941 IGOR'S CAMPAIGN TO CONSTANTINOPLE.

Prince Svyatoslav

Constantinople did not comply with the agreement with Russia, and most of the Byzantine troops were engaged in the war with the Arabs. Prince Igor led a huge squadron of 10 thousand ships south along the Dnieper and the Black Sea to the south. The Russians devastated the entire southwestern coast of the Black Sea and the shores of the Bosphorus Strait. On June 11, Theophanes, who led the Byzantine troops, was able to burn a large number of the Russian rooks with “Greek fire” and drive them away from Constantinople. Part of Igor’s squad landed on the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea and in small detachments began to plunder the provinces of Byzantium, but by the fall they were forced out onto the boats. In September, near the coast of Thrace, the patrician Theophanes again managed to burn and sink the Russian boats. The survivors were plagued by a “stomach epidemic” on the way home. Igor himself returned to Kyiv with a dozen rooks.

A year later, Igor’s second campaign against Constantinople was possible. But the emperor paid off, and the princely squad was glad to receive tribute without a fight. In the next year, 944, peace between the parties was formalized by an agreement, although less favorable than in 911 under Prince Oleg. Among those who concluded the agreement was the ambassador of Svyatoslav, the son of Prince Igor, who reigned in “Nemogard” - Novgorod.

942 BIRTH OF SVYATOSLAV.

This date appears in the Ipatiev and other chronicles. Prince Svyatoslav was the son of Prince Igor the Old and Princess Olga. The date of birth of Prince Svyatoslav is controversial. Due to the advanced age of his parents - Prince Igor was over 60 years old, and Princess Olga was about 50. It is believed that Svyatoslav was a young man over 20 by the mid-40s. But it is more likely that Svyatoslav’s parents were much younger than he was as a mature husband in the 40s of the 9th century.

943 -945. RUSSIAN TROODS DESTROY THE CITY OF BERDAA ON THE CASPIAN SEA.

Detachments of Rus appeared in the vicinity of Derbent on the shores of the Caspian Sea. They failed to capture a strong fortress and, using ships from the harbor of Derbent, moved by sea along the Caspian coast to the south. Having reached the confluence of the Kura River and the Caspian Sea, the Russians climbed the river to the largest trading center of Azerbaijan, the city of Berdaa, and captured it. Azerbaijan was recently captured by the Daylemite tribes (warlike highlanders of the southern Caspian region) led by Marzban Ibn Muhammad. The troops gathered by Marzban continually besieged the city, but the Rus tirelessly repelled their attacks. After spending a year in the city, completely devastating it, the Rus left Berdaa, having exterminated by that time most of its population. After the blow inflicted by the Russians, the city fell into decay. It is assumed that one of the leaders of this campaign was Sveneld.

945 THE DEATH OF PRINCE IGOR.

Igor entrusted the collection of tribute from the Drevlyans to governor Sveneld. The princely squad, dissatisfied with the quickly rich Sveneld and his people, began to demand that Igor independently collect tribute from the Drevlyans. The Kiev prince took increased tribute from the Drevlyans, returning back he released most of the squad, and he himself decided to return and “collect more”. The indignant Drevlyans “emerged from the city of Iskorosten and killed him and his squad.” Igor was tied to tree trunks and torn in two.

946 OLGA'S REVENGE OF THE DREVLYANS.

Duchess Olga

A vivid chronicle story tells about the unsuccessful matchmaking of the Drevlyan prince Mal with Olga, and about the princess’s revenge on the Drevlyans for the murder of Igor. Having dealt with the Drevlyan embassy and exterminated their “deliberate (i.e., senior, noble) husbands,” Olga and her squad went to the Drevlyan land. The Drevlyans went to battle against her. “And when both armies came together, Svyatoslav threw a spear towards the Drevlyans, and the spear flew between the horse’s ears and hit him in the leg, for Svyatoslav was just a child. And Sveneld and Asmund said: “The prince has already begun, let us follow, squad, the prince.” And they defeated the Drevlyans.” Olga’s squad besieged the city of Iskorosten, the capital of the Drevlyansky land, but could not take it. Then, having promised peace to the Drevlyans, she asked them for tribute “from each household, three doves and three sparrows.” The delighted Drevlyans caught the birds for Olga. In the evening, Olga’s warriors released the birds with smoldering tinder (smoldering tinder fungus) tied to them. The birds flew into the city and Iskorosten began to burn. Residents fled from the burning city, where the besieging warriors were waiting for them. Many people were killed, some were taken into slavery. Princess Olga forced the Drevlyans to pay a heavy tribute.

Around 945-969. THE REIGN OF OLGA.

Svyatoslav's mother reigned peacefully until he reached manhood. Having traveled all her possessions, Olga organized the collection of tribute. By creating local “graveyards”, they became small centers of princely power, where tribute collected from the population flocked. She made a trip to Constantinople in 957, where she converted to Christianity, and Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus himself became her godfather. During Svyatoslav's campaigns, Olga continued to rule the Russian lands.

964-972 RULE OF SVYATOSLAV.

964 SVYATOSLAV'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST VYATICHI.

The Vyatichi are the only Slavic tribal union that lived between the Oka and upper Volga rivers, which was not part of the sphere of power of the Kyiv princes. Prince Svyatoslav organized a campaign into the lands of the Vyatichi in order to force them to pay tribute. The Vyatichi did not dare to engage in open battle with Svyatoslav. But they refused to pay the tribute, informing the Kyiv prince that they were tributaries of the Khazars.

965 SVYATOSLAV'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE KHAZARS.

Svyatoslav took Sarkel by storm

Khazaria included the Lower Volga region with the capital Itil, the Northern Caucasus, the Azov region and Eastern Crimea. Khazaria fed and grew rich at the expense of other peoples, exhausting them with tributes and predatory raids. Numerous trade routes passed through Khazaria.

Having secured the support of the steppe Pechenegs, the Kiev prince led a strong, well-armed, large army trained in military affairs against the Khazars. The Russian army moved along the Seversky Donets or Don and defeated the army of the Khazar Kagan near Belaya Vezha (Sarkel). He besieged the Sarkel fortress, which was located on a cape washed by the waters of the Don, and on the eastern side a ditch filled with water was dug. The Russian squad took possession of the city in a well-prepared, sudden assault.

966 CONQUEST OF VYATICHI.

The Kyiv squad invaded the lands of the Vyatichi for the second time. This time their fate was sealed. Svyatoslav defeated the Vyatichi on the battlefield and imposed tribute on them.

966 VOLGA-CASPIAN CAMPAIGN OF SVYATOSLAV.

Svyatoslav moved to the Volga and defeated the Kama Bolgars. Along the Volga he reached the Caspian Sea, where the Khazars decided to give Svyatoslav battle under the walls of Itil, located at the mouth of the river. The Khazar army of King Joseph was defeated, and the capital of the Khazar Kaganate Itil was devastated. The winners received rich booty, which was loaded onto camel caravans. The Pechenegs plundered the city and then set it on fire. A similar fate befell the ancient Khazar city of Semender on Kum in the Caspian region (the vicinity of modern Makhachkala).

966-967 year. SVYATOSLAV ESTABLISHED TAMAN.

Svyatoslav's squad moved with battles across the North Caucasus and Kuban, through the lands of the Yases and Kasogs (ancestors of the Ossetians and Circassians). An alliance was concluded with these tribes, which strengthened the military power of Svyatoslav.

The campaign ended with the conquest of Tmutarakan, then it was the possession of the Khazars of Tamatarkh on the Taman Peninsula and Kerch. Subsequently, the Russian Tmutarakan principality arose there. The Old Russian state became the main force on the shores of the Caspian Sea and on the coast of Pontus (Black Sea). Kievan Rus strengthened in the south and east. The Pechenegs kept peace and did not disturb Rus'. Svyatoslav tried to gain a foothold in the Volga region, but he failed.

967 MEETING OF SVYATOSLAV WITH THE BYZANTINE AMBASSADOR KALOKIR.

Vladimir Kireev. "Prince Svyatoslav"

The Emperor of Constantinople, Nikephoros Phocas, was busy with the war with the Arabs. Deciding to eliminate the threat to the Byzantine colonies in Crimea, as well as to get rid of the Bulgarians, to whom the Empire had been paying tribute for 40 years, he decided to pit them against the Russians. To do this, the ambassador of Emperor Nicephorus, patrician (Byzantine title) Kalokir, went to the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav. He promised Svyatoslav neutrality and even the support of Byzantium if the prince started a war with Bulgaria. This proposal came from the emperor; Kalokir himself secretly hoped in the future, with the support of Svyatoslav, to overthrow the emperor and take his place.

August 967. ATTACK OF SVYATOSLAV ON THE DANUBE BULGARIA.

Having gathered an army of 60,000 soldiers on his lands, from young “husbands blooming with health,” Svyatoslav moved to the Danube along the route of Prince Igor. Moreover, this time he attacked the Bulgarians suddenly, without the famous “I’m coming to you.” Having passed the Dnieper rapids, part of the Russian troops moved to Danube Bulgaria, along the coast. And the Russian boats went out into the Black Sea and along the coast reached the mouth of the Danube. Where the decisive battle took place. Upon landing, the Russians were met by a thirty-thousand-strong Bulgarian army. But unable to withstand the first onslaught, the Bulgarians fled. Having tried to take refuge in Dorostol, the Bulgarians were defeated there too. Having captured, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, Svyatoslav captured 80 cities in Dnieper Bulgaria and settled in Pereyaslavets. The Russian prince did not at first strive to go beyond the borders of Dobrudja; apparently this was agreed upon with the ambassador of the Byzantine emperor.

968 NIKIFOR PHOCAS IS PREPARING FOR WAR WITH SVYATOSLAV.

The Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros Phocas, having learned about the captures of Svyatoslav and the plans of Klaokir, realized what a dangerous ally he called and began preparations for war. He took measures to defend Constantinople, blocked the entrance to the Golden Horn with a chain, installed throwing weapons on the walls, reformed the cavalry - dressed the horsemen in iron armor, armed and trained the infantry. Through diplomatic means, he tried to attract the Bulgarians to his side by negotiating a marriage alliance between the royal houses, and the Pechenegs, probably bribed by Nicephorus, attacked Kyiv.

Spring 968. SIEGE OF Kyiv BY THE PECHENEGS.

Pecheneg raid

The Pechenegs surrounded Kyiv and kept it under siege. Among the besieged were three sons of Svyatoslav, the princes Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir and their grandmother Princess Olga. For a long time they were unable to send a messenger from Kyiv. But thanks to the valor of one youth who was able to pass through the Pecheneg camp, posing as a Pecheneg looking for his horse, the people of Kiev managed to convey the news to the governor Petrich, who stood far beyond the Dnieper. The voivode depicted the arrival of a guard, who was supposedly followed by a regiment with the prince “without number.” The cunning of Governor Pretich saved the people of Kiev. The Pechenegs believed all this and retreated from the city. A messenger was sent to Svyatoslav, who told him: “You, prince, are looking for and pursuing a foreign land, but having taken possession of your own, you are too small to take us, your mother and your children.” With a small retinue, the warrior prince mounted his horses and rushed to the capital. Here he gathered “warriors”, teamed up with Petrich’s squad in hot battles, defeated the Pechenegs and drove them to the steppe and restored peace. Kyiv was saved.

When they began to beg Svyatoslav to stay in Kyiv, he answered: “I don’t like living in Kyiv, I want to live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube (probably the current Rushchuk). Princess Olga persuaded her son: “You see, I’m sick; where do you want to go from me? (“For she was already ill,” adds the chronicler.) When you bury me, go wherever you want.” Svyatoslav stayed in Kyiv until his mother’s death. During this time, he divided the Russian land between his sons. Yaropolk was imprisoned in Kyiv, Oleg in the Drevlyansky land. And the “robichich” Vladimir’s son from the housekeeper Malusha was asked to join the Princes of Novgorod by the ambassadors. Having completed the division and buried his mother, Svyatoslav, replenishing his squad, immediately set off on a campaign across the Danube.

