On the lands of ancient Belarus there were several dozens of small states. But the largest and most significant were considered the Polotsk and Turov principalities. Smaller provinces were under their rule. Such as Pinsk, Minsk, Vitebsk and others. In this article, we will consider the history of education, culture and rulers of the largest and most famous state entity - the Principality of Polotsk.
You can hear that the Principality of Polotsk is the first Belarusian state. The way it is. After all, the first mention of the origin of feudal relations refers to the Polotsk land. It was here, on the famous waterway "from the Varangians to the Greeks", that the strongest principality of the Belarusian tribes (Radimichi, Krivichi, Dregovichi) was formed.
Education
How did the Principality of Polotsk appear on the Belarusian lands? Unfortunately, it is not possible to properly answer this question. On theToday, no written sources or archaeological finds have been preserved, with the help of which it would be possible to establish when the formation of the Polotsk principality began. Only the assumptions of historians remain. And the most common theory calls the 9th century. It was at this time that collective tombs (long mounds) disappeared. Instead of them, single mounds appeared, less often - paired ones. Scientists explain this fact by a strong weakening of tribal and tribal ties. In addition, it was in the 9th century that class differences began to appear between the tombs. Some were expensively furnished, others much simpler. This testified to we alth inequality.
The division of the tribe into poor and rich led to the emergence of the nobility, which towered over other members of the community and seized the central power. From the nobility, in turn, stood out local princes. They built fortress cities for themselves, in which they were safe with their tribes. So, in the first half of the 9th century, the tribal nobility of the Krivichi built a city for themselves in the place where the Polota River flowed into the Western Berezina. Here, tribute was collected from all over the area.
Mother of Belarusian cities
The history of the Polotsk Principality begins simultaneously with the creation of the city of Polotsk. The first official mention of the city dates back to 862. However, historians say that it appeared much earlier. So, even in the undated part of The Tale of Bygone Years (the oldest chronicle in the Slavic lands), the name "Polotskans" is mentioned simultaneously with"curves". From this we can conclude that even in the days of the Krivichi, a separate state stood out with its capital in Polotsk. Long before the first Varangians appeared on those lands and the Old Russian state was formed.
The city got its name thanks to the river on the banks of which it is located. As already mentioned, not far from this settlement, the Polota River flowed into the Western Berezina.
Territory
Polotsk and Turov principalities were located on extremely infertile lands. However, Polotsk had one important advantage. It was here that the intersection of significant trade routes along the Berezina, Dvina and Neman was located. That is, the waterway "from the Varangians to the Greeks." This contributed not only to the development of trade and economy in the state, but also caused a massive migration of other peoples and tribes to the Polotsk lands. And the territories of the principality were surrounded by impenetrable forests, which served as a reliable defense against enemies. And Polotsk residents made more and more enemies every year. Since the control of the principality over trade routes did not like the neighboring states - Kyiv and Novgorod. Which eventually led to territorial disputes and massive bloodshed.
The Principality of Polotsk included not only the Polotsk lands, but also part of the territory of the Dregovichi, Lithuanian and Finnish tribes. Polochans settled throughout the Western Dvina, Polota, as well as in the basins of the Berezina, Svisloch and Neman. The principality included such large cities as Minsk, Vitebsk, Orsha, Borisov, Logoisk, Zaslavl, Drutsk, Lukoml and others. SoThus, during the 9th-13th centuries it was a large and strong European state.
First Prince
The first mention of the sovereign who united the Principality of Polotsk dates back to the second half of the 10th century. As the chronicles say, “Valadaryu, trymau i prince Ragvalod to the land of Polatsk.”
Normann Rogvolod "came from beyond the sea" and ruled from 972 to 978. This period is considered the final stage in the formation of the Polotsk principality. The state had its own borders, the political and administrative systems were established, a strong army was formed, trade relations began to be established. The city of Polotsk has become the historical core and center.
Princess with three names
The history of the Principality of Polotsk is the history of the struggle for independence, which was eventually lost. So, already in 980, the lands were listed as part of the Old Russian state. The principality became a bargaining chip between the then warring Novgorod and Kyiv.
