And being signed in 907, it was the result of Prince Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople. Assessing this treaty as a whole, scientists consider it preliminary to the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 911.
The text of the agreement, preserved in the Kyiv chronicles, gives a list of persons who signed on behalf of the Russian side. Many bore Scandinavian names: Karli, Ingeld, Farlof, Vermud, Rulav, Gudi, Ruald, Karn, Frelav, Ruar, Aktevu, Truan, Lid, Ulfost. In the text, the Old Russian state was presented as Gardariki and designated by large cities: Kyiv, Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Polotsk, Rostov and Lyubech. The historian Shakhmatov commented on this list as an arbitrary set of cities, some of which, perhaps, were subsequently added by chroniclers.
Of the most significant provisions, this agreement gives the status of a colony to the settlement of Varangian merchants in Constantinople. The text of the chronicles indicates that merchants settled in the St. Mamant quarter. The Varangians arrived in the city through the city gates, unarmed, accompanied by the imperial guard and no more than 50 merchants at a time. Upon arrival, they were taken into account by the imperial authorities to provide food and animal feed for up to six months.
In the final lines of the treaty, the Byzantines kissed the cross, and the Varangians swore by their weapons, calling on Perun and Veles in accordance with the Tale of Bygone Years.
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Links and sources
- The Tale of Bygone Years. Parts 1-2. / Ed. V. P. Adrianova-Peretz. - M.–L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1950. - 404 p.+48 stickers
- Monuments of Russian law: Monuments of law of the Kyiv state, X-XII centuries. Vol. 1 / Compiled by: Zimin A.A.; Edited by: Yushkov S.V. - M: Gosyurizdat, 1952. - 287 p.
- Fyodor Uspensky. History of the Byzantine Empire XI-XV centuries. Eastern question. - Moscow: Mysl, 1997. - 804 p.
- Lind, John H. (2004). "". ennen & nyt(4). ISSN. Retrieved July 21, 2016. from the original source March 3, 2016.
Excerpt characterizing the Russian-Byzantine Treaty (907)
- Robber! Ungrateful creature!... I will chop up the dog... not with daddy... I stole... - etc.Then these people, with no less pleasure and fear, saw how the young count, all red, with bloodshot eyes, pulled Mitenka out by the collar, with his foot and knee, with great dexterity, at a convenient time, between his words, pushed him in the butt and shouted: “Get out! so that your spirit, you bastard, is not here!”
Mityenka rushed headlong down six steps and ran into a flowerbed. (This flowerbed was a well-known place for saving criminals in Otradnoye. Mitenka himself, arriving drunk from the city, hid in this flowerbed, and many residents of Otradnoye, hiding from Mitenka, knew the saving power of this flowerbed.)
Mitenka's wife and sisters-in-law with frightened faces leaned out into the hallway from the doors of the room where a clean samovar was boiling and the clerk's high bed stood under a quilted blanket sewn from short pieces.
The young count, panting, not paying attention to them, walked past them with decisive steps and went into the house.
The Countess, who immediately learned through the girls about what happened in the outbuilding, on the one hand, calmed down in the sense that now their condition should improve, on the other hand, she was worried about how her son would bear it. She tiptoed to his door several times, listening to him smoke pipe after pipe.
The next day the old count called his son aside and said to him with a timid smile:
– Do you know, you, my soul, got excited in vain! Mitenka told me everything.
“I knew, Nikolai thought, that I would never understand anything here, in this stupid world.”
– You were angry that he did not enter these 700 rubles. After all, he wrote them in transport, but you didn’t look at the other page.
“Daddy, he’s a scoundrel and a thief, I know.” And he did what he did. And if you don’t want to, I won’t tell him anything.
- No, my soul (the count was embarrassed too. He felt that he was a bad manager of his wife’s estate and was guilty before his children, but did not know how to correct this) - No, I ask you to take care of business, I’m old, I...
- No, daddy, you will forgive me if I did something unpleasant to you; I know less than you.
“To hell with them, with these men with money and transport all over the page,” he thought. Even from the corner of six jackpots, I once understood, but from the page of transport, I don’t understand anything,” he said to himself and since then he has not intervened in business anymore. Only one day the Countess called her son to her, told him that she had Anna Mikhailovna’s bill of exchange for two thousand and asked Nikolai what he thought to do with it.
“That’s how it is,” answered Nikolai. – You told me that it depends on me; I don’t like Anna Mikhailovna and I don’t like Boris, but they were friendly with us and poor. So that's how it is! - and he tore the bill, and with this act he made the old countess cry with tears of joy. After this, young Rostov, no longer intervening in any matters, with passionate enthusiasm took up the still new business of hound hunting, which was started on a large scale by the old count.
Treaties between Rus' and Byzantium (907, 911, 945, 971, 1043)
Treaties between Rus' and Byzantium (907, 911, 945, 971, 1043)
So called treaties between Russia and Byzantium are the first known international treaties of Ancient Rus', which were concluded in 907, 911, 944, 971, 1043 . At the same time, today only Old Russian texts of treaties have been preserved, which were translated into Old Church Slavonic from Greek. Such treaties have come down to us as part of the Tale of Bygone Years, where they were included at the beginning of the eighth century. The earliest written sources of Russian law are considered to be the norms of the Russian Law.
The treaty of 907 is considered the first of the above treaties. However, the fact of his conclusion is disputed by some historical researchers. They suggest that the text itself is a chronicle construction. According to another assumption, it is considered as a preparatory treaty for the 911 Treaty.
The treaty of 911 was concluded on September 2 after the most successful campaign of Prince Oleg’s squad against Byzantium. This agreement restored friendly relations and peace between the two states, and also determined the actual procedure for the ransom of prisoners, punishment for crimes committed by Russian and Greek merchants in Byzantium, changed coastal law, etc.
