Chapter XVI: Battle of Kulikovo (1)

Michael, deserted by Olgerd, made peace with Dmitri but only to go to the Horde, which he visited January, 1371. Judging by what he accomplished, he was received well by Mamai, who ruled the Horde then through his creature, Khan Mamant Sultan. Michael got not only a patent for the Grand Principality, but an offer of troops against Dmitri “the rebel,” for such was Dmitri in the eyes of Mamai, at least officially. Michael refused the troops, and only took Sari Hodja, the envoy. The good-will of Mamai and the new Khan cost Michael much treasure, for besides what he carried to Sarai, he was forced to a debt of ten thousand grievens, an immense sum for that time, and as surety he engaged to send his son, Ivan, to Mamai.

Moscow had agents at the Horde always, and from these men Dmitri knew the situation even before Michael had turned his face homeward. Agents were sent to each city to bring all to oath that they would not accept Michael, and would not permit him to be Prince of Vladimir. All people were on the side of Dmitri, and he and his cousin, at the head of a large army, at once moved against Pereyaslavl.

When Michael arrived and announced his appointment, the Vladimir men would not receive him. They sent word to him that they did not believe he had a patent, and he was forced to retreat. Sari Hodja, Michael’s Mongol friend, summoned Dmitri to Vladimir to hear the Khan’s patent read. “I will not go to the reading,” replied Dmitri. “I will not let any one enter Vladimir, and to thee, O envoy, thy way is open.” But the boyars who carried this answer were to give Sari Hodja gifts of honor, and in private invite him to make Moscow happy with his presence.

Sari Hodja, who had received rich gifts from Prince Michael, hesitated. He expressed great reverence for the Tver prince, and conducted him to the Mologa, where he delivered the Khan’s patent. He spoke long of his unfailing devotion, then took farewell. After that Sari Hodja went straightway to Moscow, where they gave him more gifts than he had ever dreamed possible. He marveled at the beauty and excellence of the city, and praised Dmitri for his winning ways, and his kindness. He complained, however, that the Grand Prince had not visited the loving Khan, from whom he guaranteed a good reception. At parting he repeated that he would never forget Dmitri, and when at the Horde would tell of his kindness.

It was time indeed for Dmitri to beware of breaking with the Mongols. More than once sharp reminders had come from Mamai, and even war had been threatened. Michael, armed with the Khan’s patent, was taking district after district and installing his agents in every disputed place. Novgorod men had informed Michael that if he were in truth appointed instead of Dmitri, they were ready to kiss the cross to him.

Dmitri counseled with his boyars and the metropolitan: “Should he make war on the Horde; or should he take refuge in phrases?” No matter how grievous was the latter, his advisers feared to counsel resistance, hence Dmitri decided that he would go to the Khan and come to terms with him if possible. When this decision was published, there was deep discouragement in Moscow. All feared an evil issue, and Dmitri wrote his will before starting. The metropolitan went with him to the Oká, and blessed him at parting. Soon after the departure of the Grand Prince, envoys came from Olgerd to conclude peace with Moscow. Prince Vladimir and the council of boyars, with the metropolitan at the head of it, made peace with Lithuania. Then followed the betrothal of Yelena, Olgerd’s daughter, to Dmitri’s cousin, Vladimir; some months later the marriage was solemnized. Such favorable news came from the Horde that there was no evil word for Sari Hodja in Moscow. At Sarai they rejoiced at Dmitri’s arrival. His grandfather, Kalitá, had been Uzbek’s friend. Dmitri was a nephew of Simeon the Proud and a son of Ivan, Simeon’s brother. All those princes had been faithful friends of the Horde, and had always obeyed it. Dmitri received great honor. The gifts that he had brought to Mamai, to the Khan and his wives, and to magnates were such as had not been seen for a long time. Other princes could not bring as rich gifts at that period. When Dmitri learned that Ivan, son of Michael, was in pledge at the Horde for ten thousand grievens, he offered the money immediately, and they answered that he might take the youth and keep him till all was paid back by his father. Mamai and Dmitri met face to face and took note of each other. They examined the lists of tribute, a work which, though tedious, was finished at last with satisfaction. A patent was given to the Grand Prince and he returned home; with him went notable envoys, who conducted Ivan, son of Michael, and delivered him in Moscow as pledge for his father’s debt.

Dmitri learned later that he had not left the Horde before the following Mongol message was sent to Michael of Tver: “We gave thee the Grand Principality, and offered troops to install thee. Thou didst refuse both our power and our warriors, resolving to sit in the Grand Principality with thy own force. Ask no aid of us further; but sit there with the assistance of whomever may please thee.”

So Dmitri returned to Moscow with good results and much honor, having strengthened his position, and in all questions put his enemies to shame. He began at once to restore the integrity of Moscow’s possessions, destroyed in his absence by Michael, who had occupied some Moscow towns on the border, and ravaged others. After his instalment at Novgorod, Michael had replaced Dmitri’s agents with his own men, and Novgorod had given him an oath paper. When Dmitri returned from the Horde with a new patent and honor, Novgorod broke immediately with Michael, and joined Moscow.

The next year, 1372, the war became more determined, especially since Ryazan was on Michael’s side. It was clear that Tver and Ryazan were leagued against Moscow more unsparingly than ever, and against Novgorod, which was now aiding Moscow. Olgerd, who had given his daughter in marriage to Dmitri’s cousin, Vladimir, refrained from action for a time. But even from the beginning, his restraint seemed like ridicule, for he sent a number of princes with succor to Michael: Prince Drutskoi, Andrei, the Polotsk prince, one of his own sons, his brother, Keistut, and his son, Vitold; who brought with them many Poles and Lithuanians. Moscow again had to meet, not so much Tver, as Olgerd.

