This article lists conflicts in Europe during the invasions of and subsequent occupations by the Mongol Empire and its successor states. The Mongol invasion of Europe took place in the 13th century. This resulted in the occupation of much of Eastern Europe, and various raids, invasions, and conquests continued for another three centuries from the Late Middle Ages into the early modern period. The Turco-Mongols, a term referring to a mixture of Mongol and Turkic peoples, were often known historically by the terms Tatars or Tartars. Originally, the Tatars were a people from the Tatar confederation who were then subjugated by the Mongol Empire. Forces from a division of the Mongol Empire called the Golden Horde, led by Batu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, began attacking Europe in 1223, starting with the Cumans, Volga Bulgaria and Kievan Rus. They destroyed many cities including Kiev, Vladimir and Moscow in the process. They originally planned to continue all the way to the shores of the "Great Sea" (Atlantic Ocean). However, upon learning of the death of Ögedei Khan (third son of Genghis Khan, uncle of Batu Khan) in 1241 they returned eastwards to their steppe homelands. This, it could be argued, saved the rest of Europe from suffering the catastrophes that befell the armies and towns of the Kingdom of Poland and the Kingdom of Hungary, although over-stretched lines of communication and the lack of vast open tracts of pasture land might well have proved the undoing of such a venture. However, Turco-Mongol occupation of much of Eastern Europe then persisted for centuries. (en)
This article lists conflicts in Europe during the invasions of and subsequent occupations by the Mongol Empire and its successor states. The Mongol invasion of Europe took place in the 13th century. This resulted in the occupation of much of Eastern Europe, and various raids, invasions, and conquests continued for another three centuries from the Late Middle Ages into the early modern period. The Turco-Mongols, a term referring to a mixture of Mongol and Turkic peoples, were often known historically by the terms Tatars or Tartars. Originally, the Tatars were a people from the Tatar confederation who were then subjugated by the Mongol Empire. (en)