Rus': history, main dates and events. Periodization of the ancient history of Rus'

Denial of the greatness of Russia is a terrible robbery of humanity.

Berdyaev Nikolay Alexandrovich

The origin of the ancient Russian state of Kievan Rus is one of the biggest mysteries in history. Of course, there is an official version that gives many answers, but it has one drawback - it completely rejects everything that happened to the Slavs before 862. Are things really as bad as they write in Western books, when the Slavs are compared to semi-wild people who are not able to govern themselves and for this they were forced to turn to an outsider, a Varangian, so that he could teach them reason? Of course, this is an exaggeration, since such a people cannot take Byzantium by storm twice before this time, but our ancestors did it!

In this material we will adhere to the basic policy of our site - presentation of facts that are known for certain. Also on these pages we will point out the main points that historians use under various pretexts, but in our opinion they can shed light on what happened on our lands in that distant time.

Formation of the state of Kievan Rus

Modern history puts forward two main versions according to which the formation of the state of Kievan Rus occurred:

1. Norman. This theory is based on a rather dubious historical document - “The Tale of Bygone Years”. Also, supporters of the Norman version talk about various records from European scientists. This version is basic and accepted by history. According to it, the ancient tribes of the eastern communities could not govern themselves and called upon three Varangians - the brothers Rurik, Sineus and Truvor.
2. anti-Norman (Russian). The Norman theory, despite its general acceptance, looks quite controversial. After all, it does not answer even a simple question: who are the Varangians? Anti-Norman statements were first formulated by the great scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. This man was distinguished by the fact that he actively defended the interests of his Motherland and publicly declared that the history of the ancient Russian state was written by the Germans and had no basis in logic. The Germans in this case are not a nation as such, but a collective image that was used to call all foreigners who did not speak Russian. They were called dumb, hence the Germans.

In fact, until the end of the 9th century, not a single mention of the Slavs remained in the chronicles. This is quite strange, since quite civilized people lived here. This question is discussed in great detail in the material about the Huns, who, according to numerous versions, were none other than Russians. Now I would like to note that when Rurik came to the ancient Russian state, there were cities, ships, their own culture, their own language, their own traditions and customs. And the cities were quite well fortified from a military point of view. This somehow loosely connects with the generally accepted version that our ancestors at that time ran around with a digging stick.

The ancient Russian state of Kievan Rus was formed in 862, when the Varangian Rurik came to rule in Novgorod. An interesting point is that this prince carried out his rule of the country from Ladoga. In 864, the associates of the Novgorod prince Askold and Dir went down the Dnieper and discovered the city of Kyiv, in which they began to rule. After the death of Rurik, Oleg took custody of his young son, who went on a campaign against Kyiv, killed Askold and Dir and took possession of the future capital of the country. This happened in 882. Therefore, the formation of Kievan Rus can be attributed to this date. During Oleg's reign, the country's possessions expanded through the conquest of new cities, and international power also strengthened as a result of wars with external enemies, such as Byzantium. There were good relations between the Novgorod and Kyiv princes, and their minor conflicts did not lead to major wars. Reliable information on this matter has not survived, but many historians say that these people were brothers and only blood ties restrained bloodshed.

Formation of statehood

Kievan Russia was a truly powerful state, respected in other countries. Its political center was Kyiv. It was a capital that had no equal in its beauty and wealth. The impregnable fortress city of Kyiv on the banks of the Dnieper has long been a stronghold of Rus'. This order was disrupted as a result of the first fragmentations, which damaged the power of the state. It all ended with the invasion of the Tatar-Mongol troops, who literally razed the “mother of Russian cities” to the ground. According to the surviving records of contemporaries of that terrible event, Kyiv was destroyed to the ground and lost forever its beauty, significance and wealth. Since then, the status of the first city did not belong to it.

An interesting expression is “mother of Russian cities,” which is still actively used by people from different countries. Here we are faced with another attempt to falsify history, since at the moment when Oleg captured Kyiv, Rus' already existed, and its capital was Novgorod. And the princes got to the capital city of Kyiv itself, descending along the Dnieper from Novgorod.

Internecine wars and the reasons for the collapse of the ancient Russian state

Internecine war is that terrible nightmare that tormented the Russian lands for many decades. The reason for these events was the lack of a clear system of succession to the throne. In the ancient Russian state, a situation arose when after one ruler there remained a huge number of contenders for the throne - sons, brothers, nephews, etc. And each of them sought to realize their right to rule Russia. This inevitably led to wars, when supreme power was asserted with weapons.

In the struggle for power, individual contenders did not shy away from anything, even fratricide. The story of Svyatopolk the Accursed, who killed his brothers, is widely known, for which he received this nickname. Despite the contradictions that reigned within the Rurikovichs, Kievan Rus was ruled by the Grand Duke.

In many ways, it was internecine wars that led the ancient Russian state to a state close to collapse. This happened in 1237, when the ancient Russian lands first heard about the Tatar-Mongols. They brought terrible troubles to our ancestors, but internal problems, disunity and the unwillingness of princes to defend the interests of other lands led to a great tragedy, and for 2 long centuries Rus' became completely dependent on the Golden Horde.

All these events led to a completely predictable result - the ancient Russian lands began to disintegrate. The date of the beginning of this process is considered to be 1132, which was marked by the death of Prince Mstislav, popularly nicknamed the Great. This led to the fact that the two cities of Polotsk and Novgorod refused to recognize the authority of his successor.

All these events led to the collapse of the state into small fiefs, which were controlled by individual rulers. Of course, the leading role of the Grand Duke remained, but this title was more like a crown, which was used only by the strongest as a result of regular civil strife.

Key events

Kievan Rus is the first form of Russian statehood, which had many great pages in its history. The main events of the era of Kyiv's rise include the following:

• 862 - the arrival of the Varangian Rurik in Novgorod to reign
• 882 – Prophetic Oleg captured Kyiv
• 907 – campaign against Constantinople
• 988 – Baptism of Rus'
• 1097 – Lyubech Congress of Princes
• 1125-1132 - reign of Mstislav the Great

History of Ancient Rus'- history of the Old Russian state from 862 (or 882) to the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

By the middle of the 9th century (according to the chronicle chronology in 862), in the north of European Russia in the Ilmen region, a large union had formed from a number of East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes, under the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty, who founded a centralized state. In 882, the Novgorod prince Oleg captured Kyiv, thereby uniting the northern and southern lands of the Eastern Slavs under one rule. As a result of successful military campaigns and diplomatic efforts of the Kyiv rulers, the new state included the lands of all East Slavic, as well as some Finno-Ugric, Baltic, and Turkic tribes. In parallel, there was a process of Slavic colonization of the northeast of the Russian land.

Ancient Rus' was the largest state formation in Europe, fought for a dominant position in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region with the Byzantine Empire. Under Prince Vladimir in 988, Rus' adopted Christianity. Prince Yaroslav the Wise approved the first Russian code of laws - Russian Truth. In 1132, after the death of the Kyiv prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, the collapse of the Old Russian state began into a number of independent principalities: the Novgorod land, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the Galician-Volyn principality, the Chernigov principality, the Ryazan principality, the Polotsk principality and others. At the same time, Kyiv remained the object of struggle between the most powerful princely branches, and the Kiev land was considered the collective possession of the Rurikovichs.

In North-Eastern Rus', since the middle of the 12th century, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality has risen; its rulers (Andrei Bogolyubsky, Vsevolod the Big Nest), while fighting for Kyiv, left Vladimir as their main residence, which led to its rise as a new all-Russian center. Also, the most powerful principalities were Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn and Smolensk. In 1237-1240, most of the Russian lands were subjected to the destructive invasion of Batu. Kyiv, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Vladimir, Galich, Ryazan and other centers of Russian principalities were destroyed, the southern and southeastern outskirts lost a significant part of the settled population.

Background

The Old Russian state arose on the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” on the lands of the East Slavic tribes - the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polyans, then covering the Drevlyans, Dregovichs, Polotsk, Radimichi, Severians.

Before the calling of the Varangians

The first information about the state of the Rus dates back to the first third of the 9th century: in 839, the ambassadors of the Kagan of the people of Rus were mentioned, who arrived first in Constantinople, and from there to the court of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious. From this time on, the ethnonym “Rus” also became known. The term " Kievan Rus"appears for the first time only in historical studies of the 18th-19th centuries.

In 860 (The Tale of Bygone Years mistakenly dates it to 866), Rus' made its first campaign against Constantinople. Greek sources associate with him the so-called first baptism of Rus', after which a diocese may have arisen in Rus' and the ruling elite (possibly led by Askold) adopted Christianity.

Rurik's reign

In 862, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes called the Varangians to reign.

Per year 6370 (862). They drove the Varangians overseas, and did not give them tribute, and began to control themselves, and there was no truth among them, and generation after generation arose, and they had strife, and began to fight with each other. And they said to themselves: “Let’s look for a prince who would rule over us and judge us by right.” And they went overseas to the Varangians, to Rus'. Those Varangians were called Rus, just as others are called Swedes, and some Normans and Angles, and still others Gotlanders, so are these. The Chud, the Slovenians, the Krivichi and all said to the Russians: “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it. Come reign and rule over us." And three brothers were chosen with their clans, and they took all of Rus' with them, and they came and the eldest, Rurik, sat in Novgorod, and the other, Sineus, in Beloozero, and the third, Truvor, in Izborsk. And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed. Novgorodians are those people from the Varangian family, and before they were Slovenians.

In 862 (the date is approximate, like the entire early chronology of the Chronicle), the Varangians and Rurik’s warriors Askold and Dir, heading to Constantinople, subjugated Kyiv, thereby establishing complete control over the most important trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” At the same time, the Novgorod and Nikon chronicles do not connect Askold and Dir with Rurik, and the chronicle of Jan Dlugosh and the Gustyn chronicle call them descendants of Kiy.

In 879, Rurik died in Novgorod. The reign was transferred to Oleg, regent for Rurik’s young son Igor.

The first Russian princes

Reign of Oleg the Prophet

In 882, according to chronicle chronology, Prince Oleg ( Oleg the Prophet), a relative of Rurik, went on a campaign from Novgorod to the south, capturing Smolensk and Lyubech along the way, establishing his power there and putting his people under reign. In Oleg's army there were Varangians and warriors of the tribes under his control - Chud, Slovene, Meri and Krivichi. Then Oleg, with the Novgorod army and a hired Varangian squad, captured Kyiv, killed Askold and Dir, who ruled there, and declared Kyiv the capital of his state. Already in Kyiv, he established the amount of tribute that the subject tribes of the Novgorod land - the Slovenes, Krivichi and Merya - had to pay annually. The construction of fortresses in the vicinity of the new capital also began.

Oleg extended his power by military means to the lands of the Drevlyans and Northerners, and the Radimichi accepted Oleg’s conditions without a fight (the last two tribal unions had previously paid tribute to the Khazars). The chronicles do not indicate the reaction of the Khazars, however, the historian Petrukhin puts forward the assumption that they began an economic blockade, ceasing to allow Russian merchants through their lands.

As a result of the victorious campaign against Byzantium, the first written agreements were concluded in 907 and 911, which provided for preferential terms of trade for Russian merchants (trade duties were abolished, ship repairs and overnight accommodation were provided), and resolution of legal and military issues. According to historian V. Mavrodin, the success of Oleg’s campaign is explained by the fact that he was able to rally the forces of the Old Russian state and strengthen its emerging statehood.

According to the chronicle version, Oleg, who bore the title of Grand Duke, reigned for more than 30 years. Rurik's own son Igor took the throne after Oleg's death around 912 and ruled until 945.

Igor Rurikovich

The beginning of Igor's reign was marked by the uprising of the Drevlyans, who were again conquered and imposed an even greater tribute, and the appearance of the Pechenegs in the Black Sea steppes (in 915), who ravaged the possessions of the Khazars and ousted the Hungarians from the Black Sea region. By the beginning of the 10th century. The Pecheneg nomads extended from the Volga to the Prut.

Igor made two military campaigns against Byzantium. The first, in 941, ended unsuccessfully. It was also preceded by an unsuccessful military campaign against Khazaria, during which Rus', acting at the request of Byzantium, attacked the Khazar city of Samkerts on the Taman Peninsula, but was defeated by the Khazar commander Pesach and turned its arms against Byzantium. The Bulgarians warned the Byzantines that Igor had begun the campaign with 10,000 soldiers. Igor's fleet plundered Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Heraclea Pontus and Nicomedia, but then it was defeated and he, abandoning the surviving army in Thrace, fled to Kyiv with several boats. The captured soldiers were executed in Constantinople. From the capital, he sent an invitation to the Varangians to take part in a new invasion of Byzantium. The second campaign against Byzantium took place in 944.

Igor's army, consisting of Polans, Krivichi, Slovenes, Tiverts, Varangians and Pechenegs, reached the Danube, from where ambassadors were sent to Constantinople. They concluded a treaty that confirmed many of the provisions of the previous treaties of 907 and 911, but abolished duty-free trade. Rus' pledged to defend Byzantine possessions in Crimea. In 943 or 944 a campaign was made against Berdaa.

In 945, Igor was killed while collecting tribute from the Drevlyans. According to the chronicle version, the cause of death was the prince’s desire to receive tribute again, which was demanded of him by the warriors, who were jealous of the wealth of the squad of governor Sveneld. Igor’s small squad was killed by the Drevlyans near Iskorosten, and he himself was executed. Historian A. A. Shakhmatov put forward a version according to which Igor and Sveneld began to conflict over the Drevlyan tribute and, as a result, Igor was killed.

Olga

After Igor's death, due to the minority of his son Svyatoslav, real power was in the hands of Igor's widow, Princess Olga. The Drevlyans sent an embassy to her, inviting her to become the wife of their prince Mal. However, Olga executed the ambassadors, gathered an army and in 946 began the siege of Iskorosten, which ended with its burning and the subjugation of the Drevlyans to the Kyiv princes. The Tale of Bygone Years described not only their conquest, but also the preceding revenge on the part of the Kyiv ruler. Olga imposed a large tribute on the Drevlyans.

In 947, she undertook a trip to the Novgorod land, where, instead of the previous polyudye, she introduced a system of quitrents and tributes, which local residents themselves had to take to the camps and churchyards, handing them over to specially appointed people - tiuns. Thus, a new method of collecting tribute from the subjects of the Kyiv princes was introduced.

She became the first ruler of the Old Russian state to officially accept Christianity of the Byzantine rite (according to the most reasoned version, in 957, although other dates are also proposed). In 957, Olga made an official visit to Constantinople with a large embassy, ​​known from the description of court ceremonies by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus in his “Ceremonies,” and she was accompanied by the priest Gregory.

The Emperor calls Olga the ruler (archontissa) of Rus', the name of her son Svyatoslav (the list of retinues indicates “ Svyatoslav's people") is mentioned without a title. Olga sought baptism and recognition of Rus' by Byzantium as an equal Christian empire. At baptism she received the name Elena. However, according to a number of historians, it was not possible to agree on an alliance immediately. In 959, Olga accepted the Greek embassy, ​​but refused to send an army to help Byzantium. In the same year, she sent ambassadors to the German Emperor Otto I with a request to send bishops and priests and establish a church in Rus'. This attempt to play on the contradictions between Byzantium and Germany was successful, Constantinople made concessions by concluding a mutually beneficial agreement, and the German embassy led by Bishop Adalbert returned back with nothing. In 960, a Russian army went to help the Greeks, fighting in Crete against the Arabs under the leadership of the future emperor Nikephoros Phocas.

The monk Jacob, in the 11th century work “Memory and Praise to the Russian Prince Volodymer,” reports the exact date of Olga’s death: July 11, 969.

Svyatoslav Igorevich

Around 960, the matured Svyatoslav took power into his own hands. He grew up among his father's warriors and was the first of the Russian princes to bear a Slavic name. From the beginning of his reign, he began to prepare for military campaigns and gathered an army. According to the historian Grekov, Svyatoslav was deeply involved in the international relations of Europe and Asia. Often he acted in agreement with other states, thus participating in solving the problems of European and, partly, Asian politics.

