THE ILLUSTRIOUS IVAN III.
From 1462 to 1480.
Ivan III.--His Precocity and Rising Power.--The Three Great
Hordes.--Russian Expedition Against Kezan.--Defeat of the
Tartars.--Capture of Constantinople by the Turks.--The Princess
Sophia.--Her Journey to Russia, and Marriage with Ivan
III.--Increasing Renown of Russia.--New Difficulty with the
Horde.--The Tartars Invade Russia.--Strife on the Banks of the
Oka.--Letter of the Metropolitan Bishop.--Unprecedented
Panic.--Liberation of Russia.
In the middle of the fifteenth century, Constantinople was to Russia
what Paris, in the reign of Louis XIV., was to modern Europe. The
imperial city of Constantine was the central point of ecclesiastical
magnificence, of courtly splendor, of taste, of all intellectual
culture.[4] To the Greeks the Russians were indebted for their
religion, their civilization and their social culture.
[Footnote 4: Karamsin, vol. ix., p. 436.]
Ivan III., who had for some time been associated with his father in
the government, was now recognized as the undisputed prince of the
grand principality, though his sway over the other provinces of Russia
was very feeble, and very obscurely defined. At twelve years of age,
Ivan was married to Maria, a princess of Tver. At eighteen years of
age he was the father of a son, to whom he gave his own name. When he
had attained the age of twenty-two years, his father died, and the
reins of government passed entirely into his hands. From his earliest
years, he gave indications of a character of much more than ordinary
judgment and maturity. Upon his accession to the throne, he not only
declined making any appeal to the khan for the ratification of his
authority, but refused to pay the tribute which the horde had so long
extorted. The result was, that the Tartars were speedily rallying
their forces, with vows of vengeance. But on the march, fortunately
for Russia, they fell into a dispute among themselves, and exhausted
their energies in mutual slaughter.
According to the Greek chronology, the world was then approaching the
end of the seven thousandth year since the creation, and the
impression was universal that the end of the world was at hand. It is
worthy of remark that this conviction seemed rather to increase
recklessness and crime than to be promotive of virtue. Bat the years
glided on, and gradually the impression faded away. Ivan, with
extraordinary energy and sagacity, devoted himself to the
consolidation of the Russian empire, and the development of all its
sources of wealth. The refractory princes he assailed one by one, and,
favored by a peculiar combination of circumstances, succeeded in
chastising them into obedience.
The great Mogol power was essentially concentrated in three immense
hordes. All these three combined when there was a work of national
importance to be achieved. The largest of the hordes, and the most
eastern, spread over a region of undefined extent, some hundreds of
miles east of the Caspian Sea. The most western occupied a large
territory upon the Volga and the Kama, called Kezan. From this, their
encampment, where they had already erected many flourishing cities,
enriched by commerce with India and Greece, they were continually
ravaging the frontiers of Russia, often penetrating the country three
or four hundred miles, laying the largest cities in ashes, and then
retiring laden with plunder and prisoners. This encampment of the
horde was but five hundred miles east of Moscow; but much of the
country directly intervening was an uninhabited waste, so great was
the terror which the barbarians inspired.
Ivan resolved to take Kezan from the horde. It was the boldest
resolve which any Russian prince had conceived for ages. All the
mechanics in the great cities which lined the banks of the upper Volga
and the Oka, were employed in constructing barges, which were armed
with the most approved instruments of war. The enthusiasm of Russia
was roused to the highest pitch by this naval expedition, which
presented a spectacle as novel as it was magnificent and exciting.
War has its pageantry as well as its woe. The two flotillas, with
fluttering pennants and resounding music, and crowded with
gayly-dressed and sanguine warriors, floated down the streams until
they met, at the confluence of these rivers, near Nizni Novgorod. Here
the two fleets, covering the Volga for many leagues, were united.
Spreading their sails, they passed rapidly down the river about two
hundred miles, until they arrived at Kezan, the capital of the horde.
Deeming their enterprise a religious one, in which the cross of Christ
was to be planted against the banners of the infidel, they all partook
of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and engaged in the most earnest
exercises of devotion the evening before they reached their place of
landing.
