MOSCOW, October 15. Russian scientists have established on the Kulikovo field the place where in 1542, during the time of Ivan the Terrible, a military clash took place between Russian squads and the Crimean Tatars, 162 years after the Battle of Kulikovo. Archaeologists of the State Museum-Reserve «Kulikovo Field» called this battle the second Battle of Kulikovo.
Historians received information about the second significant battle on the Kulikovo Field from the Nikon vault of the 16th century. When studying chronicle sources, scientists were able to find out details about the Tatar raid on Ryazan land and the battle on the Kulikovo field in August 1542.
It turned out that the Tatar army was led by several Murzas and Oglans — representatives of the feudal nobility of the Crimean Khanate. The main attack site of the Crimean troops was the vicinity of the Zaraysk fortress, located 50 km west of Ryazan, or, as they said then, Nikola Zarazsky.
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According to the “Chronicle of the Beginning of the Kingdom” — the official chronicle of the Moscow court, the Zaraisk governors, princes Pyotr Danilovich Pronsky and Yuri Ivanovich Deev, moved out of the well-fortified city, entered into battle with the advanced detachments of the Tatars and “took their tongues” (took prisoners who were supposed to talk about the plans of their troops. — Ed.). The Crimeans, who did not expect such a powerful blow, “from this they trembled and left the Grand Duke of Ukraine,” simultaneously literally ravaging the Ryazan lands on the run. The decisive actions of the governor forced the enemy not only to retreat from Zaraysk, but also to leave the borders of the Russian state.
However, until recently, scientists were unable to determine the exact location of the military confrontation in 1542. The findings of archaeologists made on the Kulikovo field over the past few years helped solve the mystery.
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“We found two misyurkas — combined helmets of the Caucasian type, made of chain mail rings with a crown made of round metal. Moreover, one of them was intact, with a silver “everything” – carved inlay. They found a richly decorated mace, which most likely belonged to Tatar military leaders. We also found various types of spearheads of the 15th and 16th centuries, chain mail, battle axes — reeds and a lot of other items that are associated not with the Battle of Kulikovo, but with later episodes of military confrontation with nomads,” said the deputy director for scientific work of the State Museum -Reserve "Kulikovo Pole" Andrey Naumov.
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These finds, according to archaeologists, can clearly indicate the site of the «second Battle of Kulikovo». It is interesting that it is in connection with this battle that the earliest mention of the Kulikovo field is found in the chronicles.
«Epifansky fort arose more than twenty years later, in the late 1560s, and Epifansky district — still later,” noted Andrey Naumov.
During the purposeful policy of the Russian government of the 16th century, Russian lands steadily expanded to the south, and new cities and villages arose in these territories, including Epifan, whose museum celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2023.
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“We know well that during the construction of the Epifansky fort, at the turn of the 1560s–70s, seven Cossack settlements arose. Special “people on the device” were hired there, that is, volunteers who received a land allotment and lived here. They had to go out to the steppe and observe the enemy, where he is, what he is doing and where he is going to go,” he said.
The construction of the Epifansky fort and the formation of the Epifansky service population became one of the measures to improve the defense system of the Russian state, where the main link was The large serif line is one of the largest complexes of fortifications of the Russian state, which stretches for more than a thousand kilometers from the Meshchersky to Bryansk forests.
More details about the little-studied life of the inhabitants and defenders of the fortified city of Epifani can be found in the agency’s launched project and Museum-Reserve «Kulikovo Field» in the format of VR reconstruction. «Epifan. Fortress on the border of the field.»