The Treaty of 945, which was concluded after the unsuccessful military campaigns of Prince Igor against Byzantium in 941 and 945, confirmed the norms of 911 in a slightly modified form. For example, the treaty of 945 obliged Russian merchants and ambassadors to use princely charters to enjoy previously established benefits. In addition, this agreement introduced many different restrictions for Russian merchants. Rus' also pledged not to lay claim to the Crimean possessions of Byzantium, and also not to leave its outposts at the mouth of the Dnieper and to help Byzantium in every possible way in military affairs.
The Treaty of 971 became a kind of outcome for the Russian-Byzantine war, which took place in 970 - 971. This agreement was concluded by Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich with the Emperor of Byzantium John Tzimiskes after the Russian troops were defeated near Dorostol. This agreement contained an obligation for Rus' not to wage war with Byzantium, and also not to push other parties to attack it (as well as to provide Byzantium with assistance in the event of such attacks).
The Treaty of 1043 was the result of the Russian-Byzantine War of 1043.
All treaties between Rus' and Byzantium are a valuable historical source of Ancient Rus', Russian-Byzantine relations and international law.
It regulated the diplomatic relations of Rus' with Byzantium, their trade relations, and also contained a reference to the “Russian Law”.
The agreement consisted of 15 articles. IN 911 treaty included the norms of two main areas of law - public(regulation of relations between states: military support, the procedure for the ransom of prisoners, the procedure for the return of slaves, the norms of international maritime law are determined - the abolition of coastal law - the right to property and people from a wrecked ship) and international private rights that regulated relations between private individuals of the two states (the procedure for inheriting property, the procedure for trading by Russian merchants in Byzantium, types of punishment for crimes committed by Russians on the territory of Byzantium (court under Russian Law), as well as the responsibility of Greeks for crimes in Rus').
In the 911 treaty, the parties have equal relations, unlike subsequent treaties:
1. Delegations from Rus' - evidence of the system of government of the Russian state.
2. Rus''s desire for long-term friendship with Byzantium.
3. The procedure for proving a crime (oath).
4. For the murder of a wealthy person, death was replaced by confiscation, for the poor - execution (social division).
5. For a blow with a sword, a fine of 5 liters of silver was established (1 liter = 327.5 grams), but if the person who committed this turns out to be poor, he must give as much as he can and swear that no one can help him, then the trial will be over.
6. You can kill the thief at the time of the crime, but if he surrenders, he must return the stolen property in the 3rd amount.
7. The punishment for forcible appropriation of someone else's property is triple the amount.
8. Help from Russians to Greeks during accidents at sea, and vice versa. Coastal law does not apply.
9. The possibility of returning from captivity.
10. The interest of Byzantium in Russian soldiers is shown.
11. Payment for captured Greeks - 20 gold.
12. The obligation of officials to search for runaway servants, their return is guaranteed (benefit for the upper strata).
13. The existence of inheritance not only by custom, but also by will. If there are no heirs in Byzantium, the inheritance of a Russian subject must be returned to his homeland, thereby prohibiting local authorities from appropriating this property for their own benefit, which existed in Western European law until the 15th century.
13-a. Just the headline: “about Russians carrying out trading operations.”
14. Extradition of criminals who fled from Rus'.
15. Obligations arising from the contract.
Analyzing the criminal law provisions of the contract in general, it should be noted, first of all, that there is no single term to designate a crime. Thus, in various articles such words are mentioned to denote the criminal as “leprosy”, “sin”, “crime”. Obviously, this is due to a not very successful attempt by the drafters of treaties to adjust the designations of criminality given in two different laws - Greek and Russian. Among the types of punishments, in addition to monetary penalties and the death penalty, there is a mention of blood feud.
Treaty of 941. In 941, an unsuccessful campaign for the Russians against Byzantium took place. IN 944 Another campaign took place, although the Russians did not realize their goals, the Greeks hastened to conclude an agreement, it was in favor of the Greek side (unilaterally providing military support in the event of a shipwreck only to the Greeks, infringing on the rights of Russian merchants in Byzantium).
Consisted of 16 articles:
1. Proclamation of the inviolability of peaceful relations; punishment for breaking the peace; The Russian delegation was announced.
2. The Russians have the right to send ships with merchants and ambassadors, but strict control is introduced over those arriving. According to the agreement, a special letter from the Grand Duke was required (previously, only seals could be presented); in the absence of a letter, the Russians could be detained (if they resisted, they could be killed).
2-a. Confirmation of the right to monthly maintenance; measures restricting the rights of Russians: a ban on carrying weapons in the capital, no more than 50 people, accompanied by an official; period of stay in Byzantium - 6 months; limiting the volume of trading operations.
3. Repetition of Article 12 of the 911 treaty on the responsibility of Byzantium for the loss of a Russian servant, but here there is no longer the responsibility of the official and the compulsory procedure for searching for the servant, which was before.
4. Reward for the return of the runaway servant of the Greeks, and the owner’s goods stolen by him - 2 spools
5. On attempted robbery, the punishment is double the value of the loot.
6. Unlike article 6 of the 911 treaty, this article establishes that in the event of theft, the victim receives not its triple value, but the thing itself and its market value (if found) or double the price (if sold). Mention of "Russian Law"
7. Compared to articles 9 and 11 of the 911 treaty, this article reduces the price of a prisoner by at least 2 times (from 20 to 10 and below spools). For the Greeks a proportional scale is established, and for the Russians there is a single price, and the highest of the redemption prices. Another benefit for the Greeks: the redemption price of a Russian could be higher than in Article 7.
8. Refusal of Russian claims to Chersonesos; Byzantium's help brought about the submission of the Chersonesos.
9. The article is directed against crimes against shipwrecked Greeks.
10. A ban on Russian armed detachments to spend the winter at the mouth of the Dnieper (the pretext is to protect the interests of the Chersonesos).
