Burning of Moscow (Crimean Khanate vs Tsardom of Moscow)

The Fire of Moscow occurred on May 24, 1571, when the Crimean forces (with Ottoman support) led by the Khan of Crimea Devlet I Giray, bypassed the Serpukhov defensive fortifications on the Oka River, crossed the Ugra River, and rounded the flank of the 6,000-man Russian army. After defeating the Russian army, the Crimean-Turkish forces besieged the town of Moscow. Tsar Ivan IV the terrible fled to Rostov, leaving the defence to the princes. The Crimean forces set the suburbs on fire on 24 May and a sudden wind blew the flames into Moscow and the city went up in a conflagration. The city, the palace, the Oprichnina palace, and the suburbs burned down completely in six hours. It was a great disaster because no one could escape. People fled into stone churches to escape the flames, but the stone churches collapsed. People also jumped into the Moscow River to escape, where many drowned. The powder magazine of the Kremlin exploded and those hiding in the cellar there asphyxiated. Estimated more than 60,000 Moscow