941 944 the cause of the Byzantine war. Events during the reign of Igor the old

Russian-Byzantine war of 941-944- the unsuccessful campaign of Prince Igor against Byzantium in 941 and a second campaign in 943, ending with a peace treaty in 944.

On June 11, 941, Igor's fleet was scattered at the entrance to the Bosporus by the Byzantine squadron, which used Greek fire, after which the fighting continued for another 3 months for Black Sea coast Asia Minor. On September 15, 941, the Russian fleet was finally defeated off the coast of Thrace while trying to break through to Russia. In 943, Prince Igor gathered a new army with the participation of the Pechenegs and led a campaign on the Danube to the northern borders Byzantine Empire. This time, things did not come to military clashes, Byzantium concluded a peace treaty with Igor, paying tribute.

Background and role of the Khazar Khaganate

The Cambridge document (a letter from a Khazar Jew of the 2nd half of the 10th century) connects the campaign of Russia against Constantinople with the events that took place in Khazaria not long before. Around the 930s, the Byzantine emperor Romanus launched a campaign against the Jews. In response, the Khazar Khagan, professing Judaism, “ overthrown many uncircumcised". Then Roman, with the help of gifts, persuaded a certain Khalgu called " king of Russia”, to raid the Khazars.

Khalga captured Samkerts (near the Kerch Strait), after which the Khazar commander Pesakh opposed him and Byzantium, who ravaged three Byzantine cities and laid siege to Chersonesos in the Crimea. Then Pesach attacked Khalga, recaptured the spoils of that one from Samkerts and, from the position of the winner, entered into negotiations. Khalga was forced to agree to Pesach's demand to start a war with Byzantium.

Further development events in the Cambridge document generally coincides with the description of Prince Igor's campaign against Byzantium, known from Byzantine and Old Russian sources, but with an unexpected ending:

There were attempts to identify Khalga with Oleg Veshchim (S. Shekhter and P.K. Kokovtsov, later D.I. Ilovaisky and M.S. Grushevsky) or Igor himself (Helgi Inger, "Oleg the Younger" by Yu. D. Brutskus). Such identifications, however, led to a contradiction with all other reliable sources on the campaign of 941. According to the Cambridge Document, Russia became dependent on the Khazars, but the ancient Russian chronicles and Byzantine authors do not even mention the Khazars when describing events.

N. Ya. Polovoi offers the following reconstruction of events: Khalga was one of Igor's governors. While he was fighting Pesach, Igor decided to make peace with the Khazars, recalled Khalga from Tmutarakan and marched on Constantinople. That is why Khalga so firmly holds the word given to Pesach to fight with Roman. Part of the Russian army with the voivode Khalga passed Chersonesos on ships, and the other part with Igor along the coast of Bulgaria. From both places, news came to Constantinople of the approaching enemy, so Igor was not able to take the city by surprise, as happened during the first raid of the Rus in 860.

Igor's first campaign. 941

Sources for the campaign of 941

The raid on Constantinople in 941 and subsequent events of the same year are reflected in the Byzantine Chronicle of Amartol (borrowed from Theophanes Continuer) and the Life of Basil the New, as well as in the historical work of Liutprand of Cremona (Book of Retribution, 5.XV). The messages of the ancient Russian chronicles (XI-XII centuries) are generally based on Byzantine sources with the addition of individual details preserved in Russian legends.

Defeat at Hieron

Theophan's successor begins the story of the raid like this:

The raid did not come as a surprise to Byzantium. The news about him was sent in advance by the Bulgarians and later by the strategist of Kherson. However, the Byzantine fleet fought the Arabs and defended the islands in the Mediterranean, so that according to Liutprand, only 15 dilapidated helandia (a type of ship) remained in the capital, left because of their dilapidation. The Byzantines estimated the number of Igor's ships at an incredible 10 thousand. Liutprand of Cremona, passing on the story of an eyewitness, his stepfather, named a thousand ships in Igor's fleet. According to The Tale of Bygone Years and the testimony of Liutprand, the Russians first rushed to plunder the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea, so that the defenders of Constantinople had time to prepare a rebuff and meet Igor's fleet at the entrance to the Bosporus, not far from the city of Hieron.