In those days intelligence was only transmitted by means of couriers,
at vast expense, and either accompanied by an army or by a strong body
guard. The Mogols had no suspicion of the tempest which was about to
break over their heads. On the 21st of May, 1469, before the dawn of
the morning, the Russians leaped upon the shore near Kezan, the
capital, and with trumpet blasts and appalling cries, rushed upon the
sleeping inhabitants. Without resistance they penetrated the streets.
The Russians, in war, were as barbaric as the Tartars. The city was
set on fire; indiscriminate slaughter ensued, and awful vengeance was
taken for the woes which the horde had for ages inflicted upon Russia.
But few escaped. Those who fell not by the sword perished in the
flames. Many Russian prisoners were found in the city who had been in
slavery for years.
Thus far, success, exceeding the most sanguine anticipations, had
accompanied the enterprise. The victorious Russians, burdened with the
plunder of the city, reembarked, and, descending the river some
distance, landed upon an island which presented every attraction for a
party of pleasure, and there they passed a week in rest, in feasting
and in all festive joys. Ibrahim, prince of the horde, escaped the
general carnage, and, in a few days, rallied such a force of cavalry
as to make a fierce assault upon the invaders. The strife continued,
from morning until night, without any decisive results, when both
parties were glad to seek repose, with the Volga flowing between them.
The next morning neither were willing to renew the combat. Ibrahim
soon had a flotilla upon the Volga nearly equal to that of the
Russians. The war now raged, embittered by every passion which can
goad the soul of man to madness.
One of the Russian princes, a man of astonishing nerve and agility, in
one of these conflicts sprang into a Tartar boat, smiting, with his
war club, upon the right hand and the left, and, leaping from boat to
boat of the foe, warded off every blow, striking down multitudes,
until he finally returned, in safety, to his own flotilla, cheered by
the huzzas of his troops. The Mogols were punished, not subdued; but
this punishment, so unexpected and severe, was quite a new experience
for them. The Russian troops, elated with their success, returned to
Nizni Novgorod. In the autumn, Ivan III. sent another army, under the
command of his two brothers, Youri and André, to coöperate with the
troops in Nizni Novgorod in a new expedition. This army left Moscow in
two divisions, one of which marched across the country, and the other
descended the Volga in barges. Ibrahim had made every effort in his
power to prepare to repel the invasion. A decisive battle was fought.
The Mogols, completely vanquished, were compelled to accept such
terms as the conqueror condescended to grant.
This victory attracted the attention of Europe, and the great
monarchies of the southern portion of the continent began to regard
Russia as an infant power which might yet rise to importance. Another
event at this time occurred which brought Russia still more
prominently into the view of the nations of the South. In the year
1467, the grand prince, with tears of anguish, buried his young and
beautiful spouse. Five years of widowhood had passed away. The Turks
had overrun Asia Minor, and, crossing the Hellespont under Mohammed
II., with bloody cimeter had taken Constantinople by storm, cutting
down sixty thousand of its inhabitants, and bringing all Greece under
the Turkish sway. The Mohammedan placed his heel upon the head of the
Christian, and Constantinople became the capital of Moslem power. This
was in the year 1472.
Constantin Paleologue was the last of the Grecian emperors. One of his
brothers, Thomas, escaping from the ruins of his country, fled to
Rome, where, in consideration of his illustrious rank and lineage, he
received a large monthly stipend from the pope. Thomas had a daughter,
Sophia, a princess of rare beauty, and richly endowed with all mental
graces and attractions. The pope sought a spouse worthy of this
princess, who was the descendant of a long line of emperors. Mohammed
II., having overrun all Greece, flushed with victory, was collecting
his forces for the invasion of the Italian peninsula, and his vaunt,
_that he would feed his horse from the altar of St. Peters_, had
thrilled the ear of Catholic Europe. The pope, Paul II., anxious to
rouse all the Christian powers against the Turks, wished to make the
marriage of the Grecian princess promotive of his political views. Her
beauty, her genius and her exalted birth rendered her a rare prize.