11. An attempt by Byzantium to use Russian military detachments to protect its Crimean possessions.
12. Ban on executing Greeks without a Byzantine court (cancellation of Article 3 of the 911 treaty, which allowed lynching).
13. The procedure for punishing a criminal: it is prohibited to deal with the killer at the scene of the crime, you can only detain. This is Byzantium’s desire to eliminate possible cases of the use of weapons by the Russians.
14. The article is similar to article 5 of the treaty of 911: for a blow with a sword or spear - a fine of 5 liters of silver (1 liter = 327.5 grams), but if the one who committed this turns out to be poor, he must give as much as he can and swear that no one can help him, then the trial will be over.
15. The duty of the Russians to send regiments to fight the enemies of Byzantium.
16. Oath of non-violation of the terms of the contract.
Treaty of 971.Treaty 971 year included 4 articles, was concluded by Svyatoslav. This agreement was already absolutely in favor of the Greek side (since the Russians were defeated in this campaign).
The introduction talks about the events that preceded the agreement:
1. The inviolability of peace between Russia and Byzantium.
2. There was no such article in previous treaties. The obligation of the Russian prince to refrain from organizing military campaigns against Byzantium and the lands subject to it. The article was dictated by the fear of the Greeks, who were afraid of the Russians.
3. The article is close to Article 15 of the 944 treaty and contained the allied obligations of Prince Svyatoslav.
4. The article contains sanctions in case of violation of the terms of the agreement.
Other written treaties of Rus'. A number of treaties concluded by the principalities (Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk) with Denmark, Sweden and the German peoples, members of the Hanseatic League, date back to the 10th century. In these treaties, Russian law seems to be more developed than in the Greek-Russian treaties. The treaty of Novgorod with the Germans (1195) contains norms establishing punishments for the arrest of an ambassador, a merchant “without guilt”, for insult and illegal detention, for violence against a slave (in the Republic of Poland a slave is not an “object of a crime”).
The treaty of Novgorod with the Germans (1270) contains the procedure for resolving disputes between the Novgorodians and the Germans in the civil and criminal spheres. In the agreement of Smolensk with Riga, Gotland and German cities (1220) there are rules on judicial combat (“field”), rules for the transportation of goods, many criminal law rules (on murder, mutilation, adultery) and civil law provisions (loan, debt collection, court decisions).
III. Princely legislation. Charters (cross-kissing and granting) and church statutes (secular legislation). Princely legislation as a source of law appears in the 10th century. Of particular importance are Charters of Vladimir, Yaroslav and Vsevolod, which made changes to the current financial, family and criminal law. The largest monument of ancient Russian law is Russian Truth .
The statutes regulated:
Relations between church and state;
Status of church people ( clergy (clergy, monks), persons who feed at the expense of the church, persons living on its land);
Church jurisdiction ( the sphere of marriage and family relations, crimes against the church and faith);
Types of crimes against the church (heresy, paganism, magic, sacrilege, praying by the water, damage to graves); family and morality (incest, insulting a married woman with words, adultery, fornication), types of punishments for committing church crimes.
For serious cases, joint - secular and spiritual - princely-ecclesiastical courts were created (crimes committed by a group of persons, including both secular and ecclesiastical; arson, causing bodily harm). The system of church punishments was borrowed from Byzantium.
Russian-Byzantine War of 907 |
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Constantinople, Byzantium |
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Victory of Kievan Rus |
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Opponents |
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Byzantine Empire |
Kievan Rus |
Commanders |
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Prophetic Oleg |
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Strengths of the parties |
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Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Russian-Byzantine War of 907- the legendary campaign of the ancient Russian prince Oleg to Constantinople.
The campaign is described in detail in the Tale of Bygone Years (early 12th century) and ended with the signing of a peace treaty in 907. Widely known in Russian society by the phrase: “The prophetic Oleg nailed his shield on the gates of Constantinople.” However, this raid is not mentioned in any Byzantine or other source, except for the Old Russian chronicles. In 911, a new Russian-Byzantine treaty was concluded, the authenticity of which is not questioned.
Position of Byzantium
At the beginning of the 10th century, Byzantium was ruled by Emperor Leo VI the Philosopher, who came into conflict with the church hierarchs over his 4th marriage. The main enemy of Byzantium during this period of time were the Saracens, who attacked Byzantine possessions in Asia Minor and carried out sea raids from the south. The most famous raid was the capture of the Greek city of Thessalonica by the pirate Leo of Tripoli in July 904. The Byzantine fleet under the command of Drungarius Imerius was unable to interfere with the Saracen flotilla, which consisted of only 54 ships.
Taking advantage of the weakness of the empire, in the same year 904, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I took away part of the lands from Byzantium, which bought off with an annual tribute, regularly paying it until 913. In Europe at the beginning of the 10th century, a new force appeared, the Hungarians, who settled in Pannonia, defeating the Slavic state of Great Moravia. Soon European chronicles would be filled with reports of Hungarian raids on neighboring countries, but in the early 900s they posed a threat primarily to the Bulgarian kingdom, and Byzantine diplomacy tried to set them against Simeon I.
Although Byzantine sources do not record any conflicts with the Rus after the raid on Constantinople in 860, there is indirect evidence that raids continued later. Thus, in his military manual (written around 905) in the chapter on naval battles, Emperor Leo VI noted that the hostile people, “the so-called northern Scythians” (the name of the Rus in the Byzantine tradition), use small fast ships, since they cannot otherwise get out of rivers into the Black Sea.
