Mongols burn Chernigov

1239

The old Rurikid city of Chernigov, a cultural center south of Kiev, was stormed and torched by Batu's army as it swept west. Survivors scattered into forests and swamps. The princes of Rus began a long apprenticeship as tax farmers for the steppe. The cathedral of the Transfiguration, one of the finest examples of early Rus architecture, survived the flames and still stands today.