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, they 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.