Of the events close in time to 907, the Byzantine chronicles note the victory of their fleet over the Saracen fleet in October 906. In 907 and the following years, no major battles or wars were noted near Constantinople. The next battle took place in October 911 near Crete, in which the Byzantine fleet was defeated by the Saracens. 700 Rus fought for the Byzantines. In the summer of 913, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I made a victorious campaign under the walls of Constantinople, which ended in a peace treaty beneficial for the Bulgarians.
Oleg's hike through The Tale of Bygone Years
“The Tale of Bygone Years,” the earliest surviving ancient Russian chronicle (beginning of the 12th century), begins the story of the campaign against Constantinople with a listing of the Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples and tribes that Oleg attracted to the campaign:
According to the chronicle, part of the army moved along the shore on horses, the other along the sea on 2 thousand ships, each of which could accommodate 40 people. However, the text of the Novgorod Chronicle of the younger edition, which, according to the historian Shakhmatov, contains in its original form part of the earliest unpreserved chronicle (Initial Code), does not speak of 2 thousand ships, but of 100 or 200 ships (“ And Oleg commanded to give tribute to the 100th, 200th ship..."). Historians avoid interpreting the unclear phrase of the initial chronicler of the 11th century, but from it the figure of 2000 ships is easily deduced by the later author of the Tale of Bygone Years (PVL). Otherwise, the author of the PVL follows the story of the Initial Code with a more precise indication of dates. The round figure of 200 ships could have been taken from the story of an earlier Russian raid on Constantinople in 860.
Then the legends begin in the description of the hike. Oleg put his ships on wheels and, with a fair wind, moved across the field to Constantinople. The frightened Greeks asked for peace and brought out poisoned wine and food, which Oleg did not accept. Then the Greeks agreed to Oleg’s conditions: pay 12 hryvnia to each soldier, make separate payments in favor of the princes of Kyiv, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Polotsk, Rostov, Lyubech and other cities. Novgorod was not included in the list of cities. According to the PVL, the tribute is also indicated at 12 hryvnia " on the oarlock", which leaves the mounted participants of the campaign without remuneration.
In addition to one-time payments, a permanent tribute was imposed on Byzantium and an agreement was concluded (agreement of 907) regulating the stay and trade of Russian merchants in Byzantium. After mutual vows, Oleg hung a shield on the gates of Constantinople as a sign of victory, then ordered the Greeks to sew sails: for Rus' from pavolok (golden-woven silk), for the Slavs from coprina (plain silk). According to the chronicle, upon returning to Kyiv with rich booty, the people nicknamed Oleg the Prophetic.
Some analogy with sails made of precious fabrics can be traced in the Scandinavian saga about the future Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason, recorded by the monk Odd at the end of the 12th century. Olaf served under Prince Vladimir in the 980s and made a trip to Byzantium, according to the saga, for baptism. One of his military raids is described as follows: “ They say that after one great victory he turned home to Gardy [Rus]; They sailed then with such great pomp and magnificence that they had sails on their ships made of precious materials, and their tents were the same.»
If the ancient Russian chronicler talks about Rus'’s campaign against Constantinople in 860 exclusively according to Byzantine sources (Amartol’s chronicle), then the story about the campaign in 907 is based only on local oral traditions, some motives of which are reflected in the Scandinavian sagas. Although the legends themselves may not correspond to historical reality, they indicate that the campaign took place, although it apparently developed differently than the chronicle describes it.
Treaty of 907
According to the PVL, after the victory, Oleg concluded peace in Constantinople on very favorable terms. Russians coming to the city were actually supported by the Byzantine authorities and did not pay taxes. The contract is retold in words, the formal procedural content is omitted.
In September 911 (according to the PVL in 912 due to the beginning of the new year on March 1), a new agreement was concluded, a list of which is given in full in the chronicle. The content of the 907 treaty does not overlap in any way with the 911 treaty, with the exception of the names of the ambassadors, but almost literally reproduces a fragment from the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 944. The table below conveys the text of the 907 treaty in accordance with fragments from later Russian-Byzantine treaties.
Treaty of 907 |
Treaties 911, 944, 971 |
Participants: Karl, Farlaf, Vermud, Rulav and Stemid (« Karla Farlof sent an ambassador to them in the city. Velmuda. and Stemid») |
Treaty of 911 Participants: Karl, Farlaf, Veremud, Rulav, Stemid and 10 more names. « We are from the Russian family. Carls. inegeld farlof. veremud. rulav. goads | Rowald. karn. frelav. rual. asset. truan li|doul fost. Stemid. the same messages from the olg of the Grand Duke of Rouska and from all those under his arm of the bright and great princes. and his great boyars.» |
When the Russians come, let them take as much allowance for the ambassadors as they want; and if merchants come, let them take monthly food for 6 months: bread, wine, meat, fish and fruits. And let them give them a bathhouse - as much as they want […] and trade as much as they need, without paying any fees... |
no compliance in contracts |
When the Russians go home, let them take food, anchors, ropes, sails and whatever else they need from the Tsar for the journey [...] If the Russians do not come for trade, then let them not take their monthly allowance; Let the Russian prince, by decree, prohibit the Russians who come here from committing atrocities in the villages and in our country. Let the Russians who come here live near the church of St. Mammoth, and send them from our kingdom, and write down their names, then they will take their monthly allowance - first those who came from Kiev, then from Chernigov, and from Pereyaslavl, and from other cities . And let them enter the city only through one gate, accompanied by the royal husband, without weapons, 50 people each... |
Treaty of 944 And those Russians who depart from here, let them take from us everything they need: food for the journey and what the boats need […] If the Russians do not come for trade, then let them not take months. Let the prince punish his ambassadors and the Russians who come here so that they do not commit atrocities in the villages and in our country. And when they come, let them live near the church of St. Mammoth, and then we, the kings, will send your names to be written down, and let the ambassadors take a month, and the merchants a month, first those from the city of Kyiv, then from Chernigov, and from Pereyaslavl, and from other cities. Yes, they enter the city through one gate alone, accompanied by the Tsar’s husband without weapons, 50 people each... |
Oleg and his husbands were taken to swear allegiance according to Russian law, and they swore by their weapons and Perun, their god, and Volos, the god of cattle, and established peace. |
Treaty of 971 ... let […] we be cursed by the god in whom we believe - in Perun and Volos, the god of cattle, and let us be yellow as gold, and let us be flogged with our own weapons. |
Information about Oleg’s campaign from other sources
The Novgorod First Chronicle of the younger edition sets out events differently, naming two campaigns against Byzantium by Igor and his commander Oleg, dating them to 920 and 922:
Moreover, the description of the campaign of 920 reproduces the well-documented campaign of Prince Igor in 941.
