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Name: Svyatoslav Igorevich (Svyatoslav Rurikovich)
Date of Birth: 942
Age: 30 years
Date of death: 972
Activity: military leader, statesman
Family status: was married
Svyatoslav Igorevich: biography
Prince of Novgorod and Kyiv Svyatoslav Igorevich ruled the Russian state from 944 to 972. The ruler is known for his military campaigns and conquests, battles against the Bulgarian state and Byzantium.
Svyatoslav became the only son of Prince Igor and Princess Olga. Exact date The birth of the future ruler is still not known. According to the Ipatiev list, Svyatoslav Igorevich was born in 942 (some sources indicate 940). There is no record of the event in the Laurentian list. This raises a lot of questions among researchers, since the information is contradictory. In literary sources, the year 920 is stated, but historians consider this a fiction, not the truth.
The upbringing of the prince's son was entrusted to the Varangian Asmud, who emphasized basic skills. Young Svyatoslav received knowledge that was useful in military campaigns: the art of combat, the management of horses, a rook, swimming, and the skill of disguise. Another mentor, the governor Sveneld, was responsible for the military art. The first data about Svyatoslav, which can be seen in the Russian-Byzantine treaty of Prince Igor, began to appear in 944. A year later, the prince dies.
The death of the ruler led to the dissatisfaction of the Drevlyans about the collection of too much tribute. Since Svyatoslav Igorevich is still a child, the reins of government are transferred to his mother, Princess Olga. A year after the murder of her husband, Olga goes to the lands of the Drevlyans. As befits the head of state, 4-year-old Svyatoslav begins the battle with his father's squad. The young ruler won the battle. The princess forced the Drevlyans to submit. To prevent such tragedies from happening in the future, the regent introduces new system board.
The annals say that in childhood Svyatoslav Igorevich did not part with his mother and constantly lived in Kyiv. Scientists have found evidence of the incorrectness of this judgment. The Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus recounted the following:
“Monoxyls coming from outer Russia to Constantinople are one of Nemogard, in which Sfendoslav, son of Ingor, archon of Russia, sat.”
Researchers believe that Svyatoslav moved to Novgorod at the request of his father. There was a mention in the annals of Olga's visit to Constantinople. At the same time, they talk about the future prince, without naming the title of Svyatoslav Igorevich.
Beginning of the reign
The Tale of Bygone Years says that the first campaign of Svyatoslav Igorevich happened in 964. The main goal of the ruler was to strike at the Khazar Khaganate. The prince did not become distracted by the Vyatichi, who met along the way. The attack on the Khazars fell a year later - in 965. The chronicle says the following about this:
“In the summer of 6473 (965) Svyatoslav went to the Khazars. Having heard, the Khazars went out to meet him with their prince kagan and agreed to fight, and Svyatoslav the Khazars defeated them in the battle, and took their city and the White Tower. And he defeated the yases of the icasogs.
Interestingly, a contemporary of Svyatoslav presents events in a different way. Ibn-Khaukal argued that the prince dealt with the Khazars later than the time indicated in the annals.
A contemporary recalled other military actions against the Volga Bulgaria, but such information is not available in official sources. Here is what Ibn Haukal said:
“Bulgar is a small city, there are no numerous districts in it, and it was known for being a port for the states mentioned above, and the Rus devastated it and came to Khazaran, Samandar and Itil in the year 358 (968/969) and set off immediately after to the country of Rum and Andalus ... And al-Khazar is a side, and there is a city in it called Samandar, and it is in the space between it and Bab al-Abwab, and there were numerous gardens in it ... but then the Rus came there, and not there are no grapes or raisins left in that city.”
In 965 Svyatoslav Igorevich arrives in Sarkel-on-Don. Several battles were required to conquer this city. But the ruler did not celebrate the victory for long, as Itil, the main city of the Khazar Khaganate, appeared on the way. The conqueror got another locality- Semender. This glorious city is located on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
The Khazar Khaganate fell before the onslaught of Svyatoslav, but this was not enough for the ruler. The prince tried to win back and secure these lands. Soon Sarkel was renamed into Belaya Vezha. According to some reports, in the same years, Kyiv received Tmutarakan. It is believed that it was possible to hold power until the beginning of the 980s.
Domestic politics
The domestic policy of Svyatoslav Igorevich was active. The ruler set himself the goal of strengthening power by attracting military squads. Politics did not attract the young prince, so there were no special changes in the internal activities of the state during the years of Svyatoslav's reign.
Despite the dislike for the internal affairs of Russia, Svyatoslav Igorevich made some adjustments. In particular, he formed a new system for collecting taxes and taxes. In different parts of the Old Russian state, special places were organized - graveyards. Here they collected money from the inhabitants. Svyatoslav Igorevich was able to overcome the Vyatichi, who now and then rebelled against the ruler. During the campaign, the prince pacified the violent people. Thanks to this, the treasury began to replenish again. Despite the work in this direction, Princess Olga took on most of the concerns.
The wisdom of the reign of the Grand Duke is manifested after the birth of sons. Svyatoslav Igorevich needed to put faithful and devoted people on the thrones in different cities. In Kyiv, Yaropolk ruled, in Novgorod - Oleg became Prince of Drevlyansky.
Foreign policy
Foreign policy became the passion of the young prince. On his account, several major wars - with the Bulgarian kingdom and Byzantium. Many versions in history have these important events for Russia. Historians settled on two variations of the struggle against the Bulgarian kingdom. The first opinion was that it all started with a conflict between Byzantium and the Bulgarian kingdom. In this regard, the Byzantine emperor turned to Svyatoslav Igorevich for help. It was his soldiers who were supposed to attack Bulgaria.
The second opinion lies in the fact that Byzantium tried to weaken the Kyiv prince, since the ruler was able to conquer their lands. And there was no peace in the Byzantine state: the ambassador who arrived at Svyatoslav decided to plot against his emperor. He persuaded the Russian prince, promised him Bulgarian lands and treasures from the treasury of Byzantium.
The invasion of Bulgaria took place in 968. Svyatoslav Igorevich managed to overcome opponents and conquer Pereyaslavets, located at the mouth of the Danube. Relations with the Byzantine state began to deteriorate gradually. In the same year, the Pechenegs raided Kyiv, so the prince had to urgently return to the capital of Russia. In 969, Princess Olga, who was engaged in the internal politics of the state, died. This prompted Svyatoslav Igorevich to attract children to the board. The prince did not want to stay in the capital:
“I don’t like to sit in Kyiv, I want to live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube - for there is the middle of my land, all good things flow there: from the Greek land, gold, curtains, wines, various fruits; from the Czech Republic and from Hungary silver and horses; from Russia, furs and wax, honey and slaves.
Despite the fact that it was the Byzantine government that organized the raid on the Bulgarians, the latter turned to them for help in the fight against Svyatoslav. The emperor thought for a long time what to do, but then decided to strengthen his state with a dynastic marriage. At the end of 969, the sovereign dies, and John Tzimisces ascended the throne. He did not allow the Bulgarian son and the Byzantine maiden to get engaged.
Painting "Meeting of Svyatoslav with John Tzimisces". K. Lebedev, 1916 Realizing that Byzantium is no longer an assistant, the authorities of the Bulgarian state decide to conclude an agreement with Svyatoslav Igorevich. Together the rulers go against Byzantium. Military tension between the empire and the Russian state grew. Gradually, troops were brought up to the fortresses. In 970 there was an attack on Byzantium. On the side of Svyatoslav were the Bulgarians, Hungarians and Pechenegs. Despite the serious advantages in terms of the number of military men, Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich was defeated in a pitched battle.
The painting "The Trinity of Svyatoslav's Vigilantes after the Battle of Dorostol in 971". Henryk Semiradsky A year later, the troops regained strength and again began to raid the Byzantine state. Now the rulers are in battle. Again the fighters of Byzantium were more successful. They captured the Bulgarian king and crept up to Svyatoslav. In one of the battles, the prince was wounded. After that, the Byzantine emperor and the Russian ruler sat down at the negotiating table. Svyatoslav Igorevich leaves Bulgaria, but restores trade relations with Byzantium. Now the eastern part of the Bulgarian state submits to the emperor. Western regions gained independence.
Personal life
Military campaigns became the main goal of the life of Svyatoslav Igorevich. The personal life of the prince was developing successfully. The ruler became the father of three sons - Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir. The care of the internal politics of the state fell on the shoulders of the young sons, while the father conquered new territories.
Painting " Grand Duke Svyatoslav kissing his mother and children upon his return from the Danube to Kyiv. I. A. Akimov, 1773 In the official documents of that time there is no information about the wife who gave birth to two eldest sons. It is known about Vladimir's mother. The woman was not married to the prince, but was a concubine.
Death and memory
The biography of Svyatoslav Igorevich ends in March 972. The prince could not remain at the mouth of the Dnieper. Together with the army, the ruler tried to get through the ambush of the Pechenegs. This was a disastrous mistake, as the weakened fighters fell at the hands of the nomads. The Pechenegs brutally dealt with Svyatoslav:
“And Kurya, the prince of the Pechenegs, attacked him; and they killed Svyatoslav, and cut off his head, and made a cup out of the skull, encasing the skull, and then they drank from it.
During the reign, the prince expanded the territory of the state and received the nickname Brave. Svyatoslav is so called in historical references. The memory of Svyatoslav Igorevich lives to this day. The image of the warrior prince was used in fiction and art. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first monument "Svyatoslav on the way to Tsar-grad" appeared. Sculptures are located in Kyiv and Ukrainian regions.
A peculiar photo is available on the Internet. According to the descriptions of the contemporaries of the prince, the masters created a portrait: a man of medium height, snub-nosed, with thick eyebrows, blue eyes, a long mustache, a strong nape and a broad chest.
Svyatoslav Igorevich
In the year of Svyatoslav's birth (942), Igor could not have been much less than 70 years old, since during Oleg's campaign to Kyiv (879), he could not be older than 10–12 years, otherwise Oleg's son, but Rurik's son, would have led the campaign , Igor. If we accept the calculations of V.N. Tatishchev, the birth of Igor, according to the Schism Chronicle, falls on the period from 873 to 875. In this case, Igor was from 67 to 69 years old in the year Svyatoslav was born. The age to become a father is not quite right. If we turn to the Nizhny Novgorod chronicle, indicating 861 as the year of Igor's birth, then at 81 to have a child is even more "doubtful" (in the words of V.N. Tatishchev).
