Atlantis, Punt, Kitezh-grad… A number of mysterious countries and cities in history can be continued. One of such mysterious objects in the history of Ancient Russia can be called the principality of Tmutarakan or Tmutarakan. However, as history says, this is not a mysterious mythological place, but a very real principality that once existed in the vast Russian expanses. And they were ruled by Russian princes from the Rurik family. The history of these times is preserved in the monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russia in Novgorod the Great, which is also associated with their reign.
Where is Tmutarakan?
According to the results of archaeological excavations, in the 6th c. on the Taman Peninsula, where the Tmutarakan Principality would be founded in the 10th century, there was an ancient ancient city of Germonassa.
Later these lands were part of the Khazar Khaganate, and on the site of the city of Tmutarakan it wasa small Khazar settlement of Tamatarkha.
The Principality of Tmutarakan was already mentioned in the reign of Prince Igor. But the most reliable is the version about the emergence of the city of Tmutarakan (Tmutorokan) near the village of Tamanskaya after 965, when Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich subdued the Khazar tribe and included their lands in Kievan Rus.
In total, the Tmutarakan principality did not last long - about two centuries, but during this time its rather eventful history has developed. At the end of the 11th century, Tmutarakan lost its independence under the blows of the Polovtsian tribes, later became part of the Golden Horde and received a new name - Matrika, and then passed into the possession of Byzantium.
Mstislavs in the history of Rurikovich
The name Mstislav is of Slavic origin and comes from the Slavic word "revenge" - "protect". According to the meaning of this name in dictionaries, boys or men named like that try to be ahead of everyone in everything and be different from anyone. They are very ambitious, sensible and enterprising. They are very inquisitive and curious, kind and patient, generous and not envious, inoffensive and hardy. Mstislavs are creative people, very demanding of themselves and constantly striving for perfection. They have a gentle nature and love when others notice their successes. Many of these qualities are reflected in the three representatives of the family tree. The generational scheme of the Rurikovich tree with years of rule is presented below.
Mstislav Vladimirovich
The son of Prince Vladimir Igorevich from the Rurik family - Mstislav, nicknamed the Brave, in Orthodox baptism Konstantin. He also had other nicknames - Tmutarakansky and Udaloy.
There are two versions about the origin of Mstislav Vladimirovich the Brave. According to one of them, the prince's mother was the famous Rogneda, who had once been forcibly taken from her brother's bride. According to others - one of Vladimir's wives, originally from the Czech Republic.
Mstislav Tmutarakansky, like his grandfather Svyatoslav, was always belligerent and led a mobile lifestyle - he was always in the saddle and strove for military victories, booty and glory. In 1016, he fought with success against the Azov Tatars, and then on the side of Byzantium - against the supporters of Georgia, the Kasog tribes. During a duel in one of the battles with Kasogami, Mstislav Vladimirovich the Brave killed their leader Rededya.
As a result of the internecine war with his brother Yaroslav and the victory near Listven, Mstislav secured the left-bank lands of the Dnieper region with Chernigov and Pereyaslavl. From that moment on, he also became the prince of Chernigov. But Tmutarakan does not leave his attention either - he is fighting with the Yas tribes. And then he takes part in the campaign of Yaroslav the Wise in Poland.
He entered the Russian chronicles as a burly and ruddy man, brave, but merciful in battle, very fond of his squad, generous to her soldiers.
Death to Mstislav the Brave came unexpectedly: he diedon the hunt, and since his son Eustathius died earlier, the throne and possessions passed to his brother Yaroslav.
Mstislav, Prince of Tmutarakan
Prince of Tmutarakansky Mstislav Vladimirovich became about the age of 4-5 years (since 988) and ruled there for about 20 years. He studied the intricacies of ruling and managing the principality Mstislav from the Varangian "educator" Svenga assigned to him. Mstislav ruled the multinational, very rich principality of Tmutarakan. The population of the principality consisted of Kasogs, Russians, Greeks, Armenians, Avars.
Tmutarakan, the capital of the principality, had a large and comfortable harbor. The city itself was rich and well equipped: the streets and squares were paved with stone, the houses were built of raw brick and covered with tiles. And it was protected from enemies by a powerful fortress wall, created, like most buildings, from unbaked bricks.
The principality was at the crossroads of trade routes, so its merchants successfully traded with Byzantium and the North Caucasus. Political ties were also established with these states.
Mstislav Rostislavich the Brave
The son of Rostislav Mstislavich, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, in Orthodox baptism George, was the prince of Novgorod. He received his nickname not only for military qualities, but above all for courage and justice in the event of a choice of which side to take in the internecine struggle. He always chose the right side. He also acted as a defender of all unjustly offended and weak, was mercifuland pious.