The Byzantine chronicle of Pseudo-Simeon (last third of the 10th century) tells about the Dews (Rus):
In this fragment, some researchers are ready to see elements similar to the Magi’s prediction of the coming death of Oleg, and in Rosa himself - of the Prophetic Oleg. In popular literature, V. D. Nikolaev’s constructions about the raid of the Ros-Dromites on Byzantium in 904 are widely cited. The Rosses, according to Nikolaev (Pseudo-Simeon does not mention this), were defeated at Cape Tricephalus by the Byzantine admiral John Radin, and only part of them escaped from the “Greek fire” thanks to the insight of their leader.
A.G. Kuzmin, examining the text of the “Tale of Bygone Years” about Prince Oleg, suggested that the chronicler used Greek or Bulgarian sources about Oleg’s campaign. The chronicler quotes the words of the Byzantines: “ This is not Oleg, but Saint Dmitry, sent to us by God.” These words may indicate the events of 904, when Constantinople did not provide assistance to the city of Thessalonica, whose patron was Demetrius of Thessalonica, as a result of which the city’s inhabitants were massacred and only part of them were redeemed from the hands of Arab pirates. In a phrase of the Byzantines about St., incomprehensible from the context. Dmitry could contain a hint of Dmitry's revenge on Constantinople, which was guilty of the sack of Thessalonica.
Interpretations
The campaign is known exclusively from Russian sources; the Byzantine ones remain silent about it. Only in the “History” of Leo the Deacon is there evidence of the reality of not so much the campaign as the peace treaty: John Tzimiskes, during negotiations with Svyatoslav, reminds him, like Prince Igor, “ despising the oath agreement", attacked the Byzantine capital. Here, according to M. Ya. Syuzyumov and S. A. Ivanov, as well as A. A. Vasiliev, this refers to Oleg’s treaty of 911, concluded after the campaign of 907 and known from the Tale of Bygone Years.
G. G. Litavrin found the agreement to be such that it “ without military pressure from Rus' was absolutely impossible" When the empire concluded an agreement with another country, the main copy of the contractual document was drawn up on behalf of the emperor, then the same in Greek, but on behalf of the ruler of the other country, and this document was translated into the language of the people with whom the agreement was being made. The famous linguist, academician S.P. Obnorsky concluded that the text of the 911 treaty was translated, replete with Greekisms and violations of the requirements of Russian syntax.
Thus, the texts of the treaties included in the Tale of Bygone Years indicate that the campaign was not a complete fiction. Some historians are inclined to explain the silence of Byzantine sources by the incorrect dating of the war in the Tale. There have been attempts to connect it with the raid of the "Rus-Dromites" in 904, at a time when Byzantium was fighting the pirate Leo of Tripoli. The most likely hypothesis was put forward by B. A. Rybakov and L.N. Gumilev: the description of the 907 campaign in the Tale actually refers to the war of 860, which was replaced by a message about the unsuccessful raid of Askold and Dir in 866, inspired by Byzantine legends about the miraculous deliverance of Christians from hostile pagans.
This is all the more likely since Rus', from the beginning of the 10th century, appears in Greek texts as an ally of Byzantium. Patriarch Nicholas the Mystic (901-906 and 912-925) threatens Bulgaria with Russian invasion; 700 Russian mercenaries took part in the unsuccessful Byzantine expedition to Crete in 911.
In his work devoted to the campaign of the Prophetic Oleg to Constantinople, Byzantine scholar A. A. Vasiliev came to the conclusion that Oleg’s raid was not an invention of the ancient Russian chronicler, who, in the tradition of the Scandinavian heroic sagas, turned an ordinary predatory raid on Byzantine possessions into an epoch-making event.
Dating of the campaign
In addition to the question of whether Oleg’s campaign described in the “Tale of Bygone Years” took place, there is the problem of dating such a campaign.
The date of 907 in the “Tale of Bygone Years” is conditional and arose as a result of complex calculations by chroniclers when combining the absolute and relative chronology of sources that had dates indicated in different eras. Initially, the story about Oleg’s reign had no dating, so later the story was divided into parts that gravitated towards the dates of the beginning and end of Oleg’s reign.
According to A.G. Kuzmin, initially the information about the end of Oleg’s reign was dated in the “Tale of Bygone Years” in 6415 (907), but when compared with the date of the treaty of 911, the dating was changed, so two chronicle articles appeared that spoke about the campaign, the conclusion agreement and the death of Oleg. Thus, two agreements appeared in the chronicle (the text and its “retelling”). Thus, the events described in the articles of 907 and 912 were initially not dated in any way, but were connected, as, for example, in the text of the “Joachim Chronicle”, which does not contain absolute dating and information about the death of the prince: “After that, Oleg possessed that entire country, conquered many peoples, went to fight against the Greeks by sea and forced them to buy peace, and returned with great honor and many riches.”
