by Boris Zubry
Maybe, but everyone was convinced that Batu believed in the Empire and was dedicated to keeping it secure. He thought that the Empire was the most important things for the Mongols and was ready to do whatever it took to upkeep it. That was the survival of the nation and the prosperous future for them all. Batu thought that the revolts and the plots could not accomplish more than a direct discussion among the cousins and uncles would and they always weakened the powers in charge. This was not acceptable by any standard and, therefore, Batu Khan was continually on the side of Ogedei. The power in charge should stay in charge or be removed if there was a cause superior to the Empire. Although he was never hesitant of discussing the issues in question with the court yet, when the decision was reached and finalized, he would support it for one hundred percent. He thought it was only right. Thus, it was his obligation. That’s what the true Mongol should do, and especially, if you were of the royal blood. Small in stature but very strong-willed, he always commanded respect not too many did. Many thought that, if Ogedei Khan died, Batu would become the next Great Khan. That was his destiny. Maybe it was written in the skies, and the holy people supported that notion. They knew he would keep the Empire together, making it even more powerful. Everyone wanted that. That was the Great Khan’s way. The old-timers, the ones that knew and fought with the Great Khan, often joked that, if Genghis Khan lived, he would choose Batu to be the Khan. Some said it was the Kumis talking, but some believed it wholeheartedly. They liked the young man that reminded the old Khan so much but seemed to be more tolerant and more thoughtful somehow. Maybe he was better educated. Genghis was not educated at all and mostly relied on his experiences and natural brightness. Batu had all that and more. He was educated.
The region Batu managed was one of the most prosperous in the realm, and many attributed it to his skills. He was more thoughtful than spontaneous, and that helped. He also had some of the best advisors who liked him and stayed with him. Even the high court was implementing some of his ideas that improved the social, economic, and military standings in the Empire. Still, Ogedei Khan saw no threat in him but the most reliable support and the utmost respect. Batu felt no danger coming from Ogedei either knowing that Ogedei saw no threat from him. He often visited the older uncle seeking advice, the wisdom of Genghis Khan or just enjoying the Khan’s hospitality. There was a real connection, and they enjoyed it. If not for the age difference, they could have been the best of friends, and maybe they were.
In 1235, being only twenty-eight years old, Batu Khan became the commander of the Mongol army of about thirty-five thousand horsemen assigned to the conquest of Europe. It was called the Blue Horde, or the Eastern Army based on the color system of the Mongol Empire. Black was North, blue - East, red was south, white was west, and yellow (or gold) was the center. This color scheme was used in all different forms (flags, symbols, articles of clothes, markings on shields, and as such) throughout the Empire for many reasons and the military was probably the most important one. Europe was the uncharted territory full of the outdated information going all the way back to Attila’s exploits and to the recently arrived merchants from Europe. These were charming and enjoyable people, but completely unreliable. No one knew them, and none could vouch for them. Some of them could’ve been, and maybe were, spies themselves building the disinformation schemes and gathering the information they needed. Some of them worked for the western kings and the knight orders, and even the Pope in Rome. If the Mongols wanted to exploit Europe following the Attila the Khan routs, the European powers wanted to conquer Central Asia doing the same, but in reverse. And, they needed all the help they could get. That was the time of wars, and pillaging was somewhat easier than working for the wealth. Working was not for everyone, and the martial arts paid much better. Everyone needed soldiers, ready to pay whatever it took. Thus, many went into soldiering, and the side was not always relevant. What difference did it make who was right if you got paid and could keep whatever you pillaged?
