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{{History of East Slavs}}
  
The '''Rus' Khaganate'''<!--sometimes called ''Volkhov Rus'', ''Ilmen Rus'', or ''Novgorod Rus''{{fact}}—> was a [[polity]] that flourished during a poorly documented period in the history of [[Eastern Europe]] (roughly the late 8th and early to mid-9th centuries [[Common Era|CE]]).<ref>''e.g.,'' Christian 338.</ref> A predecessor to the [[Rurik Dynasty]] and the [[Kievan Rus']], the Rus' Khaganate was a [[state]] (or a cluster of [[city-state]]s) in what is today northern [[Russia]]. The region's population at that time was composed of [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]], [[Finnic peoples|Finnic]], and [[Norsemen|Norse]] peoples, among which the dominant group was the [[Rus' (people)|Rus' tribe]] or tribes. The region was also a center of operations for eastern [[Scandinavia]]n ([[Varangian]]) adventurers, merchants and pirates.
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The '''Rus' Khaganate''' (sometimes called ''Volkhov Rus,'' ''Ilmen Rus,'' or ''Novgorod Rus'') was a [[polity]] that flourished during a poorly documented period in the history of [[Eastern Europe]] (roughly the late eighth and early to mid-ninth centuries C.E.).<ref>David Christian. ''A History of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia.'' (Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 9780631208143), 338</ref> A predecessor to the [[Rurik Dynasty]] and [[Kievan Rus']], the Rus' Khaganate was a [[nation-state]] (or a cluster of [[city-state]]s) in what is today northern [[Russia]]. The region's population at that time was composed of [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]], [[Finnic peoples|Finnic]], and [[Norsemen|Norse]] peoples, among which the dominant group was the [[Rus' (people)|Rus' tribe]] or tribes. The region was also a center of operations for eastern [[Scandinavia]]n ([[Varangian]]) [[adventurers]], [[merchant]]s and [[pirate]]s.
 
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According to contemporaneous sources, the population centers of the region, which may have included the proto-towns of [[Holmgard]] (Novgorod), [[Aldeigja]] (Ladoga), [[Lyubsha]], [[Alaborg]], [[Sarskoe Gorodishche]], and [[Timerevo]], were under the rule of a [[monarch]] or monarchs using the [[Old Turkic]] title [[Khagan]].<ref name = "christian338">Christian 338.</ref><ref>Franklin and Shepard 33–36.</ref><ref>Dolukhanov 187.</ref> The Rus' Khaganate period marked the genesis of a distinct Rus' [[ethnos]], and its successor states would include Kievan Rus' and later states from which modern Russia evolved.
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According to contemporaneous sources, the population centers of the region, which may have included the proto-towns of [[Holmgard]] ([[Novgorod]]), [[Aldeigja]] (Ladoga), [[Lyubsha]], [[Alaborg]], [[Sarskoe Gorodishche]], and [[Timerevo]], were under the rule of a [[monarch]] or monarchs using the [[Old Turkic]] title [[Khagan]].<ref name = "christian338">Christian, 338.</ref><ref>Simon Franklin and Jonathan Shepard. ''The Emergence of Rus 750-1200.'' (London: Longman, 1996. ISBN 9780582490918), 33–36</ref><ref>P.M. Dolukhanov. ''The Early Slavs: Eastern Europe and the Initial Settlement to Kievan Rus'.'' (London: Longman, 1996. ISBN 9780582236189), 187</ref> The Rus' Khaganate period marked the genesis of a distinct Rus' [[ethnos]], and its successor states would include Kievan Rus' and later states from which modern [[Russia]] evolved.
  
 
==Documentary evidence==
 
==Documentary evidence==
[[Image:Nicholas Roerich, Guests from Overseas.jpg|thumbnail|right|280px|''Guests from Overseas'', an 1899 painting by [[Nicholas Roerich]] depicting early Varangian adventurers in Russia.]]
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[[Image:Nicholas Roerich, Guests from Overseas.jpg|thumbnail|right|280px|''Guests from Overseas,'' an 1899 painting by [[Nicholas Roerich]] depicting early Varangian adventurers in Russia.]]
  
The ruler of the Rus' is mentioned by the title of "khagan" in several historical sources. Most of them are foreign texts dating from the 9th century. Three others are [[East Slavic peoples|East Slavic]] sources from the 11th and 12th centuries.
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The ruler of the Rus' is mentioned by the title of "khagan" in several historical sources. Most of them are foreign texts dating from the ninth century. Three others are [[East Slavic peoples|East Slavic]] sources from the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
  
The earliest European reference to the khaganate comes from the [[Frankish]] ''[[Annals of St. Bertin]]''. The Annals refer to a group of [[Vikings]], who called themselves ''Rhos'' (''qi se, id est gentem suam, Rhos vocari dicebant'') and visited [[Constantinople]] around the year 838.<ref>Jones 249-250.</ref> Fearful of returning home via the [[steppe]]s, which would leave them vulnerable to attacks by the [[Magyars]], these Rhos travelled through [[Germany]] accompanied by [[Greek people|Greek]] [[ambassador]]s from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[Theophilos (emperor)|Theophilus]]. When questioned by the [[Frankish]] [[King of the Franks|Emperor]] [[Louis the Pious]] at [[Ingelheim]], they informed him that their leader was known as ''chacanus'' (the [[Latin]] for "Khagan")<ref>''Håkan'' or ''Haakon'' was a name used among Scandinavians of the period, and it was once thought possible that the Rhos described in the court annals referred to a king by this name.</ref> and that they lived in the north of Russia,<!--is it true that they mentioned Russia in 839?—> but the emperor found out that their ancestral homeland was in [[Sweden]] (''comperit eos gentis esse sueonum'').<ref>Bertin 19–20; Jones 249–250.</ref>  
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The earliest European reference to the khaganate comes from the [[Frankish]] ''[[Annals of St. Bertin]].'' The ''Annals'' refer to a group of [[Viking]]s, who called themselves ''Rhos'' ''(qi se, id est gentem suam, Rhos vocari dicebant)'' and visited [[Constantinople]] around the year 838.<ref>Gwyn Jones. ''A History of the Vikings.'' (London; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0192801340), 249-250</ref> Fearful of returning home via the [[steppe]]s, which would leave them vulnerable to attacks by the [[Magyars]], these Rhos travelled through [[Germany]] accompanied by [[Greek people|Greek]] [[ambassador]]s from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[Theophilos (emperor)|Theophilus]]. When questioned by the Frankish [[King of the Franks|Emperor]] [[Louis the Pious]] at [[Ingelheim]], they informed him that their leader was known as ''chacanus'' (the [[Latin]] for "Khagan")<ref>''Håkan'' or ''Haakon'' was a name used among Scandinavians of the period, and it was once thought possible that the Rhos' described in the court annals referred to a king by this name.</ref> and that they lived in the north of what is now [[Russia]], but the emperor found out that their ancestral homeland was in [[Sweden]] ''(comperit eos gentis esse sueonum).''<ref>Bertin 19–20; Jones, 249–250.</ref>  
  
Thirty years later, in spring 871, the eastern and [[Holy Roman Empire|western]] emperors, [[Basil I]] and [[Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis II]], quarreled over control of [[Bari]], which had been conquered by their joint forces from the [[Arab]]s. The Byzantine emperor sent an angry letter to his western counterpart, reprimanding him for usurping the title of emperor. He argued that the Frankish rulers are simple ''[[reges]]'', while the imperial title properly applied only to the overlord of the Romans, that is, to Basil himself. He also pointed out that each nation has its own title for the supreme ruler: for instance, the title of ''chaganus'' is used by the overlords of the [[Eurasian Avars|Avars]], [[Khazars]] (''Gazari''), and "Northmen" (''Nortmanno''). To that, Louis replied that he was aware only about the Avar khagans, and had never heard about the khagans of the Khazars and Normanns.<ref>''Monumenta Germaniae'' 385-394.</ref><ref>''cagano veram non praelatum Avarum, non Gazanorum aut Nortmannorum nuncipari reperimus.'' Duczko 25.</ref> The content of Basil's letter, now lost, is reconstructed from Louis's reply, quoted in full in the ''[[Chronicon Salernitanum|Salerno Chronicle]]''.<ref>Dolger T. 59, №487.</ref> The correspondence between Louis and Basil indicates that at least one group of Scandinavians had a ruler who called himself "khagan".
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Thirty years later, in spring 871, the Eastern and [[Holy Roman Empire|western]] emperors, [[Basil I]] and [[Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis II]], quarreled over control of [[Bari]], which had been conquered by their joint forces from the [[Arab]]s. The Byzantine emperor sent an angry letter to his western counterpart, reprimanding him for usurping the title of emperor. He argued that the Frankish rulers are simple ''[[reges]],'' while the imperial title properly applied only to the overlord of the Romans, that is, to [[Basil I]] himself. He also pointed out that each nation has its own title for the supreme ruler: for instance, the title of ''chaganus'' is used by the overlords of the [[Eurasian Avars|Avars]], [[Khazars]] ''(Gazari),'' and "Northmen" ''(Nortmanno).'' To that, Louis replied that he was aware only about the Avar khagans, and had never heard about the khagans of the Khazars and Normanns.<ref>Gerhard Laehr, "Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolae VII." ''Epistolae Karolini aevi V.'' (Berlin: W. Henze, 1928. reprint 1978. ISBN 9783921575734), 385-394.</ref><ref>''cagano veram non praelatum Avarum, non Gazanorum aut Nortmannorum nuncipari reperimus.'' Władysław Duczko. ''Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe.'' (Leiden: Brill, 2004. ISBN 978900413874225).</ref> The content of Basil's letter, now lost, is reconstructed from Louis's reply, quoted in full in the ''[[Chronicon Salernitanum|Salerno Chronicle]].''<ref>F. Dolger, ''Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des ostromischen Reiches. I.'' (München: C.H. Beck, 1960-. ISBN 978340600738559), No. 487.</ref> The correspondence between Louis II and Basil I indicates that at least one group of Scandinavians had a ruler who called himself "khagan."
  
[[Ahmad ibn Rustah]], a 10th century [[Muslim]] geographer from [[Persia]], wrote that the Rus' khagan ("khaqan rus") lived on an island in a lake.<ref name = "christian338" /><ref>Brøndsted (1965), pp. 267–268</ref> [[Constantine Zuckerman]] comments that Ibn Rustah, using the text of an anonymous account from the 870s, attempted to accurately convey the titles of all rulers described by its author, which makes his evidence all the more precious.<ref>Zuckerman, "Deux étapes" 96.</ref> The Muslim geographer mentions only two khagans in his treatise — those of Khazaria and Rus. A further near-contemporary reference to the Rus' comes from [[al-Yaqubi]], who wrote in 889 or 890 that the [[Caucasus]] mountaineers, when besieged by the Arabs in 854, asked for help from the overlords (''sahib'') of al-Rum (Byzantium), Khazaria, and al-[[Saqaliba]] (Slavs).<ref>Laurent and Canard 490. According to Zuckerman, [[Ibn Khordadbeh]] and other Arab authors often confused the terms Rus and Saqaliba when describing [[Caspian expeditions of the Rus|their raids to the Caspian Sea]] in the 9th and 10th centuries. Thus, the ruler of al-Saqualiba in 852 was likely the same person as the khagan of the Rus. ''But n.b.'', ibn Khordadbeh's ''[[Book of Roads and Kingdoms (ibn Khordadbeh)|Book of Roads and Kingdoms]]'' does not mention the title of Khagan for the ruler of Rus'. Duczko 25.</ref> ''[[Hudud al-Alam]]'', an anonymous [[Arabic]] geography text written in the late 10th century, refers to the Rus' king as "rus-khaqan".<ref>Minorsky 159.</ref> As the unknown author of ''Hudud al-Alam'' relied on numerous 9th-century sources, including ibn Khordadbeh, it is possible that his reference to the Rus' Khagan was copied from earlier, pre-Rurikid texts, rather than reflecting contemporary political reality.<ref>''See, e.g''., Minorsky xvi.</ref> Finally, the 11th century Persian geographer [[Abu Said Gardizi]] mentioned "khaqan-i rus" in his work ''Zayn al-Akbar''. Like other Muslim geographers, Gardizi relied on traditions stemming from the 9th century.<ref name="Rus">"Rus", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''</ref>
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[[Ahmad ibn Rustah]], a tenth century [[Muslim]] geographer from [[Persia]], wrote that the Rus' khagan ("khaqan rus") lived on an island in a lake.<ref name = "christian338" /><ref>Johannes Brøndsted. (1965) ''The Vikings,'' translated by Kalle Skov. (Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England; New York, NY: Penguin, 1980. ISBN 9780140204599)
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, 267–268</ref> [[Constantine Zuckerman]] comments that Ibn Rustah, using the text of an anonymous account from the 870s, attempted to accurately convey the titles of all rulers described by its author, which makes his evidence all the more precious.<ref>Constantine Zuckerman. "Les Hongrois au Pays de Lebedia: une nouvelle puissance aux confins de Byzance et de la Khazarie en 836-889." in John Haldon. ''Byzantium at War (9th-12th c.).'' (1997) (Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1841763608), "Deux étapes", 96.</ref> The Muslim geographer mentions only two khagans in his treatise–those of [[Khazaria]] and Rus'. A further near-contemporary reference to the Rus' comes from [[al-Yaqubi]], who wrote in 889 or 890 that the [[Caucasus]] mountaineers, when besieged by the Arabs in 854, asked for help from the overlords ''(sahib)'' of ''al-Rum'' (Byzantium), Khazaria, and al-[[Saqaliba]] (Slavs).<ref>J. Laurent (original 1919) and M. Canard. ''L'Armenie entre Byzance et l'islam depuis la conquete arabe jusqu'en 886,'' rev. ed. (Lisbon: 1980), 490. </ref><ref> According to Zuckerman, [[Ibn Khordadbeh]] and other Arab authors often confused the terms ''Rus''' and ''Saqaliba'' when describing [[Caspian expeditions of the Rus|their raids to the Caspian Sea]] in the ninth and tenth centuries. Thus, the ruler of ''al-Saqualiba'' in 852 was likely the same person as the ''khagan'' of the Rus. ''But n.b.'' ibn Khordadbeh's ''[[Book of Roads and Kingdoms (ibn Khordadbeh)|Book of Roads and Kingdoms]]'' does not mention the title of Khagan for the ruler of Rus'. Duczko, 25.</ref> ''[[Hudud al-Alam]],'' an anonymous [[Arabic]] geography text written in the late tenth century, refers to the Rus' king as "rus-khaqan".<ref>Minorsky 159.</ref> As the unknown author of ''Hudud al-Alam'' relied on numerous ninth-century sources, including ibn Khordadbeh, it is possible that his reference to the Rus' Khagan was copied from earlier, pre-Rurikid texts, rather than reflecting contemporary political reality.<ref>Vladimir Minorsky. ''Hudud al-'Alam (The Regions of the World).'' (London: Luzac & Co., 1970. ISBN 9780718902018), xvi.</ref> Finally, the eleventh century Persian geographer [[Abu Said Gardizi]] mentioned "khaqan-i rus" in his work ''Zayn al-Akbar.'' Like other Muslim geographers, Gardizi relied on traditions stemming from the ninth century.<ref name="Rus">"Rus," ''Encyclopaedia of Islam,'' Edited by C.E. Bosworth, et al. (13 vol.) (Brill, ISBN 978 9004161214) </ref>
  