He took an active part in the struggle against the Vladimir prince Andrei Bogolyubsky: after the Rostislavichs left Kyiv, he defeated Bogolyubsky's army near the Vyshgorod fortress he defended. However, the enmity with Bogolyubsky did not continue. For his brother Roman, he asked Smolensk to reign, but soon, at the request of the inhabitants, he himself sat down to reign. Later, he passed it on to his brother. He himself began to rule in Novgorod, marched victoriously through the Estonian lands, freeing Pskov and its lands from the invasions of Estonian soldiers.
He died in Novgorod from a serious and unexpected illness, was buried in the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Novgorod Kremlin. Orthodox Church canonized as a saint.
Mstislav the Brave and Mstislav the Udaloy
Like father Mstislav Rostislavich, Mstislav Mstislavich sat down to rule in Novgorod and protect it from enemies. He was also generous and brave, like his father, and therefore he received the same nickname - Brave or Daring.
Who did Mstislav Udaloy fight with? Even during the life of his father, he participated in campaigns against the Polovtsians. And he married the daughter of the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan. He pacified the boyars in the principality of Vladimir, defended Novgorod from the German and Lithuanian knights, pacified the Chud and obliged her to pay tribute to Novgorod. After the illegal occupation of the Novgorod throne by his son-in-law and discontent caused by the particular rigidity of his rule, Mstislav tried to return the Novgorod throne to his elder brother. For a long time he tried to avoid the aggravation of the internecine war. However, the united Yaroslav and George did not want to solve the matter peacefully and declared a battle with Mstislav andKonstantin on the Lipetsk field. As a result of the battle, George fled to Vladimir, and Yaroslav - back to Pereyaslavl. Mstislav went to liberate the Principality of Galicia from the Hungarians and Poles.
We didn't come for bloodshed
The above events in the history of relations between Russian princes were not accidental. Yaroslav of Tverskoy and Pereyaslavsky was an unkind and quarrelsome person. His relations with the Novgorodians did not develop so much that Yaroslav began to pursue a tough policy towards Novgorod, more reminiscent of robbery: having gone to Torzhok, he blocked the way for food carts moving to Novgorod, robbed its merchants and took away one of the trading cities that were part of Novgorod lands - Volok Lamsky. Yaroslav sent the ambassadors of Novgorod to prison. And the plight of the Novgorodians gradually reached such a level that parents were forced to sell their children into slavery so that the whole family would not starve to death.
Mstislav the Brave, who came to Novgorod, raised the Novgorod militia to fight the combined forces of Yaroslav and his ally, Yuri of Suzdal. Joining forces with Konstantin of Rostov and Vladimir of Pskov, Mstislav advanced through the Seliger lands towards Torzhok. Along the way, Rzhev and Zubtsov were besieged and captured. The decisive battle took place on April 21, 2016, not far from Yuri Polsky near Avdova Gora, where the camp of Yaroslav and Yuri was located. After sluggish attacks and skirmishes, Mstislav decided to attack the enemy camp. Most Vanguard Warriorsdismounted and fought in lightweight uniforms, some even without shoes. Later, they cleared passages for the cavalry, the prince's warriors, who came to the rescue.
Prince Mstislav himself was cut not with a sword, but with an axe. And according to some versions, he passed several times through the enemy's ranks, slaying three noble warriors. Then he broke through to the prince's tent and convoy, where he almost died. However, the battle was won and the enemy fled, fearful of the onslaught.
No more daring
In 1219, having fought through the Polovtsian steppes, the hordes of the Tatar prince Genghis Khan invaded the lands of Kievan Rus. The youngest and most reckless princes advanced against them: Mstislav of Galicia, Mstislav of Chernigov and Mstislav of Kyiv. The first to rush to the enemy detachment were Mstislav the Brave and his son-in-law Daniil Volynsky and defeated him. This event took place near the Dnieper. Further, the squads of the Russian princes crossed the Dnieper and reached the Kalka River, where a major battle took place on May 31, 1224. Six princes and 9/10 of the entire Russian army remained lying on the river bank. Only Daniil Volynsky and Mstislav Galitsky were saved, who, after the defeat of this, could no longer be called Brave or Daring. He became weak and distrustful, actually became a toy in the hands of the Galician boyars. He even gave his daughter and the Galician throne to the son of the Hungarian king. He himself began to manage only a small Podolsk land. Died of the illness that followed soon after.
In the scheme of the Rurikovich tree with years of rule, this Mstislav, who also had the nickname the Great, is marked in the 10th knee (in the case of Rurik's display, in the 11th).