The war with Ryazan was ended in one crushing battle. The daring Oleg of Ryazan had shown himself hostile to Moscow in the days of Dmitri’s father, and had claimed, if not all places joined to Kolomna, at least those included with Lopasnya. When Olgerd invaded Moscow the second time, Ryazan troops helped Dmitri. A Pronsk prince, however, commanded them, and those princes defended themselves against the Ryazan prince through their friendship with Moscow. Oleg now demanded Lopasnya as the price of his aid against Olgerd, and this caused a break between him and Dmitri. Dmitri replied that they had not defended Moscow, they had stood only on their own boundary; that Olgerd had burned and ruined Moscow. But Dmitri, lest Oleg might complain to the Khan, said he would discuss with him the question of boundaries. Oleg wished for something more real than promises, so he took Lopasnya with a strong hand, and held it,—occupied the region that he wanted.

The hatred between the people under Dmitri and Oleg reached back to the days of Big Nest, when Moscow was nothing but the Kutchkovo village and Ryazan men broke in through Lopasnya and plundered it cruelly. But Moscow had grown enormously since that time. It had become the chief city, called its ruler Grand Prince of All Russia, and looked upon the Ryazan men as “raging, arrogant, savage, half-witted people.”

Dmitri had a veteran leader, a man of rare gifts and long practice, a leader tried in many campaigns, knowing well the tricks of war and the meaning of every move made by an enemy; besides, he was Dmitri’s chief confidant, his brother-in-law, married to his sister, Anna. Men usually called him Prince Volynski, adding the nickname, Bobrok. This Bobrok of Volynia was now to chasten Oleg, the Ryazan prince.

Oleg, who had assembled an army, marched out against Moscow. The battle was merciless; one of the most renowned conflicts of that epoch. The name of the field, Skornistchevo, on which it took place, was made famous. Oleg fought stubbornly, but notwithstanding his valor and bravery, he had to flee with a few attendants. Bobrok took Ryazan, and placed there Vladimir of Pronsk.

Michael of Tver undertook now to harass the heart of the Moscow possessions. The week after Easter his allies surprised Pereyaslavl, which they plundered and burned, leaving naught save the fortress behind them. Next they seized all the neighboring settlements. Keistut struck this blow with such suddenness that he surprised men at work in the fields, and on the road going to market or elsewhere, but he could not capture the fortress. The Tver prince, attacking Dmitroff, plundered it, and led away multitudes of people. Then the allies turned on Kashin and ruined it. The Kashin prince hastened to Moscow. The allies went home, but the Tver prince, on reaching Torjok, seized the town, and installed his officials. News came now that Olgerd was approaching, and the place was declared where Michael was to meet him.

Meanwhile Dmitri sent men to Torjok, and from Novgorod came boyars and others. They expelled Tver officials; those who did not escape they took captive. They stopped Tver merchants and seized their property. News that Torjok had gone over to Dmitri, and that Novgorod was on that side, enraged Michael. He hastened with all his troops to Torjok, to that “adjunct of Tver,” as he called it. “Yield up those who have seized my people and robbed them. Put back my lieutenants; I ask nothing further,” was Michael’s demand, and from daylight he waited till midday.

In Torjok at that moment were Novgorod men famed as great warriors,—among them Abakumovitch, notorious for freebooting trips on the Volga, and elsewhere; but especially renowned for that exploit which seemed a miracle, and beyond human strength: the courageous and desperate journey along the Ob River, through all Siberia. With him were other “daredevils,” and “Novgorod land pirates.” These men would not yield to the Tver prince. They raised a great shout of defiance, and gathering their forces, marched out against him.

Abakumovitch fell in the first shock of the encounter. The battle was merciless, but Michael was the victor. Some fled from the field to save themselves, others hastened back to the stronghold. Michael’s men fired the town from that side whence the wind came. The wind was fierce on that day, and the flames consumed everything. The destruction was absolute. Some, in trying to save their property, were burned in their houses or courtyards; others fled to the Church of the Redeemer and were stifled by smoke, or, rushing out of the fire and the town, were seized by the enemy; many more were drowned in the river while fleeing. Michael’s warriors were furious, raging. They stripped women and maidens, some of whom, from shame, drowned themselves; they stripped monks and nuns, doing what even pagans had not dreamed of doing. Torjok had never suffered so greatly, even from Mongols.

The unexpected movement of Moscow troops and of Moscow’s allies toward Kaluga informed all that Olgerd was coming. This time every measure had been taken to prevent his drawing near to the capital. Less than two weeks after Torjok had been ruined the Tver prince was at Lyubutsk, whither Olgerd was hastening, and where, somewhat later, the two armies joined forces. Oleg of Ryazan was instructed to march thither also. The forces of Moscow were marching toward the same place.

On the twelfth of June there was a desperate battle, and Olgerd for the first time was thoroughly beaten in those regions. He withdrew, or rather fled, but Dmitri followed on closely. Olgerd halted in a place intersected with gullies, and strengthened his position on heights well secured in steep, rocky places. Dmitri halted directly opposite and entrenched himself. The two forces stood face to face, and remained many days there, watching each other. Only a wooded ravine, abrupt and steep, lay between them.