This served as the basis for the assumption that the actual father of Svyatoslav could not be Igor, but someone else. Even sometimes they recall the matchmaking to Princess Olga, the mother of Svyatoslav, the Drevlyansky prince Mal, forgetting that this matchmaking was unsuccessful, and the daughter of the Drevlyan later became the concubine of Svyatoslav himself and bore him a son, Vladimir. In addition, chronicle sources report that during the war between Olga and the Drevlyans, Svyatoslav was already three years old.
There are other assumptions about the origin of Svyatoslav, in particular L.N. Gumilyov. But all these versions contradict documentary sources. Svyatoslav is called the son of Igor in their writings by Byzantine authors who are well aware of the situation in Russia.
Is the year of Svyatoslav's birth sometimes disputed? it belongs to some historians 20 years earlier. This is stated in the study by E.V. Pchelova. Chronicler's errors in recording dates are quite possible.
The development of the hypothesis that Svyatoslav's father was not Igor (and such a hypothesis has become very attractive for some history buffs) leads to the conclusion that Svyatoslav's reign meant a change in the Varangian dynasty (if we agree that the first Russian princes? Rurik, Oleg and Igor? were Varangian or perhaps of Scandinavian origin) into Slavic.
Archaeological research by T.I. Alekseeva showed that Scandinavian anthropological types are found in burials on Ladoga and in cemeteries near Chernigov, but are absolutely absent in Kyiv. But these objective data do not at all deny Igor's paternity. From them follows only the fact that there was no noticeable number of Scandinavians in Kyiv. They were not in the army of Oleg, they did not appear during the reign of Igor and Olga. Hence, it is natural to assume that these princes themselves had nothing in common with the Scandinavians. Then no change of dynasty occurred, because the dynasty was not Scandinavian.
One can assume the Slavic origin of Svyatoslav. With an even greater degree of probability, we can talk about this in relation to Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Yaroslav Vladimirovich. However, Yaroslav introduced the custom of entering into dynastic marriages with princes and princesses from families of rulers of other nations. There is nothing wrong with this custom, it was done all over the world. Sons were often married at the age of 14-16, daughters were given in marriage even earlier. It was superfluous to talk about the mutual feelings of the young in such conditions. Dynastic marriages in the name of achieving political goals subsequently made the ethnicity of the Russian princes very difficult to determine. In this sense, the example of Andrei Bogolyubsky, a sixth-generation descendant of Svyatoslav, is typical. It mixed the blood of the Swedish, Byzantine and English princesses (grandmothers, great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers), and the Polovtsian princess became his mother. He himself was married, as expected, three times: in his youth to a Bulgar woman, after her death to the Suzdal hawthorn Ulita, and by a third marriage to an Ossetian. With all this, Andrey? a typical Russian prince, a zealous Christian. Subsequently, he was canonized as an Orthodox saint.
Unlike his descendants, Svyatoslav was a convinced pagan, so he sharply rejected Christianity spreading in Kyiv. When 12-year-old Svyatoslav Olga offered to be baptized, he refused: "My squad will start laughing at this."
At the same time, calling the Christian faith “ugliness”, he showed some religious tolerance: “If anyone wants to be baptized, I don’t scold, but I scold him: there is ugliness to the faith of the Christian” ( “If anyone wanted to be baptized, he did not scold him, but scoffed: for unbelievers, the Christian faith is the same as ugliness”).
In 959, Svyatoslav was already 17 years old. He showed dissatisfaction with the adoption of Christianity by Olga, "besides, he was angry with his mother."
B.A. Rybakov draws attention to the fact that during the hostilities with Byzantium, which were led by Svyatoslav, Christianity could not help but become a persecuted religion. Preserving their traditional religious beliefs was part of the defense of political sovereignty.
Svyatoslav proved to be a brilliant commander and a noble man. The years of his reign have adorned Russian history forever. "I'm coming for you"? he nobly warned his enemies about his campaign, avoiding treachery and deceit. The chroniclers compared it with a cheetah: "... He himself is brave and walking easily, like a pardus." Pardus? this is a cheetah; the leopard or leopard was also called this word, but it is the cheetah among all the animals of the earth that is distinguished by uncontrollable speed, purposefulness and ease of running. In battle, he fought in the forefront of his soldiers: “But I will go before you,”? he said.
His strategic abilities made it possible to defeat the Khazar army in several battles. The dependence of Russia on the Judeo-Khazar state, assumed by historians, was completely and finally eliminated. The nature of this dependence is assessed by historians in different ways: from political and economic vassalage (L.N. Gumilyov) to the struggle for dominance over the tribes that paid tribute (B.D. Grekov).
Svyatoslav began "to copulate many and brave" from 964. With his squad, as follows from the studies of B.D. Grekov, he made victorious campaigns on the Oka, on the Volga, to the Kama and Danube Bulgarians, to the Caucasus. G.V. Vernadsky believed that the Crimean Goths and Russians in Tmutarakan recognized their vassalage in relation to him in early January 963 and supported him in military operations against Khazaria.
Svyatoslav was close to expanding Russia at the expense of the Bulgarian kingdom. “He has already completely taken possession of their country,”? wrote a Byzantine historian. Svyatoslav's passion for his conquests in Bulgaria almost led to the capture of Kyiv by the Pechenegs. Byzantium saw a threat to itself in the Danube campaigns of the Rus. The Slavic leopard could not resist the mighty empire with a twenty-thousand-strong army (B.D. Grekov is inclined to such an assessment), and he left Bulgaria conquered by him.
Regarding the number of Svyatoslav's troops, historians have disagreements. The Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon calls 60 thousand. In The Tale of Bygone Years, the chronicler names 10,000 soldiers, while specifying that in negotiations with the Byzantines, Svyatoslav added the same number of soldiers to overestimate the amount of compensation for the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal from Bulgaria. This was emphasized by M.N. Tikhomirov. For more soldiers needed larger size compensation.
On the way back, on the Dnieper rapids, the remnants of the exhausted squad were destroyed by the Pechenegs, and Svyatoslav himself, in the prime of life, suffered perhaps the most tragic fate of all Russian princes. From the skull of the great Slavic leader, a bowl was made for the Pecheneg Khan Kuri. Allegedly, Kurya ordered to make an inscription on the bowl: "He who seeks someone else's will lose his own." It could hardly be, the Pechenegs did without writing.
It is not entirely clear why Svyatoslav's army split up when they returned to Kyiv. Part of him, led by the governor Sveneld, arrived safely in Kyiv, and Svyatoslav himself was forced to spend the winter on the way, having neither equipment nor provisions.
It is alleged, for example, B.A. Rybakov, that such a development of events does not exclude direct betrayal by Sveneld. In the text of The Tale of Bygone Years, however, there are no hints of this. It says that Sveneld offered to bypass the Dnieper rapids and arrive in Kyiv by land on horseback. Svyatoslav did not listen to him and continued to move on the boats, up the Dnieper. The movement through the rapids was closed by the Pechenegs, the forced starvation winter further weakened the forces of the Russian detachment, which led to its defeat and the death of the Slavic prince.
It can be assumed, knowing the knightly character of Svyatoslav, that the reason for the refusal to land on the shore and move to Kyiv on horseback was that there were simply not enough horses. Indeed, the main force of the Russians? they are foot soldiers, and the cavalry detachment was small from the very beginning. Heavy fighting with the Byzantines and the difficulties of the return journey further reduced the number of horses. Svyatoslav could save himself and his closest associates, but the rest would be doomed, left without him in the Pecheneg steppe. The prince did not want to leave his soldiers on the way home, who had made a trip to Bulgaria with him. Remembering another historical era and other events, it can be seen that when the French army retreated from Russia in 1812, Napoleon took care only of his own salvation. Almost all of his army, once called the Great, remained forever in the Russian open spaces, and he himself raced off on a winter December evening on a sleigh to Paris, observing, as E.V. wrote. Tarle, "the strictest incognito, understanding the danger of these critical days." Svyatoslav, who was not so sophisticated in matters of assessing priorities, apparently considered it more important to save his squad.
L.N. Gumilyov did not rule out that it was not the Byzantines or Bulgarians who took care of the interception of Svyatoslav by the Pechenegs, but influential members of the Christian community in Kyiv, who feared the return of the pagan prince.
The fact is that one of the reasons for his defeat in the war with the Byzantines in Bulgaria, Svyatoslav considered the anger of the pagan gods due to the presence of Christians in his army. Torture and execution of Christians began in Dorostol. Christians "with joy at the torment of an idiot, renounce the faith of Christ and bow down to idols without wanting to." It is possible that the prince's tolerance for Kievan Christians would have ceased in Kyiv. Perhaps the destruction of Kyiv churches has already begun, noted B.A. Rybakov.
It is no less likely that the Pechenegs themselves were looking for an opportunity to settle accounts with the prince, whose name alone terrified them. The cup from his skull was intended for the Pecheneg Khan himself and his wife to drink from it. Then they would have, as they believed, children would be born, with courage and military talent equal to Svyatoslav.
Svyatoslav? one of the few Russian princes whose appearance we can get a clear idea. The Greek historian left a description of the meeting in Bulgaria of the Byzantine emperor Tzimiskes with Svyatoslav. The emperor looked like an emperor: gilded armor, riding a handsome horse, a magnificent retinue. Svyatoslav drove up to the shore in a boat.
“He looked like this: medium height ... with thick eyebrows, with blue eyes ... His head was completely naked; but only on one side of it hung a lock of hair, signifying the nobility of the family; the neck is thick, the shoulders are broad and the whole body is rather slender. He seemed gloomy and stern. He had a golden earring hanging in one ear ... His clothes were white, nothing but cleanliness, not different from others. He shaved his beard and wore a mustache that was "thick and long". Despite his modest attire next to the brilliant emperor, he talked to him about the terms of the peace treaty, "sitting in the boat on the bench."
