Mongols rout Rus at the Kalka River
May 31, 1223
A scouting force under Subutai and Jebe, having ridden around the Caspian, surprised a Rus-Kipchak host on the Kalka steppe. The princes were captured, laid under boards, and crushed as Mongol generals feasted above them. Europe learned the word Mongol. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the horsemen turned east and vanished, leaving the Rus to wonder whether the nightmare had truly passed.
In context
Also in 1223 (3 other events on record)
- Francis of Assisi formally approved · Europe · Religion
- Snorri Sturluson begins the Heimskringla · Europe · Culture
- Honorius III approves the Carmelite rule · Middle East · Religion
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in War
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.