Olgerd, who had planned to surprise his opponents, fell into a trap, and had at last to ask peace of Dmitri. We have not all the details of that peace, but enough are preserved to give an idea of the advantage gained by Moscow. Olgerd was on the verge of destruction, and only because of that did he accept the peace given. With this peace hostilities with Tver and Lithuania ended, so far as a treaty could end them. Lithuania and Tver bound themselves not to invade Moscow lands in future; and Olgerd was not to take the part of his brother-in-law. All the places seized by Michael were to be returned, and all the property restored to the owners. Tver officials must be removed, if not Dmitri had the right to eject them. Peace with Tver was concluded with a special agreement by which Michael’s son, Ivan, at that time in Moscow, would be free when his father paid the debt incurred by Dmitri because of him.

But barely had Moscow by this victory in the west over Olgerd turned away every danger on that side, when she was threatened by the Mongols. Mamai, enraged at the growing success of Dmitri, was the more incensed by his want of respect for the Mongols. Not only were all princes of the “Lower Land,” even those of Tver and Ryazan, in subjection to Moscow, so that Dmitri seemed to be more important than the Khan, and his commands to be obeyed with more accuracy, but it seems besides that Dmitri had not paid tribute in recent days. In every case, in treaties with the princes of that time, this clause was added: “Whether we are to be at peace or war with the Mongols, to give the Horde tribute, or refuse it, of that we are to decide in common.”

When Mamai made war on the Grand Prince, he alleged as chief cause non-payment of tribute. Dmitri, to ward off invasion, gave an obligation to stop no stipulated payment. Mamai then demanded more than had been agreed upon. Moreover, the princes of Ryazan and Nizni regions, and other subordinates of Moscow, treated rudely, and even insulted the Mongols, and when they had learned to insult they went further,—they attacked the Khan’s warriors. To inspire obedience in Dmitri’s chief ally, his father-in-law, Saraiko, a murza, was sent by the Khan from Sarai to Nizni. But the Nizni prince, who no doubt consulted with Dmitri, had no fear of the envoy. Seeing that Saraiko had with him a thousand attendants, the Nizni prince lodged these Mongols in different places, as if to show honor. Saraiko, though maintained in luxury, was, as it were, in detention.

The Grand Prince had his well-wishers in Sarai, and paid his friends there liberally. They lived under various disguises, but were getting information for Moscow at all times. From them news was brought that Mamai, who had long threatened Moscow, had decided at last to accomplish his wishes. But Moscow was ready, and the troops sent by Mamai to punish the city merely ravaged Ryazan, which, as things stood at that time, was no injury to Moscow.

All the summer of 1373 Dmitri had his main forces on the bank of the Oká, and had divisions widely disposed waiting for the Mongols. The Mongols, on their part, had friends in Moscow and secret spies everywhere. They had information that Moscow was looking for uninvited guests, hence they did not cross the Oká.

If 1373, the year following the Tver peace, passed quietly for Moscow, it was because a strong army stood “on the brink,” and did not let in the Mongols from Ryazan parts. There was perfect concord in the Grand Prince’s family. The devotion of his cousin, Vladimir, seemed reflected in the boyars and officials. The greater number of the boyars had served Kalitá also. Young men followed old, but the families continued. For example a descendant of Protasi, a noted boyar in Kalitá’s time, was commander in Moscow for Dmitri, and his brother, Timofei, was renowned as a voevoda and counselor. The commander himself, Vassili Velyaminoff, who died in 1374, left three sons, men as faithful as he had been, except one, who gave truth to the proverb: “No family without a deformity.” One of Velyaminoff’s sons had married the sister of Dmitri’s wife; and the other son, Polyekt, was connected with a princely house also. One of Dmitri’s sons had married Polyekt’s daughter.

Ivan Kvashnya, another of the Grand Prince’s intimate boyars, commanding beyond the Volga, was a son of Rodion Nestorvitch, renowned under Kalitá. Feodor Svibl was a great-grandson of Akinfi, a Moscow boyar, who was killed while serving Tver, after leaving the service of Moscow. Still another, Feodor Kashka, was a son of the noted Andrei Kobyla, more correctly Kambil (this Andrei Kambil was the ancestor of the Romanoffs, now reigning in Russia). Dmitri had also many faithful servants and friends, who had come to Moscow during his own reign. First among these recent men was Dmitri, the Volynian prince called Bobrok, who had married Anna, the sister of the Grand Prince. There was a wonderous zeal in serving Dmitri; only one rebel appeared, the son of Vassili Velyaminoff, who left three sons: Mikula, Polyekt, and a third named Ivan.

When the commander died Dmitri did not appoint any one to take the place left vacant by him. This offended Ivan, who had hoped to receive the office. Being disappointed, he began an intrigue, or more correctly a conspiracy. He found no confederate among boyars or the people. A merchant in silk and Eastern stuffs, a certain Nekomat, became his associate. Whether he was of Moscow origin, or came from Novgorod, or what were his habits, no one could declare surely: “Ivan and Nekomat began work with many lies to the ruin of people,” is what the chronicler states of them. They went to Tver and roused Michael to strive again for the patent. They assured the Tver prince that many people in Moscow would rise to assist him. “We have associates everywhere,” said they. They persuaded Michael that success at the Horde was beyond peradventure. Nekomat appeared as a man who knew the Horde well, and was conversant with every affair among Mongols. Of course it was not because of what these men could do, or say, that Mamai upheld Michael. But they undertook to work for the Tver prince at the Horde because Mamai was enraged at Dmitri. And they met with success.

Not only was Michael appointed Grand Prince again, but Mamai engaged to send an army; Michael this time had begged for Mongol warriors. Atchi Hodja, the envoy, brought the Khan’s patent, but he did not bring the warriors. Thereupon Michael turned to Olgerd for aid, and, while waiting for men from the Horde and Lithuania, broke the peace with Moscow. He sent envoys to renounce the oath given Dmitri.

