Brief description of the prophetic Oleg. Prince Oleg: biography of the founder of the Old Russian state

Prince Oleg - biography

How do we know about Prince Oleg, nicknamed the Prophet?

From two chronicles:

  • The Tale of Bygone Years
  • Novgorod First Chronicle.

Having gained power over the Novgorod lands after the death of Rurik, as regent for his young son Igor, Oleg captured Kyiv and moved the capital there, thereby uniting the two main centers Eastern Slavs. Died in 912.

The exact origin of Oleg in The Tale of Bygone Years is not indicated. It is only said that he was a relative (tribesman) of Rurik.

And what does the Novgorod First Chronicle say about Oleg?

In the Novgorod First Chronicle, Oleg is depicted not as a prince, but as a governor under Igor. It is Igor who kills Askold, captures Kyiv and goes to war against Byzantium. And Oleg returned back to the north, to Ladoga, where he died not in 912, but in 922. The Novgorod Chronicle reports another version of Oleg's death: some say that Oleg went "beyond the sea" and died there.

The two chronicles depict events in completely different ways.

Which chronicle to believe?

Let's start with the fact that the Tale of Bygone Years is recognized by all as the main historical source for the reconstruction of the past. Old Russian state. But this does not mean that all the information that she sets out is considered absolutely reliable. The Russian-Byzantine treaty of 911, where Oleg is called the Grand Duke of Russia, who concludes an agreement on his own behalf, speaks for trust in the information about Oleg from this chronicle.

And what about the Novgorod Chronicle? The Novgorod chronicle has preserved fragments of an earlier chronicle code, on which the Tale of Bygone Years is based, and therefore also deserves a certain trust. According to some researchers, this chronicle is even older than the PVL. Her information is in better agreement with the eastern news about Russia of this period.

And what are historians to do? So far, historians usually use information taken from the Tale of Bygone Years in scientific, popular science and educational texts.

The reign of Prince Oleg

Prince Oleg is presented according to the Tale of Bygone Years as a skilled commander and prudent politician. For the first time in this chronicle, he was reported in 879 in connection with the death of Rurik. The reign passed to him as a "relative" of Rurik and guardian of Igor, his young son. Thus, Oleg ruled in 879-882. in the East Slavic North among the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi and the surrounding Finno-Ugric peoples (tribes Vesi, Meri, Chudi).

In 882, having gathered warriors from many peoples living in the north of Russia, Oleg set out on a campaign to the south. He captured Smolensk, Lyubech, then the path lay on Kyiv. Rurik's former combatants Askold and Dir ruled in Kyiv. In 866 they were released by Rurik on a campaign against Byzantium. After returning from the campaign, Askold and Dir settled in Kyiv.

Having reached Kyiv, Oleg sent an ambassador to them with the words: “We are merchants, we are going to the Greeks from Oleg and from Igor prince, come to your family and to us.” Askold and Dir came ... Oleg, hid some soldiers in the boats, and left the others behind him, and he went ahead, and carried the young prince Igor in his arms, and announced to them: “You are not princes and not a princely family, but I am a princely family ".

Showing them the heir of Rurik, the young Igor, Oleg said: "And he is the son of Rurik." And they killed Askold and Dir.

The location of Kyiv seemed to Prince Oleg very convenient. The city was located approximately in the middle of the most important trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." He settled there with a retinue, announcing: "Let this be the mother of Russian cities."

Thus, in 882, Prince Oleg of Kyiv united under his rule the two main centers for the formation of statehood among the East Slavic tribes: the Kiev region (“Kuyaba” - in foreign sources) and “Novgorod” (“Slavia”). The lands of Northern and Southern Russia became single state- Kievan Rus. Date 882 many modern historians taken as a conditional date of birth of the Old Russian state, and Prince Oleg is considered its founder and first ruler.

The years of the reign of Prince Oleg in Kyiv - 882-912. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, after the death of Oleg from a snakebite, Rurik's son Igor (912-945) becomes Prince of Kyiv.

Having reigned in Kyiv, Oleg set a tribute to the Varangians in 300 hryvnias for Novgorod.

