Editing Henry II the Pious (section)

==Mongol invasion==
[[File:Lehnice (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Mongols carrying the head of Henry II before [[Legnica]], [[Hedwig Codex]], {{circa}} 1353]]
In the East, a new dangerous opponent appeared: the [[Mongols]], under the leadership of [[Batu Khan]], who, after the [[Mongol invasion of Rus'|invasion of Rus']] chose the [[Kingdom of Hungary]] as his next target. Batu Khan realized that he had to take control of Poland before he could take Hungary. In January 1241, Batu sent reconnaissance troops to [[Lublin]] and [[Zawichost]]. The invasion was launched a month later, by an [[tumen (unit)|army of 10,000 men]] under the leadership of [[Orda Khan|Orda]]. In [[Lesser Poland]] the Mongols met weaker resistance, defeating and killing almost all the Kraków and Sandomierz nobility in the [[Battle of Tursko]] (13 February), and the Battles of Tarczek and Chmielnik (18 March), including the [[voivode]] of Kraków, [[Włodzimierz of Cracow|Włodzimierz]] and the [[castellan]] [[Klement of Brzeźnica]]. All of Lesser Poland, including Kraków and Sandomierz, fell into the hands of the Mongols.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/the-invasion-of-the-christian-west-by-the-tatars-mongols-a-clash-of-civilizations-between-frederick-ii-gregory-ix-and-the-tatars  | title= The invasion of the Christian West by the Tatars (Mongols). A clash of civilizations between Frederick II, Gregory IX and the Tatars   |publisher= Cyberleninka | author= Kurstjens Huub | access-date= October 19, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Henryk II Pobożny.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Original tomb effigy of Henry treading on a Mongol, drawing from 1733]]

Henry did not wait for the promised aid from Western rulers and began to concentrate the surviving troops of Lesser Poland and his own Silesian and Greater Poland forces in [[Legnica]]. Europe's rulers were more focused on the struggle between the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and [[Papacy]], and they ignored Henry's requests for help. The only foreign troops who joined him were those of King [[Wenceslaus I of Bohemia]] and the combined forces of some [[Knights Templar]]. Some sources report that European forces halted their troops near Legnica, probably fearing that the Christian Army would become an easy prey to the Mongols. The [[battle of Legnica]] took place on 9 April 1241. Henry was defeated and [[killed in action]].{{sfn|Halecki|2000|p=87}}

The defeat was widely blamed on the European monarchs, especially [[Emperor Frederick II]] and King [[Béla IV of Hungary]], who had refused to help, and the unexpected retreat from the battle by Henry's Upper Silesian cousin [[Mieszko II the Fat]], through a trick of the Mongols.{{sfn|Cheshire|1926|p=89–105}} There are two descriptions of Henry's death, one submitted by [[Jan Długosz]] (today considered dubious), and the second by C. de Brigia in his ''[[Historii Tartatorum]]'' (based on reports of direct witnesses, now considered more reliable). However, the Mongols did not intend to occupy the country, and shortly afterward they went through [[Moravia]] to Hungary, wanting to connect with the main army of [[Batu Khan]]. Henry's naked and decapitated body could only be identified by his wife, because of his [[polydactyly]]. He had six toes on his left foot,<ref>{{Cite book
| publisher = Państwowe Zakłady Wydawn. Szkolnych
| last = Historyczne
| first = Polskie Towarzystwo
| title = Mowia, wieki: magazyn historyczny
| language = pl
| page = 52
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mYYSAAAAIAAJ&q=Henryk+II+Pobo%C5%BCny+sze%C5%9B%C4%87+palc%C3%B3w
| year = 1961
}}</ref> which was confirmed when his tomb was opened in 1832. Henry was buried in the crypt of the Franciscan Church of Sts. Vincent and Jacob in Wrocław (Breslau).

Despite ruling for only three years, Henry remained in the memories of Silesia, Greater Poland and Kraków as the perfect Christian knight, lord and martyr, whose brilliant career was abruptly ended by his early death. Upon his death, the line of the Silesian Piasts fragmented into numerous [[dukes of Silesia]], who (except for Henry's grandson [[Henry IV Probus]]) were no longer able to prevail as Polish high dukes and subsequently came under the influence of the neighbouring [[Kingdom of Bohemia]].

In 1944, Henry the Pious' body went missing after being taken from its tomb by German scientists for laboratory tests; they had hoped to prove that the prince was [[Aryan race|Aryan]].{{cn|date=November 2022}}