It just so happened that we all look at history, as they say, from our bell tower. For us, Batu (in Mongolian - Batu) is a merciless conqueror, the conqueror of Russia, from which the Horde yoke begins. However, the campaigns to Russia were only episodes in the biography of this man. And by no means the most important episodes.
Batu Khan is a man of mystery. We don't know exactly when he was born or when he died. We do not know why it was Batu who headed the ulus of his father, although he was not the eldest son. We can't even imagine how Batu looked.
The only description of Batu's appearance was left to us by Guillaume de Rubruck, an envoy of the French king Louis IX. “In terms of height,” Rubruk writes, “it seemed to me that he looks like Monsieur Jean de Beaumont, may his soul rest in the world. Batu's face was then covered with reddish spots. And the point. Unfortunately, we have no idea how tall Monsieur Jean de Beaumont was.
Mysterious lord
It is difficult for us to judge Batu's personal qualities. In Russian sources, he is an undoubted devil of hell. He is cruel, cunning and endowed with all the vices that exist. But if we take Persian, Arab or Armenian sources, then a completely different person will appear before us. "It is impossible to count his gifts and bounties and measure his generosity and generosity," writes Juvaini, a 13th-century Persian historian.
Finally, we cannot say with certainty that Batu was Genghis Khan's own grandson. Jochi, Batu's father, was born when Genghis Khan had some problems. His wife was captured by the Merkits. And immediately after her release, she gave birth to a son, Jochi. Of course, there is a suspicion that she did not give birth from Genghis Khan.
"Conqueror of the Universe" recognized his son. He claimed that his wife was captured while she was already pregnant. Not everyone believed. Brothers Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedei, doubted most of all. Once at a feast, Chagatai began to pump the driver's license.
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"Do you command Jochi to speak first?" - Chagatai turned indignantly to his father. - How can we obey the heir of the Merkit captivity?
Jochi, of course, was offended. They fought with Chagatai, but they were separated.
- Henceforth, do not dare to utter such words, - summed up Genghis Khan. But he made his heir not the eldest son Jochi, but the third - Ogedei.
Steppe nomads are touchy people. Resentment passes from generation to generation. Jochi's heirs will be at enmity with the descendants of Chagatai and Ogedei. But they will be friends with the heirs of Genghis Khan's fourth son, Tolui.
In the meantime, Jochi died. According to some reports, he quarreled with his father, and he got rid of his negligent son. But ulus Jochi remained.
Who Saved Europe?
Each of the four sons of Genghis Khan at one time allocated an ulus. Ulus Jochi is the territory of present-day Kazakhstan. The lands to the west also belonged to Jochi. But they had to be conquered first. So Genghis Khan ordered. And his word is law.
In 1236, the Mongols began the Western campaign and eventually reached the Adriatic Sea, conquering Russia along the way.
We are usually interested in the invasion of Russia. This is understandable - we live in Russia. But the Mongols were interested in it, so to speak, insofar as. It, of course, needs to be conquered and imposed a tribute - that goes without saying. But there was nothing to do there. There are forests and cities. And the Mongols live in the steppe. And they were primarily interested in the Polovtsian steppe - Desht-i-Kipchak, which stretched from Hungary to the Irtysh. We call the invasion of Batu the Western campaign. And in Mongolia it was called the Kipchak campaign.
In 1242, the Mongols finished their campaign. Why - we do not know exactly. Our historians often write that Batu turned to the east, since in the rear he had an incompletely subjugated Russia, where an almost partisan movement developed. Thus, we saved Western Europe from the Mongol invasion.
This point of view, of course, flatters our national pride. But, alas, it is not based on any historical data.
Most likely, the Eurasian historian Georgy Vernadsky is right. Batu's army learned that the great khan Ogedei died in Mongolia. According to rumors, a woman poisoned him. It is to this woman that Western Europe owes its salvation.
Under Batu there were many Chingizid princes. They had to go to the kurultai to choose a new khan. There is no time for Western Europe.
The hike lasted from 1236 to 1242. Six years. After that Batu lived for another 13 or 14 years. But he did not make any more trips. He devoted these years to the development of his ulus and, let's say, general Mongolian politics.
The capital of the Mongol Empire was naturally located in Mongolia, in Karakorum. Batu, as he left for the Western campaign, never returned to Mongolia. But his fate was decided there.
Power struggle
Even during the Western campaign, Batu quarreled with some of the princes. Here is how it was. They were feasting. We drank too much. And Buri, the grandson of Chagatai, began to swear. He was supported by Guyuk, the son of Ogedei, and the influential emir Argasun.
- How dare to drink Chara before anyone else, Batu, who climbs to equal us? - shouted Buri. - You should have drilled your heel and trampled down these bearded women who climb to equal!
- Let's shake firewood on the breasts of these women, armed with bows! - put in Guyuk.
Guyuk and Buri left Batu and returned to Karakorum. But Ogedei taught them well, even though Guyuk was his eldest son. Ogedei was so offended by Guyuk that he did not make him his heir. And he ordered to transfer power to his grandson Shiramun.
After the death of Ogedei, power was seized by his widow Turakin. She wanted to continue to rule herself. But this is not the case when women rule. She had to convene a kurultai to elect a new khan. They chose Guyuk. That is, they violated the will of Ogedei, who wanted Shiramun.
As we remember, Guyuk is Batu's enemy. His election did not bode well for Bat. But he could not prevent this election - he lacked strength. And authority.
Batu sent his brothers to the kurultai, but he didn’t go, “citing poor health and sick legs”. Illness is, of course, an excuse. Batu hated Guyuk, he did not want to kneel down in front of him and give other due honors. In addition, it was dangerous to go: poisoning a person in Karakorum was a snap.
In general, Guyuk began to rule. Batu formally recognized his authority, but flatly refused to come to Karakorum and pay his respects. Guyuk was offended. He gathered an army and marched west. Batu also gathered an army and moved east.
The Mongol Empire found itself on the brink of a civil war. It is difficult to say how it would have ended. But Guyuk died unexpectedly. Unexpectedly and very useful for Batu. There is every reason to suspect that Batu contributed to the death of the great khan. As we have already said, poisoning an opponent is a common thing for the Mongols.
Now the widow of Guyuk has come to power. She was a foolish and stupid woman. “More despicable than a dog,” the Mongols would say later. She quarreled with everyone with whom only possible. Even with my sons.
Batu is the eldest of the Genghisid family. He is offered to become a great khan himself. He refuses. Not because he is modest, but because he is wise. Batu decided that a tit in his hands is better than a crane in the sky. Better to rule your ulus than to be the great khan in Karakorum, where there are too many intrigues and too often die under mysterious circumstances.
But a great khan must be his own person. And Batu found such a person - Mongke, Tolui's son, his old friend.
In fact, Batu carried out a coup d'état. He convened a kurultai not in Mongolia, as it should be, but in his domain. And his troops kept order. It should not be surprising that the one he wanted was chosen as the khan - Mongke.
Batu did not forget grudges. Once at a feast he was insulted by Buri, Guyuk and Argasun. Guyuk was no longer alive, but Batu and Mongke executed his widow and sent his sons into exile. The poor fellow Storms had their head cut off - among the Mongols, this was considered a shameful execution. Argasun was also executed. And at the same time the father of Argasun. For raising a bad son.
Genghis Khan believed that the greatest happiness in life is the reprisal against enemies. Batu clearly shared this view.
We don't really like Batu. But in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, there is a Batu Khan street. Assessing history is difficult. It depends on which side you look at …
Gleb STASHKOV