His first action was the subjugation of the Vyatichi (964), who were the last of all the East Slavic tribes to continue to pay tribute to the Khazars. Then, according to eastern sources, Svyatoslav attacked and defeated Volga Bulgaria. In 965 (according to other sources also in 968/969) Svyatoslav made a campaign against the Khazar Kaganate. The Khazar army, led by the Kagan, came out to meet Svyatoslav’s squad, but was defeated. The Russian army stormed the main cities of the Khazars: the fortress city of Sarkel, Semender and the capital Itil. After this, the ancient Russian settlement of Belaya Vezha arose on the site of Sarkel. After the defeat, the remnants of the Khazar state were known as the Saksins and no longer played their previous role. The establishment of Rus' in the Black Sea region and the North Caucasus is also connected with this campaign, where Svyatoslav defeated the Yases (Alans) and Kasogs (Circassians) and where Tmutarakan became the center of Russian possessions.

In 968, a Byzantine embassy arrived in Rus', proposing an alliance against Bulgaria, which had then left the obedience of Byzantium. The Byzantine ambassador Kalokir, on behalf of Emperor Nikephoros Phocas, brought a gift of 1,500 pounds of gold. Having included the allied Pechenegs in his army, Svyatoslav moved to the Danube. In a short time, the Bulgarian troops were defeated, Russian squads occupied up to 80 Bulgarian cities. Svyatoslav chose Pereyaslavets, a city in the lower reaches of the Danube, as his headquarters. However, such a sharp strengthening of Rus' aroused fears in Constantinople and the Byzantines managed to convince the Pechenegs to make another raid on Kyiv. In 968, their army besieged the Russian capital, where Princess Olga and her grandchildren - Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir - were located. The city was saved by the approach of a small squad of governor Pretich. Soon Svyatoslav himself arrived with a mounted army, driving the Pechenegs into the steppe. However, the prince did not seek to remain in Rus'. Chronicles quote him as saying:

Svyatoslav remained in Kyiv until the death of his mother Olga. After that, he divided the possessions between his sons: he left Kyiv to Yaropolk, Oleg - the lands of the Drevlyans, and Vladimir - Novgorod).

Then he returned to Pereyaslavets. In a new campaign with a significant army (according to various sources, from 10 to 60 thousand soldiers) in 970, Svyatoslav captured almost all of Bulgaria, occupied its capital Preslav and invaded Byzantium. The new emperor John Tzimiskes sent a large army against him. The Russian army, which included Bulgarians and Hungarians, was forced to retreat to Dorostol (Silistria) - a fortress on the Danube.

In 971 it was besieged by the Byzantines. In the battle near the walls of the fortress, Svyatoslav’s army suffered heavy losses, and he was forced to negotiate with Tzimiskes. According to the peace treaty, Rus' pledged not to attack Byzantine possessions in Bulgaria, and Constantinople promised not to incite the Pechenegs to campaign against Rus'.

Voivode Sveneld advised the prince to return to Rus' by land. However, Svyatoslav preferred to sail through the Dnieper rapids. At the same time, the prince planned to gather a new army in Rus' and resume the war with Byzantium. In winter they were blocked by the Pechenegs and Svyatoslav’s small squad spent a hungry winter in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. In the spring of 972, Svyatoslav attempted to break into Rus', but his army was defeated and he himself was killed. According to another version, the death of the Kyiv prince occurred in 973. The Pecheneg leader Kurya made a bowl for feasts from the prince’s skull.

Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise. Baptism of Rus'

The reign of Prince Vladimir. Baptism of Rus'

After the death of Svyatoslav, civil strife broke out between his sons for the right to the throne (972-978 or 980). The eldest son Yaropolk became the great prince of Kyiv, Oleg received the Drevlyan lands, and Vladimir received Novgorod. In 977, Yaropolk defeated Oleg’s squad, and Oleg himself died. Vladimir fled “overseas”, but returned two years later with a Varangian squad. During the campaign against Kyiv, he conquered Polotsk, an important trading point on the western Dvina, and married the daughter of Prince Rogvolod Rogneda, whom he killed.

During the civil strife, Vladimir Svyatoslavich defended his rights to the throne (reigned 980-1015). Under him, the formation of the state territory of Ancient Rus' was completed, the Cherven cities and Carpathian Rus', which were disputed by Poland, were annexed. After Vladimir’s victory, his son Svyatopolk married the daughter of the Polish king Boleslav the Brave and peaceful relations were established between the two states. Vladimir finally annexed the Vyatichi and Radimichi to Rus'. In 983 he made a campaign against the Yatvingians, and in 985 - against the Volga Bulgarians.

Having achieved autocracy in the Russian land, Vladimir began religious reform. In 980, the prince established a pagan pantheon of six different-tribal gods in Kyiv. Tribal cults could not create a unified state religious system. In 986, ambassadors from various countries began to arrive in Kyiv, inviting Vladimir to accept their faith.

Islam was proposed by the Volga Bulgaria, Western-style Christianity by the German Emperor Otto I, Judaism by the Khazar Jews. However, Vladimir chose Christianity, which the Greek philosopher told him about. The embassy returning from Byzantium supported the prince. In 988, the Russian army besieged the Byzantine Korsun (Chersonese). Byzantium agreed to peace, Princess Anna became Vladimir's wife. The pagan idols that stood in Kyiv were overthrown, and the people of Kiev were baptized in the Dnieper. A stone church was built in the capital, which became known as the Tithe Church, since the prince gave a tenth of his income for its maintenance. After the baptism of Rus', treaties with Byzantium became unnecessary, since more close relationship. These ties were strengthened to a large extent thanks to the church apparatus that the Byzantines organized in Rus'. The first bishops and priests arrived from Korsun and other Byzantine cities. The church organization within the Old Russian state was in the hands of the Patriarch of Constantinople, who became a great political force in Rus'.

Having become the prince of Kyiv, Vladimir faced an increased Pecheneg threat. To protect against nomads, he builds lines of fortresses on the border, the garrisons of which were recruited from the “best men” of the northern tribes - the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Chud and Vyatichi. Tribal boundaries began to blur, and the state border became important. It was during the time of Vladimir that many Russian epics took place, telling about the exploits of heroes.

Vladimir established a new order of government: he planted his sons in Russian cities. Svyatopolk received Turov, Izyaslav - Polotsk, Yaroslav - Novgorod, Boris - Rostov, Gleb - Murom, Svyatoslav - Drevlyansky land, Vsevolod - Vladimir-on-Volyn, Sudislav - Pskov, Stanislav - Smolensk, Mstislav - Tmutarakan. Tribute was no longer collected during Polyudye and only in churchyards. From that moment on, the princely family and their warriors “fed” in the cities themselves and sent part of the tribute to the capital - Kyiv.

Reign of Yaroslav the Wise

After the death of Vladimir, a new civil strife occurred in Rus'. Svyatopolk the Accursed in 1015 killed his brothers Boris (according to another version, Boris was killed by Scandinavian mercenaries of Yaroslav), Gleb and Svyatoslav. Having learned about the murder of the brothers, Yaroslav, who ruled in Novgorod, began to prepare for a campaign against Kyiv. Svyatopolk received help from the Polish king Boleslav and the Pechenegs, but in the end he was defeated and fled to Poland, where he died. Boris and Gleb were canonized as saints in 1071.

After the victory over Svyatopolk, Yaroslav had a new opponent - his brother Mstislav, who by that time had gained a foothold in Tmutarakan and Eastern Crimea. In 1022, Mstislav conquered the Kasogs (Circassians), defeating their leader Rededya in battle. Having strengthened the army with the Khazars and Kasogs, he set out to the north, where he subjugated the northerners who joined his troops. Then he occupied Chernigov. At this time, Yaroslav turned for help to the Varangians, who sent him a strong army. The decisive battle took place in 1024 near Listven; victory went to Mstislav. After her, the brothers divided Rus' into two parts - along the riverbed of the Dnieper. Kyiv and Novgorod remained with Yaroslav, and it was Novgorod that remained his permanent residence. Mstislav moved his capital to Chernigov. The brothers maintained a close alliance; after the death of the Polish king Boleslav, they returned to Rus' the Cherven cities captured by the Poles after the death of Vladimir the Red Sun.

At this time, Kyiv temporarily lost its status as the political center of Rus'. The leading centers then were Novgorod and Chernigov. Expanding his possessions, Yaroslav undertook a campaign against the Estonian Chud tribe. On the conquered territory in 1030 the city of Yuryev (modern Tartu) was founded.

In 1036 Mstislav fell ill while hunting and died. His only son had died three years earlier. Thus, Yaroslav became the ruler of all Rus', except for the Principality of Polotsk. In the same year, Kyiv was attacked by the Pechenegs. By the time Yaroslav arrived with the army of Varangians and Slavs, they had already captured the outskirts of the city.

In the battle near the walls of Kyiv, Yaroslav defeated the Pechenegs, after which he made Kyiv his capital. In memory of the victory over the Pechenegs, the prince founded the famous Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv; artists from Constantinople were called to paint the temple. Then he imprisoned the last surviving brother, Sudislav, who ruled in Pskov. After this, Yaroslav became the sole ruler of almost all of Rus'.

The reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) was the time of the highest prosperity of the state. Social relations were regulated by the collection of laws “Russian Truth” and princely statutes. Yaroslav the Wise pursued an active foreign policy. He became related to many ruling dynasties of Europe, which testified to the wide international recognition of Rus' in the European Christian world. Intensive stone construction began. Yaroslav actively turned Kyiv into a cultural and intellectual center, taking Constantinople as a model. At this time, relations between the Russian Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople normalized.

From that moment on, the Russian Church was headed by the Metropolitan of Kiev, who was ordained by the Patriarch of Constantinople. No later than 1039, the first Metropolitan of Kiev, Theophan, arrived in Kyiv. In 1051, having gathered bishops, Yaroslav himself appointed Hilarion as metropolitan, for the first time without the participation of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Hilarion became the first Russian metropolitan. In 1054 Yaroslav the Wise died.

Crafts and trade. Monuments of writing (The Tale of Bygone Years, the Novgorod Codex, the Ostromirovo Gospel, Lives) and architecture (Tithe Church, St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and the cathedrals of the same name in Novgorod and Polotsk) were created. The high level of literacy of the inhabitants of Rus' is evidenced by numerous birch bark letters that have survived to this day. Rus' traded with the southern and western Slavs, Scandinavia, Byzantium, Western Europe, the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The reign of the sons and grandsons of Yaroslav the Wise

Yaroslav the Wise divided Rus' between his sons. The three eldest sons received the main Russian lands. Izyaslav - Kyiv and Novgorod, Svyatoslav - Chernigov and the Murom and Ryazan lands, Vsevolod - Pereyaslavl and Rostov. The younger sons Vyacheslav and Igor received Smolensk and Vladimir Volynsky. These possessions were not inherited; a system developed in which the younger brother succeeded the eldest in the princely family - the so-called “ladder” system. The eldest in the clan (not by age, but by line of kinship) received Kiev and became the Grand Duke, all other lands were divided between members of the clan and distributed according to seniority. Power passed from brother to brother, from uncle to nephew. Chernigov occupied second place in the hierarchy of tables. When one of the members of the clan died, all the Rurikovichs younger in relation to him moved to lands corresponding to their seniority. When new members of the clan appeared, their destiny was determined - a city with land (volost). A certain prince had the right to reign only in the city where his father reigned; otherwise, he was considered an outcast. The ladder system regularly caused strife between the princes.

In the 60s In the 11th century, the Polovtsians appeared in the Northern Black Sea region. The sons of Yaroslav the Wise were unable to stop their invasion, but were afraid to arm the Kyiv militia. In response to this, in 1068 the people of Kiev overthrew Izyaslav Yaroslavich and placed on the throne the Polotsk prince Vseslav, who had been captured by the Yaroslavichs during a strife the year before. In 1069, with the help of the Poles, Izyaslav occupied Kyiv, but after this, uprisings of the townspeople became constant during crises of princely power. Presumably in 1072 the Yaroslavichs edited the Russian Truth, significantly expanding it.

Izyaslav tried to regain control of Polotsk, but to no avail, and in 1071 he made peace with Vseslav. In 1073, Vsevolod and Svyatoslav expelled Izyaslav from Kyiv, accusing him of an alliance with Vseslav, and Izyaslav fled to Poland. Kiev began to be ruled by Svyatoslav, who himself was in allied relations with the Poles. In 1076, Svyatoslav died and Vsevolod became the prince of Kyiv.

When Izyaslav returned with the Polish army, Vsevolod returned the capital to him, retaining Pereyaslavl and Chernigov. At the same time, Svyatoslav’s eldest son Oleg was left without possessions, who began the fight with the support of the Polovtsians. Izyaslav Yaroslavich died in the battle with them, and Vsevolod again became the ruler of Rus'. He made his son Vladimir, born of a Byzantine princess from the Monomakh dynasty, the prince of Chernigov. Oleg Svyatoslavich fortified himself in Tmutarakan. Vsevolod continued the foreign policy of Yaroslav the Wise. He sought to strengthen ties with European countries by marrying his son Vladimir to the Anglo-Saxon Gita, daughter of King Harald, who died at the Battle of Hastings. He married his daughter Eupraxia to the German Emperor Henry IV. The reign of Vsevolod was characterized by the distribution of lands to prince-nephews and the formation of an administrative hierarchy.

After the death of Vsevolod, Kyiv was occupied by Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. The Polovtsians sent an embassy to Kyiv with a peace proposal, but Svyatopolk Izyaslavich refused negotiations and seized the ambassadors. These events became the reason for the large Polovtsian campaign against Rus', as a result of which the combined troops of Svyatopolk and Vladimir were defeated, and significant territories around Kyiv and Pereyaslavl were devastated. The Polovtsy took away many prisoners. Taking advantage of this, the sons of Svyatoslav, enlisting the support of the Polovtsians, laid claim to Chernigov. In 1094, Oleg Svyatoslavich with Polovtsian troops moved to Chernigov from Tmutarakan. When his army approached the city, Vladimir Monomakh made peace with him, ceding Chernigov and going to Pereyaslavl. In 1095, the Polovtsians repeated the raid, during which they reached Kyiv itself, ravaging its surroundings. Svyatopolk and Vladimir called for help from Oleg, who reigned in Chernigov, but he ignored their requests. After the departure of the Polovtsians, the Kyiv and Pereyaslav squads captured Chernigov, and Oleg fled to his brother Davyd in Smolensk. There he replenished his troops and attacked Murom, where Vladimir Monomakh’s son Izyaslav ruled. Murom was taken, and Izyaslav fell in battle. Despite the peace proposal that Vladimir sent him, Oleg continued the campaign and captured Rostov. Another son of Monomakh, Mstislav, who was the governor in Novgorod, prevented him from continuing his conquests. He defeated Oleg, who fled to Ryazan. Vladimir Monomakh once again offered him peace, to which Oleg agreed.

Monomakh's peaceful initiative was continued in the form of the Lyubech Congress of Princes, who gathered in 1097 to resolve existing differences. The congress was attended by the Kiev prince Svyatopolk, Vladimir Monomakh, Davyd (son of Igor Volynsky), Vasilko Rostislavovich, Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavovich. The princes agreed to stop strife and not lay claim to other people's possessions. However, the peace did not last long. Davyd Volynsky and Svyatopolk captured Vasilko Rostislavovich and blinded him. Vasilko became the first Russian prince to be blinded during civil strife in Rus'. Outraged by the actions of Davyd and Svyatopolk, Vladimir Monomakh and Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavich set off on a campaign against Kyiv. The people of Kiev sent a delegation headed by the Metropolitan to meet them, which managed to convince the princes to maintain peace. However, Svyatopolk was entrusted with the task of punishing Davyd Volynsky. He freed Vasilko. However, another civil strife began in Rus', which escalated into a large-scale war in the western principalities. It ended in 1100 with a congress in Uvetichi. Davyd Volynsky was deprived of his principality. However, for “feeding” he was given the city of Buzhsk. In 1101, the Russian princes managed to make peace with the Cumans.