As the annals say, in 978, Prince Rogvolod, in order to strengthen the borders of his state, decided to marry his daughter Rogneda to the Kyiv prince Yaropolk, while refusing Vladimir Svyatoslavich (the sovereign of Novgorod from the Rurik dynasty). Unable to bear the insult, Vladimir took Polotsk by storm, killed Rogvolod and his two sons, and forcibly made Rogneda his wife, giving her the name Gorislava. Then the prince of Novgorod captured Kyiv and introduced a new religion in the Polotsk lands - Christianity.
According to The Tale of Bygone Years, Rogneda and Vladimir had four sons: Izyaslav (princePolotsky), Yaroslav the Wise (Prince of Kyiv and Novgorod), Vsevolod (Prince Vladimir-Volynsky) and Mstislav (Prince Chernigov). And also two daughters: Premislava, who later married Laszlo the Lysy (Ugric king), and Predslava, who became the wife of Boleslav III the Red (Czech prince).
After Rogneda tried to kill Vladimir, she, along with her son Izyaslav (who interceded with his father for his mother), was sent to the Polotsk lands, to the city of Izyaslavl. The princess cut her hair as a nun and took a third name - Anastasia.
Princes of the Principality of Polotsk
In 988, the inhabitants of Izyaslavl invited the son of Rogneda and Vladimir Izyaslav to reign. He became famous as a sovereign-scribe and a distributor of a new belief, Christianity, in the Polotsk land. It is with Izyaslav that a new branch in the Rurik dynasty begins - the Izyaslavichi (Polotsk). The descendants of Izyaslav, unlike the children of his brothers, emphasized their kinship with Rogvolod (on the maternal side). And they called themselves Rogvolodovichi.
Prince Izyaslav died young (in 1001), outliving his mother Rogneda by only one year. His younger son Bryachislav Izyaslavich began to rule the Polotsk principality. Until 1044, the sovereign pursued his own policy aimed at expanding the land. Taking advantage of civil strife and the weakening of Russia, Bryachislav captured Veliky Novgorod and held power for five years together with his uncle Yaroslav the Wise. At the same time, the city of Bryachislavl (modern Braslav) was built.
Flourishing
The Principality of Polotsk reached its height of power in 1044–1101, during the reign of Vseslav the Prophet, son of Prince Bryachislav. Knowing that he was facing life-and-death battles, the prince prepared for war until the mid-60s of the 11th century - he fortified cities, raised an army. So, Polotsk was moved to the right bank of the Western Dvina, to the mouth of the Polota River.
Vseslav began to expand the Polotsk lands far to the north, subjugated the tribes of Latgalians and Livs. However, in 1067, when his campaigns in Novgorod ended unsuccessfully, the prince, along with his sons, was captured by Izyaslav Yaroslavich, and the state was captured. But a year later, the rebellious people freed Vseslav, and he managed to return the lost lands.
From 1069 to 1072, the Principality of Polotsk waged a relentless and bloody war with the Kyiv sovereigns. The principality of Smolensk was captured, as well as part of the Chernigov lands in the north. In those years, the population of the capital of the principality was more than twenty thousand people.
Falling
After the death of Vseslav in 1101, his sons divided the principality into destinies: Vitebsk, Minsk, Polotsk, Logoisk and others. And already in 1127, the son of Vladimir Monomakh, taking advantage of the disagreements between the princes, captured and plundered the Polotsk land. Izyaslavichi were taken prisoner, and then completely exiled to distant Byzantium. So, by the end of the 12th century, the authority of the Principality of Polotsk in the international arena finally fell, and Novgorodians and Chernigovians captured part of the territories.
In the 13th century, a new disaster struck the Polotsk lands - the Order of the Sword-bearers, which later became Livonian. Prince Vladimir of Polotsk, then ruling, fought with the crusaders for more than twenty years, but he was unable to stop them. This was the beginning of the end of independence. And in 1307, Polotsk became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Culture of the Principality of Polotsk
It was this principality that became the place where Belarusian statehood was born, as well as culture and writing. Polotsk is associated with such names as Euphrosyne of Polotsk, Lazar Bogsha, Francysk Skaryna, Cyril of Turovsky and Simeon of Polotsk. They are the pride of the Belarusian nation.
With the advent of Christianity in the Polotsk lands, architecture began to develop. So, the first monumental building made of stone was the Polotsk St. Sophia Cathedral, built in the 1050s. And in 1161, the jeweler Lazar Bogsha created a masterpiece of applied art of the Eastern Slavs - a unique cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk. The 13th century was the time when the Belarusian language appeared.
