Battle of the Kalka River 1223
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1223 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Ukraine | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Mongol invasions and conquests | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 47.2508, 37.4957 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of the Kalka River was fought between the Mongol Empire, whose armies were led by Jebe and Subutai, and a coalition of several Rus' principalities, including Kiev and Galicia-Volhynia, and the Cumans under Köten. They were under the joint command of Mstislav the Bold and Mstislav III of Kiev. The battle was fought on May 31, 1223 on the banks of the Kalka River in present-day Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, and ended in a decisive Mongol victory.
Following the Mongol invasion of Central Asia and the subsequent collapse of the Khwarezmian Empire, a Mongol force under the command of prominent Mongol Noyans (generals) Jebe and Subutai advanced into Iraq-i Ajam. Jebe requested permission from the Mongol emperor, Genghis Khan, to continue his conquests for a few years before returning to the main army via the Caucasus. While waiting for Genghis Khan's reply, the duo set out on a raid in which they attacked the Kingdom of Georgia. Genghis Khan granted the duo permission to undertake their expedition, and after making their way through the Caucasus, they defeated a coalition of Caucasian tribes before defeating the Cumans. The Cuman Khan fled to the court of his son-in-law, Mstislav Mstislavich of Galicia, whom he convinced to help fight the Mongols.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of the Kalka River (revision 1380978350), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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