Changes in public administration at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 12th centuries

During the baptism of Rus', the authority of Orthodox bishops, subordinate to the Kyiv metropolitan, was established in all its lands. At the same time, the sons of Vladimir were installed as governors in all lands. Now all the princes who acted as appendages of the Kyiv Grand Duke were only from the Rurik family. Scandinavian sagas mention the fiefs of the Vikings, but they were located on the outskirts of Rus' and on newly annexed lands, so at the time of writing “The Tale of Bygone Years” they already seemed like a relic. The Rurik princes waged a fierce struggle with the remaining tribal princes (Vladimir Monomakh mentions the Vyatichi prince Khodota and his son). This contributed to the centralization of power.

The power of the Grand Duke reached its highest strengthening under Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise (then, after a break, under Vladimir Monomakh). The position of the dynasty was strengthened by numerous international dynastic marriages: Anna Yaroslavna and the French king, Vsevolod Yaroslavich and the Byzantine princess, etc.

Since the time of Vladimir or, according to some information, Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, the prince began to give lands to the warriors instead of monetary salaries. If initially these were cities for feeding, then in the 11th century villages began to receive warriors. Along with the villages, which became fiefdoms, the boyar title was also granted. The boyars began to form the senior squad. The service of the boyars was conditioned by personal loyalty to the prince, and not by the size of the land allotment (conditional land ownership did not become noticeably widespread). The younger squad (“youths”, “children”, “gridi”), who were with the prince, lived off feeding from the princely villages and the war. The main fighting force in the 11th century was the militia, which received horses and weapons from the prince during the war. The services of the mercenary Varangian squad were largely abandoned during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise.

Over time, the church began to own a significant part of the land (“monastery estates”). Since 996, the population has paid tithes to the church. The number of dioceses, starting from 4, grew. The department of the metropolitan, appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, began to be located in Kyiv, and under Yaroslav the Wise, the metropolitan was first elected from among the Russian priests; in 1051, Hilarion, who was close to Vladimir and his son, became the metropolitan. Monasteries and their elected heads, abbots, began to have great influence. The Kiev-Pechersk Monastery becomes the center of Orthodoxy.

The boyars and squad formed special councils under the prince. The prince also consulted with the metropolitan and the bishops and abbots who made up the church council. With the complication of the princely hierarchy, by the end of the 11th century, princely congresses (“snems”) began to gather. There were veches in the cities, which the boyars often relied on to support their own political demands (uprisings in Kyiv in 1068 and 1113).

In the 11th - early 12th centuries, the first written set of laws was formed - “Russian Truth”, which was successively replenished with articles from “The Truth of Yaroslav” (c. 1015-1016), “The Truth of the Yaroslavichs” (c. 1072) and the “Charter of Vladimir” Vsevolodovich" (c. 1113). The “Russian Truth” reflected the increasing differentiation of the population (now the size of the vira depended on the social status of the killed), and regulated the position of such categories of the population as servants, serfs, smerdas, purchases and ordinary people.

“Yaroslav’s Truth” equalized the rights of “Rusyns” and “Slovenians” (it should be clarified that under the name “Slovenes” the chronicle mentions only Novgorodians - “Ilmen Slovenes”). This, along with Christianization and other factors, contributed to the formation of a new ethnic community that was aware of its unity and historical origin.

Since the end of the 10th century, Rus' has known its own coin production - silver and gold coins of Vladimir I, Svyatopolk, Yaroslav the Wise and other princes.

Decay

The Principality of Polotsk was the first to separate from Kyiv - this happened already at the beginning of the 11th century. Having concentrated all the other Russian lands under his rule only 21 years after the death of his father, Yaroslav the Wise, dying in 1054, divided them between the five sons who survived him. After the death of the two youngest of them, all lands came under the rule of the three elders: Izyaslav of Kyiv, Svyatoslav of Chernigov and Vsevolod of Pereyaslavl (“the Yaroslavich triumvirate”).

In 1061 (immediately after the defeat of the Torci by the Russian princes in the steppes), raids by the Polovtsians began, replacing the Pechenegs who migrated to the Balkans. During the long Russian-Polovtsian wars, the southern princes for a long time could not cope with their opponents, undertaking a number of unsuccessful campaigns and suffering sensitive defeats (the battle on the Alta River (1068), the battle on the Stugna River (1093).

After the death of Svyatoslav in 1076, the Kyiv princes attempted to deprive his sons of the Chernigov inheritance, and they resorted to the help of the Cumans, although the Cumans were first used in strife by Vladimir Monomakh (against Vseslav of Polotsk). In this struggle, Izyaslav of Kiev (1078) and the son of Vladimir Monomakh Izyaslav (1096) died. At the Lyubech Congress (1097), called upon to stop civil strife and unite the princes for protection from the Polovtsians, the principle was proclaimed: “ Let everyone keep his fatherland" Thus, while preserving the right of ladder, in the event of the death of one of the princes, the movement of the heirs was limited to their patrimony. This opened the way to political fragmentation ( feudal fragmentation), since a separate dynasty was established in each land, and Grand Duke Kyiv became first among equals, losing the role of overlord. However, this also made it possible to stop the strife and join forces to fight the Cumans, which was moved deep into the steppes. In addition, treaties were concluded with the allied nomads - the “black hoods” (Torks, Berendeys and Pechenegs, expelled by the Polovtsians from the steppes and settled on the southern Russian borders).

In the second quarter of the 12th century, the Old Russian state broke up into independent principalities. The modern historiographical tradition considers the chronological beginning of fragmentation to be 1132, when, after the death of Mstislav the Great, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, the power of the Kyiv prince was no longer recognized by Polotsk (1132) and Novgorod (1136), and the title itself became the object of struggle between various dynastic and territorial associations of the Rurikovichs. In 1134, the chronicler, in connection with a schism among the Monomakhovichs, wrote: the whole Russian land was torn apart" The civil strife that began did not concern the great reign itself, but after the death of Yaropolk Vladimirovich (1139), the next Monomakhovich, Vyacheslav, was expelled from Kyiv by Vsevolod Olgovich of Chernigov.

During the XII-XIII centuries, part of the population of the southern Russian principalities, due to the constant threat emanating from the steppe, as well as due to the ongoing princely strife for the Kyiv land, moved north to the calmer Rostov-Suzdal land, also called Zalesye or Opole. Having joined the ranks of the Slavs of the first, Krivitsa-Novgorod migration wave of the 10th century, settlers from the populous south quickly became the majority on this land and assimilated the rare Finno-Ugric population. The massive Russian migration throughout the 12th century is evidenced by chronicles and archaeological excavations. It was during this period that the founding and rapid growth of numerous cities of the Rostov-Suzdal land (Vladimir, Moscow, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev-Opolsky, Dmitrov, Zvenigorod, Starodub-on-Klyazma, Yaropolch-Zalessky, Galich, etc.) occurred. often repeated the names of the cities of origin of the settlers. The weakening of Southern Rus' is also associated with the success of the first crusades and changes in major trade routes.

During two major internecine wars In the middle of the 12th century, the Principality of Kiev lost Volyn (1154), Pereyaslavl (1157) and Turov (1162). In 1169, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Andrei Bogolyubsky sent an army led by his son Mstislav to the south, which captured Kyiv. For the first time, the city was brutally plundered, Kyiv churches were burned, and the inhabitants were taken captive. Andrei's younger brother was placed in the reign of Kiev. And although soon, after unsuccessful campaigns against Novgorod (1170) and Vyshgorod (1173), the influence of the Vladimir prince in other lands temporarily fell, Kyiv began to gradually lose, and Vladimir began to acquire, the political attributes of an all-Russian center. In the 12th century, in addition to the Kyiv prince, the title of great also began to be borne by the Vladimir princes, and in the 13th century, occasionally also by the princes of Galicia, Chernigov and Ryazan.

Kyiv, unlike most other principalities, did not become the property of any one dynasty, but served as a constant bone of contention for all powerful princes. In 1203, it was plundered for the second time by the Smolensk prince Rurik Rostislavich, who fought against the Galician-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich. The first clash between Rus' and the Mongols took place in the Battle of the Kalka River (1223), in which almost all the southern Russian princes took part. The weakening of the southern Russian principalities increased the pressure from the Hungarian and Lithuanian feudal lords, but at the same time contributed to the strengthening of the influence of the Vladimir princes in Chernigov (1226), Novgorod (1231), Kyiv (in 1236 Yaroslav Vsevolodovich occupied Kyiv for two years, while his older brother Yuri remained reign in Vladimir) and Smolensk (1236-1239). During the Mongol invasion of Rus', which began in 1237, Kyiv was reduced to ruins in December 1240. It was received by the Vladimir princes Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, recognized by the Mongols as the oldest in the Russian lands, and later by his son Alexander Nevsky. They, however, did not move to Kyiv, remaining in their ancestral Vladimir. In 1299 he moved his residence there Metropolitan of Kyiv. In some church and literary sources - for example, in the statements of the Patriarch of Constantinople and Vytautas at the end of the 14th century - Kyiv continued to be considered as a capital city at a later time, but by this time it was already a provincial city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Since 1254, the Galician princes bore the title “King of Rus'”. From the beginning of the 14th century, the Vladimir princes began to bear the title of “Grand Dukes of All Rus'”.

In Soviet historiography, the concept of “Kievan Rus” was extended both until the middle of the 12th century, and for the wider period of the mid-12th - mid-13th centuries, when Kyiv remained the center of the country and the governance of Russia was carried out by a single princely family on the principles of “collective suzerainty”. Both approaches remain relevant today.

Pre-revolutionary historians, starting with N.M. Karamzin, adhered to the idea of ​​​​transferring the political center of Rus' in 1169 from Kyiv to Vladimir, dating back to the works of Moscow scribes, or to Vladimir (Volyn) and Galich. In modern historiography there is no consensus of opinion on this matter. Some historians believe that these ideas are not confirmed in the sources. In particular, some of them point to such a sign of the political weakness of the Suzdal land as a small number of fortified settlements compared to other lands of Rus'. Other historians, on the contrary, find confirmation in the sources that the political center of Russian civilization moved from Kyiv, first to Rostov and Suzdal, and later to Vladimir-on-Klyazma.

Today our knowledge of Ancient Rus' is similar to mythology. Free people, brave princes and heroes, milk rivers with jelly banks. The real story is less poetic, but no less interesting.

“Kievan Rus” was invented by historians

The name “Kievan Rus” appeared in the 19th century in the works of Mikhail Maksimovich and other historians in memory of the primacy of Kyiv. Already in the very first centuries of Rus', the state consisted of several isolated principalities, living their own lives and completely independently. With the lands nominally subjugated to Kyiv, Rus' was not united. Such a system was common in the early feudal states of Europe, where each feudal lord had the right of ownership of the lands and all the people on them.

The appearance of the Kyiv princes was not always truly “Slavic” as is commonly imagined. It's all about subtle Kyiv diplomacy, accompanied by dynastic marriages, both with European dynasties and with nomads - Alans, Yases, Polovtsians. The Polovtsian wives of the Russian princes Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and Vsevolod Vladimirovich are known. In some reconstructions, Russian princes have Mongoloid features.

Organs in ancient Russian churches

In Kievan Rus one could see organs and not see bells in churches. Although bells existed in large cathedrals, in small churches they were often replaced by flat bells. After the Mongol conquests, the organs were lost and forgotten, and the first bell makers came again from Western Europe. A researcher writes about organs in the ancient Russian era musical culture Tatiana Vladyshevskaya. One of the frescoes of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, “Buffoons,” depicts a scene with playing the organ.

Western origin

The language of the Old Russian population is considered East Slavic. However, archaeologists and linguists do not entirely agree with this. The ancestors of the Novgorod Slovenes and parts of the Krivichi (Polotsk) arrived not from the southern expanses from the Carpathians to the right bank of the Dnieper, but from the West. Researchers see a West Slavic “trace” in ceramic finds and birch bark records. The prominent historian-researcher Vladimir Sedov is also inclined towards this version. Household items and ritual features are similar among the Ilmen and Baltic Slavs.

How the Novgorodians understood the Kyivans

Novgorod and Pskov dialects differed from other dialects of Ancient Rus'. They contained features inherent in the languages ​​of Polabs and Poles, and even completely archaic, proto-Slavic ones. Well-known parallels: kirky - “church”, hѣde - “gray-haired”. The remaining dialects were very similar to each other, although they were not such a single language as modern Russian. Despite the differences, ordinary Novgorodians and Kyivians could understand each other well: the words reflected the common life of all Slavs.

"White spots" in the most visible place

We know almost nothing about the first Rurikovichs. The events described in The Tale of Bygone Years were already legendary at the time of writing, and the evidence from archaeologists and later chronicles is scarce and ambiguous. Written treaties mention certain Helga, Inger, Sfendoslav, but the dates of events differ in different sources. The role of the Kyiv “Varangian” Askold in the formation of Russian statehood is also not very clear. And this is not to mention the eternal controversy surrounding the personality of Rurik.

"Capital" was a border fortress

Kyiv was far from being in the center of Russian lands, but was the southern border fortress of Rus', while being located in the very north of modern Ukraine. Cities south of Kyiv and its environs, as a rule, served as centers of nomadic tribes: Torks, Alans, Polovtsians, or were primarily of defensive importance (for example, Pereyaslavl).

Rus' is a slave trading state

An important source of wealth in Ancient Rus' was the slave trade. They traded not only in captured foreigners, but also in Slavs. The latter were in great demand in eastern markets. Arab sources of the 10th-11th centuries vividly describe the path of slaves from Rus' to the countries of the Caliphate and the Mediterranean. The slave trade was profitable for the princes; large cities on the Volga and Dnieper were centers of the slave trade. A huge number of people in Rus' were not free; for debts they could be sold into slavery to foreign merchants. One of the main slave traders were Radonite Jews.

In Kyiv, the Khazars “inherited”

During the reign of the Khazars (IX-X centuries), in addition to the Turkic tribute collectors, there was a large diaspora of Jews in Kyiv. Monuments of that era are still reflected in the “Kiev Letter,” containing correspondence in Hebrew between Kyiv Jews and other Jewish communities. The manuscript is kept in the Cambridge Library. One of the three main Kyiv gates was called Zhidovsky. In one of the early Byzantine documents, Kyiv is called Sambatas, which, according to one version, can be translated from Khazar as “upper fortress.”

Kyiv – Third Rome

Ancient Kyiv, before the Mongol yoke, occupied an area of ​​about 300 hectares during its heyday, the number of churches numbered in the hundreds, and for the first time in the history of Rus', it used a block layout that made the streets orderly. The city was admired by Europeans, Arabs, and Byzantines and was called a rival to Constantinople. However, from all the abundance of that time, almost not a single building remains, not counting the St. Sophia Cathedral, a couple of rebuilt churches and the recreated Golden Gate. The first white-stone church (Desiatinnaya), where Kievans fled from the Mongol raids, was destroyed already in the 13th century

Russian fortresses are older than Rus'

One of the first stone fortresses of Rus' was the stone-earth fortress in Ladoga (Lyubshanskaya, 7th century), founded by the Slovenes. The Scandinavian fortress standing on the other bank of the Volkhov was still wooden. Built in the era of the Prophetic Oleg, the new stone fortress was in no way inferior to similar fortresses in Europe. It was she who was called Aldegyuborg in the Scandinavian sagas. One of the first strongholds on the southern border was the fortress in Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny. Among Russian cities, only a few could boast of stone defensive architecture. These are Izborsk (XI century), Pskov (XII century) and later Koporye (XIII century). Kyiv in ancient Russian times was almost entirely made of wood. The oldest stone fortress was the castle of Andrei Bogolyubsky near Vladimir, although it is famous more for its decorative part.

The Cyrillic alphabet was almost never used

The Glagolitic alphabet, the first written alphabet of the Slavs, did not take root in Rus', although it was known and could be translated. Glagolitic letters were used only in some documents. It was she who in the first centuries of Rus' was associated with the preacher Kirill and was called the “Cyrillic alphabet”. Glagolitic script was often used as a cryptographic script. The first inscription in the actual Cyrillic alphabet was the strange inscription “goroukhsha” or “gorushna” on a clay vessel from the Gnezdovo mound. The inscription appeared shortly before the baptism of the Kievites. The origin and exact interpretation of this word is still controversial.

