathed their last, for it was impossible to accommodate everyone on that Kulikovo field: that field was close between the Don and the Mechey ... And the Grand Duke himself was badly wounded and thrown off his horse, he got out of the field with difficulty, for he could no longer fight, and hid in the thicket and was saved by God's power.


As mentioned above, the Moscow regiments left a narrow strip of land along the coast so that the Mamaev regiments forcing the river could not turn around in battle formation. The maneuver was a success, and the Polovtsian regiments spent the initial part of the battle in very cramped conditions. With difficulty leveling the situation, Mamai's army began to push the Christians. At this time, a decisive blow was dealt by the ambush regiment: “Comrades-in-arms, friends jumped out of the green oak forest, like tested falcons fell off golden blocks, rushed to the endless herds of fattened, to that great Tatar force; and their banners were directed by the firm governor Dmitry Volynets; and they were like the youths of David, whose hearts were like lions, like fierce wolves attacked the sheep herds and began to flog the filthy Tatars mercilessly.

“The godless Tsar Mamai, seeing his death, began to call on his gods: Perun and Salavat, Heraclius (this is translated, in the Old Russian text: Hercle, which in Scythian means Hercules) and Khors and his great accomplice Mohammed.”

The text indicates exactly which gods Mamai himself worshipped. In addition, it is clear that there were Mohammedans in his army. We have already considered this issue earlier. (Author's note)

After the strike of the ambush regiment, the retreat of Mamai's troops began, which turned into a flight. Tsar Mamai himself fled.

Dmitry Ivanovich, circling the battlefield, turned to his army: “Brothers, Russian sons, princes, and boyars, and governors, and boyar servants! The Lord has judged you to die like this. You laid down your heads for the holy churches and for Orthodox Christianity.”

I also draw your attention to this fact: the chronicle never mentions the Mongols or the Mongol-Tatar yoke, against which the Muscovite soldiers could fight. There is no sense of protection here. The whole plot of the story is permeated with an attacking spirit! Solid quotations from the Bible and complete confidence in their rightness in the struggle for "Christian values." By the way, it also lacks later fantasies about the rifle regiments of the Genoese and other representatives of foreign states - allies of the "foreigner" Mamai. (Author's note)

Soon Mamai was defeated in his lands by Tokhtamysh, and then killed. This could stop our story, summing up not in favor of the Old Believers, who suffered a severe defeat on the Kulikovo field. We note one more detail: Moscow's alliance with the Muslim Tokhtamysh was more acceptable than with the Slavs. In those days, the difference between Christianity and Islam was insignificant, which allowed them to "cooperate" against paganism. Two centuries later, Arabic texts and praises to Allah will be stamped on Moscow coins.

In the year of the death of Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow in 1389, one of the sons of Mamai saved the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Russia, Litvinsky and Zhemaitsky near the village of Glina from death, for which he received the title of Prince Glinsky. From him went the dynasty of the Glinsky princes, which had yet to have its say in European politics. In 1421, the grandson of Mamai Oleksa or Alexei was baptized in Kyiv, who in Christian chronology is considered to be the ancestor of the Glinskys. His sons elevated their family, which has royal roots. In those years in Europe it was an honor to be related to this surname. The Grand Dukes of Moscow also became related to her: in 1526, the wedding of Vasily III with Elena Vasilievna Glinskaya took place. In 1530, their son Ivan IV Vasilyevich was born, nicknamed the Terrible for restoring order in the country. Thus, after a century and a half, a tsar with a rich pedigree appeared on the throne of Moscow, coming from the tsar of Golden Russia Mamai himself.

I regret to inform you that the defeat of the Slavs on the Kulikovo field led to an almost complete "coverage" of the lands by an alien religion. Therefore, this chapter is placed in the book "Slavs" as summing up some results and refuting the "one-time" baptism of Russia in 988. Having defeated their religious opponents - the Old Believers (but not completely destroying them), the Judeo-Christians began to prepare for new battles with their brothers in Christ, who have some religious differences in rituals and are called Old Believers. But this is a special chapter in history...

Evgeny Gladilin (Svetlayar)