Kyiv prince Svyatoslav the Brave ruled in 945-972. Most of all, he is known as a bright commander who had several wars in different regions of Eastern Europe.
Igor's heir
The son of Igor Rurikovich Svyatoslav the Brave was his only offspring. He was born three years before the tragic death of his father. Igor was brutally killed by the Drevlyans, who refused to pay him additional tribute.
Svyatoslav was then too small, so his mother Olga became regent. She decided to take revenge on the Drevlyans. With the help of cunning, the princess burned down their capital, Iskorosten. This strong-willed woman firmly held power in her hands while her son grew up. Most of all, Olga is known for the fact that in 955 she went to Byzantium, where she was baptized. She became the first Russian Christian ruler. The rite was performed in the main Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
Svyatoslav and religion
Mother tried to instill Christianity in her son. But Svyatoslav the Brave remained a pagan. He was brought up in army conditions and influenced by his warriors, who remained supporters of old Slavic customs.
There isan unconfirmed theory that in Constantinople Olga tried to find a wife for her son from among the Greek princesses. The emperor refused the embassy, which, of course, offended Svyatoslav. As time will tell, his relationship with Byzantium became fatal for him.
War with Vyatichi
Prince Svyatoslav the Brave had little interest in the internal and administrative affairs of the country. The army was his life. He spent all his free time with his team. Because of this, the prince was distinguished by a ferocious disposition and the simplest everyday habits. He could safely lie down to sleep in the field next to his horse, while giving up his own tent and other comforts.
Therefore, it is not surprising that as soon as Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich the Brave grew up, he began to pursue an active foreign policy. His first campaign dates back to 964. That summer, he attacked the Vyatichi, who lived on the Oka and paid tribute to the Khazars.
Fall of the Khazar Khaganate
Already next year, the Khaganate had to face a well-organized Slavic army. The Khazars were Turkic-speaking nomads. Their political elite converted to Judaism. The differences between the kaganate and Russia were obvious, which, of course, gave Svyatoslav an additional reason to go to war with his neighbors.
The prince captured several Khazar cities: Sarkel, Itil, Belaya Vezha. His squad went through fire and sword through all the important economic centers of the kaganate, because of which he fell into decay and soon completely disappeared from the map. Prince Svyatoslav the Brave tried not only to destroy a foreign state. He ordered to occupy the Sarkel fortress on the Don River. For a while, it became a Slavic enclave in the southern steppes.
Intervention in the Greek-Bulgarian conflict
The Khazar campaigns of Svyatoslav the Brave were only a rehearsal for the main military campaign of his life. At this time, the war began between the Bulgarians and Byzantium. Emperor Nicephorus Foka sent an embassy to Kyiv, which persuaded Svyatoslav to help the Greeks. In exchange, the Slavs received a generous reward.
Thus, thanks to his courage and enterprise, Svyatoslav the Brave became famous. A photo of the Novgorod monument, opened for the millennium of Russia in 1862, confirms this fact. Svyatoslav takes his place among other great military leaders, next to Mstislav the Udaly. While the prince of Kyiv was successfully fighting on the banks of the Danube, an important political change took place in Constantinople. Emperor Nikephoros Phocas was killed in a coup d'état. The new ruler John Tzimiskes refused to pay Svyatoslav, and then the war took an unexpected turn.
The Slavic prince concluded an alliance with the Bulgarians and now he was marching with his retinue against the emperor. While Svyatoslav was not in Kyiv, his mother Olga died there, who actually ruled the country in the absence of her son.
In 970, the prince managed to enlist the support of not only the Bulgarians, but also the Hungarians and the Pechenegs. His army ravaged Thrace for several months. This advance was h alted after the Battle of Arcadiopolis. The Byzantines defeated the Pechenegs, who fled from the battlefield and betrayed Svyatoslav.
Now the war has moved north to the banks of the Danube. Here Svyatoslav planned to settle permanently. He even made the local fortress of Pereyaslavets his capital. Perhaps he liked the southern lands more than Kyiv.
Peace treaty with the emperor
Emperor John Tzimiskes was also a commander. He personally led the troops in the new campaign of 971. In April, his army captured the Bulgarian capital and captured Tsar Boris II. Thus, Svyatoslav was left alone against the Greeks. Together with his army, he moved to the well-fortified fortress of Dorostol.
Soon the Greeks surrounded the last Slavic bastion in the region. Svyatoslav did not want to give up without a fight and held the fortress for three months. His troops carried out bold sorties. In one of them, the Byzantines lost all their siege weapons. The Slavs went out into the field at least four times to break through the blockade.
Hundreds and thousands of warriors from both sides died in these battles. By the end of July, the prince and the emperor finally agreed on a peace treaty. According to the agreement, Svyatoslav, together with his army, could safely return to his homeland. At the same time, the Greeks provided him with everything necessary for the journey. A few days after the meeting of the rulers, the Slavic boats left the Danube basin.
Death
Svyatoslav refused all acquisitions in Bulgaria. But there is no doubt that the young thirty-year-old prince was not going to give up. Returning home and having accumulated new forces, he could again go to war with the empire. But the prince's plans were not destined to come true.
The path of his troops ran through the Dnieper delta and its lower course, where there were dangerousshipping thresholds. Because of this, the prince with a small remaining detachment had to go ashore in order to overcome a natural obstacle. That is how Svyatoslav was ambushed by the Pechenegs. Most likely, the nomads entered into an agreement with the Byzantine emperor, who wanted to deal with the sworn enemy.
In 972 Svyatoslav died in an unequal battle. News of this came to Kyiv along with miraculously surviving combatants of the prince. His son Yaropolk began to rule in the capital. In eight years, Vladimir the Red Sun, the baptizer of Russia, will take his place.
