Siege of Moscow (1238)

Mongol invasion of Rus
Part of Part of Mongol conquest of Eastern Europe
Mongols under the walls of Vladimir.
Date January 15–20, 1238 Location Modern Russia Result Mongol victory
Belligerents
Mongol Empire	Vladimir-Suzdal
Commanders and leaders
Batu Khan	Voivode Filip Nyanka  † Prince Vladimir Yuryevich  (POW)
Strength
At least one tumen(10000) of nomad cavalry	Few hundred militia
Casualties and losses
Light	Heavy, survivors enslaved

Siege of Moscow was part of Mongol invasion of Rus.

Prelude

After the destruction of Ryazan on December 21, 1237, Grand PrinceYuri II sent his sons Vsevolod and Vladimir with most of Vladimir-Suzdal army to stop Mongol invaders at Kolomna. There, the Russian army was heavily defeated, and survivors scattered and fled North, to Vladimir and Moscow.

Siege

After destruction of Kolomna in January 1238, Prince Vladimir, younger son of Yuri II of Vladimir, fled to Moscow with a small force of survivors.^[1] "And the men of Moscow ran away having seen nothing",^[2] according to The Chronicle of Novgorod. At the time Moscow was but a fortified village, a trading post "on a crossroads of four rivers".^[3] The small, wooden fort was taken after five days of siege.

Aftermath

Prince Vladimir was captured and executed two weeks later, before the eyes of the defenders of Vladimir.^[4]

References