Old Russian universe

Lake Ladoga was called “Lake Great Nevo” after the Neva River. The ending “-o” was common (for example: Onego, Nero, Volgo). The Baltic Sea was called the Varangian Sea, the Black Sea was called the Russian Sea, the Caspian Sea was called the Khvalis Sea, the Azov Sea was called the Surozh Sea, and the White Sea was called the Icy Sea. On the contrary, the Balkan Slavs called the Aegean Sea the White Sea (Byalo Sea). The Great Don was not called the Don, but its right tributary, the Seversky Donets. In the old days the Ural Mountains were called Big Stone.

Heir to Great Moravia

With the decline of Great Moravia, the largest Slavic power of its time, the rise of Kyiv and the gradual Christianization of Rus' began. Thus, the chronicled White Croats came out from under the influence of the collapsing Moravia and fell under the attraction of Rus'. Their neighbors, the Volynians and Buzhanians, had long been involved in Byzantine trade along the Bug, which is why they were known as translators during Oleg’s campaigns. The role of the Moravian scribes, who with the collapse of the state began to be oppressed by the Latins, is unknown, but the largest number of translations of Great Moravian Christian books (about 39) were in Kievan Rus.

Without alcohol and sugar

There was no alcoholism as a phenomenon in Rus'. Wine spirit came to the country after the Tatar-Mongol yoke; even brewing in its classical form did not develop. The strength of drinks was usually no higher than 1-2%. They drank nutritious honey, as well as intoxicated or infused honey (low alcohol), digests, and kvass.

Ordinary people in Ancient Rus' did not eat butter, did not know spices like mustard and bay leaves, or sugar. They cooked turnips, the table was replete with porridges, dishes from berries and mushrooms. Instead of tea, they drank infusions of fireweed, which would later become known as “Koporo tea” or Ivan tea. Kissels were unsweetened and made from cereals. They also ate a lot of game: pigeons, hares, deer, boars. Traditional dairy dishes were sour cream and cottage cheese.

Two "Bulgarias" in the service of Rus'

These two most powerful neighbors of Rus' had a huge influence on it. After the decline of Moravia, both countries, which arose from the fragments of Great Bulgaria, experienced prosperity. The first country said goodbye to the “Bulgar” past, dissolved in the Slavic majority, converted to Orthodoxy and adopted Byzantine culture. The second, following the Arab world, became Islamic, but retained the Bulgarian language as the state language.

The center of Slavic literature moved to Bulgaria, at that time its territory expanded so much that it included part of the future Rus'. A variant of Old Bulgarian became the language of the Church. It was used in numerous lives and teachings. Bulgaria, in turn, sought to restore order in trade along the Volga, stopping the attacks of foreign bandits and robbers. The normalization of Volga trade provided the princely possessions with an abundance of eastern goods. Bulgaria influenced Rus' with culture and literature, and Bulgaria contributed to its wealth and prosperity.

Forgotten “megacities” of Rus'

Kyiv and Novgorod were not the only large cities of Rus'; it was not for nothing that in Scandinavia it was nicknamed “Gardarika” (country of cities). Before the rise of Kyiv, one of the largest settlements in all of Eastern and Northern Europe was Gnezdovo, the ancestor city of Smolensk. The name is conditional, since Smolensk itself is located to the side. But perhaps we know his name from the sagas - Surnes. The most populated were also Ladoga, symbolically considered the “first capital,” and the Timerevo settlement near Yaroslavl, which was built opposite the famous neighboring city.

Rus' was baptized by the 12th century

The chronicled baptism of Rus' in 988 (and according to some historians in 990) affected only a small part of the people, mainly limited to the people of Kiev and the population of the largest cities. Polotsk was baptized only at the beginning of the 11th century, and at the end of the century - Rostov and Murom, where there were still many Finno-Ugric peoples. Confirmation that the majority of the common population remained pagans was the regular uprisings of the Magi, supported by the Smerds (Suzdal in 1024, Rostov and Novgorod in 1071). Dual faith arises later, when Christianity becomes the truly dominant religion.

The Turks also had cities in Rus'

In Kievan Rus there were also completely “non-Slavic” cities. Such was Torchesk, where Prince Vladimir allowed the Torque nomads to settle, as well as Sakov, Berendichev (named after the Berendeys), Belaya Vezha, where the Khazars and Alans lived, Tmutarakan, inhabited by Greeks, Armenians, Khazars and Circassians. By the 11th-12th centuries, the Pechenegs were no longer a typically nomadic and pagan people; some of them were baptized and settled in the cities of the “black hood” union, subordinate to Rus'. In the old cities on the site or in the vicinity of Rostov, Murom, Beloozero, Yaroslavl, mainly Finno-Ugrians lived. In Murom - Muroma, in Rostov and near Yaroslavl - Merya, in Beloozero - all, in Yuryev - Chud. The names of many important cities are unknown to us - in the 9th–10th centuries there were almost no Slavs in them.

“Rus”, “Roksolania”, “Gardarika” and more

The Balts called the country “Krevia” after the neighboring Krivichi, the Latin “Rutenia”, less often “Roxolania”, took root in Europe, the Scandinavian sagas called Rus' “Gardarika” (country of cities), the Chud and Finns “Venemaa” or “Venaya” (from the Wends), the Arabs called the main population of the country “As-Sakaliba” (Slavs, Sklavins)

Slavs beyond borders

Traces of the Slavs could be found outside the borders of the Rurikovich state. Many cities along the middle Volga and Crimea were multinational and inhabited, among other things, by Slavs. Before the Polovtsian invasion, many Slavic towns existed on the Don. The Slavic names of many Byzantine Black Sea cities are known - Korchev, Korsun, Surozh, Gusliev. This indicates the constant presence of Russian traders. The Peipus cities of Estland (modern Estonia) - Kolyvan, Yuryev, Bear's Head, Klin - passed into the hands of the Slavs, the Germans, and local tribes with varying degrees of success. Along the Western Dvina, Krivichi settled interspersed with the Balts. In the zone of influence of Russian traders was Nevgin (Daugavpils), in Latgale - Rezhitsa and Ochela. Chronicles constantly mention the campaigns of Russian princes on the Danube and the capture of local cities. For example, the Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl “locked the door of the Danube with a key.”

And pirates and nomads

Fugitive people from various volosts of Rus' formed independent associations long before the Cossacks. There were known Berladians who inhabited the southern steppes, the main city of which was Berlady in the Carpathian region. They often attacked Russian cities, but at the same time they took part in joint campaigns with Russian princes. The chronicles also introduce us to the Brodniks, a mixed population of unknown origin who had much in common with the Berladniks.

Sea pirates from Rus' were ushkuiniki. Initially, these were Novgorodians who were engaged in raids and trade on the Volga, Kama, Bulgaria and the Baltic. They even took trips to the Urals - to Ugra. Later they separated from Novgorod and even found their own capital in the city of Khlynov on Vyatka. Perhaps it was the Ushkuiniki, together with the Karelians, who ravaged the ancient capital of Sweden, Sigtuna, in 1187.

I understand that such an article can break the fan, so I’ll try to bypass sharp corners. I am writing more for my own pleasure, most of the facts will be from the category taught at school, but nevertheless I will gladly accept criticism and corrections, if there are facts. So:

Ancient Rus'.

It is assumed that Rus' appeared as a result of the merger of a number of East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. The first mentions of us are found in the 830s. Firstly, in the area of ​​813. (very controversial dating) some Rosas successfully raided the city of Amastris (modern Amasra, Turkey) in Byzantine Palphagonia. Secondly, the ambassadors of the “Kagan Rosov” as part of the Byzantine embassy came to the last emperor of the Frankish state, Louis I the Pious (a good question, however, is who they really were). Thirdly, the same Dews ran in 860, already to Constantinople, without much success (there is an assumption that the famous Askold and Dir commanded the parade).

The history of serious Russian statehood begins, according to the most official version, in 862, when a certain Rurik appeared on the scene.

Rurik.

In fact, we have a pretty bad idea of ​​who it was or whether there was one at all. The official version is based on the “Tale of Bygone Years” by Nestor, who, in turn, used the sources available to him. There is a theory (quite similar to the truth) that Rurik was known as Rurik of Jutland, from the Skjoldung dynasty (a descendant of Skjold, the king of the Danes, mentioned already in Beowulf). I repeat that the theory is not the only one.

Where this character came from in Rus' (specifically, in Novgorod) is also an interesting question. Personally, the closest theory to me is that he was originally a hired military administrator, moreover in Ladoga, and brought the idea of ​​hereditary transfer of power with him from Scandinavia, where it was just coming into fashion. And he came to power entirely by seizing it during a conflict with another similar military leader.

However, in the PVL it is written that the Varangians were nevertheless called upon by three tribes of Slavs, unable to resolve controversial issues themselves. Where did this come from?

Option one- from the source that Nestor read (well, you understand, there would be enough people from among the Rurikovichs who wanted to do exciting editing in their spare time. Princess Olga could also have done this, in the midst of a conflict with the Drevlyans, who for some reason had not yet realized that they would break the prince in half and offer a replacement, as has always been done in such cases in their memory - a bad idea).

Option two- Nestor could have been asked to write this by Vladimir Monomakh, who was actually called by the people of Kiev, and who really did not want to prove with his fingers the legitimacy of his reign to everyone who was older than him in the family. In any case, somewhere from Rurik a reliably known idea of ​​a Slavic state appears. “Somewhere” because the real steps in building such a state were taken not by Rurik, but by his successor, Oleg.

Oleg.

Called "the prophetic", Oleg took the reins of Novgorod Rus in 879. Probably (according to PVL), he was a relative of Rurik (possibly brother-in-law). Some identify Oleg with Odd Orvar (Arrow), the hero of several Scandinavian sagas.

The same PVL claims that Oleg was the guardian of the real heir, Rurik’s son Igor, something like a regent. In general, in an amicable way, power among the Rurikovichs for a very long time was transferred to the “eldest in the family,” so Oleg could be a full-fledged ruler not only in practice, but also formally.

Actually, what Oleg did during his reign - he made Rus'. In 882 he gathered an army and in turn subjugated Smolensk, Lyubech and Kyiv. Based on the history of the capture of Kyiv, we, as a rule, remember Askold and Dir (I won’t say for Dir, but the name “Askold” seems very Scandinavian to me. I won’t lie). PVL believes that they were Varangians, but had no relation to Rurik (I believe, because I heard somewhere that not only did they have - Rurik at one time sent them along the Dnieper with the task “capture everything that is worth little "). The chronicles also describe how Oleg defeated his compatriots - he hid military paraphernalia from the boats, so that they looked like merchant ships, and somehow lured both governors there (according to the official version from the Nikon Chronicle - he let them know that he was there . but said he was sick, and on the ships he showed them young Igor and killed them. But perhaps they were simply inspecting the incoming merchants, not suspecting that an ambush awaits them on board).

Having seized power in Kyiv, Oleg appreciated the convenience of its location in relation to the eastern and southern (as far as I understand) lands compared to Novgorod and Ladoga, and said that his capital would be here. He spent the next 25 years “swearing in” the surrounding Slavic tribes, capturing some of them (the northerners and Radimichi) from the Khazars.

In 907 Oleg undertakes a military campaign against Byzantium. When 200 (according to PVL) boats with 40 soldiers on board each appeared in sight of Constantinople, Emperor Leo IV the Philosopher ordered the city’s harbor to be blocked with tensioned chains - perhaps in the hope that the savages would be satisfied with plundering the suburbs and go home. "Savage" Oleg showed ingenuity and put the ships on wheels. The infantry, under the cover of sailing tanks, caused confusion within the city walls, and Leo IV hastily ransomed. According to the legend, at the same time an attempt was made to slip wine with hemlock to the prince during the negotiations, but Oleg somehow sensed the moment and pretended to be a teetotaler (for which, in fact, upon his return he was called “Prophetic”). The ransom was a lot of money, tribute and an agreement according to which our merchants were exempt from taxes and had the right to live in Constantinople for up to a year at the expense of the crown. In 911, however, the agreement was re-signed without exempting merchants from duties.

Some historians, having not found a description of the campaign in Byzantine sources, consider it a legend, but recognize the existence of the treaty of 911 (perhaps there was a campaign, otherwise why would the Eastern Romans bend so much, but without the episode with the “tanks” and Constantinople).

Oleg left the stage due to his death in 912. Why and where exactly is a very good question, the legend tells about the skull of a horse and poisonous snake(interestingly, the same thing happened with the legendary Odd Orvar). The circular ladles hissed, foaming, Oleg left, but Rus' remained.

Generally speaking, this article should be brief, so I will try to briefly summarize my thoughts below.

Igor (reigned 912-945). The son of Rurik, took over the rule of Kiev after Oleg (Igor was governor of Kyiv during the war with Byzantium in 907). He conquered the Drevlyans, tried to fight with Byzantium (however, the memory of Oleg was enough, the war did not work out), concluded with her in 943 or 944 an agreement similar to the one that Oleg concluded (but less profitable), and in 945 he unsuccessfully went for the second time take tribute from the same Drevlyans (there is an opinion that Igor perfectly understood how all this could end, but could not cope with his own squad, which at that time was not particularly surprising). Husband of Princess Olga, father of the future Prince Svyatoslav.

Olga (reigned 945-964)- Igor's widow. She burned the Drevlyan Iskorosten, thereby demonstrating the sacralization of the figure of the prince (the Drevlyans offered her to marry their own prince Mal, and 50 years before that it seriously could have worked). She carried out the first positive taxation reform in the history of Rus', establishing specific deadlines for collecting tribute (lessons) and creating fortified courtyards for its reception and housing for collectors (cemeteries). She laid the foundation for stone construction in Rus'.

What’s interesting is that from the point of view of our chronicles, Olga never officially ruled; from the moment of Igor’s death, his son, Svyatoslav, ruled.

The Byzantines were not put off by such subtleties, and in their sources Olga is mentioned as the archontissa (ruler) of Rus'.

Svyatoslav (964 - 972) Igorevich. Generally speaking, 964 is rather the year of the beginning of his independent rule, since formally he was considered the Prince of Kyiv from 945. But in practice, until 969, his mother, Princess Olga, ruled for him, until the prince got out of the saddle. From PVL “When Svyatoslav grew up and matured, he began to gather many brave warriors, and he was fast, like a pardus, and fought a lot. On campaigns, he did not carry carts or boilers with him, did not cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or an animal, or beef, and fried it on coals; he did not have a tent, but slept, spreading a sweatcloth with a saddle on his head - and all his other warriors were the same, and he sent (envoys) to other lands with the words: . .. I’m coming at you!” In fact, he destroyed the Khazar Khaganate (to the joy of Byzantium), imposed tribute on the Vyatichi (to his own joy), conquered the First Bulgarian Kingdom on the Danube, built Pereyaslavets on the Danube (where he wanted to move the capital), frightened the Pechenegs and, on the basis of the Bulgarians, quarreled with Byzantium; the Bulgarians fought against on the side of Rus' - the vicissitudes of wars). In the spring of 970, he put up a free army of 30,000 people from his own, Bulgarians, Pechenegs and Hungarians against Byzantium, but lost (possibly) the battle of Arcadiopolis, and, taking a retreat, left the territory of Byzantium. In 971, the Byzantines already laid siege to Dorostol, where Svyatoslav set up his headquarters, and after a three-month siege and another battle, they convinced Svyatoslav to take another compensation and go home. Svyatoslav did not make it home - first being stuck in the winter at the mouth of the Dnieper, and then running into the Pecheneg prince Kurya, in a battle with whom he died. Byzantium ended up with Bulgaria as a province and minus one dangerous rival, so it seems to me that Kurya stuck around on the doorsteps all winter for a reason. However, there is no evidence of this.

By the way. Svyatoslav was never baptized, despite repeated proposals and the possible breakdown of the engagement with the Byzantine princess - he himself explained this by saying that the squad would not specifically understand such a maneuver, which he could not allow.