The Grand Prince was not slow in his answer; he summoned his allies and commanded them all to hasten. Then, collecting his forces, he marched toward Volok, whither his subordinates and allies were hurrying. They assembled quickly and in formidable numbers. Their rage against Michael was boundless. “How many times has he brought Olgerd against us; how much harm has he done, and how often? Now he is on the Khan’s side, and assisting him. If we let Michael go further, the Mongols will destroy us.” And from Volok they marched directly against Tver. Michael shut himself in for a siege there, and strengthened his chief city quickly. The besiegers, to reach the place, built two bridges over the Volga. The Novgorod men, remembering Michael’s recent offense, and how Torjok had been ruined, hastened to Dmitri’s assistance. Tver men fought with desperate valor, quenching fires and repairing breaches. While the siege was progressing, Staretsa Zubtsoff and other towns fell to Moscow, which, with its allies, seized every place on the march, and took captives. They destroyed or mastered all things.

No matter how great might be Michael’s resistance, he was vanquished. He could have no hope of Mongol aid, or of aid from Olgerd. The Lithuanians did come, but when they drew near they hesitated, then turned and marched home. From the Horde was heard no word of any kind; famine touched Tver decisively. Michael, overpowered at all points, was forced to depute the Tver bishop and the oldest boyars to ask peace of the Grand Prince.

Dmitri gave a stern peace, but a just one. He deprived Michael forever of the claim to rival Moscow, and subjected him to Moscow primacy. He permitted him to style himself, and to be within certain limits Grand Prince in Tver regions; but it was established that Kashin must be independent of Michael. Every clause was defined very strictly, and in case of dispute Dmitri agreed to let Oleg of Ryazan act as arbiter. No man could think of Oleg as partial to Moscow. Further Michael was not to seek Moscow, or the Grand Principality, or Novgorod for himself, or his children, or any of his family, and was not to accept the Grand Principality of Vladimir from the Mongols.

On his part Dmitri was not to take Tver under any circumstances. The following article is noteworthy: “Whether we are to be at peace with the Horde, or to give tribute will be decided in council together. If the Mongols attack any prince, we are all to resist. Should the Grand Prince of Moscow move on the Horde, the Tver prince must go with him.”

Michael abjured all alliance with Olgerd, his brothers, and his family. Further he bound himself to fight against Lithuania, should it attack Moscow, or any Moscow ally. Boyars and free men might pass from one prince to the other, rights were considered as equal on both sides in this regard; two men were excluded, however, Ivan and Nekomat; their property was forfeited, and they themselves declared traitors.

Thus ended that bloody war of 1375 between Tver and Moscow, and there was quiet for a time. But even now Michael did not yield in his heart; he still hoped to triumph over Dmitri. He did not relinquish his alliance with Olgerd. On the contrary, he worked hard to strengthen it. That very year his son, Ivan, pledged lately for the Horde debt, married Olgerd’s niece, Keistut’s daughter. Lithuania waged war on Smolensk for co-operation with Moscow. Olgerd’s forces burned, plundered, and led captive. “Why did ye help ruin Tver?” asked they, as they taunted their victims. The Lithuanian friendship brought less fruit, however, than Michael had hoped from it.

One year and six months later, 1377, Olgerd died, and then began grave and protracted disorders. Yagello killed Keistut, his uncle, and married Yedviga of Poland, thus causing new and great complications.

No sooner had the storm on the west apparently subsided, than another storm moved from the east against Moscow.

The Mongols attacked Nizni-Novgorod and ravaged it unsparingly, thus striking the Grand Prince through his allies, the chief one of whom was his father-in-law. “Why did ye help Moscow, and march against Tver?” asked they, as they plundered Nizni. Farther south they declared: “We do thus because ye fought against the Tver prince.”

Nizni men rose now to take revenge; they killed Saraiko, the envoy, and his thousand attendants. This happened while Dmitri of Nizni was absent and his son was ruling for a short time. The old prince, fearing a Mongol attack on his city, had commanded to hold Saraiko’s men apart from him. When Vassili, the prince’s son, obeyed these instructions, Saraiko became alarmed, and fled to the episcopal palace with a few of his attendants. This flight seemed an attack to some people, and they rose to protect the bishop. Mongols, in self-defense, used arrows, one of which, without wounding the bishop, stuck fast in his mantle. This roused a whole multitude, who rushed to clear the palace of Mongols. A struggle began which extended till Saraiko had fallen, with all of his attendants. “The pagan thought,” said the people, “to do what he wanted, but he and all of his men with him have perished.” After this December, 1375, and January, 1376, the territories of Nizni in all of their extent, from the east to the Sura, and south to the Piana, were doomed to fire and the sword without mercy.

Dmitri of Moscow went beyond the Oká with an army to guard against Mongol forces, which, as he heard, were advancing. The Grand Prince, in defending the lands of his father-in-law, found it needful to fill the Trans-Sura with a great dread of Russia. He sent strong detachments under Bobrok of Volynia, with Ivan and Vassili, two sons of the Nizni prince. They marched to the present Kazan, and their victory was signal. Kazan rendered homage to the Grand Prince’s leader by giving him two thousand rubles, in the money of their period, and three thousand rubles to the army. Kazan received a Moscow official and engaged to pay tribute. The Khan counted those lands as his own beyond question, hence this victory increased Mamai’s rage very greatly.

In 1377 news came from beyond the Sura that a new Mongol prince, Arabshah, had appeared there and fixed his camp at a place called Volchi Vodi (Wolf Water), but that place, as it seemed, was not enough; he was extending his power in many directions. The terror of his name touched Kazan, and the Volga, and alarmed Nizni also. The Nizni prince begged aid of Moscow a second time. The affair seemed so serious that Dmitri himself went with his forces. As there were no tidings of the new conqueror, Dmitri, after waiting a fortnight, returned to his capital; he left, however, a part of his forces composed of men from Vladimir and Murom.