Many foreign visitors, especially the merchants, just tried to gain the favored status with the Mongols and do some business. So much wealth could be made if one was willing to take the chance. In many cases, if not all, they could not be really trusted when it came to war. Still, Ogedei liked many of the visitors, but Batu Khan preferred the words of his own people. He could trust them better. So, the early general plan was to attack the Bulgars, Slavs of the Volga River basin first and then, the Viking settlements along the major rivers and the Kingdoms in Russia. The Slaves were easy, but the Vikings and the Russian princes could be a small challenge. They could and probably would fight. Not that it looked too hard for the Mongol Hordes but could take time and some resources. Distances, supplies, reinforcements, and the garrisons that had to be left behind had to be considered. Thus, the plan was adjusted for staying in Russia for a few years establishing the rule, planting collaborators, applying taxes, gathering information on Western Europe and building up the strength for future adventures. A base, if not multiple bases, could be required along the way. It was a tall plan that would require all the knowledge and experience they could master. It was not easy but could be done. Possibly it was bigger than anything they experienced before. They needed many people, professionals in all areas of life and China was the place to gather these people.
Ogedei Khan ordered many of the Chinese engineers, doctors, politicians, diplomats, generals, and other experts to join the new Blue Horde. Batu’s chief general and the principal advisor Subutai, Genghis’s closest friend and associate, firmly believed that many of the Russian nobles would betray the own people and join the horde to survive and save their estates. Mongols did not have to do much for that but just to scare them into submission. Tatars, Bulgars, and the Russians would make up for the lack of people in Mongolia. More Nomad tribes would join them when they move from Mongolia toward Russia. Everyone would like to attach himself to that might and get a piece of the action in exchange. Mongols were not many, but whatever they lost in size, they gained in determination. They were giants from that point of view. The mastery in war-making and the strong will made them the most competent leaders and the ferocious fighters. The multitude of tribes on the way to Russia and in Russia itself - that’s where the information and the extra force had to come from, and it did. Subutai again proved to be right. The Russian nobles offered and delivered betrayals faster than they were asked. Often, they were not even asked. Brothers were selling brothers and sons were selling fathers wholesale. Mongols had an easy time conquering that vast expanse of land occupied by what thought to be strong and capable people. Money, food supplies, and the slaves were streaming to the horde with the dependency of a swelled river. Batu Khan was happy, and Ogedei was very happy. The Emperor coffers were bulging with new gold and the goods from the East and the most potent relative, even the trusted one, was far away to present any immediate danger. It was even better than Genghis Khan’s exploits in Asia. Russia was more prominent, the Russians were more, and the Russians had more. Lucky for Mongols, as everywhere else, the Russian nobles were busy fighting each other instead of uniting against the invaders. Lucky for Mongols, the German and the Swedish knights attacked the Russian western and northern frontiers endlessly trying to cut out a fat slice of Russia before the wild Central Asian hordes made it that way. In short, the Mongol plan was full of success. The Blue Horde was swelling along the way while the Russians were getting more and more divided and weaker by the moment.
The success was complete, and the riches were piling up so fast that some of the closest to Batu and Subutai questioned if they should keep moving passing Russia and into the mysterious Western European. That could be too risky. Russia was conquered even before they attacked it. It was not a strong country as they thought it would be. Maybe it was time to build a camp and rest for a while. Perhaps they should not go any farther at all. What else did they need? They were too far from home already, and that could be dangerous. Who knows what was going on at home. At least they shoul
d wait for the reinforcements and the supplies to arrive. It was on the way but would take a few more months. They wanted to know the news from home, and that would come with new caravans. They needed to find good scouts, people that look like the people from the west and could speak the languages. Vikings and some Russians could do the job. Maybe some of the western traders could help if Mongols had leverage with those people. They needed more reliable information. That could take time, maybe months and years, but it had to be done. If you wanted to win a big war and keep your holdings strong, you had to do it right.
You had to do it right. You needed a stronghold big enough to support the venture. You required something to lean on when and if needed. And, a permanent camp on the shore of Volga River was the right decision. That was the perfect location from all perspectives. That was the beginning of the Mongol, and later, Turkicized Khanate called the Golden Horde (also known as the Kipchak Khanate or as the Ulus of Jochi) that lasted for about three hundred years while the Mongol rule in Eastern Europe survived for nearly five hundred years. Gradually, they were pushed back to Crimea and then, even that was taken away.