969 BULGARIAN RESISTANCE IN THE ABSENCE OF SVYATOSLAV.

The Bulgarians did not feel any special changes with his departure to Rus'. In the fall of 969, they prayed to Nikifor Phokas for help against the Rus. The Bulgarian Tsar Peter tried to find support in Constantinople by entering into dynastic marriages of Bulgarian princesses with young Byzantine Caesars. But Nikifor Foka apparently continued to adhere to the agreements with Svyatoslav and did not provide military assistance. Taking advantage of Svyatoslav's absence, the Bulgarians rebelled and knocked the Rus out of several fortresses.

Invasion of Svyatoslav into the lands of the Bulgarians. Miniature of the Manasieva Chronicle

“Russian History” by V.N. Tatishchev tells about the exploits in Bulgaria during Svyatoslav’s absence there of a certain governor Volk (unknown from other sources). The Bulgarians, having learned about the departure of Svyatoslav, besieged Pereyaslavets. The Wolf, experiencing a shortage of food and knowing that many townspeople “had agreement” with the Bulgarians, ordered the boats to be secretly made. He himself announced publicly that he would defend the city to the last man, and defiantly ordered to cut all the horses and salt and dry the meat. At night, the Russians set fire to the city. The Bulgarians rushed to attack, and the Russians, setting out on boats, attacked the Bulgarian boats and captured them. The Wolf detachment left Pereyaslavets and freely went down the Danube, and then by sea to the mouth of the Dniester. On the Dniester, the Wolf met Svyatoslav. Where this story came from and how reliable it is is unknown.

Autumn 969-970. SECOND CAMPAIGN OF SVYATOSLAV TO BULGARIA.

Upon returning to Danube Bulgaria, Svyatoslav again had to overcome the resistance of the Bulgarians, who took refuge, as the chronicle says, in Pereyaslavets. But we must assume that we are talking about Preslav, the capital of Danube Bulgaria, not yet controlled by the Russians, which is south of Pereyaslavets on the Danube. In December 969, the Bulgarians went to battle against Svyatoslav and “the slaughter was great.” The Bulgarians began to prevail. And Svyatoslav said to his soldiers: “Here we fall! Let us stand up courageously, brothers and squad!” And by evening Svyatoslav’s squad won, and the city was taken by storm. The sons of the Bulgarian Tsar Peter, Boris and Roman, were taken prisoner.

Having captured the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom, the Russian prince went beyond Dobrudja and reached the Bulgarian-Byzantine border, ruining many cities and drowning the Bulgarian uprising in blood. The Russians had to take the city of Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv) in battle. As a result, the ancient city, founded by King Philip of Macedon in the 4th century BC. e., was devastated, and the 20 thousand surviving inhabitants were impaled. The city was depopulated for a long time.

Emperor John Tzimiskes

December 969. THE COUP OF JOHN TZIMISCES.

The conspiracy was led by his wife, Empress Theophano, and John Tzimiskes, a commander who came from a noble Armenian family and nephew of Nikephoros (his mother was Phocas’ sister). On the night of December 10-11, 969, the conspirators killed Emperor Nicephorus Phocas in his own bedchamber. Moreover, John personally split his skull in two with a sword. John, unlike his predecessor, did not marry Theophano, but exiled her away from Constantinople.

On December 25, the coronation of the new emperor took place. Formally, John Tzimiskes, like his predecessor, was proclaimed co-ruler of the young sons of Romanus II: Basil and Constantine. The death of Nikephoros Phocas finally changed the situation on the Danube, because the new emperor considered it important to get rid of the Russian threat.

A new usurper ascended the Byzantine throne - John, nicknamed Tzimiskes (he received this nickname, meaning “slipper” in Armenian, for his small stature).

Despite his small stature, John was distinguished by extraordinary physical strength and agility. He was brave, decisive, cruel, treacherous and, like his predecessor, possessed the talents of a military leader. At the same time, he was more sophisticated and cunning than Nikifor. Byzantine chroniclers noted his inherent vices - an excessive craving for wine during feasts and greed for bodily pleasures (again, in contrast to the almost ascetic Nikephoros).

The old king of the Bulgarians could not withstand the defeats inflicted by Svyatoslav - he fell ill and died. Soon the entire country, as well as Macedonia and Thrace as far as Philippopolis, fell under the rule of Svyatoslav. Svyatoslav entered into an alliance with the new Bulgarian Tsar Boris II.

Essentially, Bulgaria broke up into zones controlled by the Rus (northeast - Dobrudzha), Boris II (the rest of Eastern Bulgaria, subordinate to him only formally, in fact - by the Rus) and not controlled by anyone except the local elite (Western Bulgaria). It is possible that Western Bulgaria outwardly recognized the power of Boris, but the Bulgarian tsar, surrounded in his capital by a Russian garrison, lost all contact with the territories not affected by the war.

Within six months, all three countries involved in the conflict had new rulers. Olga, a supporter of an alliance with Byzantium, died in Kyiv, Nicephorus Phocas, who invited the Russians to the Balkans, was killed in Constantinople, Peter, who hoped for help from the Empire, died in Bulgaria.

Byzantine emperors during the life of Svyatoslav

Byzantium was ruled by the Macedonian dynasty, which was never violently overthrown. And in Constantinople of the 10th century, a descendant of Basil the Macedonian was always emperor. But when the emperors of the great dynasty were young and politically weak, a co-principal who had actual power sometimes became at the helm of the empire.

Roman I Lakopin (c. 870 - 948, imp. 920 - 945). Usurper-co-ruler of Constantine VII, who married him to his daughter, but tried to create his own dynasty. Under him, the Russian fleet of Prince Igor was burned under the walls of Constantinople (941).

Constantine VII Porphyrogenetus (Porphyrogenitus) (905 - 959, imp. 908 - 959, fact. from 945). The emperor is a scientist, the author of edifying works, such as the work “On the Administration of an Empire.” He baptized Princess Olga during her visit to Constantinople (967).

Roman II (939 - 963, imp. from 945, fact. from 959). The son of Constantine VII, husband Feofano died young, leaving two minor sons Vasily and Constantine.

Theophano (after 940 - ?, empress regent in March - August 963). Rumor attributed to her the poisoning of her father-in-law Konstantin Porphyrogenitus and her husband Roman. She was a participant in the conspiracy and murder of her second husband, Emperor Nikephoros Phocas.

Nikephoros II Phocas (912 - 969, emperor from 963). The famous commander who returned Crete to the rule of the empire, then the Byzantine emperor who married Theophano. He continued successful military operations, conquering Cilicia and Cyprus. Killed by John Tzimiskes. He was canonized.

John I Tzimisces (c. 925 - 976, emperor from 969) Svyatoslav's main opponent. After the Russians left Bulgaria. He carried out two eastern campaigns, as a result of which Syria and Phenicia again became provinces of the empire. Presumably poisoned
Vasily Lakapin- the illegitimate son of Roman I, castrated as a child, but who served as the first minister of the empire from 945-985.

Vasily II Bulgarokton (Bulgaro-Slayer) (958 - 1025, cont. from 960, imp. from 963, fact. from 976). The greatest emperor of the Macedonian dynasty. He ruled jointly with his brother Konstantin. He fought numerous wars, especially with the Bulgarians. Under him, Byzantium reached its greatest power. But he was unable to leave a male heir and the Macedonian dynasty soon fell.

Winter 970. THE BEGINNING OF THE RUSSIAN-BYZANTINE WAR.

Having learned of the murder of his ally, Svyatoslav, possibly instigated by Klaokir, decided to begin the fight against the Byzantine usurper. The Rus began to cross the border of Byzantium and devastate the Byzantine provinces of Thrace and Macedonia.

John Tzimiskes tried through negotiations to persuade Svyatoslav to return the conquered regions, otherwise he threatened with war. To this Svyatoslav replied: “Let the emperor not bother to travel to our land: we will soon set up our tents in front of the Byzantine gates, surround the city with a strong rampart, and if he decides to undertake a feat, we will bravely meet him.” At the same time, Svyatoslav advised Tzimiskes to retire to Asia Minor.

Svyatoslav reinforced his army with the Bulgarians, who were dissatisfied with Byzantium, and hired detachments of Pechenegs and Hungarians. The number of this army was 30,000 soldiers. The commander of the Byzantine army was Master Varda Sklir, it consisted of 12,000 soldiers. Therefore, Sklir had to give up most of Thrace to be torn to pieces by the enemy and preferred to sit out in Arcadiopolis. Soon the army of the Kyiv prince approached this city.

970 BATTLE NEAR ARCADIOPOL (ADRIANOPOL).

At the Battle of Arkadiopolis (modern Lüleburgaz in Turkey, about 140 kilometers west of Istanbul), the Rus' onslaught was stopped. The apparent indecisiveness of Bardas Sklera caused the barbarians to become self-confident and disdainful of the Byzantines who were secluded in the city. They wandered around the area, drinking, thinking they were safe. Seeing this, Varda began to implement a plan of action that had long been matured in him. The main role in the upcoming battle was assigned to the patrician John Alakas (by origin, by the way, a Pecheneg). Alakas attacked a detachment consisting of Pechenegs. They became interested in pursuing the retreating Romans and soon came across the main forces, which were personally commanded by Varda Sklir. The Pechenegs stopped, preparing for battle, and this completely destroyed them. The fact is that the phalanx of the Romans, allowing Alakas and the Pechenegs chasing him through, parted to a considerable depth. The Pechenegs found themselves in the “sack”. Because they did not immediately retreat, time was lost; the phalanxes closed and surrounded the nomads. All of them were killed by the Romans.

The death of the Pechenegs stunned the Hungarians, Rus and Bulgarians. However, they managed to prepare for battle and met the Romans fully armed. Skylitsa reports that the first blow to the advancing army of Bardas Skleros was delivered by the cavalry of the “barbarians,” probably consisting mainly of Hungarians. The onslaught was repelled, and the horsemen took refuge among the foot soldiers. When both armies met, the outcome of the battle was uncertain for a long time.

There is a story about how “a certain Scythian, proud of the size of his body and the fearlessness of his soul,” attacked Barda Sklerus himself, “who was going around and inspiring the formation of warriors,” and hit him on the helmet with a sword. “But the sword slipped, the blow was unsuccessful, and the master also hit the enemy on the helmet. The weight of his hand and the hardening of the iron gave his blow such force that the entire skiff was cut into two parts. Patrick Constantine, the brother of the master, rushing to his rescue, tried to strike another Scythian on the head, who wanted to come to the aid of the first and boldly rushed towards Varda; the Scythian, however, dodged to the side, and Constantine, missing, brought his sword down on the horse’s neck and separated his head from the body; the Scythian fell, and Konstantin jumped off his horse and, grabbing the enemy’s beard with his hand, stabbed him to death. This feat aroused the courage of the Romans and increased their courage, while the Scythians were gripped by fear and horror.

The battle approached its turning point, then Varda ordered the trumpet to be blown and the tambourines to be banged. The ambush army immediately, at this sign, ran out of the forest, surrounded the enemies from the rear and thus instilled such terror in them that they began to retreat.” It is possible that the ambush attack caused temporary confusion in the ranks of the Rus, but the battle order was quickly restored. “And Rus' gathered in arms, and there was a great slaughter, and Svyatoslav was overcome, and the Greeks fled; and Svyatoslav went to the city, fighting and smashing the cities that stand and are empty to this day.” This is how the Russian chronicler talks about the outcome of the battle. And the Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon writes about the victory of the Romans and reports implausible loss figures: the Rus allegedly lost over 20 thousand people, and the Byzantine army lost only 55 people killed and many wounded.

Apparently the defeat was severe, and the losses of Svyatoslav’s troops were significant. But he still had great strength to continue the war. And John Tzimiskes had to offer tribute and ask for peace. Since the Byzantine usurper was still puzzled by the suppression of the rebellion of Bardas Phocas. Therefore, trying to gain time and delay the war, he entered into negotiations with Svyatoslav.