The most detailed account of the first naval battle was left by Liutprand:

Amartol adds that the defeat of Igor after the attack of the fire-bearing helands was completed by a flotilla of Byzantine warships: dromons and triremes. It is believed that the Russians on June 11, 941 for the first time encountered Greek fire, and the memory of this was preserved for a long time among the Russian soldiers. The Old Russian chronicler of the beginning of the XII century conveyed their words in this way: “ It is as if the Greeks have heavenly lightning and, by releasing it, they set fire to us; that is why they did not overcome them.»According to the PVL, the Russians were first defeated by the Greeks on land, only then there was a brutal defeat at sea, but, probably, the chronicler brought together the battles that took place in different time in different places.

According to the PVL and Liutprand, the war ended there: Igor returned home with the surviving soldiers (according to Leo the Deacon, he had hardly 10 ships left). Emperor Roman ordered the execution of all captured Rus.

Fighting in Asia Minor

Byzantine sources (Chronicle of Amartol and the life of Basil the New) describe the continuation of the campaign of 941 in Asia Minor, where part of the Russian army retreated after the defeat at Hieron. According to Theophan's Successor, the fighting on the southern coast of the Black Sea developed as follows:

Thus, throughout the summer of 941, Russian troops plundered the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea until the main forces of the Byzantine army approached. PVL reports about 40 thousand soldiers in the eastern army of the domestic Kurkuas, in addition to the detachments of Varda Foka (from Macedonia) and the stratilate Theodore (from Thrace). fighting the Russians were conducting raids from boats that were inaccessible to Byzantine warships in Asia Minor shallow waters. When trying to break through to Russia, undertaken on the evening of September 15, 941, the Rus fleet was discovered at sea and destroyed near the city of Kila (Κοιλία) near the entrance to the Bosporus. The fate of the Russian army after the second defeat at sea remained unknown. It is unlikely that many managed to return to Russia, since the Russian chronicles are silent about such a development of events.

Old Russian sources rearranged the narrative in such a way that all military operations ended with the first and only naval defeat. The historian N. Ya. Polovoi explains this fact by the fact that after the defeat at Hieron, the Russian army was divided. Part of the army with Igor returned to Russia, only their fate was reflected in the Russian chronicles, however most of The fleet escaped in shallow water off the coast of Asia Minor, where Greek ships could not get close due to deep draft. As the head of the part of the Russian army remaining in Asia Minor, N. Ya. Polovoi considers Khalga, known from the aforementioned Khazar source, who fought with Byzantium for 4 months. Also, for 4 months, from June to September 941, hostilities continued along Amartol.

The historian G. G. Litavrin suggests that the Rus also penetrated the Bosphorus and the Sea of ​​Marmara through shallow water and completely dominated there, which led to a break in communications between the European and Asian shores.

The second campaign of Igor. 943

All information about Igor's 2nd campaign and the subsequent peace treaty is contained only in Russian chronicles.

PVL refers the campaign to 944: “ In the year 6452. Igor gathered many warriors: the Varangians, Rus, and Polyans, and Slovenians, and Krivichi, and Tivertsy, - and hired the Pechenegs, and took hostages from them - and went to the Greeks in boats and on horses, trying to take revenge for myself. »

The Byzantine emperor was warned of the attack and sent ambassadors to meet the Rus and the Pechenegs. The negotiations took place somewhere on the Danube. Igor agreed to take a rich tribute and returned to Kyiv, sending his Pecheneg allies to fight against the Bulgarians. The decision was influenced by the recent defeat at sea, the warriors at the council spoke as follows: “ Does anyone know - whom to overcome: whether we, whether they? Or who is in alliance with the sea? After all, we do not walk on the earth, but on the depths of the sea: a common death for all.»