Prince Oleg devoted the following years to the conquest of the Slavic peoples neighboring Kyiv on the left and right banks of the Dnieper - the Drevlyans, northerners, glades, Radimichi, many peoples had previously been dependent on the Khazars and paid tribute to them.

Prince Oleg's campaign against Byzantium

We learn about this campaign from the Tale of Bygone Years, which reports that in 907, Prince Oleg, having gathered a huge army, on ships, the number of which reached 2000, moved to Constantinople. According to estimates, the number of soldiers reached 80 thousand, and the army consisted of the Varangians and warriors of Slavic and non-Slavic peoples subject to Russia.

Access to enemy ships in the harbor of Constantinople, the Greeks blocked the chain. However, Prince Oleg figured out how to get around this obstacle. He ordered the ships to be put on wheels. A fair wind drove an innumerable armada overland to the walls of the Byzantine capital. The Greeks were frightened and asked for peace. Prince Oleg demanded a large tribute - 12 hryvnias for each warrior. As a sign of victory, he hung his shield on the gates of Constantinople. Prince Oleg after this campaign was nicknamed the Prophetic.

However, not all researchers are sure that there was such a campaign at all.

Supporters of the idea that the campaign took place, as evidence, refer to the authenticity of the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 911 concluded after it. And the deal was extremely successful. Russian merchants received the right to duty-free trade in Constantinople, they could live for six months in the capital's suburbs in the monastery of St. Mammoth, receive food and repair their boats at the expense of the Byzantine side. Such an agreement could well have been preceded by a brilliant victory for Prince Oleg.

But there are serious arguments in favor of the opinion that the campaign was legendary, since only Russian sources speak of such a significant event, but Greek sources are silent. But the numerous enemy sieges and attacks that Constantinople was subjected to over the centuries were described by Byzantine authors often and colorfully. This is how the attacks of Russia in 860 and 941 were described. And about this campaign and the capture of Tsargrad - not a word.

Death of Prince Oleg

The prince died in 912. The legend tells that the Magi predicted death from Prince Oleg from his own beloved horse. The prince ordered to take him away and remembered the ominous prophecy only a few years later, when the horse died long ago. Laughing at the Magi, he wanted to look at the bones of the horse, and he said, standing with one foot on the skull: “Should I be afraid of him?” A snake crawled out of the skull at the same moment, and inflicted deadly bite prince.

Of course, this is just a legend, written down several centuries after Oleg's death. Legendary prince - legendary death.

The results of the reign of Prince Oleg

Let us sum up the results of the reign of the first head of the Old Russian state.

Domestic policy of Prince Oleg

Scientists associate significant events of ancient Russian history with the reign of Oleg in Kyiv. First of all, the territorial core of the Old Russian state was laid. Under him, Kyiv became the new residence of the Old Russian state. The tribes of the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polyans, Northerners, Drevlyans, Vyatichi, Radimichi, Ulichi and Tivertsy were recognized as the supreme ruler of Oleg. Through his governors and local princes, he managed to lay the foundations government controlled young country. Annual detours of the population (Polyudye) laid the foundation for the judicial and tax systems.

The foreign policy of Prince Oleg

Prince Oleg also led an active foreign policy. Before him, for two centuries, the Khazar Khaganate collected tribute from a number of East Slavic lands. Oleg fought with the Khazars, and freed the Slavs from tribute to the Khaganate. At the borders of Oleg's state in 898, Hungarians appeared, moving to Europe from Asia. The prince managed to establish peaceful relations with this warlike people. Oleg's campaign in 907 against the capital of the Byzantine Empire Tsargrad (Constantinople) was crowned with a brilliant victory. In 909, Russia and the Byzantine Empire signed a military treaty of alliance. But the trade agreement of 911 was especially successful, according to which Russian merchants received the unique right for that time of duty-free trade with Byzantium, and, if necessary, full provision of food and ship craftsmen to repair their boats.

The bird is red in plumage, and the man in skill.