Soon reports came of Arabshah and his army. People said that he was near, but no one knew in what spot he was lurking. Scouts made fruitless efforts to find him. At last the Nizni prince sent forward his son, Ivan, with a Novgorod force, and sent also the Moscow commanders with the regiments left by Dmitri. They were to cross the Piana, and guard the lands south of it. Finding themselves in a primitive region, called by the Russians in those days “The Wild Fields,” these warriors had no fear of natives; they thought only to amuse themselves. There were but a few villages, and those few were in secluded places; a person might pass very near and not see them. The country was one of forests and grass; it was well-watered, abounding in game, and in honey. Prince Ivan and his men found life there agreeable. They went hunting, and moved about everywhere, thoughtless of peril, taking no precautions whatever.

Soon news came that Arabshah was approaching. Still there was no trace of him anywhere. The wily natives were hiding Mamai’s forces, which were lurking very near the Nizni army. They had been led in unobserved, and had surrounded the Russians completely. On August 2, 1377, they destroyed Ivan’s men,—it may be said, without fighting. The Mongols, arranged in five divisions, struck at once from five sides, and only when attacked and facing death did the men of that camp gain their senses. They grasped for their shields, swords and lances. No one had weapons at hand; some were in cases, others in wagons; some warriors were half dressed. The slaughter was thorough. The Mongols had only to strike, thrust, and hew down their victims. Prince Ivan sprang into the river on horseback, and was drowned there. Thousands of common men, and many officers, perished.

Three days later the triumphant Mongols were at Nizni. The prince, having no men to defend the place, fled to Suzdal. Those who had means to flee saved themselves. Those who had not means were slain, or went into captivity. The city was burned, and on August 7 the Mongols turned back, taking with them a multitude of captives. Of Nizni there remained little but charred ruins.

Prince Dmitri Kirdyapa searched for the body of his brother, which he at last found, and buried in the single stone church left in Nizni. Thirty-two churches had been burned.

Reports now came that Arabshah was slaying all who had survived beyond the Sura, but this was not true.

Arabshah was seeking new fields, and soon fell on Ryazan. Oleg met him and was terribly defeated. The Ryazan prince came very near being captured. Wounded and covered with blood, he tore himself free of the Mongols and escaped. About this time another calamity befell the Nizni region; it was visited by a robber attack of the “Filthy Mordva,” as the natives were called by the Russians. The Nizni prince, coming home at that juncture, set out to punish those “eaters of hedgehogs and wolves” for their attack, and their perfidy in bringing in Mongols by stealth to kill Russians. Boris, Ivan’s youngest brother, hunted some of those robbers into the Piana; the greater part of the others were slain; very few went back to their haunts beyond the river. But the people in Moscow were not satisfied with this punishment. They resolved to seize the elders who had led in the Mongols, and to fill with terror the whole region lying south of the Piana.

In January, 1378, Dmitri of Moscow sent men to his father-in-law. One of his best leaders, Svibla, went with them. The Moscow men entered the land where their friends had been slaughtered, and cut down the inhabitants. Throughout the winter villages vanished at touch of the Russians. Some of the elders were slain straightway when captured, others were taken to Nizni and hunted to death with dogs on the ice of the Volga.

The Mordva land was considered by the Mongols as not the least among those lands which belonged to their Khan. The death of its elders for assisting Horde warriors roused Mamai’s wrath to the utmost, and he resolved to punish Moscow most famously.

Nizni, which had recovered somewhat from the first Mongol destruction, was destroyed now a second time. The old prince, who had fled to his brother Boris at Gorodets, sent word that he would pay a ransom. Every ransom was rejected. They made the whole province empty, and rushed home to join the men making ready to punish Dmitri of Moscow.

The Mongol army assembled in vast numbers. It marched under many princes. The chief leader was one of Mamai’s greatest warriors, Baigitch, his faithful assistant. Moscow forces were mustered with promptness. Dmitri at that time was friendly with Oleg, the Ryazan prince, who agreed to give prompt aid against Mamai. It was only ten miles beyond Oleg’s chief city that Dmitri met the whole Mongol army encamped on the Voja. The opponents found themselves face to face with the river between them. The Mongols were on the left bank, the Russians on the right, where, unobserved by the enemy, they had found a good place for battle, and fixed their camp near it.

August 11, 1378, the Mongols, thinking to crush their opponents by numbers, crossed the Voja. The time was past midday. They had no thought of fighting immediately, but Dmitri did not give his foe time to rest, or select a place after crossing. He rushed with all speed to the struggle. The Pronsk prince attacked one flank, Velyaminoff the other. Dmitri himself struck the center. The battle, though fierce, was not long in duration. The Mongols were broken at all points, and before night the whole bank was strewn with their corpses. The remnant, in recrossing the river, were drowned in great numbers. The victors could not hunt the enemy in darkness, and this saved a few of the Khan’s men. Next morning, though a dense fog covered the country, pursuit was resumed. The vanquished had cast aside everything; their road was well marked with weapons, carts, and baggage, but they themselves were far away. Complete victory came from this battle. Baigitch was left dead on the field, as were many Horde magnates.

On August 30, 1379, at four o’clock after midday, the first man put to death publicly in Moscow was beheaded. Ivan, son of Vassili Velyaminoff, was taken to the Kutchkovo Polye. That great square was crowded with people, and when the criminal, whose father and whole family had been loved and honored by the city, was brought forth, tears stood in the eyes of many, and when the sword glistened and fell, a groan filled the place. A little more than two years later there was a similar spectacle on the same spot. Nekomat had been found and he also was beheaded for high treason.

