Siege of Bilär

Infobox Military Conflict


caption=
conflict=Siege of Bilär
partof=Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria
place=Bilär, Volga Bulgaria
date=1236
result=Decisive Mongol victory; the fall of Volga Bulgaria
combatant1= Volga Bulgaria
combatant2= Mongols
commander1=Mir-Ghazi
commander2=Batu Khan
strength1=10,000-50,000¹
strength2=100,000-150,000²
casualties1=all population and defenders
casualties2=N/A
notes= ¹ Friar Julian
² only Batu's horde|

The siege of Bilär was a battle for the capital city of the Volga Bulgaria between the Volga Bulgars and the Mongols. It took place in autumn 1236 and lasted for 45 days. It an ended with the total destruction of Bilär and the massacre of its population, estimated several dozen thousands.

After the battle of Samara Bend the Bolghars renovated all fortification of Bilär, the city was encircled with the third 11-kilometre-long wall of stone and wood. However, after the Mongols besieged the city, it withstood the siege only for 45 days.

By the material, provided by archaeological excavations the city was burnt, the unburied remains of its population could be found all over Bilär. The excavations prove the Kazan Tatar legends and the Russian chronicles, which wrote that the Mongols:Then Mongols destroyed many Bulgarian cities, but the north of the country remained intact, so many survivals resettled to the North and to the West from the Bulgarian mainland. The country was incorporated to the Ulus Jochi, but the resistance lasted for forty years.

Some years after the fall of Bilär Bolghars tried to revive the Great City, but this attempt had no result.

References

* История Татарстана, Казань, "ТаРИХ", 2001.
* История Татарской АССР, Казань, Татарское книжное издательство, 1980
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