970 REBELLION OF VARDA PHOCAS.

In the spring of 970, the nephew of the murdered Emperor Nicephorus, Bardas Phocas, fled from his place of exile in Amasia to Caesarea in Cappadocia. Gathering around him a militia capable of resisting government troops, he solemnly and in front of a crowd of people put on red shoes - a sign of imperial dignity. The news of the rebellion greatly excited Tzimiskes. Bardas Skleros was immediately summoned from Thrace, whom John appointed stratelate (leader) of the campaign against the rebels. Skler managed to win over to his side some of the military leaders who were subordinate to his namesake. Abandoned by them, Foka did not dare to fight and preferred to take refuge in a fortress with the symbolic name of the Tyrants' Fortress. However, besieged by stratilate, he was forced to surrender. Emperor John ordered Varda Phokas to be tonsured a monk and sent him along with his wife and children to the island of Chios.

970 RUS ATTACKS ON MACEDONIA.

Squad of the Russian Prince

Having received the tribute, Svyatoslav returned to Pereyaslavets, from where he sent his “ best husbands"to the Byzantine emperor to conclude an agreement. The reason for this was the small number of the squad, which suffered heavy losses. Therefore, Svyatoslav said: “I will go to Rus' and bring more squads (since the Byzantines could take advantage of the small number of Russians and surround Svyatoslav’s squad) in the city; and Ruska is a distant land, and the Pechenesi are with us as warriors,” that is, from allies they turned into enemies. A small reinforcement arrived from Kyiv to Svyatoslav.

Detachments of Russians periodically devastated the border Byzantine region of Macedonia throughout 970. The Roman troops here were commanded by Master John Kurkuas (the Younger), a known lazy man and drunkard, who was inactive, making no attempt to protect the local population from the enemy. However, he had an excuse - a lack of troops. But Svyatoslav no longer launched a large-scale offensive against Byzantium. He was probably happy with the current situation.

Winter 970. TZIMISCES' CLICKY.

In order to take decisive action to curb the aggressive attacks of the Rus, significant preparations were required, which could not be completed before the spring of next year; and besides, in the coming winter, crossing the Gemsky ridge (Balkans) was considered impossible. In view of this, Tzimiskes again started negotiations with Svyatoslav, sent him expensive gifts, promising to send gifts in the spring, and, in all likelihood, the matter ended with the conclusion of a preliminary peace treaty. This explains that Svyatoslav did not occupy the mountain passes (klissurs) through the Balkans.

Spring 971. INVASION OF JOHN TZIMISCES IN THE DANUBE VALLEY.

Tzimiskes, taking advantage of the dispersal of Svyatoslav's army throughout Bulgaria and his confidence in the world, unexpectedly sent a fleet of 300 ships from Suda with orders to enter the Danube, and he himself and his troops moved towards Adrianople. Here the emperor was pleased with the news that the mountain passes were not occupied by the Russians, as a result of which Tzimiskes, with 2 thousand mounted men-at-arms at the head, having behind 15 thousand infantry and 13 thousand cavalry, and a total of 30 thousand, unhindered passed the terrible klissurs. The Byzantine army fortified itself on a hill near the Tichi River.

Quite unexpectedly for the Russians, Tzimiskes approached Preslava, which was occupied by the governor of Svyatoslav Sfenkel. The next day, Tzimiskes, having built dense phalanxes, moved towards the city, in front of which the Rus were waiting for him in the open. A stubborn battle ensued. Tzimiskes brought the “immortals” into battle. The heavy cavalry, thrusting their spears forward, rushed towards the enemy and quickly overthrew the Rus, who were fighting on foot. The Russian soldiers who came to the rescue could not change anything, and the Byzantine cavalry managed to approach the city and cut off those fleeing from the gate. Sfenkel had to close the city gates and the victors destroyed 8,500 “Scythians” that day. At night, Kalokir, whom the Greeks considered the main culprit of their troubles, fled from the city. He informed Svyatoslav about the emperor's attack.

The Greeks storm Preslav. A stone thrower is shown as a siege weapon. Miniature from the chronicle of John Skylitzes.

The rest of the troops arrived at Tzimiskes with stone-throwing and battering machines. It was necessary to hurry to take Preslava before Svyatoslav arrived to the rescue. At first, the besieged were asked to surrender voluntarily. Having received a refusal, the Romans began to shower Preslav with clouds of arrows and stones. Without difficulty breaking the wooden walls of Preslava. After which, with the support of archers' shooting, they stormed the wall. With the help of ladders, they managed to climb the fortifications, overcoming the resistance of the city’s defenders. The defenders began to leave the walls, hoping to take refuge in the citadel. The Byzantines managed to open the gate in the southeastern corner of the fortress, allowing the entire army into the city. The Bulgarians and Russians, who did not have time to take cover, were destroyed.

It was then that Boris II was brought to Tzimiskes, captured in the city along with his family and identified by the signs of royal power on him. John did not punish him for collaborating with the Rus, but, declaring him the “legitimate ruler of the Bulgars,” gave him due honors.

Sfenkel retreated behind the walls of the royal palace, from where he continued to defend himself until Tzimiskes ordered the palace to be set on fire.

Driven out of the palace by flames, the Russians desperately fought back and almost all were exterminated; only Sfenkel himself with several warriors managed to get through to Svyatoslav in Dorostol.

On April 16, John Tzimiskes celebrated Easter in Preslav and renamed the city in honor of the victory in his name - Ioannopolis. They also released the Bulgarian prisoners who fought on the side of Svyatoslav. The Russian prince did the opposite. Blaming the traitorous “Bulgarians” for the fall of Preslava, Svyatoslav ordered to gather the most noble and influential representatives of the Bulgarian nobility (about three hundred people) and behead them all. Many Bulgarians were thrown into prison. The population of Bulgaria went over to the side of Tzimiskes.

The emperor moved to Dorostol. This well-fortified city, which the Slavs called Dristra (now Silistria), served as Svyatoslav's main military base in the Balkans. Along the way, a number of Bulgarian cities (including Dinia and Pliska - the first capital of Bulgaria) went over to the side of the Greeks. The conquered Bulgarian lands were included in Thrace - the Byzantine theme. In the twentieth of April, the army of Tzimiskes approached Dorostol.

Armament of Kievan Rus warriors: helmets, spurs, sword, axe, stirrup, horse fetters

The defense of the city began in complete encirclement. Numerical superiority was on the side of the Byzantines - their army consisted of 25-30 thousand infantry and 15 thousand cavalry, while Svyatoslav had only 30 thousand soldiers. With available forces and without cavalry, he could easily be surrounded and cut off from Dorostol by the excellent numerous Greek cavalry. heavy, grueling battles for the city, which lasted about three months.

The Rus stood in dense rows, long shields closed together and spears thrust forward. The Pechenegs and Hungarians were no longer among them.

John Tzimiskes deployed infantry against them, placing heavy cavalry (cataphracts) along its edges. Behind the infantrymen were archers and slingers, whose task was to shoot without stopping.

The first attack of the Byzantines slightly upset the Russians, but they held their ground and then launched a counterattack. The battle continued with varying success all day, the entire plain was strewn with the bodies of those killed on both sides. Closer to sunset, Tzimiskes’ warriors managed to push back the enemy’s left wing. Now the main thing for the Romans was to prevent the Russians from rebuilding and coming to the aid of their own. A new trumpet signal sounded, and the cavalry - the emperor's reserve - was brought into battle. Even the “immortals” were marched against the Rus; John Tzimiskes himself galloped after them with the imperial banners unfurled, shaking his spear and motivating the soldiers with a battle cry. An answering cry of joy rang out among the hitherto restrained Romans. The Russians could not withstand the onslaught of the horsemen and fled. They were pursued, killed and captured. However, the Byzantine army was tired of the battle and stopped the pursuit. Most of Svyatoslav's soldiers, led by their leader, returned safely to Dorostol. The outcome of the war was a foregone conclusion.

Having identified a suitable hill, the emperor ordered a ditch more than two meters deep to be dug around it. The excavated earth was carried to the side adjacent to the camp, so that the result was a high shaft. At the top of the embankment they strengthened spears and hung interconnected shields on them. The imperial tent was placed in the center, the military leaders were located nearby, the “immortals” were around, then ordinary warriors. At the edges of the camp stood infantrymen, behind them were horsemen. In the event of an enemy attack, the infantry took the first blow, which gave the cavalry time to prepare for battle. The approaches to the camp were also protected by skillfully hidden pit traps with wooden stakes at the bottom, metal balls with four points placed in the right places, one of which stuck up. Signal ropes with bells were stretched around the camp and pickets were placed (the first began within an arrow's flight from the hill where the Romans were located).

Tzimiskes tried, but failed, to take the city by storm. In the evening, the Russians again undertook a large-scale foray, and, according to the chronicle sources of the Byzantines, for the first time they tried to act on horseback, but, having bad horses recruited in the fortress and not accustomed to battle, they were overthrown by the Greek cavalry. In repelling this attack, Varda Sklir commanded.

On the same day, a Greek fleet of 300 ships approached and settled on the Danube opposite the city, as a result of which the Russians were completely surrounded and no longer dared to go out on their boats, fearing Greek fire. Svyatoslav, who gave great importance to preserve his fleet, for safety he ordered the boats to be pulled ashore and placed near the city wall of Dorostol. Meanwhile, all his boats were in Dorostol, and the Danube was his only route of retreat.

Russian squad attacks

Realizing the doom of their situation, the Russians again made a foray, but with all their might. It was led by the valiant defender of Preslav Sfenkel, and Svyatoslav remained in the city. With long, human-sized shields, covered with chain mail and armor, the Russians, leaving the fortress at dusk and observing complete silence, approached the enemy camp and unexpectedly attacked the Greeks. The battle lasted with varying success until noon the next day, but after Sfenkel was killed by a spear, and the Byzantine cavalry again threatened to be destroyed, the Russians retreated.

Svyatoslav, expecting an attack in turn, ordered a deep ditch to be dug around the city walls and Dorostol now became practically impregnable. By this he showed that he decided to defend to the last. Almost daily there were forays by the Russians, often ending successfully for the besieged.

Tzimisces at first limited himself to only a siege, hoping to starve to force Svyatoslav to surrender, but soon the Russians, who were making constant forays, dug up all the roads and paths with ditches and occupied them, and on the Danube the fleet increased its vigilance. The entire Greek cavalry was sent to monitor the roads leading from the west and east to the fortress.

There were many wounded in the city and severe famine set in. Meanwhile, the Greek battering machines continued to destroy the walls of the city, and stone-throwing weapons caused great casualties.

Horse Guard X century

Choosing a dark night, when a terrible thunderstorm broke out with thunder, lightning and heavy hail, Svyatoslav personally led about two thousand people out of the city and put them on boats. They safely bypassed the Roman fleet (it was impossible to see or even hear them because of the thunderstorm, and the command of the Roman fleet, seeing that the “barbarians” were fighting only on land, as they say, “relaxed”) and moved along the river for food . One can imagine the amazement of the Bulgarians who lived along the Danube when the Rus suddenly reappeared in their villages. It was necessary to act quickly before news of what had happened reached the Romans. A few days later, having collected grain bread, millet and some other supplies, the Rus boarded ships and just as quietly moved towards Dorostol. The Romans would not have noticed anything if Svyatoslav had not learned that horses from the Byzantine army were grazing not far from the shore, and nearby there were baggage servants who were guarding the horses and at the same time stocking up firewood for their camp. Having landed on the shore, the Russians silently passed through the forest and attacked the baggage trains. Almost all the servants were killed, only a few managed to hide in the bushes. Militarily, this action did not give the Russians anything, but its audacity made it possible to remind Tzimisces that much could still be expected from the “damned Scythians.”

But this foray enraged John Tzimisces and soon the Romans dug up all the roads leading to Dorostol, posted guards everywhere, control over the river was established in such a way that even a bird could not fly from the city to the other bank without the permission of the besiegers. And soon the truly “dark days” came for the Rus, exhausted by the siege, and the Bulgarians still remaining in the city.

End of June 971. RUSSIANS KILL THE “EMPEROR”.

During one of the forays, the Russians managed to kill a relative of Emperor Tzimiskes, John Kurkuas, who was in charge of the battering guns. Because of his rich clothes, the Russians mistook him for the emperor himself. Puffed up, they planted the severed head of the military leader on a spear and displayed it over the city walls. For some time, the besieged believed that the death of the basileus would force the Greeks to leave.

At noon on July 19, when the Byzantine guards, exhausted by the heat, lost their vigilance, the Rus quickly attacked and killed them. Then it was the turn of the catapults and ballistae. They were hacked to pieces with axes and burned.