The battle on the Voja raised Moscow’s position immensely. “God assisted the Grand Prince; the Mongols turned and fled,” was the general statement, and was received as a harbinger of freedom from the Mongols, the dawn of a brighter and better period.

The great worker, the good metropolitan Alexis, died that same year, six months before the battle. As they stood around his grave, the people remembered, with tears, all his labors, and their petition was “Forget us not, in thy prayers, O Alexis, for thy words before God are effective.” Dmitri stood at the coffin with Vassili, his heir, then six years of age, and another son of four, with his cousin, Vladimir, and many other princes. Dmitri, the godson of Alexis, could remember well how he, a boy of eight years, had met the metropolitan on his return from the Horde after curing Berdibek’s mother, Taidula, bringing back her signet-ring, and great honor.

Alexis lived to the age of eighty-five. With his office he had inherited many difficult tasks from Feognost, who preceded him. There were many troubles in the Church at that time. Alexis had suffered much from intrigues at the Byzantine capital, where, through the influence of Poland, a metropolitan was appointed for Galitch; and another for Lithuania and Rus through the influence of Olgerd. Both of these laid claim to authority which belonged to Alexis by right and historically, hence the struggle was endless, and the final solution seemed exceedingly difficult, if not absolutely impossible.

But the greatest of all griefs and the worst was that caused by Dmitri, the Grand Prince. It came about as follows: In the time of Ivan Kalitá, the church Spas na Ború had been founded, and some years later a monastery was built near it. This monastery was favored beyond others by the Grand Prince; not only its abbot, but its monks had high honor. The people of Moscow esteemed very greatly a deep noble voice in church service. There was a priest then in Moscow whose voice surpassed all that men remembered. This priest so pleased the Grand Prince that he raised him from low degree to such a height that people fell to asking with curiosity: “Who is this Mityai? Why has he power and importance?” It proved that Mityai was the son of a priest from Kolomna, who had a church in Tashilov. This priest had been able to rear his son carefully, and settle him in Kolomna. Men said of Mityai that he was skilled in letters, a master at reading and singing, and at quoting from records. He knew the church service to perfection. He could find a proverb for any case. In a word he was dexterous in many things. He so enchanted the Grand Prince that Dmitri made him his confidant, then seal-keeper, and sometime later his confessor. In this position he passed many years most successfully.

The Spas na Ború abbot, whom the people named “Drink Not,” because he not only drank nothing spirituous himself, but would not permit any monk under him to use liquor, was relieved of his office, and shut himself up in a cell for meditation and silence. Mityai became a monk, and then was made abbot in Ioann’s place. This happened when Alexis was aged and failing, about two years before his last day came. He was not, perhaps, greatly astonished to see the seal-keeper made abbot, but the haste in making him a monk had offended the metropolitan deeply. Notwithstanding all this, and while Mityai was no more than a novice, Dmitri said, in the presence of Alexis, that the abbot would make a grand metropolitan.

These were not chance words, which might be recalled upon second thought; they were said purposely to define the position. The only reply was silence. After that Dmitri asked the metropolitan to bless the abbot as his successor. Alexis was unwilling; Dmitri insisted, and thus it continued for a long time. The metropolitan listened with mildness, not wishing to offend by refusal, but he did not give the blessing.

Time passed; the insistence continued. Dmitri did not desist; the metropolitan, though mild, was unbending. Dmitri’s requests became more emphatic, more frequent, and finally seemed demands. He beset the metropolitan, he sent the oldest boyars to ask for the blessing, and Alexis said at last with vexation, or weariness: “I will consent if God, His Holy Mother, the Patriarch and an Oecumenical Council will bless him.” They took his words as consent, and announced that the metropolitan had named a successor.

As soon as Alexis was dead, Mityai left his position of abbot, and, by order of Dmitri, took the highest office and performed most of the duties that pertained to it. The death of Alexis roused great excitement. Cyprian, then acting in Kief, declared himself Metropolitan of all Russia. But meanwhile there was a crisis in Tsargrad. The Patriarch Philotheos, who had ordained Cyprian, was expelled. Makarios, who succeeded him, did not hold the ordination of Cyprian as binding, and was quick to seize the situation. He wrote to Moscow immediately, asking them not to recognize Cyprian, but to send all the papers in Mityai’s case. He honored Mityai as the first priest of Moscow, and intrusted the Church to him till he could be installed as chief pastor in Russia; he also invited him to Tsargrad.

The dislike of the people for Cyprian was changed now to something like sympathy, though they knew little of his good or bad qualities. They were offended by the brusque, dictatorial way of the Patriarch at Tsargrad. The people thought that, inspired by hope of gain, Makarios was favoring Mityai, and they were deeply angered. At the report that he had been installed, Mityai became hateful to them. This meant favor for Cyprian.

During Mityai’s tenure of office, February, 1378, to August, 1379, there was a new crisis in Tsargrad. Andronicus, the Emperor, was dethroned, and Makarios, the Patriarch, excluded. The new Patriarch decided in favor of Mityai, so the exclusion of Makarios was not harmful to Mityai; it only delayed his affair, since the new Patriarch, Nilos, was not installed,—he was only appointed. Meanwhile, Mityai enjoyed every right of his office, save the power to ordain men. The chronicler states that no one had so much glory and honor in Moscow as Mityai. At that time he seemed the very model of majesty. Imposing of stature, lofty and vigorous, with a flowing beard and a beautiful countenance, of smooth and clear speech, a master of ancient sayings, and of proverbs from books, from spiritual experience, and from popular knowledge, he surpassed all men in dignity of mind and body. No man in his office had dressed in such taste, and so imposingly.