Rumors had reached Rome of the vast population and extraordinary
wealth of Russia; nearly all the great Russian rivers emptied into the
Black Sea, and along these channels the Russian flotillas could easily
descend upon the conquerors of Constantinople; Russia was united with
Greece by the ties of the same religion, and the recent victory over
the Tartars had given the grand prince great renown. These
considerations influenced the pope to send an embassador to Moscow,
proposing to Ivan III. the hand of Sophia. To increase the apparent
value of the offer, the embassador was authorized to state that the
princess had refused the hand of the King of France, and also of the
Duke of Milan, she being unwilling, as a member of the Greek church,
to ally herself with a prince of the Latin religion.
Nothing could have been more attractive to Ivan III., and his nobles,
than this alliance. "God himself," exclaimed a bishop, "must have
conferred the gift. She is a shoot from an imperial tree which
formerly overspread all orthodox Christians. This alliance will make
Moscow another Constantinople, and will confer upon our sovereign the
rights of the Grecian emperors."
The grand prince, not deeming it decorous to appear too eager, and yet
solicitous lest he might lose the prize, sent an embassador, with a
numerous suite, to Rome, with a letter to the pope, and to report more
particularly respecting the princess, not forgetting to bring him her
portrait. This embassage was speedily followed by another, authorized
to complete the arrangements. The embassadors were received with
signal honors by Sextus IV., who had just succeeded Paul II., and at
length it was solemnly announced, in a full conclave of cardinals, on
the 22d of May, 1472, that the Russian prince wished to espouse
Sophia. Some of the cardinals objected to the orthodoxy of Ivan III.;
but the pope replied that it was by condescension and kindness alone
that they could hope to open the eyes of one spiritually blind; a
sentiment which it is to be regretted that the court of Rome and also
all other communions have too often ignored.
On the 1st of June the princess was sacredly affianced in the church
of St. Peter's to the prince of Moscow, the embassadors of Ivan III.
assuring the pope of the zeal of their monarch for the happy reunion
of the Greek and Latin churches. The pope conferred a very rich dowry
upon Sophia, and sent his legate to accompany her to Russia, attended
by a splendid suite of the most illustrious Romans. The affianced
princess had a special court of her own, with its functionaries of
every grade, and its established etiquette. A large number of Greeks
followed her to Moscow, hoping to find in that distant capital a
second country. Directions were given by the pope that, in every city
through which she should pass, the princess should receive the honors
due to her rank, and that, especially throughout Italy and Germany,
she should be furnished with entertainment, relays of horses and
guides, until she should arrive at the frontiers of Russia.
Sophia left Rome on the 24th of August, and after a rapid journey of
six days, arrived, on the 1st of September, at Lubec, on the extreme
southern shore of the Baltic. Here she remained ten days, and on the
10th of September embarked in a ship expressly and gorgeously equipped
for her accommodation. A sail of eight hundred miles along the Baltic
Sea, which occupied twenty days, conveyed the princess to Revel, near
the mouth of the Gulf of Finland. Arriving at this city on the 30th of
September, she remained there for rest, ten days, during which time
she was regaled with the utmost magnificence by the authorities of the
place. Couriers had been immediately dispatched, by the way of
Novgorod, to Moscow, to inform the prince of her arrival. Her journey
from Revel to lake Tchoude presented but a continued triumphal show.
On the 11th of October she reached the shores of the lake. A flotilla
of barges, decorated with garlands and pennants, here awaited her. A
pleasant sail of two days conveyed her across the lake. Immediately
upon landing at Pskov, she repaired, with all her retinue, to the
church of Notre Dame, to give thanks to Heaven for the prosperity
which had thus far attended her journey. From the church she was
conducted to the palace of the prince of that province, where she
received from the nobles many precious gifts.
After a five days' sojourn at Pskov, she left the city to continue her
journey. Upon taking her departure, she aroused the enthusiasm of the
citizens by the following words:
"I must hasten to present myself before your prince who is soon to be
mine. I thank the magistrates, the nobles and the citizens generally
for the reception which they have given me, and I promise never to
neglect to plead the cause of Pskov at the court of Moscow."