Russian folk proverb

In 882, Prince Oleg the prophetic captured Kyiv, by cunning killing his princes Askold and Dir. Immediately after entering Kyiv, he uttered his famous words that from now on Kyiv is destined to be the mother of Russian cities. Prince Oleg uttered these words not by chance. He was very pleased with how well the place was chosen for the construction of the city. The gently sloping banks of the Dnieper were practically impregnable, which allowed us to hope that the city would be a reliable defense for its inhabitants.

The presence of a barrier from the side of the water border of the city was very relevant, since it was along this part of the Dnieper that the famous trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks passed. This path also represented itself as a journey through the major Russian rivers. It originated in the Gulf of Finland of the Baikal Sea, which at that time was called Varangian. Further, the path went across the Neva River to Lake Ladoga. The path from the Varangians to the Greeks continued by the mouth of the Volkhov River to Lake Ilnya. From there, he traveled by small rivers to the sources of the Dnieper, and from there he already passed to the Black Sea itself. In this way, starting in the Varangian Sea and ending in the Black Sea, the trade route known so far passed.

The foreign policy of the prophetic Oleg

Prince Oleg the Prophet, after the capture of Kyiv, decided to continue expanding the territory of the state, by including new territories in it, which were inhabited by peoples who had paid tribute to the Khazars since ancient times. As a result, the following tribes became part of Kievan Rus:

  • radimichi
  • clearing
  • Slovenia
  • northerners
  • krivichi
  • Drevlyans.

In addition, Prince Oleg the Prophet imposed his influence on other neighboring tribes: the Dregovichi, the Ulichi and the Tivertsy. At the same time, Ugric tribes, ousted from the territory of the Urals by the Polovtsy, approached Kyiv. The annals did not contain data on whether these tribes passed in peace through Kievan Rus, or were knocked out of it. But it can be said for certain that in Russia they put up with their stay near Kyiv for a long time. To this day, this place near Kyiv is called Ugorsky. These tribes later crossed the Dnieper River, captured the nearby lands (Moldavia and Bessarabia) and went deep into Europe, where they established the Hungarian state.

New campaign against Byzantium

The year 907 will be marked by a new turn in the foreign policy of Russia. Anticipating a big booty, the Russians go to war against Byzantium. Thus, Prince Oleg the prophetic becomes the second Russian prince to declare war on Byzantium, after Askold and Dir. Oleg's army included almost 2,000 ships of 40 soldiers each. They were accompanied by cavalry. The Byzantine emperor allowed the Russian army to freely plunder the nearby environs of Constantinople. The entrance to the bay of the city, called the Bay of the Golden Horn, was blocked by chains. Chronicles Nestor describes the unprecedented cruelty of the Russian army, with which they ravaged the environs of the Byzantine capital. But even with this they could not threaten Constantinople. Oleg's cunning came to the rescue, who ordered equip all ships with wheels. Further along the land, with a fair wind, in full sail to go to the capital of Byzantium. So they did. The threat of defeat loomed over Byzantium, and the Greeks, realizing all the bitterness of the danger looming over them, decided to make peace with the enemy. The Kyiv prince demanded that the losers pay 12 (twelve) hryvnias for each warrior, to which the Greeks agreed. As a result, on September 2, 911 (according to the chronicles of Nestor), between Kievan Rus and the Byzantine Empire, a written peace treaty was drawn up. Prince Oleg achieved the payment of tribute to the Russian cities of Kyiv and Chernigov, as well as the right of duty-free trade for Russian merchants.

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Brief biography and characteristics of the reign of Prince Oleg

Prince Oleg is one of the most prominent rulers Ancient Russia, who united Kyiv and Novgorod under his rule, signed trade agreements with Byzantium and did a lot more work in the formation Russian statehood. The FOX-calculator project is pleased to present you short biography and a description of the main milestones in the activities of this outstanding historical figure!