The besieged decided to strike a new blow at the Greeks, who, like Sfenkel, had their own squad. The Russians revered him as the second leader after Svyatoslav. He was respected for his valor, and not for his “noble relatives.” And initially in battle he greatly inspired the squad. But he died in a skirmish with Anemas. The death of the leaders led to a panicked flight of the besieged. The Romans again cut down those fleeing, and their horses trampled the “barbarians.” The coming night stopped the massacre and allowed the survivors to make their way to Dorostol. Howls were heard from the direction of the city; there were funerals of the dead, whose bodies the comrades were able to carry from the battlefield. The Byzantine chronicler writes that many male and female captives were slaughtered. “Performing sacrifices for the dead, they drowned infants and roosters in the Istra River.” The bodies that remained on the ground went to the winners. To the surprise of those who rushed to tear off the armor from the dead “Scythians” and collect weapons, among the Dorostol defenders killed that day were women dressed in men’s clothing. It is difficult to say who they were - Bulgarians who sided with the Rus, or desperate Russian maidens - the epic “wood logs” who went on a campaign along with men.

Feat of arms. The hero of Byzantium is the Arab Anemas.

One of the last forays of the Rus against the Greeks was led by Ikmor, a man of enormous stature and strength. Drawing the Rus with him, Ikmor destroyed everyone who stood in his way. It seemed that there was no equal to him in the Byzantine army. The invigorated Russians did not lag behind their leader. This continued until one of Tzimiskes’ bodyguards, Anemas, rushed towards Ikmor. This was an Arab, the son and co-ruler of the Emir of Crete, who ten years earlier, together with his father, was captured by the Romans and went into the service of the victors. Having galloped up to the mighty Russian, the Arab deftly dodged his blow and struck back - unfortunately for Ikmor, a successful one. An experienced grunt cut off the Russian leader's head, right shoulder and arm. Seeing the death of their leader, the Russians screamed loudly, their ranks wavered, while the Romans, on the contrary, were inspired and intensified the onslaught. Soon the Russians began to retreat, and then, throwing their shields behind their backs, they ran to Dorostol.

During the last battle of Dorostol, among the Romans rushing towards the Rus from the rear, there was Anemas, who had killed Ikmor the day before. He passionately wanted to add a new, even brighter feat to this feat - to deal with Svyatoslav himself. When the Romans who suddenly attacked the Rus briefly brought disorganization into their system, a desperate Arab flew up to the prince on horseback and hit him on the head with a sword. Svyatoslav fell to the ground, he was stunned, but remained alive. The Arab's blow, gliding across the helmet, only broke the prince's collarbone. The chainmail shirt protected him. The attacker and his horse were pierced by many arrows, and then the fallen Anemas was surrounded by a phalanx of enemies, and he still continued to fight, killed many Russians, but finally fell cut into pieces. This was a man whom none of his contemporaries surpassed in heroic deeds.

971, Silistria. Anemas, bodyguard of Emperor John Tzimisces, wounded the Russian prince Svyatoslav

Svyatoslav gathered all his military leaders for a council. When some started talking about the need to retreat, they advised waiting for the dark night, lowering the boats that were on the shore into the Danube and, keeping as quiet as possible, sailing unnoticed down the Danube. Others suggested asking the Greeks for peace. Svyatoslav said: “We have nothing to choose from. Willingly or unwillingly, we must fight. We will not disgrace the Russian land, but we will lie down with bones - the dead have no shame. If we run away, it will be a shame for us. So let’s not run, but let’s stand strong. I’ll go before you - if my head falls, then take care of yourself.” And the soldiers answered Svyatoslav: “Where you place your head, there we will lay our heads!” Electrified by this heroic speech, the leaders decided to win - or die with glory...

The last bloody battle near Dorostol ended in the defeat of the Rus. The forces were too unequal.

July 22, 971 The last battle under the walls of Dorostol. First and second stages of the battle

Svyatoslav personally led the thinned squad to the last battle. He ordered the city gates to be tightly locked so that none of the soldiers would think of seeking salvation outside the walls, but would think only about victory.

The battle began with an unprecedented onslaught of Russians. It was a hot day, and the heavily armored Byzantines began to succumb to the indomitable onslaught of the Rus. In order to save the situation, the emperor personally rushed to the rescue, accompanied by a detachment of “immortals”. While he was distracting the enemy's attack, they managed to deliver bottles filled with wine and water to the battlefield. The invigorated Romans with renewed vigor began to attack the Rus, but to no avail. And it was strange, because the advantage was on their side. Finally Tzimiskes understood the reason. Having pushed back the Rus, his warriors found themselves in a cramped place (everything around was in the hills), which is why the “Scythians,” who were inferior to them in numbers, withstood the attacks. The strategists were ordered to begin a feigned retreat in order to lure the “barbarians” onto the plain. Seeing the flight of the Romans, the Russians shouted joyfully and rushed after them. Having reached the appointed place, the warriors of Tzimiskes stopped and met the Rus who were catching up with them. Having encountered the unexpected resistance of the Greeks, the Russians not only were not embarrassed, but began to attack them with even greater frenzy. The illusion of success that the Romans created with their retreat only inflamed the exhausted pre-Rostol villagers.

Tzimisces was extremely annoyed by both the large losses that his army suffered and the fact that the outcome of the battle, despite all efforts, remained unclear. Skylitzes even says that the emperor “planned to settle the matter by duel. And so he sent an embassy to Svendoslav (Svyatoslav), offering him single combat and saying that the matter should be resolved by the death of one husband, without killing or depleting the strength of the peoples; whoever wins among them will be the ruler of everything. But he did not accept the challenge and added mocking words that he, supposedly, understands his own benefit better than the enemy, and if the emperor does not want to live anymore, then there are tens of thousands of other ways to death; let him choose whichever he wants. Having answered so arrogantly, he prepared for battle with increased zeal.”

The battle between Svyatoslav's soldiers and the Byzantines. Miniature from the manuscript of John Skylitzes

The mutual bitterness of the parties characterizes the next episode of the battle. Among the strategists who commanded the retreat of the Byzantine cavalry was a certain Theodore of Mysthia. The horse under him was killed, Theodore was surrounded by the Rus, who longed for his death. Trying to get up, the strategist, a man of heroic build, grabbed one of the Rus by the belt and, turning it in all directions like a shield, managed to protect himself from the blows of swords and spears flying at him. Then the Roman warriors arrived, and for a few seconds, until Theodore was safe, the entire space around him turned into a battle arena between those who wanted to kill him at all costs and those who wanted to save him.

The emperor decided to send the master Barda Skler, the patricians Peter and Roman (the latter was the grandson of Emperor Roman Lekapinus) to circumvent the enemy. They should have cut off the “Scythians” from Dorostol and struck them in the back. This maneuver was carried out successfully, but it did not lead to a turning point in the battle. During this attack, Svyatoslav was wounded by Anemas. Meanwhile, the Rus, who had repulsed the rear attack, again began to push back the Romans. And again the emperor, with a spear at the ready, had to lead the guard into battle. Seeing Tzimiskes, his soldiers cheered up. The decisive moment was approaching in the battle. And then a miracle happened. First, a strong wind blew from behind the advancing Byzantine army, and a real hurricane began, bringing with it clouds of dust that filled the Russians’ eyes. And then there was a terrible downpour. The Russian advance stopped, and the soldiers hiding from the sand became easy prey for the enemy. Shocked by the intervention from above, the Romans later assured that they saw a rider galloping ahead of them on a white horse. When he approached, the Rus allegedly fell like mown grass. Later, many “identified” the miraculous assistant of Tzimiskes as Saint Theodore Stratilates.

Varda Sklir pressed on the Russians from the rear. The confused Russians found themselves surrounded and ran towards the city. They did not have to break through the enemy's ranks. Apparently, the Byzantines used the idea of ​​​​the “golden bridge”, widely known in their military theory. Its essence boiled down to the fact that the defeated enemy was left with the opportunity to escape by flight. Understanding this weakened the enemy’s resistance and created the most favorable conditions for his complete defeat. As usual, the Romans drove the Rus to the very city walls, mercilessly chopping them down. Among those who managed to escape was Svyatoslav. He was badly wounded - in addition to the blow that Anemas dealt him, the prince was hit by several arrows, he lost a lot of blood and was almost captured. Only the onset of night saved him from this.

Svyatoslav in battle

The losses of the Russian army in the last battle amounted to more than 15,000 people. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, after the conclusion of peace, when asked by the Greeks about the size of his army, Svyatoslav answered: “We are twenty thousand,” but “he added ten thousand, for there were only ten thousand Russians.” And Svyatoslav brought more than 60 thousand young and strong men to the banks of the Danube. You can call this campaign a demographic catastrophe for Kievan Rus. Calling on the army to fight to the death and die with honor. Svyatoslav himself, although wounded, returned to Dorostol, although he promised to remain among the dead in the event of defeat. By this act, he greatly lost authority in his army.

But the Greeks also achieved victory at a high price.

Significant numerical superiority of the enemy, lack of food and, probably, not wanting to irritate his people, Svyatoslav decided to make peace with the Greeks.

At dawn on the day following the battle, Svyatoslav sent envoys to Emperor John asking for peace. The Emperor received them very favorably. According to the chronicle, Svyatoslav reasoned as follows: “If we do not make peace with the king, the king will find out that we are few - and, when they come, they will surround us in the city. But the Russian land is far away, and the Pechenegs are our warriors, and who will help us? And his speech to the squad was lovely.

According to the concluded truce, the Russians pledged to cede Dorostol to the Greeks, release prisoners and leave Bulgaria. In turn, the Byzantines promised to let their recent enemies return to their homeland and not attack their ships along the way. (The Russians were very afraid of the “Greek fire” that destroyed the ships of Prince Igor at one time.) At the request of Svyatoslav, the Byzantines also promised to obtain from the Pechenegs guarantees of the inviolability of the Russian squad upon its return home. The booty captured in Bulgaria, apparently, remained with the vanquished. In addition, the Greeks had to supply the Rus with food and actually gave out 2 medimnas of bread (about 20 kilograms) for each warrior.

After the conclusion of the agreement, the embassy of John Tzimiskes was sent to the Pechenegs, with a request that they allow the Rus, returning home, through their possessions. But it is assumed that Theophilus, Bishop of Euchaitis, who was sent to the nomads, set the Pechenegs against the prince, carrying out a secret assignment from his sovereign.

PEACE TREATY.

A peace treaty was concluded between the two states, the text of which was preserved in the Tale of Bygone Years. Due to the fact that this agreement determined the relationship between Rus' and Byzantium for almost twenty years and subsequently formed the basis of the Byzantine policy of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, we present its entire text translated into modern Russian: “List from the agreement concluded under Svyatoslav, Grand Duke of Russia , and under Sveneld. Written under Theophilos sinkel, and to Ivan, called Tzimiskes, King of Greece, in Derestre, the month of July, indictment 14th, in the summer of 6479. I, Svyatoslav, Prince of Russia, as I swore, and confirm my oath by this agreement: I want to have peace and perfect love with every great king of Greece, with Basil, and Constantine, and with God-inspired kings, and with all your people until the end of the age; and so do those who are under me, Rus', the boyars and others. I will never plan to gather soldiers against your country, and I will not bring any other people to your country, nor to those that are under Greek rule, nor to the Korsun volost and how many of their cities there are, nor to the Bulgarian country. And if anyone else thinks against your country, then I will be his opponent and will fight with him. As I swore to the Greek kings, and the boyars and all of Rus' are with me, so we will keep the agreement inviolable; if we do not preserve what was said before, let me, and those who are with me, and those under me, be cursed by the god in whom we believe - in Perun and Volos, the cattle god - and Let us be pierced like gold, and let us be cut off with our own weapons. What we have promised you today and have written on this charter and sealed with our seals will be true.”

End of July 971. MEETING OF JOHN TSIMISKES WITH SVYATOSLAV.