At Novgorod she was again entertained with all the splendor which
Russian opulence and art could display. The Russian winter had already
commenced, and the princess entered Moscow, in a sledge, on the 12th
of November. An innumerable crowd accompanied her. She was welcomed at
the gates of the city by the metropolitan bishop, who conducted her to
the church, where she received his benediction. She was then presented
to the mother of the grand prince, who introduced her to her future
spouse. Immediately the marriage ceremony was performed with the most
imposing pomp of the Greek church.
This marriage contributed much in making Russia better known
throughout Europe. In that age, far more than now, exalted birth was
esteemed the greatest of earthly honors; and Sophia, the daughter of a
long line of emperors, was followed by the eyes of every court in
Europe to her distant destination. Moreover, many Greeks, of high
aesthetic and intellectual culture, exiled from their country by the
domination of the Turk, followed their princess to Russia. They, by
their knowledge of the arts and sciences, rendered essential service
to their adopted kingdom, which was just emerging from barbarism. They
enriched the libraries by the books which they had rescued from the
barbarism of the Turks, and contributed much to the eclat of the court
of Moscow by the introduction of the pompous ceremonies of the Grecian
court. Indeed, from this date Moscow was often called a second
Constantinople. The capital was rapidly embellished with palaces and
churches, constructed in the highest style of Grecian and Italian
architecture. From Italy, also, mechanics were introduced, who
established foundries for casting cannon, and mints for the coinage of
money.
The prominent object in the mind of Ivan III. was the consolidation of
all the ancient principalities into one great empire, being firmly
resolved to justify the title which he had assumed, of _Sovereign of
all the Russias_. He wished to give new vigor to the monarchical
power, to abolish the ancient system of almost independent appanages
which was leading to incessant wars, and to wrest from the princes
those prerogatives which limited the authority of the sovereign. This
was a formidable undertaking, requiring great sagacity and firmness,
but it would doubtless be promotive of the welfare of Russia to be
under the sway of one general sovereign, rather than to be exposed to
the despotism of a hundred petty and quarrelsome princes. Ivan III.
was anxious to accomplish this result without violating any treaty,
without committing any arbitrary or violent act which could rouse
opposition.
That he might triumph over the princes, it was necessary for him to
secure the affections of the people. The palace was consequently
rendered easy of access to them all. Appointed days were consecrated
to justice, and, from morning until evening, the grand prince listened
to any complaints from his subjects. The old magistrates had generally
forfeited all claim to esteem. Regarding only their own interests,
they trafficked in offices, favored their relatives, persecuted their
enemies and surrounded themselves with crowds of parasites who
stifled, in the courts of justice, all the complaints of the
oppressed. Novgorod was first brought into entire subjection to the
crown; then Pskov.
While affairs were moving thus prosperously in Russia, the horde upon
the Volga was also recovering its energies; and a new khan, Akhmet,
war-loving and inflated by the success which his sword had already
achieved, resolved to bring Russia again into subjection. He
accordingly, in the year 1480, sent an embassy, bearing an image of
the khan as their credentials, to Moscow, to demand the tribute which
of old had been paid to the Tartars. Ivan III. was in no mood to
receive the insult patiently. He admitted the embassage into the
audience chamber of his palace. His nobles, in imposing array, were
gathered around prepared for a scene such as was not unusual in those
barbaric times. As soon as the embassadors entered and were presented,
the image of the khan was dashed to the floor by the order of Ivan,
and trampled under feet; and all the Mogol embassadors, with the
exception of one, were slain.
"Go," said Ivan sternly to him, "go to your master and tell him what
you have seen; tell him that if he has the insolence again to trouble
my repose, I will treat him as I have served his image and his
embassadors."
This emphatic declaration of war was followed on both sides by the
mustering of armies. The horde was soon in motion, passing from the
Volga to the Don in numbers which were represented to be as the sands
of the sea. They rapidly and resistlessly ascended the valley of this
river, marking their path by a swath of ruin many miles in width. The
grand prince took the command of the Russian army in person, and
rendezvoused his troops at Kalouga, thence stationing them along the
northern banks of the Oka, to dispute the passage of that stream. All
Russia was in a state of feverish excitement. One decisive battle
would settle the question, whether the invaders were to be driven in
bloody rout out of the empire, or, whether the whole kingdom was to be
surrendered to devastation by savages as fierce and merciless as
wolves.