Around 879, leaving the small son Igor to reign over the Slavic lands, the first died. Since Igor was at a young age, Oleg, who was later the prince of Novgorod and the first great prince of Kyiv, took over the board. Wanting to expand the Slavic territories, the prince gathered a rather powerful squad, which included representatives of the Finnish tribes, the Ilmen Slavs and the Krivichi. After that, the prince advanced the army to the south, annexing the cities of Lyubech and Smolensk. But the plans of the young ruler had a larger action. Having given power to loyal people from the squad in the conquered cities, Oleg advanced to Kyiv. This military campaign was a success. So, already in 882, the militant prince managed to capture the city and kill its rulers Askold and Dir. So Oleg ascended the great throne of Kyiv, and historians consider the same year to be the actual date of the formation of the state of Kievan Rus.

The reign of Prince Oleg in the city began with the construction of many protective structures and the strengthening of the city walls. In addition, the prince strengthened the borders of the Slavic lands, erecting "outposts" on them, which are small fortresses with warriors living there. From 883 to 885, Prince Oleg managed to make a number of successful military campaigns, as a result of which he was able to subjugate the Slavic tribes that were settled along the banks of the Dnieper, Dniester, Sozh and Bug. After victories Grand Duke ordered the construction of new cities in the occupied territories. The conquered tribes were obliged to pay tribute to him. Actually, like all subsequent princes, Oleg has all domestic politics was reduced to the collection of taxes and the strengthening of borders.

was very successful and foreign policy Prince Oleg. His most important military campaign is the 907 campaign against Byzantium. For this military operation The prince gathered a huge powerful army, which, according to some sources, numbered more than 80 thousand people. Despite strategy and defense, Byzantium was captured and its suburbs burned and plundered. The result of the Byzantine campaign of Prince Oleg was a rich tribute and benefits for the trade of Russian merchants. Five years later, a peace treaty was signed between Kievan Rus and Byzantium. After this campaign, Prince Oleg received the name Prophetic, that is, a sorcerer, for his insight and strategy.

The first Kyiv prince died in 912, and his death is shrouded in legends. According to the most famous of them, Oleg was bitten by a snake.

Curious fact! A sharp mind and outstanding insight brought Prince Oleg the nickname "prophetic".

The main chronological dates of the reign of Prince Oleg the Prophet:

882 The murder of Askold and Dir. The unification of Novgorod and Kyiv under their own rule. He conquered many Slavic tribes and united them under his rule. Proclaimed Kyiv "the mother of Russian cities"
907 The victorious campaign of Russian troops against Constantinople (modern Istanbul). He went down in history by nailing a shield to the gates of Constantinople.
911 Favorable for Russia trade agreements with the Byzantine state

TERMS

Anti-Norman theory(M.Lomonosov, B.A. Rybakov), according to which the state was formed in 882.

beekeeping- collection of wild honey.

Grand Duke- the head of the Grand Duchy in Russia in the 10-15th century, the Russian state in the 15th - mid-16th centuries.

Veche- National assembly in Russia in 10-14 centuries. It decided questions of war and peace, summoned and expelled princes, passed laws, concluded treaties with other states.

Byzantium- a state that arose in the 4th century in the eastern part of the Eastern Empire as a result of its collapse. It existed until the 15th century. The capital is Constantinople, in Russia it was called Tsargrad. AT 1453 captured Byzantium Ottoman Empire, the capital was renamed Istanbul.

Military democracysocial order, in which the military nobility stands out (prince and retinue), concentrating significant material values and political power.

Ancient Russia- the first name of the state in the 11-13 centuries.

Druzhina-armed detachments under the prince, participating in wars, managing the principality and the personal household of the prince.

Smoke - unit of taxation from the yard.

Procurement- peasants who took a loan (“kupu”) from landowners, cattle, grain, tools of labor and were forced to work off their debt.

prince- at first it was the leader of the tribe, the head of the squad. With the development of feudal society - the head of the principality. The elder was called great, the rest - specific.

Annals- historical chronicles in 11-18 centuries. Recording events by year.

quitrent- the annual collection of tribute - money, food, handicrafts - from the peasants.

Verv-world- community.

Shift farming- a method of cultivating the land, in which shrubs were cut down and burned, fertilizer was used for 5-7 years.