There are good grounds for believing that the title "khagan" was still remembered in Kievan Rus' during the Christian period. [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] [[Hilarion of Kiev]] applied the title "khagan" to [[Vladimir I of Kiev]] and [[Yaroslav I the Wise]] in the earliest surviving example of [[Old Russian literature]], ''Slovo o Zakone i Blagodati'' ("Sermon on Law and Grace"), written around 1050.<ref>Ilarion, "Sermon on Law and Grace" 3, 17, 18, 26; for discussion, see Brook 154.</ref> Hilarion referred to Vladimir as "the great khagan of our land" (''velikago kagana nashea zemlja, Vladimera'') and Yaroslav as "our devout khagan."<ref>Duczko 25.</ref> A graffito in the north gallery of [[Saint Sophia Cathedral]] reads "O Lord, save our khagan", apparently in reference to [[Sviatoslav II]] (1073-1076).<ref>''Spasi gospodi, kagana nashego''. Duczko 25; ''see also'' Noonan, "Khazar" 91-92.</ref> As late as the end of the 12th century, ''[[The Tale of Igor's Campaign]]'' refers in passing to a "kogan Oleg",<ref name="Rus">"Rus", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''</ref> traditionally identified with [[Oleg Sviatoslavich|Oleg of Tmutarakan]].<!--or rather to his wife: Рекъ Боянъ и ходы на Святъславля пѣстворца стараго времени Ярославля Ольгова коганя хоти.—><ref>Most commentators follow [[Dmitry Likhachev]]'s interpretation of the passage. Tmutarakan was a former Khazar possession and the Khazar traditions may have persisted there for an extended period of time. It is known that, while reigning in Tmutarakan, Oleg assumed the title of the "archon of all Khazaria". Other candidates include [[Oleg of Novgorod]] and [[Igor Svyatoslavich]] of [[Novgorod-Seversky]]. See: Zenkovsky 160; Encyclopaedia of The Lay 3-4.</ref>
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There are good grounds for believing that the title "khagan" was still remembered in [[Kievan Rus']] during the Christian period. [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] [[Hilarion of Kiev]] applied the title "khagan" to [[Vladimir I of Kiev]] and [[Yaroslav I the Wise]] in the earliest surviving example of [[Old Russian literature]], ''Slovo o Zakone i Blagodati'' ("Sermon on Law and Grace"), written around 1050.<ref>Ilarion, "Sermon on Law and Grace" 3, 17, 18, 26. in ''Sermons and Rhetoric of Kievan Rus,'' Simon Franklin, transl. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 1991. ISBN 9780916458416); for discussion, see Kevin Alan Brook. ''The Jews of Khazaria,'' 2d ed. (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006. ISBN 9780765760326), 154.</ref> [[Hilarion]] referred to [[Vladimir]] as "the great khagan of our land" ''(velikago kagana nashea zemlja, Vladimera)'' and Yaroslav as "our devout khagan."<ref>Władysław Duczko. ''Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe.'' (Brill, 2004. ISBN 9789004138742, 25.</ref> A graffito in the north gallery of [[Saint Sophia Cathedral]] reads "O Lord, save our khagan," apparently in reference to [[Sviatoslav II]] (1073-1076).<ref>''Spasi gospodi, kagana nashego.'' Duczko, 25; see also Thomas Noonan, "The Khazar Qaghanate and Its Impact On the Early Rus' State: The ''translatio imperii'' from Itil to Kiev." 91-92. in ''Nomads in the Sedentary World,'' Anatoly Mikhailovich Khazanov and Andre Wink, eds. 76-102. (Richmond, England: Curzon, 2001. ISBN 0700713700) </ref> As late as the end of the twelfth century, ''[[The Tale of Igor's Campaign]]'' refers in passing to a "kogan Oleg",<ref name="Rus">"Rus," ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''</ref> traditionally identified with [[Oleg Sviatoslavich|Oleg of Tmutarakan]].<!--or rather to his wife: Рекъ Боянъ и ходы на Святъславля пѣстворца стараго времени Ярославля Ольгова коганя хоти.—><ref>Most commentators follow [[Dmitry Likhachev]]'s interpretation of the passage. [[Tmutarakan]] an ancient city that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus was a former Khazar possession and the Khazar traditions may have persisted there for an extended period of time. It is known that, while reigning in Tmutarakan, Oleg assumed the title of the "archon of all Khazaria." Other candidates include [[Oleg of Novgorod]] and [[Igor Svyatoslavich]] of [[Novgorod-Seversky]]. See: Serge A. Zenkovsky, (ed.) ''Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles, and Tales.'' (New York: Meridian, 1974. ISBN 0452010861), 160</ref>
  
 
== Dating ==
 
== Dating ==
  
Extant primary sources make it plausible that the title of khagan was applied to the rulers of the Rus' during a rather short period, roughly between their embassy to Constantinople (838) and Basil I's letter (871). All Byzantine sources after Basil I refer to the Rus' rulers as [[archon]]s. Later Kievan authors, mentioned above, appear to have revived the term "[[khagan]]" as a laudatory epithet of the ruling [[knyaz]] rather than as a valid political term.<ref>Brook 154.</ref>
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Extant primary sources make it plausible that the title of ''khagan'' was applied to the rulers of the Rus' during a rather short period, roughly between their embassy to [[Constantinople]] (838) and [[Basil I]]'s letter (871). All Byzantine sources after Basil I refer to the Rus' rulers as [[archon]]s. Later Kievan authors, mentioned above, appear to have revived the term "[[khagan]]" as a laudatory epithet of the ruling ''[[knyaz]]'' rather than as a valid political term.<ref>Kevin Alan Brook. ''The Jews of Khazaria,'' 2d ed. (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006. ISBN 9780765760326), 154</ref>
  
The dating of the Khaganate's existence has been the subject of debates among scholars and remains unclear. [[Omeljan Pritsak]] dates the foundation of the Khaganate to around 830-840. In the 1920s, Russian historian Pavel Smirnov suggested that the Rus' Khaganate emerged only briefly at around 830 and was soon destroyed by the migration of the [[Magyar]]-[[Kabar]] tribal confederation towards the [[Carpathian Mountains]].<ref>Smirnov 132-45</ref> Whatever the accuracy of such estimates may be, there are no primary sources which mention the Rus' or its khagans prior to the 830s.<ref>Pritsak, ''Origin of Rus' passim.''</ref>
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The dating of the Khaganate's existence has been the subject of debates among scholars and remains unclear. [[Omeljan Pritsak]] dates the foundation of the Khaganate to around 830-840. In the 1920s, Russian historian [[Pavel Smirnov]] suggested that the Rus' Khaganate emerged only briefly at around 830 and was soon destroyed by the migration of the [[Magyar]]-[[Kabar]] tribal confederation towards the [[Carpathian Mountains]].<ref>Pavel Smirnov. ''Volz'kiy shlyakh i starodavni Rusy. (The Volga route and the ancient Rus).'' (Kiev: 1928),
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132-145</ref> Whatever the accuracy of such estimates may be, there are no primary sources which mention the Rus' or its khagans prior to the 830s.<ref>Omeljan Pritsak. ''Origin of Rus'' (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1991. ISBN 9780674644656) ''passim.''</ref>
  
Equally contentious has been discussion about the date of the khaganate's disintegration. The title of Khagan is not mentioned in the [[Rus'-Byzantine Treaty|Rus'-Byzantine treaties]] (907, 911, 944), or in ''[[De Ceremoniis]]'', a record of court ceremonials meticulously documenting the titles of foreign rulers, when it deals with [[Olga of Kiev|Olga]]'s reception at the court of [[Constantine VII]] in 945. Moreover, [[ibn Fadlan]], in his detailed account of the Rus (922), designated their supreme ruler as ''malik'' ("king"). From this fact, [[Peter Golden]] concluded via an [[argumentum ex silentio]] that the khaganate collapsed at some point between 871 and 922.<ref>Golden 87, 97.</ref> Zuckerman, meanwhile, argues that the absence of the title "khagan" from the  [[Rus'-Byzantine Treaty (911)|first Russo-Byzantine Treaty]] proves that the khaganate had vanished by 911.<ref>Zuckerman, "Deux étapes" 96.</ref>
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Equally contentious has been discussion about the date of the khaganate's disintegration. The title of Khagan is not mentioned in the [[Rus'-Byzantine Treaty|Rus'-Byzantine treaties]] (907, 911, 944), or in ''[[De Ceremoniis]],'' a record of court ceremonials meticulously documenting the titles of foreign rulers, when it deals with [[Olga of Kiev|Olga]]'s reception at the court of [[Constantine VII]] in 945. Moreover, [[ibn Fadlan]], in his detailed account of the Rus (922), designated their supreme ruler as ''malik'' [[Arabic language|Arabic]] for ("king"). From this fact, [[Peter Golden]] concluded via an [[argumentum ex silentio]] that the khaganate collapsed at some point between 871 and 922.<ref>Golden, 87, 97.</ref> Zuckerman, meanwhile, argues that the absence of the title "khagan" from the  [[Rus'-Byzantine Treaty (911)|first Russo-Byzantine Treaty]] proves that the khaganate had vanished by 911.<ref>Zuckerman, "Deux étapes" 96.</ref>
  
 
== Location ==
 
== Location ==
[[Image:Early Rus.png|thumb|left|400px|Map showing Varangian or Rus' settlement (in red) and location of Slavic tribes (in grey), during the mid [[9th century]]. Khazar influence indicated with blue outline.]]
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[[Image:Early Rus.png|thumb|left|400px|Map showing Varangian or Rus' settlement (in red) and location of Slavic tribes (in grey), during the mid-ninth century. Khazar influence indicated with blue outline.]]
The location of the khaganate has been actively disputed since the early twentieth century. According to one fringe theory, the Rus' khagan resided somewhere in Scandinavia or even as far west as [[Walcheren]].<ref>Александров 222-224.</ref> In stark contrast, [[George Vernadsky]] believed that the khagan had his headquarters in the eastern part of the [[Crimea]] or in the [[Taman Peninsula]] and that the island described by Ibn Rustah was most likely situated in the estuary of the [[Kuban River]].<ref>Vernadsky VII-4.</ref> Neither of these theories has won many adherents, as [[archaeologist]]s have uncovered no traces of a Slavic-Norse settlement in the Crimea region in the 9th century and there are no Norse sources documenting "khagans" in Scandinavia.<ref>Franklin and Shepard 27-50.</ref>  
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The location of the khaganate has been actively disputed since the early twentieth century. According to one fringe theory, the Rus' khagan resided somewhere in Scandinavia or even as far west as [[Walcheren]].<ref>A.A. Александров. ''Остров руссов.'' (''The Rus' Island''). (St. Petersburg-Kishinev, 1997), 222-224.</ref> In stark contrast, [[George Vernadsky]] believed that the khagan had his headquarters in the eastern part of the [[Crimea]] or in the [[Taman Peninsula]] and that the island described by [[Ibn Rustah]] was most likely situated in the estuary of the [[Kuban River]].<ref>George V. Vernadsky. ''A History of Russia Vol. 1.'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, (1943) 1961), VII-4.</ref> Neither of these theories has won many adherents, as [[archeology|archaeologists]] have uncovered no traces of a Slavic-Norse settlement in the [[Crimea]] region in the ninth century and there are no Norse sources documenting "khagans" in Scandinavia.<ref>Franklin and Shepard, 27-50.</ref>  
  
[[Soviet historiography]], as represented by [[Boris Rybakov]] and [[Lev Gumilev]], advanced Kiev as the residence of the khagan, assuming that [[Askold and Dir]] were the only khagans recorded by name. [[Mikhail Artamonov]] became an adherent of the theory that Kiev was the seat of the Rus' Khaganate, and continued to hold this view into the 1990s.<ref>Artamonov 271-290.</ref>
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[[Soviet historiography]], as represented by [[Boris Rybakov]] and [[Lev Gumilev]], advanced [[Kiev]] as the residence of the khagan, assuming that [[Askold and Dir]] were the only khagans recorded by name. [[Mikhail Artamonov]] became an adherent of the theory that Kiev was the seat of the Rus' Khaganate, and continued to hold this view into the 1990s.<ref>M.I. Artamonov, "Prevye Stranisky Russkoy Istorii ve Archeologicheskom Osveshchenii." ''Sovietskaya Arkheologica, Vol 3.'' (1990): 271-290.</ref>
  
[[Western world|Western]] historians, however, have generally argued against this theory. There is no evidence of an [[urban area|urban]] settlement on the site of Kiev prior to the 880s.<ref>Callmer J. 325-331.</ref> Archaeological finds from the period in the vicinity of Kiev are almost non-existent. Particularly troublesome is the absence of hoards of coins which would prove that the [[Dnieper trade route]] — the backbone of later [[Kievan Rus']] — was operating in the 9th century.<ref>Yanin 105-106; Noonan, ''The Monetary System of Kiev'' 396.</ref> Based on his examination of the archaeological evidence, Zuckerman concludes that Kiev originated as a [[fortress]] on the Khazar border with [[Levedia]], and that only after the [[Magyars]]' departure for the west in 889 did the middle [[Dnieper]] region start to progress economically.<ref>Zuckerman, "Les Hongrois au Pays de Lebedia" 65-66.</ref>
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[[Western world|Western]] historians, however, have generally argued against this theory. There is no evidence of an [[urban area|urban]] settlement on the site of Kiev prior to the 880s.<ref>Johan Callmer, "The Archaeology of Kiev to the End of the Earliest Urban Phase." ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'' 11 (3/4)(December 1987): 325-331.</ref> Archaeological finds from the period in the vicinity of Kiev are almost non-existent. Particularly troublesome is the absence of hoards of [[coin]]s which would prove that the [[Dnieper trade route]]—the backbone of later [[Kievan Rus']]—was operating in the ninth century.<ref>Yanin, 105-106; Thomas Noonan, "The Monetary System of Kiev in the Pre-Mongol Period." ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'' 11 (1987): 396.</ref> Based on his examination of the archaeological evidence, Zuckerman concludes that [[Kiev]] originated as a [[fortress]] on the Khazar border with [[Levedia]], and that only after the [[Magyars]]' departure for the west in 889 did the middle [[Dnieper]] region start to progress economically.<ref>Zuckerman, "Les Hongrois au Pays de Lebedia" 65-66.</ref>
  
A number of historians, the first of whom was [[Vasily Bartold]], have advocated a more northerly position for the khaganate.<ref name = "christian338" /> They have tended to emphasize ibn Rustah's report as the only historical clue to the location of the khagan's residence.<ref>Новосельцев 397-408.</ref> Recent archaeological research, conducted by [[Dmitry Machinsky]] among others, has raised the possibility that this polity was based on a group of settlements along the [[Volkhov River]], including Ladoga, [[Lyubsha]], [[Duboviki]], [[Alaborg]], and Holmgard.<ref>Zuckerman, 2000; Мачинский 5-25.</ref> "Most of these were initially small sites, probably not much more than stations for re-fitting and resupply, providing an opportunity for exchange and the redistribution of items passing along the river and caravan routes".<ref>''A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures'' 266.</ref> If the anonymous traveller quoted by ibn Rustah is to be believed, the Rus of the Khaganate period made extensive use of the [[Volga trade route|Volga route]] to trade with the [[Middle East]], possibly through Bulgar and Khazar intermediaries. His description of the Rus' island suggests that their center was at [[Holmgard]], an early medieval precursor of Novgorod whose name translates from [[Old Norse]] as "the river-island castle". The [[First Novgorod Chronicle]] describes unrest in Novgorod before [[Rurik]] was invited to come rule the region in the 860s. This account prompted [[Johannes Brøndsted]] to assert that Holmgard-Novgorod was the khaganate's capital for several decades prior to the appearance of Rurik, including the time of the Byzantine embassy in 839.<ref>Brøndsted 67&ndash;68; for a detailed analysis of recent archaeological investigations at Holmgard, ''see'' Duczko 102-104.</ref> Machinsky accepts this theory but notes that, before the rise of Holmgard-Novgorod, the chief political and economic centre of the area was located at Aldeigja-Ladoga.<ref>Мачинский 5-25; ''see also'' Duczko 31-32.</ref>
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A number of historians, the first of whom was [[Vasily Bartold]], have advocated a more northerly position for the khaganate.<ref name = "christian338" /> They have tended to emphasize ibn Rustah's report as the only historical clue to the location of the khagan's residence.<ref>Новосельцев, 397-408.</ref> Recent [[Archaeology|archaeological]] research, conducted by [[Dmitry Machinsky]] among others, has raised the possibility that this polity was based on a group of settlements along the [[Volkhov River]], including [[Ladoga]], [[Lyubsha]], [[Duboviki]], [[Alaborg]], and Holmgard.<ref>Zuckerman, 2000; Мачинский, 5-25.</ref> "Most of these were initially small sites, probably not much more than stations for re-fitting and resupply, providing an opportunity for exchange and the redistribution of items passing along the river and caravan routes".<ref>''A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures,'' Edited by Mogens Herman Hansen. (Copenhagen: Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, 2000. ISBN 9788778761774), 266.</ref> If the anonymous traveller quoted by ibn Rustah is to be believed, the Rus of the Khaganate period made extensive use of the [[Volga trade route|Volga route]] to trade with the [[Middle East]], possibly through [[Bulgar]] and Khazar intermediaries. His description of the Rus' island suggests that their center was at [[Holmgard]], an early medieval precursor of [[Novgorod]] whose name translates from [[Old Norse]] as "the river-island castle." The [[First Novgorod Chronicle]] describes unrest in Novgorod before [[Rurik]] was invited to come rule the region in the 860s. This account prompted [[Johannes Brøndsted]] to assert that Holmgard-Novgorod was the khaganate's capital for several decades prior to the appearance of [[Rurik]], including the time of the Byzantine embassy in 839.<ref>Brøndsted, 67–68; for a detailed analysis of recent [[Archaeology|archaeological]] investigations at Holmgard, ''see'' Duczko, 102-104.</ref> Machinsky accepts this theory but notes that, before the rise of [[Novogorod|Holmgard-Novgorod]], the chief political and economic centre of the area was located at Aldeigja-Ladoga.<ref>Мачинский, 5-25; ''see also'' Duczko, 31-32.</ref>
  
 
== Origin ==
 
== Origin ==
 
{{main|Rus' (people)}}
 
{{main|Rus' (people)}}
 
[[Image:Roerich longships.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Nicholas Roerich]]. ''[[Longships]] Built in the Land of the Slavs''; a 1903 painting depicting construction of Norse-style vessels in Rus'.]]
 
