10,000-50,000 100,000-150,000 Date 1236 | Entire army and population Few | |
Result Decisive Mongol victory; the fall of Volga Bulgaria Similar Second Mongol invasion, Second Mongol invasion, Battle of Kōan, Battle of Bun'ei, First Mongol invasion | ||
The siege of Bilär was a battle for the capital city of the Volga Bulgaria between the Volga Bulgars and the Mongols. It took place in autumn 1236 and lasted for 45 days. It ended with the total destruction of Bilär and the massacre of its population, estimated several dozen thousands.
After the battle of Samara Bend the Bolghars renovated all fortification of Bilär, the city was encircled with the third 11-kilometre-long wall of stone and wood. However, after the Mongols besieged the city, it withstood the siege only for 45 days.
By the material, provided by archaeological excavations the city was burnt, the unburied remains of its population could be found all over Bilär. The excavations prove the Kazan Tatar legends and the Russian chronicles, which wrote that the Mongols:
Then Mongols destroyed many Bulgarian cities, but the north of the country remained intact, so many survivors resettled to the North and to the West from the Bulgarian mainland. The country was incorporated to the Ulus Jochi, but the resistance lasted for forty years.
Some years after the fall of Bilär, Bolghars tried to revive the Great City, but this attempt had no result.