Oleh, who appeared to be a most wise political leader, came to power, Kyivan Rus’ was quickly gaining the weight in Middle Age Europe. The borders of Rus’ stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Dnieper. Gradually, by taking political measures and military actions, Oleh conquered the tribe unions of the Drevlians, Radymyches, and Siverians that gave him a mighty resource for further conquests. Then the Khazar Khaganate that was a constant threat to Kyiv was defeated. At that stage, the prince, following some of his predecessors, started thinking about conquering the coast of rich Byzantium. The Novgorod chronicle and The Tale of Bygone Years report that the Rusiches went to Tsargorod in 907. Having gathered numerous troops, Oleh surrounded the city and made the Byzantines sign a peace treaty, the final version of which appeared in 911. However, in fairness, we note that the campaign in question was mentioned in Rus’ chronicles only, and left no traces in Byzantine ones.
Oleh’s Campaign to Constantinople. Print by F. Bruni, 1839
The circumstances of Oleh the Prophet death are not clear. Nestor Chornoryasnyk (Black Cassock) supplies a romantic tale about the prince’s death after a bite of a snake that appeared from the skull of his favourite horse. Contrary to that, the Novgorod chronicle, without any details, informs that Oleh died “overseas”. The chronicles also differed as to the date of the prince’s death. The Tale of Bygone Years mentions 912. Instead, the Novgorod chronicle indicates 922. Arab geographer, Al’-Masudi’s works threw more light on the circumstances of Prince Oleh’s death. The geographer informs that in 912 or 913 the Rusiches headed by Oleh the Prophet sailed up the Don in 500 boats, dragged the boats to the Volga and went on a campaign over the Caspian Sea. According to Al’-Masudi’s evidence, the Rusiches were defeated during the campaign and nearly all of them perished. Prince Oleh might have been among the killed.
Ihor Rurikovych (878–945)
Ihor is known as the first Kyivan prince of Rurik’s dynasty. Having appeared in Kyiv in the company of Oleh the Prophet, Ihor began to reign only after Oleh’s death, that is, in 912 or 913. The Tale of Bygone Years informs us-
“In the year of 6421 (913) Ihor started to reign after Oleh. At the same time Constantine, Leo’s son and Roman’s son-in-law, began to reign in Tsargorod. The Drevlians unleashed the war against Ihor after Oleh’s death”.
Ihor levies duty from the Drevlians (Radziwiłł Chronicle)
It should be noted that Ihor’s reign succeeded and followed Oleh the Prophet’s development of Kyivan Rus’. Just before his death, Oleh managed to marry his ward. Some historians believe that his marriage to Olha took place in 903. But there are no proves to that and the version causes some doubt, if only because of the fact that Sviatoslav, a son of Ihor by Olha, was born in 942. Ihor was baptized by fire in 914 during the military campaign against the tribes of the Drevlians. Though the Drevlians had been conquered by Ihor’s predecessor, they persistently did not recognize the supremacy of Kyivan princes. The campaign against Iskorosten, the Drevlians’ capital, turned to be a success for Ihor. He won a victory and, as a result, the tribute of the Drevlians set by Oleh was considerably increased. The next year, in 915, Kyiv troops headed by Ihor started fighting against the Pechenegs. Owing to a successful campaign against those nomads, a peace treaty was signed and for the next five years, Kyivan lands were safe from the Pechenegs’ attacks. Eastern historical sources mention Ihor’s campaigns as well. For instance, in his works, Nisami Gyangevi, a Persian poet, scholar and thinker, described looting and destruction of the city of Berdaa, situated in today’s Azerbaijan, by the Rusiches headed by Ihor.
As to the relations with the Byzantine Empire, Ihor, Rurik’s son, led the policy traditional for his predecessors. It is known that in 941 he went on a military campaign against Tsargorod. But the military fortune turned away from the prince – his fleet was burnt down with the fire of the Greeks and his troops were defeated. The Tale of Bygone Years describes the event in the following way-
“…But Theophanes met them with fire from his ships. He began sent fire by pipes to the Rus’ ships. It was an awful sight. The Rus’ fighters saw the flame and began to dive into the sea water…”
In spite of the defeat, prince Ihor organized a still larger scale campaign against Tsargorod and finally achieved his goal. As a result, after the Rusiches’ victory, a peace treaty beneficial for Kyiv was concluded.
Ihor died in 945 being killed by the Drevlians. It is believed that his death resulted from the ill-conceived policy of taxing. Though Iskorosten paid everything according to the previous agreement, Prince Ihor tried to tax his vassals once again. It provoked a rebellion of the Drevlians headed by Prince Mal. They defeated Ihor’s detachment, captured Prince Ihor a prisoner and, as Leo Deacon, a chronicler, tells, executed him by tying to trees.
Prince Ihor’s Execution. Illustration by F. Bruni
Princess Olha (?-969)
Princess Olha’s, Ihor’s wife, date of birth and origin are unknown. Historians’ suggestions can be divided into four groups. Olha’s origin is ascribed to Pskov, Kyiv, Galych and Bulgaria. The Tale of Bygone Years by Nestor Chornoryasnyk runs as follows-
“…Ihor grew up and went to levy tributes after Oleh. People listened to him and brought him a wife from Pleskov, Olha by name”.
We understand that chronicles provide only approximate data on Olha’s life. Some historians view 910 as the year of her birth. In that case, Olha married Ihor about 930. It was proved by the chronicles that mention Olha was not the only wife of Prince Ihor, that fact might have caused Nestor the Chronicler’s mistake.
М. Nesterov. Saint Princess Olha. A design from the Kyiv Volodymyr Cathedral
Olha’s real talent as a political leader manifested itself after Ihor’s death. Taking the responsibility of ruling Kyivan Rus’ till Sviatoslav, her son, came of age, Olha proved that she could lead domestic and foreign policy of the princedom no worse than men. One of the first actions of hers, recorded in the chronicles, was the act of revenge on the Drevlians for her husband’s murder. Viewing Olha as a weak opponent, Mal, Drevlian Prince, sent an embassy to Kyiv and proposed to Olha, thus trying to unite Iskorosten and Kyiv.
“And the Drevlians tell her, “We have been sent by the Drevlian land to tell you this: your husband was killed since he stole from us and robbed us as a wolf. And our princes are kind as they have made our land rich. So marry our prince, our Mal”.
However, the proposal was fatal both for Mal himself and his embassy. Olha ordered to kill ambassadors and then set off to the Drevlian lands and burnt Iskorosten’ down.
“And Olha ordered her soldiers to catch them. And when she took the town, she burnt it down. And she burnt down the elders, killing other people as well”.
Later, Olha continued Kyivan princes’ foreign policy whose foundations were laid by Askold and Dir. First of all, it was, strengthening the relations with the Byzantine Empire. It is known that in 946 and in 957 Olha visited Tsargorod and the chronicles inform us about the visits in detail. Two pacts were signed between the allies then according to which Kyivan warriors were to serve the Emperor and Byzantium was to pay a tribute to Rus’ for that. During one of the visits to Tsargorod, Princess Olha was solemnly baptized. She was baptized by the Orthodox patriarch. The ritual was held in the Sophia Cathedral, the main cathedral in the Empire. Historians believe that the next Olha’s step might have been the introduction of Cristianity in Rus’ but due to unknown reasons, it did