Slash-and-burn agriculture- forests uprooted, burned. Such fertilizer was enough for up to 15-3-20 years.

polyudie- a detour by the prince with a retinue of all his lands to collect tribute.

The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks"- a waterway connecting Northern Russia with the South. He walked from the Varangian (Baltic) Sea along the Neva, Lake Ladoga, the Volkhov River, Ilmenskoe Lake, the Lovat River, then dragged to the Dnieper River, along it to the Black Sea, then along the sea coast to Byzantium.

Early feudal monarchy- the state of the transitional period from the primitive communal system to the feudal one. In the 8th-11th centuries. there was a process of formation of feudal relations in Russia while maintaining elements of the primitive communal system (veche, blood feud, paganism, tribal customs).

Ryadovichi- smerds (peasants) who entered into an agreement (series) with landowners on the conditions of work for him or the use of his land or tools.

Smerdy- free peasants-communes who had their own farm and arable land.

lot- the share of a member of the princely family in the family property.

Feudalism- a stage in the development of mankind, which replaced the primitive communal system. Under feudalism the land belongs feudal lords landowners ("feud" - land), who transferred the rights by inheritance. The peasants had their own household, family, fed themselves, carried out duties. The feudal lord appropriated the labor of the peasants in the form of feudal rent.

feudal rent- payment for the use of the land of feudal lords in the form of working off (corvée), quitrent in kind or cash quitrent.

Khazars- nomads, Turkic-speaking people. The state is the Khazar Khaganate, the capital is Itil. They were finally defeated by Svyatoslav in 965.

serfs- feudal-dependent population, according to legal status close to slaves. The sources of the formation of this class: captivity, sale for debts, marriage with a serf or serf, etc.

centrist theory- the state of Rus was formed as a result of internal pan-Slavic development, but with the participation of the Varangians (A.L. Yurganov, L.A. Kovtsa and most modern historians).

Servants- in the 9th-12th centuries - slaves, later - a wide range of feudal-dependent people.

abstract

Abstract topic

The reign of Prince Oleg

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2. PREFACE.

It is from the end of the ninth century. we can talk about the beginning of the formation of a large state, which was called Rus and appeared as a result, first of all, of the unification of the two main political centers of the Eastern Slavs - the southern one with Kyiv and the northern one with Novgorod. The latter, most likely, arose at this time, replacing an older settlement, possibly on the so-called Rurik settlement, near Novgorod. Oleg gradually, one way or another, annexed most of the East Slavic lands to Kyiv. It can be seen from the chronicle that by the end of his reign, the Polans, Slovenes (Novgorod), Chud, Krivichi, Merya, Drevlyans, Radimichi, Northerners, White Croats, Dulebs and Tivertsy obeyed him. However, the subordination of the Croats and Dulebs is doubtful, as well as the western Krivichi (Polochans). In any case, under the rule of Kyiv was primarily "the path from the Varangians to the Greeks" with its branches to the Desna and Western Dvina. Oleg received the nickname of the Prophet, which, perhaps, is simply a translation into Slavic his (Scandinavian) name is Oleg (sk. Helgi), which means Holy, Prophetic.

3. THE BEGINNING OF OLEG'S REIGN. ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIA.

Rurik died in 879, leaving an infant son, Igor. All affairs in Novgorod were taken over either by the voivode, or by a relative of Rurik Oleg. There are two versions of the origin of Oleg: some fragments with confusion in chronology according to the First Novgorod Chronicle and the traditional one set out in The Tale of Bygone Years, according to which Oleg is relative of Rurik (brother of his wife Efanda, guardian of the young Igor). After the death of Rurik in 879, Oleg received the rule of the principality, since Igor was still small. For three years, Oleg remained in Novgorod and, after improving his situation, he and his squad set off south, along the Volkhov-Dnepr river line.