According to indirect data, the campaign dates back to 904-909. The lower date, 904, is determined by the news of the allied Ros-Dromites and the Arab attack on Thessaloniki. The upper date, 909-910, is determined by the news of the Rus' reconnaissance campaign in the Caspian Sea, which was followed by a campaign in 913. The Rus who made this campaign could not pass through the Black and Azov Seas to the Don without allied relations with Byzantium. The union of Rus' and Byzantium by 909-910 is confirmed by the data of Constantine Porphyrogenitus (mid-10th century) on the participation of Russian auxiliary ships in the Cretan expedition of 910.
At the same time, the Tale of Bygone Years also contains a relative dating of the campaign. The text says that the prophecy of the Magi about Oleg’s death came true in the fifth summer after his campaign against Constantinople. Oleg’s “death” can be dated no later than July 912 (the sacrifice mentioned by V.N. Tatishchev when Halley’s Comet appeared), or the autumn of this year indicated in the chronicle (the time of Polyudya). The campaign of 913 put an end to Oleg’s career (he died or went north). Consequently, the campaign against Byzantium took place in 907-908, and the chronicler was not mistaken in his calculations. The accuracy of the relative date indicated in the legend is confirmed by another place in the Tale - in the year 1071 it is said that a sorcerer appeared in Kyiv: “...He told people that in the fifth year the Dnieper would flow backward and that the lands would begin to move” Apparently, a five-year period of prophecy was common for the Magi.
The dating of the campaign is also confirmed by the dynamics of Byzantine-Bulgarian relations. In 904, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I made a campaign against Thessalonica, plundered by the Arabs, trying to expand his possessions. In 910-911 he is going to start a war with Byzantium, but he will start it only in 913. The Byzantines used the Russian fleet as one of the deterrents against the Bulgarians.
The agreement - one of the earliest surviving ancient Russian diplomatic documents - was concluded after the successful campaign of the Kyiv prince Oleg and his squad against the Byzantine Empire in 907. It was originally compiled in Greek, but only the Russian translation has survived as part of The Tale of Bygone Years. The articles of the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 911 are devoted mainly to the consideration of various offenses and penalties for them. We are talking about liability for murder, for intentional beatings, for theft and robbery; on the procedure for assisting merchants of both countries during their voyages with goods; the rules for the ransom of prisoners are regulated; there are clauses about allied assistance to the Greeks from Rus' and about the order of service of the Russians in the imperial army; about the procedure for returning escaped or kidnapped servants; the procedure for inheriting the property of Russians who died in Byzantium is described; regulated Russian trade in Byzantium.
Relations with the Byzantine Empire already from the 9th century. constituted the most important element of the foreign policy of the Old Russian state. Probably already in the 30s or very early 40s. 9th century The Russian fleet raided the Byzantine city of Amastris on the southern Black Sea coast (modern Amasra in Turkey). Greek sources talk in sufficient detail about the attack of the “Rus people” on the Byzantine capital - Constantinople. In the Tale of Bygone Years, this campaign is erroneously dated to 866 and is associated with the names of the semi-mythical Kyiv princes Askold and Dir.
News of the first diplomatic contacts between Rus' and its southern neighbor also date back to this time. As part of the embassy of the Byzantine emperor Theophilus (829-842), who arrived in 839 at the court of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious, there were certain “suppliers for peace” from the “people of Ros”. They had been sent by their Khakan ruler to the Byzantine court, and were now returning to their homeland. Peaceful and even allied relations between Byzantium and Russia are attested by sources of the 2nd half of the 860s, primarily by the messages of the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius (858-867 and 877-886). During this period, through the efforts of Greek missionaries (their names have not reached us), the process of Christianization of Rus' began. However, this so-called “first baptism” of Rus' did not have significant consequences: its results were destroyed after the capture of Kyiv by the troops of Prince Oleg who came from Northern Rus'.
This event marked the consolidation under the rule of the northern, Scandinavian in origin, Rurik dynasty of lands along the transit Volkhov-Dnieper trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” Oleg, the new ruler of Rus' (his name is a variant of the Old Norse Helga - sacred) primarily sought to establish his status in the confrontation with powerful neighbors - the Khazar Khaganate and the Byzantine Empire. It can be assumed that initially Oleg tried to maintain partnerships with Byzantium on the basis of a treaty in the 860s. However, his anti-Christian policies led to confrontation.
The story of Oleg's campaign against Constantinople in 907 is preserved in the Tale of Bygone Years. It contains a number of elements clearly of folkloric origin, and therefore many researchers have expressed doubts about its reliability. In addition, Greek sources report practically nothing about this military campaign. There are only isolated mentions of the “Ros” in documents from the time of Emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-912), as well as an unclear passage in the chronicle of pseudo-Simeon (late 10th century) about the participation of the “Ros” in the Byzantine war against the Arab fleet. The main argument in favor of the reality of the campaign of 907 should be considered the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 911. The authenticity of this document does not raise any doubts, and the conditions contained therein, extremely beneficial for Rus', could hardly have been achieved without military pressure on Byzantium.
In addition, the description in the Tale of Bygone Years of the negotiations between Oleg and the Byzantine emperors, co-rulers Leo and Alexander, is fully consistent with the well-known principles of Byzantine diplomatic practice. After Prince Oleg and his army appeared under the walls of Constantinople and ravaged the outskirts of the city, Emperor Leo VI and his co-ruler Alexander were forced to enter into negotiations with him. Oleg sent five ambassadors to the Byzantine emperors with his demands. The Greeks expressed their readiness to pay a one-time tribute to the Rus and allowed them duty-free trade in Constantinople. The agreement reached was secured by both parties through an oath: the emperors kissed the cross, and the Rus swore on their weapons and their deities Perun and Volos. The taking of the oath was apparently preceded by an agreement, since the oath was supposed to relate precisely to the practical articles of the contract that it was intended to confirm. We do not know what exactly the parties agreed on. It is clear, however, that the Rus demanded some kind of payments and benefits from the Greeks and that they received this in order to then leave the area of Constantinople.
