At the end of 1221, Subedei won a bloody decisive battle against the army of the Georgian king. The plans of the campaign of 2 tumen (20 000) Dzhebe and Subedei did not include occupation of lands. So the Mongols went further north. Having bypassed impregnable Derbent, Subedei led the army through the Shirvan gorge and went to the valleys of the North Caucasus, to the Alanian land.
The Alans were already waiting for them. For a whole year they fought against Subedei as part of the Georgian allies, having studied the Mongols. And now trouble had come to their home. While Subedei was trampling near Derbent, Muztazkhir (Alanian king) Khas I called everyone for help. From the Russian steppes came 2 Cumans khans with light cavalry. The Mongols were met by a brave alliance of Caucasian mountaineers, the last Scythian-Alans and steppe men.
Alans in the campaign. Picture by artist A. Dzhanaev
And for the first time Subedei will not win the battle. Alans did not ambush, they got experience in Georgia with ambush of Dzhebe a couple of months ago. The attempt to shoot everyone at a distance did not work, the Kipchaks’ shooting cavalry was not inferior to the opponent in shooting. Subeday tried to split the Alan infantry and attack the pieces one by one with Turkic allied infantry. But the Highlanders did not split in any way and simply died on the spot.
Then Subeday let his shock cavalry go forward. «But immediately trumpets roared, and Muztazkhir himself rushed to meet them at the head of Alanian heavy cavalry that knew no fear. The battle lasted 5 hours, on the field grew mountains of bodies…»
Risking to stay forever in the Caucasus, Subedei gave the order to withdraw from the battle. The Alans did not pursue the Mongols.
Betrayal of the Kipchaks
It became clear to the old fox that the Alans could not be defeated. That the situation was stalemate. There was no way forward — the Caucasian flock had gathered and would not disperse. There is no way to go back — in the rear there is unconquered Derbent and narrow Shirvan gorge, where every stone breathes hatred. So Subedei went to negotiations. He secretly sent Turkic noyons (princes) to the Polovtsian khans. Those, declaring to the Cumans that, say, we and you are of the same kind, bribed them with gold. And promising not to attack, offered to leave the Alans.
The Kipchaks abandoned their allies and dispersed to their nomads. But the word was not Mongolian. Then Subedei will pounce on Kipchaks and take all gifts back, both khans of Kipchaks will die in fights. Defeated Polovtsians will run to Russia, involving it in war with Mongols.
Leaving without cover of shooting cavalry, Alanian army has lost the 2nd battle. Infantry of mountaineers of course in no way could catch up mounted Mongols, and heavy Alanian cavalry could not catch up in close combat. First the Mongol archers upset the Alanian ranks, and then surrounded the army…
After the victory, Subedei left and the Mongols disappeared from the Alanian lands.
The doom of Alania
But Subedei’s campaign was only a prelude to the final act. After the defeat in the first Mongol war, the strife in the weakened Alanian kingdom intensified. Each Alanian noble clan was hungry for power, and vassals — for freedom.
The highlanders began to attack the mountaineers again. And on the eve of the main Mongol strike there was no unity in the kingdom. In 1236 it was seen by Hungarian monk Julian, who passed through Alania in his eastern journey:
How many villages there are there, so many chiefs.And not one is subordinate to the other.There is a constant war of chief against chief, village against village.Everyone goes to plow with weapons, and if it is necessary to go into the forest or outside the village, they also go with weapons.Manslaughter counts for nothing…..
Batyi’s Darkness, which began its Western campaign before the Last Sea, attacks twice. In 1236, after conquering the Volga Bulgaria, the tumen of the Chingizids Munkhe and Gayuk seize the northern part of the Alanian kingdom and the Cumans lands in the lower reaches of the Volga. The Mongols will come to the North Caucasus itself in the winter of 1239.
The Mongol invasion will come from the north-east, and the initial bridgehead will be the previously conquered steppe land. One by one Alanian clans will defect to the Mongols, betraying their muzztazkhir.
Impregnable fortress
But the capture of Alanian fortresses would become the longest endeavor of Genghis Khan’s empire. The Mongols would besiege the ancient mountain fortress of the Sarmatians, Bab-Al-Lan, for 12 years. The last center of resistance of the kingdom will be the capital Magas, where the royal family of Khasa I will be banned with the remnants of the army, militia and mountaineers. Great Kiev will fall for 9 days, mighty Vladimir — for 3 days. Magas will withstand 1,5 months of siege. As punishment — Mongols will destroy the capital and its defenders.
The inhabitants of Magas were like ants in number, and the surroundings were covered with swamps and forest, so thick that it was impossible for a snake to crawl in it.The princes together surrounded the city from different sides.
And first they made a road so wide on each side that three or four wagons could pass side by side, and then they put out throwing guns against its walls.They left of this city only its name.(Juwayni XIII c.)
With the fall of Magas and the last Alanian king, the ancient Alania will perish. The Caucasus will be divided by the ulus Dzhuchi (Golden Horde) and ulus Hulagu. Alanian heavy cavalry will shake the heart of Mongols and become their palace guard. 1000 Alans would be Batyi’s personal reserve in Europe as early as 1240.
The fall of the Caucasus and the Mongol period
Later, in his Chinese ulus, Khubilai will deploy already 2 Alanian mounted tumens of 20,000 spears. In 1268 his Alans will bravely show themselves in the conquest of southern China and contribute to the creation of the Khubilai Empire. The palace of the Arab ulus of Hulagu would be guarded by 400 Alans. The Alanian Horse Guards will be with the Chinggisids until the end. But how far from the homeland.
The Caucasus itself will not surrender. The mountaineers and the unconquered Alans will retreat into the mountains. They will resist so cruelly that the Mongols will have to keep a whole tumen (10 000 sabers) in the Caucasus for 147 years. In the fire of resistance to foreign power, the modern peoples of the Caucasus with their way of life and religion will appear. Alanian blood would flow in the veins of Ossetians, Kabardins, Ingush and Chechens. But the war in the Caucasus will now be eternal.