[[Image:Roerich longships.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Nicholas Roerich]]. ''[[Longships]] Built in the Land of the Slavs''; a 1903 painting depicting construction of Norse-style vessels in Rus'.]]
The origins of the Rus' Khaganate are unclear. The first Scandinavian settlers of the region arrived in the lower basin of the [[Volkhov River]] in the mid-8th century. The country comprising the present-day [[Leningrad Oblast|Leningrad]], [[Novgorod Oblast|Novgorod]], [[Tver Oblast|Tver]], [[Yaroslavl Oblast|Yaroslavl]], and [[Smolensk Oblast|Smolensk regions]] became known in [[Old Norse]] sources as "[[Gardarike]]", the land of forts. Norse warlords, known to the [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]-speaking steppe peoples as "köl-beki" or "sea-kings", came to dominate some of the region's Finno-Ugric and Slavic peoples, particularly along the [[Volga trade route]] linking the [[Baltic Sea]] with the [[Caspian Sea]] and [[Serkland]].<ref>Brutzkus 120.</ref>
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The origins of the Rus' Khaganate are unclear. The first Scandinavian settlers of the region arrived in the lower basin of the [[Volkhov River]] in the mid-eighth century. The country comprising the present-day Leningrad ''Oblast'' (or district), [[Novgorod Oblast|Novgorod]], [[Tver Oblast|Tver]], [[Yaroslavl Oblast|Yaroslavl]], and [[Smolensk Oblast|Smolensk regions]] became known in [[Old Norse]] sources as "[[Gardarike]]," the land of forts. Norse warlords, known to the [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]-speaking steppe peoples as "''köl-beki''" or "sea-kings," came to dominate some of the region's Finno-Ugric and Slavic peoples, particularly along the [[Volga trade route]] linking the [[Baltic Sea]] with the [[Caspian Sea]] and [[Serkland]].<ref>Julius Brutzkus. "The Khazar Origin of Ancient Kiev." ''[[Slavonic and East European Review]]'' 22 (1944): 120.</ref>
  
As with the Rus' generally, there is much debate as to the identity and ancestry of the Rus' Khagans. They may have been Scandinavians, native Slavs or Finns, or (most probably) of mixed ancestry.<ref>''E.g.,'' Pritsak, ''Origins of Rus' ''1:28, 171, 182.</ref> [[Omeljan Pritsak]] speculated that a [[Khazar]] khagan named [[Khan-Tuvan]] Dyggvi, exiled after losing [[Kabars|a civil war]], settled with his followers in the Norse-Slavic settlement of [[Sarskoe Gorodishche|Rostov]], married into the local Scandinavian nobility, and fathered the dynasty of the Rus' khagans.<ref>Pritsak, ''Origins of Rus' ''1:28, 171, 182.</ref> Zuckerman dismisses Pritsak's theory as untenable speculation,<ref>Archaeologists did not find traces of a settlement in Rostov prior to the 970s. Furthermore, the placename "Rostov" has a transparent Slavic etymology.</ref> and no record of any Khazar khagan fleeing to find refuge among the Rus' exists in contemporaneous sources.<ref>Duczko 31.</ref> Nevertheless, the possible Khazar connection to early Rus' monarchs is supported by the use of a [[Coat of arms of Ukraine|stylized trident]] [[tamga]], or seal, by later Rus' rulers such as [[Sviatoslav I of Kiev]]; similar tamgas are found in ruins that are definitively Khazar in origin.<ref>Brook 154; Franklin and Shepard 120-121; Pritsak, ''Weights'' 78-79.</ref> The genealogical connection between the 9th-century Khagans of Rus' and the later [[Rurikid]] rulers, if any, is unknown at this time.<ref>''But see'', e.g., Duczko 31-32, outlining theories that Rurik held the title of Khagan Rus'.</ref>  
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As with the Rus' generally, there is much debate as to the identity and [[ancestry]] of the Rus' Khagans. They may have been [[Scandinavian]]s, native [[Slavs]] or [[Finland|Finns]], or (most probably) of mixed ancestry.<ref>Pritsak, ''Origins of Rus' ''1:28, 171, 182.</ref> [[Omeljan Pritsak]] speculated that a [[Khazar]] khagan named [[Khan-Tuvan]] Dyggvi, exiled after losing [[Kabars|a civil war]], settled with his followers in the Norse-Slavic settlement of [[Sarskoe Gorodishche|Rostov]], married into the local Scandinavian nobility, and fathered the dynasty of the Rus' khagans.<ref>Pritsak, ''Origins of Rus' ''1:28, 171, 182.</ref> Zuckerman dismisses Pritsak's theory as untenable speculation,<ref>Archaeologists did not find traces of a settlement in Rostov prior to the 970s. Furthermore, the placename "Rostov" has a transparent Slavic etymology.</ref> and no record of any Khazar khagan fleeing to find refuge among the Rus' exists in contemporaneous sources.<ref>Duczko, 31.</ref> Nevertheless, the possible Khazar connection to early Rus' monarchs is supported by the use of a [[Coat of arms of Ukraine|stylized trident]] ''tamga,'' or seal, by later Rus' rulers such as [[Sviatoslav I of Kiev]]; similar ''tamgas'' are found in ruins that are definitively Khazar in origin.<ref>Brook, 154; Franklin and Shepard, 120-121; Omeljan Pritsak. ''The Origins of the Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems.'' (Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute]], 1998), 78-79.</ref> The [[Geneology|genealogical]] connection between the ninth-century Khagans of Rus' and the later [[Rurikid]] rulers, if any, is unknown at this time.<ref>Duczko, 31-32, outlines theories that [[Rurik]] held the title of Khagan Rus'.</ref>  
  
Most historians agree that the title "khagan" was borrowed by the Rus from the Khazars, but there is considerable dispute over the circumstances of this borrowing. [[Peter Benjamin Golden]] presumes that the Rus' khaganate was a puppet state set up by the Khazars in the basin of the [[Oka River]] to fend off recurring attacks of the [[Magyars]].<ref>Golden 77-99; Duczko 30.</ref> No source records that the Rus' of the 9th century were subjects to the Khazars, however. For foreign observers (such as Ibn Rustah) there was no material difference between the titles of the Khazar and Rus' rulers.<ref>Zuckerman, "Deux étapes".</ref> [[Anatoly Novoseltsev]] hypothesizes that the adoption of the title of khagan was designed to advertise the Rus' claims to the equality with the Khazars.<ref>Новосельцев </ref> This theory is echoed by [[Thomas Noonan]], who asserts that the Rus' leaders were loosely unified under the rule of one of the "sea-kings" in the early 9th century, and that this "[[High King]]" adopted the title khagan to give him legitimacy in the eyes of his subjects and neighboring states.<ref>Noonan, "Khazar" 87-89, 94.</ref> The title of khagan was, according to this theory, a sign that the bearers ruled under a divine mandate.<ref>Brook 154; Noonan, "Khazar" 87-94.</ref>
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Most historians agree that the title "khagan" was borrowed by the Rus' from the Khazars, but there is considerable dispute over the circumstances of this borrowing. [[Peter Benjamin Golden]] presumes that the Rus' khaganate was a puppet state set up by the Khazars in the basin of the [[Oka River]] to fend off recurring attacks of the [[Magyars]].<ref>Golden, "Rus." ''Encyclopaedia of Islam,'' 77-99; Duczko, 30.</ref> No source records that the Rus' of the ninth century were subjects to the Khazars, however. For foreign observers (such as [[Ibn Rustah]]) there was no material difference between the titles of the Khazar and Rus' rulers.<ref>Zuckerman, "Deux étapes".</ref> [[Anatoly Novoseltsev]] hypothesizes that the adoption of the title of khagan was designed to advertise the Rus' claims to the equality with the Khazars.<ref>Новосельцев </ref> This theory is echoed by [[Thomas Noonan]], who asserts that the Rus' leaders were loosely unified under the rule of one of the "sea-kings" in the early ninth century, and that this "[[High King]]" adopted the title khagan to give him legitimacy in the eyes of his subjects and neighboring states.<ref>Noonan, "Khazar" 87-89, 94.</ref> The title of khagan was, according to this theory, a sign that the bearers ruled under a divine mandate.<ref>Brook, 154; Noonan, "Khazar" 87-94.</ref>
  
 
== Economy ==
 
== Economy ==
 
[[Image:Ruslavery.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Sergey Vasilievich Ivanov]] (1864-1910), ''Slave Trade in Early Medieval Eastern Europe''.]]
 
[[Image:Ruslavery.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Sergey Vasilievich Ivanov]] (1864-1910), ''Slave Trade in Early Medieval Eastern Europe''.]]
  
The likely mainstay of the khaganate's [[economy]] was the Volga trade route. Early 9th-century coin hordes unearthed in Scandinavia frequently contain large quantities of [[dirhem]] coins minted in the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] and other [[Muslim]] polities, sometimes split into smaller pieces and inscribed with [[Runic]] signs.<ref>Noonan, "Rus/Rus' Merchants" 213-219.</ref> All in all, more than 228,000 Arabic coins have been recovered from over a thousand hoards in European Russia and the Baltic region. Almost 90% of these arrived in Scandinavia by way of the Volga trade route. Unsurprisingly, the dirhem was the basis for the monetary system of Kievan Rus'.<ref>Yanin 1956. 91-100.</ref>
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The likely mainstay of the khaganate's [[economy]] was the [[Volga trade route]]. Early ninth-century [[coin]] hordes unearthed in Scandinavia frequently contain large quantities of [[dirhem]] coins minted in the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] and other [[Muslim]] polities, sometimes split into smaller pieces and inscribed with [[Runic]] signs.<ref>Thomas Noonan, "When Did Rus/Rus' Merchants First Visit Khazaria and Baghdad?" ''Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi'' 7 (1987-1991): 213-219.</ref> All in all, more than 228,000 [[Arabic language|Arabic]] [[coin]]s have been recovered from over a thousand hoards in European Russia and the Baltic region. Almost 90 percent of these arrived in [[Scandinavia]] by way of the [[Volga trade route]]. Unsurprisingly, the ''dirhem'' was the basis for the monetary system of Kievan Rus'.<ref>Yanin, 1956, 91-100.</ref>
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[[Trade]] was the major source of income for the Rus', who according to [[ibn Rustah]] did not engage in [[agriculture]]:
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<blockquote>"They have no cultivated fields but depend for their supplies on what they can obtain from as-Saqaliba's [Slavs] land. They have no estates, villages, or fields; their only business is to trade in [[sable]], [[squirrel]], and other [[fur]]s, and the money they take in these transactions they stow in their belts."<ref>Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted, 1965, 267–268</ref></blockquote>  
  
[[Trade]] was the major source of income for the Rus, who according to ibn Rustah did not engage in [[agriculture]]: "They have no cultivated fields but depend for their supplies on what they can obtain from as-Saqaliba's [Slavs] land. They have no estates, villages, or fields; their only business is to trade in [[sable]], [[squirrel]], and other [[fur]]s, and the money they take in these transactions they stow in their belts."<ref>Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted (1965), pp. 267–268</ref> Rus merchants travelled down the Volga, paying [[duty|duties]] to the Bulghars and Khazars, to the ports of [[Gorgan]] and [[Abaskun]] on the southern shore of the [[Caspian Sea]]; on occasion they travelled as far as [[Baghdad]].<ref name="Rus"/>
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Rus' merchants traveled down the [[Volga]], paying [[duty|duties]] to the [[Bulghars]] and Khazars, to the ports of [[Gorgan]] and [[Abaskun]] on the southern shore of the [[Caspian Sea]]; on occasion they travelled as far as [[Baghdad]].<ref name="Rus"/>
  
 
==Government== <!--this section appears quite speculative and anachronistic, as it describes political realities of the 920s, when Igor was the ruler in Kiev. This is a far cry from the period when the khagans were recorded in Northern Russia.—>
 
==Government== <!--this section appears quite speculative and anachronistic, as it describes political realities of the 920s, when Igor was the ruler in Kiev. This is a far cry from the period when the khagans were recorded in Northern Russia.—>
Writing in 922, Ibn Fadlan described the Rus' ruler<!--earlier the article says he called this ruler "king"—> (like the Khazar khagan), as having little real [[authority]]. Instead, political and military [[power (sociology)|power]] was wielded by a deputy, who "commands the troops, attacks [the Rus' ruler's] enemies, and acts as his representative before his subjects."<ref name="Christian340">Christian 340-341, citing ibn Fadlan's ''Risala''.</ref> The supreme king of the Rus', on the other hand, "has no duties other than to make love to his slave girls, drink, and give himself up to pleasure."<ref name="Christian340"/> He was guarded by 400 men, "willing to die for him... These 400 sit below the royal throne: a large and bejewelled platform which also accommodates the forty slave-girls of his harem." Ibn Fadlan wrote that the Rus' ruler would almost never leave his throne and even "when he wants to go riding his horse is led up to him, and on his return the horse is brought right up to the throne."<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted 266&ndash;267</ref> Ibn Rustah, on the other hand, reported that the khagan was the ultimate authority in settling disputes between his subjects. His decisions, however, were not binding, so that if one of the disputants disagreed with the khagan's ruling, the dispute was then [[holmgang|resolved in a battle]], which took place "in the presence of the contestants' kin who stand with swords drawn; and the man who gets the better of the duel also gets the decision about the matter in dispute."<ref>Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted 266&ndash;267</ref>
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Writing in 922, Ibn Fadlan described the Rus' ruler<!--earlier the article says he called this ruler "king"—> (like the Khazar khagan), as having little real [[authority]]. Instead, political and military [[power (sociology)|power]] was wielded by a deputy, who "commands the troops, attacks [the Rus' ruler's] enemies, and acts as his representative before his subjects."<ref name="Christian340">Christian 340-341, citing ibn Fadlan's ''Risala''.</ref> The supreme king of the Rus', on the other hand, "has no duties other than to make love to his slave girls, drink, and give himself up to pleasure."<ref name="Christian340"/> He was guarded by 400 men, "willing to die for him... These 400 sit below the royal throne: a large and bejewelled platform which also accommodates the forty slave-girls of his harem." Ibn Fadlan wrote that the Rus' ruler would almost never leave his throne and even "when he wants to go riding his horse is led up to him, and on his return the horse is brought right up to the throne."<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted 266–267</ref> Ibn Rustah, on the other hand, reported that the khagan was the ultimate authority in settling disputes between his subjects. His decisions, however, were not binding, so that if one of the disputants disagreed with the khagan's ruling, the dispute was then [[holmgang|resolved in a battle]], which took place "in the presence of the contestants' kin who stand with swords drawn; and the man who gets the better of the duel also gets the decision about the matter in dispute."<ref>Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted 266–267</ref>
  
