Enemy at the Gate In the fall of 1237, the Mongols began preparations for a winter campaign against northeastern Russia. The Persian chronicler Rashid al-Din reports that "in the fall of the mentioned year (1237) all the princes who were there (in Dasht-i-Kipchak) organized a Kuroltai and by common agreement went to war against the Russians." Both the Mongol khans, who destroyed the lands of the Burtas, the Mokhas and the Mordovians, and the khans who fought in the south with the Polovtsians and the Alans (Mangu, Gyuk and Munka) took part in this Kuroltai. All Mongol forces gathered for a campaign against northeastern Russia. The sources make it possible to determine approximate concentration areas of Mongol forces for the campaign against the Russian principalities. In the fall of 1237, the Hungarian Dominican friar Julian set out on his second journey in search of Great Hungary (Great Hungary), the ancestral home of the Hungarians. After reaching the eastern borders of Rus', he learned that both Great Hungary and Bulgaria had already been destroyed by the Mongols. From the refugees, Julian learned that Mongol forces were concentrated near the borders of the Russian principalities and were ready for an invasion. The monk told about this in his message to the papal legate: "When, by virtue of the obedience imputed to me, I was forced to go to Great Hungary with the brothers who were given to me as companions, and we, with a desire to complete the journey entrusted to us, arrived at the extreme borders of Rus, we learned the real truth that all those who are called pagan Hungarians, and the Bulgarians and many kingdoms were completely destroyed by the kingdoms now, being in the borders Ross, we learned closely the real truth that the whole army marching to the Western countries is divided into four parts. One part near Nahal Atil on the borders of Rus' from the eastern end approached Suzdal. The other part in the direction of the south has already attacked the borders of Ryazan, another Russian principality. The third part stopped in front of the Don River, near the castle of Voronezh (Ubruch), also a Russian principality.

Enemy at the Gate In the fall of 1237, the Mongols began preparations for a winter campaign against northeastern Russia. The Persian chronicler Rashid al-Din reports that "in the fall of the mentioned year (1237) all the princes who were there (in Dasht-i-Kipchak) organized a Kuroltai and by common agreement went to war against the Russians." Both the Mongol khans, who destroyed the lands of the Burtas, the Mokhas and the Mordovians, and the khans who fought in the south with the Polovtsians and the Alans (Mangu, Gyuk and Munka) took part in this Kuroltai. All Mongol forces gathered for a campaign against northeastern Russia. The sources make it possible to determine approximate concentration areas of Mongol forces for the campaign against the Russian principalities. In the fall of 1237, the Hungarian Dominican friar Julian set out on his second journey in search of Great Hungary (Great Hungary), the ancestral home of the Hungarians. After reaching the eastern borders of Rus', he learned that both Great Hungary and Bulgaria had already been destroyed by the Mongols. From the refugees, Julian learned that Mongol forces were concentrated near the borders of the Russian principalities and were ready for an invasion. The monk told about this in his message to the papal legate: "When, by virtue of the obedience imputed to me, I was forced to go to Great Hungary with the brothers who were given to me as companions, and we, with a desire to complete the journey entrusted to us, arrived at the extreme borders of Rus, we learned the real truth that all those who are called pagan Hungarians, and the Bulgarians and many kingdoms were completely destroyed by the kingdoms now, being in the borders Ross, we learned closely the real truth that the whole army marching to the Western countries is divided into four parts. One part near Nahal Atil on the borders of Rus' from the eastern end approached Suzdal. The other part in the direction of the south has already attacked the borders of Ryazan, another Russian principality. The third part stopped in front of the Don River, near the castle of Voronezh (Ubruch), also a Russian principality.