Battle of Kulikovo
Single combat of Peresvet and Temir-murza
Date September 8, 1380 Location Kulikovo Field near the Don River Result Russian victory
Combatants
Combined Russian armies	The Golden Horde
Commanders
Dmitri Ivanovich of Moscow	Mamai
Strength
About 80,000	About 125,000
Casualties
About 40,000 able body men left	Unknown, but far greater than those of the Russians

The Battle of Kulikovo (Russian: Куликовская битва, битва на Куликовом поле) was fought^{[citation needed]} by the Tartaro-Mongols^{[citation needed]} (the Golden Horde) and the Russians. The battle took place on September 8, 1380 at the Kulikovo Field^{[citation needed]} near the Don River (now Tula Oblast) and resulted in a Russian victory. The battle's site is commemorated by a memorial church, built to a design by Aleksey Shchusev.

Combined Russian armies under the command of the Grand Prince of Vladimir, Dmitri Ivanovich of Moscow (called "Dmitry of the Don" afterwards) faced a much larger Tatar force under the command of Mamai, a strongman of the Golden Horde. Mamai's allies, Grand Prince Oleg of Ryazan and Grand Prince Jogaila of Lithuania were late to the battle. The old Russian poem Zadonshchina says 150,000 Russians and 300,000 Tartaro-Mongols, but the actual size of the Kulikovo Field would not allow such a quantity of troops. Most likely the figures were closer to 80,000 Russians including seven thousand rebel Lithuanians and 125,000 Tatars.

Dmitry Donskoy in the thick of fray.

On the morning of September 8, a thick fog covered the Kulikovo Field. The fog cleared around 11 A.M, at which point both armies began simultaneously advancing on each other. The battle was allegedly opened by a single combat of two champions. The Russian champion was Alexander Peresvet, a monk from the Trinity Abbey sent to the battle by Saint Sergius. The Horde champion was Temir-murza (also Chelubey or Cheli-bey). The champions killed each other in the first run, though according to Russian legend, Peresvet did not fall from the saddle, while Temir-murza fell.

After approximately three hours of battle (from noon to 3 p.m.) the Russian forces were successful, although suffering great casualties, in holding off the Horde's attack. The cavalry of Vladimir, Prince of Serpukhov (Dmitri's cousin), led by Dmitri Bobrok, Prince of Volynia launched a flanking surprise counter strike and achieved victory over the Horde forces. Mamai escaped to Crimea, where he was assassinated by his enemies, leaving the Horde under the command of Tokhtamysh.

This victory was the beginning of the end^{[citation needed]} of the supposed Mongol rule in Rus, which officially ended with the great standing on the Ugra river a century later. Its spiritual importance for the unification of the Russian lands was even more important. As one historian put it^{[citation needed]}, the Russians went to the Kulikovo Field as citizens of various principalities and returned as a united Russian nation. This view, however - made from the perspective of later Russian history - was possibly not shared at the time by the Russians of Ryazan who had fought on the losing side.

See also

• Sergius of Radonezh
• Dmitri Donskoi
• Alexander Peresvet
• Kulikovo Field
• Stepan Nechaev
• Golden Horde
• Tatar invasions
• Russo-Kazan Wars
• Mongol invasion of Rus
• Grand Duchy of Moscow
• Timeline of the Tataro-Mongol Yoke in Russia

References

• The Zadonshchina
• The Battle of Kulikovo
• History of Kulikovo Battle

Coordinates: 53°39.15′N, 38°39.21′E

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Battle of Kulikovo

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