Mongol extinctionWhy did the Russian army lose to Bulgaria?
The Battle of the Calga River was one of the most intriguing events of the Mongols' First Western Crusade. At that time, Jebe and Subutai led an expedition of 20,000 Mongol troops to Europe and annihilated the 100,000 troops of the Rus' principalities in the Calga River, which greatly shocked the Western world.
However, what is less known is that on the way back from this expedition, the Mongol army of 20,000 men was ambushed by the Volga Bulgarian Khanate. It is said that only a few thousand people managed to return to Mongolia, and the main general, Jebe, may have even died of serious injuries as a result.
This crushing defeat was called the first setback of the Mongol expedition to Europe - the Battle of Samara Bay.
The Mongol Empire's first expedition to the west began in 1219 with an army of 200,000 led by Genghis Khan himself. After capturing Samarkand, the capital of Khorezm, Genghis Khan sent two 10,000-strong troops of Jebe and Subutai to pursue the Sultan Mahamat of Khorezm, who had fled westward, and agreed on a period of three years.
Although Mahamat eventually fell ill and died on a small island in the Caspian Sea, Jebe and Subutai did not stop their march and continued their march to western Persia, the Caucasus, and the Kipchak steppe as planned.
In the spring of 1222, they successively conquered Guerqi (Georgia) and Azer-Byzan (Azerbaijan), and then crossed the Taihe Ridge (Caucasus Mountains), broke into Europe, and defeated the Kipchaks and Alans.
While pursuing the defeated Kipchak army, the Mongol expeditionary force also entered the Don and Dnieper valleys in Eastern Europe.
In the Battle of the Calga River in May 1223, Jebe and Subutai successfully met and defeated the 100,000-strong alliance of the Rus' principalities and the Kipchaks with an army of only 20,000 men.
In this battle, the combined forces of Rus and Kipchak were almost completely annihilated, and more than a dozen Rus' princes, including the Grand Duke of Kiev, Mstislav Romanovich, were captured and killed. After the war, the Calga River witnessed the great victory of Jebe and Subutai.
They continued southward, swept a vast area north of the Black Sea, and divided their forces into the Crimean Peninsula. In the autumn of 1223, the 20,000-strong army of Jebe and Subutai successfully triumphed and returned eastward.
Although we are familiar with the Battle of the Chalga River, the Mongol expeditionary force's conquest of the Volga Bulgarian Khanate is rarely recorded in domestic history books. This history was dominated by two generals, Jebe and Subutai, who, on their triumphant march eastward, conquered the Briar on the Volga and swept away the Kipchaks and Khamli north of the Caspian Sea.
After that, they returned east via the Aral Sea to join the main Mongol army. However, while this history is very brief in Eastern sources, European and Arab sources detail an astonishing story.
Sadly, in 1224, the general Jebe died of illness while passing through the Yemili River (Emin River) in the area of Mount Tarbagatai.
The ancient Bulgarians, whose descendants formed the Volga Bulgarian Khanate and the Bulgarian state of the lower Danube, respectively. Their origins can be traced back to the steppes north of the Black Sea and are one of the descendants of the Huns, the Kutrigur Huns.
In the thirties of the seventh century, the ancient Bulgarians became independent from the Avars and established the Great Bulgarian Khanate. However, the dissolution of the Khanate in 670 AD and the united westward migration of some Bulgarians and Slavic tribes formed the modern Bulgarian state.
Another part of the Bulgarians advanced to the east, establishing the Volga Bulgarian Khanate. Whether it was the Bulgarian state in the lower Danube or the Volga Bulgarian Khanate in the Volga Valley, their history and culture were deeply rooted in their common origins and history.
The westward migration of the Volga Bulgarians led to the gradual assimilation of their language and culture by the Slavs, but the modern Chuvash people have retained a significant part of the language and culture of the Huns.
Although Chuvash incorporates a large number of Turkic and Russian words, some linguists believe that it may also retain traces of the ancient Xiongnu language. In the summer of 1223, Genghis Khan sent emissaries to the Dnieper River to deliver orders to Jebe and Subutai to lead their armies eastward.
