At daybreak, the nomadic army of the steppes rested in an open area at the end of the river valley.
The steppe horses from the east had lost quite a bit of weight during the days of marching to conquer Persia, but nourished by the river valley's abundant grass and water, they had recovered their vigor in just a few days.
Though the Tatars' steppe horses were small and lacked explosive power over short distances, appearing far less robust than Arabian horses or the breeds abundant in Transoxiana, they were as hardy and enduring as the Tatar cavalry upon their backs.
Whether on rugged mountain paths, winding river valleys, or damp swamps, they could traverse them as if on level ground.
After dozens of battles large and small, the Tatar army had not diminished. By the time Jochi gathered his forces at Hamadan and summoned back the commanders who had been burning, killing, and plundering across the land, their numbers had nearly doubled from the start of the western campaign.
When the Tatars had first marched west to conquer the Western Liao State, they had numbered fewer than fifty thousand. Thirty thousand were elite troops from the Tatar core, while the remaining ten thousand or so were levied troops sent by subordinate tribes.
But after the Tatars swallowed up the Western Liao State and Khwarazm, that number surged to eighty thousand.
After the Tatars conquered Persia, it had reached nearly one hundred thousand.
Half of these levied troops, recruited from conquered tribes, cities, and villages, could be considered elite soldiers.
They had been incorporated into the Tatar military system for some time, their organization had been reformed, and they had received rigorous training. Their combat power was in a completely different league from that of mere cannon fodder.
Ivan, commander