Meeting of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav with the Byzantine emperor John Tzimiskes

Finally, the prince wanted to personally meet with the Basileus of the Romans. Leo the Deacon writes in his “History” a description of this meeting: “The Emperor did not shy away and, covered in gilded armor, rode up on horseback to the bank of the Istra, leading behind him a large detachment of armed horsemen sparkling with gold. Sfendoslav also appeared, sailing along the river on a Scythian boat; he sat on the oars and rowed along with his entourage, no different from them. This is what his appearance was: of moderate height, not too tall and not very short, with shaggy eyebrows and light blue eyes, snub nose, beardless, with thick, excessively long hair above his upper lip. His head was completely naked, but a tuft of hair hung from one side of it - a sign of the nobility of the family; the strong back of his head, wide chest and all other parts of his body were quite proportionate, but he looked gloomy and wild. He had it in one ear gold earring; it was decorated with a carbuncle framed by two pearls. His robe was white and differed from the clothing of his entourage only in its cleanliness. Sitting in the boat on the rowers’ bench, he talked a little with the sovereign about the terms of peace and left.”

971-976. CONTINUATION OF THE REIGN OF TZIMISCHEES IN BYZANTIUM.

After the departure of the Rus, Eastern Bulgaria became part of the Byzantine Empire. The city of Dorostol received a new name Theodoropol (either in memory of St. Theodore Stratelates, who contributed to the Romans, or in honor of the wife of John Tzimiskes Theodora) and became the center of the new Byzantine theme. Vasilevo Romanev returned to Constantinople with huge trophies, and upon entering the city, the residents gave their emperor an enthusiastic meeting. After the triumph, Tsar Boris II was brought to Tzimiskes, and he, submitting to the will of the new ruler of the Bulgarians, publicly laid aside the signs of royal power - a tiara trimmed in purple, embroidered with gold and pearls, a purple robe and red ankle boots. In return, he received the rank of master and had to begin to get used to the position of a Byzantine nobleman. Regarding him younger brother The Byzantine emperor was not so merciful to Roman - the prince was castrated. Tzimiskes never got around to Western Bulgaria - it was necessary to resolve the protracted conflict with the Germans, to continue victorious wars against the Arabs, this time in Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine. The basileus returned from his last campaign completely ill. According to the symptoms, it was typhus, but, as always, the version that Tzimiskes was poisoned became very popular among the people. After his death in 976, the son of Roman II, Vasily, finally came to power. Feofano returned from exile, but her eighteen-year-old son no longer needed guardians. She had only one thing left to do - to live out her life quietly.

Summer 971. SVYATOSLAV EXECUTES HIS CHRISTIAN WARRIORS.

The later so-called Joachim Chronicle provides some additional details about the last period of the Balkan War. Svyatoslav, according to this source, blamed all his failures on the Christians who were part of his army. Having become furious, he executed, among others, his brother Prince Gleb (about whose existence other sources know nothing). By order of Svyatoslav, Christian churches in Kyiv were to be destroyed and burned; the prince himself, upon returning to Rus', intended to exterminate all Christians. However, this, in all likelihood, is nothing more than a conjecture by the compiler of the chronicle - a later writer or historian.

Autumn 971. SVYATOSLAV GOES TO HOMELAND.

In the fall, Svyatoslav set off on the return journey. He moved on boats along the seashore and then up the Dnieper towards the Dnieper rapids. Otherwise, he would not have been able to bring the booty captured in the war to Kyiv. It was not simple greed that motivated the prince, but the desire to enter Kyiv as a winner, not a vanquished one.

The closest and most experienced governor of Svyatoslav, Sveneld, advised the prince: “Go around the rapids on horseback, for the Pechenegs are standing at the rapids.” But Svyatoslav did not listen to him. And Sveneld, of course, was right. The Pechenegs were really waiting for the Russians. According to the story “The Tale of Bygone Years”, the “Pereyaslavl people” (you must understand, the Bulgarians) reported the approach of the Russians to the Pechenegs: “Here Svyatoslav is coming to you in Rus', having taken from the Greeks a lot of booty and countless prisoners. But he doesn’t have enough squad.”

Winter 971/72. WINTERING IN BELOBEREZHE.

Having reached the island of Khortitsa, which the Greeks called “the island of St. George,” Svyatoslav became convinced of the impossibility of further advancement - at the ford of Krariy, which was located in front of the first threshold on his way, there were Pechenegs. Winter was approaching. The prince decided to retreat and spend the winter in Beloberezhye, where there was a Russian settlement. Perhaps he was hoping for help from Kyiv. But if so, then his hopes were not destined to come true. The people of Kiev were unable (or perhaps did not want?) to come to the rescue of their prince. The bread received from the Byzantines was soon eaten.

The local population did not have food supplies sufficient to feed the rest of Svyatoslav’s army. Hunger began. “And they paid half a hryvnia for a horse’s head,” the chronicler testifies to the famine in Beloberezh. This is a lot of money. But, obviously, Svyatoslav’s soldiers still had enough gold and silver. The Pechenegs did not leave.

The end of winter - the beginning of spring 972. THE DEATH OF THE RUSSIAN PRINCE SVYATOSLAV.

The last battle of Prince Svyatoslav

No longer able to remain at the mouth of the Dnieper, the Rus made a desperate attempt to break through the Pecheneg ambush. It seems that the exhausted people were put in a hopeless situation - in the spring, even if they wanted to get around dangerous place, having abandoned the rooks, they could no longer do this due to the lack of knights (which were eaten). Perhaps the prince was waiting for spring, hoping that during the spring flood the rapids would become passable and he would be able to escape the ambush while preserving the spoils. The result was sad - most of The Russian army was killed by nomads, and Svyatoslav himself fell in the battle.

“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, bound the skull, and then drank from it.”

The death of Prince Svyatoslav on the Dnieper rapids

According to the legend of later chroniclers, the inscription was made on the bowl: “Seeking strangers, I destroyed my own” (or: “Desiring strangers, I destroyed my own”) - quite in the spirit of the ideas of the Kievites themselves about their enterprising prince. “And this cup is, and to this day it is kept in the treasuries of the princes of Pechenezh; The princes and the princess drink from it in the palace, when they are caught, saying this: “As this man was, his forehead is, such will be the one born from us.” Also, other warriors’ skulls were sought for in silver and kept with them, drinking from them,” says another legend.

Thus ended the life of Prince Svyatoslav; This is how the lives of many Russian soldiers ended, that “young generation of Rus” that the prince took to war. Sveneld came to Kyiv to Yaropolk. The governor and the “remnant people” brought the sad news to Kyiv. We do not know how he managed to avoid death - whether he escaped from the Pecheneg encirclement (“by escaping in battle,” as a later chronicler put it), or moved by another, land route, leaving the prince even earlier.

According to the beliefs of the ancients, even the remains of a great warrior, and even more so a ruler, a prince, concealed his supernatural power and strength. And now, after death, the strength and power of Svyatoslav should have served not Rus', but its enemies, the Pechenegs.

PRINCE-VITYAZ SVYATOSLAV IGOREVICH, SON OF OLGA

There is no exact information about the year of birth of the great warrior of the Russian land, Svyatoslav Igorevich. Chronicle sources did not preserve this date for us. Although some researchers consider the year of birth of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Svyatoslav to be 942 and even call it the month of senosis, the month of suffering - July.

The father of Prince Svyatoslav was Prince Igor, who ruled most of the Russian lands from Kyiv, constantly fought with the Wild Field, where the warlike Pechenegs roamed, and went on campaigns against Byzantium against its capital city of Constantinople, called Constantinople in Rus'. The mother was Princess Olga, originally from Pskov.

At the age of three, Prince Svyatoslav lost his father, Prince Igor, who violated the custom of collecting tribute - polyudye - from the Slavic tribe of the Drevlyans, subject to Kyiv. This happened in 945. The widowed Olga decided to punish the rebellious Drevlyans for the murder of her husband and the next year she sent a strong princely squad to their lands.

By ancient Russian tradition the army going on a military campaign had to be led by the prince himself. And although Svyatoslav was only four years old, it was he who was ordered by Princess Olga to become the head of the princely squad in order to take revenge on the Drevlyans for their dead father. Nearby were the experienced governor of Prince Igor, the Varangian Sveneld, his father’s other governors and senior warriors.

The battle between the princely squad and the tribal militia of the Drevlyans under the command of their prince Mal took place in a wide forest clearing. The opponents lined up against each other, not daring to attack first. The prince’s teacher, Asmud, handed him a heavy battle spear and solemnly proclaimed: “Start the battle, prince! Do as you were taught!”

Four-year-old Svyatoslav raised his spear with effort and threw it towards the Drevlyans. The spear launched by a child's hand flew between the horse's ears and fell at his hooves. Voivode Sveneld shouted: “The prince has already begun! Let's follow the prince, squad!

The princely cavalry squad, shining with iron armor, crashed into the foot army of the Drevlyans and broke through its formation. The warriors of Prince Mal did not resist the well-trained Kyiv warriors for long and, trembling, ran under the protection of the wooden walls of the Drevlyan capital, the city of Iskorosten. The fugitives were pursued and mercilessly exterminated.

The remnants of the Drevlyan tribal militia secluded themselves in the city. Voivode Sveneld ordered the siege of the city to begin. Soon Princess Olga arrived from Kyiv, who brought with her a foot army and brought the necessary supplies. The siege of Iskorosten dragged on. The dry summer has begun. In the very dryness, Sveneld's archers approached the wooden fortress walls. They set fire to bunches of tarred tow tied to arrows and began to shoot flaming arrows at the city from long-range bows.

Soon a sea of ​​fire raged there. The sun-dried wooden buildings were quickly occupied, and the townspeople were simply unable to extinguish the fires that broke out everywhere. Thus the capital of the Drevlyans, Iskorosten, fell. Princess Olga imposed a heavy tribute on the tribe: two parts of it went to Kyiv, and the third to Vyshgorod, to the residence of the princess.

Time will pass, and the burning of the fortress city of Iskorosten will turn into a beautiful legend about the cunning of Princess Olga: as if she asked Prince Mal instead of tribute for three pigeons and three sparrows from each city yard, the resulting birds with pieces of burning tinder tied to their paws flew back to They set fire to the houses, cages, sheds and haylofts of the townspeople. Prince Svyatoslav himself, who saw the glow of the fire over the Drevlyan capital, will believe in this legend.

This happened in 946. The chronicler will say at the beginning of the story about that year: “The beginning of the reign of Svyatoslav, Igor’s son...” And he will end the chronicle with the words: “... and Olga came to her city of Kyiv with her son Svyatoslav, and stayed here for a year...”

After this, the name of Prince Svyatoslav disappears from the chronicles for almost ten years. This is understandable - Kievan Rus was completely ruled by his mother, Princess Olga. The prince grew up, gained intelligence, and most importantly, day and night he studied the military princely science under the watchful supervision of his teacher Asmud and the governor Sveneld. The Varangians did everything to ensure that Prince Svyatoslav grew up to be a real knight.

Svyatoslav was taught to fight and command. He had his own personal squad - a squad of “peers”, which was recruited by the teenage prince from his peers at the age of 12–15. The young men were dressed in the same dress and rode horses of the same color. This squad served as the personal guard of the young Kyiv prince and accompanied him everywhere. The “peers” matured together with Svyatoslav, becoming inseparable companions of the great warrior of Ancient Rus' in all his campaigns.

By 963, the last year of Svyatoslav’s minority, the prince had already turned into a well-trained warrior, trained to command the Russian land. The great commander and statesman of that historical era grew up at the Kiev princely court.

Russian chroniclers depict Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich, Olga’s son, as a man from a legend - a young, successful and brave warrior for the Russian land: “Prince Svyatoslav grew up and matured, he began to gather many brave warriors, and easily went on campaigns, like a pardus (leopard, lynx are animals distinguished by speed and fearlessness), and fought a lot. On campaigns, he did not carry carts or cauldrons with him, did not cook meat, but thinly sliced ​​horse meat, or animal meat, or beef and fried it over coals, and ate it that way. He didn’t even have a tent, but he slept with a sweatcloth spread out on him, with a saddle in his head, and all his other warriors were the same. And he sent to other lands with the words:

“I’m coming at you!”

