Mongols rout Rus at the Kalka River

May 31, 1223

A scouting force under Subutai and Jebe, having ridden around the Caspian, surprised a Rus-Kipchak host on the Kalka steppe. The princes were captured, laid under boards, and crushed as Mongol generals feasted above them. Europe learned the word Mongol. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the horsemen turned east and vanished, leaving the Rus to wonder whether the nightmare had truly passed.