mbs were delivered up to be plundered." Kief
fell in 1240.

There remained only Volhynia and Gallicia, which also bowed under the
Tartar yoke. With the exception of Novgorod and the northwest, Russia
was in possession of the Yellow race. The Russian dukes who had
escaped carried the tale to Western Europe which was soon in a state
of alarm. The Emperor of Germany wrote to the other monarchs: (p. 068)
"This is the moment to open the eyes of body and soul, now
that the brave princes on whom we depended are dead or in slavery."
The Pope called upon the Christian princes to take up arms. Meanwhile
Bati continued his westward march and penetrated as far as Moravia,
when he was recalled by the death of the second Tartar emperor. He
withdrew to Russia and on the Volga built a city which he named
Sarai--the Castle,--which became the capital of a Tartar empire
extending from the Ural river and Caspian Sea to the mouth of the
Danube, and is known as the Golden Horde.

The first three successors of Genghis Khan are known as the Great
Khans, and ruled over all the Tartars; but after Kublai Khan
established himself in China, in 1260, the Golden Horde declared its
independence. So long as Bati lived, this khanate was united and
powerful, but after his death, in 1257, it gradually lost strength. In
1272, these Tartars became Mahomedans and spread that faith. The
Golden Horde enjoyed another period of prosperity under the Khan
Uzbeck.

How did the Russians bear this blow? We have seen that Iaroslaf, the
duke who had been expelled so many times from Novgorod, became Grand
Duke of Souzdal. He found the country in Souzdal in ruins. Nothing was
left of the towns and villages but charred remains; the inhabitants
who had survived the Tartar massacres had fled into the forests.
Iaroslaf's first work was to induce them to return and rebuild their
homes. The Tartar general Bati heard of this and sent word to Iaroslaf
to come to him. The grand duke dared not refuse. He went to Sarai (p. 069)
on the Volga where Bati told him that he might continue as grand duke,
but that it would be best for him to pay a visit to the great khan,
who was then on the Amoor in the far eastern part of Asia. Iaroslaf
agreed; he started on his long journey, and after many months of
travel through deserts and wastes, he arrived at the headquarters of
the Tartars. There he was compelled to kneel before Oktai, the
successor of Genghis. It appears that some Russi