 
The [[dichotomy]] between the relative powerlessness of the nominal ruler and the great authority of his subordinate reflects the structure of [[Khazar]] [[government]], with [[secular]] authority in the hands of a [[Khagan Bek]] only theoretically subordinate to the khagan, and sharply contrasts with the traditional [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] system, where kingship was held by military prowess and not necessarily by blood. Moreover, some scholars have noted similarities between this dual kingship and the postulated relationship between [[Igor, Grand Prince of Kiev|Igor]] and [[Oleg of Kiev]] in the early 10th century (compare [[Askold and Dir]] in the 9th century).<ref>Christian 341.</ref> <!--The following assertion seems to be untenable, as Jones' book is available online, and there are tons of more up-to-date references on modern excavations of Volkhov sites. I have not been able to trace any mention of nomadic influences: Norse burial sites from locations connected to the Rus Khaganate period supposedly contain some features common with those of neighboring [[Eurasian nomad]] populations.<ref>Christian 340, ''citing, inter alia,'' Jones 256.</ref>—> The institution of separate sacral ruler and military commander may be observed in the reconstructed<!--by a couple of scholars—> relationship between Oleg and Igor, but whether this is part of the Rus' Khaganate's legacy to its [[successor-state]] is unknown. The early Kievan Rus' principalities exhibited certain distinctive characteristics in their government, military organization, and [[jurisprudence]] that were comparable to those in force among the Khazars and other steppe peoples; some historians believe that these elements came to Kievan Rus' from the Khazars by way of the earlier Rus' Khagans.<ref>Brutzkus 111.</ref> <!--specifics?—>
 
The [[dichotomy]] between the relative powerlessness of the nominal ruler and the great authority of his subordinate reflects the structure of [[Khazar]] [[government]], with [[secular]] authority in the hands of a [[Khagan Bek]] only theoretically subordinate to the khagan, and sharply contrasts with the traditional [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] system, where kingship was held by military prowess and not necessarily by blood. Moreover, some scholars have noted similarities between this dual kingship and the postulated relationship between [[Igor, Grand Prince of Kiev|Igor]] and [[Oleg of Kiev]] in the early 10th century (compare [[Askold and Dir]] in the 9th century).<ref>Christian 341.</ref> <!--The following assertion seems to be untenable, as Jones' book is available online, and there are tons of more up-to-date references on modern excavations of Volkhov sites. I have not been able to trace any mention of nomadic influences: Norse burial sites from locations connected to the Rus Khaganate period supposedly contain some features common with those of neighboring [[Eurasian nomad]] populations.<ref>Christian 340, ''citing, inter alia,'' Jones 256.</ref>—> The institution of separate sacral ruler and military commander may be observed in the reconstructed<!--by a couple of scholars—> relationship between Oleg and Igor, but whether this is part of the Rus' Khaganate's legacy to its [[successor-state]] is unknown. The early Kievan Rus' principalities exhibited certain distinctive characteristics in their government, military organization, and [[jurisprudence]] that were comparable to those in force among the Khazars and other steppe peoples; some historians believe that these elements came to Kievan Rus' from the Khazars by way of the earlier Rus' Khagans.<ref>Brutzkus 111.</ref> <!--specifics?—>
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==Customs and religion==  
 
==Customs and religion==  
 
''See also: [[Norse paganism]], [[Slavic mythology]], and [[Christianization of the Rus' Khaganate]]''
 
''See also: [[Norse paganism]], [[Slavic mythology]], and [[Christianization of the Rus' Khaganate]]''
[[Image:trizna 1899.jpg|left|thumb|250px|''Oleg being mourned by his warriors'', an 1899 painting by [[Viktor Vasnetsov]]. This burial rite, with the funerary tumulus, is typical of both [[Scandinavia]]n, and [[Eurasian nomad]]ic customs.]]
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[[Image:trizna 1899.jpg|left|thumb|250px|''Oleg being mourned by his warriors,'' an 1899 painting by [[Viktor Vasnetsov]]. This burial rite, with the funerary tumulus, is typical of both [[Scandinavia]]n, and [[Eurasian nomad]]ic customs.]]
Judging from excavations conducted since the 1820s at Ladoga and related sites in Northern Russia, the Rus' customs reflected primarily Scandinavian influences. This is consistent with the writings of ibn Rustah and ibn Fadlan. The former gives a brief description of the [[burial]] of a Rus' [[nobleman]], who was put into a "grave like a large house", together with food, amulets, coins, other staples, as well as his favorite wife. "Then the grave door is sealed and she dies there."<ref>Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted 305</ref> <!-- This burial rite is consistent with archeological findings in [[Birka]] and [[Chernigov]].—There are no 9th-century layers in Chernigov, hundreds miles south of the khaganate! And Birka, apart from being a modest site in itself, has nothing to do with the khaganate too!!-->Ibn Fadlan provides further evidence of the Rus' building a memorial mound, or [[cenotaph]], and giving it a [[runic]] <!--does he say "runic"??—>inscription on a piece of wood.<ref>Brøndsted 305</ref> The Arab traveler also left a detailed description of the Rus' custom of [[ship burial|cremating noblemen in a ship]], which involved both animal and [[human sacrifice]]. When a poor man died, he was put into a little ship and burned in it; the funeral of a nobleman was much more elaborate. His estate was divided into three parts: one for his family, one to pay for his funerary costume, and one to make [[beer]], which was consumed on the day of his cremation.<ref>Ibn Fadlan describes the Rus' as addicted to beer, "and often one of them has been found dead with a beaker in his hand." Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted 301</ref> One of the deceased man's slave girls volunteered to be put to death so as to join her master in [[paradise]]. On the day of cremation, the dead man was disinterred from his grave, dressed in fine clothings, and put onto a specially constructed ship. The volunteer slave girl was killed (after the deceased man's kinsmen and friends had sex with her) and placed on board together with her master before the dead man's nearest kinsman set the vessel on fire. The funeral ended with the construction of a round mound.<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted 301&ndash;305</ref>  
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Judging from [[excavations]] conducted since the 1820s at [[Ladoga]] and related sites in Northern Russia, the Rus' customs reflected primarily [[Scandinavian]] influences. This is consistent with the writings of [[ibn Rustah]] and ibn Fadlan. The former gives a brief description of the [[burial]] of a Rus' [[nobleman]], who was put into a "grave like a large house," together with food, [[amulet]]s, [[coin]]s, other staples, as well as his favorite [[wife]]. "Then the grave door is sealed and she dies there."<ref>Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted 305</ref> <!-- This burial rite is consistent with archeological findings in [[Birka]] and [[Chernigov]].—There are no 9th-century layers in Chernigov, hundreds miles south of the khaganate! And Birka, apart from being a modest site in itself, has nothing to do with the khaganate too!!-->Ibn Fadlan provides further evidence of the Rus' building a memorial mound, or [[cenotaph]], and giving it a [[runic]] <!--does he say "runic"??—>inscription on a piece of wood.<ref>Brøndsted 305</ref>  
  
Early medieval historians were impressed with the spirit of independence and enterprise inculcated among the Rus from birth.<ref name="Rus"/> Ibn Rustah writes: "When a son is born the father will go up to the newborn baby, [[Spatha#Viking Age|sword]] in hand; throwing it down, he says; 'I shall not leave you any property: you have only what you can provide with this weapon!'"<ref>Brøndsted 268</ref> [[Al-Marwazi]] repeated this description of the instructions given to a son and added that it was the daughter who received her father's inheritance. The same sense of rugged individualism was reflected in their treatment of the ill. According to ibn Fadlan, "if one of the Rus falls sick they put him in a tent by himself and leave bread and water for him. They do not visit him, however, or speak to him, especially if he is a serf. Should he recover he rejoins the others; if he dies they burn him. If he happens to be a serf, however, they leave him for the dogs and vultures to devor."<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted 301&ndash;305. See also "Rus", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''.</ref> Sources describe the Rus as liberal in sexual matters. Ibn Fadlan wrote that the king of the Rus did not shy away from having public intercourse with the slave girls in his harem. When Rus traders arrived to the Volga shores, they would make love with the slave girls they brought for sale in the presence of their comrades; sometimes this would develop into a communal [[orgy]].<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted 265, 305; "Rus", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' ''passim''</ref> [[Image:Idoly.jpg|thumb|''The Idols'', a painting by Nicholas Roerich (1901).]]
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The Arab traveler also left a detailed description of the Rus' custom of [[ship burial|cremating noblemen in a ship]], which involved both [[animal sacrifice|animal]] and [[human sacrifice]]. When a poor man died, he was put into a little ship and burned in it; the [[funeral]] of a nobleman was much more elaborate. His estate was divided into three parts: one for his family, one to pay for his funerary costume, and one to make [[beer]], which was consumed on the day of his [[cremation]].<ref>Ibn Fadlan describes the Rus' as addicted to beer, "and often one of them has been found dead with a beaker in his hand." Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted 301</ref>  
  
Both ibn Fadlan and ibn Rustah portray the Rus as devout pagans. Ibn Rustah and, following him, Garizi reported that the Rus [[shaman]]s or "[[medicine men]]" (''attiba'') wielded great power over the common folk. According to ibn Rustah, these shamans acted "as if they own everything". They determined what women, men, or animals had to be sacrificed, and there was no appealing their decisions. A shaman would take the selected offering, whether human or animal, and hang it from a pole until it died.<ref>Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted 268. See also "Rus", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''.</ref> Ibn Fadlan left a description of the Rus merchants praying for success in trading before "a large wooden stake with a face like that of a human being, surrounded by smaller figures, and behind them tall poles in the ground." If trade did not pick up, more offerings were made; if the business remained slow, the trader would make offerings to the minor idols, too. When the trading was especially good, Rus merchants would likewise make additional offerings of cattle and sheep, some of which were distributed as alms.<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted 266. See also "Rus", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''.</ref>  
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<blockquote>One of the deceased man's [[slave]] girls volunteered to be put to death so as to join her master in [[paradise]]. On the day of cremation, the dead man was disinterred from his grave, dressed in fine clothings, and put onto a specially constructed ship. The volunteer slave girl was killed (after the deceased man's kinsmen and friends had sex with her) and placed on board together with her master before the dead man's nearest kinsman set the vessel on fire. The [[funeral]] ended with the construction of a round mound.<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala.'' English translation in Brøndsted, 301–305</ref></blockquote> 
  
On the other hand, Byzantine sources report that the Rus adopted [[Christianity]] by the end of the 860s. In his [[encyclical]] dated to 867, [[Patriarch Photius]] wrote about the enthusiastic conversion of the Rus, mentioning that he had sent to their lands a [[bishop]].<ref>Photii Patriarchae Constantinopolitani Epistulae et Amphilochia. Ed. B. Laourdas, L.G. Westerinck. T.1. Leipzig, 1983. P. 49.</ref> [[Constantine VII]] attributes the conversion to his grandfather [[Basil the Macedonian]] and to [[Patriarch Ignatius]] rather than to their predecessors [[Michael III]] and Photius. Constantine narrates how the Byzantines galvanized the Rus' into conversion by their persuasive words and rich presents, including gold, silver, and precious fabrics. He also repeats a traditional story that the pagans were particularly impressed by a miracle: a [[gospel]] book thrown by the [[archbishop]] into an oven was not damaged by fire.<ref>Theophanes 342-343.</ref> [[Ibn Khordadbeh]] wrote in the late 9th century that the Rus who arrived to Muslim lands "claimed to be Christians".<ref name="Rus"/> Modern historians are divided in their views on the historicity and extent of the [[Christianization of the Rus' Khaganate]]. <!-- Modern historians are divided whether at least some of the Rus indeed baptized at such an early date. —is there any historian who discards Photius's evidence as unreliable?—>
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Early medieval historians were impressed with the spirit of independence and enterprise inculcated among the Rus' from birth.<ref name="Rus"/>Ibn Rustah writes:
 +
<blockquote>"When a son is born the father will go up to the newborn baby, [[Spatha#Viking Age|sword]] in hand; throwing it down, he says; 'I shall not leave you any property: you have only what you can provide with this weapon!'"<ref>Brøndsted 268</ref></blockquote>
 +
[[Al-Marwazi]] repeated this description of the instructions given to a son and added that it was the daughter who received her father's inheritance. The same sense of rugged individualism was reflected in their treatment of the ill. According to ibn Fadlan, "if one of the Rus falls sick they put him in a tent by himself and leave bread and water for him. They do not visit him, however, or speak to him, especially if he is a [[serf]]. Should he recover he rejoins the others; if he dies they burn him. If he happens to be a serf, however, they leave him for the dogs and vultures to devor."<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted, 301–305.; See also "Rus," ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''.</ref> Sources describe the Rus as liberal in sexual matters. Ibn Fadlan wrote that the king of the Rus did not shy away from having public intercourse with the slave girls in his harem. When Rus traders arrived to the Volga shores, they would make love with the slave girls they brought for sale in the presence of their comrades; sometimes this would develop into a communal [[orgy]].<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted, 265, 305; "Rus," ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' ''passim''</ref> [[Image:Idoly.jpg|thumb|''The Idols'', a painting by Nicholas Roerich (1901).]]
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 +
Both [[ibn Fadlan]] and [[ibn Rustah]] portray the Rus as devout [[Paganism|pagans]]. Ibn Rustah and, following him, Garizi reported that the Rus [[shaman]]s or "[[medicine men]]" ''(attiba)'' wielded great power over the common folk. According to ibn Rustah, these shamans acted "as if they own everything." They determined what women, men, or animals had to be sacrificed, and there was no appealing their decisions. A shaman would take the selected offering, whether human or animal, and hang it from a pole until it died.<ref>Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted, 268.; See also "Rus," ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''.</ref> Ibn Fadlan left a description of the Rus merchants praying for success in trading before "a large wooden stake with a face like that of a human being, surrounded by smaller figures, and behind them tall poles in the ground." If trade did not pick up, more offerings were made; if the business remained slow, the trader would make offerings to the minor idols, too. When the trading was especially good, Rus merchants would likewise make additional offerings of cattle and sheep, some of which were distributed as [[alms]].<ref>Ibn Fadlan, ''Risala''. English translation in Brøndsted, 266.; See also "Rus," ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''.</ref>
 +
 
 +
On the other hand, Byzantine sources report that the Rus adopted [[Christianity]] by the end of the 860s. In his [[encyclical]] dated to 867, [[Patriarch Photius]] wrote about the enthusiastic conversion of the Rus, mentioning that he had sent to their lands a [[bishop]].<ref>''Photii Patriarchae Constantinopolitani Epistulae et Amphilochia,'' Ed. B. Laourdas, L.G. Westerinck. T.1. (Leipzig: 1983), 49.</ref> [[Constantine VII]] (905-959) attributes the conversion to his grandfather [[Basil the Macedonian]] and to [[Patriarch Ignatius]] rather than to their predecessors [[Michael III]] and [[Photius]]. Constantine narrates how the Byzantines galvanized the Rus' into [[Religious conversion|conversion]] by their persuasive words and rich presents, including [[gold]], [[silver]], and precious fabrics. He also repeats a traditional story that the pagans were particularly impressed by a miracle: a [[gospel]] book thrown by the [[archbishop]] into an oven was not damaged by fire.<ref>Theophanes, 342-343.</ref> [[Ibn Khordadbeh]] wrote in the late ninth century that the Rus who arrived to Muslim lands "claimed to be Christians".<ref name="Rus"/> Modern historians are divided in their views on the [[historicity]] and extent of the [[Christianization of the Rus' Khaganate]]. <!-- Modern historians are divided whether at least some of the Rus indeed baptized at such an early date.—is there any historian who discards Photius's evidence as unreliable?—>
  
