The battle resulted in a victory for the Mongols, who destroyed the Hungarian royal army at a heavy cost which contributed to the decision to halt the campaign.

The Mongols' victory led to a period of rebuilding and reorganization in Hungary, while also influencing the development of European politics and culture.

[16][17] The military doctrine of the Hungarian kings prohibited nobles from constructing private stone castles/fortresses for their own protection within the realm.

It was believed that privately built strongholds by landowners could ultimately lead to the strengthening of oligarchy and a decline in the royal power.

Castles were only authorized to be built in strategically significant locations deemed important by the monarchs, primarily along the western border near the Holy Roman Empire.

Two of them attacked through Poland in order to protect the flank from Polish cousins of Béla IV of Hungary, winning several victories.

[19] Prior to the invasion, King Béla had personally supervised the construction of dense natural barriers along Hungary's eastern border, intending to slow the Mongol advance and obstruct their movement.

[20] Combined with the extreme speed of the Mongol advance, called "lightning" by a European observer, the Hungarians lacked time to properly group their forces.

[21] In 1223, the expanding Mongol Empire defeated a group of semi-allied Rus city states at the Kalka River, using the ancient horse-archer tactic of the feigned retreat under Subutai and Jebe.

[citation needed] The defeated princes of Rus who were captured by the Mongols were crushed to death under a victory platform following the battle.

At this time, the Mongols were purely an expeditionary force in Europe, and did not besiege major cities such as Kyiv until decades later, under the direction of Genghis Khan's son and successor, Ögedei.

40,000 people) sought refuge in his kingdom after being crushed by the Mongols, it seemed that at least a portion of the Cumans had accepted Hungarian rule.

[This quote needs a citation] After Béla IV inherited his father's throne he began to reconfiscate Andrew's donations and to execute or expel his advisers.

[citation needed] The newly arrived and grateful Cumans gave the king more power (and increased prestige with the Church for converting them), but also caused more friction.

[citation needed] King Béla began to mobilise his army and ordered all of his troops, including the Cumans, to the city of Pest.

The full mobilisation was unsuccessful; many contingents were unable to reach Pest; some were destroyed by Mongols before they arrived, some by renegade Cumans.

Ugrin Csák, Archbishop of Kalocsa, also tried to attack a Mongol contingent, but he was lured to a swamp and his armoured cavalry became irretrievably stuck in it.

The closest hard evidence comes from the Epternacher Notiz, a contemporary account of the battle by a German chronicler which reported that the Hungarians lost 10,000 men, suggesting their whole army was around that size.

[30] The Hungarians still did not believe that there would be a full-scale attack, but the troops of the King's brother Coloman, Duke of Slavonia, and Archbishop Ugrin Csák with Rembald de Voczon, the Templar master, left the camp to surprise the Mongols and defend the unguarded bridge.

"[citation needed] The Hungarians left some soldiers to guard the bridge and returned to the camp, unaware that the main Mongol army was nearby.

In this fighting, Batu suffered heavy losses, losing thirty of his baatars (bodyguards) and one of his lieutenants, Bakatu, when he personally assaulted a strong point with the vanguard.

[34] Confined within the camp, the mood among the Hungarians turned to panic after their sallies were ineffective and they sustained repeated bombardments by stone and gunpowder.

Thomas of Spalato, who interviewed many eyewitnesses, claimed that the route the Hungarians tried to flee along was strewn with so many corpses that the ground had become dyed red from their blood.

[36][non-primary source needed] Several modern historians have speculated that Chinese firearms and gunpowder weapons were deployed by the Mongols at the Battle of Muhi.

[49] It was at this point that King Béla and some of his retinue fled southwest, through Hungarian-controlled territory, to the Adriatic coast and the island fortress of Trogir, where they stayed until the Mongols withdrew.

[50] Meanwhile, the rest of Europe was horrified by the defeat and subsequent devastation of Hungary, creating a wave of fear and panic that spread to the Atlantic.

[52] The Mongols often bypassed strong points and devastated the nearby agricultural fields and irrigation systems, which later led to a mass starvation.

Batu was notably unhappy that he had lost 30+ of his baatars/ba'aturs,[55] and one of his commanders, Bakatu, in addition to anywhere from many hundred[56] to several thousand[57][58] other soldiers, an unusually high loss for the Mongols.

"Seemingly relaying a Mongol version of the story meant to glorify Batu Khan, John of Plano Carpini also stated that a great many Mongols were killed in Hungary and Poland and that they would have retreated at a critical moment at Muhi if not for the inspiring leadership of Batu, who personally rallied his men to lead them to a decisive victory.

[63][non-primary source needed] After killing any stragglers they could find, they began an assault on the Hungarian countryside, solidifying their control over the terrain they had previously blitzed through.