The first prince to distribute reigns to more than one son. Perhaps this led to the first strife in Rus', when, after the death of their father, the sons fought for the Kiev throne.

Yaropolk (972-978) and Oleg (prince of the Drevlyans 970-977) Svyatoslavichs- two of the three sons of Svyatoslav. Legitimate sons, unlike Vladimir, the son of Svyatoslav and the housekeeper Malusha (however, it is still a good question how such a small thing played a role in Rus' in the mid-10th century. There is also an opinion that Malusha is the daughter of the same Drevlyan prince Mal who executed Igor) .

Yaropolk had diplomatic relations with the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. In 977, during a strife, speaking against his brothers, he attacked Oleg’s possessions in the land of the Drevlyans. Oleg died during the retreat (if you believe the chronicle, Yaropolk lamented). In fact, after the death of Oleg and Vladimir’s flight somewhere “overseas”, he became the sole ruler of Rus'. In 980 Vladimir returned with a squad of Varangians, began to take the cities, Yaropolk left Kyiv with the better fortified Roden, Vladimir besieged it, famine began in the city and Yaropolk was forced to negotiate. Instead of or in addition to Vladimir, two Varangians appeared on the spot and did their job.

Oleg is the prince of the Drevlyans, the first successor of Mal. Perhaps he accidentally started the strife by killing the son of governor Yaropolk, Sveneld, who was poaching on his land. Version from the chronicle. Personally, it seems to me (along with Wikipedia) that the brothers would have had enough motives even without their father-voivodes burning with a thirst for revenge. Also, perhaps, he laid the foundation for one of the noble families of Maravia - only the Czechs and only the 16th-17th centuries have evidence of this, so whether to believe it or not is up to the conscience of the reader.

Short story Rus'. How Rus' was created

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“Ancient Rus'” opens a new book series “Russia - the path through the centuries.” The 24-series publications will present the entire history of Russia - from the Eastern Slavs to the present day. The book offered to the reader is dedicated to ancient history Rus'. It tells about the tribes that inhabited the territory of our country even before the appearance of the first Old Russian state, about how Kievan Rus was formed, about the princes and principalities of the 9th - 12th centuries, about the events of those ancient times. You will find out why pagan Rus' became an Orthodox country, what role it played in the outside world, with whom it traded and fought. We will introduce you to ancient Russian culture, which even then created masterpieces of architecture and folk art. The origins of Russian beauty and the Russian spirit lie in distant antiquity. We take you back to your roots.

A series: Russia - a path through the centuries

* * *

by liters company.

Old Russian state

In the distant past, the ancestors of Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians formed a single people. They came from related tribes who called themselves "Slavs" or "Slovenes" and belonged to the branch of the Eastern Slavs.

They had a single - Old Russian - language. The territories where different tribes settled expanded and then contracted. Tribes migrated and others took their place.

Tribes and peoples

What tribes inhabited the East European Plain even before the formation of the Old Russian state?

At the turn of the old and new eras

SCYTHIANS ( lat. Scythi, Scythae; Greek Skithai) is the collective name of numerous Iranian-speaking tribes related to the Sauromatians, Massagetae and Sakas and inhabiting the Northern Black Sea region in the 7th–3rd centuries. BC e. They were located in the regions of Central Asia, then began to advance to the North Caucasus and from there to the territory of the Northern Black Sea region.

In the 7th century. BC e. The Scythians fought with the Cimmerians and drove them out of the Black Sea region. Pursuing the Cimmerians, the Scythians in the 70s. 7th century BC e. invaded Asia Minor and conquered Syria, Media and Palestine. But after 30 years they were expelled by the Medes.

The main territory of settlement of the Scythians was the steppes from the Danube to the Don, including Crimea.

The most complete information about the Scythians is contained in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC), who lived for a long time in Olbia surrounded by the Scythians and was well acquainted with them. According to Herodotus, the Scythians claimed to be descended from the first man - Targitai, the son of Zeus and the daughter of the river stream, and his sons: Lipoksai, Arpoksai and the youngest - Koloksai. Each of the brothers became the founder of one of the Scythian tribal associations: 1) the “royal” Scythians (from Koloksai) dominated the rest, they lived in the steppes between the Don and the Dnieper;

2) Scythian nomads lived on the right bank of the Lower Dnieper and in the steppe Crimea; 3) Scythian plowmen - between Ingul and the Dnieper (some scientists classify these tribes as Slavic). In addition to them, Herodotus distinguishes the Hellenic-Scythians in the Crimea and the Scythian farmers, without confusing them with “ploughmen”. In another fragment of his “History,” Herodotus notes that the Greeks incorrectly call everyone living in the Northern Black Sea region Scythians. On the Borysthenes (Dnieper), according to Herodotus, lived the Borysthenes, who called themselves Scolotes.

But the entire territory from the lower reaches of the Danube to the Don, Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait in archaeological terms constitute one cultural and historical community. Its main feature is the “Scythian triad”: weapons, horse equipment and “animal style” (i.e., the predominance of realistic images of animals in works of craft; images of deer are most often found, later the lion and panther were added).

The first Scythian mounds were excavated back in 1830. Among the archaeological monuments, the most famous are the mounds of the “royal” Scythians in the Northern Black Sea region - huge, rich in gold items. The “royal” Scythians apparently worshiped the horse. Every year, at the wake of the deceased king, 50 horsemen and many horses were sacrificed. In some mounds, up to 300 horse skeletons were found.

Rich burial mounds indicate the existence of slave-owning nobility. The ancient Greeks knew about the existence of the “Scythian Kingdom,” which until the 3rd century. BC e. was located in the Black Sea steppes, and after the Sarmatian invasion it moved to the Crimea. Their capital was moved from the site of the modern Kamensky settlement (near Nikopol). In the end 2nd century Don. e. a kind of Scythian state in Crimea became part of the Pontic kingdom.

From the end 1st century BC e. The Scythians, repeatedly defeated by the Sarmatians, did not represent a serious political force. They were also weakened by constant conflicts with Greek colonial cities in Crimea. The name “Scythians” later passed on to the Sarmatian tribes and most other nomads who inhabited the Black Sea regions. Subsequently, the Scythians disappeared among other tribes of the Northern Black Sea region. The Scythians existed in Crimea until the invasion of the Goths in the 3rd century. n. e.

In the Early Middle Ages, Scythians were the name given to the northern Black Sea barbarians. E. G.

SKOLOTY is the self-name of a group of Scythian tribes that lived in the 2nd half. 1st millennium BC e. in the Northern Black Sea region.

Mention of Skolot is found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC): “To all the Scythians together - the name is Skolote.”

The modern historian B. A. Rybakov classifies the Skolots as Scythian plowmen - the ancestors of the Slavs, and considers the term “Skolot” itself to be derived from the Slavic “kolo” (circle). According to Rybakov, the ancient Greeks called the Skolotes who lived along the banks of the Borysthenes (the Greek name for the Dnieper) Borysphenites.

Herodotus cites a legend about the forefather of the Scythians - Targitai and his descendants Arpoksai, Lipoksai and Koloksai, according to which the chipped people got their name from the latter. The legend contains a story about the fall of sacred objects - a plow, a yoke, an ax and a bowl - onto the Scythian land. The plow and yoke are the tools of labor not of nomads, but of farmers. Archaeologists find cult bowls in Scythian burials. These bowls are similar to those common in pre-Scythian times in the forest-steppe archaeological cultures - Belogrudov and Chernolesk (12-8 centuries BC), which many scientists associate with the Proto-Slavs. E. G.

SAUROMATES ( lat. Sauromatae) - nomadic Iranian tribes who lived in the 7th–4th centuries. BC e. in the steppes of the Volga and Urals regions.

In origin, culture and language, the Sauromatians are related to the Scythians. Ancient Greek writers (Herodotus and others) emphasized the special role that women played among the Sauromatians.

Archaeologists have found burials of rich women with weapons and horse equipment. Some Sauromatian women were priestesses; stone altars were found in their graves next to them. In the end 5th–4th centuries BC e. The Sauromatian tribes pushed back the Scythians and crossed the Don. In the 4th–3rd centuries. BC e. they developed strong tribal alliances. The descendants of the Sauromatians are the Sarmatians (3rd century BC – 4th century AD). E. G.

SARMATI - the general name of the Iranian-speaking tribes that roamed in the 3rd century. BC e. – 4th century n. e. in the steppes from Tobol to the Danube.

Women played a major role in the social organization of the Sarmatians. They were excellent riders and shooters, and participated in battles along with men. They were buried in the mounds as warriors - along with their horses and weapons. A number of historians believe that the Greeks and Romans knew about the Sarmatian tribes; Perhaps it was information about the Sarmatians that became the source of ancient legends about the Amazons.

In the end 2nd century BC e. The Sarmatians became an important political force in the life of the Northern Black Sea region. In alliance with the Scythians, they took part in campaigns against the Greeks, and in the 1st century. BC e. drove out the remnants of the Scythian tribes from the shores of the Black Sea. Since then, on ancient maps, the Black Sea steppes - “Scythia” - began to be called “Sarmatia”.

In the first centuries A.D. e. Among the Sarmatian tribes, tribal unions of Roxolans and Alans stood out. In the 3rd century. n. e. The Goths, who invaded the Black Sea region, undermined the influence of the Sarmatians, and in the 4th century. the Goths and Sarmatians were defeated by the Huns. After this, part of the Sarmatian tribes joined the Huns and participated in the Great Migration of Peoples. Alans and Roxolans remained in the Northern Black Sea region. E. G.

ROKSOLANY ( lat. Roxolani; Iran.- “light Alans”) - a Sarmatian-Alan nomadic tribe that led a large union of tribes roaming the Northern Black Sea region and the Azov region.

The ancestors of the Roksolans are the Sarmatians of the Volga and Urals regions. In the 2nd–1st centuries. BC e. The Roxolani conquered the steppes between the Don and Dnieper from the Scythians. As the ancient geographer Strabo reports, “the Roxolani follow their herds, always choosing areas with good pastures, in winter - in the swamps near Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov. - E. G.), and in the summer – on the plains.”

In the 1st century n. e. warlike Roxolans occupied the steppes west of the Dnieper. During the Great Migration of Peoples in the 4th–5th centuries. Some of these tribes migrated along with the Huns. E. G.

ANTS ( Greek Antai, Antes) is an association of Slavic tribes or a related tribal union. In the 3rd–7th centuries. inhabited the forest-steppe between the Dnieper and Dniester and east of the Dnieper.

Typically, researchers see in the name “Anty” a Turkic or Indo-Iranian designation for a union of tribes of Slavic origin.

The Ants are mentioned in the works of Byzantine and Gothic writers Procopius of Caesarea, Jordan and others. According to these authors, the Ants used a common language with other Slavic tribes, they had the same customs and beliefs. Presumably, earlier Ants and Sklavins had the same name.

The Antes fought with Byzantium, the Goths and Avars, and together with the Sklavins and Huns they ravaged the areas between the Adriatic and Black Seas. The leaders of the Antes - “archons” - equipped embassies to the Avars, received ambassadors from the Byzantine emperors, in particular from Justinian (546). In 550–562 the Antes' possessions were devastated by the Avars. From the 7th century Ants are not mentioned in written sources.

According to archaeologist V.V. Sedov, 5 tribal unions of the Antes laid the foundation for the Slavic tribes - Croats, Serbs, Ulichs, Tiverts and Polyans. Archaeologists classify the Ants as the tribes of the Penkovo ​​culture, whose main occupations were arable farming, sedentary cattle breeding, crafts and trade. Most of the settlements of this culture are of the Slavic type: small semi-dugouts. During burial, cremation was used. But some finds cast doubt on the Slavic nature of the Antes. Two large craft centers of Penkovo ​​culture have also been opened - Pastorskoye Settlement and Kantserka. The life of the artisans of these settlements was unlike the Slavic one. E. G.

VENEDS, Veneti - Indo-European tribes.

In the 1st century BC e. – 1st century n. e. In Europe, there were three groups of tribes with this name: the Veneti on the Brittany Peninsula in Gaul, the Veneti in the valley of the river. Po (some researchers associate the name of the city of Venice with them), as well as the Wends on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea. Up to the 16th century. the modern Gulf of Riga was called the Gulf of Venedia.

From the 6th century, as the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea was settled by Slavic tribes, the Wends assimilated with the new settlers. But since then, the Slavs themselves were sometimes called Wends or Wends. Author 6th century Jordan believed that the Slavs were previously called “Vends”, “Vends”, “Winds”. Many German sources call the Baltic and Polabian Slavs “Weneds”. The term “Vendi” remained the self-name of some of the Baltic Slavs until the 18th century. Yu. K.

SKLAVINY ( lat. Sclavini, Sclaveni, Sclavi; Greek Sklabinoi) is a common name for all Slavs, known both among Western early medieval and early Byzantine authors. Later it switched to one of the groups of Slavic tribes.

The origin of this ethnonym remains controversial. Some researchers believe that “sklavins” is a modified word for “Slovene” in the Byzantine environment.

In the end 5 – beginning 6th centuries The Gothic historian Jordan called the Sklavins and Antes the Venets. “They live from the city of Novietuna (a city on the Sava River) and the lake called Mursiansky (apparently, Lake Balaton is meant) to Danastra, and to the north - to Viskla; instead of cities they have swamps and forests.” The Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea defines the lands of the Sklavins as located “on the other side of the Danube River not far from its shore,” that is, mainly on the territory of the former Roman province of Pannonia, which the Tale of Bygone Years connects with the ancestral home of the Slavs.

Actually the word “Slavs” in different forms became known in the 6th century, when the Sklavins, together with the Ant tribes, began to threaten Byzantium. Yu. K.

SLAVS are a large group of tribes and peoples belonging to the Indo-European language family.

The Slavic language “tree” has three main branches: East Slavic languages ​​(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian), West Slavic (Polish, Czech, Slovak, Upper and Lower Sorbian-Serbian, Polabian, Pomeranian dialects), South Slavic (Old Slavic, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian , Slovenian). All of them originated from a single Proto-Slavic language.

One of the most controversial issues among historians is the problem of the origin of the Slavs. In written sources the Slavs have been known since the 6th century. Linguists have found that the Slavic language has retained the archaic features of the once common Indo-European language. This means that the Slavs, already in ancient times, could have separated from the common family of Indo-European peoples. Therefore, the opinions of scientists about the time of the birth of the Slavs vary - from the 13th century. BC e. up to 6th century n. e. Opinions about the ancestral home of the Slavs are equally different.

In the 2nd–4th centuries. the Slavs were part of the carrier tribes of the Chernyakhov culture (some scientists identify its distribution area with the Gothic state of Germanarich).

In the 6th–7th centuries. The Slavs settled in the Baltic states, the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and the Dnieper region. Over the course of a century, approximately three-quarters of the Balkan Peninsula were conquered by the Slavs. The entire region of Macedonia adjacent to Thessalonica was called "Sclavenia". By the turn of the 6th–7th centuries. includes information about Slavic flotillas that sailed around Thessaly, Achaea, Epirus and even reached southern Italy and Crete. Almost everywhere the Slavs assimilated the local population.

Apparently, the Slavs had a neighboring (territorial) community. The Byzantine Mauritius the Strategist (6th century) noted that the Slavs did not have slavery, and the captives were offered either to be ransomed for a small sum, or to remain in the community as equals. Byzantine historian of the 6th century. Procopius of Caesarea noted that the Slavic tribes “are not ruled by one person, but from ancient times they have lived in the rule of people, and therefore they consider happiness and misfortune in life to be a common matter.”

Archaeologists have discovered monuments of the material culture of the Sklavins and Antes. The Sklavins correspond to the territory of the Prague-Korchak archaeological culture, which spread to the southwest of the Dniester, and the Antam - Penkov culture - to the east of the Dnieper.