Let us recall Gogol's "Taras Bulba" with beautiful illustrations by E.A. Kibrik and the painting by I.E. Repin "The Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan". In the Kiev region, the traditions of men's fashion turned out to be conservative. After 600 years, courageous warriors? Zaporizhian Cossacks? they continued to shave their beards, keeping long mustaches going down; shaved their heads, leaving a forelock on the crown? settler. This settler gave them the nickname "Khokhly". Did the spread of Christianity bring with it new trends in appearance among the upper strata of the Russians? modeled on the Byzantines and their priests.
What was the prehistory of the Bulgarian campaigns of Svyatoslav?
Bulgaria posed a real threat to Byzantium, unlike Russia. The Byzantines were also annoyed by the raids of the Hungarians, whose passage through their territory was freely provided by the Bulgarians. This is stated in the works of A.N. Sakharov.
The emergence of Bulgaria as a single state is attributed to the year 679 (or, according to other sources, to the year 681) after the resettlement of part of the Turkic tribe of Bulgarians from the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov to the Balkan Peninsula, led by Khan Asparuh, who led the united local Slavic and resettled Turkic tribes. The natives were subjugated by the newcomers, who gave their name to the formed union.
The Bulgarian Tsar Simeon Borisovich (reigned 893–927), who, by the way, was brought up at the court of Constantinople along with the sons of Emperor Michael, proved to be an outstanding statesman, talented commander and patriot of his homeland. After the death of his father, he left the monastic order, which he had taken at the insistence of the Greeks, and fled home. The hopes of Greek politicians for the inclusion of Bulgaria in the Byzantine Empire were not destined to come true. Moreover, Tsar Simeon managed to take away from the Byzantines almost all of their possessions in the Balkans: the capital of the empire itself, Constantinople, was surrounded on all sides by lands that had come under Bulgarian rule. Several failed attempts were made to capture the imperial capital. From the north, the Hungarians, allied to the Byzantines, acted against Simeon.
We see that the relationship between the Byzantines, Hungarians and Bulgarians has changed. If earlier the Bulgarians let the Hungarians through for predatory raids to the borders of Byzantium, then later the Hungarians began to help the Byzantines cope with the Bulgarians.
In 919, Simeon took the title of "king and autocrat of all Bulgarians and Greeks", married his heir Peter to a Byzantine princess. The Byzantine Empire was forced to reckon with the former pupil of the imperial family. At palace receptions, the Bulgarian ambassadors took first place, they were treated with more respect than even the ambassadors of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Greek courtiers remembered the allied treaties with Russia. The Byzantine Kalokir went to Svyatoslav in order to persuade him to go to war with Bulgaria. One and a half thousand pounds of gold (more than half a ton!) Was offered as payment for military assistance. The calculation of the cunning Greeks was, apparently, that the Russians and the Bulgarians would weaken each other, and Byzantium would be able to restore its former position.
In the end, it did. This showed the strength of Constantinople diplomacy and the ability to draw up and implement far-reaching plans, honed to perfection over the centuries of the existence of the Byzantine Empire. Although everything did not go very smoothly and not very quickly. For the Byzantine courtiers, there were more than once very acute moments when it seemed that their plans were not destined to come true.
The mission of Kalokir requires explanation. He was the chief magistrate of the Crimean city of Chersonesus (according to information given by A.N. Sakharov, the son of a Chersonesus strategist), belonging to Byzantium. Most of the Crimea had previously recognized its vassalage from Svyatoslav. Kalokir had an interest in expanding his influence in the Crimea. In addition, the Byzantine historian wrote very remarkable words: “Hiring Svyatoslav against the Bulgarians, he [Kalokir] had to confidentially hint to the Russian prince that his campaign in the Balkans should not be limited to Bulgaria alone.” Historians, including G.V. Vernadsky, admit that the ambassador hoped to overthrow Emperor Nicephorus with Russian help and seize the throne for himself.
At the same time, not all historians tend to unconditionally trust the message about the motives behind Svyatoslav's Balkan campaign. In any case, Svyatoslav subsequently clearly showed that he had his own goals and plans, and his behavior did not fit into the image of a Byzantine mercenary. The Emperor of Constantinople wanted to remove Svyatoslav from the Crimea and punish Bulgaria, while the Kyiv prince saw an opportunity to expand his possessions and even move the capital of his state to a new location.
The successor of Simeon Borisovich, the Bulgarian Tsar Peter, was much inferior to him in his abilities. Svyatoslav was in the prime of life and military talent. The Byzantines, probably not without bewilderment, observed how in 968-969. The Russian army quickly defeated the Bulgarians. As a result, 80 cities were captured (the number, however, causes doubt in A.N. Sakharov), and the victorious Svyatoslav decided to establish a new capital in the south of the Danube, in the city of Pereyaslavets, instead of Kyiv. He explained his decision logically and simply: in this place “... all good converges: from Greek gold, pavoloki [expensive fabrics], various wines and vegetables, from Czech, from Eel [from Hungary] silver and komoni [horses] , from Russia it is fast [furs], honey and servants [captives for the slave trade; another version of the translation by V.N. Tatishchev? army]".
Instead of two weakened neighbors, under the walls of Constantinople, there was a strong Russian army led by Svyatoslav, who was not going to leave anywhere.
The Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas tried to reconcile with "the same faith Misians [Bulgarians]". The Christian Bulgarians allowed the pagan Slavic prince to come dangerously close to the capital of the empire.
The Byzantines were partially helped by the Pechenegs, who approached Kyiv in 968. The coincidence in time of their raid with the successful actions of Svyatoslav in Bulgaria makes it plausible to assume that the Pechenegs were hired either by the Byzantines or the Bulgarians.
"The Tale of Bygone Years" calls this appearance of the Pechenegs in Russia the first, but earlier in the annals it was already said about the resolution of the conflict with the Pechenegs by Igor in 915: "The first came to the Russian land." Svyatoslav had to leave Bulgaria and hastily march to Kyiv, where he left his mother. Svyatoslav did not come to a collision with the Pechenegs, the Pechenegs were driven away by the advance detachment of the governor Pretich. Peace was concluded, the Pecheneg Khan exchanged weapons with Pretich and went to the steppes. The Pechenegs did not represent a serious problem for such a commander as Svyatoslav. The chronicler, in just one phrase, reports how Svyatoslav resolved this issue: "Gather howl and drive away the pejnzi in poly, and be peace."
After that, he completed the defeat of Khazaria. Great Khazar Empire, wrote G.V. Vernadsky, the end has come. Tmutarakan became Russian.
Information about Svyatoslav in foreign chronicles is much more detailed than in Russian chronicles. A contemporary of the Russian prince, an Arab geographer referred to by B.D. Grekov, wrote: “Now there is no trace left of either the Bulgars, or the Burtases, or the Khazars, because Russia destroyed everyone, took away from them and annexed their land, and those who escaped ... fled to the surrounding places in hope to come to an agreement with Russia and become under its power.
The people of Kiev reproached Svyatoslav: “You, prince, are looking for someone else’s land, but you forgot about your own ... Don’t you feel sorry for your fatherland, your elderly mother, and children.” Soon Princess Olga died. Having buried his mother according to the Christian rite, Svyatoslav again returned to Bulgaria in 969.
Before returning to Bulgaria, Svyatoslav divided state power between his sons. This was the first experience of the formation of appanages, which later, as some historians believe, led to the death of a centralized state. The eldest son Yaropolk remained in Kyiv, in the land of the Drevlyans? Oleg, in Novgorod? Vladimir, known as the future baptizer of Russia. Other historians believe that, by this act, Svyatoslav, on the contrary, secured power over the Russian lands for his family, for the Rurik dynasty.
Svyatoslav, and after him other rulers of Russia, considered the country as their possession, with which they could do as they pleased. It was not the rulers who were in the service of the country, but the country, together with its people, was used as a source of prosperity for the rulers.
Such an attitude to the country, as to their property, is typical not only for the rulers of Russia. Bolesław Krivousty (ruled 1102–1138) also ordered Poland. Before his death, he divided the country into four equal parts. The result is logical: the internecine wars of the brothers began, in which both the German king and the Russian princes intervened with great pleasure. King of France Louis X in the middle of the XIII century concluded an agreement with the English king Henry III. As a sign of his location, he gave England some of the lands of France. When the advisers began to explain to the king that this should not have been done, he, according to the testimony of Joinville, declared: “There is a good reason to give him [the English king] land. After all, we are married to sisters and our children are cousins; therefore it is fitting that there be peace between us.” The English king also generously distributed the estates of England to the French noble knights who came with his wife.
The new Byzantine emperor, John Tzimiskes, who, in collusion with the Empress Theophano, killed Nikephoros Phoka, who had ruled earlier, continued his former policy towards the Slavs in Bulgaria. He invited Svyatoslav to conclude a peace agreement. Svyatoslav rejected the proposals of a peace treaty that were unfavorable for Russia.
Tzimiskes moved on to military threats. He reminded Svyatoslav "of the miserable fate" of his father Igor, who was executed by the Drevlyans. In response, the army of Svyatoslav approached Constantinople. The threat of capturing the capital of the empire became more than real.
Military operations began. The actions of the Byzantine army under the command of the commander Varda Sklir were complicated by the uprising of Varda Foki in Asia Minor. Only after the defeat of the rebels in 972 did the military successes of Tzimiskes allow him to resume negotiations. He suggested that the Russians “immediately and without any reservations come out of the land that does not belong to them at all.” In conclusion, the emperor declared to Svyatoslav: “I don’t think that you could return to your fatherland if you force the entire Roman army to oppose you.” Svyatoslav replied that the Bulgaria he conquered? this is “our land”, and he compared the emperor’s threats with “how they scare babies with various stuffed animals.”
The decisive battle took place on July 26, 971 (other authors indicate June 21, as well as July 20) near the city of Dorostol, where the Russian army was besieged. B.A. Rybakov gives a description by a Byzantine historian of one of the episodes of the siege: “When night fell on the earth and the full circle of the moon shone, the Scythians [Russians] went out onto the plain and picked up their dead. They piled them up in front of the wall, made frequent fires and burned them, slaughtering many captive men and women, according to the custom of their ancestors. It is cruel to sacrifice captives to pagan gods. But Basil II, the emperor of Christian Byzantium, acted no less cruelly, ordering the blinding of 15,000 captive Bulgarians.
