RUSSIA. 
461 
state. He drew up for it a code of laws, which are still 
known by the appellation of the municipal law of Nov¬ 
gorod. He also exerted himself for the welfare of other 
towns, and of the country at large. 
Yaroslaf did not neglect the advancement of the Christian 
religion. He established a metropolitan in Kief, and thus 
gave to the Russian clergy a head, who might watch over 
the morals of the inferior pastors, and provide for the general 
dissemination of the Christian doctrine. He collected 
several books in the Greek religion, and caused many of 
them to be translated into the Russian language. 
This monarch is supposed to have died in 1054, and to 
have reigned 35 years. He followed the example of his 
father, in dividing his territories among his sons, though he 
endeavoured to prevent the dissensions which he himself had 
witnessed from such a partition, by exhorting them, on his 
death-bed, to the most intimate concord, and endeavouring 
to convince them that they would be respected by their sub¬ 
jects, and feared by their enemies, only while they continu¬ 
ed to act with unanimity. 
We know little of the proceedings of Yaroslaf’s successors, 
except that Isiaslaf, his eldest son, and grand prince of Kief, 
had frequent disputes with his brothers, in which he was assisted 
by the Poles, and supported by the influence of the Roman 
pontiff. During these disputes he was once expelled from his 
dominions, but again recovered them, and reigned till 1078. 
From the death of Isiaslaf to the beginning of the 13th 
century, the history of Russia comprises little else than a 
continued series of intestine commotions and petty warfares 
with the neighbouring states. The same system of dismem¬ 
berment was continued by the succeeding princes, and was 
attended with the same result. There were, during this 
period, not fewer than seventeen independent principalities. 
Of these, Kief and Novgorod long continued to be (he most 
powerful, though they could not always maintain their supe¬ 
riority over the other principalities; and towards the latter 
end of the period which we have mentioned, the district of 
Vladimir erected itself into a grand principality, and became 
at least as powerful as the two others. 
In the supremacy of these three great principalities, we 
may trace the division of European Russia into Great, Little, 
and White Russia, a distinction which long maintained its 
ground, and in later times gave to the sovereign of this 
empire, the title of monarch, or Emperor of all the Russias. 
The principality of Novgorod appears, during this in¬ 
terval, to have been the most respectable for its commercial 
intercourse with the neighbouring nations, and for the inde¬ 
pendent spirit of its internal government. This, though 
nominally monarchical, seems to have possessed much of a 
republican character. The princes were evidently de¬ 
pendent on the people, and some remarkable instances of 
this dependence are related by the old historians. One of 
the grand princes had so much displeased his people, that 
they refused to pay him their usual obedience. As the 
prince seems to have been aware of the little influence which 
he possessed in the state, he employed the metropolitan of 
the principality to negotiate a reconciliation. This prelate 
accordingly wrote to the Novgorodians in the following 
terms: “ The grand prince has acted wrong towards you, 
but he is sorry for it, desires you to forgive him, and will 
behave better for the future. I will be surety for him, and 
beseech you to receive him with honour and dignity.” 
During the intestine broils that attended the dismember¬ 
ment of the Russian monarchy, the ambition of its neigh¬ 
bours, and partly the folly of the contending princes, who 
solicited their assistance against their rivals, contributed to 
diminish the strength and resources of the empire. In par¬ 
ticular the Poles and the Hungarians availed themselves of 
these circumstances. Invited into Russia by the rival 
princes, they readily lent their aid to any of the parties; 
and, by ravaging the towns and villages, and carrying off 
the captives into slavery, they quickly recompensed them¬ 
selves for their assistance. 
It is not surprising that this state of anarchy and confu¬ 
sion should hold out a temptation to any powerful nation 
Vol. XXII. No. 1515. 
to attempt acquiring the dominion of a people who 
showed that they were incapable of governing themselves. 
