The Mongol Invasion is a trilogy of historical novels by Soviet writer Vasily Yan that explores the Mongol conquests, including the Mongol conquest of Central Asia and their Western campaign, as well as the resistance of the peoples living in Central Asia and Eastern Europe during the early 13th century. This trilogy is considered the author's most renowned work and comprises the novels "Genghis Khan" (1939), "Batu" (1942), and "To the "Last Sea" (1955).
Vasily Yan developed an interest in Genghis Khan's conquests while serving in the Transcaspian region in the early 20th century. He had been inspired to write about the subject after having a dream in which Genghis Khan tried to defeat him. In 1934, Maxim Gorky recommended Yan to the publishing house Young Guard, which then commissioned him to write a story about Genghis Khan. Yan had already been fascinated by the theme for some time, and the commission gave him the opportunity to write about it. Although the project was undertaken in 1934, it was not until 1939 that the story was finally published, due to various delays.
By February 1940, the manuscript for "Batu", the eagerly awaited sequel, had reached the austere halls of Goslitizdat. Two months later, Yan presented "Invasion of Batu", a children's adaptation, to Detgiz. In 1941, the storm clouds of the Great Patriotic War gathered, and Yan's chronicles of conquest and resistance became relevant. On July 21, 1941, Vasily Yan was formally inducted into the Union of Soviet Writers. Alexander Fadeev championed Yan, and he was awarded the prestigious Stalin Prize of the first degree that same year.
During the Great Patriotic War, Yan continued working on his project while he was evacuated to the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. After his return to Moscow, Literaturnaya Gazeta announced the impending arrival of his third book, "The Golden Horde and Alexander the Restless", on April 22, 1945. Excerpts had been published in leading publications, stoking anticipation for the work. However, the path to publication was not smooth. Although Yan had delivered the manuscript to Goslitizdat by the close of 1948, it encountered resistance from scholars, namely Artemiy Artsikhovsky and Alexei Yugov, prompting significant revisions. The novel was eventually split in two and published posthumously in 1955.
The books comprising the trilogy have garnered numerous positive reviews from scholars specializing in the history of Russia, medievalists, and Orientalists, as well as critics and literary critics. As a result, they have gained significant popularity and are consistently reprinted.
Books
Genghis Khan Early in the spring, amidst a belated snowstorm sweeping across the lifeless sandhills of the great Kara-Kum Desert, Haji Rakhim al-Bagdadi, a pauper dervish, is on his way to Gurganj, rumored to be the finest and richest city in all of Khwarazm. In a quiet valley, he discovers a plundered trade caravan and finds the near-death trader Mahmoud-Yalvach in an abandoned yurt, having miraculously survived a brutal attack led by Kara-Konchar ('Black Sword'). Haji treats Mahmud’s wounds and secretly takes his golden falcon-shaped paiza. Then, he assists him in finding refuge at a nearby nomad's yurt. There, Prince Jelal ed-Din Manguberdi, son of Muhammad II of Khwarazm, arrives, having lost his way while hunting a jeyran. He invites everyone to partake of his kill. Kara-Konchar, a tall, slender jigit, appears and tells the sad tale of his family's ruin. Shah Muhammad's revenge on the Turkmen, after they stole from a Kipchak khan, led to the death of his father, his brothers running away, and the kidnapping of his love, Gyul-Jamal. The kind prince offered Kara-Konchar protection and a chance to show his courage, giving him a document written in elegant ligature as a guarantee in Gurganj.
In Gurganj, Haji Rakhim is saddened to learn his father and brother, Tugan, died in the shah's prison. His home is deserted, stirring painful memories of the spiritual conflicts that drove him to Baghdad. Elsewhere, Shah Muhammad seeks his missing son Jalal and executes ten prisoners, but spares a boy named Tugan, who is rejected and driven away by his master. Haji Rakhim then suggests Tugan join him and orders a knife made from Tugan's iron shackles bearing the inscription "Forever unto death". Mahmud-Yalvach, now healed, gives Tugan travel clothes and a money pouch with five gold coins. As a token of goodwill, Haji Rakhim gives Mahmud-Yalvach back his golden falcon paiza.
Shah Muhammad, swayed by his mother Turkan-Khatun, names his youngest son as heir and appoints Jelal ed-Din to rule Ghazni on the Indian border. Still, Jalal remains in Gurganj. Muhammad grows wary of Gyul-Jamal, a dark-skinned Turkmen girl, suspecting her of plotting against him. After making her his 301st wife, he locks Gyul-Jamal in the Tower of Eternal Oblivion. When an old fortune-teller couldn't get any secrets from her, she is trapped with a leopard, but Kara-Konchar rescues her by killing it. At the same time, disturbing news comes from Samarkand about revolts and the killing of Kipchaks that make Muhammad angry and cause him to get ready to march there.
Timur-Melik, captain of the shah's guard, joins Jelal ed-Din and Kara-Konchar for dinner as a captured Merkit hunter describes Genghis Khan's cruelty. Spurred by his mother, Muhammad turns down Mongol peace offers, with initial wins. Genghis Khan's son Jochi counters these advances, causing the decline of the Khwarazmian Empire.
In Samarkand, Shah Muhammad meets traders led by Mahmud-Yalvach, a secret spy for Genghis Khan who praises his Mongol lord, causing Muhammad concern. He attempts to secure Mahmud's loyalty by offering a pearl, but ultimately, Mahmud remains loyal to Genghis Khan despite the efforts made by Muhammad to sway him.
Mahmud returns to Genghis Khan's camp, revealing all details and presenting the pearl. In Otrar, Muhammad discovers and kills 450 of Genghis Khan's men disguised as traders. He subsequently murders another Mongol ambassador sent by Genghis Khan and tortures his staff before dismissing them. This escalating violence prompts the Mongols to take military action against Khwarazm.