About the middle of October the two armies met upon the opposite banks
of the Oka, with only the waters of that narrow stream to separate
them. Cannon and muskets were then just coming into use, but they were
rude and feeble instruments compared with the power of such weapons at
the present day. Swords, arrows, javelins, clubs, axes, battering-rams
and catapults, and the tramplings of horse were the engines of
destruction which man then wielded most potently against his
fellow-man. The quarrel was a very simple one. Some hundreds of
thousands of Mogols had marched to the heart of Russia, leaving behind
them a path of flame and blood nearly a thousand miles in length, that
they might compel the Russians to pay them tribute. Some hundred
thousand Russians had met them there, to resist even to death their
insolent and oppressive demand.
The Tartars were far superior in numbers to the Russians, but Ivan had
made such a skillful disposition of his troops that Akhmet could not
cross the stream. For nearly a week the two armies fought from the
opposite banks, throwing at each other bullets, balls, stones, arrows
and javelins. A few were wounded and some slain in this impotent
warfare.
The Russians were, however, very faint-hearted. It was evident that,
should the Tartars effect the passage of the river, the Russians,
already demoralized by fear, would be speedily overpowered. The grand
prince himself was so apprehensive as to the result, that he sent one
of his nobles with rich presents to the khan and proposed terms of
peace. Akhmet rejected the presents, and sent back the haughty reply:
"I have come thus far to take vengeance upon Ivan; to punish him for
neglecting for nine years to appear before me with tribute and in
homage. Let him come penitently into my presence and kiss my stirrup,
and then perhaps, if my lords intercede for him, I may forgive him."
As soon as it was heard in Moscow that the grand prince was
manifesting such timidity, the clergy sent to him a letter urging the
vigorous defense of their country and of their religion. The letter
was written by Vassian, the archbishop of Moscow, and was signed, on
behalf of the clergy, by several of the higher ecclesiastics. We have
not space to introduce the whole of this noble epistle, which is
worthy of being held in perpetual remembrance. The following extracts
will show its spirit. It was in the form of a letter from the
archbishop to the king; to which letter others of the clergy gave
their assent:
"It is our duty to announce the truth to kings, and that which I have
already spoken in the ear of your majesty I now write, to inspire you
with new courage and energy. When, influenced by the prayers and the
councils of your bishop, you left Moscow for the army, with the firm
intention of attacking the enemy of the Christians, we prostrated
ourselves day and night before God, pleading with him to grant the
victory to our armies. Nevertheless, we learn that at the approach of
Akhmet, of that ferocious warrior who has already caused thousands of
Christians to perish, and who menaces your throne and your country,
you tremble before him--you implore peace of him, and send to him
embassadors, while that impious warrior breathes only vengeance and
despises your prayer.
"Ah, grand prince, to what counselors have you lent your ear? What
men, unworthy of the name of Christian, have given you such advice?
Will you throw away your arms and shamefully take to flight? But
reflect from what a height of grandeur your majesty will descend; to
what a depth of humiliation you will fall! Are you willing, oh prince,
to surrender Russia to fire and blood, your churches to pillage, your
subjects to the sword of the enemy? What heart is so insensible as
not to be overwhelmed by the thought even of such a calamity?
"No; we will trust in the all-powerful God! No; you will not abandon
us! You will blush at the name of a fugitive, of being the betrayer of
your country. Lay aside all fear. Redouble your confidence in God.
Then one shall chase a thousand, and two shall put ten thousand to
flight. There is no God like ours. Do you say that the oath, taken by
your ancestors, binds you not to raise your arms against the khan? But
we, your metropolitan bishop, and all the other bishops,
representatives of Jesus Christ, absolve you from that oath, extorted
by force; we all give you our benediction, and conjure you to march
against Akhmet, who is but a brigand and an enemy of God.