The Grand Prince was delighted; he was flattered by the success of his favorite and adviser. But by common men and the clergy, Mityai was detested; none desired him. Bishops, abbots and monks were imploring Heaven not to let Mityai become metropolitan. Mityai relied on the Grand Prince, and cared not a whit for his enemies. All the more were people opposed to him that he was haughty, stern and harsh to subordinates; he judged them himself, by his own power, and punished severely.

News was received now that Cyprian was approaching Moscow with a train of attendants and servants requiring forty-six horses. Measures were taken at once not to admit him. Couriers with letters addressed to him were seized; sentries were stationed in needed places to stop him, and, as Cyprian neared Moscow, he was arrested. The boyars sent to capture him took all his property, covered him with ridicule and curses, and confined him, without food, in a damp, loathsome chamber. Envoys from the Patriarch, traveling with Cyprian, were insulted. They, with their Patriarch and Emperor, were called “Lithuanians.” What the servants of Cyprian had was taken from them; they were seated on their horses without saddles, and the horses were lashed away from the city. The next day at nightfall, after Cyprian had been twenty-four hours without food, and in confinement, he was conducted from Moscow by the boyars who had seized him. Stopping at no great distance from the city, Cyprian wrote to Sergai and Feodor, the abbots, touching what he had suffered. He opposed the unlawful claims of Mityai, and cursed the men who had arrested him.

After this event, Mityai had a talk with the Grand Prince. “It is written in the rules of the Apostles,” said he, “that two or three bishops may ordain a new bishop. If I have thy favor, command all the bishops in thy dominion to assemble in Moscow and ordain me.” Dmitri and his intimate boyars approved of this proposal. It would save trouble, and the expense of going to Tsargrad. Command was then given to all bishops in Russia to assemble. They came, one after another, and went to be blessed by the new, so-called, metropolitan. But Dionisi, the Bishop of Suzdal, being indignant at Mityai, would not approach him. Bowing to the assembly and the Grand Prince, he spoke as follows: “We have come at thy command, and we see that thou wishest, through us, to create a metropolitan, but we may not break the law given to us. Blessing must be had from the Patriarch. That is the law given anciently.”

The appointed metropolitan, seeing his plan put to shame, and provoked by men who incited both him and Dionisi, sent a reprimand to the latter in these words: “Why not come to me for a blessing? Have I not power over thee, and in the metropolis? Knowest who I am?” Dionisi then went to Mityai, and answered: “Thou sayst that thou hast power over me; thou hast none. If thou hast power, say thyself who, according to Scripture, is greater, a priest or a bishop? It is for thee to bow before me and be blessed, for thou art a priest, while I am a bishop.” “Thou hast called me a priest?” shouted Mityai. “Me, an abbot, and an appointed metropolitan! Know then that thou wilt not be even a priest during my day. With my own hands I will strip off thy vestments; only wait till I come from the Patriarch!”

A fierce quarrel rose between them. Dionisi declared that he himself would go to the Patriarch. The following words may have burst from him: “We shall see who, thou or I, will be metropolitan!” Mityai told the Grand Prince that Dionisi uttered them, and begged him to repress the Suzdal bishop.

The Grand Prince detained Dionisi, and a strong guard was placed over him. He was informed that he could go to Tsargrad only after Mityai had returned. Dmitri was annoyed beyond measure. The meeting had failed, and there was great scandal. Nothing could save Mityai now but ordination from the Patriarch. The Grand Prince hastened the journey, and was ready to do everything to make it successful and splendid. On second thought, it seemed unsafe to confine the Suzdal bishop. He was respected by the people, his diocese was important, he had wide connections among the clergy. Dmitri freed him on this promise: “I will not go to Tsargrad without thy permission; the abbot of the Troitski monastery will guarantee my promise.” But after returning to his diocese, and meditating a while, Dionisi sailed down the Volga to Sarai, and hurried off to Tsargrad, thus breaking his word and betraying his bondman.

The indignant Mityai, who had urged keeping Dionisi in detention, and had tried to persuade the Grand Prince not to trust either Dionisi or his bondman, gave full expression now to his rage against the abbot and the bishop. He represented them as keen and persistent conspirators against him. Dmitri, confused and saddened, knew not how to pacify his favorite. Again he advised him to hasten to Tsargrad, and declared that he was more anxious than ever to make the journey a triumph.

It was natural that Mityai should look on the Troitski abbot with suspicion. There were reports that the late metropolitan had held secret converse with the abbot about taking his office, and Mityai found in him, as he thought, a rival. Either he did not know that Sergai had refused, or he did not believe in the refusal. He was convinced that Sergai and Dionisi had asked Alexis to keep back his blessing. Mityai proved to the Grand Prince that the abbot and Dionisi had caused all the opposition of Alexis, who up to death had not yielded. And if, in his anger, Mityai had told Dionisi that he would strip off his vestments, he announced to Sergai in his rage that he would drive out all the Troitski monks, and destroy the whole monastery. “I pray the Lord,” said Sergai in answer, “not to let the boaster destroy sacred places and expel blameless persons.” When the monks spoke of Mityai’s departure and the terror which would return with him, the abbot said merely: “God knows whether he will ever see Tsargrad, much less be anointed.”

