The Mongols began attacking Europe in the 1220s. They conquered most of Russia and then headed west in the late 1230s. In almost every battle the Christian armies were destroyed and much of Hungary, Poland, Austria and the Balkans were laid waste by Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan. It is known that the Mongols overran Zagreb and swept through Lika and Dalmatia but were unable to take Vinodol. The extent of death and destruction dealt out by the Mongols was compared to an epidemic of the black plague.[citation needed]