Tatars and the colonization of Pobozhye

Nicholas Zharkikh

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In the mid-14th century, in connection with various events of the struggle for the Volyn-Galician inheritance, we have references to some points in this territory, the easternmost of which were Halych, Lviv, Kremenets, Lutsk, Medzhybizh, and possibly Terebovlja and Ostrog.

We have seen that during the time of the Koriatovychs, colonization took a huge step eastward: from Kremenets to Cherkasy – 460 km, in Pobozhye it reached Bratslav (275 km from Kremenets), even with a thrust south to Savran, and in Transnistria it reached Bakota (160 km from Halych). In the next 50-60 years, settlements along the Dniester advance further east to Lyadova and Murafa (another 80 km from Bakota), but in Pobozhye the extreme point remains Bratslav.

Why did colonization stop at this point, not reaching the natural border – the Black Sea – some 280 – 300 km away?

They usually say: the Tatars and the Golden Horde prevented this.

Is that really true?

Possession of the Golden Horde

The departure of the Tatars from the right bank of the Dnieper was not caused by the hostile actions of the Horde’s neighbors.

Tribute to the Tatars

We have 7 charters from Podillja for the years 1375-1401 with mentions of tribute to the Tatars [collection of text fragments: Polekhov S. V. of 1391 and Podillja tribute “to the Tatars”. – Archivarius, 2019, No 17, p. 99 – 100].

The existence of this formula can be explained by the fact that the scribe of the princes Koriatovych, having drawn up the first charter of the grant, then repeated all its formulas over and over again. This same scribe later served Prince Švitrigaila (because there were many princes at that time, but few literate people, and they were of great value).

But what happened in 1401, why are there no mentions of Tatar tribute in numerous later charters for Podillja? Was Podillja freed from the Horde yoke?

No, the explanation is much simpler. From 1402, the charters for Podillja were prepared by King Jagiello’s scribe, who had not seen similar charters from the previous period and wrote the gifts according to other models – as was customary at the royal court.

Tatars in the war for Podillja

Jan Długosz mentioned the Tatars several times when describing the war of 1431–1436.

I think that often (if not in all cases) there were mentioned "own" Tatars, because in the clashes between the troops of Sigismund and Švitrigaila, the sources never mention the Tatars on Sigismund’s side.

Ultimately, we know nothing about the Tatars’ attempts at this time to prevent Rus’ colonization in the territory of modern Ukraine by military force. This idea among historians is caused by the mechanical transfer of the circumstances of the Tatar ruin of the 4th quarter of the 15th – 16th centuries to earlier times.

Expansion into the void

So what could be the reason for the halt in colonization?

In my opinion, colonization from the territory of the former Galician Principality (and probably from the Volhynian Principality) spread eastward into the void, without encountering any resistance. The Tatars were no longer in this territory, and the local population (probably Ruthenian) was very insignificant.

Colonization stopped when its potential was exhausted, when everyone who wanted to seek happiness in the new land had already moved there. It should not be forgotten that all this happened very quickly, within the lifetime of one generation.