Batu Khan had the power of the bloodline, and the support of the old timers and Ogedei did not see a threat of betrayal in him. All that was positive and quite promising. Thus, Batu was not a competitor but a collaborator and could do no wrong. With a high degree of trust, Batu Khan was let to run his own empire from the River Volga basin and to the west and just pay his tributes to the Emperor of China, Ogedei Khan. Experienced warlords with their best Tumens (a military division of about ten thousand strong introduced to Mongols by the Khazars) had filled up the ranks ready to participate in the biggest invasion in the history. Alexander the Great had similar ambitions but, not the same resources and the same level of sophistication. There was a fifteen hundred years difference in their approach. Batu Khan and his collaborators wanted a piece of Russia, and a slice of Europe and that was so close they could taste it. And it felt so good. Alexander the Great conquered Asia and was called Great for that. Mongols had Asia already, and now, they were after Europe and all the way up to the last sea, the sea the European traders told them about. How did that look like the last sea? Was it really the last one? What was beyond that sea? Nothing… But that was impossible. What about the elephant and the turtle on top of it holding the earth? Where was that? Were they beyond the last sea? How far beyond? The Mongolian plan was a few times bigger and that much more complicated than Alexander’s. That was a very ambitious project and Mongols called from the steppes the militant nomad tribes known as the Tatars to join the ranks increasing the might of and filling the gaps in the Mongol Tumens. The Blue Horde was joined by the minute by more Kalmyks, Kyrgyz, Bashkirs, Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmens, Buryats, Mordvins, Tuvans, Kazakhs, Khazars, and many more bulging to at least a hundred thousand strong. This horde stretched for miles and made so much dust that it looked like the never-ending sandstorm was coming. That was a storm alright only of a different type, the human one. Batu Khan needed more people he could trust, people with the same background, knowledge, and determination. This war would be hard and painful for everyone. Were they coming?
“This is Volga River, my Khan.” Loudly said Subutai stopping his horse right next to Batu Khan. He had that right because he knew the Khan from the time he was just born and was the loyal friend ever since. Also, he was the most senior commander in the Blue Horde and the most trusted advisor to the Khan. No one was closer to the Khan than Subutai. “Russia, with all its riches, is on the other side of the river. They know we are here, but our scouts had not seen an army or any important force gathering anywhere near. I ordered them to ride for two days inland and only then report. They saw nothing but a few villages and the small bands of badly armed soldiers protecting them. It does not mean much, but for sure we can cross the river without being harassed by anyone. It looks like a good beginning. It is quiet so far. Still, I sent a thousand Khazars over two hours ago as a vanguard. We have the secured crossing areas and the beachhead. Give the order to cross. The Kalmyks are ready to go first.”
“Subutai, I like this place, right here. This shore of the river. Right here. I want you to leave a good garrison here and order them to start building a big camp. You know this beautiful golden Yurt you gave me for the birthday of my son? Let them place it in the middle of that camp and call it the Golden Horde. That would be the center of our new empire. Yes, we would call it the Golden Horde, and that is going to be our capital. We would go west, fight our campaigns, and come back here to rest, resupply, and get ready for the next, campaign. Yes, right here. This is a good place that has everything we need. River, green pastures, trees and plenty of room for the ones we have and the ones that will come. Many will come. This is where we can leave the families, the children, and ride forward with the speed of the wind. I can see thousands of horses running free over there, by those hills. I want everything from home come here and things that should go home, go from here. Leave some of the Khazars here to manage it; they are the best. They will do it right. Yes, this is the perfect place. I do not think I’ve seen a better place yet. I like it very much. Do you? We will conquer it all, wherever it took us, but we would come back here and rule. Send the messenger to the Great Khan to tell him where the capital is going to be. Yes, build the Golden Horde as a capital of the Great Empire. We’ll give it the proper name later. Still, ask the Great Khan, my uncle, for advice. He would like it very much. Ask him what he thinks. After all, this is not our empire, but his and we are only the servants. Do we have anything valuable to send him? We should. We took so much already. Find something good to please him. He may like some fur. I know he likes silver better than gold. This is very important. He is a good man but often misjudged and rarely understood. If anything happens to me, always treat him right. Always. He is the Emperor. Support him. Give the order. Let’s go over to Russia.”