AT 882 according to chronicle chronology, Prince Oleg, a relative of Rurik, went on a campaign from Novgorod South. Capturing along the way Smolensk and Lyubech, establishing his power there and putting his people on the reign. Having sailed to the Kyiv mountains and not expecting to take a strong fortress by storm, Oleg went to a military trick. Hiding the soldiers in the boats, he sent the news to Askold and Dir, who reigned in Kyiv, that a merchant caravan had sailed from the north and he was asking the princes to go ashore. Unsuspecting Kyiv rulers came to the meeting. Oleg's soldiers jumped out of the ambush and surrounded the people of Kiev. Oleg picked up little Igor in his arms and told the Kyiv rulers that they did not belong to the princely family, but he himself “is the princely family”, and Igor is the son of Prince Rurik. Askold and Dir were killed, and Oleg established himself in Kyiv. Entering the city, he declared: "Let Kyiv be the mother of Russian cities."

So the Novgorod north defeated the Kyiv south. But it was only pure military victory.” Both economically, politically, and culturally, the Middle Dnieper region has far outstripped other East Slavic lands. At the end of the ninth century it was the historical center of the Russian lands, and Oleg, having made Kyiv his residence, only confirmed this position. A single ancient Russian state arose with its center in Kyiv. It happened in 882.

Oleg did not complete his military successes on this. Having settled in Kyiv, he imposed a tribute on the territories subject to him - “set a tribute” to the Novgorod Slovenes, Krivichi, other tribes and peoples. Oleg concluded an agreement with the Varangians and undertook to pay them annually 300 silver hryvnias so that there was peace on the northwestern borders of Russia. In 883, Oleg conquered the Drevlyans and imposed a "heavy" tribute on them, and in 884 and 885. laid tribute to the northerners and Radimichi, who had previously paid tribute to the Khazars. But Oleg, in fact, exempts northerners and Radimichi bordering with the Khazars from tribute, imposing tribute on them "easy". From now on, these East Slavic tribes ceased their dependence on the Khazar Khaganate and became part of Russia. The Vyatichi remained tributaries of the Khazars.

“... In the year 6391 (883). Oleg began to fight against the Drevlyans and, having conquered them, took tribute from them for the black marten. In the year 6392 (884). Oleg went to the northerners, and defeated the northerners, and laid a light tribute on them, and did not order them to pay tribute to the Khazars, saying: "I am their enemy" and you (they) have no need to pay. In the year 6393 (885). He sent (Oleg) to the Radimichi, asking: “To whom do you give tribute?” They answered: "Khazars." And Oleg told them: "Don't give to the Khazars, but pay me." And they gave Oleg a crack, just like they gave the Khazars. And Oleg ruled over the glades, and the Drevlyans, and the northerners, and the Radimichi, and fought with the streets and Tivertsy.

4. TRIP TO BYZANTIA

Under the year 907, the chronicle reports Oleg's campaign against Byzantium. Under the banner of Oleg, the Varangians, Slovenes, Chuds, Krivichi, Merya, Drevlyans, Radimichi, Polans, Northerners, Vyatichi, Croats, Dulebs and Tivertsy spoke. Having equipped 2000 rooks with 40 warriors in each ( Tale of Bygone Years), Oleg went on a campaign to Tsargrad. Byzantine emperor Leo VI Philosopher ordered to close the gates of the city and block the harbor with chains, thus providing Varangians the opportunity to plunder and ravage the suburbs of Constantinople. However, Oleg went on an unusual assault: “And Oleg ordered his soldiers to make wheels and put ships on wheels. And when a fair wind blew, they raised sails in the field and went to the city. . The frightened Greeks offered Oleg peace and tribute. Byzantium was in a difficult position at that time. Peace negotiations with the Arabs were not completed, despite the brilliant naval victory won by the Byzantines over the Arab fleet in the Aegean. Shortly after this success, the ruler of the Asia Minor border region, who went over to the side of the Arabs, raised an uprising against Emperor Leo II. Under these conditions, it was especially important for the Byzantine government to maintain peace with Kievan Rus, military aid which the empire badly needed against the Arabs.
The texts of Oleg's two treaties with Byzantium have been preserved in the annals: an excerpt from the treaty included in the chronicle story dated 907, and the treaty of 911. Most researchers consider the treaty of 907 to be part of the treaty of 911. It is very possible that as a result of Oleg's campaign against Constantinople, committed about 907, a preliminary verbal agreement of peace and alliance was established, which in 911 was included in the written text of the treaty. the first written contracts in 907 and 911 , which provided for preferential terms of trade for Russian merchants (trade duties were canceled, repairs of ships were provided, accommodation for the night), the solution of legal and military issues
Byzantium was especially interested in the military assistance that Russia could provide to her. Under the treaty of 911, the Russian prince undertook not to forbid the soldiers of Russia to enter the service of the empire at will. Back in the summer of 910, the Byzantine government sent a large sea expedition against the Arabs under the leadership of the commander Imeriy, who led a fleet of 177 ships with 47,000 rowers and soldiers. On the ships there was a detachment of Russians of 700 people.
According to the contract, Oleg received 12 hryvnias for each oarlock, and Byzantium promised to pay tribute on Russian cities (Kyiv, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Polotsk, Rostov, Lyubech and others, in which the "grand dukes" were sitting). As a sign of victory, Oleg nailed his shield to the gates of Constantinople. The main result of the campaign was a trade agreement on duty-free trade. Russia in Byzantium. Oleg also ordered to sew sails for his boats, but not simple ones, but from expensive fabrics - from curtains and silk. The Greeks fulfilled the will Kyiv prince, and Russian boats under rich sails returned to Kyiv.