In the autumn of that year, the 20,000-strong army of Jebe and Subutai arrived on the west bank of the Volga. According to Genghis Khan's orders, Jochi was to lead a 10,000-strong army to join them, and 30,000 Mongol troops were to conquer the humble "kingdom of Briar" (Volga Bulgaria).
However, Jochi's 10,000 Mongol troops did not reach the Volga as promised. According to Chinese historical records, Jochi's refusal to send troops to Briar under the pretext of "illness" led to a conflict with his father Genghis Khan, and even almost caused Genghis Khan to send troops to fight.
During the Battle of Samara Bay in 1223–1224, the Tatar army led by Jebe and Subutai was ambushed by the Bolgars. According to the Chronicle of Ibn al-Asir - The Time of the Crusades, when the Bulgars heard of the approach of the Tatars, they set up ambush points in several places and succeeded in luring the Tatars.
When the Tatars passed through the ambush site, the Bolgars appeared from behind and sandwiched them in the middle. The battle ended with the victory of the Bolgars, most of the Tatar soldiers were killed, and only a few escaped.
The battle is full of mystery and remains the focus of historians' research to this day.
The Mongol army was ambushed by the Bolgars in the Gulf of Samarath, and after many close quarters battles, the exhausted Mongol army returned to the lower reaches of the Volga. According to the Persian historian Zhifeni's History of the Conquerors of the World, only about 4,000 men of the Mongol expeditionary force escaped.
Legend has it that the Bolgars returned the captured Mongol soldiers to Genghis Khan, and each captive was exchanged for a ram. In modern times, this plot has even been painted in oil by Western artists.
However, Zhifeni's work is often exaggerated, so many scholars take it with reservations. Most historians believe that the battle took place in Kernek, on the southern border of Volga Bulgaria, in today's Ulyanovsk Oblast, in the area of Samarat Bay.
Therefore, the battle became known as the Battle of Samara Bay or the Battle of Kernek.
Although there is no direct record, scholars believe that the Bolgars fought the campaign by exchanging Mongol captives for rams, and that the Bolgar king at the time, Gabdula Chelbir, may have been the one who commanded the campaign.
Gabudula Cerbil was later regarded as a national hero by modern Bulgarians, and although they had been separated for hundreds of years, their kinship was not so close.
There is no historical record of the Bolgars' participation in the war and their losses, but based on the population size of the Volga Bulgarian Khanate at that time, scholars estimate that their strength was only about 10,000.
Since Volga Bulgaria was not a great power, they were constantly eroded by the Rus' presence in the principalities. In the historical materials about the Battle of Samara Bay, the name of the Mongol general "Uliang Hetai", that is, the eldest son of Subutai, also appears.
Therefore, some historians believe that the Mongol advance was annihilated, and the main forces of Jebe and Subutai did not suffer serious losses.
Many scholars agree that after leaving Volga Bulgaria, Jebe and Subutai swept the Kipchaks (Chipchak) and Khamli (Eastern Kipchaks) on the lower Volga and the northern shore of the Caspian Sea.
If only four thousand people remained, then it could be difficult for the Mongol army to accomplish this task. In general, the history of the Battle of Samara Bay remains fraught with mysteries. Historians do not agree on whether the 20,000 Mongol expeditionary force was annihilated by more than half or suffered only a small part of the losses.
At the end of the article, the author analyzes the losses of the Mongol expeditionary force and proposes that the real losses of Jebe and Subutai may have been very serious, and the probability that only 4,000 people survived is very high.
According to historical records, Jebe and Subutai joined the main force of Genghis Khan on the north bank of the Syr Darya River in the spring of 1224 after meeting with Jochi in the Kipchak steppe. In addition, they brought back ten thousand horses and Western intelligence.
However, Jebe died of fever in the area of the Yemili River (Emin River), and Subutai returned to Horin in the spring of 1225.
1.Jebe and Subutai returned with 10,000 horses, which was very shocking news. Some scholars have suggested that about 10,000 people may still be alive in the expeditionary force.