The Russian chronicle preserved the appeal of the prince to his army before the battle. His words remained forever in the national military history: “Let us not disgrace the Russian lands, but lie down with bones; the dead are not shameful to imam, if we run away, shame to imam; Imam will not run away, but we will become strong. I will go before you. If my head lies down, then provide for yourself ”( “Let's not disgrace Russia, we'd rather die, for the dead are not ashamed. Let us not flee in a shameful flight, but let us stand strong. I will be ahead of you. If I die, then decide for yourself what to do.”).
The Byzantine historian quoted by B.D. Grekov, this speech, full of severe dignity, is conveyed in the following words (let’s not forget that it was written by a representative of a hostile country): “Glory, the companion of the weapons of the Russians, who easily defeated neighboring peoples and conquered entire countries without shedding blood, will perish if we now shamefully yield to the Romans. So, with the courage of our ancestors and with the thought that the Russian force has been invincible so far, let us fight courageously for our life. It is not our custom to flee to our fatherland, but either to live victorious, or, having committed famous exploits to die with glory."
We will probably never know if Captain Rudnev remembered from the gymnasium the words of the Russian prince, spoken more than 900 years ago. Maybe he was not the most exemplary schoolboy and even skipped history lessons. But, having received a Japanese ultimatum, on January 26, 1904, the captain of the Varyag addressed the team with the following words: “Of course, we are going to break through and will engage in battle with the squadron, no matter how strong it is. Any questions about the surrender can not be? we will not surrender the cruiser and ourselves and will fight to the last opportunity and to the last drop of blood. Perform each of their duties accurately, calmly, without haste. Especially gunners, remembering that each shot must harm the enemy. The cruiser and the gunboat that was with him raised their battle flags and entered the battle. The enemy could neither sink nor capture the Russian ships. Due to the damage received in battle, it was not possible to continue the battle. Russian ships were flooded, and the team returned to Russia through neutral ports. The Japanese emperor, in recognition of the heroism of Russian sailors, sent V.F. Rudnev Order of the Rising Sun. Impressed by this feat, the Austrian poet Rudolf Greinz wrote a poem now known to everyone in our country. His translation by E.M. Studentskaya from German into Russian? this is the lyrics. Here are her first lines:
Upstairs you, comrades, all in places,
The last parade is coming.
Our proud Varyag does not surrender to the enemy,
Nobody wants mercy!
One more example can be recalled, from the Russian-Turkish war, when, having met four times superior enemy forces, General P.A. Rumyantsev announced to the troops: “Our glory and dignity are not tolerated in order to endure the presence of the enemy, standing in sight of us, without stepping on him!” The battle, which ended in the defeat of the 80,000th Turkish army, took place on July 7, 1770. So, different circumstances, different times? and the fighting spirit of Russian soldiers has not changed over the past centuries.
In the battle with Svyatoslav, the Byzantine army won. Before the decisive battle, the Russians had only a third of the original number of soldiers, of which only half were capable of fighting because of the wounds received. However, there was no surrender. Svyatoslav left with an armed army, the Byzantines supplied him with food and released him from Bulgaria without hindrance. Under the agreement, Svyatoslav undertook not to attack Byzantium anymore and to provide military assistance to it.
Perhaps one of the reasons for the defeat of Svyatoslav was his cruelty to the Bulgarians, some of whom were pro-Byzantine. At the first stage of the Balkan campaign, Svyatoslav fought with the Bulgarian troops, fulfilling the agreement concluded with the mediation of Kalokir. When relations with the Byzantines became hostile, the Bulgarians became his allies in military operations against the Greeks. This is how the second stage developed. The Bulgarian Tsar Boris (who ascended the throne after the death of his father, Tsar Peter) was not deprived of his royal title by Svyatoslav, that is, he was considered by him not as a prisoner, but as an ally in the fight against the Greeks. Bulgarians and Russians jointly defended the Bulgarian capital Preslav from the Byzantines. At the third stage, Tzimiskes proclaimed the goal of his campaign to be the liberation of Bulgaria from the power of the "Scythians". Svyatoslav, “seeing that the Misians [Bulgarians] were lagging behind his alliance,” ordered the execution of 300 pro-Byzantine noble Bulgarian nobles. Hasty and ill-considered repressions, probably, prompted the Bulgarians to join their recent opponents? the Byzantines, despite the fact that, as A.N. Sakharov, in search of profit, did not disdain even to rob Bulgarian churches.
The Russian chronicler biasedly describes the military campaign of the Kyiv prince. He doesn't talk about defeat. On the contrary, according to him, the Greeks, as before, under Oleg and Igor, paid a large tribute, and only after that Svyatoslav withdrew his army. But the reality is that all the conquests of Svyatoslav in Bulgaria were lost.
This example of the chronicler's biased attitude to the description of events does not allow one to fully believe in a rich ransom. Also legendary is the scene of the test of Svyatoslav with the gifts of the Byzantines. At first, the emperor sent the Russian prince gold and expensive fabrics (linings). The prince-knight indifferently told his entourage to remove these gifts. The second time the emperor sent weapons, punishing his messenger: "Watch his appearance, face and thoughts." The visual-psychological test did not please the Byzantines. The warrior, who was compared to a leopard, immediately changed when he saw the sword and other equipment. He took it in his hands, began to examine. It was then that the supposedly Greek emperor decided to pay tribute to Svyatoslav and stop hostilities with him.
In the winter of 973, the weakened squad of Svyatoslav was destroyed on the way home on the Dnieper rapids by the Pechenegs.
Eastern Bulgaria with the former capital of Tsar Simeon Preslava was annexed by Tzimiskes to Byzantium. Western Bulgaria was conquered by Emperor Basil II by 1018.
Bulgaria, which experienced its short-lived heyday, starting with Khan Krum (ruled from 802 to 815) and up to Tsar Simeon, remained under the rule of Byzantium until the end of the 12th century. Having become independent from Byzantium in 1187, Bulgaria experienced its second heyday, quickly followed by a period of decline and feudal fragmentation. Continuous invasions of Tatars, Polovtsy, Byzantines, peasant uprisings exhausted the country. After a little over 200 years, Bulgaria again lost its statehood, falling from 1396 under the 600-year rule of the Ottoman Turks.
There is a widespread opinion about Svyatoslav among some historians that this warlike prince neglected the state interests of Russia, spending his time in predatory campaigns on neighboring lands, gradually turning “Kyiv into a base for robber raids” (in the words of L.N. Gumilyov). Such a point of view, ignoring the internal and external political role of Svyatoslav, has, unfortunately, a rather long history.
It is difficult to agree with this, and the reason for disagreeing is not only in the knightly attractiveness of the Slavic leopard, which even the historian of hostile Byzantium characterized as "hot, bold, impetuous and active."
There is another assumption regarding the motives behind Svyatoslav's campaigns. If we proceed from the fact that Olga was the actual ruler until her death, then Svyatoslav created the principality “for himself” with his campaigns. Indirect confirmation of this point of view E.V. Pchelov believes that he allocated inheritances to his sons only after the death of Olga.
If we turn to the facts, it is clear that the actions of Svyatoslav were aimed at protecting state interests. His campaigns differ sharply in their goals and results from Igor's Caspian campaigns. However, Svyatoslav's father, having taken possession of the city of Berdaa, tried, according to A.N. Sakharov, include it in the number of subject territories, and not just limit himself to robbery in order to leave with military booty.
The defeat of Khazaria as a result of the military victory of Svyatoslav eliminated the long-term dependence of the Slavic tribes on the Khazar Jews and provided the Russians with access to the Azov and Black Seas. Later, a rich Russian principality of Tmutarakan arose there, which became part of Kievan Rus.
The conquest of Bulgaria and the subsequent war with Byzantium? this is not a predatory raid, but the acquisition of fertile lands, gaining control over almost the entire northern coast of the Black Sea, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles and access to the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. It can even be said that Svyatoslav came close to creating a huge Russian empire from the mouth of the Danube to the mouth of the Volga, from the Black and Mediterranean Seas to the Baltic.
This means that practically all world trade between northern European countries and southern eastern peoples, as well as most of the trade between Europe and Asia, including Central and Southeast Asia, China, India, would be in the hands of the ruler of this country. It is simply amazing to read that some historians represent Svyatoslav as a narrow-minded grunt, who just needs to go on a campaign to fight with someone. The grandeur of the plans of the Kyiv prince, who succeeded in all his military enterprises, is simply stunning. It is no coincidence that he encountered stubborn resistance from the Byzantines, who were able to squeeze him out of Bulgaria only by exerting all their strength. The Byzantine emperor himself commanded troops against the Russian expeditionary army.
From antiquity to the present, maritime trade routes have been the most efficient. Related Slavic tribes lived in the Balkans, which would hardly have actively resisted joining Russia, especially having survived the oppression of Byzantium. Svyatoslav did not touch the treasures of the Bulgarian kings. Later, after the capture of Preslav, they were captured and sent to Constantinople by Tzimiskes. Christian churches in Bulgarian cities, as noted by Byzantine historians, it was not Svyatoslav who robbed, but the Greek troops. It is difficult to disagree with the opinion of historians that the Bulgarians traditionally felt hatred for Byzantium. And it was justified, as subsequent events showed. After the departure of the Russian troops, Preslav and Dorostol received the Greek names Ioannopol and Theodoropol, Greek garrisons were placed in large Bulgarian cities, Tsar Boris, together with his brother Peter, was sent to Constantinople, where he was deprived of the symbols of royal power, and the crown of the Bulgarian kings was transferred to Constantinople. Church of Hagia Sophia. Bulgaria ceased to exist as an independent state.
Svyatoslav's project to transfer the capital from Kyiv to the Danube city of Pereyaslavets? this is not an adventure at all. He quite convincingly justified the choice of this place by the benefits of international trade, since the European-Asian trade routes began to move here. This is what Oleg did earlier, making Kyiv the “mother of Russian cities”, this is what Peter the Great did in later history.
However, as the development of events showed, Svyatoslav overestimated his strength by entering into a struggle with Byzantium. Did his plans fail? neither with him, nor at a later time.
There is no doubt that the war did not lead to the defeat of the Russian army, it left Bulgaria with weapons, having received food and ransom from the Byzantines. Svyatoslav, having concluded a truce, intended to return, gathering reinforcements.
