Siege of Moscow (1238)

For other sieges, see Siege of Moscow (disambiguation).

The siege of Moscow in January 1238 was part of the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'.

Prelude

After the destruction of Ryazan on 21 December 1237, Grand Prince Yuri II sent his sons Vsevolod and Vladimir with most of Vladimir-Suzdal army to stop Mongol invaders at Kolomna. There, the Suzdalian army was defeated, and survivors scattered and fled North, to Vladimir and Moscow.

Siege

After destruction of Kolomna in January 1238, Prince Vladimir, younger son of Yuri II of Vladimir, fled to Moscow with a small force of survivors. "And the men of Moscow ran away having seen nothing", according to The Chronicle of Novgorod. At the time Moscow was but a fortified village, a trading post "on a crossroads of four rivers". The small, wooden fort was taken after five days of siege.

Aftermath

Prince Vladimir was captured and executed two weeks later, before the eyes of the defenders of Vladimir.