The formal agreement between Rus' and Byzantium was apparently concluded in two stages: negotiations took place in 907, then the agreements reached were sealed with an oath. But the attestation of the text of the treaty was delayed in time and occurred only in 911. It is worth noting that the most beneficial articles of the treaty for the Rus - on the payment of indemnities (“ukladov”) by the Greeks and on the exemption of Russian merchants in Constantinople from paying duties - are only among the preliminary articles 907, but not in the main text of the treaty of 911. According to one version, the mention of duties was deliberately removed from the article “On Russian traders”, which was preserved only as a title. Perhaps the desire of the Byzantine rulers to conclude an agreement with Russia was also caused by the desire to gain an ally in the ongoing war against the Arabs. It is known that in the summer of the same year 911, 700 Russian soldiers took part in the Byzantine campaign against the Arab-occupied island of Crete. Perhaps they remained in the empire, entering military service there, after Oleg’s campaigns, and did not return to their homeland.
Detailed textual, diplomatic and legal analysis showed that the texts of the diplomatic protocol, acts and legal formulas preserved in the Old Russian text of the treaty of 911 are either translations of well-known Byzantine clerical formulas, attested in many surviving Greek authentic acts, or paraphrases of Byzantine monuments rights. Nestor included in the “Tale of Bygone Years” a Russian translation made from an authentic (that is, possessing the force of the original) copy of the act from a special copy book. Unfortunately, it has not yet been established when and by whom the translation was carried out, and under no circumstances did extracts from the copy books reach Rus'.
During the X–XI centuries. wars between Russia and Byzantium alternated with peaceful ones, and rather long pauses. These periods were marked by increased diplomatic actions between the two states - exchange of embassies, active trade. Clergymen, architects, and artists came to Rus' from Byzantium. After the Christianization of Rus', pilgrims began to travel in the opposite direction to holy places. The Tale of Bygone Years includes two more Russian-Byzantine treaties: between Prince Igor and Emperor Roman I Lekapin (944) and between Prince Svyatoslav and Emperor John I Tzimiskes (971). As with the 911 agreement, they are translations from the Greek originals. Most likely, all three texts fell into the hands of the compiler of The Tale of Bygone Years in the form of a single collection. At the same time, the text of the agreement of 1046 between Yaroslav the Wise and Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh is not in the Tale of Bygone Years.
Treaties with Byzantium are among the oldest written sources of Russian statehood. As international treaty acts, they fixed the norms of international law, as well as the legal norms of the contracting parties, which, thus, was drawn into the orbit of another cultural and legal tradition.
The norms of international law include those articles of the treaty of 911 and other Russian-Byzantine agreements, analogues of which are present in the texts of a number of other treaties of Byzantium. This applies to the limitation of the period of stay of foreigners in Constantinople, as well as to the norms of coastal law reflected in the treaty of 911. An analogue of the provisions of the same text on fugitive slaves may be clauses of some Byzantine-Bulgarian agreements. Byzantine diplomatic agreements included clauses on baths, similar to the corresponding terms of the treaty of 907. The documentation of Russian-Byzantine treaties, as researchers have repeatedly noted, owes much to the Byzantine clerical protocol. Therefore, they reflected Greek protocol and legal norms, clerical and diplomatic stereotypes, norms, and institutions. This, in particular, is the usual mention for Byzantine acts of co-rulers along with the ruling monarch: Leo, Alexander and Constantine in the treaty of 911, Romanus, Constantine and Stephen in the treaty of 944, John Tzimiskes, Basil and Constantine in the treaty of 971. Such There were usually no mentions either in Russian chronicles or in short Byzantine chronicles; on the contrary, in the form of Byzantine official documents it was a common element. The determining influence of Byzantine norms was reflected in the use of Greek weights, monetary measures, as well as the Byzantine system of chronology and dating: indicating the year from the Creation of the world and the indict (the serial number of the year in the 15-year tax reporting cycle). The price of a slave in the contract of 911, as studies have shown, is close to the average price of a slave in Byzantium at that time.
It is important that the treaty of 911, as well as subsequent agreements, testified to the complete legal equality of both parties. The subjects of law were the subjects of the Russian prince and the Byzantine emperor, regardless of their place of residence, social status and religion. At the same time, the norms regulating crimes against the person were based mainly on the “Russian law”. This probably means a set of legal norms of customary law that were in force in Rus' by the beginning of the 10th century, that is, long before the adoption of Christianity.
From "The Tale of Bygone Years"
In the year 6420 [from the Creation of the world]. Oleg sent his men to make peace and establish an agreement between the Greeks and Russians, saying this: “A list from the agreement concluded under the same kings Leo and Alexander. We are from the Russian family - Karla, Inegeld, Farlaf, Veremud, Rulav, Gudy, Ruald, Karn, Frelav, Ruar, Aktevu, Truan, Lidul, Fost, Stemid - sent from Oleg, the Grand Duke of Russia, and from everyone who is at hand him, - the bright and great princes, and his great boyars, to you, Leo, Alexander and Constantine, the great autocrats in God, the Greek kings, to strengthen and certify the long-term friendship that existed between Christians and Russians, at the request of our great princes and by command, from all the Russians under his hand. Our Lordship, desiring above all in God to strengthen and certify the friendship that constantly existed between Christians and Russians, decided fairly, not only in words, but also in writing, and with a firm oath, swearing with our weapons, to confirm such friendship and certify it by faith and according to our law.