But he did not succeed. Why?
The death of Svyatoslav at the hands of the Pechenegs during his return from Bulgaria to Kyiv requires more careful consideration.
Let us recall how easily Svyatoslav's father Igor made peace with the Pechenegs in 915. In 944, they participated with Igor in the campaign against the Greeks, one of the few undertakings of Igor, which brought him success. After the death of Igor, Olga also lived in peace with the Pechenegs. In his numerous battles, Svyatoslav also never fought the Pechenegs, although he made successful campaigns against the Khazars, Yases, Kasogs, and Vyatichi. It can be assumed that Svyatoslav had allied relations with the Pechenegs and he did not see them as a threat to his land.
Let us recall the tragic moment of the death of Svyatoslav. Sveneld warns the prince that the Pechenegs are standing at the Dnieper rapids, and invites the prince to bypass them. Svyatoslav, on the other hand, fearlessly rises to the rapids on boats. Can we assume that the professional commander Svyatoslav was able to underestimate the military danger? Apparently, he did not consider the meeting with the Pechenegs dangerous for himself. The Pechenegs, however, do not let him through (as the chronicle writes), and he arranges wintering in Beloberezhye. But hostilities did not begin. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that Svyatoslav wintered near the Dnieper only because of the Pechenegs. There could be other reasons for this, which we will discuss below. Noteworthy is the remark of S.M. Solovyov that Svyatoslav "came as a fugitive to native land”, in which he had already put his sons to rule.
The chronicler writes that, fleeing from hunger, Russian soldiers paid half a hryvnia for a horse's head. Who did they buy the horses from? Trade could only go with the same Pechenegs. They supplied the horsemeat to the Russian camp. This is typical not for irreconcilable enemies, but for the relations of allies, each of which has its own interests, including trade and money. And only in the spring something happened that led to the attack of the Pechenegs on the camp. The attack was treacherous, no doubt. It led to the death of Svyatoslav and to the approval of Yaropolk on the throne of Kiev. But the Pechenegs could not decide to attack Svyatoslav for several months.
What gave them the courage to do so?
It is generally accepted that the Byzantines (or Bulgarians) bribed the Pechenegs, and they first blocked Svyatoslav with his army in front of the Dnieper rapids, not letting him through to Kyiv, and then defeated the Russian soldiers and killed the Kyiv prince. But this version, set out in The Tale of Bygone Years, seems unlikely.
Let us imagine how a Greek (or Bulgarian) embassy to the Pechenegs follows Svyatoslav to the Dnieper steppes. What are the tasks of the embassy? Firstly, it is necessary to secretly get to the Pecheneg prince on an unfamiliar territory of a foreign country. Let's not forget that Svyatoslav? an experienced military leader and he probably had a patrol service and intelligence organized at a high level. It seems that any ambassadors who wandered around the steppe in search of the Pechenegs would very quickly be caught by one of the mobile detachments and would testify to Svyatoslav himself about the purpose of their wanderings. Secondly, these ambassadors had to find the leader of the nomads in the endless steppe. Thirdly, they had to manage not to be robbed by any of the steppe dwellers who first noticed them, but to be able to hand over their gifts to the one who could fulfill their request. Fourthly, they had to receive guarantees for the fulfillment of the “order” after the presentation of the gifts.
And now let's imagine that there was still an "order" for the murder of Svyatoslav, but on the other hand, from Kyiv. All of the above questions are immediately removed. Anyone who wanted to eliminate Svyatoslav by the hands of the nomads knew who to turn to, since there were connections with the leaders of the nomads and with some of them the Russian governors even fraternized and exchanged weapons. There were no problems with the calculations for the completed "order". Who was the "customer"? We need to see who lost the most if Svyatoslav returned to Kyiv.
The logic of reasoning points to only one person who lost a lot in this situation. This is the son of a Russian leopard, twenty-year-old Yaropolk. Has he been here for two years? Kyiv prince. He is the eldest of the brothers, which means that both Oleg and Vladimir are in the position of his vassals. But if his father returns to Kyiv, he must give up his throne, as if he were a boy who was allowed to play for a while, and then sent to sleep in the nursery.
It is not clear whether Svyatoslav was going to return to Kyiv. Probably not. Firstly, it is hard to believe that the hero of the Bulgarian campaign, whom even the Byzantine emperor with his entire army could not force to surrender, was able to block the Pechenegs, who had fled shortly before at the mere sound of his name. Voivode Sveneld passed to Kyiv. Secondly, it was psychologically difficult for the famous commander to appear in his native city not as a triumphant who won another victory, but as having lost in battles even to such a colossus as the Byzantine Empire. Thirdly, the noble knight was not going to limit the rights of his eldest son. Did he want one? gather additional forces sufficient to defeat Byzantium. For this, he sent Sveneld to Kyiv, wintering at the Dnieper rapids.
And then, as you can imagine, the unexpected happened, something that the brave warrior Svyatoslav could not foresee. Yaropolk explained to Sveneld that it would be better for him to stay in Kyiv instead of a dangerous trip to Bulgaria. More honor, more material well-being and absolutely safe, because others will eliminate the restless warrior. It is possible that it was the other way around. Sveneld explained to the young Kyiv prince that you can keep your throne for quite a small price. Be that as it may, it is possible that the old governor betrayed Svyatoslav, with whom he had been on campaigns since the time when he was three years old. Svyatoslav was also betrayed by his son, who owes him everything: his birth, his beautiful wife, and the throne of Kyiv. If we accept this version, then the two traitors understood each other and the old man Sveneld became the closest person to Yaropolk.
For several months they had to persuade the Pechenegs to kill Svyatoslav. They couldn't decide. It was clear to them that Svyatoslav could not be defeated in an open battle. It was also clear that in case of failure, retribution would be cruel and there would be no mercy from the Russian leopard. Only having received rich gifts and having thought over some very cunning and insidious plan, the Pechenegs plucked up courage and in the spring were able to kill the prince. Maybe it was the despair of the doomed. Yaropolk and Sveneld could no longer play for time. Svyatoslav could himself move to Kyiv, without waiting for troops and food from Sveneld and Yaropolk. They understood that, having come to Kyiv, the formidable commander could find out the reasons for the slowness of those whom he trusted the most. Surely there were many veterans of princely campaigns who would have opened his eyes to the strange behavior of his son and governor. Svyatoslav was knightly noble, but this does not mean that he can be considered a naive simpleton. Without a doubt, he would be able to quickly sort out the situation.
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Forewarning.
A precious excerpt from the Byzantine descriptive writings of Leo the Deacon of Caloene, from 959 to 975 from R. Chr. still in manuscript in the Paris Public Library. G. Gaze, who serves at it, and deals with the description of the manuscripts in this Library, intended to publish the History written by Leo the Deacon and correcting the text, he was preparing to start printing it with a Latin translation, but unfortunately, other activities distracted him from this useful for Russian Stories of intention. (His Excellency the State Chancellor Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsov, zealously zealous for the successes of our national history, subscribes from Paris for his dependency an exact copy of this manuscript, so that it can be published here with a correct Russian translation. No response has yet been received from Paris.)
And therefore, G. Gaze was now content with publishing only a short news about the work of Leo the Deacon, with an appendix to it of the VI book of his History (Soon this book will be printed in Greek with literal translations, Latin and Russian, and some notes. Meanwhile, here we consider it necessary to briefly explain that Leo the Deacon was a contemporary of V. K. Svyatoslav Igorevich; for in 960 he considered himself an adult already a young man, as he himself says about it, and in 981, already a Deacon, he was in the camp of Emperor Basil II in the time of his campaign against the Bulgarians. Based on the details of the description that he left us about the appearance of our Grand Duke Svyatoslav Igorevich, we must conclude that he wrote all this according to the eyewitness who was under Emperor John Tzimisces, when this one rode up to that place on his horse , on which the meeting of these two Sovereigns was arranged, and to whom Svyatoslav Igorevich swam across the Danube, as Leo the Deacon says, on the back of sheet 315 e th manuscript. Hase, Notice de Histoire, composee par Leon Diacre, page 16, remarque 16.). From this news, for the curious, the image or portrait of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Igorevich was written out for the curious, attached herewith in Greek, with a literal, so to speak, translation of it into Russian and with some notes to that.
Translation:
“Svyatoslav walked (1) on a certain Scythian small ship (a) and swimming across the river, with an oar (2) he worked on a par with the others, rowing with us (b); he was of medium height, not taller than usual, and not too small; eyebrows were thick, Blue eyes, flat nose, (3) the beard was bare (4) thick strands of stripes hung along the upper lip; (c) and on his head, however, almost completely naked, only a crest fluttered, (d) meaning his noble origin. He had a thick neck, a wide chest, and his whole body and limbs were excellent; his eyes were gloomy and wild; in my ears (5) hung a golden earring, adorned with two pearls, between mine was inserted a worm-like yahont; (6) the clothes on him are white, they did not differ from the others in anything, except for their cleanliness (e).
Notes Historical.
(a.) Ἐπί τινος Σκυϑικᾶ ακατια. - On a certain Scythian ship. - Is it not on the Little Russian canoe, which is now called oaks? These river boats (used by the Cossacks along the sea shores, following the example of the ancient Russians) were hollowed out from one oak ridge, from which the oak, oaks got their name. (Now these ships are mostly made of thick linden ridges, (reassuringly for the lack of oak trees), which does not prevent them from being called oaks, according to the custom from ancient times.) They raise up to 40 and up to 50 people.
In the Nestor Chronicle, the ships on which the Russians went to fight in Tsarya-grad have different names, namely: a ship, (κάραβος, κάραβιον, This Greek saying at the beginning served only for the name of a sea tailless cancer, in French Crabe; - when the Greek language began to decline in Byzantium, then κάραβος, κάραβιον already meant what we called Ship in ancient times.Now the question arises, which of these two peoples, i. appropriated?) boat, Skedia or shedia, from the Greek Σχεδιά, i.e., a vessel, hastily, hastily made, what name could be more appropriate for a boat, hollowed out of one ridge? Nestor says that these ships raised 40 people.