Using data from archaeological excavations, it is possible to fairly accurately describe the way of life of the ancient Slavs. They were a sedentary people and were engaged in arable farming - archaeologists have found plows, openers, rawls, plow knives and other tools. Until 10th century The Slavs did not know the potter's wheel. A distinctive feature of Slavic culture was rough molded ceramics. Slavic settlements were located on low banks of rivers, were small in area and consisted of 15–20 small semi-dugouts, each of which housed a small family (husband, wife, children). A characteristic feature The Slavic dwelling had a stone stove, which was located in the corner of the semi-dugout. Polygamy (polygamy) was widespread among many Slavic tribes. The pagan Slavs burned their dead. Slavic beliefs are associated with agricultural cults, the cult of fertility (Veles, Dazhdbog, Svarog, Mokosh), and the highest gods are associated with the earth. There were no human sacrifices.

In the 7th century. The first Slavic states arose: in 681, after the arrival of nomadic Bulgarians in the Danube region, who quickly mixed with the Slavs, the First Bulgarian Kingdom was formed, in the 8th–9th centuries. – Great Moravian state, the first Serbian principalities and the Croatian state appeared.

At 6 – start. 7th centuries The territory from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the Dnieper and Don in the east and to Lake Ilmen in the north was inhabited by East Slavic tribes. At the head of the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs - the Northerners, Drevlyans, Krivichi, Vyatichi, Radimichi, Polyan, Dregovichi, Polotsk, etc. - were princes. On the territory of the future Old Russian state, the Slavs assimilated Baltic, Finno-Ugric, Iranian and many other tribes. Thus, the Old Russian people were formed.

Currently, there are three branches of Slavic peoples. The South Slavs include Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins, Macedonians, and Bulgarians. The Western Slavs include Slovaks, Czechs, Poles, as well as Lusatian Serbs (or Sorbs) living in Germany. The Eastern Slavs include Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.

E. G., Yu. K., S. P.

East Slavic tribes

BUZHAN - an East Slavic tribe that lived on the river. Bug.

Most researchers believe that the Buzhans are another name for the Volynians. In the territory inhabited by the Buzhans and Volynians, a single archaeological culture was discovered. “The Tale of Bygone Years” reports: “The Buzhans who sat along the Bug later began to be called Volynians.” According to archaeologist V.V. Sedov, part of the Dulebs who lived in the Bug basin were first called Buzhans, then Volynians. Perhaps the Buzhans are the name of only part of the Volynian tribal union. E. G.

VOLYNIANS, Velynians - an East Slavic union of tribes that inhabited the territory on both banks of the Western Bug and at the source of the river. Pripyat.

The ancestors of the Volynians were presumably the Dulebs, and their earlier name was the Buzhans. According to another point of view, “Volynians” and “Buzhanians” are the names of two different tribes or tribal unions. The anonymous author of the “Bavarian Geographer” (1st half of the 9th century) counts 70 cities among the Volynians, and 231 cities among the Buzhans. Arab geographer of the 10th century. al-Masudi distinguishes between Volhynians and Dulebs, although perhaps his information dates back to an earlier period.

In Russian chronicles, the Volynians are first mentioned in 907: they participated in Prince Oleg’s campaign against Byzantium as “talkovins” - translators. In 981, the Kiev prince Vladimir I Svyatoslavich subjugated the Przemysl and Cherven lands, where the Volynians lived. Volynsky

The city of Cherven has since become known as Vladimir-Volynsky. In the 2nd half. 10th century The Vladimir-Volyn principality was formed on the lands of the Volynians. E. G.

VYATICHI is an East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the basin of the upper and middle reaches of the Oka and along the river. Moscow.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the ancestor of the Vyatichi was Vyatko, who came “from the Lyakhs” (Poles) together with his brother Radim, the ancestor of the Radimichi tribe. Modern archaeologists do not find confirmation of the West Slavic origin of the Vyatichi.

In the 2nd half. 9th–10th centuries The Vyatichi paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. For a long time they maintained independence from the Kyiv princes. As allies, the Vyatichi took part in the campaign of the Kyiv prince Oleg against Byzantium in 911. In 968, the Vyatichi were defeated by the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav. In the beginning. 12th century Vladimir Monomakh fought with the Vyatichi prince Khodota. In the end 11–beg. 12th centuries Christianity was implanted among the Vyatichi. Despite this, they maintained pagan beliefs for a long time. The Tale of Bygone Years describes the funeral rite of the Vyatichi (the Radimichi had a similar rite): “When someone died, they held a funeral feast for him, and then laid out a large bonfire, laid the deceased on it and burned him, after which, collecting the bones, they put them in a small vessel and placed them on pillars along the roads.” This ritual was preserved until the end. 13th century, and the “pillars” themselves were found in some areas of Russia until the beginning. 20th century

By the 12th century The territory of the Vyatichi was located in the Chernigov, Rostov-Suzdal and Ryazan principalities. E. G.

DREVLYANE - an East Slavic tribal union that occupied in the 6th–10th centuries. the territory of Polesie, the Right Bank of the Dnieper, west of the glades, along the rivers Teterev, Uzh, Ubort, Stviga.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Drevlyans “descended from the same Slavs” as the Polyans. But unlike the glades, “the Drevlyans lived in a bestial manner, lived like bestials, killed each other, ate everything unclean, and they did not have marriage, but they kidnapped girls near the water.”

In the west, the Drevlyans bordered on the Volynians and Buzhans, in the north – on the Dregovichi. Archaeologists have discovered burials on the lands of the Drevlyans with corpses burned in urns in moundless burial grounds. In the 6th–8th centuries. Burials in mounds spread in the 8th–10th centuries. – urnless burials, and in the 10th–13th centuries. – corpses in burial mounds.

In 883, the Kiev prince Oleg “began to fight against the Drevlyans and, having conquered them, imposed tribute on them by black marten (sable),” and in 911, the Drevlyans took part in Oleg’s campaign against Byzantium. In 945, Prince Igor, on the advice of his squad, went “to the Drevlyans for tribute and added a new one to the previous tribute, and his men committed violence against them,” but was not satisfied with what he had collected and decided to “collect more.” The Drevlyans, after consulting with their prince Mal, decided to kill Igor: “if we don’t kill him, then he will destroy us all.” Igor’s widow, Olga, cruelly took revenge on the Drevlyans in 946, setting fire to their capital, the city of Iskorosten, “she took the city elders captive, and killed other people, gave others as slaves to her husbands, and left the rest to pay tribute,” and all the land of the Drevlyans was annexed to the Kyiv appanage with its center in the city of Vruchiy (Ovruch). Yu. K.

DREGOVICHI - tribal union of the Eastern Slavs.

The exact boundaries of the habitat of Dregovichi have not yet been established. According to a number of researchers (V.V. Sedov and others), in the 6th–9th centuries. Dregovichi occupied territory in the middle part of the river basin. Pripyat, in the 11th–12th centuries. the southern border of their settlement passed south of Pripyat, the northwestern - in the watershed of the Drut and Berezina rivers, the western - in the upper reaches of the river. Neman. The neighbors of the Dregovichs were the Drevlyans, Radimichi and Krivichi. “The Tale of Bygone Years” mentions the Dregovichi up to the middle. 12th century According to archaeological research, the Dregovichi are characterized by agricultural settlements and burial mounds with corpses. In the 10th century the lands inhabited by the Dregovichi became part of Kievan Rus, and later became part of the Turov and Polotsk principalities. Vl. TO.

DULEBY - tribal union of Eastern Slavs.

They lived in the basin of the Bug and the right tributaries of the Pripyat since the 6th century. Researchers attribute the Dulebs to one of the earliest ethnic groups of the Eastern Slavs, from which some other tribal unions were later formed, including the Volynians (Buzhans) and the Drevlyans. Archaeological monuments of Duleb are represented by the remains of agricultural settlements and burial mounds with corpses burned.

According to chronicles, in the 7th century. The Dulebs were invaded by the Avars. In 907, the Duleb squad took part in Prince Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople. According to historians, in the 10th century. The association of Dulebs disintegrated, and their lands became part of Kievan Rus. Vl. TO.

KRIVICHI - tribal union of the Eastern Slavs of the 6th–11th centuries.

They occupied territory in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Volga, Western Dvina, as well as in the region of Lake Peipus, Pskov and Lake. Ilmen. The Tale of Bygone Years reports that the cities of the Krivichi were Smolensk and Polotsk. According to the same chronicle, in 859 the Krivichi paid tribute to the Varangians “from overseas”, and in 862, together with the Slovenians of Ilmen and Chud, they invited Rurik and his brothers Sineus and Truvor to reign. Under 882, the Tale of Bygone Years contains a story about how Oleg went to Smolensk, to the Krivichi, and, taking the city, “planted his husband in it.” Like other Slavic tribes, the Krivichi paid tribute to the Varangians and went with Oleg and Igor on campaigns against Byzantium. In the 11th–12th centuries. The principalities of Polotsk and Smolensk arose on the lands of the Krivichi.

Probably, the ethnogenesis of the Krivichi involved the remnants of local Finno-Ugric and Baltic (Estonians, Livs, Latgalians) tribes, which mixed with the numerous newcomer Slavic population.

Archaeological excavations have shown that initially the specific burials of the Krivichi were long mounds: low rampart-shaped mounds from 12–15 m to 40 m long. Based on the nature of the burial grounds, archaeologists distinguish two ethnographic groups of Krivichi - Smolensk-Polotsk and Pskov Krivichi. In the 9th century long mounds were replaced by round (hemispherical) ones. The dead were burned on the side, and most of the things were burned on the funeral pyre along with the deceased, and only severely damaged things and jewelry went into the burials: beads (blue, green, yellow), buckles, pendants. In the 10th–11th centuries. Among the Krivichi, corpses appear, although up to the 12th century. The features of the previous ritual are preserved - a ritual fire under the burial and a mound. The burial inventory of this period is quite diverse: women's jewelry - bracelet-shaped knotted rings, necklaces made of beads, pendants to necklaces in the form of skates. There are items of clothing - buckles, belt rings (they were worn by men). Often in the Krivichi burial mounds there are decorations of Baltic types, as well as Baltic burials themselves, which indicates a close connection between the Krivichi and the Baltic tribes. Yu. K.

POLOCHANS - a Slavic tribe, part of the Krivichi tribal union; lived along the banks of the river. Dvina and its tributary Polota, from which they got their name.

The center of the Polotsk land was the city of Polotsk. In the Tale of Bygone Years, the Polotsk people are mentioned several times along with such large tribal unions as the Ilmen Slovenians, the Drevlyans, the Dregovichi, and the Polyans.

However, a number of historians question the existence of Polotsk as a separate tribe. Arguing their point of view, they draw attention to the fact that “The Tale of Bygone Years” in no way connects Polotsk residents with the Krivichi people, whose possessions included their lands. Historian A.G. Kuzmin suggested that a fragment about the Polotsk tribe appeared in the “Tale” ca. 1068, when the people of Kiev expelled Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich and placed Prince Vseslav of Polotsk on the princely table.

All R. 10 – start 11th centuries The Principality of Polotsk was formed on the territory of Polotsk. E. G.

POLYANE - a tribal union of Eastern Slavs who lived on the Dnieper, in the area of ​​​​modern Kyiv.

One of the versions of the origin of Rus', mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years, is associated with the glades. Scientists consider the “Polyano-Russian” version to be more ancient than the “Varangian legend” and attribute it to the end. 10th century

The Old Russian author of this version considered the Polyans to be Slavs who came from Norik (territory on the Danube), who were the first to be called by the name “Rus”: “The Glades are now called Rus'.” The chronicle sharply contrasts the customs of the Polyans and other East Slavic tribes, united under the name of the Drevlyans.

In the Middle Dnieper region near Kyiv, archaeologists discovered a culture of the 2nd quarter. 10th century with a characteristic Slavic funeral rite: the mounds were characterized by a clay base, on which a fire was lit and the dead were burned. The borders of the culture extended in the west to the river. Teterev, in the north - to the city of Lyubech, in the south - to the river. Ros. This was, obviously, the Slavic tribe of the Polyans.

In the 2nd quarter. 10th century another people appears on these same lands. A number of scientists consider the Middle Danube region to be the place of its initial settlement. Others identify him with the Russian Rugs from Great Moravia. These people were familiar with the potter's wheel. The dead were buried according to the rite of corpse deposition in pits under the mounds. Pectoral crosses were often found in burial mounds. Over time, the Polyane and the Rus mixed, the Rus began to speak the Slavic language, and the tribal union received a double name - Polyane-Rus. E. G.

RADIMICHI - an East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the eastern part of the Upper Dnieper region, along the river. Sozh and its tributaries in the 8th–9th centuries.

Convenient river routes passed through the lands of the Radimichi, connecting them with Kiev. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the ancestor of the tribe was Radim, who came “from the Poles,” that is, of Polish origin, together with his brother Vyatko. The Radimichi and Vyatichi had a similar burial rite - the ashes were buried in a log house - and similar female temple jewelry (temporal rings) - seven-rayed (among the Vyatichi - seven-lobed). Archaeologists and linguists suggest that the Balt tribes living in the upper reaches of the Dnieper also participated in the creation of the material culture of the Radimichi. In the 9th century Radimichi paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. In 885, these tribes were subjugated by the Kyiv prince Oleg the Prophet. In 984, the Radimichi army was defeated on the river. Pishchane as governor of Kyiv Prince Vladimir

Svyatoslavich. The last time they were mentioned in the chronicle was in 1169. Then the territory of the Radimichi became part of the Chernigov and Smolensk principalities. E. G.

RUSSIANS - in sources of the 8th–10th centuries. the name of the people who participated in the formation of the Old Russian state.

IN historical science Discussions about the ethnic origin of the Rus are still ongoing. According to the testimony of Arab geographers in the 9th–10th centuries. and the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (10th century), the Rus were the social elite of Kievan Rus and dominated the Slavs.

The German historian G. Z. Bayer, invited to Russia in 1725 to work at the Academy of Sciences, believed that the Rus and Varangians were one Norman (i.e., Scandinavian) tribe that brought statehood to the Slavic peoples. Followers of Bayer in the 18th century. there were G. Miller and L. Schletser. This is how the Norman theory of the origin of the Rus arose, which is still shared by many historians.

Based on data from the Tale of Bygone Years, some historians believe that the chronicler identified the “Rus” with the Polyan tribe and led them along with other Slavs from the upper reaches of the Danube, from Norik. Others believe that the Rus are a Varangian tribe, “called” to reign in Novgorod under Prince Oleg the Prophet, who gave the name “Rus” to the land of Kyiv. Still others prove that the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” connected the origin of the Rus with the Northern Black Sea region and the Don basin.

Scientists note that in ancient documents the name of the people “Rus” was different - rugi, rogi, ruten, ruyi, ruyan, ran, ren, rus, rus, dew. This word is translated as “red”, “red” (from Celtic languages), “light” (from Iranian languages), “rots” (from Swedish - “oar rowers”).

Some researchers consider the Rus to be Slavs. Those historians who consider the Rus to be Baltic Slavs argue that the word “Rus” is close to the names “Rügen”, “Ruyan”, “Rugi”. Scientists who consider the Rus to be the inhabitants of the Middle Dnieper region note that in the Dnieper region the word “Ros” (R. Ros) is found, and the name “Russian Land” in the chronicles originally designated the territory of the glades and northerners (Kyiv, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl).

There is a point of view according to which the Rus are a Sarmatian-Alan people, descendants of the Roxolans. The word “rus” (“rukhs”) in Iranian languages ​​means “light”, “white”, “royal”.

Another group of historians suggests that the Rus are Rugs who lived in the 3rd–5th centuries. along the river Danube of the Roman province of Noricum and c. 7th century moved along with the Slavs to the Dnieper region. The mystery of the origin of the “Rus” people has not yet been solved. E.G., S.P.

NORTHERN - an East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the 9th–10th centuries. by rr. Desna, Seim, Sula.

The western neighbors of the northerners were the Polyans and Dregovichi, the northern - the Radimichi and Vyatichi.

The origin of the name “northerners” is not clear. Some researchers associate it with the Iranian sev, sew - “black”. In the chronicles, the northerners are also called “sever”, “severo”. The territory near the Desna and Seim was preserved in Russian chronicles of the 16th–17th centuries. and Ukrainian sources of the 17th century. name "North".

