Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, medieval

Battle of the Kalka River

Battle of the Kalka River was a battle fought on 31 May 1223 at Kalchyk, in what is now Russia. It was part of Mongol invasions and conquests, which ran from 1206 to 1337. The recorded result: Mongol victory.

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Battle of Kalka
Battle of Kalka. Anonymous Russian manuscript illuminators, 1560-1570s Facial Chronicle (Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible) (in , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought31 May 1223
WhereKalchyk, Russia47.251N, 37.496E
OutcomeMongol victory
BelligerentsMongol Empire; BrodniciagainstPrincipality of Kiev; Principality of Galicia-Volhynia; Principality of Chernigov; Principality of Smolensk; Cumans; Black Klobuks
Part ofMongol invasions and conquests1206 to 1337

Where it sits in Mongol invasions and conquests

Siege of Multan, 1222Battle of the Kalka River, 1223Siege of Kuju, 1231Battle of Cheoin, 1232Battle of Legnica, 1241Battle of Mohi, 1241Siege of Lahore, 1241Siege of Gerdkuh, 1253Siege of Maymun-Diz, 1256Siege of Alamut, 1256Siege of Lambsar, 1256Capture of Damascus, 1260Siege of Aleppo, 1260Battle of Ain Jalut, 1260Siege of Mosul, 1261Siege of al-Bira, 1272Battle of Bun'ei, 1274Battle of Iki (1274), 1274Battle of Kōan, 1281Second Battle of Homs, 1281Battle of Sind, 1298Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar, 1299Capture of Damascus, 1300Battle of Aleppo, 1303Battle of Marj al-Saffar, 1303Battle of Amroha, 1305Battle of Ravi, 1306Siege of Anazarba, 1307Siege of Al-Rahba, 131212221312Battle of the Kalka River, 1223
30 placed engagements of Mongol invasions and conquests in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date31 May 1223
PlaceKalchyk, Russia
47.251N, 37.496E
KindBattle, medieval
Commanders
  • Mstislav Mstislavich
  • Mstislav III of Kiev
  • Daniel of Galicia
  • Mstislav II Svyatoslavich
Battle of the Kalka RiverBattle of the Kalka RiverBattle of Salgyr Yana SalaSiege of TaganrogBattle of DibrivkaBattle of NovopavlivkaCapture of GorlovkaBattle of Salgyr Yana SalaSiege of TaganrogBattle of DibrivkaBattle of NovopavlivkaCapture of GorlovkaZaporizhzhyaMelitopolYeyskBerdyanskBataysk100 km47.251N, 37.496E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of the Kalka River
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of the Kalka River today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-08-06. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 39 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 38 to 154 m, 116 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 58% cropland, 26% grassland, 8% tree cover.

cropland: 58%grassland: 26%tree cover: 8%water: 7%cropland 58%grassland 26%tree cover 8%water 7%
west to east, 10.0 km39 to 137 mnorth to south, 10.0 km39 to 89 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1223

Battle of the Kalka River is one of 590 engagements of the 13th century in the atlas and one of 350 in present-day Russia.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q570204, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Kalka River, revision 1382834688, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.