(b.) Σὺν τοῖς ἑτέρις ἐρεπῖῶν. It should be noted here that it seemed strange to anyone to see the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Igorevich himself working with an oar, along with others, then you just need to remember the Words of Pr. Nestor about the properties, habits and courage of this ancient Russian knight: Prince Svyatoslav (says Nestor), having come of age and matured, began to copulate "many and brave troops", and walked easily, like a pard (kind of a tiger), created many wars; and on campaigns he did not have a convoy with him, nor a boiler; he didn’t cook meat, but thinly cut up horse meat or animal meat, or beef, baked it on coals, ate it; he didn’t have a tent, but he laid a lining (probably a sweatshirt) under himself (instead of a bed) and put a saddle in his head (instead of a pillow); such were his other warriors" - (Nestor. Koenigs. years.; volume 6472/964.
After reading these words of Nestor, there is nothing to be surprised that Svyatoslav, swimming across the river, rowed along with the others. By this brief description about the beginning of the reign and about the properties of V.K. Svyatoslav, one can foresee in him that fearless warrior who once exclaims to his faithful squad with these memorable words: “We will not shame the Russian land, but we will lie down here with bones. The dead have no shame. If we win, then we will cover ourselves with shame, and so we will fight hard, and I will go before you. - If I lay down my head, then you already think about yourself. To these delightful words, the faithful and brave Russian army answered him: “Where your head lies, we will lay our heads here.” (Nestor. Koenigs. years, under the summer of 971).
This is the mindset of our ancestors in the 10th century! - Here is their determination against a large army in a foreign land, within the boundaries of proud and still strong Byzantium! (There are examples of this determination and this courage in the deeds of our other fellow tribesmen! - When, even before Svyatoslav, Kakhan of Abarskaya (a people known in our annals under the name Obrov) sent to the South Slavs to demand tribute from them, they answered him: “as long as there will be swords - we will not be tributaries to anyone; we are used to taking other people's lands: we will not let anyone suck ours. like their ancestors: we die or we win! and with this word they courageously did not lay down their heads for the glory of the Fatherland and in love for their Tsar! This was written back in 1811. My prophecy came true at the glorious Kulm rabbi in 1813!
(c.) The original says; that thick strands of hair hung from the upper lip. — Just to say: thick, long mustache. - In Greek Μάςαξ or Μυςαξ. mustache. Here, however, the word Μυςαξ is not used, and it seems that not without reason, for it simply means an ordinary mustache. It is immediately said that strands of hair hung in length; It is hopeful that these mustaches, descending from the upper lip on both sides of the mouth, continued down the beard and already formed long thick locks of hair, as some Little Russians, Poles and other Slavic tribes still wear.
(d) Βόςρυχος, Cincinnicus. - Strand of hair. - Cirrus - crest. According to this description, it is clear that Svyatoslav in 971 AD walked in the same haircut, and also shaved his beard, leaving only his mustache, like our ancient Little Russians still walk, and that the word Βόςρυχος can be safely translated into Russian with a technical Little Russian saying: forelock, or to express it with another Little Russian word, namely Oselslets, that is, a long and thin strand of hair left in the middle of the forelock itself, which the Cossacks still wear to this day, wrapping it around one ear .
(e.) Εσϑὴς τέτω. His clothes are white, etc. By consideration, we can conclude that Svyatoslav, swimming across the river and exercising. in hard work (for he rowed, as the descriptor says, on a par with others) sat in one shirt; therefore it is said that the white clothes on him did not differ in anything from the others, except for cleanliness: consequently, their cut was the same for everyone. This assumption is therefore plausible that those who practice rowing among all peoples usually do this work in a shirt, because this occupation requires freedom in body movements, for comfortable and strong action with an oar, and a light, wide dress in order to cool down and without extreme fatigue to perform such tedious work. .
Notes Grammar.
(1.) In Greek it is said, ἦκεν ἐπι… ἀκατίσ the word "ἦκεν" is literally translated by the word went, for this saying is peculiar to our language. and in this exact sense it is still used: he went on such and such a ship, he came on a ship. They were on a boat...
(2.) Τῆς κόπη 969;μμέιος. - The last word literally means in Greek: tied. - In a figurative sense, the participle ἡμμέιος, which comes from the verb, ἄπτω, ̚0; touch, touch, act with hands. Here we are talking about rowing, about action with an oar, therefore, you can use the word: act or better, work with an oar (maniant la rame) because tied to the oars, it will be completely incomprehensible, and in its exact sense it is not possible, as anyone who knows the action knows oars.
(3.) Σιμος. - Contrasted with the saying γρυπός the first is translated into latin language in a word: simus, qui pressis est naribus. - In French, camus, camard, - who has pressed, flattened nostrils. Γρυπός in Latin is translated by the word aquilinus, aduncus, a cursed nose with a hump. Therefore, Σιμος should, in its exact sense, translate the common word hornosnius, or snub-nosed, derived from the old, uncommon saying of the root, or short, short-nosed, or even more correctly, flat-nosed.
(4.) Ἐψιλωμνος τον πωγῶος… τὴν δὲ κεφαλὴν πάνυ ἐψίλωτο. It cannot be affirmatively said that ἐψιλωμένος and ἐψίλωτο meant shaved, for the ancient peoples shaved, cut, washed, removed the hair on their heads and beards with ointment (dépilation, épilation), as the Turks now bring them out with a special composition called Ruzana. For these reasons, instead of shaven, the general word naked is put here, which is used by our people to mean a person with a shaved or tightly trimmed head or beard. To bare a beard is also what to shave.
(5.) The original says; in the ears in plural, meanwhile, as the earring is mentioned in the singular. In other matters, among our people it is also said: what kind of earring do you have in your ears, gold or copper.
(6.) Ἄνϑςακος λίϑα - in our translation of the Holy Scriptures, this stone is called Anphraz, carbunculus. — gemstone, having the appearance of hot coal; in general, it is mistaken for a lenticular yahont, ruby, rubis. —
A. Olenin.
"Son of the Fatherland", 1814. Part 11, No 2.
Karamzin called Prince Svyatoslav "Russian Macedonian", the historian Grushevsky - "a Cossack on the throne." Svyatoslav was the first to make an active attempt at extensive land expansion. His exploits are still legendary...
Svyatoslav's reign
After the death in 945 from the Drevlyans of his father, Igor Rurikovich, the three-year-old Svyatoslav formally became a prince, but de facto his mother, Olga, ruled the cities.
According to the Tale of Bygone Years, already at the age of four, Svyatoslav had the opportunity to demonstrate his courage: together with her young son, Olga went on a campaign against the Drevlyans, and “Svyatoslav threw a spear at them, and the spear flew between the horse’s ears and hit the horse’s legs, for Svyatoslav was still a child."
Having laid siege to the Drevlyansky Iskorosten, the cunning Olga did not avenge the murder of her husband, and offered the offenders an insignificant tribute, "from each yard, three doves and three sparrows." The Drevlyans rejoiced at such mercy, not recognizing the military trick: according to the legendary description of Nestor, the army of Olga and Svyatoslav tied tinder to the birds, the city was engulfed in flames, after which it was completely devastated.
In 955, Olga went to Constantinople to be baptized, but when she returned home, she could not persuade her son to do the same - he was faithful to paganism until the end of his days. “How can I accept a different faith alone? And my squad will laugh.”
Chronicles describe Svyatoslav as a brave warrior who did not shy away from living in the same conditions as ordinary warriors: on campaigns he did not have his own tent, he did not carry “neither wagons nor boilers” with him, frying the meat of animals caught along the way at the stake .
Svyatoslav became famous for the fact that he sent in advance to strangers, on whom he went on a campaign, a messenger with a laconic phrase "I want to go to you ..." (I'm going to you). In 965, he inflicted victory on the Khazar Khaganate, and entrenched himself in the former Khazar territories, including the cities of Belaya Vezha and Tmutarakan.
Hike to the Bulgarians
In 966, a conflict was brewing between the Byzantine Empire and Bulgaria. Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus called the Bulgarians "a godless people", and tried to promote internal political strife in Bulgaria, which by that time was a dangerous rival of Byzantium. In addition, Constantinople paid a shameful tribute to the Bulgarians, and in 966 the ambassadors who came for her were expelled from the city: this was the beginning of the confrontation.
Portrait of Svyatoslav Igorevich from the Tsar's titular book of the 17th century.
A year later, the emperor of Byzantium sent the patrician Kalokir with an embassy to Svyatoslav in order to ask for help in crushing the Bulgarian kingdom - and the prince agreed, having received almost 500 kilograms of gold to arm the troops. However, Kalokir had his own rather ambitious plans - he persuaded Svyatoslav to help him in seizing the Byzantine throne after the Bulgarian campaign.
In 968, Svyatoslav defeated the Bulgarians and stayed in Pereyaslavets, where, presumably, he wanted to establish a new capital of his state, "because there is the middle of my land, all good things flow there." After a successful campaign, Svyatoslav had to urgently return to Kyiv, which, in his absence, was besieged by the Pechenegs. However, even the death of his mother due to illness did not detain him there for a long time: having defeated the Pechenegs, the warlike Svyatoslav again organized a campaign against Bulgaria.
War with Byzantium
Svyatoslav again managed to defeat the Bulgarian troops and firmly establish himself in the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom - Pereyaslavets, which seriously worried the Byzantine authorities. Having provoked the Russians into a war with Bulgaria, the Byzantine Empire miscalculated somewhat, since now the mighty army of Svyatoslav stood not far from its borders.
He was asked to leave from there, according to a previously concluded agreement, but the prince refused, hoping to use the occupied lands for the needs of his state, which had significantly increased in size. The clash of interests ended in a large-scale war between Russia and Byzantium: its results, however, are covered in different ways in ancient chronicles.
The Tale of Bygone Years speaks of a devastating victory for the princely warriors, who defeated the Byzantine army, which outnumbered it ten times. According to Nestor, Svyatoslav's army reached almost to Constantinople itself, subsequently collecting a huge tribute.
But Byzantine historians give a completely different picture: during the battles, the Byzantine warrior Anemas "pulled forward on his horse, rushed to Sfendoslav (Svyatoslav), and, striking him on the collarbone with his sword, threw him head down to the ground, but did not kill."