Considering that the expeditionary force has been fighting for three consecutive years, traveling tens of thousands of miles, and participating in many major wars, it is not easy to retain half of the troops. However, we must understand that the Mongol cavalry was usually one man with three horses, and even if the loss of horses was much higher than that of the soldiers, surviving 10,000 horses meant that the number of surviving expeditionary forces was much less than 10,000.
In addition, we must also take into account logistical replenishment and non-combat** factors. The most important material basis for the 10,000-mile expeditions of Jebe and Subutai was to plunder along the way, and use the occupied areas for supplies and rest.
From the Volga, such "supplies" of the Mongol expeditionary forces were interrupted due to the absence of targets to loot and occupy, and non-combat losses of men and horses were likely to increase sharply.
The serious loss of horses testifies to this fact from the side. 2.It was surprising news that Jebe and Subutai had returned with 10,000 horses.
Some scholars have suggested that the expeditionary force may still have about 10,000 people alive. Considering that the expeditionary force has been fighting for three consecutive years, traveling tens of thousands of miles, and participating in many major wars, it is not easy to retain half of the troops.
However, we must understand that the Mongol cavalry was usually one man with three horses, and even if the loss of horses was much higher than that of the soldiers, surviving 10,000 horses meant that the number of surviving expeditionary forces was much less than 10,000.
In addition, we must also take into account logistical replenishment and non-combat** factors. The most important material basis for the 10,000-mile expeditions of Jebe and Subutai was to plunder along the way, and use the occupied areas for supplies and rest.
From the Volga, such "supplies" of the Mongol expeditionary forces were interrupted due to the absence of targets to loot and occupy, and non-combat losses of men and horses were likely to increase sharply.
The serious loss of horses testifies to this fact from the side. 3.The return of Jebe and Subutai with 10,000 horses was shocking news.
Some scholars have suggested that about 10,000 people may still be alive in the expeditionary force. Considering that the expeditionary force has been fighting for three consecutive years, traveling tens of thousands of miles, and participating in many major wars, it is not easy to retain half of the troops.
However, we must understand that the Mongol cavalry was usually one man with three horses, and even if the loss of horses was much higher than that of the soldiers, surviving 10,000 horses meant that the number of surviving expeditionary forces was much less than 10,000.
In addition, we must also take into account logistical replenishment and non-combat** factors. The most important material basis for the 10,000-mile expeditions of Jebe and Subutai was to plunder along the way, and use the occupied areas for supplies and rest.
From the Volga, such "supplies" of the Mongol expeditionary forces were interrupted due to the absence of targets to loot and occupy, and non-combat losses of men and horses were likely to increase sharply.
The serious loss of horses testifies to this fact from the side.
Secondly, the two main generals of Jebe and Subutai may have been hit hard. Jebe died of a "fever" shortly after returning with his army, a battle that lasted only half a year at most from the Battle of Samara Bay.
This suggests that Jebe may have been wounded in battle and became infected, and eventually died young. Subutai was shot blind in one eye during the first Mongol expedition to the west, so he was revered as the "one-eyed god of war".
Some scholars believe that Subutai's eye injury occurred during the Battle of Samara Bay, while others disagree. However, considering that Subutai has always won a hundred battles throughout the Western Expedition and has not encountered a serious crisis before the Battle of Samara Bay, it is very likely that he will be injured in that battle.
In the Second Mongol Expedition to the West, Briar (Volga Bulgaria) became the primary target. It is worth mentioning that Ögedei launched this western expedition in 1235, and Subutai, as the vanguard force, had already sent troops to the Volga River in advance, and successfully destroyed Briar in the autumn of 1236.
However, the main forces of the Mongol expeditionary forces did not arrive in Europe until the autumn of 1237.
The Mongol Empire's view of Brear (Volga Bulgaria) as the first target to be conquered suggests that they had a deep hatred for the region. Brear was also geographically a major problem in the early years of the Golden Horde.
Thus, the losses of the Mongol expeditionary forces in the Gulf of Samara, although disputed, were undeniably tactical. The expeditionary forces of Jebe and Subutai suffered serious losses here.
During the first Mongol expedition to the west, the crushing defeat of Samara Bay was second only to the Battle of Baluwan in 1221. This shows the determination of the Mongol Empire in the conquest of Briar.