Archaeologists correlate the northerners with the carriers of the Volyntsev archaeological culture, who lived on the left bank of the Dnieper, along the Desna and Seim in the 7th–9th centuries. The Volyntsevo tribes were Slavic, but their territory was in contact with lands inhabited by the Saltovo-Mayatsk archaeological culture.

The main occupation of the northerners was agriculture. In the end 8th century they found themselves under the rule of the Khazar Khaganate. In the end 9th century the territories of the northerners became part of Kievan Rus. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Kiev prince Oleg the Prophet freed them from tribute to the Khazars and imposed a light tribute on them, saying: “I am their [Khazars’] opponent, but you have no need.”

The centers of craft and trade of the northerners were the cities. Novgorod-Seversky, Chernigov, Putivl, which later became the centers of the principalities. With the annexation to the Russian state, these lands were still called “Severskaya Zemlya” or “Severskaya Ukrainian”. E. G.

SLOVEN ILMEN - a tribal union of Eastern Slavs on the territory of the Novgorod land, mainly in the lands near lake. Ilmen, next to the Krivichi.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Ilmen Slovenes, together with the Krivichi, Chud and Meri, participated in the calling of the Varangians, who were related to the Slovenes - immigrants from the Baltic Pomerania. Slovenian warriors were part of the squad of Prince Oleg and took part in the campaign of Vladimir I Svyatoslavich against the Polotsk prince Rogvold in 980.

A number of historians consider the Dnieper region to be the “ancestral homeland” of the Slovenes; others trace the ancestors of the Ilmen Slovenes from the Baltic Pomerania, since the legends, beliefs and customs, the type of housing of the Novgorodians and the Polabian Slavs are very similar. E. G.

TIVERTS - an East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the 9th - beginning. 12th centuries on the river Dniester and at the mouth of the Danube. The name of the tribal association probably comes from the ancient Greek name of the Dniester - “Tiras”, which, in turn, goes back to the Iranian word turas - fast.

In 885, Prince Oleg the Prophet, who conquered the tribes of the Polyans, Drevlyans, and Northerners, tried to subjugate the Tiverts to his power. Later, the Tiverts took part in Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople (Constantinople) as “interpreters” - that is, translators, since they knew well the languages ​​and customs of the peoples living near the Black Sea. In 944, the Tivertians, as part of the army of the Kyiv prince Igor, again besieged Constantinople, and in the middle. 10th century became part of Kievan Rus. In the beginning. 12th century Under the attacks of the Pechenegs and Polovtsians, the Tivertians retreated to the north, where they mixed with other Slavic tribes. The remains of settlements and ancient settlements, which, according to archaeologists, belonged to the Tiverts, have been preserved in the area between the Dniester and Prut rivers. Burial mounds with corpses burned in urns were discovered; Among the archaeological finds in the territories occupied by the Tiverts, there are no female temporal rings. E. G.

STREETS - an East Slavic union of tribes that existed in the 9th century. 10th centuries

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Ulichi lived in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Bug and on the shores of the Black Sea. The center of the tribal union was the city of Peresechen. According to the historian of the 18th century. V.N. Tatishcheva, the ethnonym “Ulichi” comes from the Old Russian word “corner”. The modern historian B.A. Rybakov drew attention to the evidence of the first Novgorod chronicle: “Previously, the Ulichi sat in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, but then they moved to the Bug and Dniester” - and concluded that Peresechen was located on the Dnieper south of Kyiv. A city on the Dnieper under this name is mentioned in the Laurentian Chronicle under 1154 and in the “List of Russian Cities” (14th century). In the 1960s archaeologists have discovered street settlements in the area of ​​the river. Tyasmin (tributary of the Dnieper), which confirms Rybakov’s conclusion.

For a long time the tribes resisted the attempts of the Kyiv princes to subjugate them to their power. In 885, Oleg the Prophet fought with the streets, already collecting tribute from the glades, Drevlyans, northerners and Tiverts. Unlike most East Slavic tribes, the Ulichi did not participate in Prince Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople in 907. At the turn of the 40s. 10th century Kiev governor Sveneld kept the city of Peresechen under siege for three years. All R. 10th century Under the pressure of nomadic tribes, the Ulichi moved north and were included in Kievan Rus. E. G.

On the border lands

Around the territories inhabited by the Eastern Slavs, lived a variety of tribes and peoples. Neighbors from the north were Finno-Ugric tribes: Cheremis, Chud (Izhora), Merya, Ves, Korela. In the north-west lived Baltoslavic tribes: Zemigola, Zhmud, Yatvingians and Prussians. In the west - the Poles and Hungarians, in the southwest - the Volokhs (ancestors of the Romanians and Moldavians), in the east - the Mari, Mordovians, Murom, Volga-Kama Bulgars. Let's get acquainted with some tribal unions known from ancient times.

BALTS - the general name of the tribes that inhabited the 1st - beginning. 2nd thousand territory from the southwest of the Baltic states to the Upper Dnieper region.

The Prussians (Estians), Yatvingians, and Galinds (Golyad) made up the group of Western Balts. The central Balts included the Curonians, Semigallians, Latgalians, Samogitians, and Aukstaitians. The Prussian tribe has been known to Western and Northern writers since the 6th century.

From the first centuries AD, the Balts were engaged in arable farming and cattle breeding. From the 7th–8th centuries. fortified settlements are known. The dwellings of the Balts were above-ground rectangular houses, surrounded by stones at the base.

A number of Baltic tribes are mentioned in the “Tale of Bygone Years”: “Letgola” (Latgalians), “Zemigola” (Zemgallians), “Kors” (Curonians), “Lithuania”. All of them, excluding the Latgalians, paid tribute to Rus'.

At the turn of 1–2 thousand, the Baltic tribes of the Upper Dnieper region were assimilated by the Eastern Slavs and became part of the Old Russian people. Another part of the Balts formed the Lithuanian (Aukštaiti, Samogitians, Skalvi) and Latvian (Curonians, Latgalians, Semigallians, Sela) nationalities. Yu. K.

VARYAGS is the Slavic name for the population of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea (in the 9th–10th centuries), as well as for the Scandinavian Vikings who served the Kyiv princes (in the 1st half of the 11th century).

The Tale of Bygone Years claims that the Varangians lived along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which in the chronicle is called the Varangian Sea, “to the land of Agnyanskaya and Voloshskaya.” At that time, the Danes were called Angles, and the Italians were called Volokhs. In the east, the boundaries of the settlement of the Varangians are indicated more vaguely - “to the limit of Simov.” According to some researchers, in this case we mean

Volga-Kama Bulgaria (Varangians controlled the northwestern part of the Volga-Baltic route up to Volga Bulgaria).

A study of other written sources showed that on the southern coast, next to the Danes of the Baltic Sea, lived the “Vagrs” (“Varins”, “Vars”) - a tribe that belonged to the Vandal group and by the 9th century. already glorified. In the East Slavic vowels, the “Vagrs” began to be called “Varangians”.

In the end 8 – beginning 9th centuries The Franks began to attack the lands of the Vagr-Varins. This prompted them to look for new places of settlement. In the 8th century. “Varangeville” (Varangian city) appears in France, in 915 the city of Väringvik (Varangian Bay) appeared in England, and the name Varangerfjord (Varangian Bay) in the north of Scandinavia is still preserved.

The main direction of migration of the Vagr-Varins was the eastern coast of the Baltic. They moved to the east together with separate groups of Rus who lived along the shores of the Baltic Sea (on the island of Rügen, in the Baltic states, etc.). Hence, in the Tale of Bygone Years, the double naming of the settlers arose - Varangians-Rus: “And they went overseas to the Varangians, to Rus', for that was the name of those Varangians - Rus.” At the same time, the chronicler specifically stipulates that the Varangians-Rus are not Swedes, not Norwegians and not Danes.

In Eastern Europe, the Varangians appear at the end. 9th century The Varangians-Rus first came to the northwestern lands to the Ilmen Slovenes, and then descended to the Middle Dnieper region. According to various sources and according to some scientists, the leader of the Varangians-Russ who came to the Ilmen Slovenes from the shores of the Southern Baltic was Prince Rurik. The names of those founded by him in the 9th century. cities (Ladoga, White Lake, Novgorod) they say that the Varangians-Rus at that time spoke a Slavic language. The main god of the Varangian Rus was Perun. The treaty between Rus' and the Greeks in 911, which was concluded by Oleg the Prophet, says: “And Oleg and his men were forced to swear allegiance according to Russian law: they swore by their weapons and by Perun, their god.”

In the end 9th–10th centuries The Varangians played a significant role in the northwestern Slavic lands. The chronicle states that Novgorodians descended “from the Varangian family.” The Kyiv princes constantly resorted to the help of hired Varangian squads in the struggle for power. Under Yaroslav the Wise, who was married to the Swedish princess Ingigerd, Swedes appeared in the Varangian squads. Therefore, from the beginning. 11th century In Rus', people from Scandinavia were also called Varangians. However, in Novgorod the Swedes were not called Varangians until the 13th century. After the death of Yaroslav, the Russian princes stopped recruiting mercenary squads from the Varangians. The very name of the Varangians was rethought and gradually spread to all people from the Catholic West. Yu.K., S.P.

NORMANS (from scand. Northman - northern man) - in European sources of the 8th–10th centuries. general name for the peoples living north of the Frankish state.

In Western Europe, the inhabitants of Kievan Rus, which, according to German chroniclers, was located in the northeast, were also called Normans. Writer and diplomat of the 10th century. Bishop Liutprand of Cremona, talking about the campaign of the Kyiv prince Igor in 941 against Constantinople, wrote: “Closer to the north lives a certain people, which the Greeks ... call the Dews, but we call the Normans by location. After all, on German nord means north, and man means man; That’s why northern people can be called Normans.”

In the 9th–11th centuries. The term “Norman” came to mean only the Scandinavian Vikings who raided the sea borders of European states. In this meaning the name “urmane” is found in The Tale of Bygone Years. Many modern historians identify the Varangians, Normans and Vikings. E. G.

PECHENEGS - a union of Turkic nomadic tribes, formed in the 8th–9th centuries. in the steppes between the Aral Sea and the Volga.

In the end 9th century Pecheneg tribes crossed the Volga, pushed the Ugric tribes wandering between the Don and the Dnieper to the west and occupied a huge space from the Volga to the Danube.

In the 10th century The Pechenegs were divided into 8 tribes (“tribes”), each of which consisted of 5 clans. At the head of the tribes were the “great princes,” and the clans were headed by the “small princes.” The Pechenegs were engaged in nomadic cattle breeding, and also made predatory raids on Rus',

Byzantium, Hungary. Byzantine emperors often used the Pechenegs to fight Russia. In turn, during the strife, the Russian princes attracted Pecheneg detachments to battles with their rivals.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Pechenegs first came to Rus' in 915. Having concluded a peace agreement with Prince Igor, they went to the Danube. In 968, the Pechenegs besieged Kyiv. The Kiev prince Svyatoslav lived at that time in Pereyaslavets on the Danube, and Olga and her grandchildren remained in Kyiv. Only the cunning of the youth, who managed to call for help, made it possible to lift the siege from Kyiv. In 972, Svyatoslav was killed in a battle with the Pecheneg Khan Kurei. Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich repeatedly repelled Pecheneg raids. In 1036, the Pechenegs again besieged Kyiv, but were defeated by Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise and left Rus' forever.

In the 11th century The Pechenegs were pushed back to the Carpathians and the Danube by the Cumans and Torques. Some of the Pechenegs went to Hungary and Bulgaria and mixed with the local population. Other Pecheneg tribes submitted to the Cumans. Those who remained settled on the southern borders of Rus' and merged with the Slavs. E. G.

PO LOVTSY (self-name - Kipchaks, Cumans) - a medieval Turkic people.

In the 10th century The Polovtsy lived on the territory of modern North-West Kazakhstan, in the west they bordered on the Khazars, in the middle. 10th century moved on

Volga and moved to the steppes of the Black Sea region and the Caucasus. Polovtsian nomads in the 11th–15th centuries. occupied a vast territory - from the west of the Tien Shan to the mouth of the Danube, which was called Desht-i-Kipchak - “Polovtsian land”.

In the 11th–13th centuries. The Polovtsians had separate tribal alliances led by khans. The main occupation was cattle breeding. From the 12th century In the Polovtsian land there were cities that were inhabited, in addition to the Polovtsians, by Bulgars, Alans and Slavs.

In Russian chronicles, the Polovtsians were first mentioned in 1054, when the campaign against Rus' was led by the Polovtsian Khan Bolush. Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich of Pereyaslavl made peace with the Polovtsians, and they returned back “from where they came.” Constant Polovtsian raids on Russian land began in 1061. During strife, Russian princes entered into alliances with them against their own brothers who ruled in neighboring principalities. In 1103, the previously warring princes Svyatopolk and Vladimir Monomakh organized a joint campaign against the Polovtsians. On April 4, 1103, the united Russian forces defeated the Polovtsy, and they left for Transcaucasia with heavy losses.

From the 2nd half. 12th century The Russian border lands were devastated by Polovtsian raids. At the same time, many princes of Southern and North-Eastern Rus' were married to Polovtsian women. The struggle of the Russian princes with the Polovtsians is reflected in the monument of ancient Russian literature “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” E. G.

State formation

Gradually, the scattered tribes of the Eastern Slavs unite. The Old Russian state appears, which went down in history under the names “Rus”, “Kievan Rus”.

ANCIENT RUSSIAN STATE is a common name in historical literature for a state that emerged in the late 9th century as a result of the unification under the rule of princes from the Rurik dynasty of the East Slavic lands with the main centers in Novgorod and Kyiv. In the 2nd quarter. 12th century broke up into separate principalities and lands. The term “Old Russian state” is used along with other terms – “Russian land”, “Rus”, “Kievan Rus”. Vl. TO.

Rus', Russian land - the name of the unification of the lands of the Eastern Slavs with the center in Kyiv, which arose in the end. 9th century; to the end 17th century the name extended to the territory of the entire Russian state, with its center in Moscow.

In the 9th–10th centuries. the name Rus is assigned to the territory of the future Old Russian state. At first it covered the lands of the East Slavic tribe of Polyan-Rus from the years. Kyiv, Chernigov and Pereyaslavl. At 11 am 12th centuries The lands and principalities subordinate to the prince of Kyiv (Kievan Rus) began to be called Russia. In the 12th–14th centuries. Rus is the general name for the territory on which the Russian principalities were located, which arose as a result of the fragmentation of Kievan Rus. During this period the names arose Great Rus', White Rus', Little Rus', Black Rus', Red Rus', etc., as designations of various parts of the common Russian land.

In the 14th–17th centuries. Rus' is the name of the lands included in the Russian state, the center of which is from the 2nd half. 14th century became Moscow. S.P.

KIEVAN RUS, Old Russian state - a state in Eastern Europe that arose as a result of the unification of lands under the rule of princes from the Rurik dynasty (9th–2nd quarter of the 12th centuries).

The first news of the existence of the state among the Eastern Slavs is legendary. The Tale of Bygone Years reports that strife began among the northern East Slavic tribes (Novgorod Slovenes and Krivichi), as well as the Finno-Ugric Chuds, Meri and Vesi. It ended with its participants deciding to find themselves a prince who would “rule over them and judge them by right.” At their request, three Varangian brothers came to Rus': Rurik, Truvor and Sineus (862). Rurik began to reign in Novgorod, Sineus - in Beloozero, and Truvor - in Izborsk.

Sometimes, from the chronicle message about the invitation of Rurik and his brothers, it is concluded that statehood was brought to Rus' from the outside. It is enough, however, to pay attention to the fact that Rurik, Truvor and Sineus are invited to perform functions that are already well known to the inhabitants of the Novgorod land. So this story is only the first mention of public institutions that were already operating (and apparently for quite a long time) on the territory of North-Western Rus'.

The prince was the leader of an armed detachment and performed the functions of the supreme ruler, initially not only secular, but also spiritual. Most likely, the prince led the army and was the high priest.

The squad consisted of professional military men. Some of them passed to the prince from their father (the “elder” or “big” squad). The younger warriors grew up and were raised together with the prince from the age of 13–14. They were apparently bound by ties of friendship, which were reinforced by mutual personal obligations.