After this event, despite all the courage of the Russian troops, Svyatoslav enters into peace negotiations with the emperor of Byzantium, and demands the following conditions: he gives the Byzantines Bulgaria, and in exchange Byzantium will not pursue his army on the way to Kyiv, and in particular - will not attack “on them along the road with fire-bearing ships” - the famous “Medes fire” was meant.
After the conclusion of the peace treaty, Svyatoslav met with Emperor John, and the Byzantine chronicle describes in detail all the details of this historic meeting, including the appearance of the prince: “Sfendoslav also appeared, sailing down the river on a Scythian boat; he sat at the oars and rowed along with his entourage, no different from them.
This was his appearance: of moderate height, not too tall and not very short, with shaggy eyebrows and light blue eyes, snub-nosed, beardless, with thick, excessively long hair over upper lip. His head was completely naked, but on one side a tuft of hair hung down - a sign of the nobility of the family; a strong nape, a broad chest and all other parts of the body are quite proportionate, but he looked sullen and wild.
He had a gold earring in one ear; it was adorned with a carbuncle framed by two pearls. His attire was white and differed from the clothes of those close to him only in cleanliness.
Many historians are of the opinion that such a description is far from reality and was only a stereotypical visual characteristic of the “steppe”, as the Byzantines saw the prince of Russ. After the meeting, the sovereigns parted as allies - however, it is not known whether their truce was sincere.
The death of Svyatoslav
It is possible that Byzantium still did not leave Svyatoslav alone: after the truce, John sent messengers to the Pechenegs, a tribe that, according to the Byzantines, "devoured lice, carried dwellings with them and spent most of their lives in wagons."
Most likely, it was the emperor who ordered the Pechenegs to ambush, waiting for the approaching Svyatoslav; one way or another, when trying to cross the Dnieper, the Pechenegs attacked the prince and killed him, and then made a bowl out of his skull. Svyatoslav died fighting together with his retinue, as it was supposed to be for a noble commander.
Prince Svyatoslav, with his numerous military companies, has become a real legend for Russian and Ukrainian historians. Karamzin called him the Russian Alexander the Great, and Grushevsky called him a Cossack on the throne. The memory of the great conqueror lives on very well today: songs are composed in honor of the famous “I’m going to attack you”, novels are written about Svyatoslav and coins with his portrait are issued.
Sergey Zotov
Young Svyatoslav's mother allocated her own inheritance - Novgorod. Here he grew up, under the guidance of the boyar Asmud, he learned to be a ruler, comprehended military science. From the same young people as the prince, his squad was formed.For the education of real warriors, only stories and exercises are not enough, but in Novgorod there were opportunities to learn by doing. Together with the Novgorodians, Svyatoslav made expeditions to the Estonians, Finns, and Samoyeds. They subjugated the tribes, imposed tribute. Probably, the prince also participated in the Varangian sea campaigns. In these enterprises, an unparalleled iron squad was rallied and forged. And the twenty-year-old Svyatoslav himself turned into an experienced and skillful boss. Nestor said that he "went easily on campaigns, like a sail, and fought a lot." Without convoys, tents, boilers. He contented himself with meat roasted on coals. He slept, “laying down a sweatshirt, with a saddle in his head. So were all his other warriors."
Leo Deacon described the portrait of the prince: “He was of moderate height ... thick eyebrows, blue eyes, a flat nose, a sparse beard, his upper lip was covered with thick and downward hair. The head was completely bare, only a tuft of hair hung on one side - a sign of noble birth. The neck is thick, the shoulders are broad and the whole build is very slender. His gaze was dark and stern. In one ear hung a gold earring adorned with two pearls with a ruby in the middle. He was wearing white clothes, only differing from others in purity ”(simple warriors). As you can see, the “sign of noble origin” among the Russians was the same “settler”, which the Cossacks later flaunted, and one earring among the Cossacks meant the only son of the mother - which was Svyatoslav.
He did not have the slightest interest in administrative and economic issues, he tried to avoid them. But the Novgorod boyars liked it. The prince does not interfere in their affairs, that's all right, they will somehow sort it out themselves. Olga also did not insist that her son master these duties more carefully. She prepared Svyatoslav for the main work of her and his life. A mortal blow to Khazaria. Even when the prince grew up, his mother retained a huge influence on him, and a peculiar division of their functions developed. Olga was still in charge of all civil administration, and this allowed Svyatoslav not to be distracted by current affairs, to concentrate on the military sphere.
The Grand Duchess continued to conduct active diplomacy. In addition to Germany, she entered into an alliance with Hungary and agreed to marry him, betrothed a Magyar princess to her son. In Russia, she was called Predslava. True, the then Hungarians were not at all like the current ones. The Ugric nomads had not yet had time to mix with the Europeans, they remained undersized, stocky, with wide faces and narrow eyes. Is it any wonder that Svyatoslav, having married an ally, fell in love with another girl, the servant of his mother Malusha. However, she was not an ordinary slave, but Olga's housekeeper, who managed the household. Yes, and not a simple family - her brother Dobrynya was not a farmer, not an artisan, but a professional warrior. Some historians suggest that Malusha's father, Malk from Lubech, was none other than the Drevlyansk prince Mal, whom Olga turned into captivity and settled in Lyubech. It is known that Malk was a very devoted servant of the princess, after her he was baptized, receiving the name Nikita.
Spiritual activity of St. Olga didn't leave either. There was no metropolitan in the country, foreign priests, Bulgarians and Greeks, served, and the Empress, willy-nilly, became the head of Russian Christians. Unofficially, but the head of the community, as if the islands, and around - the pagan sea. Olga could not use her power to influence the pagans. She did not have missionaries to carry the light of Orthodoxy throughout Russia. And yet she launched an offensive: an example of mercy and kindness. She helped the poor, the sick, took widows and orphans under protection. People saw it with their own eyes - that's what Christianity is like. They looked, they were drawn to him.
Of course, the best way to influence the subjects would be the appeal of Svyatoslav. Olga did not accidentally take the name of St. Helena is the mother of St. Constantine the Great was baptized before her son. The Grand Duchess must have told Svyatoslav about this, urging him to follow her, but in this case her authority was not enough.
The son refused. He answered - what will my team say? Well, each of them reasoned from his own point of view. St. Olga believed that if the prince turns to the Lord, He will help to defeat the Khazars. And Svyatoslav thought purely in an earthly way. He feared that the change of faith would split the army and the people. Before the decisive battle, he wanted to maintain unity. Mother could not insist on her own. But she took the children of the prince. Sons from Predslava, Yaropolk and Oleg, from Malusha - Vladimir. I took it upon myself to raise them. I hoped that at least grandchildren could be raised as Christians.
Meanwhile, the situation in the surrounding countries was changing. Byzantium still looked all-powerful. A talented commander Nikifor Foka advanced there. He smashed the Baghdad caliphate, captured Crete, invaded Syria. The Greeks behaved extremely cruelly. After the capture of the large city of Aleppo, all the inhabitants were killed, only children and beautiful women for sale into slavery. The emirs of other cities got scared and entered into negotiations. But at all times the most vulnerable place of Byzantium was its capital...
In the government of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the leaders were far from pure and honest. The atmosphere at the court was appropriate. The Emperor's son Roman grew up and was brought up in it. Careerists adjusted to him, indulged him in everything. From his youth, he was addicted to hanging around taverns, brothels. In one of the cereal establishments, he dug out a bride for himself, the beauty Feofano. Life taught her to play different roles, and she managed to please the emperor. She portrayed herself as a modest, humble girl. Perfect wife! And the fact that from the common people was even better for the king and his entourage. He will not drag a pack of noble relatives to the palace. Theophano gave birth to two sons, Vasily and Konstantin.
But the emperor was 54 years old, he had good health. Well this is how much more to wait for the heirs? As it turned out, Theophano knew how to cook poisons. In 959, the son and daughter-in-law sent Constantine to the next world. And here the shy girl showed her temper! As soon as Roman II and Theophano were crowned kings, she sent her mother-in-law, who had bothered her, to the monastery, tonsured her husband's five sisters as nuns. There is no need to get in the way of the empress... Although the crown did not change Roman's behavior. On the contrary, he completely sank, drank recklessly, and clever temporary workers seized control of the state.
This situation did not suit Feofano at all - an eternally drunken husband, omnipotent dignitaries dispose of at the court. She was smart enough, she understood that she could not hold the throne alone with her little sons. The Empress had her eye on Nicephorus Fok - a man anywhere, a famous folk hero! She began to show him signs of attention, struck up a friendship. In 963, Theophano poisoned her husband and appealed to Nicephorus for help: come, save the empire, save the royal widow and children. He immediately moved from Syria with regiments, dispersed the temporary workers and married Theophano. Formally, he became the co-ruler and guardian of the kids Vasily II and Constantine VIII, but in reality - the emperor.
But Nikifor by nature was first and foremost a soldier. Harsh, unpretentious. The power that fell into his hands, he regarded as a call from God. He abruptly changed the policy of the empire, as he himself understood it. He was convinced that the Byzantines should once again realize their power, be real Romans. Festivities at the hippodrome? Cancel. Put money on the army. Paying tribute to the Sicilian pirates? A shame. Instead of gold, Nicephorus sent the entire fleet to Sicily. And he himself gathered a huge army and in 964 led it to Syria ... All the forces of Byzantium were tied up on two fronts. The most opportune moment has come - for Russia.
Svyatoslav and Olga managed to prepare well for this. The army was well-armed, trained, able to clearly act on commands, to keep the formation under the blows of the enemy. Fast boats rushed across the sea to recruit additional contingents of the Varangians. The Kyiv rulers also looked after new allies. The Khazars, having reached the Dnieper with fortresses, began to press the Pechenegs without hesitation, they already considered them their subjects. The nomads didn't like it at all. But the kaganate also quarreled with the Guzes, whom they used against the Pechenegs. Looks like they don't need any more help. So why flirt, send gifts? They began to be treated with disdain, to seize into slavery. In Kyiv, such things were tracked. Now the time has come, the Russian ambassadors rushed to the Pechenens and Guzes.
