PRINCE OLEG’S CAMPAIGN TO CONSTANTINOPLE
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PRINCE OLEG’S CAMPAIGN TO CONSTANTINOPLE
For Kyivan Rus 907 AD was the year of the event which was so memorable that it still reminds of the power of Ukraine. This is what Nestor the Chronicler wrote in the "Tale of Bygone Years" —
In 6415 Oleg campaigned against the Greek, leaving Igor in Kyiv. He took a lot of the Varangians, Slovens, Chudis, Kryvychis, Merias, Drevlianys, Radymychis, Polianys, Siverianys, Viatychys, Croatians, Dulibis, Tyvertsis known as interpreters. All these were called the Great Scythia. Together with all of them Oleg set off riding and sailing, and his fleet included 2,000 boats. He came up to Tsargorod: the Greek locked the judgment hall and closed the city. So Oleg went onto the shore and started fighting: many Greek people were killed in the suburbs of the city, many houses were destroyed and many churches were burnt down. Those captured were either beaten up, tortured or shot while others were thrown into the sea, and the Rus people did a lot of harm to the Greeks as if they were enemies.
It should be mentioned that the Vikings, who, as the official historiography reports, took an active part in Kyiv prince armies, were used to acting that way, gaining the fame as the sea bandits and courageous warriors. Regarding Prince Oleg, nicknamed Prophetic, the sources are in agreement saying that the future Kyiv prince belonged to the detachment of Norsemen mercenaries brought by Riurik from Scandinavia. Scholars differ in tiny details only. Some sources claim that Oleg was Riurik's relative, while others declare that the prince was an ordinary warrior, who was proclaimed the Warden of the minor son Igor after Riurik's death, and that he made Kyiv his capital.
Prince Oleg’s Campaign to Constantinople
However, omitting a detailed description of the prince's personality, we should recall his campaign across the Black Sea, due to which Kyivan Rus became the state feared and respected in the former eastern part of the Roman Empire. According to the standards of that time the fleet of two thousand ships was indeed a huge armed force. If we suppose that those ships became the prototypes of the Cossack chaika boats, then each vessel seated 40—50 warriors. That was the number of the crew soldiers that was given by historian D. Yavornytskyi. Approximately the same number of warriors was taken on the deck of the famous Viking boat Drakkar. If we base on this information, it is easy to calculate that the Prince's troops included some 90,000 people. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Byzantine Empire could not oppose the attack and after a weak attempt of defence, it just surrendered to the winner. As a result, Kyivan Prince had an opportunity to dictate his conditions to Emperor Leo IV. After long-lasting negotiations between Oleg's ambassadors and the representatives of the Emperor's court, a Rus-Byzantine agreement beneficial for Kyiv was signed on September, 911. According to that agreement, Kyivan merchants were given significant privileges in trading with Byzantine. A separate clause of agreement was to allocate an area in Constantinople where merchants could not only stay for six months, but also trade on the duty-free basis and be supported from the treasury. The agreement also stipulated the rights of the sailors who had often been robbed by the Byzantians before. Now, instead of robbing, Emperor's people undertook to provide comprehensive support to the ships from Rus. The deal also determined the procedure of exchanging captives and paying military contributions by the Emperor.
F. Bruni. Oleg fixes his shield to Constantinople gate
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