Chapter Four - Mongol Invasions and the Forty Years' War
The Mongolian steppe tribes had previously united in c. 1120 under Mengu-Timur, and had expanded through China and over the steppes of Turkestan. In the mid 12th century Mengu-Timur died and his sons created their own separate Khaganates, one of which conquered much of Persia (and became known as the Ilkhanate). These tribes were displaced by the rise of Bughu Khan, an ambitious nobleman who rose out of the Turkic khaganates and created his own Mongol Empire through rapid conquest . The Mongol invasions did not truly become relevant to the Poles and Europe in general until the arrival of the Golden Horde. Rumors had actually begun to spread about a vast all-conquering horde in the 1190s, but the tales did not reach far past Cumania and few believed many of them. In 1216, however, the Horde returned from Mongolia with an army numbering somewhere between 600 thousand and 2 million, most of whom were horsemen. They quickly swept across what was then the Bolghar Sultanate- the most powerful state around the Urals, and by 1223 Bughu's European khaganate reached across most of Rus, all the way to Poland-Lithuania, and comprised much of the old Bolghar Sultanates and the lands of the Cumans. This aggressive force and its massive armies would pose a massive threat to the newly crowned Commonwealth, but under the long rule of one ruler- Kazimierz X- Poland would first rebuke the hordes and then crush them decisively. Unfortunately, much of Poland's Russian holdings, particularly Rostov, would be lost to the Mongols. This period was a trial by fire for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and it cemented a sense of unity felt by the baltic pagans, Orthodox Russians, and Catholic Poles, who would have likely been defeated soundly had it not been for their previous union.
Mieszko III:
1184 - 1223
Duke of Flanders: 1207 - 1222
King of Letigallia: 1222
King of Wschodrus: 1217 - 1223
King of Poland: 1216 - 1223
Grand King of the Commonwealth: 1216 - 1223
After the competent rule of Kazimierz IX, Mieszko III can be seen as a sort of placeholder for the title, and he was a rather mediocre king. While he gained Flanders for House Piast and began a drawn out acquistion of France, the fragile state of regional autonomy within the Commonwealth tilted further against the Poles and Rostov was lost to the Mongols in early 1223. As he lay in between two great kings, he is often noted much less, and for good reason: compared to the achievements of Kazimierz IX- the Founder- and Kazimierz X- the Blessed- he did not do as much. That being said, he is still a notable king for the acquisition of most of Letigallia and keeping the Commonwealth together at this early stage is an accomplishment in and of itself.
Mieszko III was born in Minsk (the provincial capital of the kingdom of Halych-Volhynia), to Fevronia I and Kazimierz VIII. He was thus the half-brother of the first grand king, Kazimierz IX and half-uncle of the later Kazimierz X. He was known as a young man for being brave and authoritative; he was an excellent speaker and very charismatic. He was not well versed in martial arts, however, and usually strayed from combat of any sort. As many of his predecessors, he enjoyed reading the classics and did so often at the Royal Library on Wawel Hill. He was raised in Poland to guarantee his loyalty to the crown, and as the half-brother of the popular Kazimierz IX, Lithuanian and Polish electors gave him the crown in 1216 after the death of Kazimierz. A year after his crowning, his mother, Fevronia I, passed away at the age of 52. Although some said she was assassinated there was really no evidence of this, and it is more likely that she just died naturally. Mieszko III was her successor, and formally inherited all the lands of Wschodrus. As a gift to reward the loyalty of Matfei's line (the earlier Duke of Galich invited to Poland), one of his grandsons was given the Kingdom and crowned Fedot I.
Mieszko was not the same diplomat Kazimierz IX was, however, and could not manage the disunity felt between each portion of the Commonwealth. The Russians felt threatened by the Lithuanians, who had only recently gone to war with them numerous times and taken much of their homeland. The Lithuanians felt that their religion was threatened- they were largely surrounded by militant Christians and were especially concerned with the vengeful Russians. The Poles felt as if their position as leader in the union was becoming less and less significant as the two other factions fought between each other. Although Mieszko III prevented infighting between the Russians and Lithuanians, and even raised the "authority" of the Polish crown, this authority did not extend past Poland itself. The Lithuanians and Russians were still largely free to do whatever they pleased, provided it was not murdering the other.
Clockwise from top left: Teutonic Knights alongside Polish envoys attempting to mediate conflict between factions in the Commonwealth, Mieszko III, the "natural death" of Fevronia, the end of an independent Letigallia
Mieszko III was notable for continuing the conquest of Letigallia, which had really been reduced to only the lands on the Gulf of Finland by Lake Peipus. Even these lands were part of the Polish crown by 1221, however. Mieszko crowned himself king of the lands in 1222, and then promptly gave the whole kingdom (as well as the Duchy of Pskov, which bordered Novgorod) to Bartosz Czartoryski, the great-grandson of the old duke of Mazovia. He was a Catholic Pole, and secured the north for Poland-Lithuania. This was almost certainly Mieszko III's most significant decision; by giving the Terra Mariana to a Polish Catholic, he effectively created a buffer to the north and solved the question of who would rule the territory. This not only increased the strength of the Polish crown, the senior partner in the three-way union, but also prevented Finnish paganism from furthering the Russian xenophobia, and did not allow the ambitious Lithuanians to expand any further by trapping them within the 3 other kingdoms.
Note the Lithuanians are surrounded by other kingdoms and duchies
Mieszko would marry to the Duchess of Flanders, Benedicta II van Vlaanderen. This was initially a political move, as Flanders was the northernmost portion of the French crown. By acquiring it for House Piast, the slow deconstruction of France could begin and Italy could step in and gain territory in the south (as it had in the First Piast Empire). Their marriage was massively successful, and would result in 8 children. Out of these, 6 would become dukes of various territories in both France and Poland, and their great-grandchildren would rule East Anglia, France, Flanders, Burgundy, and Wallachia.
The breakup of the Holy Roman Empire must also be noted: after the death of Boleslaw, a massive civil war began in which most of the northern constituencies of the HRE would rebel, while the south would remain loyal. Each party wanted its own ruler to become emperor, and because of this lack of agreement the empire itself would not actually fall- emperors would often die so fast that rebelling dukes would actually be crowned emperor, and the battlefield changed considerably but the battles nevertheless continued. The weak child-king of Swabia, Dietrich III Piast, would lose most of his holdings and be confined to a few cantons in Switzerland during this period, owing to his political weakness. The war (or wars) itself would rage on until the Hohenstaufen dynasty took power. It would then continue after the end of the Second Piast Empire, in 1291.
The Golden Horde would rapidly arrive on Poland's doorstep in early 1223. Without warning, Mongol horsemen ran through much of the Polish border and acquired Rostov even before the Grand King could react. The loss of territory was a massive hit to the Polish crown and shrunk the kingdom by one-fourth. This rapid advance saw the Horde close in on some of the more important cities in Poland-Lithuania: Smolensk and Bryansk were uncomfortably close to the new border.
Clockwise from top left: Mongol horsemen, flag of Flanders and the van Vlaanderen banner, civil wars in West Europe (note the French and Imperial revolts in particular)
A bit short, but I'm short on time.
The next ruler is on the throne for a really long time, so I may break the update up into two or maybe even three parts.
EDIT: Second time I forgot images. QQ
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