Siege of Bilar
| date | 1236 |
|---|---|
| place | Bilar |
| output | Mongolian victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 10,000-50,000 1 | 100,000-150,000 2 |
| losses | |
|
Destruction of the city and murder of all residents |
unknown |
2 exclusively troops of the Horde
The siege of Bilar took place in August 1236 . On their campaign of conquest towards Western Europe, the Mongols destroyed the capital of the Volga Bulgarians and massacred the entire population.
After the Battle of Kernek in 1223, the first major defeat of the Volga Bulgarians against the Mongols , the inhabitants of Bilar reinforced the fortifications with an eleven kilometer long rampart made of wooden palisades and stone walls. Nevertheless, the Mongol invaders could not be stopped. After 45 days of siege, the defenders of Bilar had to surrender to the Mongol overwhelming force. The entire population was massacred after the conquest and the city burned down. The remains of the corpses of the former residents can still be found in the entire urban area of Bilar .
With the destruction of the capital, the Volga Bulgarians were effectively defeated, even if some cities in the north of their empire did not submit to the Mongols. All attempts to rebuild Bilar failed, also because the capital was moved to Bolgar in later times .
literature
- История Татарстана, Казань, "ТаРИХ", 2001 (Russian)
- История Татарской АССР, Казань, Татарское книжное издательство, 1980 (Russian)
- "Bilär / Биләр". Tatar Encyclopedia. Kazan: Tatarstan Republic Academy of Sciences Institution of the Tatar Encyclopaedia. 2002. (tartar)