 
==Relations with neighbors==
 
==Relations with neighbors==
In 838, the Rus' Khaganate sent an embassy to the Byzantine Empire, which was recorded in the Annals of St. Bertin, the reasons for which remain a cause of controversy among historians. [[Aleksey Shakhmatov]] argued that the embassy of 838 had two ends in view: to establish amity with Byzantium and to open up the way into Sweden through Western Europe.<ref>A. Shakhmatov, Survey of the Oldest Period of the History of the Russian Language. Encyclopedia of Slavonic Philology, II, 1 (Petrograd, 1915), XXVIII, cited in Vasiliev 12</ref> [[Constantine Zuckerman]] postulates that the Rus' ambassadors were to negotiate a peace treaty after their [[Paphlagonian expedition of the Rus|Paphlagonian expedition]] of the 830s.<ref>Zuckerman, "Deux étapes".</ref> [[George Vernadsky]] connects their mission with the construction of the fortress of [[Sarkel]] in 833. That embassy was not recorded in Byzantine sources, and in 860 Patriarch Photius referred to the Rus as "unknown people".<ref>Vasiliev 13.</ref>  
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In 838, the Rus' Khaganate sent an embassy to the [[Byzantine Empire]], which was recorded in the ''Annals of St. Bertin,'' the reasons for which remain a cause of controversy among historians. [[Aleksey Shakhmatov]] argued that the embassy of 838 had two ends in view: to establish amity with [[Byzantium]] and to open up the way into [[Sweden]] through Western Europe.<ref>A. Shakhmatov, "Survey of the Oldest Period of the History of the Russian Language." ''Encyclopedia of Slavonic Philology,'' II, 1 (Petrograd, 1915), XXVIII, cited in Alexander Vasiliev. ''The Russian Attack on Constantinople in 860.'' (Mediaeval Academy of America, (1926) 1946), 12</ref> [[Constantine Zuckerman]] postulates that the Rus' ambassadors were to negotiate a [[peace treaty]] after their [[Paphlagonian expedition of the Rus|Paphlagonian expedition]] of the 830s.<ref>Zuckerman, "Deux étapes".</ref> [[George Vernadsky]] connects their mission with the construction of the [[fortress]] of [[Sarkel]] in 833. That embassy was not recorded in Byzantine sources, and in 860 Patriarch [[Photius]] referred to the Rus as "unknown people."<ref>Vasiliev, 13.</ref>  
  
According to Vernadsky, the Khazars and Greeks erected Sarkel near the portage between the [[Don River (Russia)|Don River]] and Volga specifically to defend this strategic point from the Rus.<ref>Vernadsky VII-4.</ref> Other scholars, however, believe that the fortress of Sarkel was constructed to defend against or monitor the activities of the [[Magyars]] and other steppe tribes, and not the Rus'.<ref>Shepard 24; Kovalev 124.</ref> The [[Ukrainian people|Ukrainian]] historian [[Mykhailo Hrushevsky]] declared that the extant sources were unclear on this point.<ref>Hrushevsky 1:176.</ref> [[John Skylitzes]] claimed that Sarkel was a "staunch bulwark against the [[Pechenegs]]" but did not identify that as its original purpose.<ref>Huxley ''passim''.</ref>  
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According to Vernadsky, the Khazars and Greeks erected Sarkel near the portage between the [[Don River (Russia)|Don River]] and Volga specifically to defend this strategic point from the Rus.<ref>Vernadsky, VII-4.</ref> Other scholars, however, believe that the fortress of Sarkel was constructed to defend against or monitor the activities of the [[Magyars]] and other steppe tribes, and not the Rus'.<ref>Jonathan Shepard, "The Khazars' Formal Adoption of Judaism and Byzantium's Northern Policy." ''Oxford Slavonic Papers, New Series'' 31 (1998):24.; Roman Kovalev, "What Does Historical Numismatics Suggest about the Monetary History of Khazaria in the Ninth Century?- Question Revisited." ''Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi'' 13(2004):97-129. 124.</ref> The [[Ukrainian people|Ukrainian]] historian [[Mykhailo Hrushevsky]] declared that the extant sources were unclear on this point.<ref>Mykhailo Hrushevsky. ''History of Ukraine-Rus'.'' (Archon Books, 1970. ISBN 97802080096781), 176.</ref> [[John Skylitzes]] claimed that Sarkel was a "staunch bulwark against the [[Pechenegs]]" but did not identify that as its original purpose.<ref>George Huxley, "Byzantinochazarika." ''Hermathena'' 148 (1990): 79. ''passim''.</ref>  
  
In 860, the Rus [[Rus'-Byzantine War (860)|besieged Constantinople]], with a [[naval fleet|fleet]] of 200 ships. The Byzantine army and navy were far from the capital, leaving it vulnerable to the attack. The timing of the expedition suggests that the Rus were well-aware of the internal situation in the empire thanks to the commercial and other relations that continued after the embassy of 838. The Rus warriors devastated the suburbs of Constantinople before suddenly departing on [[August 4]].<ref>Franklin and Shepard, 50&ndash;55.</ref>
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In 860, the Rus [[Rus'-Byzantine War (860)|besieged Constantinople]], with a [[naval fleet|fleet]] of 200 ships. The Byzantine army and navy were far from the capital, leaving it vulnerable to the attack. The timing of the expedition suggests that the Rus were well-aware of the internal situation in the empire thanks to the commercial and other relations that continued after the embassy of 838. The Rus warriors devastated the suburbs of [[Constantinople]] before suddenly departing on August 4.<ref>Franklin and Shepard, 50–55.</ref>
  
The early Rus' traded extensively with [[Khazaria]]. [[Ibn Khordadbeh]] wrote in the ''[[Book of Roads and Kingdoms (ibn Khordadbeh)|Book of Roads and Kingdoms]]'' that "they go via the Slavic River (the Don) to [[Khamlidj]], a city of the Khazars, where the latter's ruler collects the tithe from them."<ref>ibn Khordadbeh, as cited in Vernadsky 1:9</ref> Some modern commentators infer from Arab accounts that the Rus' Khaganate's political culture was profoundly<!--exaggeration!--> influenced by its contacts with Khazaria.<ref>''E.g.,'' Jones 164 (summarizing evidence from [[al-Masudi]] and [[al-Muqaddasi]]); Franklin and Shepard 67-8; Christian 340.</ref> By the beginning of the [[Rurikid]] period in the first decades of the 10th century, however, relations between the Rus' and the Khazars [[Caspian expeditions of the Rus#Raid of 913|soured]].
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The early Rus' traded extensively with [[Khazaria]]. [[Ibn Khordadbeh]] wrote in the ''[[Book of Roads and Kingdoms (ibn Khordadbeh)|Book of Roads and Kingdoms]]'' that "they go via the Slavic River (the Don) to [[Khamlidj]], a city of the Khazars, where the latter's ruler collects the tithe from them."<ref>ibn Khordadbeh, as cited in Vernadsky 1:9</ref> Some modern commentators infer from Arab accounts that the Rus' Khaganate's political culture was profoundly influenced by its contacts with Khazaria.<ref>''E.g.,'' Jones, 164 (summarizing evidence from [[al-Masudi]] and [[al-Muqaddasi]]); Franklin and Shepard, 67-68; Christian, 340.</ref> By the beginning of the [[Rurikid]] period in the first decades of the tenth century, however, relations between the Rus' and the Khazars [[Caspian expeditions of the Rus#Raid of 913|soured]].
  
 
==Decline and legacy==
 
==Decline and legacy==
Soon after [[Patriarch Photius]] informed other Orthodox bishops about the Christianization of the Rus all the centres of the khaganate in North-Western Russia were destroyed by fire. Archaeologists found convincing evidence that Holmgard, Aldeigja, [[Alaborg]], [[Izborsk]] and other local centres were burnt to the ground in the 860s or 870s. Some of these settlements were permanently abandoned after the conflagration. The [[Primary Chronicle]] describes the uprising of the pagan Slavs and Finns against the Varangians, who had to withdraw overseas in 862. The [[First Novgorod Chronicle]], whose account of the events Shakhmatov considered more trustworthy, does not pinpoint the pre-Rurikid uprising to any specific date. The 16th-century [[Nikon Chronicle]] attributes the banishment of the Varangians from the country to [[Vadim the Bold]]. The Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Braichevsky labelled Vadim's rebellion "a pagan reaction" against the Christianization of the Rus'.<ref>Брайчевский 42-96.</ref> A period of unrest and anarchy followed, dated by Zuckerman to ca. 875-900. The absence of coin hoards from the 880s and 890s suggests that the Volga trade route ceased functioning, precipitating "the first [[silver crisis]] in Europe".<ref>Noonan, "Silver Crisis" 41-50; Noonan, "Fluctuations in Islamic Trade" ''passim''</ref>   
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Soon after [[Patriarch Photius]] informed other Orthodox bishops about the [[Christianization]] of the Rus, all the centers of the khaganate in North-Western Russia were destroyed by fire. [[Archaeology|Archaeologists]] found convincing evidence that [[Novgorod|Holmgard]], Aldeigja, [[Alaborg]], [[Izborsk]] and other local centers were burnt to the ground in the 860s or 870s. Some of these settlements were permanently abandoned after the conflagration. The [[Primary Chronicle]] describes the uprising of the [[pagan]] Slavs and Finns against the [[Varangians]], who had to withdraw overseas in 862. The [[First Novgorod Chronicle]], whose account of the events Shakhmatov considered more trustworthy, does not pinpoint the pre-Rurikid uprising to any specific date. The sixteenth-century [[Nikon Chronicle]] attributes the banishment of the Varangians from the country to [[Vadim the Bold]]. The Ukrainian historian [[Mykhailo Braichevsky]] labelled Vadim's rebellion "a pagan reaction" against the Christianization of the Rus'.<ref>Брайчевский, 42-96.</ref> A period of unrest and anarchy followed, dated by Zuckerman to ca. 875-900. The absence of [[coin]] hoards from the 880s and 890s suggests that the [[Volga trade route]] ceased functioning, precipitating "the first [[silver crisis]] in Europe".<ref>Thomas Noonan, "The First Major Silver Crisis in Russia and the Baltic, ca. 875-900." ''Hikuin'' 11 (1985): 41-50; Noonan, "Fluctuations in Islamic Trade with Eastern Europe during the Viking Age." ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'' 16 (1992). ''passim''</ref>   
  
After this economic [[Recession|depression]] and period of political upheaval, the region experienced a resurgence beginning in around 900. Zuckerman associates this recovery with the arrival of [[Rurik]] and his men, who turned their attention from the Volga to the Dnieper, for reasons as yet uncertain. The Scandinavian settlements in Ladoga and Novgorod revived and started to grow rapidly. During the first decade of the tenth century, a large trade outpost was formed on the [[Dnieper]] in [[Gnezdovo]], near modern [[Smolensk]]. Another Dnieper settlement, Kiev, developed into an important urban centre roughly in the same period.<ref>Franklin and Shepard, 91&ndash;111.</ref><ref>''See, e.g.,'' Duczko 81 ''et seq.'', discussing the argument among various scholars as to whether the devastating attacks of the 860s and 870s were caused by Rurik and a new wave of Norse settlers who supplanted the old Rus Khagans, whether the burnings of the Rus' settlements were the result of civil war unconnected to Rurik's purported ascendency, or whether they were caused by unrelated incursions by Norsemen or other people.</ref>
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After this economic [[Recession|depression]] and period of political upheaval, the region experienced a resurgence beginning in around 900. Zuckerman associates this recovery with the arrival of [[Rurik]] and his men, who turned their attention from the Volga to the Dnieper, for reasons as yet uncertain. The Scandinavian settlements in Ladoga and [[Novgorod]] revived and started to grow rapidly. During the first decade of the tenth century, a large trade outpost was formed on the [[Dnieper]] in [[Gnezdovo]], near modern [[Smolensk]]. Another Dnieper settlement, [[Kiev]], developed into an important urban centre roughly in the same period.<ref>Franklin and Shepard, 91–111.</ref><ref>''See, e.g.,'' Duczko, 81 ''et seq.'', discussing the argument among various scholars as to whether the devastating attacks of the 860s and 870s were caused by Rurik and a new wave of Norse settlers who supplanted the old Rus Khagans, whether the burnings of the Rus' settlements were the result of civil war unconnected to Rurik's purported ascendancy, or whether they were caused by unrelated incursions by Norsemen or other people.</ref>
  
The fate of the Rus' Khaganate, and the process by which it either evolved into or was consumed by the Rurikid Kievan Rus', is unclear. The Kievans seem to have had a very vague notion about the existence of the khaganate. Slavonic sources do not mention either the Christianization of the Rus in the 860s nor the Paphlagonian expedition of the 830s. The account of the Rus' expedition against Constantinople in the 860s was borrowed by the authors of the Primary Chronicle from Greek sources, suggesting the absence of a [[vernacular]] written tradition.<ref>Franklin and Shepard, 53.</ref>
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The fate of the Rus' Khaganate, and the process by which it either evolved into or was consumed by the [[Rurikid]] [[Kievan Rus']], is unclear. The Kievans seem to have had a very vague notion about the existence of the khaganate. Slavonic sources do not mention either the Christianization of the Rus in the 860s nor the Paphlagonian expedition of the 830s. The account of the Rus' expedition against Constantinople in the 860s was borrowed by the authors of the [[Primary Chronicle]] from Greek sources, suggesting the absence of a [[vernacular]] written tradition.<ref>Franklin and Shepard, 53.</ref>
 
 
==See also==
 
*[[Byzantine expeditions of the Rus]]
 
*[[Caspian expeditions of the Rus]]
 
*[[Christianization of the Rus' Khaganate]]
 
*[[Paphlagonian expedition of the Rus]]
 
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
{{reflist|3}}
+
<references/>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
*Ahmed ibn Fadlan. ''Ibn Fadlan's Journey to Russia: A Tenth-Century Traveler from Baghdad to the Volga River.'' Frye, Richard Nelson, ed. and trans. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2005.
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*Ahmed ibn Fadlan. ''Ibn Fadlan's Journey to Russia: A Tenth-Century Traveler from Baghdad to the Volga River,'' Richard Nelson Frye, ed. and trans. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2005. ISBN 9781558763661
*Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Rustah. ''al-Alaq al-nafisah: Maruf bih Ibn Rustah. Tarjamah va taliq-i Husayn Qarah'chanlu.'' Tehran, Iran: Amir Kabir, 1986.
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*Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Rustah. ''al-Alaq al-nafisah: Maruf bih Ibn Rustah. Tarjamah va taliq-i Husayn Qarah'chanlu.'' Tehran, Iran: Amir Kabir, 1986. {{OCLC|21897501}}
*Александров А.А. ''Остров руссов.'' [''The Rus' Island'']. St. Petersburg-Kishinev, 1997.  
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*Александров А.А. ''Остров руссов.'' [''The Rus' Island'']. Saint Petersburg-Kishinev, 1997.  
*[[Artamanov, M.I.]] "Prevye Stranisky Russkoy Istorii ve Archeologicheskom Osveshchenii." ''Sovietskaya Arkheologica''. Vol 3, 1990. pp. 271-290.
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*Artamanov, M.I. "Prevye Stranisky Russkoy Istorii ve Archeologicheskom Osveshchenii." ''Sovietskaya Arkheologica'' Vol 3, 1990. 271-290.
*Bertin. ''The Annals of St. Bertin.'' Ed. Waitz, Hanover, 1883.
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*Bertin. ''The Annals of St. Bertin,'' Ed. Waitz, (Hanover, 1883) also Janet L. Nelson, Translator. Manchester Univ Press, 1991. ISBN 0719034256 (in English)
 
*Брайчевский М.Ю. ''Утверждение христианства на Руси'' [''Establishment of Christianity in Rus'']. Kiev: Naukova dumka, 1989.
 