"God is a Father full of tenderness for his children. He knows when to
punish and when to pardon. And if formerly he submerged Pharaoh to
save the children of Israel, he will, in the same manner, save you and
your people, if you purify your heart by penitence, for you are a man
and a sinner. The penitence of a monarch is his sacred obligation to
obey the laws of justice, to cherish his people, to renounce every act
of violence, and grant pardon even to the guilty. It is thus that God
will elevate you among us, as formerly he elevated Moses, Joshua and
the other liberators of Israel, that Russia, a new Israel, may be
delivered by you from the impious Akhmet, that other Pharaoh.
"I pray you, grand prince, do not censure me for my feeble words, for
it is written, 'Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet
wiser.'[5] So may it be. Receive our benediction, you and your
children, all the nobles and chieftains, and all your brave warriors,
children of Jesus Christ. Amen."
[Footnote 5: Proverbs of Solomon, ix. 9.]
This letter, instead of giving the king offense, inspired him with new
zeal and courage. He immediately abandoned all idea of peace. A
fortnight had now passed in comparative inaction, the Russians and
Tartars menacing each other from opposite sides of the stream. The
cold month of November had now come, and a thin coating of ice began
to spread over the surface of the stream. It was evident that Akhmet
was only waiting for the river to be frozen over, and that, in a few
days, he would be able to cross at any point. The grand prince, seeing
that the decisive battle could not much longer be deferred, ordered
his troops, in the night, to make a change of position, that he might
occupy the plains of Borosk as a field more favorable for his troops.
But the Russian soldiers, still agitated by the fears which their
sovereign had not been able to conceal, regarded this order as the
signal for retreat. The panic spread from rank to rank, and, favored
by the obscurity of the night, soon the whole host, in the wildest
confusion, were in rapid flight. No efforts of the officers could
arrest the dismay. Before the morning, the Russian camp was entirely
deserted, and the fugitives were rushing, like an inundation, up the
valley of the Moskwa toward the imperial city.
But God did not desert Russia in this decisive hour. He appears to
have heard and answered the prayers which had so incessantly ascended.
In the Russian annals, their preservation is wholly attributed to the
interposition of that God whose aid the bishops, the clergy and
Christian men and women in hundreds of churches had so earnestly
implored. The Tartars, seeing, in the earliest dawn of the morning,
the banks of the river entirely abandoned by the Russians, imagined
that the flight was but a ruse of war, that ambuscades were prepared
for them, and, remembering previous scenes of exterminating slaughter,
they, also, were seized with a panic, and commenced a retreat. This
movement itself increased the alarm. Terror spread rapidly. In an
hour, the whole Tartar host, abandoning their tents and their baggage,
were in tumultuous flight.
As the sun rose, an unprecedented spectacle was presented. Two
immense armies were flying from each other in indescribable confusion
and dismay, each actually frightened out of its wits, and no one
pursuing either. The Russians did not stop for a long breath until
they attained the walls of Moscow. Akhmet, having reached the head
waters of the Don, retreated rapidly down that stream, wreaking such
vengeance as he could by the way, but not venturing to stop until he
had reached his strongholds upon the banks of the Volga. Thus,
singularly, _providentially_, terminated this last serious invasion of
Russia by the Tartars. A Russian annalist, in attributing the glory of
this well-authenticated event all to God, writes: "Shall men, vain and
feeble, celebrate the terror of their arms? No! it is not to the might
of earth's warriors, it is not to human wisdom that Russia owes her
safety, but only to the goodness of God."
Ivan III., in the cathedrals of Moscow, offered long continued praises
to God for this victory, obtained without the effusion of blood. An
annual festival was established in honor of this great event. Akhmet,
with his troops disorganized and scattered, had hardly reached the
Volga, ere he was attacked by a rival khan, who drove him some five
hundred miles south to the shore of the Sea of Azof. Here his rival
overtook him, killed him with his own hand, took his wives and his
daughters captives, seized all his riches, and then, seeking friendly
relations with Russia, sent word to Moscow that the great enemy of the
grand prince was in his grave.
Thus terminated for ever the sway of the Tartars over the Russians.
For two hundred years, Russia had been held by the khans in slavery.
Though the horde long continued to exist as a band of lawless and
uncivilized men, often engaged in predatory excursions, no further
attempts were made to exact either tribute or homage.