through the Kura River. A 30,000 men strong Georgian—Armenian army was assembled near Tbilisi. The Mongols were also reinforced, numbering 30,000 and received further support from local Turkmen tribes. Jebe set up an ambush with 5,000 men while the main Mongol army feigned retreat. The Georgian cavalry pursued Subutai's army after defeating the Turkmen and were destroyed when Jebe closed the trap. The Georgian army suffered a heavy defeat at Khunan, and King George was mortally wounded. The Mongols proceeded to plunder southern Georgia. Prelude Genghis Khan eventually granted Jebe permission and with Subutai as his second-in-command, the Mongols advanced to the city of Derbent, which refused to surrender. Jebe promised to spare the city in return for the services of 10 guides to take them through the Caucasus. To warn the guides against playing any tricks, the Mongols executed one of them. The crossing of the Caucasus was costly for the Mongols, who had to abandon their siege engines and lost hundreds of men to the cold. After making it through the Caucasus, the Mongols were met by an alliance consisting of the Lezgians, the Alans and the Cherkesses, tribes who were living north of the Caucasus who had mustered an army of around 50,000 men. They were joined by the Cumans, a Turkic people who owned an expansive khanate stretching from Lake Balkhash to the Black Sea. The Cumans also convinced the Volga Bulgars and Khazars to join. The Cuman Khan, Koten, placed his army under the command of his brother, Yuri, and his son, Daniel. The first battle between the league and the Mongols was indecisive, but the Mongols managed to persuade the Cuman to abandon the alliance by reminding them of the Turkic-Mongol friendship and promising them a share of the booty gained from the Caucasian tribes. With this arrangement settled, the Mongols attacked the alliance's army and routed it. The Mongols then proceeded to attack the Cumans, who had split into two separate groups as they were returning home, destroying both armies and executing all the prisoners before sacking Astrakhan. The Mongols began pursuing the Cumans as they fled in a north-westerly direction. The Venetians sent a delegation to the Mongols, and they concluded an alliance in which it was agreed that the Mongols would destroy any other European trading post they came across. As the Mongols pursued the Cumans, Jebe sent a detachment to