Time gave birth to the Knight-Prince of Ancient Rus'. The early feudal state arose, which entered into national history called Kievan Rus. Tribes of the Eastern Slavs poured into it: the Polyans and the Northerners, the Drevlyans and Radimichi, the Krivichi and Dregovichi, the Ulichs and Tivertsi, the Slovenians and the Vyatichi. Their best warriors came to serve in the squad of the Prince of Kyiv, forgetting their family and tribal customs. The traditions of military democracy were still preserved, when the prince and his squad were united in military campaigns, in battles, and in everyday life. But this time was already a thing of the past.

From his very first campaigns, the military genius of Prince Svyatoslav was placed in the service of Ancient Rus'. This is no longer the former Kiev prince, the brave acquirer of rich military booty and the successful leader of the dashing princely squad, the seeker of military glory. That's why short life Svyatoslav not only gave strength and power to the Russian land, but also brought it onto the broad road of world history. Neighbors began to recognize Rus' as a powerful state.

Academician B. A. Rybakov wrote about the campaigns of Prince Svyatoslav: “Svyatoslav’s campaigns of 965–968 represent, as it were, a single saber strike that drew a wide semicircle on the map of Europe from the Middle Volga region to the Caspian Sea and further along the North Caucasus and the Black Sea region to the Balkan lands of Byzantium. Volga Bulgaria was defeated, Khazaria was completely defeated, Byzantium was weakened and intimidated, throwing all its strength into the fight against the powerful and swift commander. The castles that blocked the Rus' trade routes were knocked down. Rus' gained the opportunity to conduct extensive trade with the East. Military and trading outposts arose at the two ends of the Russian (Black) Sea - Tmutarakan in the east near the Kerch Strait and Preslavets in the west near the mouth of the Danube. Svyatoslav sought to bring his capital closer to the vital centers of the 10th century and moved it close to the border of one of the largest states of the then world - Byzantium. In all these actions we see the hand of a commander and statesman interested in the rise of Rus' and strengthening its international position. Svyatoslav’s series of campaigns was wisely conceived and brilliantly carried out.”

The first campaign of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Igorevich was the Khazar one. It began in 964 with a campaign against the lands of the Slavic tribe of Vyatichi, who paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. This Slavic tribe inhabited the wooded interfluve of the Oka and Volga and, freed from Khazar tribute, strengthened Kievan Rus and allowed it to more successfully wage a persistent struggle with the Khazar Khaganate and the Byzantine Empire, a struggle dictated by the needs of the economic and political development of the Old Russian state.

The chronicler reports on the campaign of the princely squad to the land of the Vyatichi very briefly: “... Svyatoslav went to the Oka River and the Volga, and met the Vyatichi, and said to them: “Who are you giving tribute to?” They answered: “To the Khazars...”

The Kiev prince and his retinue spent the whole winter with the Vyatichi - their elders had to be convinced of the need to submit to Kyiv not only with words of diplomacy, but also with demonstration military force. The result of the campaign was that the Vyatichi tribe no longer paid tribute to the warlike Khazaria.

In the spring of the following year, 965, Prince Svyatoslav sent the Khazar Kagan his famous historical warning message: “I’m coming to you!” Thus began the Khazar campaign of Svyatoslav Igorevich, the illustrious son of the no less illustrious Princess Olga.

... The Khazar Khaganate arose in the middle of the 7th century on the territory of the North Caucasus, the Azov region and the Don steppes. By the middle of the 10th century, the Kaganate had lost its former greatness. Khazaria received a blow from within. The Khazar beks, the sovereign masters of nomads, tribal troops and herds, rebelled against the Muslim kagan from the alien Turkic family of Ashin. The ambitious Bek Obadiah, the leader of the rebels, declared himself king, and the Kagan became an honorary recluse in the Khazar capital, the city of Itil on the Lower Volga. King Obadiah began to plant the Jewish faith in Khazaria, which led to the disunity of the country and a bloody internecine war.

The former power of the Khazar Kaganate was coming to an end. The Crimean Goths came under the rule of Byzantium. The steppes between the Don and Volga were occupied by the warlike Pechenegs. Ghuz nomads appeared on the eastern borders of Khazaria. The Bulgarian tributaries began to worry. Now the Vyatichi Slavs refused to pay tribute to Khazaria. But militarily, the Kaganate still remained a strong state, ready to attack its neighbors.

What did the Khazar Kaganate hide in itself for the lands of the Russians? First of all, there is a military danger, blocking their trade routes to the south and east. Archaeologists have excavated over a dozen Khazar fortresses on the banks of the Don, Seversky Donets and Oskol - all of them, without exception, were located on the right, western - that is, Russian - bank of these rivers. Consequently, the fortresses were not intended for defense, but served as bases for attacks on Rus'.

By the time of Svyatoslav, Khazaria was constantly at war with Russia and its defeat was prepared by the entire previous policy of the ancient Russian princes. Svyatoslav created Russian military power, truly exceptional for future events and, so to speak, obviously invincible. “The Tale of Bygone Years” reports that the Kiev prince was so confident in the impending victory that “he sent to the countries, saying: “I want to go to you.”

Historians to this day argue about the meaning and reason for such a warning to the enemy. Either this is complete confidence in one’s invincibility, or a psychological attack on the enemy even before the start of a military campaign. But, most likely, the third is more likely: the army of Prince Svyatoslav, not pulling bulky convoys, was so fast on the march that the opposing side simply did not have time to take any serious measures to protect itself. Speed ​​and decisiveness in actions were characteristic features of the military leadership of Prince Svyatoslav.

The Khazar campaign, which began in 965, amazes with the route of movement of the Russian army, reinforced by the “warriors” of the Vyatichi. By that time, in addition to the pagans, in the princely army there were many Christian warriors, that is, baptized warriors. The rest worshiped numerous Slavic deities. Svyatoslav himself was a pagan. Despite the entreaties of his mother, who was baptized in 955, the young prince did not accept Christianity, saying that he did not want the warriors to mock him: “my squad will start laughing at this.”

The Russian army crossed the Oka River to the Volga and through the lands of the Volga Bulgars - tributaries of the Khazars - moving down the great river, came into the possession of the Khazar Kaganate - a huge military Khazar camp, based on numerous fortresses on the western bank of the Seversky Donets and Don. The Volga Bulgars did not interfere with the passage of Russian troops through their territory.

The capital of Khazaria, the city of Itil, was attacked not from the west, but from the north. The main battle of the Russian army with the Khazars took place somewhere in the lower reaches of the Volga, on the immediate approaches to the capital of the Kaganate. The Russians went to Itil on ships, and the Russian and allied Pecheneg cavalry along the coast.

The Khazar king Joseph (the Kagan himself was in his brick palace - the main decoration of the capital) managed to gather a huge army. According to the ancient Russian chronicler, he himself “went against” Prince Svyatoslav. The Khazars lined up in four battle lines in battle, as required by the usual Arab battle formation.

The first line was called "The Morning of the Dog's Barking."

It consisted of horse archers - “black Khazars”. The fast steppe riders did not wear armor so as not to hamper their movements, and were armed with bows and light throwing spears and darts. They started the battle first, showering the enemy with arrows, trying to upset his first ranks.

The second line was called by the Arabs “Day of Help.” It supported a line of horse archers and consisted of “White Khazars.” It was a nomadic nobility with its horse squads. The heavily armed horsemen were dressed in iron breastplates, chain mail, and helmets. The weapons of the “White Khazars” consisted of long spears, swords, sabers, clubs, and battle axes. It was selected armored cavalry that struck the enemy at the moment when he faltered under the shower of arrows of the “Black Khazars.”

If the battle line of the “Day of Relief” did not crush the enemies, then it parted to the sides and a third line, which the Arabs called “Evening of Shock,” entered the battle. It consisted of numerous militia infantry, including residents of the capital. It was armed mostly with long spears and shields. When repelling an enemy attack, the infantrymen formed a protective row of shields, kneeling in the first row. The spear shafts stuck into the ground and pointed towards the attackers. Overcoming such an obstacle without heavy losses turned out to be difficult.

Behind these three battle lines of the Khazar army, a fourth was lined up. The Arabs called it the “Banner of the Prophet,” and the Khazars themselves called it the “Sun of the Kagan.” It consisted of the Aryan Muslim horse guard, professional warriors dressed in shiny armor. In this line was the king of Khazaria himself, who led the Aryans into battle only when absolutely necessary.

The appearance of the Russian army puzzled the rulers of the Kaganate - previously they had not gone so far into their possessions, limiting themselves only to border raids. Therefore, the concerned King Joseph ordered the arming of all residents of Itil who were able to bear arms. In the caravanserais and merchant barns of the capital, enough weapons were stored to supply everyone with them.

The Russian army advanced like a wedge, frighteningly slowly for the Khazars. At the tip of the wedge walked warriors of heroic stature in iron armor and helmets. A fine chain mail mesh, impenetrable to arrows, protected even the shins of the warriors. In their hands, protected by iron gauntlets, the leading princely “warriors” held large axes. Behind them, thousands of spears waved above a long row of tall red shields that covered the warriors from their eyes to their leather boots. The cavalry - the prince's squad and the Pechenegs - held on the flanks.

The Khazar king ordered the trumpeters to play the attack signal. However, the battle lines of the Khazars, one after another, rolled into the Russians and could not do anything. The Russian army continued to advance, overthrowing the enemy over and over again. It did not help the Khazars in the battle that the divine Kagan himself rode out to them from the walls of Itil to inspire his warriors. The Russians boldly went into battle, slaying the enemy with long swords and battle axes.

In the end, the Khazars could not resist and began to scatter to the sides, opening the way for the enemy to their own capital, which there was no one left to defend. Some historians believe that the Kagan was killed in that battle under the walls of Itil.

The chronicler of the victory of Prince Svyatoslav will simply say: “the Khazars defeated.” The Russian squads entered the empty huge city - its inhabitants fled to the steppe or took refuge on numerous islands of the Volga estuary and the Khvalyn (Caspian) Sea. A large number of fugitives took refuge in Bab-al-Abveb and Siya-Sukha, that is, on the Absheron Peninsula and Mangyshlak.

Rich booty awaited the winners in the capital of the Khazar Kaganate, abandoned by the inhabitants. On the island, in the middle of the Itil (Volga) River, there were palaces of the nobility, and merchants and artisans lived in the “Yellow City”. There were many different goods in the caravanserais and merchant barns. War booty was loaded onto camel caravans. The city was plundered by the Pechenegs, who then set it on fire.

It seemed that it was now possible to move to Rus', since the main goal of the Khazar campaign of Prince Svyatoslav was fulfilled: the Kagan’s army was defeated and scattered across the steppe, the capital of Khazaria fell, and great booty was captured. Moreover, the multi-tribal troops of the Kaganate disintegrated, losing control from its capital Itil.

But the campaign continued. Prince Svyatoslav led his army along the shore of the Khvalyn Sea to the south, to the ancient capital of Khazaria, the city of Semender. It was located near present-day Makhachkala. It was ruled by its own king, who had his own army and fortresses, but was subordinate to the ruler of Khazaria. The Khazars did not interfere in the reign of the Semender king Salifan from the Arab family of Kahvan, who professed the Muslim faith, being content with tribute from his possessions.

The Semender army that came out to meet the Russians was defeated in a quick battle and scattered throughout the fortified villages in the surrounding mountains. The city of Semender surrendered to the mercy of the victors, who did not receive rich booty from it. King Salifan, his nobles and rich townspeople fled to the mountains with valuables.

From Semender, Prince Svyatoslav’s army continued its march through the foothills of the Caucasus. Ahead were the lands of the Alans and Kasogs. The Russians moved quickly through the possessions of the Kaganate: the Yegorlyk River, the Sal steppes, the Manych... The Alan and Kasozh armies were defeated, the Pechenegs plundered the villages of the foothills.

A new clash with the Khazars took place at the strong fortress of Semikara, built to protect the land route to the mouth of the Don River. She had to be taken with a spear. Svyatoslav led the Russian army only according to one plan known to him.

Days on the banks of rivers and at steppe wells almost did not delay the army. While some squads were resting, others moved forward, clearing their way with swords and capturing herds of fresh horses for the convoy. The edge of the Khazar possessions and the coast of the Surozh (Azov) Sea were approaching.

