4997–5001 AM · 1237 CE — 1241 CE · world history
The Mongol Invasion of Rus and Europe
Batu burns the cities of Rus and reaches Hungary, then turns back.
Batu's army takes Ryazan and Vladimir in winter and sacks Kiev in 1240, leaving it in ruins for a century. The lands of Rus fall under the Horde's tribute and patents of rule for some 250 years. The Mongols then crush Hungarian and Polish armies and reach Vienna, but the great khan's death calls them home.
Sources
Documents of the period
- documents and chronicles of the period — the Russian chronicles and European reports about Batu
Scholarship
- studies in European history — the campaign of 1237–1242 and the turn back from Hungary
Basis: documents and evidence.