Anniversary of the heroic defense of Ryazan from Tatar and Mongol invaders

In 1237-1240 the Russian land was invaded by forces of Batu Khan. The Ryazan principality was the first to take the blow.

In the autumn of 1237 the hordes of Tatars crossed the Volga and invaded the Ryazan principality. Grand Duke of Ryazan Yuri Igorevich, knowing that his forces are too small to deal with the Mongols ordered to send his nephews to the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Chernigov with a request to unite against common enemies. At the same time, Yuri sent his son Feodor with rich gifts to hold talks to Batu. However, all these orders were not successful, Feodor was killed, Duke of Chernigov and of Seversk refused to come to the rescue, and Yuri Vsevolodovich, hoping to resist to the Tartars on his own, would not send the regiments from Vladimir and Novgorod to help Ryazan citizens.

In December of 1237 the Tartar hordes rushed to the capital of the principality of Ryazan and December 16, began to assault it. Ryazan residents bravely defended the city. All of them, men and women, children and elderly contributed to the defense. Ryazan residents managed to repulse the first attacks, but their ranks thinned rapidly, while the Mongols were joined by more and more detachments. Continuously, day and night, detachments of Tatars, one after another, stormed the city. Citizens, encouraged by the Grand Duke, had been repulsing the attacks for five days; finally the forces of Ryazan citizens depleted. On the sixth day, December 21, 1237, the Tatars broke through the wall with battering machines and entered the city.

Ryazan was looted and burned to the ground, the inhabitants killed or carried off into captivity. Prince Yuri Igorevich, his wife and family, and many Boyar families were killed in the assault.

After leaving the ruined capital of the principality, Baty and his horde went north to conquer other Russian lands.

Lit.: Нашествие Батыя [Электронный ресурс] // Эрзя. Б. д. URL: http://erzya.ru/history/invasion/43-invasions-bata.html; Гудзь-Марков А. В. Монголы вторгаются в Рязанские земли (1237) // Домонгольская Русь в летописных сводах V-XIII вв. / А. В. Гудзь-Марков. М., 2005. С. 450-455; Иловайский Д. И. Начало монгольского ига. 1237-1350 гг. // История Рязанского княжества / Д. И. Иловайский. М., 2008. 73-107; Монгайт А. Л. Рязанское княжество накануне монгольского завоевания. Нашествие монголов и его последствия // Рязанская Земля / Монгайт А. Л. М., 1961. С. 355-359; Шефов Н. Рязань (Нашествие Батыя, 1237-1238) // Битвы России / Н. Шефов. М., 2002. С. 491-492.