Ahead on the seashore stood the strong enemy fortresses of Tamatarkha (in Russian - Tmutarakan) and Kerchev, modern Kerch. It was known that their inhabitants did not want to fight the Russians and were ready to help them expel the Khazar garrisons. In Prince Svyatoslav, residents of the coastal trading cities saw a liberator from the power of the Kaganate, which lay a heavy burden on the peoples subject to Khazaria.

On the approach to the coast of the Sea of ​​Surozh, the Kyiv prince managed, by demonstrating the strength of his squads, to get rid of his allies in the person of the Pechenegs, who were more successful not in battles, but in robbing the local population. Having received their share of the spoils of war, the leaders of the steppes turned their cavalry to the tribal nomads north of the Don River. Rich coastal cities were saved from destruction.

When the Russians approached Tmutarakan, a revolt of the townspeople broke out there. Frightened by this, the Khazar governor - Tadun - hastily left the city citadel and on ships crossed the strait with his garrison soldiers to the Crimea, to the Kerchev fortress. The kagan's tadun was also sitting there. However, the Khazars failed to defend Kerchev. And here the residents took up arms as the Russians approached, helping them take possession of the fortress.

Svyatoslav in Tmutarakan and Kerchev demonstrated not only the numbers and courage of the Russian army, but also its discipline. The cities were not destroyed, but the victors of the Khazar Kaganate carried on brisk trade with local merchants, who bought military booty for gold and silver. Among the booty were many captured Khazars, who then ended up in the slave markets of Byzantium, Syria, Egypt and other Mediterranean countries. Prince Svyatoslav was a son of his time and therefore did not interfere with the exchange of prisoners for gold coins and silver bars that were not burdensome on the way, although they were heavy.

Thus, the Khazar campaign ended on the shores of the warm sea. Only shreds remained of the Kaganate, which were given over to be “eaten up” by the Pechenegs, who were so eager for new military booty. The external environment of Kievan Rus began to think with alarm about where Prince Svyatoslav would now point his victorious sword, who was he planning to crush this time?

So, Svyatoslav made a military campaign unprecedented for that era, covering several thousand kilometers, capturing a number of fortresses and defeating more than one strong enemy army. The power of the Khazar Kaganate was completely broken, which, according to the historian A.P. Novoseltsev, before this campaign of Svyatoslav “dominated the vast territory of Eastern Europe, where many peoples ... depended on it” and “was the main political force in Eastern Europe.”

More than once the peoples and states conquered by Khazaria tried to crush the Kaganate, but victory ultimately remained with the Khazars, who had a strong military organization. Thus, the Alans, the Volga Bulgars, the Guzes (Torks), and the Kasogs (Circassians) suffered defeats from the Khazar Kaganate, while the Hungarians and part of the Pechenegs were saved by simply leaving the Khazars to the west.

In a word, the very fact of the complete military and political victory of Prince Svyatoslav over the Khazar Khaganate expressed the growing greatness of Rus'. And Svyatoslav’s campaign - both in concept and in implementation - is, of course, the act of a great commander.

Byzantium was most afraid of the new movement of the Russian army. It cost him nothing to “step” across the Cimmerian Bosphorus (Kerch Strait) and triumphantly break into the fabulously rich for that time Tavrika (Crimea), a flourishing region. Now the fate of the province of the Byzantine Empire - the Kherson theme - depended on where the young Russian prince-warrior decided to send his troops.

The Byzantine governor in the city of Chersonese had too few troops to defend not only Taurica itself, but also its capital, a rich trading city located in the vicinity of modern Sevastopol. Strong reinforcements from Byzantium and Constantinople could not come soon, most likely, after severe autumn storms capable of scattering numerous imperial fleet. But by the time military aid arrived from the capital of Byzantium, the Russians could devastate Crimea and calmly retreat to their own borders.

Without a doubt, Prince Svyatoslav and his close people thought about the same thing. However, for the time being, the essence of Svyatoslav’s military policy was not to enter into direct confrontation with the Byzantine Empire. The time has not yet come for such a step.

In the Khazar campaign, Prince Svyatoslav did not seek military spoils; he wanted to crush the power of the Khazar Khaganate and firmly consolidate the results of the victory over Khazaria. Therefore, the direction of his campaign was dictated primarily by state expediency. As a result of the military campaign, the huge Khazar power collapsed and disappeared from the map of Europe, trade routes to the East were cleared, and the unification of the East Slavic lands into a single Old Russian state was completed.

Only the part adjacent to the Don River remained intact from the Kaganate. Here was one of the strongest Khazar fortresses - Sarkel (White Vezha), from where there was a constant threat southern lands Rus'. In such conditions, it would simply be unreasonable to quarrel with Byzantium. Having weighed all the pros and cons, Prince Svyatoslav, to the great joy of the Byzantines, turned his army north, to his native lands.

Svyatoslav faced an important military task - to take and destroy the Sarkel fortress: then the Khazar Kaganate would be over. By the way, some historians see in the decision of the Kyiv prince to return to Rus' through the Don steppes, refusing to invade such a tempting Taurica, the diplomatic art of the Greek Kalokir. Allegedly, the son of the Kherson protevon - the elected head of the Kherson Senate - came into full confidence in the “chief of the Taurians” (that is, the Russians) and persuaded him to an alliance with the Byzantine emperor.

One thing is indisputable - Svyatoslav in his military policy thought on a different scale than his father, Igor the Old, or the experienced Kiev military leader Varangian Sveneld. Their dreams did not extend beyond military booty, ransom gifts from the Byzantine emperor and the conclusion of a profitable trade agreement, which was soon violated. Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich, who stopped his army on the threshold of defenseless Taurica, thought about future great campaigns in the name of the greatness of Rus'.

Svyatoslav left Tmutarakan, having secured the grateful memory of its inhabitants. A detachment of Russian warriors remained in the fortress. Soon, another Russian principality will arise on the shores of the Sea of ​​Sourozh, and princes of the Russian family will rule there. The Tmutarakan principality will exist until the steppe hordes of the Polovtsians burst into the steppe of the Don region.

Sarkel translated from Khazar means “White House”. In fact, it was a fortress, built of red-brown brick, with six powerful square towers, visible far in the steppe. Inside Sarkel there was also a citadel with two high towers. The cape on which the fortress stood was washed on three sides by the waters of the Don, and on the fourth a deep ditch filled with water was dug. The same second ditch guarded the approaches to the fortress from the land side within arrow range. The fortifications of Sarkel were built skillfully by Byzantine town planners.

King Joseph, defeated in a battle on the near approaches to the capital of the Kaganate, the city of Itil, took refuge in the fortress with the remnants of the Khazar army. The closed fortress had large reserves of provisions and a sufficient number of armed men. Therefore, the king of Khazaria hoped to wait out the military thunderstorm in Sarkel and sit behind high brick walls.

Svyatoslav's army approached Sarkel to the sound of battle trumpets. Part of the Russian army sailed to the enemy fortress on ships along the Don; the cavalry, led by the prince, made its way across the dried-up steppe. The siege of the last Khazar stronghold began.

Prince Svyatoslav took Sarkel with a furious assault using ladders, rams and catapults. The latter were built for the Russians by Byzantine masters. The ditches were filled with earth and everything that was suitable for this purpose. When the Russians launched an assault, their archers bombarded the fortress walls with thousands of devastating arrows. The battle turned out to be especially fierce in the tower of the citadel, where King Joseph sat down with his bodyguards. There was no mercy for anyone.

The capture of the Sarkel fortress, strong even for Byzantium, destroyed the current idea that the “barbarian” Russians could not take fortified cities. Now in Constantinople, far from the banks of the Don, they saw that Svyatoslav’s army was difficult to stop not only in a field battle, but also with fortress walls.

Prince Svyatoslav returned with glory and rich booty to the capital city of Kyiv. While his son was fighting, his mother, Princess Olga, ruled Russia - she ruled on behalf of Prince Svyatoslav. In the "Tale of Bygone Years" the story of Olga's reign is entitled as follows: "The beginning of the reign of Svyatoslav, son of Igor."

Having tested himself in the Khazar campaign, Prince Svyatoslav decided to start a big war against the Byzantine Empire. He decided to undertake a military campaign against the Greek fortress city of Chersonesos (Korsun). blocking the way for Russian merchants to the Black Sea. The Crimean possessions of Byzantium were famous for their wealth and abundance of grain.

Such preparations of the Kyiv prince did not remain a secret for the Chersonesos - their merchants were regular guests at auctions in the land of the Russians. The subjects of Byzantium found a way out of a dangerous situation by showing diplomatic cunning, known in history, towards the “barbarians”.

The famous Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon, who created a detailed narrative about the events in the Byzantine Empire in 959–976, testifies: Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas, one of the most outstanding rulers of Byzantium throughout its centuries-old history, sent Kalokir, a noble resident of the city of Chersonesos, to Prince Svyatoslav in Kyiv , giving him the high title of patrician. Kalokir takes with him to Rus' as a gift great amount gold - about 450 kilograms, or 15 centinarii.

Leo the Deacon reports in his narration that the patrician Kalokir, having arrived in Kyiv, “strengthened friendship” with Prince Svyatoslav and even accepted a “twin brotherhood” with him. The goal of the diplomatic mission of an educated Greek from the capital of Crimea, the city of Chersonesos, is seen clearly - to redirect the direction of the march of the Russian army led by Svyatoslav to the Bulgarian kingdom, to the banks of the Danube.

Svyatoslav was promised a large reward for going to the lands of the Misians (Bulgars), opponents of Byzantium. Kalokir told him that the gold brought was only a small part of the reward promised by Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas. And that the Russians will receive a lot of such oak chests with secret locks - full of gold jewelry and coins.

Did Prince Svyatoslav figure out the cunning game of the Byzantine emperor? Probably yes. He was not one of those rulers who succumbed to the diplomatic tricks of foreigners. But, on the other hand, the proposal of the monarch of Byzantium corresponded perfectly to his own strategic plans. Now he himself could, without the military opposition of Constantinople, establish himself on the banks of the Danube and bring the borders of his state closer to the most important economic and cultural centers of the then Europe.

Svyatoslav, in addition, saw that Byzantium had been trying to absorb Bulgaria, a Slavic country, for many years. In this case, the militarily powerful Byzantine Empire became a direct neighbor of Kievan Rus, which did not promise anything good for the latter.

Relations between Byzantium and Bulgaria were very difficult. Twenty nations of that time were controlled by Byzantine diplomats, including the Bulgarians. But this policy failed time after time. The Bulgarian ruler Tsar Simeon, miraculously escaping from honorable captivity in Constantinople, himself launched an attack on the empire, threatening even its capital.

The Bulgarian kingdom went to war against the Byzantine Empire and it could not cope with the Bulgarian troops operating towards Constantinople. Byzantium also had to keep a lot of military forces in other parts of the vast empire, where rebellions constantly broke out. Neither the huge tribute, nor the pleading messages of the Patriarch of Constantinople Nicholas the Mystic, written not in ink, but in tears, stopped Tsar Simeon, who showed extraordinary military leadership talents and well remembered the humiliations that were presented to him every day during his captivity at the imperial court.

But then the miracle that was so prayed for in Constantinople happened. Tsar Simeon died without completing the military defeat of Byzantium, which he so strived for. His son Peter, nicknamed Korotky, ascended the throne of the Bulgarian kingdom. The indecisive ruler hastened to make peace with the Byzantine emperor and then married his granddaughter Princess Mary. After this, the Pechenegs and Hungarians began to attack Bulgaria in predatory raids, and internal unrest began.

All this was to the advantage of Byzantium, since its most serious enemy was weakening. But in Constantinople they looked at things realistically and saw that the Bulgarian kingdom was not so weakened that it could be crushed by the efforts of diplomats alone. The decisive word belonged to weapons, and the emperor did not yet have sufficient troops. The prospect of uniting the Slavic peoples on the northern borders of the empire also seemed realistic. The rule of Byzantine diplomacy was the famous Roman “Divide and Conquer”, the foundations of which were laid back in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian.

Therefore, Constantinople decided that it was possible to kill two birds with one stone with the help of gold and diplomacy: to defeat the Bulgarian kingdom with the forces of Prince Svyatoslav and at the same time weaken the military power of Kievan Rus, which, after the liquidation of the Khazar Kaganate as such, was turning into a dangerous northern neighbor.

