16. Defeated Mongol Enemies Were Guests of Honor at a Final Feast Celebrated Over Their Still-Living Bodies
The Mongols’ reputation for cruelty and bloodthirstiness was well deserved. While those who chose to surrender immediately often found the Mongols to be decent rulers, woe betide those who resisted. It is estimated that the wars of Mongol conquest might have killed up to 60 million people. One thing that Mongols enjoyed was to make examples out of their defeated foes. On May 31, 1223, the Mongols led by Subutai and Jebe defeated and annihilated their Kievan Rus and pursuers.
Things went from bad to worse for the captured enemy commanders when the Mongols decided to celebrate their victory by throwing a feast and to dine over their bodies of their captives. By the banks of the Kalka River, captured enemy commanders were bound and laid on the ground. A huge board was then placed atop their bodies, over which the victors sat to eat, drink, and celebrate their triumph. As the victors roistered, the vanquished were slowly crushed and suffocated to death beneath them.