907 year in the history of Russia marked by the legendarymarch on Constantinople (or as it was called - Tsargrad), who was headed by Prince Oleg of Novgorod. This event is associated with many speculations and doubts on the part of historians, many of whom do not believe in its authenticity for a number of reasons. In this article we will tell you in detail about Oleg’s campaign against Tsargrad (a brief summary), and we will try to figure out whether this event really took place as the ancient Russian chronicles draw.
Who is prince Oleg?
Oleg was the prince of Novgorod and the great KievPrince, from 882 to 912, which was the year of his death. After he received authority over Novgorod land (which happened after the death of Rurik) as the regent of the minor Igor, they captured ancient Kiev. It was this city at that time that was destined to become the capital and symbol of the unification of the two main centers for the Slavs. That is why historians consider Prince Oleg often as the founder of the Old Russian state. And Oleg's subsequent campaign against Constantinople became an occasion for him to be called "The Prophetic."
Why was Oleg called the Thing?
As tells us the Tale of Bygone Years, the hikeOleg to Tsargrad was held in 907 year. The chronicle talks about how the city was besieged and taken, and the courage and sharp mind of the prince, who outwitted the Byzantines, is celebrated. According to this source, he refused to take poisoned food from them, which is why he was nicknamed "The Prophetic." People in Russia just began to call Oleg, who defeated the Greeks. In turn, his name comes from Scandinavia, and the translation means "holy."
Campaign Oleg's Thing to Tsargrad
As mentioned above, the content of the campaign andn-Byzantine war described in PVL (Tale of Bygone Years). These events resulted in the signing of a peace treaty in 907. It became popular among the people thanks to these words: "Oleg the Prophet nailed his shield on the gates of Constantinople." But, nevertheless, this campaign is not mentioned in Greek sources, and also, in general, it is not mentioned anywhere else, except in Russian legends and chronicles.
In addition, already in 911, the Russians signed a new document. And no one from historians doubts the authenticity of the conclusion of this agreement.
Byzantium and Russ
It should be noted that after the Rus campaignTsargrad in the year 860 in the Byzantine sources did not specify anything about conflicts with them. However, there is a number of circumstantial evidence supporting the opposite. For example, the admonition of Emperor Leo IV already at the beginning of the X century contains information that the hostile "northern Scythians" use small ships sailing at fast speeds.
Oleg's hike on the Tale of Bygone Years
Says the legend of Oleg's campaign, Tsargradthey took not only with the involvement of the Slavs, but also of the Finno-Ugric tribes, which are listed in the ancient Russian monument of writing of the beginning of the 12th century - The Tale of Bygone Years. If you believe the chronicle of the arch, some warriors moved on horses along the coast, and others - by sea with the help of two thousand ships. And in each ship fit more than thirty people. Historians are still hesitating about whether to believe the Tale of Bygone Years and whether the data on the hike indicated in the chronicle are genuine.
Legends in the description of the campaign
The legend of Prince Oleg's campaign against Tsargradcontains a large number of legends. For example, the narrative indicates that the ships were moving on wheels, on which they were delivered by Oleg. The Byzantines were frightened by the Russes who were going to Constantinople and asked for peace. However, they carried the poisoned dishes, which the prince refused. Then the Greeks had no choice but to give their consent to what Oleg proposed. As the legend goes, they had to pay 12 hryvnias for all the soldiers, as well as a separate amount to the princes in Kiev, Pereyaslavl, Chernihiv, Rostov and other cities, except Novgorod. But the prince’s victories did not end there. In addition to a one-time payment, the Byzantine Greeks needed to pay the Russians permanent tribute, and also agree to conclude an agreement (this is about the agreement signed in 907), which was supposed to regulate the conditions of stay, as well as trading Russian merchants in Greek cities. The parties brought mutual vows. And Oleg, in turn, was committed the same famous act that made it legendary, according to legends, in the eyes of the common people. They hung a shield on the gates of the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, as a victorious symbol. The Greeks were ordered to sew sails for the Slavic armies. The chronicles say that just after Oleg's campaign against Tsargrad was completed in 907, the prince became known to the people as the “Prophetic”.
However, if the stories of the Old Russian chronicler aboutthe Rus raid on Constantinople in 860 was based only on the Byzantine chronicles, the story of this raid is based on information obtained from legends that were not recorded. Moreover, several plots coincide with similar ones from the Scandinavian sagas.