However, Prince Svyatoslav had own plans campaign across the Danube. He decided to expand the borders of Rus' and make Bulgaria an ally in the upcoming war with Byzantium. Historians are also struck by something else - Svyatoslav even planned to move his own capital from Kyiv to the banks of the Danube. He saw an example in Prince Oleg, who moved from Novgorod to Kyiv.

Until now, Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas did not know such dangerous plans for Byzantium from the gifted leader of the Russians. He, like the entire Byzantine nobility, despised any “barbarians” and openly triumphed when he received the consent of the Kyiv prince to campaign against the Bulgarian kingdom.

The joy of Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas was understandable. More recently, he met Bulgarian ambassadors who came to Constantinople to collect the previous tribute (Byzantium paid tribute to the Bulgarian kingdom!). Instead of treating them kindly and calming them down, he ordered his courtiers to whip the ambassadors on the cheeks and, in addition, called the Bulgarians a poor and vile people.

The Byzantine emperor shouted in the face of the royal ambassadors: “Go and tell your archon, dressed in a casing and gnawing raw skins, that a strong and great sovereign himself will come with an army to his land, so that he, born a slave, will learn to call emperors his masters, and not demand tribute as from slaves!”

But it was easy to threaten, but carrying out the threat turned out to be much more difficult. The Byzantine army set out on a campaign and took several fortresses. She managed, with the help of pro-Byzantine Bulgarian feudal lords, to capture an important city in Thrace - Philippopolis, now Plovdiv. However, this was where the military successes ended. The Byzantines stopped in front of the Hymaean (Balkan) mountains. Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas did not dare to make his way into the interior regions of Bulgaria through difficult mountain passes and forested gorges. There, in past times, many Byzantine warriors found their deaths. The emperor returned in triumph to Constantinople.

Now, as it seemed to the Byzantine rulers, the Bulgarian problem could be solved by the force of Russian weapons. And after that, as they believed in Constantinople, the problem of relations with Kievan Rus could be successfully resolved with benefits.

Leo the Deacon in his historical chronicle shows: Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas played a triple game, so attractive to Byzantine diplomacy. Firstly, he wanted to avert the threat of Russian invasion from the Kherson theme, the breadbasket of the empire. Secondly, he pitted heads in a military confrontation between the two most dangerous countries for Byzantium - Kievan Rus and the Bulgarian kingdom. And thirdly, he set the Pecheneg nomads against Rus', weakened in the war, in order to meanwhile take over Bulgaria, weakened in the war with Russia.

However, Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas could not even foresee the unexpected and disastrous consequences for the Byzantine Empire that his triple game of diplomacy would lead to. Events unfolded completely differently from the script that was written in Constantinople.

In 967, Prince Svyatoslav set out on a campaign to the banks of the Danube. The chroniclers do not report how the Kiev prince prepared for the upcoming war, but, without a doubt, the most serious preparations were made. Weapons were accumulated, warriors were trained, of which there were many more, “voi” were collected from the Slavic tribes, a huge number of boats were built, on which it was possible to make sea voyages.

The Russian army was predominantly on foot, with little cavalry recruited. But if in the Khazar campaign the Pechenegs, who were famous for their lightly armed cavalry, became allies of Prince Svyatoslav, now the Hungarian leaders also agreed to become allies.

In August 968, the army of Prince Svyatoslav reached the borders of Bulgaria. The Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon wrote: Svyatoslav, “being a man... brave and active, raised the entire young generation of Taurus to war (as the Russians were often called in Byzantium, since they lived near Taurus - Crimea). Having thus recruited an army consisting... of sixty thousand (this is, in all likelihood, a great exaggeration) flourishing healthy men, he... marched against the Misyans (Bulgars).”

Most domestic historians estimate the number of troops of the Kyiv prince in his first Danube campaign at only ten thousand people. Russian boats - a huge flotilla of boats freely entered the mouth of the Danube and began to quickly rise against the river current. The appearance of the Russian army was unexpected for the Bulgarians.

Leo the Deacon writes: the Bulgarians “assembled and put up against him (Svyatoslav) a phalanx of thirty thousand armed men. But the Tauri (Russians) quickly jumped out of the canoes, put their shields forward, drew their swords and began to hit the Misyans (Bulgarians) right and left. They could not withstand the first onslaught, fled and shamefully locked themselves in the safe fortress of their Doristol.” Doristol in Russian sounds like Dorostol, now the Bulgarian city of Silistria.

The army of Prince Svyatoslav descended on the Bulgarian bank of the Danube near Pereyaslavts. The very first battle with the Bulgarian tsarist army gave complete victory to Russian weapons, and the Bulgarians no longer dared to fight in the field. In a short time, Svyatoslav’s army captured all of Eastern Bulgaria.

The start of the Danube campaign of the Kyiv prince turned out to be a complete surprise for the Byzantine emperor and ruined all his plans. In Constantinople they hoped that the Bulgarian kingdom and Rus' would get bogged down in a war, leaving freedom of maneuver for the diplomats of Byzantium, which hoped to derive the greatest benefits from that war.

But... the army of the Bulgarian Tsar Peter was defeated in the first battle. Moreover, the Russians, led by Prince Svyatoslav, won a surprisingly convincing victory. Once upon a time, the Roman emperor Justinian, in order to protect his Danube province of Mysia from invasions by “barbarians,” built on the banks of the river and at some distance from it, at the intersections big roads, eighty fortresses. And all these eighty fortresses were taken by Prince Svyatoslav in the summer and autumn of 968.

Constantinople had other scarecrows. The Kiev prince-commander did not accompany his victorious march across the Bulgarian land with violence against the local population and the destruction of cities and villages. This immediately turned the sympathies of the Bulgarians towards the leader of the Slavs from Rus'. Prince Svyatoslav was ready to accept vassal obligations from the Bulgarian feudal lords, who began to see in him a strong and successful military leader capable of crushing the Byzantine Empire, hostile to Bulgaria.

Byzantium quickly realized that they had called on Prince Svyatoslav to go on a campaign against the Bulgarian kingdom only on his own head. He acted decisively, carrying out his plan for a campaign across the Danube. Svyatoslav settled in the city of Pereyaslavets (on the site of the present city of Tulcea in Romania). According to him, there, in Pereyaslavets on the Danube, there was the “middle” (middle) of his land. Pereyaslavets was to become the capital of a huge Slavic power.

Now in Constantinople, in the imperial palace, they were only thinking about how to remove the fallen Kyiv prince, and with him the Russian army, which had not yet known defeat on Bulgarian soil. And a solution was soon found. Byzantine diplomacy, tested over the centuries, came into play and acted in a no less proven way - bribery. There was always sufficient gold in the imperial treasury for this purpose.

Svyatoslav spent the winter of 968–969 in the city of Pereyaslavets, which he loved. Meanwhile, a secret Byzantine embassy arrived in the nomads of the Pechenegs and with gold, promises prompted the leaders of the steppes to attack Kyiv, which was left without a princely squad and a considerable number of men capable of carrying weapons. So Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas set the Pechenegs against Russian lands.

At that time, the aging Princess Olga, who ruled Russia for her son, and the three sons of Svyatoslav were in Kyiv. In the spring of 968 (according to chronicles), the Pecheneg hordes besieged Kyiv and began to devastate its surroundings.

The besieged managed to give alarming news to Pereyaslavets. The Kyiv “vecheniks” and Princess Olga wrote or conveyed in the words: “You, prince, are looking for a foreign land, but have left your own land. If you don’t come and protect us, the Pechenegs will take us!” In that situation, it was difficult for the capital city to withstand a long siege and assault on the fortified city by a large Pecheneg army.

Prince Svyatoslav, it seemed, had done the impossible. He quickly gathered his army, scattered in garrisons throughout the Bulgarian fortresses, into a single fist and quickly moved along the Danube, the Black Sea and the Dnieper to Kyiv. The Pechenegs did not expect such a quick appearance of the Kyiv prince in Rus' - the imperial envoys assured them of the impossibility of this.

The Pecheneg nomads were reputed to be elusive. The vast expanses of the steppes and the speed of their horses protected them from any attacks. The Pechenegs did not have cities and therefore could quickly “dissolve” in the steppe, scattering across it in case of danger. But this time such tactics did not help the Pecheneg leaders - Prince Svyatoslav, who was well versed in the military art of his recent allies in the Khazar campaign, outwitted the nomads who intended to plunder Kyiv and Rus'.

The Russian cavalry marched across the steppe in a raid, driving the Pecheneg nomads to the river cliffs. And along the river walked the numerous rook army of Prince Svyatoslav. There was no salvation for the Pechenegs; few nomads managed to break through to the south. Numerous herds and herds of beautiful steppe horses became the prey of the winners. Thus, the Pechenegs lost considerable of their wealth and source of military strength.

Prince Svyatoslav and his army victoriously entered the gates of the capital city that opened before him, from which the siege was lifted. The people of Kiev enthusiastically greeted their sovereign, such a young prince and such a famous warrior. When the news of the flight of the Pecheneg army from Kyiv reached Constantinople, the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas probably once again put his deified hand to his famous treatise entitled “On Encounters with the Enemy.” In that distant antiquity, he was a recognized theorist in the field of military art.

Svyatoslav found the government of Russia in proper order - his mother, Princess Olga, was a wise ruler, replacing her son in everything when he went on campaigns. But from Bulgaria, which Prince Svyatoslav did not even think of abandoning, alarming news began to arrive that threatened to nullify all the successes of the first campaign across the Danube.

At the very end of 969, Tsar Peter unexpectedly died. The Byzantines hastened to elevate his son Boris, who was raised in Constantinople, to the Bulgarian throne. He immediately announced peace and alliance with the emperor of Byzantium. But since the Bulgarian people and many feudal rulers hated the Byzantines, wanting to obey Prince Svyatoslav, who did not encroach on their freedom and rights, the new Tsar Boris was left without recognition from his subjects.

Prince Svyatoslav was eager to go to Bulgaria again, but his mother, who was in her sixties, restrained him. Apparently, Princess Olga made her son promise not to leave her until his death. Indeed, on July 11, 969, the legendary ruler passed away, mourned by her son, grandchildren and ordinary people of Kievan Rus.

The old princess, a wise ruler, was buried with the performance of a Christian rite in the middle of a field, without pouring a mound over the grave and without celebrating a funeral feast. Now Prince Svyatoslav was free from the word he had given to his mother, whom he dearly loved and revered.

Before leaving for the Danube, the Kiev prince disposed of the supreme power in Rus'. He vested princely power in his sons. There were three of them: Yaropolk and Oleg from his noblewoman wife, and the younger Vladimir, the fruit of a secret, short-lived love for his mother’s housekeeper Malusha, daughter of Malk Lyubechanin. Princess Olga sent Malusha back to Lyubech, and left her grandson in her own fortified Vyshgorod palace under the supervision of his uncle Dobrynya.

The older brothers contemptuously called Vladimir “robichich,” that is, the son of a slave. But his father, who dearly loved Malusha, considered him the same prince as his elder sons. All three received the reign: Yaropolk - the capital city of Kyiv, Oleg - the Drevlyansky land, Vladimir - the rich trading Novgorod, that is, Northern Rus'.

Having thus ordered, Prince Svyatoslav, at the head of a proven army, moved to Bulgaria. In August 969, he again found himself on the banks of the Danube. Bulgarian squads began to join him, and the light cavalry of the allied Pechenegs and Hungarians approached. Almost without encountering resistance, Prince Svyatoslav moved towards Preslav, the capital of Bulgaria.

There was no one to protect her. Tsar Boris, from whom the Byzantine advisers fled, recognized himself as a vassal of the Kyiv prince. This was the only way he managed to retain the royal crown, treasury and capital. The situation in the Balkans changed dramatically: now the Byzantine Empire and Rus' stood against each other, behind which was friendly Bulgaria. A big war was becoming inevitable, and Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich was ready for it.

Failures in the diplomatic triple game ruined Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas. In Constantinople, in his own palace, a conspiracy matured and the unlucky ruler was killed by the conspirators. The famous commander John Tzimiskes ascended the Byzantine throne. Thus, the Byzantine army received a worthy leader, famous for his victories in Asia Minor, and the military leader of the Russians received a most dangerous enemy.