These are the essence of the chapters of the agreement regarding which we have committed ourselves by God's faith and friendship. With the first words of our agreement, we will make peace with you, Greeks, and we will begin to love each other with all our souls and with all our good will, and we will not allow any deception or crime to occur from those under the hands of our bright princes, since this is in our power; but we will try, as much as we can, to maintain with you, Greeks, in future years and forever an unchangeable and unchanging friendship, expressed and committed to a letter with confirmation, certified by an oath. Likewise, you, Greeks, maintain the same unshakable and unchanging friendship for our bright Russian princes and for everyone who is under the hand of our bright prince always and in all years.
And about the chapters concerning possible atrocities, we will agree as follows: let those atrocities that are clearly certified be considered indisputably committed; and whichever they do not believe, let the party that seeks to swear that this crime will not be believed; and when that party swears, let the punishment be whatever the crime turns out to be.
About this: if anyone kills a Russian Christian or a Russian Christian, let him die at the scene of the murder. If the murderer runs away and turns out to be a rich man, then let the relative of the murdered man take that part of his property that is due by law, but let the murderer’s wife also keep what is due to her by law. If the escaped murderer turns out to be indigent, then let him remain on trial until he is found, and then let him die.
If someone strikes with a sword or beats with any other weapon, then for that blow or beating let him give 5 liters of silver according to Russian law; If the one who committed this offense is poor, then let him give as much as he can, so that let him take off the very clothes in which he walks, and about the remaining unpaid amount, let him swear by his faith that no one can help him, and let him not this balance is collected from him.
About this: if a Russian steals something from a Christian or, on the contrary, a Christian from a Russian, and the thief is caught by the victim at the very time when he commits the theft, or if the thief prepares to steal and is killed, then his death will not be exacted from either Christians or from Russians; but let the victim take back what he lost. If the thief gives himself up voluntarily, then let him be taken by the one from whom he stole, and let him be bound, and give back what he stole in triple the amount.
About this: if one of the Christians or one of the Russians attempts [robbery] through beatings and clearly takes by force something belonging to another, then let him return it in triple amount.
If a boat is thrown onto a foreign land by a strong wind and one of us Russians is there and helps save the boat with its cargo and send it back to the Greek land, then we carry it through every dangerous place until it comes to a safe place; If this boat is delayed by a storm or has run aground and cannot return to its place, then we, Russians, will help the rowers of that boat and see them off with their goods in good health. If the same misfortune happens to a Russian boat near the Greek land, then we will take it to the Russian land and let them sell the goods of that boat, so if it is possible to sell anything from that boat, then let us, the Russians, take it [to the Greek shore]. And when [we, Russians] come to the Greek land for trade or as an embassy to your king, then [we, Greeks] will honor the sold goods of their boat. If any of us Russians who arrived with the boat happen to be killed or something is taken from the boat, then let the culprits be sentenced to the above punishment.
About these: if a captive of one side or another is forcibly held by Russians or Greeks, having been sold into their country, and if, in fact, he turns out to be Russian or Greek, then let them ransom and return the ransomed person to his country and take the price of those who bought him, or let it be The price offered for it was that of servants. Also, if he is captured by those Greeks in the war, still let him return to his country and his usual price will be given for him, as already said above.
If there is a recruitment into the army and these [Russians] want to honor your king, and no matter how many of them come at what time, and want to stay with your king of their own free will, then so be it.
More about the Russians, about the prisoners. Those [captive Christians] who came from any country to Rus' and were sold [by the Russians] back to Greece, or captive Christians brought to Rus' from any country - all of these must be sold for 20 zlatnikov and returned to the Greek land.
About this: if a Russian servant is stolen, either runs away, or is forcibly sold and the Russians begin to complain, let them prove this about their servants and take him to Rus', but the merchants, if they lose the servant and appeal, let them demand it in court and, when they find , - they will take it. If someone does not allow an inquiry to be carried out, he will not be recognized as right.
And about the Russians serving in the Greek land with the Greek king. If someone dies without disposing of his property, and he does not have his own [in Greece], then let his property return to Rus' to his closest younger relatives. If he makes a will, then the one to whom he wrote to inherit his property will take what was bequeathed to him, and let him inherit it.
About Russian traders.
About various people going to the Greek land and remaining in debt. If the villain does not return to Rus', then let the Russians complain to the Greek kingdom, and he will be captured and returned by force to Rus'. Let the Russians do the same to the Greeks if the same thing happens.
As a sign of the strength and immutability that should be between you, Christians, and Russians, we created this peace treaty with Ivan’s writing on two charters - your Tsar and with our own hand - we sealed it with an oath of the honorable cross and the holy consubstantial Trinity of your one true God and given to our ambassadors. We swore to your king, appointed by God, as a divine creation, according to our faith and custom, not to violate for us and anyone from our country any of the established chapters of the peace treaty and friendship. And this writing was given to your kings for approval, so that this agreement would become the basis for the approval and certification of the peace existing between us. The month of September 2, index 15, in the year from the creation of the world 6420.”
Tsar Leon honored the Russian ambassadors with gifts - gold, and silks, and precious fabrics - and assigned his husbands to show them the church beauty, the golden chambers and the wealth stored in them: a lot of gold, pavoloks, precious stones and the passion of the Lord - a crown, nails , scarlet and the relics of the saints, teaching them their faith and showing them the true faith. And so he released them to his land with great honor. The ambassadors sent by Oleg returned to him and told him all the speeches of both kings, how they concluded peace and established an agreement between the Greek and Russian lands and established not to break the oath - neither to the Greeks nor to Rus'.
(translation by D.S. Likhachev).
© Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences
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Which articles of the treaty relate to the economic sphere, and which to the political?
What was the ethnic composition of the Russian ambassadors mentioned in the treaty?
What specifically Greek realities appear in the text of the treaty?
Why are Russians and Christians opposed in the treaty?
Is it possible to talk about a military alliance between Rus' and Byzantium on the basis of the treaty?