907 Treaty
What were the terms of the contract, and was itconcluded? If you believe "The Tale of Bygone Years", then after the victorious actions of Prince Oleg in Constantinople, a document that was quite profitable for Russia was signed with the Greeks. The purpose of its main provisions is considered to be the restoration of peaceful and good-neighborly relations between these peoples and states. The Byzantine authorities undertook to pay a certain amount of annual tribute to the Russians (and its dimensions are quite substantial), as well as to pay a lump sum contribution - both in money and in things, gold, rare fabrics, etc. The agreement mentioned above the size of the ransom for each soldier and the size of the monthly maintenance, which the Greeks were supposed to give Russian merchants.
Information about Oleg's campaign from other sources
According to the Novgorod First Chroniclea series of events occurred in a different way. At the same time, campaigns to Constantinople were carried out under the leadership of Prince Igor, while the “Prophetic” at the same time was only a voivode. The chronicle describes the legendary campaigns of Oleg on Tsargrad. The year is listed as 920, and the dating of the next foray refers to events to 922. However, the description of the campaign in the year 920 is in detail similar to the description of Igorev of the campaign of 941, which is reflected in several documents.
The information that is contained in the ByzantineChronicles written by Pseudo-Simeon at the end of the 10th century provide information about the Rus. In one of the fragments, some historians see details indicating the predictions of the wise men about the future death of Oleg, and in the personality of Ros - the prince himself. Among popular science publications there is an opinion expressed by V. Nikolayev about the campaigns of the dews on the Greeks, committed about 904 years. If you believe his constructions (about which there was no speech in the Pseudo-Simeon chronicles), then the dew was defeated by Trikephalus from the Byzantine leader John Radin. And only a few managed to escape from the Greek weapons because of the illumination of their prince.
BUT.Kuzmin in the study of the text of the chronicle of the "Tale of Bygone Years" about the acts of Oleg expressed the assumption that the author used texts from Bulgarian or Greek sources about the raids under the guidance of the prince. The chronicler cited the phrase of the Greeks: "This is not Oleg, but St. Demetrius, who was sent to us by God." Such words indicate, according to the researcher, at the time of the events in the year 904 - the Byzantines did not help the Thessalonians. And Dimitriy of Solun was considered the patron of the robbed city. As a result, a large number of residents of Thessaloniki were massacred, and only a few of them were able to free them from Arab pirates. In these obscure Greek words about Dimitri, there could be indications of revenge from the holy Tsargrad, who was indirectly guilty of such a fate of the population.
How do historians interpret the record?
As mentioned above, information about the raid is contained only in Russian chronicles, and in the Byzantine writings nothing is indicated on this account.
However, if you look at the text partfragments of documents, which is given in the "Tale of Bygone Years", then we can say that after all the information about the campaign in 907 is not completely fictional. The lack of data in Greek sources by some researchers is due to an incorrect date, which refers to the war in the "Tale of Bygone Years". There are a number of attempts to make its connection with the campaign of the Rus (Dromites) of 904, while the Greeks fought with the army of pirates, which was headed by Leo Tripoli. The theory, which most resembles the truth, belongs to the authorship of Boris Rybakov and Lev Gumilyov. According to their hypothesis, information about the raid in 907 should be attributed to the events in 860. This war was replaced by information about the unsuccessful campaigns under the leadership of Askold and Dir, which was inspired by legends about the extraordinary liberation of the Christian population from the pagan tribes.
Trekking dating
It is not known exactly when exactlyPrince Oleg's campaign against Tsargrad. The year to which these events belong (907) is conditional and appeared after the chroniclers had made their own calculations. From the very beginning, the legends about the reign of the prince did not have an exact date, which is why later information was divided into stages, which related to the initial and final period of his reign.
In addition, in the "Tale of Bygone Years" there areinformation and relative dating of the foray. It contains information that the sages predicted (the death of the prince) actually happened five years after the campaign against Tsargrad was made. If Oleg died no later than the year 912 (this is evidenced by the data on the sacrifices made in the works of Tatishchev, which were made at the time of the appearance of Halley, the legendary comet), then the author calculated everything correctly.
The value of Oleg's campaign against Tsargrad
If the trip really happened, then you canconsidered a significant event. The document, which was signed as a result of the campaign, should be considered as defining the relations of the Greeks and the Rus for the next decades. Subsequent historical events, one way or another, were associated with the raids that were committed by Prince Oleg, regardless of their correct dating.
