Why Didn't the Mongols Conquer Europe?

In April 1241, the Mongols destroyed two European armies in three days, at Legnica in Poland and at Mohi in Hungary. A year later, they were gone. For centuries the answer seemed simple: the Great Khan Ögedei had died. But historians now think the real story is more complicated. ▶ Watch the whole series: youtube.com/watch?v=…&list=PLIVjlWxjpDhw This is the story of Batu and Subutai's invasion of Europe, the fall of Kiev, the battles of Legnica and Mohi, the Mongol occupation of Hungary, the chase of King Béla IV to the Adriatic, and the four main theories about why the Mongols turned back. Chapters: 0:00 Two battles, three days 0:30 I. The Storm from the East 1:19 II. Two Battles, Three Days 2:44 III. A Kingdom in Flames 3:29 IV. The Mystery What do you think stopped the Mongols? Tell us in the comments. Subscribe for more history from Europe, told on the map. Notes: Army sizes and death tolls for 1241 are uncertain and vary widely between sources; the figures shown are common estimates. Borders on the maps are approximate. Medieval and later illustrations are artistic depictions, not eyewitness images. Sources: Wikipedia — "Mongol invasion of Europe", "Battle of Mohi", "Battle of Legnica", "Ögedei Khan" and the works cited there (incl. Stephen Pow on the Mongol withdrawal; Büntgen & Di Cosmo, Scientific Reports 2016, on climate and the withdrawal from Hungary). Map data: Natural Earth (public domain); historical borders adapted from aourednik/historical-basemaps (GPL-3.0). Narration: synthetic voice made with Chatterbox TTS (MIT licence). Artwork (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons): Hedwig Codex (1353); Illuminated Chronicle / Chronicon Pictum (1358); Johannes de Thurocz, Chronica Hungarorum (1488); manuscripts of Rashid al-Din's Compendium of Chronicles (Herat, c. 1430); Sayf al-Vahidi; Muhammad ibn Mahmudshah al-Khayyam; Yuan dynasty imperial portrait album; Catalan Atlas, Cresques Abraham (1375); Jan Matejko; Giorgio Vasari; Aliprando Caprioli; golden seal of Béla IV. Licensed images (Wikimedia Commons): • Fortress of Klis, photo by Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 4.0 • Esztergom castle, photo by Karelj — public domain • The Sajó river, photo by Farkas Gergely — public domain • Tree rings, Pixel.la — CC0 #mongols #history #medievalhistory