Panic drives Muhammad to collect taxes three years early, despite tax issues. A poor peasant named Kurban-Kyzyk is unexpectedly made commander. On his way to Bukhara, his horse is taken, and Mongols invade the next day, leading to the surrender of Bukhara's imams. Kurban gets away during the chaos. Genghis Khan celebrates with Bukhara's captured people, seeking Haji Rakhim as an advisor. Muhammad, his son, and their remaining horsemen, including Kurban, escape west to Persia, leaving behind cities such as Samarkand and Merv in ruins—each one falling like dominoes.
The Shah seeks refuge on Ashuradeh Island in the unforgiving Abeskun Sea, where lepers show him their suffering. Fifteen days later, Timur-Melik arrives to discover the Shah's body, naked, with a crow pecking at his eyes. After the burial, Timur-Melik and his men look for Jelal ed-Din to tell him about his father's death. It is said that he then wandered about as a simple dervish for years, roaming the lands of Arabia, Persia, and India.
Kurban, after killing a Mongol and taking his horse, goes back home and finds his neighbor Sakou-Kuli, who tells him about his family's troubles. With Kurban's wife back, they intend to plow their land even with the war going on. Quickly, Genghis Khan divides the Khorezm Shah's daughters between his sons and servants, keeping Queen Turkan-Khatun to display at his feasts. She is made to sit at the tent's entrance and sing sad songs as Genghis Khan throws her gnawed bones, a deeply tragic turn.
Jelal ed-Din, titled "sultan," becomes the last hope for his state. As his army grows, he faces betrayal from allies motivated by gold, which weakens him significantly. Disputes over loot lead to infighting among his leaders. Following a failed campaign, he jumps into the Sindh River, emerges on the opposite bank, brandishing his sword in a final, defiant challenge to Genghis Khan himself before vanishing. It is said that he wandered for years, continuing to fight the Mongols successfully and gathering troops of valiant jigits, but he never assembles an army large enough to defeat the Mongols.
Haji Rakhim, an aide to Mahmud-Yalvach, is sent to deliver a message to Jochi, the Khagan's son. On their desert trip, Rakhim and Tugan are caught by bandits led by Kara-Konchar. They are released after the dervish tells stories of Gyul-Jamal and Kara-Konchar, including Kara-Konchar's encounter with Jelal ed-Din and his saving of Gyul-Jamal from the leopard. Learning Gyul-Jamal is alive and imprisoned, Kara-Konchar plans a revolt in Gurganj to free her from Turkan-Khatun's prison. At the same time, Mongol troops attack Gurganj, taking prisoners and destroying the dam under Chagatai Khan's orders, causing major flooding. Survivors suffer big losses, finding bodies like Kara-Konchar and Gyul-Jamal in the ruins. After Jochi Khan dies, Haji Rakhim tutors his son, who will become Batu.
Genghis Khan orders Subutai boğatur and Jebe noyon to find the former Khwarazmian ruler and their vanguard conquers Simnan, Qom, and Zanjan in Northern Iran, sparing only Hamadan, but they don't find Muhammad. Polovtsian Khan Köten asks the Russians for aid, so Russian princes gather near Kyiv. Subutai makes it clear that the Mongols target the Polovtsians and Kipchaks, not the Russians. The Mongols feign retreat from the Dnieper, luring Russian princes into pursuit. They subsequently defeat the Kipchaks and Mstislav Udatny's forces, executing the surrendered Kyiv regiment and executing the princes during their victory celebrations.
Jelal ed-Din seeks refuge in India as Genghis Khan's Mongol forces aim to eliminate the exiled Khwarazm Shah's son. The Khan's wife prompts advisor Yelü Chucai to persuade him to return home because of failing health. Yelü suggests consulting Taoist Qiu Chuji, who tells the Khan immortality is impossible. Soon after, Genghis Khan dies, naming Ögedei his heir. Batu, the Khan's grandson, then takes control of Khwarazm.
In the epilogue, Tugan, who becomes a Mongol warrior, saves Haji Rakhim from execution by imams. Rakhim, forced to write about Genghis Khan's wars, is rescued when Tugan uses a trick with "medicinal balls" to make him appear dead. The jailers throw Rakhim's body into a pit, where Tugan and his men find him and help him recover in a safe location, giving him an opportunity to start his life anew.
Batu Haji Rakhim shares his story of salvation while serving as a scribe. One night, he shelters a fugitive dressed in fine clothes, claiming to be the envoy of Grand Vizier Mahmud Yalvach. Rakhim fails to recognize him as his former student, Batu Khan. The only other witnesses to the fugitive's stay are an old faqih (religious scholar) and Yülduz, an orphan residing with Nazar-Karyazik, the esteemed stable master of Kipchak Khan Bayander.
Batu, hiding from assassins, plots to conquer the universe's "last sea". He gets a message from Jelal ed-Din via young Arapsha an-Nasir, a young jigit. Nazar-Karyazik pleads with Khan Bayander for horses so his sons can join the campaign. Before departing, he sells Yülduz for the Khan's harem, prompting his youngest son Musuk, who loves her, to renounce his father.
Nazar-Karyazik joins Subutai-bagatur's retinue as a guard and spy for Haji Rakhim. The fugitive Musuk, after being robbed, finds refuge in an Arab woman's squad. Yülduz remains significant in the story; before departing Sighnaq, Batu's mother chooses seven of his forty wives to accompany him. Among them, Yülduz is designated as one of the "seven stars," alongside four noble Mongols and two daughters of Khan Bayander, who refers to her as "a hard-working, black wife."