The campaign plan was developed in advance. Going to Itil along the Black Sea coast was suicide. There were three hundred fortresses in this direction, the Khazars behind such an impressive "fence" felt completely safe. Another way to Khazaria, through the Upper Volga, was also blocked by cordons, cities and fortresses of the Khazar vassals. You will get involved in protracted battles, the allies of the kaganate, the Bulgarians, will strike from the rear, the Byzantines will join. No, it was necessary to act quickly, and immediately achieve a complete victory.
There was a third way, along the Oka, through the lands of the Vyatichi and Murom, and it led straight to the heart of the kaganate. However, even here it was possible to get stuck for a long time. Besieging the forest fortresses of the Vyatichi was no easier than stone castles. But the khaganate was ruined by the short-sighted greed of its rulers. The power looked indestructible and eternal - from the "Kuzu River" to the "cold country of Yuru and Visu", everyone is submissive, "fearing our sword." Who dares to encroach on Khazaria? And if so, then you can not stand on ceremony with subjects. The Vyatichi covered an important section of the border, but a high tribute was torn from them, not with animal skins, but with silver, "on a she-lyagu from a plow." Therefore, the envoys of Svyatoslav managed to negotiate with the tribe.
All preparations were carried out in deep secrecy. In Kyiv, the Grand Duchess did not find the slightest hint of imminent change. Khazar diplomats and merchants were confident that they were still afraid, fawned over, ready to give in. Smugly calculated Russian debts, cheated with interest. They wondered what else they could demand from the benevolent empress, who did not want to annoy them. And she only at night gave vent to true feelings. Saint Olga prayed fervently. She could not entrust secrets even to priests, she opened herself only to God. Yes, her son remained a pagan. But after all, Titus Flavius, who destroyed Jerusalem, was a pagan! And in Itil, the descendants of the very Jews who crucified Christ ruled. Won't He help?
And in the depths of the country, away from the Jewish quarter of Kyiv and from the Byzantine spies, troops were gathering. They were secretly transferred to the Chernihiv region, to the villages of the northerners. In the deep autumn of 964, Svyatoslav moved up the Desna. From the upper reaches of the boat, they were dragged to the tributaries of the Oka. Here began the possession of the Vyatichi. They were already waiting. A crop was harvested that allowed them to feed the army. The Khazars, who were in their cities, were slaughtered by the Vyatichi with great pleasure. The thaw broke out, freezing, snow fell, and the forest region was reliably cut off from Itil for several months.
Svyatoslav spent the winter with the Vyatichi, repaired ships, built new ones. He negotiated with Muroma, and the tribe willingly agreed to return to Russia. And in the spring of 965, as soon as the ice melted, boats with messengers floated down the river. They carried three menacing words: "I'm coming at you!" These words struck like thunder from a clear sky. Stunned, panicked. The Khazars and their satellites were unaware of the danger until the last moment. And now it was too late to do anything. The mighty Russian flotilla followed the messengers to the Volga. Destroyed Volga Bulgaria, Burtases. They were also forced tributaries of the kaganate, but didn’t they help him? Didn't they once exterminate the Russians? Here comes the payoff.
In Itil, the Khazars managed to organize themselves. They raised the guard, armed the townspeople, accepted the fleeing Bulgarians and Burtases. But Svyatoslav counted on this when he sent a daring challenge. Let the enemies gather in a heap to finish them off at once. Allies approached the prince. From the right bank of the Volga - the Pechenegs, from the left - the Guzes. The Khazar army was led into the field by Tsar Joseph and a puppet kagan from the Ashina clan, history did not even save his name. "And stole to fight, and be a scolding, overcoming Svyatoslav Kozar." Kagan fell in the wheelhouse. Joseph has gone missing. Pursuing and trampling down the fleeing Khazar militia, the Russians broke into Itil. The metropolis, which stretched for several kilometers, was destroyed and burned to the ground. Fairy-tale palaces, luxurious houses, and entertainment establishments disappeared, scattered with black smoke.
And how many slaves and slaves gained freedom? Those who worked hard for the Jewish masters, who pleased them. Those who were kept in the barracks by the slave traders were exposed naked in front of the buyers. Those who had already been sold and were waiting to be sent to distant lands ... How many people shed happy tears and hugged their fellow tribesmen - Russians, Vyatichi, Murom, Pechenegs, Guzes? They are not mentioned anywhere. But they were. But the Khazars hit hard. Ibn Haukal wrote that "nothing remained of them except a scattered incomplete part." They hid on the Volga islands with the hope of "remaining in the neighborhood of their regions" - to return home when the Russians left. But "the Russian people ... scoured after her," behind this "incomplete part." The nest of evil spirits was brought out under the root, so that it would not be reborn.
Having destroyed Itil, part of the Russian army went to the Terek, wiped out the former Khazar capital Semender and Belenjer. And Svyatoslav himself and the backbone of his squads dragged the boats from the Volga to Ilovlya, spilled over to the Don and took Sarkel. It was not just a fortress, but the center of the Khazar border command. From here, the entire system of fortresses was controlled. Excavations have shown that Sarkel was captured with a fierce battle and demolished to the ground. In its place, Svyatoslav ordered the construction of the Russian fortress Belaya Vezha.
Along the Don, the prince entered the Sea of Azov, defeated Samkerts and Tamatarkha. All the major cities of Khazaria were crushed with one campaign! Svyatoslav's goal was not to defeat the Khaganate, but to completely eliminate it. Chop off all of the monster's heads in one fell swoop. He cut them down. And there was no need to take hundreds of castles that blocked the steppes between the Don and the Dnieper. As soon as Itil and Sarkel fell, the Khazar garrisons, which the Russians went to the rear, abandoned the fortresses and fled to their friends in Bulgaria. Svyatoslav fought back in the North Caucasus, beat the Khazar vassals, Yases (Alans) and Kasogs. They split up. Some, following the Khazars, rushed to the Bulgarians, others joined the Russians. Some of the yases and kasogs the prince "brought to Kyiv" and settled in its environs.
But the brilliant campaign of 965 was not limited to these successes. Russia faced another vital task - to establish itself on the sea. Svyatoslav also solved it, and easily, as if in between times. On the way home, his army marched through the Byzantine possessions in the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov and the Northern Crimea. 10 cities and 500 villages were plundered. But the population in these parts was mixed. The Slavs settled together with the Greeks and intermarried with each other. One of the Byzantine toparchs (heads of the provinces, his name remained unknown) sadly wrote that most of his subordinates "lived according to the customs of the barbarians", and during the invasion of the Russians "cities and peoples voluntarily joined them." Even the local nobility refused to obey the toparch, unanimously decided to obey Svyatoslav. The author of the notes had to go to Kyiv. In the capital, he found a prince, "who is powerful in a large army and is proud of his strength in battles." Svyatoslav affectionately received the toparch and talked to him. For the fact that the Byzantine expressed humility, the prince left him the ruler of the former possessions and even added one area, promised new subjects protection and preservation of all income.
But Svyatoslav intended to finish off the enemy coalition. In 966, he set out on the next campaign - to Bulgaria, where many Khazars found refuge. However, this time the plans fell through. The Vyatichi have risen. They were not at all against liberation from the kaganate, but they did not want to obey Kyiv either. When they learned that the regiments of Svyatoslav went to the Danube, they took up arms. But the prince did not like such jokes. I understood that for a war with external enemies it is necessary to have a strong rear. Having received news of the rebellion, he immediately turned his army in the opposite direction, to the Oka. Vyatichi Svyatoslav defeated and imposed a tribute. They themselves are to blame. If you do not want to serve Russia in a good way, if you please, pay.
After the collapse of the Khazaria, the Upper Volga region, the interfluve of the Volga and the Oka, returned to Russia. The local Finnish tribes Merya, Meshchera, Murom behaved quite differently from the Vyatichi. They have already been under the rule of the Russian princes, and under the rule of the Khazars, so they made an unambiguous choice. None of their uprisings against the Russians have been recorded in history.
I present to your attention an attempt at a scientific and historical reconstruction of the appearance of Prince Svyatoslav. A textbook description of Svyatoslav's appearance was given by Leo the Deacon, a contemporary of the Russian-Byzantine war in Bulgaria.
The siege of Dorostol ended with a personal meeting between Emperor John Tzimiskes and the Russian prince. The emperor arrived on the banks of the Danube on horseback, accompanied by his retinue. “Sfendoslav also appeared,” continues the Deacon, “who sailed along the river on a Scythian boat; he sat at the oars and rowed along with his entourage, no different from them. This was his appearance: of moderate height, neither too tall nor too short, with shaggy eyebrows and light blue eyes, snub-nosed, beardless, with thick, excessively long hair above his upper lip. His head was completely naked, but on one side a tuft of hair hung down - a sign of the nobility of the family; a strong nape, a broad chest and all other parts of the body are quite proportionate, but he looked sullen and wild. He had a gold earring in one ear; it was adorned with a carbuncle framed by two pearls. His attire was white and differed from the clothes of his associates only in cleanliness. Sitting in a boat on a bench for rowers, he talked a little with the sovereign about the conditions of peace and left. (Translated by M.M. Kopylenko).
True, some details of the description of the appearance of Svyatoslav by Leo Deacon allow for ambiguous interpretation. So, instead of "beardless", let's say the translation is "with a sparse beard", and "a tuft of hair" can hang not from one, but from two sides of the head. This is exactly how Svyatoslav appears on the pages of S.M. Solovyov’s “History” with a rare beard and two braids.
This reconstruction is based on a more traditional idea of the appearance of the ancient Russian princes.
The "average" height of Svyatoslav is corrected by the length of his sword ("Frankish" swords of that time did not exceed 80-90 cm). His age at the time of death did not exceed 30-32 years.
In Svyatoslav's attire, the "poverty" of his clothes is emphasized, and vice versa, good, "rich" armor and weapons. This feature of the prince - indifference to luxury and love for weapons - is historical, attested by the annals.
The helmet reproduces the type of military headdress of the middle of the 10th century. from the so-called "princely" Black Grave near Chernigov.
The "drop-shaped" form of the shield of the Rus of that time is attested by the same Leo Deacon.
Trousers for the prince "sewn" according to the testimony of an Arab author of the late ninth century. Ibn-Ruste that the Russians "wear wide trousers ... putting on such trousers, they assemble them into an assembly and tie them at the knees."
Boots came into wide use in Russia, apparently, only in the 11th century. Source
