Welcome to a history of Europe Key Battles, the Battle Battle of the Calca River, Part 2 of 3.

Throughout the 11th and 12th centuries, the world of Kievan Russe had grown significantly larger and more wealthy.

Dynamic principalities on the outskirts such as Vladimir Sousdal, Novgorod and

Gilesia Volina developed and expanded and became effectively independent from the mother

city of Kiev. The downsides of the loss of Kiev as a central authority were twofold.

Firstly, almost perpetual fighting between the princes of the different regions,

all of whom belonged to a dynasty called the Rurikids.

And secondly, the lack of unity against common enemies.

The most persistent problems from outside came from the Pontic steps, north of the Black Sea, from a tribe called

the Coomans. The Cumans were a Turkic, nomadic people, comprising the western branch

of a loose confederation, which spread in a wide territory from the steps of modern-day Ukraine

to Central Asia, beyond the Aral Sea. Their society was typical of the

people throughout the Eurasian steps based on nomadic herding. They took over the Pontic

step after ousting the peternags with whom they were related, and from 1055 made regular raids

into Russian lands. Over time their threat decreased as they

drew closer to the Russe, serving with them in battles between the princes and marrying

into Russian royal families. Yet even with the Kuman danger lessened thanks to these close relations,

the step remained a potential source of danger unless a strong

defence could be mounted.

Such was the necessity in the 1220s when a new threat arrived in the shape of the Mongols.

As their name suggests, the Mongols were a nomadic people originated in Mongolia, in Central Asia.

Geoffrey Husking, in his book, Russia and the Russians, describes them as typical of the Eurasian steppe heartlands,

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