Meanwhile preparations for the journey were unparalleled. Those who had said recently that ordination in Moscow would save expense and trouble were only thinking now how to add grandeur to the occasion. All were aware that the Grand Prince loved Mityai. No one knew this better than Mityai himself, and he tested it thoroughly. For years he had been the Grand Prince’s seal-keeper; he knew well that a small sheet of paper brings death to a man, or brings fortune, if only the name and the seal of the prince be upon it, and the right words stand above them. So he said to his patron at parting, “If I have thy favor, give me a few blanks with thy seal and thy name on them. Should I need a thousand pieces of money, or if a want of some other kind touches me, I can place on that paper the right words.”

Dmitri not merely consented, he praised such forethought. “Let it be as thou sayest,” replied he, and he gave him not one, but a number of papers. In the summer of 1379, when Mityai started, by way of Kolomna, the Grand Prince, with his children and his oldest boyars, also bishops and abbots and the clergy, with a concourse of people, escorted him outside the city. On the journey he was accompanied by three abbots,—Ivan of Moscow, Pimen of Pereyaslavl, and the abbot from Kolomna, also other clergy, boyars and servants, “a very great regiment.” They went through Ryazan to Mongol regions. Mamai had heard that Mityai was going to Tsargrad, and he commanded a halt in the journey. But on learning that an appointed metropolitan was going to the Patriarch (and no doubt Mityai gave him presents), he not only left a free road to him, but added also a patent freeing him and the Russian clergy from tribute. On arriving at Feodosia, they took a Genoese ship, and sailed over “the abysses of the Euxine.”

When the Black Sea was behind them, and they were nearing the city of Constantinople, Mityai fell ill and died suddenly. As soon as land was reached, they buried him in the suburb of Galata.

The pastors of the church were greatly troubled, not through losing Mityai, but to decide who might fill the void left by him. Every one learned quickly what had happened, and a violent death was mentioned. But a more important question in that “great regiment” was to find a metropolitan. Some wished Ioann of Moscow, while others insisted on Pimen. When most men favored Pimen, Joann rose against them, and threatened exposure. They answered by putting him in irons and choosing Pimen unanimously. Pimen took Mityai’s robes with all his money and papers. He found the signed blanks, and on one of them wrote the wish, as it were, of the Grand Prince to make Pimen metropolitan; other blanks were used to procure money. When Dmitri’s desire was presented to the Council, the Emperor and Patriarch expressed great surprise, since Russia had a metropolitan already. At subsequent meetings the surprise was omitted—rich presents had been given meanwhile. Pimen was confirmed as metropolitan.

But the trouble which began with Mityai was merely the commencement of disorder, and drew after it a series which did not end till long after Dmitri’s time. Dmitri found no rest in Church matters after the day he raised up his favorite, Mityai. “I know not,” said the Grand Prince, “how the metropolitan died, or how the deceit began. I did not send Pimen to be metropolitan, and I will not receive him. I have no wish whatever to see the man.” Somewhat later, Dmitri sent for Cyprian, and received him with honor at the place where this same Cyprian had been so basely insulted. But during the ceremony, and even while Dmitri was kissing Cyprian, this message was delivered: “Pimen, the metropolitan, is journeying from Tsargrad. He has passed through the Horde, and is coming.”

The Grand Prince would not receive Pimen, who was stopped at Kolomna. His vestments and his money were taken from him, and he was sent to confinement at Chuhloma. The “whole regiment” of his counselors and attendants were scattered, and some were imprisoned. Still later on Cyprian was expelled a second time. The Patriarch took Pimen’s part and declared Cyprian’s position illegal, and Dmitri received the metropolitan whom he had refused to see earlier. Pimen, now recognized in Moscow, and welcomed with solemnity, enjoyed the honor shown previously to Cyprian. Cyprian’s day had been brief; Pimen’s day was brief also. It was quite impossible to live with that self-made, intriguing church dignitary.

At last the Grand Prince decided to appoint Dionisi of Suzdal, the bishop who had quarreled with Mityai, and who, in spite of his promise, had fled to Tsargrad, and seen the ordination of Pimen. Dionisi had been raised to the dignity of archbishop by the Patriarch, who gave office to all men whom he feared through their knowledge of Pimen’s peculiar investment.

After three years and six months Dionisi returned to Suzdal with papers from the Patriarch. As an eye-witness, he knew every detail of Pimen’s ordination, and he explained all to the Grand Prince. In that year, 1383, Dionisi was sent by Dmitri to Tsargrad to secure the expulsion of Pimen. Later on Dionisi was ordained metropolitan, but on the way home he was arrested in Kief, where he died three years later in prison. Pimen, expelled from his office, and even deprived of communication, did not yield to Cyprian.

In the midst of these troubles rose the terrible question of meeting the Mongols, a question of salvation or ruin for Russia. Mamai had roused the whole Mongol power to destroy Russia utterly. He intended to appear as a second Batu, to reconquer, then rule as might please him. All of 1379 was spent by Mamai in preparation; no matter how he strove to conceal these preparations, they became more and more evident. Moscow spies at the Horde capital gave clear notice of all that was going on, and at last Dmitri declared to his boyars and counselors: “Mamai is marching against us!”

The Grand Prince had been greatly troubled by the coming war and its perils, but he became cheerful and resolute when all doubt had vanished, and he prepared for the trial with alacrity. The danger was great, for Oleg of Ryazan and Yagello were assisting the Mongols. They had, in fact, formed an alliance with Mamai. Toward the end of 1379, Dmitri mustered his warriors. He sent then to Michael of Tver, called him brother, and asked for assistance. Michael deputed his relative, a Holm prince, with his contingent; a Kashin prince came also, leading his men.

Dmitri summoned forces from Pskoff and Novgorod. Novgorod hurried forward an excellent quota. Pskoff sent word that it would take part in the struggle. The Nizni prince furnished men from both sides of the Volga.