*Брайчевский М.Ю. ''Утверждение христианства на Руси'' [''Establishment of Christianity in Rus'']. Kiev: Naukova dumka, 1989.
*[[Johannes Brøndsted|Brøndsted, Johannes]]. ''The Vikings''. (transl. by Kalle Skov). Penguin Books, 1965.  
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*Brøndsted, Johannes. ''The Vikings,'' translated by Kalle Skov. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England; New York, NY: Penguin, 1980. ISBN 9780140204599
*[[Brook, Kevin Alan]]. ''The Jews of Khazaria.'' 2d ed. Rowman and Littlefield, 2006.
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*Brook, Kevin Alan. ''The Jews of Khazaria,'' 2d ed. Rowman and Littlefield, 2006. ISBN 9780765760326
*[[Julius Brutzkus|Brutzkus, Julius]]. "The Khazar Origin of Ancient Kiev." ''[[Slavonic and East European Review]]'', 22 (1944).
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*Brutzkus, Julius. "The Khazar Origin of Ancient Kiev." ''Slavonic and East European Review'' 22 (1944). ISSN 0037-6795
*Callmer J. ''The Archaeology of Kiev to the End of the Earliest Urban Phase.'' // Harvard Ukrainian Studies, 1987, №11.
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*Callmer Johan. ''The Archaeology of Kiev to the End of the Earliest Urban Phase.'' ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'' 11 (3/4)(December 1987): 323-364
*[[David Christian (historian)|Christian, David]]. ''A History of Russia, Mongolia and Central Asia.'' Blackwell, 1999.
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*Christian, David. ''A History of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia.'' Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 9780631208143
*Dolger F. ''Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des ostromischen Reiches. I''. Berlin, 1924.
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*Dolger F. ''Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des ostromischen Reiches. I''. München: C.H. Beck, 1960-. ISBN 9783406007385 (in German)
*Dolukhanov, P.M. ''The Early Slavs: Eastern Europe and the Initial Settlement to Kievan Rus'.'' London: Longman, 1996.  
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*Dolukhanov, P.M. ''The Early Slavs: Eastern Europe and the Initial Settlement to Kievan Rus'.'' London: Longman, 1996. ISBN 9780582236189
*Duczko, Władysław. ''Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe.'' Brill, 2004.
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*Duczko, Władysław. ''Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe.'' Brill, 2004. ISBN 9789004138742
*''The Encyclopaedia of The Lay of Igor's Campaign'', in 5 volumes. Volume 3. St. Petersburg, 1995.  
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*''The Encyclopaedia of The Lay of Igor's Campaign'' in 5 volumes. Volume 3. St. Petersburg: 1995.  
*Franklin, Simon and [[Jonathan Shepard]]. ''The Emergence of Rus 750-1200.'' London: Longman, 1996. ISBN 0-582-49091-X.
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*Franklin, Simon and Jonathan Shepard. ''The Emergence of Rus 750-1200.'' London: Longman, 1996. ISBN 9780582490918
* [[Peter Benjamin Golden|Golden, Peter Benjamin]]. "Rus." ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'' Eds.: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill. Brill Online, 2006
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*Golden, Peter Benjamin. ''The Question of the Rus' Qaganate''. ''Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi'', 1982.  
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*Halperin, Charles J. ''Russia and the Golden Horde: The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History.'' Bloomington: Univ. of Indiana Press, 1987. ISBN 0-253-20445-3.
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*[[Mogens Herman Hansen|Hansen, Mogens Herman]], ed. ''A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures''. Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, 2000. Page 266.
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*Hrushevsky, Mikhailo. ''History of Ukraine-Rus'.'' Archon Books, 1970. ISBN 9780208009678
*[[Mykhailo Hrushevsky|Hrushevsky, Mikhailo]]. ''History of Ukraine-Rus','' trans. Marta Skorupsky. Canadian Inst. of Ukr. Studies Press, 1997.
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*Ilarion of Kiev. "Sermon on Law and Grace." ''Sermons and Rhetoric of Kievan Rus.'' Simon Franklin, transl. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 1991. ISBN 9780916458416
*Ilarion of Kiev. "Sermon on Law and Grace". ''Sermons and Rhetoric of Kievan Rus'. Simon Franklin, transl. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 1991.
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*Jones, Gwyn. ''A History of the Vikings.'' London; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 9780192801340
*Jones, Gwyn. ''A History of the Vikings.'' 2nd ed. London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1984.
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*Kovalev, Roman. "What Does Historical Numismatics Suggest about the Monetary History of Khazaria in the Ninth Century?- Question Revisited." ''Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi'' 13(2004):97-129. ISSN 0724-8822
*[[Kovalev, Roman]]. "What Does HIstorical Numismatics Suggest about the Monetary History of Khazaria in the Ninth Century?- Question Revisited." ''Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 13(2004):97-129.
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*Laurent, J. (original 1919) and M. Canard. ''L'Armenie entre Byzance et l'islam depuis la conquete arabe jusqu'en 886,'' rev. ed. Lisbon: 1980. OCLC 164948073 (in French)
*Laurent, J. and M. Canard. ''L'Armenie entre Byzance et l'islam depuis la conquete arabe jusqu'en 886''. Lisbon, 1980.  
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*Laehr, Gerhard. "Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolae VII." ''Epistolae Karolini aevi V.'' Berlin: W. Henze, 1928. ISBN 9783921575734
*Мачинский Д.А. "О месте Северной Руси в процессе сложения Древнерусского государства и европейской культурной общности." [''On the Place of Northern Rus in the Genesis of the Old Rus' State and European Cultural Continuum'']. ''Археологическое исследование Новгородской земли''. Leningrad, 1984.  
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*Мачинский Д.А. "О месте Северной Руси в процессе сложения Древнерусского государства и европейской культурной общности." [''On the Place of Northern Rus in the Genesis of the Old Rus' State and European Cultural Continuum'']. ''Археологическое исследование Новгородской земли.'' Leningrad: 1984.  
*[[Vladimir Minorsky|Minorsky, Vladimir]]. ''Hudud al-'Alam (The Regions of the World)''. London: Luzac & Co., 1937.
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*Minorsky, Vladimir. ''Hudud al-'Alam (The Regions of the World).'' London: Luzac & Co., 1970. ISBN 9780718902018
*"Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolae VII". ''Epistolae Karolini aevi V''. Berlin: W. Henze, 1928.  
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*Nelson, Janet L., ed. ''The Annals of St. Bertin.'' Manchester University Press. 1991. ISBN 9780719034268
*[[Thomas Noonan|Noonan, Thomas]]. "The Khazar Qaghanate and Its Impact On the Early Rus' State: The ''translatio imperii'' from Itil to Kiev." ''Nomads in the Sedentary World'', Anatoly Mikhailovich Khazanov and Andre Wink, eds. p. 76-102. Richmond, England: Curzon, 2001. ISBN 0-7007-1370-0.
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*Noonan, Thomas. "The First Major Silver Crisis in Russia and the Baltic, ca. 875-900." ''Hikuin'' 11 (1985): 41-50. ISSN 0105-8118
*Noonan, Thomas. "When Did Rus/Rus' Merchants First Visit Khazaria and Baghdad?" ''Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi'' 7 (1987-1991): 213-219.
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*Noonan, Thomas. "Fluctuations in Islamic Trade with Eastern Europe during the Viking Age." ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'' 16 (1992). ISSN 0363-5570
*Noonan, Thomas. "The First Major Silver Crisis in Russia and the Baltic, ca. 875-900". ''Hikuin'', 11 (1985): 41-50.
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*Noonan, Thomas. "The Khazar Qaghanate and Its Impact On the Early Rus' State: The ''translatio imperii'' from Itil to Kiev." ''Nomads in the Sedentary World'', Anatoly Mikhailovich Khazanov and Andre Wink, eds. 76-102. Richmond, England: Curzon, 2001. ISBN 0700713700.
*Noonan, Thomas. "Fluctuations in Islamic Trade with Eastern Europe during the Viking Age". ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'', 1992, №16.
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*Noonan, Thomas. "The Monetary System of Kiev in the Pre-Mongol Period." ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'' 11 (1987): 396. ISSN 0363-5570
*Noonan, Thomas. "The Monetary System of Kiev in the Pre-Mongol Period". ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'', 1987, №11. Page 396.
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*Noonan, Thomas. "When Did Rus/Rus' Merchants First Visit Khazaria and Baghdad?" ''Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi'' 7 (1987-1991): 213-219. ISSN 0724-8822
*Новосельцев А.П. ''et al. Древнерусское государство и его международное значение.'' [''Old Rus' State And Its International Relations'']. Moscow, 1965.  
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*Новосельцев А.П. et al. Древнерусское государство и его международное значение.'' [''Old Rus' State And Its International Relations'']. Moscow: 1965.  
*Новосельцев А.П. "К вопросу об одном из древнейших титулов русского князя". [''On One of the Oldest Titles of the Rus' Princes'']. ''История СССР.'' - 1982. - Вып. 4.
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*Новосельцев А.П. "К вопросу об одном из древнейших титулов русского князя." [''On One of the Oldest Titles of the Rus' Princes'']. ''История СССР.'' - 1982. - Вып. 4.
*[[Pritsak, Omeljan]]. ''The Origin of Rus'.'' Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991.
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*Pritsak, Omeljan. ''The Origin of Rus'.'' Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1991. ISBN 9780674644656
*Pritsak, Omeljan. ''The Origins of the Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems. Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute]], 1998.
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*Pritsak, Omeljan. ''The Origins of the Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems.'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 1998. ISSN 0013-8266
*Shepard, Jonathan. "The Khazars' Formal Adoption of Judaism and Byzantium's Northern Policy." ''Oxford Slavonic Papers, New Series ''31 (1998):24.
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*Shepard, Jonathan. "The Khazars' Formal Adoption of Judaism and Byzantium's Northern Policy." ''Oxford Slavonic Papers, New Series'' 31 (1998):24. ISSN 0015-8518
*Smirnov, Pavel. ''Volz'kiy shlyakh i starodavni Rusy'' (''The Volga route and the ancient Rus''). Kiev, 1928.  
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*Smirnov, Pavel. ''Volz'kiy shlyakh i starodavni Rusy'' ''(The Volga route and the ancient Rus).'' Kiev: 1928.  
*''Theophanes Continuatus, Ioannes Cameniata, Symeon Magister, Georgius Monachus''. Ed. I. Becker. Bonnae, 1838 (CSHB), pp. 342-343.
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*Theophanes. ''Theophanes Continuatus, Ioannes Cameniata, Symeon Magister, Georgius Monachus,'' Ed. I. Becker. Bonnae, 1838 (CSHB), 342-343. OCLC 10796901
*[[Alexander Vasiliev|Vasiliev, Alexander]]. ''The Russian Attack on Constantinople in 860''. Mediaeval Academy of America, 1946.<!--Original edition appeared in 1926.—>
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*Van de Mieroop, Marc. ''A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures,'' Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, 2000, 266. ISSN 1045-6007
*[[Vernadsky, G.V.]] ''A History of Russia''. Vol. 1. Yale University Press, 1943 ([http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/VGV/vgv172.htm Russian version online])
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*Vasiliev, Alexander. ''The Russian Attack on Constantinople in 860.'' Mediaeval Academy of America, (1926) 1946. OCLC 1384802
*Vernadsky, G.V., ed. ''A Source Book for Russian History from Early Times to 1917, Vol. 1.'' New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1972.
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*Vernadsky, George V. ''A History of Russia Vol. 1.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 1943. {{OCLC|405889}}
*[[Valentin Yanin|Yanin, Valentin]]. ''Денежно-весовые системы русского средневековья. Домонгольский период.'' [''The Monetary Systems of the Russian Middle Ages. The Pre-Mongol Period'']. Moscow, 1956.  
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*Vernadsky, G.V., ed. ''A Source Book for Russian History from Early Times to 1917, Vol. 1.'' New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1972. ISBN 9780300016123
*Zenkovsky, Serge A., ed. ''Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles, and Tales.'' New York: Meridian, 1974. ISBN 0-452-01086-1.
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*Yanin, Valentin. ''Денежно-весовые системы русского средневековья. Домонгольский период.'' [''The Monetary Systems of the Russian Middle Ages. The Pre-Mongol Period'']. Moscow: 1956.  
*[[Zuckerman, Constantine]]. "Deux étapes de la formation de l’ancien état russe", in ''Les centres proto-urbains russes entre Scandinavie, Byzance et Orient: Actes du Colloque International tenu au Collège de France en octobre 1997'', éd. M. Kazanski, A. Nersessian et C. Zuckerman (Réalités Byzantines 7). Paris, 2000 ([http://iananu.kiev.ua/archaeology/2003-1/zukerman.htm Russian translation online]).
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*Zenkovsky, Serge A., ed. ''Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles, and Tales.'' New York: Meridian, 1974. ISBN 0452010861.
*Zuckerman, Constantine. "Les Hongrois au Pays de Lebedia: une nouvelle puissance aux confins de Byzance et de la Khazarie en 836-889." ''Byzantium at War'' (9th-12th c.) Athens, 1997.
+
*Zuckerman, Constantine. "Deux étapes de la formation de l’ancien état russe," in ''Les centres proto-urbains russes entre Scandinavie, Byzance et Orient: Actes du Colloque International tenu au Collège de France en octobre 1997,'' éd. M. Kazanski, A. Nersessian et C. Zuckerman (Réalités Byzantines 7). Paris: 2000.
 +
*Zuckerman, Constantine. "Les Hongrois au Pays de Lebedia: une nouvelle puissance aux confins de Byzance et de la Khazarie en 836-889." ''Byzantium at War (9th-12th c.).'' Athens: 1997.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
*[http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-38491 Britannica Concise on the Origins of Russia]
+
All links retrieved December 22, 2022.  
*[http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/classes/pritsak.html Pritsak on the Origins of the Rus']
+
*[http://www.kroraina.com/hudud/hud_44.html Rus' in the Hudud al-Alam]  
*[http://www.kroraina.com/hudud/hud_44.html Rus' in the Hudud al-Alam]
+
*[http://faculty.washington.edu/dwaugh/hstam443/K-chron2.html Waugh, Daniel C. "Suggested Chronology of Events in the Pre-Kievan and Early Kievan Periods".]  
*[http://faculty.washington.edu/dwaugh/hstam443/K-chron2.html Waugh, Daniel C. "Suggested Chronology of Events in the Pre-Kievan and Early Kievan Periods".]
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{{Gardariki}}
 
{{Gardariki}}
  

Revision as of 18:15, 22 December 2022

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The Rus' Khaganate (sometimes called Volkhov Rus, Ilmen Rus, or Novgorod Rus) was a polity that flourished during a poorly documented period in the history of Eastern Europe (roughly the late eighth and early to mid-ninth centuries C.E.).[1] A predecessor to the Rurik Dynasty and Kievan Rus', the Rus' Khaganate was a nation-state (or a cluster of city-states) in what is today northern Russia. The region's population at that time was composed of Slavic, Finnic, and Norse peoples, among which the dominant group was the Rus' tribe or tribes. The region was also a center of operations for eastern Scandinavian (Varangian) adventurers, merchants and pirates.

According to contemporaneous sources, the population centers of the region, which may have included the proto-towns of Holmgard (Novgorod), Aldeigja (Ladoga), Lyubsha, Alaborg, Sarskoe Gorodishche, and Timerevo, were under the rule of a monarch or monarchs using the Old Turkic title Khagan.[2][3][4] The Rus' Khaganate period marked the genesis of a distinct Rus' ethnos, and its successor states would include Kievan Rus' and later states from which modern Russia evolved.

Documentary evidence

Guests from Overseas, an 1899 painting by Nicholas Roerich depicting early Varangian adventurers in Russia.

The ruler of the Rus' is mentioned by the title of "khagan" in several historical sources. Most of them are foreign texts dating from the ninth century. Three others are East Slavic sources from the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

The earliest European reference to the khaganate comes from the Frankish Annals of St. Bertin. The Annals refer to a group of Vikings, who called themselves Rhos (qi se, id est gentem suam, Rhos vocari dicebant) and visited Constantinople around the year 838.[5] Fearful of returning home via the steppes, which would leave them vulnerable to attacks by the Magyars, these Rhos travelled through Germany accompanied by Greek ambassadors from the Byzantine emperor Theophilus. When questioned by the Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious at Ingelheim, they informed him that their leader was known as chacanus (the Latin for "Khagan")[6] and that they lived in the north of what is now Russia, but the emperor found out that their ancestral homeland was in Sweden (comperit eos gentis esse sueonum).[7]

Thirty years later, in spring 871, the Eastern and western emperors, Basil I and Louis II, quarreled over control of Bari, which had been conquered by their joint forces from the Arabs. The Byzantine emperor sent an angry letter to his western counterpart, reprimanding him for usurping the title of emperor. He argued that the Frankish rulers are simple reges, while the imperial title properly applied only to the overlord of the Romans, that is, to Basil I himself. He also pointed out that each nation has its own title for the supreme ruler: for instance, the title of chaganus is used by the overlords of the Avars, Khazars (Gazari), and "Northmen" (Nortmanno). To that, Louis replied that he was aware only about the Avar khagans, and had never heard about the khagans of the Khazars and Normanns.[8][9] The content of Basil's letter, now lost, is reconstructed from Louis's reply, quoted in full in the Salerno Chronicle.[10] The correspondence between Louis II and Basil I indicates that at least one group of Scandinavians had a ruler who called himself "khagan."

