About this video

Ryazan was the first Rus city to be besieged by the Mongol invaders under Batu Khan.In the winter of 1237 the Mongol Horde led by Batu Khan invaded the Rus' principality of Ryazan. The Prince of Ryazan, Yuriy Igorevich, asked Yuriy Vsevolodovich, the prince of Vladimir, for help, but did not receive any.

The Mongols defeated the vanguard of the Ryazan army and on December 16th 1237 besieged the capital of the principality (this site is now known as Old Ryazan, Staraya Ryazan, and is situated some 50 km from the modern city of Ryazan).

On December 21st, Batu Khan's troops stormed and plundered Ryazan. Nearly all of the city's inhabitants were killed. The writer of the Rus chronicle described the aftermath of the battle with the words "There was none left to groan and cry".
The city of Old Ryazan was completely destroyed and was never rebuilt.

After the destruction of Ryazan, Batu Khan's horde pushed on into the principality of Vladimir-Suzdal.

On November 28th 1240, the Mongols set up catapults near one of the three gates of old Kiev where tree cover extended almost to the city walls.
The Mongols then began a bombardment that lasted several days. On December 6, Kiev's walls were breached, and hand-to-hand combat followed in the streets. The Kievans suffered heavy losses and Dmytro was wounded by an arrow.

When night fell the Mongols held their positions while the Kievans retreated to the central parts of the city.
Many people crowded into the Church of the Tithes.

The next day, as the Mongols commenced the final assault, the church's balcony collapsed under the weight of the people standing on it, crushing many. After the Mongols won the battle, they plundered Kiev. Most of the population was massacred.
Out of 50,000 inhabitants before the invasion, about 2,000 survived.
Most of the city was burned and only six out of forty major buildings remained standing. Dmytro, however, was shown mercy for his bravery.

After their victory at Kiev, the Mongols were free to advance into Hungary and Poland.


These were likely the real flags of Ryazan and Suzdal.

Ryazan:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
Suzdal:
https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1ruAcQF...

Thank you for watching!