The personal loyalty of the warriors was not secured by temporary land holdings. The Old Russian warriors are completely supported by the prince. The warriors lived separately, in the princely “yard” (in the princely residence). The prince was considered among the druzhina first among equals. The squad pledged to support and protect their prince. She performed both police and “foreign policy” functions to protect the tribes that invited this prince from violence from neighbors. In addition, with her support, the prince controlled the most important trade routes (he collected taxes and protected merchants in the territory under his control).

Another way of forming the first state institutions could be the direct conquest of a given territory. An example of such a path among the Eastern Slavs is the legend about the founders of Kyiv. It is generally accepted that Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv are representatives of the local Polyana nobility. The name of the eldest of them was allegedly associated with the beginning of the Russian land as a proto-state association of the Polyan tribe. Subsequently, Kyiv was occupied by the legendary Askold and Dir (according to the Tale of Bygone Years - Rurik’s warriors). A little later, power in Kyiv passed to Oleg, the regent of Igor, the young son of Rurik. Oleg deceived Askold and Dir and killed them. To substantiate his claims to power, Oleg refers to the fact that Igor is the son of Rurik. If previously the source of power was an invitation to rule or capture, now the decisive factor for recognizing power as legitimate is the origin of the new ruler.

The capture of Kyiv by the legendary Oleg (882) is usually associated with the beginning of the formation of the Old Russian state. With this event, the existence of a kind of “unification” of the Novgorod, Smolensk and Kyiv lands began, to which the lands of the Drevlyans, Northerners and Radimichi were subsequently annexed. The foundation was laid for an intertribal union of East Slavic and also a number of Finno-Ugric tribes inhabiting the forest and forest-steppe zones of Eastern Europe. This association is usually called the Old Russian State, as well as

Ancient, or Kievan, Russia. An external indicator of recognition of the power of the Kyiv prince was the regular payment of tribute to him. The collection of tribute took place annually during the so-called polyudye.

Like any state, Kievan Rus uses force to achieve submission to its authorities. The main power structure was the princely squad. However, the inhabitants of Ancient Rus' obey the prince not only and not so much under the threat of weapons, but voluntarily. Thus, the actions of the prince and the squad (in particular, the collection of tribute) are recognized by the subjects as legal. This, in fact, provides the prince with the opportunity to rule a huge state with a small retinue. Otherwise, the free inhabitants of Ancient Rus', who were most often quite well armed, could well have defended their right not to submit to illegal (in their opinion) demands.

An example of this is the murder of the Kyiv prince Igor by the Drevlyans (945). Igor, going for a second tribute, obviously could not imagine that anyone would challenge his right to receive a tribute - even if it exceeded the usual amount. Therefore, the prince took with him only a “small” squad.

An event extremely important in the life of the young state is connected with the uprising of the Drevlyans: Olga, having brutally avenged the death of her husband, is forced to establish lessons and graveyards (sizes and places for collecting tribute). Thus, for the first time, one of the most important political functions of the state was realized: the right to make laws.

The first monument of written law that has reached our time is Russian Truth. Its appearance is associated with the name of Yaroslav the Wise (1016–1054), therefore the oldest part is sometimes called the Truth of Yaroslav. It is a collection of court decisions on specific issues, which subsequently became mandatory in resolving similar cases.

A new phenomenon in political life was the division of the entire territory of the Old Russian state between the sons of the Kyiv prince. In 970, going on a military campaign to the Balkans, the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Igorevich “placed” his eldest son Yaropolk to reign in Kyiv, Vladimir in Novgorod, and Oleg in the land of the Drevlyans, neighboring Kyiv. Obviously, they were also given the right to collect tribute for the Kyiv prince, i.e. from that time on the prince stopped going to polyudye. A certain prototype of the local government apparatus is beginning to take shape. Control over it continues to remain in the hands of the Kyiv prince.

This type of governance finally took shape during the reign of the Kyiv prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich (980–1015). Vladimir, leaving the Kiev throne behind him, placed his eldest sons in the largest Russian cities. All local power passed into the hands of the Vladimirovichs. Their subordination to the Grand Duke-Father was expressed in the regular transfer to him of part of the tribute collected from the lands in which the Grand Duke's sons-deputies sat. At the same time, the hereditary right of power was preserved. At the same time, when determining the order of succession to power, the predominant right of seniority is gradually consolidated.

This principle was also observed in the case of redistribution of reigns between the sons of the Grand Duke of Kyiv after the death of one of the brothers. If the eldest of them died (who usually sat on the Novgorod “table”), his place was taken by the next oldest brother, and all the other brothers moved up the “ladder” of power one “step” up, moving to increasingly more prestigious reigns. This system of organizing the transfer of power is usually called the “ladder” system of ascension of princes to the thrones.

However, the “ladder” system operated only during the life of the head of the princely family. After the death of the father, as a rule, an active struggle began between the brothers for the right to own Kiev. Accordingly, the winner distributed all other reigns to his children.

So, after the Kiev throne passed to him, Yaroslav Vladimirovich managed to get rid of almost all of his brothers who had any serious claims to power. Their places were taken by the Yaroslavichs. Before his death, Yaroslav bequeathed Kyiv to his eldest son Izyaslav, who also remained the prince of Novgorod. Yaroslav divided the remaining cities according to

seniority between sons. Izyaslav, as the eldest in the family, had to maintain the established order. Thus, the political priority of the Kyiv prince was formally consolidated.

However, by the end. 11th century the power of the Kyiv princes is significantly weakened. The Kiev veche begins to play a noticeable role in the life of not only the city, but also the state as a whole. They expelled or invited princes to the throne. In 1068, the people of Kiev overthrew Izyaslav, the Grand Duke of Kyiv (1054–1068, 1069–1073, 1077–1078), who lost the battle with the Polotsk, and installed Vseslav Bryachislavich of Polotsk in his place. Six months later, after Vseslav fled to Polotsk, the Kiev veche asked Izyaslav to return to the throne.

Since 1072, a series of princely congresses took place, at which the Yaroslavichs tried to agree on the basic principles of division of power and interaction in the fight against common opponents. Since 1074, a fierce struggle for the Kiev throne has unfolded between the brothers. At the same time, Polovtsian detachments were increasingly used in the political struggle.

The increasing frequency of strife seriously worsened the internal and especially foreign political situation of the Russian lands. In 1097, a princely congress took place in the city of Lyubech, at which the grandchildren of Yaroslav established a new principle of relations between the rulers of the Russian lands: “Let each one maintain his fatherland.” Now the “fatherland” (the land in which the father reigned) was inherited by the son. The “ladder” system of princes ascending to the throne was replaced by dynastic rule.

Although neither Lyubechsky nor subsequent princely congresses (1100, 1101, 1103, 1110) were able to prevent civil strife, the significance of the first of them is extremely great. It was on it that the foundations of the existence of independent states were laid on the territory of the former united Kievan Rus. The final collapse of the Old Russian state is usually associated with the events that followed the death of the eldest of the sons of the Kyiv prince Vladimir Monomakh, Mstislav (1132). A.K.

On distant frontiers

On the distant borders of Kievan Rus there were other ancient states with which the Slavs developed certain relations. Among them, the Khazar Kaganate and Volga Bulgaria should be highlighted.

KHAZAR KHAGANATE, Khazaria - a state that existed in the 7th–10th centuries. in the North Caucasus, between the Volga and Don rivers.

It developed in the territory inhabited by Turkic Caspian nomadic tribes, who in the 6th century. invaded the Eastern Ciscaucasia. Perhaps the name “Khazars” goes back to the Turkic basis “kaz” - to nomad.

At first, the Khazars wandered in the Eastern Ciscaucasia, from the Caspian Sea to Derbent, and in the 7th century. entrenched in the Lower Volga and part of the Crimean Peninsula, were dependent on the Turkic Kaganate, which by the 7th century. weakened. In the 1st quarter 7th century An independent Khazar state emerged.

In the 660s. The Khazars, in alliance with the North Caucasian Alans, defeated Great Bulgaria and formed the Kaganate. Under the authority of the supreme ruler - the kagan - there were many tribes, and the title itself was equated to the imperial one. The Khazar Khaganate was an influential force in Eastern Europe, and therefore there is a lot of written evidence about it in Arabic, Persian and Byzantine literature. The Khazars are also mentioned in Russian chronicles. Important information about the history of the Khazar Kaganate contains information dating back to the 10th century. letter from the Khazar king Joseph to the head of the Spanish Jewish community, Hasdai ibn Shafrut.

The Khazars made constant raids on the lands of the Arab Caliphate in Transcaucasia. Already from the 20s. 7th century Periodic invasions of the Khazars and allied tribes of the Caucasian Alans into the Derbent region began. In 737, the Arab commander Merwan ibn Muhammad took the capital of Khazaria - Semender, and the Kagan, saving his life, swore an oath to convert to Islam, but did not keep his word. As the Khazar legend says, after Jewish merchants arrived in Khazaria from Khorezm and Byzantium, a certain Khazar prince Bulan converted to Judaism.

His example was followed by part of the Khazars who lived on the territory of modern Dagestan.

The Khazar Khaganate was inhabited by nomadic tribes. The territory of Khazaria proper is the Western Caspian steppes between the rivers. Sulak in Northern Dagestan and the Lower Volga. Here, archaeologists have found burial mounds of Khazar warriors. Academician B. A. Rybakov suggested that the Khazar Kaganate was a small state in the lower reaches of the Volga, and gained its fame thanks to a very advantageous position on the Volga-Baltic trade route. His point of view is based on the testimony of Arab travelers, who reported that the Khazars did not produce anything themselves and lived off goods brought from neighboring countries.

Most scientists believe that the Khazar Kaganate was a huge state, under whose rule for more than two centuries was half of Eastern Europe, including many Slavic tribes, and connect it with the area of ​​the Saltovo-Mayak archaeological culture. The Khazar king Joseph called the Sarkel fortress on the Lower Don the western border of his state. In addition to her, the Khazar cities are known. Balanjar and Semender, who were located on the river. Terek and Sulak, and Atil (Itil) at the mouth of the Volga, but these cities have not been found by archaeologists.

The main occupation of the population of Khazaria is cattle breeding. The system of social organization was called “eternal el”, its center was the horde - the headquarters of the kagan, who “held the el”, that is, headed the union of tribes and clans. The highest class was made up of the Tarkhans - the clan aristocracy; the noblest among them were considered to be those from the Kagan family. The hired guards guarding the rulers of Khazaria consisted of 30 thousand Muslims and “Russians”.

Initially, the state was ruled by a kagan, but gradually the situation changed. The “deputy” of the kagan, shad, who commanded the army and was in charge of collecting taxes, became a co-ruler with the title of kagan-bek. To the beginning 9th century the power of the kagan became nominal, and he himself was considered a sacred person. He was appointed kagan-bek from representatives of a noble family. The Kagan candidate was strangled with a silk rope and, when he began to choke, they were asked how many years he wanted to rule. If the kagan died before the time he named, it was considered normal, otherwise he was killed. Only the Kagan Bey had the right to see the Kagan. If there was a famine or epidemic in the country, the kagan was killed, as it was believed that he had lost his magical power.

The 9th century was the heyday of Khazaria. In the end 8 – beginning 9th centuries a descendant of Prince Bulan, Obadiah, having become the head of the Kaganate, carried out a religious reform and declared Judaism the state religion. Despite the opposition, Obadiah managed to unite part of the Khazar nobility around himself. Thus, Khazaria became the only state of the Middle Ages where, at least, its head and the highest nobility professed Judaism. The Khazars, with the help of the nomadic tribes of the Hungarians allied to them, were able to briefly subjugate the Volga Bulgars and Burtases, and impose tribute on the Slavic tribes of the Polyans, Northerners, Vyatichi and Radimichi.

But the Khazars' reign was short-lived. Soon the clearing was freed from dependence; The Northerners and Radimichi were saved from tribute to the Khazars by the Prophetic Oleg. In the end 9th century The Pechenegs broke into the Northern Black Sea region, weakening Khazaria with constant raids. The Khazar Khaganate was finally defeated in 964–965. Kyiv prince Svyatoslav. K con. 10th century Khazaria fell into decline. The remnants of the Khazar tribes settled in Crimea, where they subsequently mixed with the local population. E. G.

ITIL - the capital of the Khazar Khaganate in the 8th–10th centuries.

The city was located on both banks of the river. Itil (Volga; above modern Astrakhan) and on a small island where the Kagan’s palace was located. Itil was a major center of caravan trade. The population of the city consisted of Khazars, Khorezmians, Turks, Slavs, and Jews. Merchants and artisans lived in the eastern part of the city, and government offices were located in the western part. According to Arab travelers, there were many mosques, schools, baths, and markets in Itil. Housing buildings were wooden tents, felt yurts and dugouts.

In 985, Itil was destroyed by the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. E.K.

BULGARIA VOLGA-KAMSKAYA, Volga Bulgaria is a state that existed in the Middle Volga and Kama regions.

Volga Bulgaria was inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes and Bulgars, who came here after the defeat of Great Bulgaria. In the 9th–10th centuries. the inhabitants of Volga Bulgaria switched from nomadism to settled agriculture.

Some time in the 9th–10th centuries. Volga Bulgaria was under the rule of the Khazar Kaganate. In the beginning. 10th century Khan Almas began the unification of the Bulgar tribes. In the 10th century The Bulgars converted to Islam and formally recognized the Arab caliph as the supreme ruler - the head of the Muslims. In 965, Volga Bulgaria gained independence from the Khazar Khaganate.

The location of Bulgaria on the Volga-Baltic trade route, which connected Eastern and Northern Europe with the East, ensured the influx of goods into the country from the countries of the Arab East, the Caucasus, India and China, Byzantium, Western Europe, and Kievan Rus.

In the 10th–11th centuries. the capital of Volga Bulgaria was the city of Bulgar, located 5 km from the left bank of the Volga, below the mouth of the river. Kama. Bulgar quickly turned into a major center of crafts and transit trade. This is where they minted their own coins.

The city has been around since the 10th century. was well fortified, and a settlement adjoined it from the west. To the west of Bulgar there was an Armenian settlement with a Christian temple and cemetery. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of Bulgar - the Bolgar settlement, where stone buildings of the 14th century, mausoleums, a cathedral mosque, and public baths have been preserved.

In the 10th–12th centuries. Russian princes made campaigns against the Volga Bulgars more than once. The first to try to impose tribute on Volga Bulgaria

Vladimir I Svyatoslavich, but in 985 he was forced to conclude a peace treaty. “The Tale of Bygone Years” reports the following legend: “Vladimir went against the Bulgarians with his uncle Dobrynya... And they defeated the Bulgarians. And Dobrynya said to Vladimir: “I examined the convicts - everyone was wearing boots. They won’t give us these tributes, we’ll look for some bast workers.’”

Then the Volga-Kama Bulgaria was threatened by the Vladimir principality. In the 12th century The Bulgars moved the capital to the interior of the country.

Bilyar, a city on the left bank of the river, became the new capital of the state. Cheremshan. It arose in the 10th century and was first mentioned in written sources in 1164. Crafts developed significantly: iron smelting, bone carving, leatherwork, blacksmithing, and pottery. Products exported from the cities of Kievan Rus, Syria, Byzantium, Iran, and China were found.

In the 13th century Volga-Kama Bulgaria was conquered by the Mongol-Tatars and became part of the Golden Horde. In 1236, Bulgar and Bilyar were devastated and burned by the Mongol-Tatars, but were soon rebuilt. Until the end 13th century Bulgar was the capital of the Golden Horde, 14th century. - the time of its greatest prosperity: active construction was carried out in the city, coins were minted, and crafts developed. The blow to the power of the Bulgar was dealt by the campaigns of the Golden Horde ruler Bulak-Timur in 1361. In 1431, the Bulgar was captured by Russian troops under the command of Prince Fyodor Motley and finally fell into decline. In 1438, the Kazan Khanate was formed on the territory of Volga Bulgaria. E. G.

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The given introductory fragment of the book Ancient Rus'. IV–XII centuries (Collective of authors, 2010) provided by our book partner -