Ahmad ibn Rustah, a tenth century Muslim geographer from Persia, wrote that the Rus' khagan ("khaqan rus") lived on an island in a lake.[2][11] Constantine Zuckerman comments that Ibn Rustah, using the text of an anonymous account from the 870s, attempted to accurately convey the titles of all rulers described by its author, which makes his evidence all the more precious.[12] The Muslim geographer mentions only two khagans in his treatise–those of Khazaria and Rus'. A further near-contemporary reference to the Rus' comes from al-Yaqubi, who wrote in 889 or 890 that the Caucasus mountaineers, when besieged by the Arabs in 854, asked for help from the overlords (sahib) of al-Rum (Byzantium), Khazaria, and al-Saqaliba (Slavs).[13][14] Hudud al-Alam, an anonymous Arabic geography text written in the late tenth century, refers to the Rus' king as "rus-khaqan".[15] As the unknown author of Hudud al-Alam relied on numerous ninth-century sources, including ibn Khordadbeh, it is possible that his reference to the Rus' Khagan was copied from earlier, pre-Rurikid texts, rather than reflecting contemporary political reality.[16] Finally, the eleventh century Persian geographer Abu Said Gardizi mentioned "khaqan-i rus" in his work Zayn al-Akbar. Like other Muslim geographers, Gardizi relied on traditions stemming from the ninth century.[17]

There are good grounds for believing that the title "khagan" was still remembered in Kievan Rus' during the Christian period. Metropolitan Hilarion of Kiev applied the title "khagan" to Vladimir I of Kiev and Yaroslav I the Wise in the earliest surviving example of Old Russian literature, Slovo o Zakone i Blagodati ("Sermon on Law and Grace"), written around 1050.[18] Hilarion referred to Vladimir as "the great khagan of our land" (velikago kagana nashea zemlja, Vladimera) and Yaroslav as "our devout khagan."[19] A graffito in the north gallery of Saint Sophia Cathedral reads "O Lord, save our khagan," apparently in reference to Sviatoslav II (1073-1076).[20] As late as the end of the twelfth century, The Tale of Igor's Campaign refers in passing to a "kogan Oleg",[17] traditionally identified with Oleg of Tmutarakan.[21]

Dating

Extant primary sources make it plausible that the title of khagan was applied to the rulers of the Rus' during a rather short period, roughly between their embassy to Constantinople (838) and Basil I's letter (871). All Byzantine sources after Basil I refer to the Rus' rulers as archons. Later Kievan authors, mentioned above, appear to have revived the term "khagan" as a laudatory epithet of the ruling knyaz rather than as a valid political term.[22]

The dating of the Khaganate's existence has been the subject of debates among scholars and remains unclear. Omeljan Pritsak dates the foundation of the Khaganate to around 830-840. In the 1920s, Russian historian Pavel Smirnov suggested that the Rus' Khaganate emerged only briefly at around 830 and was soon destroyed by the migration of the Magyar-Kabar tribal confederation towards the Carpathian Mountains.[23] Whatever the accuracy of such estimates may be, there are no primary sources which mention the Rus' or its khagans prior to the 830s.[24]

Equally contentious has been discussion about the date of the khaganate's disintegration. The title of Khagan is not mentioned in the Rus'-Byzantine treaties (907, 911, 944), or in De Ceremoniis, a record of court ceremonials meticulously documenting the titles of foreign rulers, when it deals with Olga's reception at the court of Constantine VII in 945. Moreover, ibn Fadlan, in his detailed account of the Rus (922), designated their supreme ruler as malik Arabic for ("king"). From this fact, Peter Golden concluded via an argumentum ex silentio that the khaganate collapsed at some point between 871 and 922.[25] Zuckerman, meanwhile, argues that the absence of the title "khagan" from the first Russo-Byzantine Treaty proves that the khaganate had vanished by 911.[26]

Location

Map showing Varangian or Rus' settlement (in red) and location of Slavic tribes (in grey), during the mid-ninth century. Khazar influence indicated with blue outline.

The location of the khaganate has been actively disputed since the early twentieth century. According to one fringe theory, the Rus' khagan resided somewhere in Scandinavia or even as far west as Walcheren.[27] In stark contrast, George Vernadsky believed that the khagan had his headquarters in the eastern part of the Crimea or in the Taman Peninsula and that the island described by Ibn Rustah was most likely situated in the estuary of the Kuban River.[28] Neither of these theories has won many adherents, as archaeologists have uncovered no traces of a Slavic-Norse settlement in the Crimea region in the ninth century and there are no Norse sources documenting "khagans" in Scandinavia.[29]

Soviet historiography, as represented by Boris Rybakov and Lev Gumilev, advanced Kiev as the residence of the khagan, assuming that Askold and Dir were the only khagans recorded by name. Mikhail Artamonov became an adherent of the theory that Kiev was the seat of the Rus' Khaganate, and continued to hold this view into the 1990s.[30]

Western historians, however, have generally argued against this theory. There is no evidence of an urban settlement on the site of Kiev prior to the 880s.[31] Archaeological finds from the period in the vicinity of Kiev are almost non-existent. Particularly troublesome is the absence of hoards of coins which would prove that the Dnieper trade route—the backbone of later Kievan Rus'—was operating in the ninth century.[32] Based on his examination of the archaeological evidence, Zuckerman concludes that Kiev originated as a fortress on the Khazar border with Levedia, and that only after the Magyars' departure for the west in 889 did the middle Dnieper region start to progress economically.[33]

A number of historians, the first of whom was Vasily Bartold, have advocated a more northerly position for the khaganate.[2] They have tended to emphasize ibn Rustah's report as the only historical clue to the location of the khagan's residence.[34] Recent archaeological research, conducted by Dmitry Machinsky among others, has raised the possibility that this polity was based on a group of settlements along the Volkhov River, including Ladoga, Lyubsha, Duboviki, Alaborg, and Holmgard.[35] "Most of these were initially small sites, probably not much more than stations for re-fitting and resupply, providing an opportunity for exchange and the redistribution of items passing along the river and caravan routes".[36] If the anonymous traveller quoted by ibn Rustah is to be believed, the Rus of the Khaganate period made extensive use of the Volga route to trade with the Middle East, possibly through Bulgar and Khazar intermediaries. His description of the Rus' island suggests that their center was at Holmgard, an early medieval precursor of Novgorod whose name translates from Old Norse as "the river-island castle." The First Novgorod Chronicle describes unrest in Novgorod before Rurik was invited to come rule the region in the 860s. This account prompted Johannes Brøndsted to assert that Holmgard-Novgorod was the khaganate's capital for several decades prior to the appearance of Rurik, including the time of the Byzantine embassy in 839.[37] Machinsky accepts this theory but notes that, before the rise of Holmgard-Novgorod, the chief political and economic centre of the area was located at Aldeigja-Ladoga.[38]

Origin

Nicholas Roerich. Longships Built in the Land of the Slavs; a 1903 painting depicting construction of Norse-style vessels in Rus'.

The origins of the Rus' Khaganate are unclear. The first Scandinavian settlers of the region arrived in the lower basin of the Volkhov River in the mid-eighth century. The country comprising the present-day Leningrad Oblast (or district), Novgorod, Tver, Yaroslavl, and Smolensk regions became known in Old Norse sources as "Gardarike," the land of forts. Norse warlords, known to the Turkic-speaking steppe peoples as "köl-beki" or "sea-kings," came to dominate some of the region's Finno-Ugric and Slavic peoples, particularly along the Volga trade route linking the Baltic Sea with the Caspian Sea and Serkland.[39]

As with the Rus' generally, there is much debate as to the identity and ancestry of the Rus' Khagans. They may have been Scandinavians, native Slavs or Finns, or (most probably) of mixed ancestry.[40] Omeljan Pritsak speculated that a Khazar khagan named Khan-Tuvan Dyggvi, exiled after losing a civil war, settled with his followers in the Norse-Slavic settlement of Rostov, married into the local Scandinavian nobility, and fathered the dynasty of the Rus' khagans.[41] Zuckerman dismisses Pritsak's theory as untenable speculation,[42] and no record of any Khazar khagan fleeing to find refuge among the Rus' exists in contemporaneous sources.[43] Nevertheless, the possible Khazar connection to early Rus' monarchs is supported by the use of a stylized trident tamga, or seal, by later Rus' rulers such as Sviatoslav I of Kiev; similar tamgas are found in ruins that are definitively Khazar in origin.[44] The genealogical connection between the ninth-century Khagans of Rus' and the later Rurikid rulers, if any, is unknown at this time.[45]

Most historians agree that the title "khagan" was borrowed by the Rus' from the Khazars, but there is considerable dispute over the circumstances of this borrowing. Peter Benjamin Golden presumes that the Rus' khaganate was a puppet state set up by the Khazars in the basin of the Oka River to fend off recurring attacks of the Magyars.[46] No source records that the Rus' of the ninth century were subjects to the Khazars, however. For foreign observers (such as Ibn Rustah) there was no material difference between the titles of the Khazar and Rus' rulers.[47] Anatoly Novoseltsev hypothesizes that the adoption of the title of khagan was designed to advertise the Rus' claims to the equality with the Khazars.[48] This theory is echoed by Thomas Noonan, who asserts that the Rus' leaders were loosely unified under the rule of one of the "sea-kings" in the early ninth century, and that this "High King" adopted the title khagan to give him legitimacy in the eyes of his subjects and neighboring states.[49] The title of khagan was, according to this theory, a sign that the bearers ruled under a divine mandate.[50]

Economy

Sergey Vasilievich Ivanov (1864-1910), Slave Trade in Early Medieval Eastern Europe.

The likely mainstay of the khaganate's economy was the Volga trade route. Early ninth-century coin hordes unearthed in Scandinavia frequently contain large quantities of dirhem coins minted in the Abbasid Caliphate and other Muslim polities, sometimes split into smaller pieces and inscribed with Runic signs.[51] All in all, more than 228,000 Arabic coins have been recovered from over a thousand hoards in European Russia and the Baltic region. Almost 90 percent of these arrived in Scandinavia by way of the Volga trade route. Unsurprisingly, the dirhem was the basis for the monetary system of Kievan Rus'.[52]

Trade was the major source of income for the Rus', who according to ibn Rustah did not engage in agriculture:

"They have no cultivated fields but depend for their supplies on what they can obtain from as-Saqaliba's [Slavs] land. They have no estates, villages, or fields; their only business is to trade in sable, squirrel, and other furs, and the money they take in these transactions they stow in their belts."[53]

Rus' merchants traveled down the Volga, paying duties to the Bulghars and Khazars, to the ports of Gorgan and Abaskun on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea; on occasion they travelled as far as Baghdad.[17]

Government

Writing in 922, Ibn Fadlan described the Rus' ruler (like the Khazar khagan), as having little real authority. Instead, political and military power was wielded by a deputy, who "commands the troops, attacks [the Rus' ruler's] enemies, and acts as his representative before his subjects."[54] The supreme king of the Rus', on the other hand, "has no duties other than to make love to his slave girls, drink, and give himself up to pleasure."[54] He was guarded by 400 men, "willing to die for him... These 400 sit below the royal throne: a large and bejewelled platform which also accommodates the forty slave-girls of his harem." Ibn Fadlan wrote that the Rus' ruler would almost never leave his throne and even "when he wants to go riding his horse is led up to him, and on his return the horse is brought right up to the throne."[55] Ibn Rustah, on the other hand, reported that the khagan was the ultimate authority in settling disputes between his subjects. His decisions, however, were not binding, so that if one of the disputants disagreed with the khagan's ruling, the dispute was then resolved in a battle, which took place "in the presence of the contestants' kin who stand with swords drawn; and the man who gets the better of the duel also gets the decision about the matter in dispute."[56]

The dichotomy between the relative powerlessness of the nominal ruler and the great authority of his subordinate reflects the structure of Khazar government, with secular authority in the hands of a Khagan Bek only theoretically subordinate to the khagan, and sharply contrasts with the traditional Germanic system, where kingship was held by military prowess and not necessarily by blood. Moreover, some scholars have noted similarities between this dual kingship and the postulated relationship between Igor and Oleg of Kiev in the early 10th century (compare Askold and Dir in the 9th century).[57] The institution of separate sacral ruler and military commander may be observed in the reconstructed relationship between Oleg and Igor, but whether this is part of the Rus' Khaganate's legacy to its successor-state is unknown. The early Kievan Rus' principalities exhibited certain distinctive characteristics in their government, military organization, and jurisprudence that were comparable to those in force among the Khazars and other steppe peoples; some historians believe that these elements came to Kievan Rus' from the Khazars by way of the earlier Rus' Khagans.[58]

Customs and religion

See also: Norse paganism, Slavic mythology, and Christianization of the Rus' Khaganate

Oleg being mourned by his warriors, an 1899 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov. This burial rite, with the funerary tumulus, is typical of both Scandinavian, and Eurasian nomadic customs.

Judging from excavations conducted since the 1820s at Ladoga and related sites in Northern Russia, the Rus' customs reflected primarily Scandinavian influences. This is consistent with the writings of ibn Rustah and ibn Fadlan. The former gives a brief description of the burial of a Rus' nobleman, who was put into a "grave like a large house," together with food, amulets, coins, other staples, as well as his favorite wife. "Then the grave door is sealed and she dies there."[59] Ibn Fadlan provides further evidence of the Rus' building a memorial mound, or cenotaph, and giving it a runic inscription on a piece of wood.[60]

The Arab traveler also left a detailed description of the Rus' custom of cremating noblemen in a ship, which involved both animal and human sacrifice. When a poor man died, he was put into a little ship and burned in it; the funeral of a nobleman was much more elaborate. His estate was divided into three parts: one for his family, one to pay for his funerary costume, and one to make beer, which was consumed on the day of his cremation.[61]

One of the deceased man's slave girls volunteered to be put to death so as to join her master in paradise. On the day of cremation, the dead man was disinterred from his grave, dressed in fine clothings, and put onto a specially constructed ship. The volunteer slave girl was killed (after the deceased man's kinsmen and friends had sex with her) and placed on board together with her master before the dead man's nearest kinsman set the vessel on fire. The funeral ended with the construction of a round mound.[62]

Early medieval historians were impressed with the spirit of independence and enterprise inculcated among the Rus' from birth.[17]Ibn Rustah writes:

"When a son is born the father will go up to the newborn baby, sword in hand; throwing it down, he says; 'I shall not leave you any property: you have only what you can provide with this weapon!'"[63]

Al-Marwazi repeated this description of the instructions given to a son and added that it was the daughter who received her father's inheritance. The same sense of rugged individualism was reflected in their treatment of the ill. According to ibn Fadlan, "if one of the Rus falls sick they put him in a tent by himself and leave bread and water for him. They do not visit him, however, or speak to him, especially if he is a serf. Should he recover he rejoins the others; if he dies they burn him. If he happens to be a serf, however, they leave him for the dogs and vultures to devor."[64] Sources describe the Rus as liberal in sexual matters. Ibn Fadlan wrote that the king of the Rus did not shy away from having public intercourse with the slave girls in his harem. When Rus traders arrived to the Volga shores, they would make love with the slave girls they brought for sale in the presence of their comrades; sometimes this would develop into a communal orgy.[65]

The Idols, a painting by Nicholas Roerich (1901).

