The Battle of Muhi, 11 April 1241

The Mongols didn’t come here to get allied with the Hungarians, as it is sometimes recently viewed by some Hungarians who think the Mongols considered us as brothers.

The Battle of Muhi was the most famous battle during the Mongol Invasion of Hungary, when King Béla IV’s army suffered a crushing defeat at Muhi by the Mongol armies that had attacked the country. The battle was followed by a year-long occupation, which decimated the country’s population and turned much of its territory into a wasteland. However, some researchers doubt the size of the destruction, and the size of the devastation is thought to be exaggerated.

The battle took place on 11-12 April 1241, and the site was near the village of Muhi, at the confluence of the Sajó and Hernád rivers (today: Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county). On one side were the Mongol (we call them Tatar) armies led by Batu Khan and his commander Subutai, who attacked the Hungarian Kingdom, while the Hungarians led by King Béla IV, Prince Kálmán, and Archbishop Csák Ugrin were lined up on the opposite side.

The exact size of the clashing forces is not known, but it is assumed that the majority of the 90,000 Mongol forces attacking Hungary took part in the battle, while the Hungarians may have been represented by a few tens of thousands.