Invasion of the Ryazan land by Batu khan in the 16th century miniatures

The paper explores a series of miniatures from the Illustrated Chronicleof Ivan the Terrible, which is a compilation of hand-written texts in many volumes.The miniatures analyzed depict the initial stage of the Tatar and Mongol invasion of Russianlands, i. e. the capture of the Ryazan principality. Specific features of the compositionscontain additional ‘supertext' information on 16th century scribes' and miniature painters'attitude to portrayed events. The miniatures feature combat episodes and field fortificationconstructions. The history of Staraya Ryazan siege and capture is presented in details.The scenes of destruction and sacking help understand what losses and damage, fromthe point of view of succeeding generations, were the most significant.