Volta
Conflict31 May 1223

Battle of the Kalka River

Jebe and Subutai, scouting west during the Khwarazmian campaign, routed an army of Rus princes and Cumans (Polovtsians) on the Kalka River — the first clash between the Mongols and Europe.

The Battle of the Kalka River — engraving from a 19th-century French book
The Battle of the Kalka River — engraving from a 19th-century French book

Public domain · Source

Pursuing Sultan Muhammad II, Jebe and Subutai crossed the Caucasus into the Cuman steppe. At the Cumans’ request the princes of Kyiv, Galicia and other Rus principalities formed a coalition, but on 31 May 1223 on the Kalka they fell for a feigned retreat and were crushed. Captured princes are said to have been crushed beneath the boards on which the Mongols held their victory feast. The Mongols soon turned back east; fourteen years later Batu’s great campaign returned.

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States and rulers at the time
Mongol Empire · victor — Genghis Khan
Kievan Rus' · defeated
Cumans · defeated
Places
Kalka River

People

  • Subutai1175 – 1248

    commander · General of Genghis Khan and Ögedei, who with Jebe defeated the Rus at the Kalka and was the operational commander of Batu’s European campaign

Before and after

Earlier
AD 988 Vladimir I Adopts Orthodox Christianity
Later
1236 Mongol Invasion of Europe

Themes that include this event

  • The Mongol Conquests1206 – 1294

    From the rise of Genghis Khan to the Yuan conquest of the Song — eighty years in which the Mongols swept Eurasia from Goryeo to Hungary