6 August 1585 year
In a night battle on the river Irtysh perished Ermak, "the conqueror of Siberia".
The life and death of the Cossack ataman are shrouded in legend. Historians don't know exactly where or when he was born. His last name hasn't been reliably established either. It's only known that he was called Yermak Timofeevich. Or Yermolai Tokmak. Or German. Or Erema.
Velmi is very courageous and reasonable, and humane, and clear-sighted, and content with all wisdom, flat-faced, black with a beard and curly hair, and flat, and broad-shouldered
Most likely, Yermak began his career as a military leader in Livonian War against the Lithuanians, Swedes and Danes. 1581 In that year he was able to command a Cossack hundred, which took part in the battles under Mogilev и Shklov, liberated Pskov.
В 1582 In the year a squad of 500 Cossacks led by Ermak and six other atamans was invited by Ural merchants to defend against attacks by the Siberian Khan Kuchum.
According to one version, the armed detachment set out to conquer Siberia on the initiative of Yermak, and not on orders Ivan the TerribleThe aim of the raid was to reach Western Siberia by river and attack the Khan's main headquarters – the fortress Kashlyk (the territory of today Tyumen Oblast).
Despite having 20 times the number of fighters, Kuchum was defeated and fled. For these victories, Ivan the Terrible sent Yermak gifts, including two chainmail coats. According to his companions, the ataman wore one over the other. However, he never received any military assistance from the tsar. As a result, the retinue melted away before the Tatar khan's onslaught.
On the night of August 5-6, Yermak's small force of 50 men was ambushed on a tributary of the Irtysh River. According to the most widespread version, the Cossack ataman drowned while attempting to swim to a strug (a river vessel similar to a boat).
Having deprived the hero of the strength to fight the furious wave, the heavy armor - a gift from the king - became the cause of his death.
At the same time, scientists are inclined to believe that Yermak most likely died almost immediately after the attack, while still on the shore, since the Tatars had a tradition of shooting arrows at commanders first.