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Those in the northeast had given no help to the Russians of the Dnieper; perhaps the grand prince George II of Suzdal may have rejoiced over the humiliation of the Kievians and Galicians.
Mangu proposed capitulation to the Kievians; the fate of Riazan, of Tchernigof, of Vladimir, the capitals of powerful states, announced to them the lot that awaited them in case of refusal, yet the Kievians dared to massacre the envoys of the Khan. Michael, their Grand Prince, fled; his rival, Daniel of Galitch, did not care to remain.
The rout became general, and the leaders spurred on their steeds in hopes of reaching the Dnieper. Six princes and seventy of the chief boyars or voievodes remained on the field of battle. It was the Crécy and Poitiers of the Russian chivalry. Hardly a tenth of the army escaped; the Kievians alone left ten thousand dead.
The Kievians, supported by the brave Dmitri, a Galician boyar, defended the fallen ramparts till the end of the day, then retreated to the Church of the Dime, which they surrounded by a palisade. The last defenders of Kiev found themselves grouped around the tomb of Yaroslaff. Next day they perished. The Khan gave the boyar his life, but the "Mother of Russian cities" was sacked.
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