The text of this treaty is significant. First of all, the treaty deals only with the Rus, and not a word mentions the Slavic tribes. Secondly, the Rus are shown as a multi-ethnic conglomerate - "the Russian family". This is evidenced by the names of the ambassadors "from the Russian family": Veremud (Velmud), Karla, Farlof, Rulav, Stemid, Frelav, Aktevu, Guda, Truar, etc. These names can be mostly explained from the Celtic, Illyrian, Iranian, Frisian and Finnish languages. But it is characteristic that this agreement of Oleg, as, indeed, the later agreement of Igor, was written in Slavonic, which speaks of the Slavic-speaking of the princely squads.

A beautiful legend has been preserved about the death of Oleg in The Tale of Bygone Years. Even before the campaign against the Greeks, the Kyiv prince had a favorite horse. But one day the prince asked the pagan sorcerer: "Why will I die?" And the sorcerer answered him: "Prince! If you die from your beloved horse, on which you ride - you will die from him!" These words sunk into the soul of Oleg, and he said: "I will never sit on this horse and I will not see him again." And he ordered to feed the horse, but he did not sit on it again. Several years passed, and Oleg remembered the sorcerer's prediction. Then the prince called the groom and asked him: "Where is my horse, which I ordered to feed and take care of?" And he replied: "The horse died." Oleg laughed: "The Magi told a lie, the horse has already died, but I am alive." And Oleg went to look at the place where the remains of the horse lay - bones and a skull. Seeing the horse's skull, Oleg stepped on it with his foot and laughed again: "Is it not from this skull that I should die ?!" And then a snake crawled out of the skull and stung the prince in the leg. The prince fell ill and soon died. This legend finds parallels in the Icelandic saga about the Viking Orvar Odd , who was also fatally stung on the grave of his beloved horse . It is not known whether the saga became the reason for the creation of the Russian legend about Oleg, or, on the contrary, the circumstances of Oleg's death served as material for the saga. However, if Oleg is a historical character, then Orvar Odd is the hero of an adventure saga created on the basis of some oral traditions no earlier than 13th century.

In fact, different chronicles indicate the time and place of Oleg's death in different ways. Some report the death of Oleg in Kyiv, others that Oleg ended his days in the north, in the city of Ladoga, or even overseas.

In accordance with the information of the Bohemian chronicles, it is possible that Oleg the Prophet had a son, also named Oleg. This Oleg, after the death of his father, waged war with Igor, who captured Kyiv, and then fled to Moravia, where he became famous as a warrior and commander.

6. LIST OF USED LITERATURE

"A manual on the history of the Fatherland for applicants to universities" Orlov A.S., Polunov A.Yu., Shestova T.L., Shchetinov Yu.A.

"History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 17th century" Bokhanov A.N., Gorinov M.M.

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