Batu slightly touched the horse leading it to the water edge where dozens of horsemen were crossing already establishing a few more beachheads for the main forces. As far as Batu could see, to the left and to the right, the Mongolian troops were crossing the river at leisure. Horsemen, footmen, herds of animals, wagons, camp followers, families, slaves, Mongols, Tatars, Uzbek, Bashkir, Khazars, Azeri, Kyrgyz, Kalmyks, and the rest of Central Asia was on the move toward Russia. That was the force to reckon with. Had anyone seen anything grander than that? Ever? Alexander the Great… Atilla the Khan? No, this was much bigger, and more was coming. Subutai said it was about one hundred thousand people by now. No, it was much more. It could be a hundred thousand fighting men, but what about the rest of the people. And, more was coming every day. It could double in a few months. They were as many as the locust on a hot, dusty day. Could Russia take it? Could any country take it? No king, no state was strong enough even to slow them down. It was the locust, the locust of Asia. Could the Russians resist effectively enough to make the difference, even to be noticed? Yet, the Mongols were ready for anything.
Batu Khan crossed the Volga River basin, sending a part of his force to Bulgaria (settlements of Slavs called Bulgars in central Russia) but most of it went to the Russian Domains. Mongols needed all forces together. The territories were vast, and after the war, they had to be controlled. Soldiers were in demand, and good soldiers were priceless. Military training became an integrated part of everyday life throughout Central Asia. Everyone wanted to be good, so he could apply for a better position. By 1240, Batu Khan captured and burnt down Moscow and Kiev. The other Russian city-fortresses (so-called Kremlins) like Suzdal, Tver, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, and a few more folded down one by one not be able to withstand the pressure of Mongols just by themselves. The United Russian front was talked about, but it never materialized. The Russian nobles, being related, could not stand each other and instead would go against one another. They hated each other more than the Mongols. No significant resistance to the Mongol invasion was ever mastered by the Russian Princes, but some tried. Unfortunately, the
y did not try hard enough. They could not put aside, even for a short time, the own interests that plugged the relations with the other nobles. Mongols had Russia in their grasp, accomplishing the first part of the mighty plan to conquer Europe. Yet, they did not believe that Western Europe would be as easy as Russia was and kept building up the force. In the following two years, Batu conquered Hungary and Poland, destroying the united armies of knights and invaded Germany. The advance bands of Mongols and the spies had reached as far as the Mediterranean Sea, but they never explored it any farther. Batu’s recall to the Karakorum in 1242 to participate in the election of the Grand Khan was the fact that may have had saved Europe from the violent subjection to the Mongols. Maybe or maybe not. We can only guess. But, we know for sure that, if the Mongols kept moving forward, it would be difficult, if at all possible, to stop them. Only a miracle could stop that locust, and maybe that was the miracle. Batu left for Mongolia, the horde stopped and largely retreated to the Golden Horde, and the invasion had never continued on the same scale again.
There could be a multitude of reasons for that. Many believe that Europe was saved only because Mongols did not really know that there was more beyond the Mediterranean Sea. Batu’s advisors assumed that the European traders were referring to that sea, calling it “The Last Sea.” Did the traders know any better? One does not go beyond the last sea. Why would they? That was not smart and very dangerous. That was reserved for the gods and only gods. Batu was not a god but only a Khan, and he knew it. Mongols were not into the God thing that much. Batu was a man and a soldier, and he liked it that way. The brutal force at the base of his existence exited him more and more. That was him.
The power of life and death made him the god on earth, but he respected the gods in the sky, placing them above all his desires and understanding his own place. He was right where he was supposed to be. And, that suited him quite well. His soldiers should not die crossing the last sea. Why should they? What was there that important? That could be too dangerous even for them. They were his soldiers, his people, and he was responsible for them and their families. He knew his obligations. That what he learned well from his grandfather. They had to conquer the world, first, making the Mongol capital the capital of the world. He wanted to see it while he was still alive and in charge. He was not a god, but he was powerful enough to make it happen.