Both ibn Fadlan and ibn Rustah portray the Rus as devout pagans. Ibn Rustah and, following him, Garizi reported that the Rus shamans or "medicine men" (attiba) wielded great power over the common folk. According to ibn Rustah, these shamans acted "as if they own everything." They determined what women, men, or animals had to be sacrificed, and there was no appealing their decisions. A shaman would take the selected offering, whether human or animal, and hang it from a pole until it died.[66] Ibn Fadlan left a description of the Rus merchants praying for success in trading before "a large wooden stake with a face like that of a human being, surrounded by smaller figures, and behind them tall poles in the ground." If trade did not pick up, more offerings were made; if the business remained slow, the trader would make offerings to the minor idols, too. When the trading was especially good, Rus merchants would likewise make additional offerings of cattle and sheep, some of which were distributed as alms.[67]

On the other hand, Byzantine sources report that the Rus adopted Christianity by the end of the 860s. In his encyclical dated to 867, Patriarch Photius wrote about the enthusiastic conversion of the Rus, mentioning that he had sent to their lands a bishop.[68] Constantine VII (905-959) attributes the conversion to his grandfather Basil the Macedonian and to Patriarch Ignatius rather than to their predecessors Michael III and Photius. Constantine narrates how the Byzantines galvanized the Rus' into conversion by their persuasive words and rich presents, including gold, silver, and precious fabrics. He also repeats a traditional story that the pagans were particularly impressed by a miracle: a gospel book thrown by the archbishop into an oven was not damaged by fire.[69] Ibn Khordadbeh wrote in the late ninth century that the Rus who arrived to Muslim lands "claimed to be Christians".[17] Modern historians are divided in their views on the historicity and extent of the Christianization of the Rus' Khaganate.

Relations with neighbors

In 838, the Rus' Khaganate sent an embassy to the Byzantine Empire, which was recorded in the Annals of St. Bertin, the reasons for which remain a cause of controversy among historians. Aleksey Shakhmatov argued that the embassy of 838 had two ends in view: to establish amity with Byzantium and to open up the way into Sweden through Western Europe.[70] Constantine Zuckerman postulates that the Rus' ambassadors were to negotiate a peace treaty after their Paphlagonian expedition of the 830s.[71] George Vernadsky connects their mission with the construction of the fortress of Sarkel in 833. That embassy was not recorded in Byzantine sources, and in 860 Patriarch Photius referred to the Rus as "unknown people."[72]

According to Vernadsky, the Khazars and Greeks erected Sarkel near the portage between the Don River and Volga specifically to defend this strategic point from the Rus.[73] Other scholars, however, believe that the fortress of Sarkel was constructed to defend against or monitor the activities of the Magyars and other steppe tribes, and not the Rus'.[74] The Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky declared that the extant sources were unclear on this point.[75] John Skylitzes claimed that Sarkel was a "staunch bulwark against the Pechenegs" but did not identify that as its original purpose.[76]

In 860, the Rus besieged Constantinople, with a fleet of 200 ships. The Byzantine army and navy were far from the capital, leaving it vulnerable to the attack. The timing of the expedition suggests that the Rus were well-aware of the internal situation in the empire thanks to the commercial and other relations that continued after the embassy of 838. The Rus warriors devastated the suburbs of Constantinople before suddenly departing on August 4.[77]

The early Rus' traded extensively with Khazaria. Ibn Khordadbeh wrote in the Book of Roads and Kingdoms that "they go via the Slavic River (the Don) to Khamlidj, a city of the Khazars, where the latter's ruler collects the tithe from them."[78] Some modern commentators infer from Arab accounts that the Rus' Khaganate's political culture was profoundly influenced by its contacts with Khazaria.[79] By the beginning of the Rurikid period in the first decades of the tenth century, however, relations between the Rus' and the Khazars soured.

Decline and legacy

Soon after Patriarch Photius informed other Orthodox bishops about the Christianization of the Rus, all the centers of the khaganate in North-Western Russia were destroyed by fire. Archaeologists found convincing evidence that Holmgard, Aldeigja, Alaborg, Izborsk and other local centers were burnt to the ground in the 860s or 870s. Some of these settlements were permanently abandoned after the conflagration. The Primary Chronicle describes the uprising of the pagan Slavs and Finns against the Varangians, who had to withdraw overseas in 862. The First Novgorod Chronicle, whose account of the events Shakhmatov considered more trustworthy, does not pinpoint the pre-Rurikid uprising to any specific date. The sixteenth-century Nikon Chronicle attributes the banishment of the Varangians from the country to Vadim the Bold. The Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Braichevsky labelled Vadim's rebellion "a pagan reaction" against the Christianization of the Rus'.[80] A period of unrest and anarchy followed, dated by Zuckerman to ca. 875-900. The absence of coin hoards from the 880s and 890s suggests that the Volga trade route ceased functioning, precipitating "the first silver crisis in Europe".[81]

After this economic depression and period of political upheaval, the region experienced a resurgence beginning in around 900. Zuckerman associates this recovery with the arrival of Rurik and his men, who turned their attention from the Volga to the Dnieper, for reasons as yet uncertain. The Scandinavian settlements in Ladoga and Novgorod revived and started to grow rapidly. During the first decade of the tenth century, a large trade outpost was formed on the Dnieper in Gnezdovo, near modern Smolensk. Another Dnieper settlement, Kiev, developed into an important urban centre roughly in the same period.[82][83]

The fate of the Rus' Khaganate, and the process by which it either evolved into or was consumed by the Rurikid Kievan Rus', is unclear. The Kievans seem to have had a very vague notion about the existence of the khaganate. Slavonic sources do not mention either the Christianization of the Rus in the 860s nor the Paphlagonian expedition of the 830s. The account of the Rus' expedition against Constantinople in the 860s was borrowed by the authors of the Primary Chronicle from Greek sources, suggesting the absence of a vernacular written tradition.[84]

Notes

  1. David Christian. A History of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia. (Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 9780631208143), 338
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Christian, 338.
  3. Simon Franklin and Jonathan Shepard. The Emergence of Rus 750-1200. (London: Longman, 1996. ISBN 9780582490918), 33–36
  4. P.M. Dolukhanov. The Early Slavs: Eastern Europe and the Initial Settlement to Kievan Rus'. (London: Longman, 1996. ISBN 9780582236189), 187
  5. Gwyn Jones. A History of the Vikings. (London; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0192801340), 249-250
  6. Håkan or Haakon was a name used among Scandinavians of the period, and it was once thought possible that the Rhos' described in the court annals referred to a king by this name.
  7. Bertin 19–20; Jones, 249–250.
  8. Gerhard Laehr, "Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolae VII." Epistolae Karolini aevi V. (Berlin: W. Henze, 1928. reprint 1978. ISBN 9783921575734), 385-394.
  9. cagano veram non praelatum Avarum, non Gazanorum aut Nortmannorum nuncipari reperimus. Władysław Duczko. Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. (Leiden: Brill, 2004. ISBN 978900413874225).
  10. F. Dolger, Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des ostromischen Reiches. I. (München: C.H. Beck, 1960-. ISBN 978340600738559), No. 487.
  11. Johannes Brøndsted. (1965) The Vikings, translated by Kalle Skov. (Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England; New York, NY: Penguin, 1980. ISBN 9780140204599) , 267–268
  12. Constantine Zuckerman. "Les Hongrois au Pays de Lebedia: une nouvelle puissance aux confins de Byzance et de la Khazarie en 836-889." in John Haldon. Byzantium at War (9th-12th c.). (1997) (Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1841763608), "Deux étapes", 96.
  13. J. Laurent (original 1919) and M. Canard. L'Armenie entre Byzance et l'islam depuis la conquete arabe jusqu'en 886, rev. ed. (Lisbon: 1980), 490.
  14. According to Zuckerman, Ibn Khordadbeh and other Arab authors often confused the terms Rus' and Saqaliba when describing their raids to the Caspian Sea in the ninth and tenth centuries. Thus, the ruler of al-Saqualiba in 852 was likely the same person as the khagan of the Rus. But n.b. ibn Khordadbeh's Book of Roads and Kingdoms does not mention the title of Khagan for the ruler of Rus'. Duczko, 25.
  15. Minorsky 159.
  16. Vladimir Minorsky. Hudud al-'Alam (The Regions of the World). (London: Luzac & Co., 1970. ISBN 9780718902018), xvi.
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 "Rus," Encyclopaedia of Islam, Edited by C.E. Bosworth, et al. (13 vol.) (Brill, ISBN 978 9004161214) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Rus" defined multiple times with different content
  18. Ilarion, "Sermon on Law and Grace" 3, 17, 18, 26. in Sermons and Rhetoric of Kievan Rus, Simon Franklin, transl. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 1991. ISBN 9780916458416); for discussion, see Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria, 2d ed. (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006. ISBN 9780765760326), 154.
  19. Władysław Duczko. Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. (Brill, 2004. ISBN 9789004138742, 25.
  20. Spasi gospodi, kagana nashego. Duczko, 25; see also Thomas Noonan, "The Khazar Qaghanate and Its Impact On the Early Rus' State: The translatio imperii from Itil to Kiev." 91-92. in Nomads in the Sedentary World, Anatoly Mikhailovich Khazanov and Andre Wink, eds. 76-102. (Richmond, England: Curzon, 2001. ISBN 0700713700)
  21. Most commentators follow Dmitry Likhachev's interpretation of the passage. Tmutarakan an ancient city that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus was a former Khazar possession and the Khazar traditions may have persisted there for an extended period of time. It is known that, while reigning in Tmutarakan, Oleg assumed the title of the "archon of all Khazaria." Other candidates include Oleg of Novgorod and Igor Svyatoslavich of Novgorod-Seversky. See: Serge A. Zenkovsky, (ed.) Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles, and Tales. (New York: Meridian, 1974. ISBN 0452010861), 160
  22. Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria, 2d ed. (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006. ISBN 9780765760326), 154
  23. Pavel Smirnov. Volz'kiy shlyakh i starodavni Rusy. (The Volga route and the ancient Rus). (Kiev: 1928), 132-145
  24. Omeljan Pritsak. Origin of Rus (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1991. ISBN 9780674644656) passim.
  25. Golden, 87, 97.
  26. Zuckerman, "Deux étapes" 96.
  27. A.A. Александров. Остров руссов. (The Rus' Island). (St. Petersburg-Kishinev, 1997), 222-224.
  28. George V. Vernadsky. A History of Russia Vol. 1. (New Haven: Yale University Press, (1943) 1961), VII-4.
  29. Franklin and Shepard, 27-50.
  30. M.I. Artamonov, "Prevye Stranisky Russkoy Istorii ve Archeologicheskom Osveshchenii." Sovietskaya Arkheologica, Vol 3. (1990): 271-290.
  31. Johan Callmer, "The Archaeology of Kiev to the End of the Earliest Urban Phase." Harvard Ukrainian Studies 11 (3/4)(December 1987): 325-331.
  32. Yanin, 105-106; Thomas Noonan, "The Monetary System of Kiev in the Pre-Mongol Period." Harvard Ukrainian Studies 11 (1987): 396.
  33. Zuckerman, "Les Hongrois au Pays de Lebedia" 65-66.
  34. Новосельцев, 397-408.
  35. Zuckerman, 2000; Мачинский, 5-25.
  36. A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures, Edited by Mogens Herman Hansen. (Copenhagen: Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, 2000. ISBN 9788778761774), 266.
  37. Brøndsted, 67–68; for a detailed analysis of recent archaeological investigations at Holmgard, see Duczko, 102-104.
  38. Мачинский, 5-25; see also Duczko, 31-32.
  39. Julius Brutzkus. "The Khazar Origin of Ancient Kiev." Slavonic and East European Review 22 (1944): 120.
  40. Pritsak, Origins of Rus' 1:28, 171, 182.
  41. Pritsak, Origins of Rus' 1:28, 171, 182.
  42. Archaeologists did not find traces of a settlement in Rostov prior to the 970s. Furthermore, the placename "Rostov" has a transparent Slavic etymology.
  43. Duczko, 31.
  44. Brook, 154; Franklin and Shepard, 120-121; Omeljan Pritsak. The Origins of the Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 1998), 78-79.
  45. Duczko, 31-32, outlines theories that Rurik held the title of Khagan Rus'.
  46. Golden, "Rus." Encyclopaedia of Islam, 77-99; Duczko, 30.
  47. Zuckerman, "Deux étapes".
  48. Новосельцев
  49. Noonan, "Khazar" 87-89, 94.
  50. Brook, 154; Noonan, "Khazar" 87-94.
  51. Thomas Noonan, "When Did Rus/Rus' Merchants First Visit Khazaria and Baghdad?" Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 7 (1987-1991): 213-219.
  52. Yanin, 1956, 91-100.
  53. Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted, 1965, 267–268
  54. 54.0 54.1 Christian 340-341, citing ibn Fadlan's Risala.
  55. Ibn Fadlan, Risala. English translation in Brøndsted 266–267
  56. Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted 266–267
  57. Christian 341.
  58. Brutzkus 111.
  59. Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted 305
  60. Brøndsted 305
  61. Ibn Fadlan describes the Rus' as addicted to beer, "and often one of them has been found dead with a beaker in his hand." Ibn Fadlan, Risala. English translation in Brøndsted 301
  62. Ibn Fadlan, Risala. English translation in Brøndsted, 301–305
  63. Brøndsted 268
  64. Ibn Fadlan, Risala. English translation in Brøndsted, 301–305.; See also "Rus," Encyclopaedia of Islam.
  65. Ibn Fadlan, Risala. English translation in Brøndsted, 265, 305; "Rus," Encyclopaedia of Islam passim
  66. Ibn Rustah. English translation in Brøndsted, 268.; See also "Rus," Encyclopaedia of Islam.
  67. Ibn Fadlan, Risala. English translation in Brøndsted, 266.; See also "Rus," Encyclopaedia of Islam.
  68. Photii Patriarchae Constantinopolitani Epistulae et Amphilochia, Ed. B. Laourdas, L.G. Westerinck. T.1. (Leipzig: 1983), 49.
  69. Theophanes, 342-343.
  70. A. Shakhmatov, "Survey of the Oldest Period of the History of the Russian Language." Encyclopedia of Slavonic Philology, II, 1 (Petrograd, 1915), XXVIII, cited in Alexander Vasiliev. The Russian Attack on Constantinople in 860. (Mediaeval Academy of America, (1926) 1946), 12
  71. Zuckerman, "Deux étapes".
  72. Vasiliev, 13.
  73. Vernadsky, VII-4.
  74. Jonathan Shepard, "The Khazars' Formal Adoption of Judaism and Byzantium's Northern Policy." Oxford Slavonic Papers, New Series 31 (1998):24.; Roman Kovalev, "What Does Historical Numismatics Suggest about the Monetary History of Khazaria in the Ninth Century?- Question Revisited." Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 13(2004):97-129. 124.
  75. Mykhailo Hrushevsky. History of Ukraine-Rus'. (Archon Books, 1970. ISBN 97802080096781), 176.
  76. George Huxley, "Byzantinochazarika." Hermathena 148 (1990): 79. passim.
  77. Franklin and Shepard, 50–55.
  78. ibn Khordadbeh, as cited in Vernadsky 1:9
  79. E.g., Jones, 164 (summarizing evidence from al-Masudi and al-Muqaddasi); Franklin and Shepard, 67-68; Christian, 340.
  80. Брайчевский, 42-96.
  81. Thomas Noonan, "The First Major Silver Crisis in Russia and the Baltic, ca. 875-900." Hikuin 11 (1985): 41-50; Noonan, "Fluctuations in Islamic Trade with Eastern Europe during the Viking Age." Harvard Ukrainian Studies 16 (1992). passim
  82. Franklin and Shepard, 91–111.
  83. See, e.g., Duczko, 81 et seq., discussing the argument among various scholars as to whether the devastating attacks of the 860s and 870s were caused by Rurik and a new wave of Norse settlers who supplanted the old Rus Khagans, whether the burnings of the Rus' settlements were the result of civil war unconnected to Rurik's purported ascendancy, or whether they were caused by unrelated incursions by Norsemen or other people.
  84. Franklin and Shepard, 53.

References
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