Not far from the confines of Vladimir and Kief, viz. in the 
neighbourhood of the sea of Arat, the wandering hordes of 
Mongoles, or Mongol Tartars, had taken up their residence. 
These people appear to have descended from the ancient 
Scythians, and to have long dwelt on the confines of the 
Chinese empire. Hence they gradually marched westward, 
and about 1223 arrived on the shores of the sea of Arat, 
under the conduct of Tuschi, son of the famous Tschinghis 
Khan, chief of the Mogul empire. From the Aral, Tuschi 
conducted his horde along the shores of the Caspian, and 
gradually approached the Dnieper. In his course he attacked 
and overcame the Tscherkesses, or Circassians, who on his 
approach had joined with the Polovtzes, to resist the terri¬ 
ble enemy. The defeated Polovtzes gave notice to their 
neighbours the Russians, of the approaching storm, and 
invited them to form a common cause against the enemy. 
In the mean time the Tartars had sent ambassadors to the 
Russians, hoping to prevent their alliance with the Polovtzes, 
and thus the more easily subdue the disunited nations. For 
this time, however, the Russians were true to their own in¬ 
terest, and proved firm to their alliance. In concert with 
the Polovtzes, they assembled an army, and prepared to 
resist the incursions of the Tartars. Both parties met near 
the small river Kalka, which flows into the sea of Asof, and 
a furious engagement took place. The Russians fought with 
great intrepidity, but the Polovtzes thrown into consterna¬ 
tion at the furious onset of the Tartars, suddenly betook 
themselves to flight. As they formed the van-guard, their 
flight put the Russian army, which was drawn up behind 
them, into such complete disorder, that a total route ensued 
The prince of Kief, who had kept himself aloof during the 
engagement, attempted to resist the victorious Tartars, but 
his army was attacked and defeated with great slaughter. 
About 13 years after the defeat on the Kalka, another 
horde of Tartars, headed by Baaty Khan, the grandson 
of Tschinghis-khan, penetrated into Russia, after having 
attacked and defeated their neighbours the Bulgarians. The 
Tartars soon spread far and wide the terror of their name. 
Wherever they came, the whole face of nature was laid 
waste; towns and villages were destroyed by fire; all the 
men capable of bearing arms were put to the sword, and the 
children, women, and old men, carried into captivity. If 
the inhabitants of the towns to which they approached 
offered a compromise, the faithless barbarians affected to 
receive their submission; but immediately broke the agree¬ 
ment, and treated those who surrendered to their mercy with 
as much rigour as those who had endeavoured to defend 
themselves, and had been overcome. If the inhabitants of 
the open towns and villages came out to meet them, and to 
receive them as conquerors and friends; death, torture, or 
the most ignominious bondage, was the reward of their spon-. 
taneous submission. 
The first state which they attacked was Riazan, the prince 
of which applied for assistance to Yury, commonly called 
by historians, George Sevoloditcb, grand prince of Vladimir. 
He sent them a few auxiliaries, but they either came too late, 
or their number was too small. The principality of Riazan 
fell, and its fall was succeeded by that of Perciaslavl, Rostof, 
Susdal, and several others. The barbarians now approached 
the principality of Vladimir, and no army appeared to resist 
them on the frontiers. They advanced, unimpeded, to the 
capital; which, left to its fate by the grand prince, had 
nothing to expect but the same cruel treatment which the 
neighbouring cities had received. Yury, with unpardon¬ 
able negligence, was celebrating a marriage feast; and the 
city of Vladimir, which contained the princess and two of 
her sons, was left to the protection of a chieftain, totally un¬ 
qualified for its defence, and the inhabitants seemed to share 
the pusillanimity of their governor. A prey to fear and 
despondency, the city soon fell into the hands of the Tartars. 
They one morning scaled the walls, and meeting with little 
opposition, quickly made themselves masters of the place; 
when they cast aside every feeling of humanity, and, like 
6 B beasts 
