Battle of Kulikovo

Battle of Kulikovo
	Part of the Great Troubles
	; "The Battle of Kulikovo" (1849). Painting by Adolphe Yvon.
Date	8 September 1380
Location	Kulikovo Field (now Tula Oblast)
Result	Russian victory
Belligerents
Moscow Principality of Beloozero; Principality of Yaroslavl; Principality of Rostov; Principality of Starodub; Principality of Mologa; Principality of Kashin; Princes from Vyazma and Dorogobuzh; Part of Upper Oka Principalities; Lithuanian princes of Polotsk in exile; Lithuanian princes of Bryansk in exile;	Mamai, controlling the western part of the Golden Horde European mercenaries; Principality of Ryazan; Genoese mercenaries; Cumans; Circassians; Ossetians; Lithuania (arrived too late to aid Mamai; retreated at the news of Mamai's defeat);
Commanders and leaders
Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow; Vladimir Andreyevich the Bold; Dmitry Bobrok	Mamai; Muhammad Bolak †Władysław II Jagiełło
Strength
Modern estimates:; 15,000–20,000 men; Traditionally in historiography:; 50,000–60,000	Up to 30,000 (modern estimates)

The Battle of Kulikovo (Russian: Куликовская битва, romanized: Kulikovskaya bitva) was fought between the forces of Mamai, a powerful Mongol military commander of the Golden Horde, and Russian forces led by Grand Prince Dmitry of Moscow. The battle took place on 8 September 1380, at Kulikovo Field near the Don River (now Tula Oblast, Russia) and was won by Dmitry, who became known as Donskoy ("of the Don") after the battle.

Although the victory did not end Mongol domination over Russia, it is traditionally regarded as the turning point at which Mongol influence began to wane and Moscow's power began to rise. The battle would allow Moscow to strengthen its claims of ascendancy over the other Russian principalities, in which it would ultimately become the centre of a centralized Russian state.

The Great Stand on the Ugra River in 1480 would mark another important turning point in this power shift. Even though the successor states of the Mongol Empire would manage to burn Moscow in 1571, the Russians defeated them again at the Battle of Molodi later that year.