Historians date the campaign to 943 (N.M. Karamzin, B.A. Rybakov, N.Ya. Polovoi). The Novgorod First Chronicle of the younger version, which contains fragments of an 11th-century chronicle, erroneously dates Igor's campaign to 920 and reports a second campaign a year later, which corresponds to 943 according to a more accurate Byzantine chronology. The successor of Theophanes under the same year mentions the big campaign of the "Turks", which ended with a peace treaty with Byzantium. By "Turks" the Greeks usually meant the Hungarians, who began to raid Byzantium from 934, and it is possible that the ancient Russian chronicler confused the Hungarians with the Pechenegs. At least Theophan's successor reports that after the agreement with the "Turks" in 943, peace was maintained for 5 years.

Russian-Byzantine treaty. 944

The next year after Igor's campaign, Emperor Roman sent envoys to Igor to restore peace. The PVL dates the peace treaty to 945, but the mention of Roman in the treaty points to 944. In December 944, Roman was overthrown by his sons, Stephen and Constantine, who were immediately removed from power by the new emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus.

The text of the Russian-Byzantine treaty, which is of a military-trade nature, is quoted in full in the PVL. First of all, he regulates the conditions for the stay and trade of Russian merchants in Byzantium, determines the exact amount of fines for various misconduct, and establishes the amount of ransom for captives. It also formulated a provision on mutual military assistance between the Russian Grand Duke and the Byzantine tsars.

The year following the signing of the contract Grand Duke Igor was killed by the Drevlyans.

In the year 6449 (941). Igor went to the Greeks. And the Bulgarians sent a message to the tsar that the Russians were going to Tsargrad: ten thousand ships. And they came, and sailed, and began to devastate the country of Bithynia, and captivated the land along the Pontic Sea to Heraclia and to the Paphlagonian land, and captivated the whole country of Nicomedia, and burned the whole Court. And those who were captured - some were crucified, while in others, as a goal, they shot with arrows, wringing their hands back, tied them up and drove iron nails into their heads. Many of the holy churches were set on fire, and on both banks of the Court they seized a lot of wealth. When the soldiers came from the east - Panfir-Demestik with forty thousand, Phocas-Patrician with the Macedonians, Fedor the Stratilat with the Thracians, and with them the dignitary boyars, they surrounded Russia. The Russians, having consulted, went out against the Greeks with weapons, and in a fierce battle the Greeks barely defeated. The Russians, by evening, returned to their squad and at night, sitting in the boats, sailed away. Theophanes met them in the boats with fire and began to fire with pipes on the Russian boats. And a terrible miracle was seen. The Russians, seeing the flames, threw themselves into the sea water, trying to escape, and so the rest returned home. And, having come to their land, they told - each to their own - about what had happened and about the boat fire. “It’s like lightning from heaven,” they said, “the Greeks have in their place, and by releasing it, they set fire to us; that is why they did not overcome them.” Igor, on his return, began to gather a lot of soldiers and sent across the sea to the Varangians, inviting them to the Greeks, again intending to go to them.

SO MUCH WONDERFUL FIRE, AS LIKE A HEAVENLY LIGHTNING

The chronicler knows the Russian tradition and the Greek news about Igor's campaign against Constantinople: in 941, the Russian prince went by sea to the shores of the Empire, the Bulgarians gave the news to Constantinople that Russia was coming; Protovestiary Theophanes was sent against her, who set Igor's boats on fire with Greek fire. Having suffered a defeat at sea, the Russians landed on the shores of Asia Minor and, as usual, greatly devastated them, but here they were caught and defeated by the patrician Barda and domestic John, rushed into the boats and set off to the shores of Thrace, were overtaken on the road, again defeated by Theophanes and with small the remnants returned back to Russia. At home, the fugitives justified themselves by saying that the Greeks had some kind of miraculous fire, like heavenly lightning, which they launched into Russian boats and burned them.

But on a dry path, what was the cause of their defeat? This reason can be discovered in the legend itself, from which it is clear that Igor's campaign was not like Oleg's enterprise, accomplished by the combined forces of many tribes; it was more like a raid by a gang, a small squad. The fact that there were few troops, and contemporaries attributed to this circumstance the cause of the failure, is shown by the words of the chronicler, who immediately after describing the campaign says that Igor, having come home, began to gather a large army, sent overseas to hire the Varangians to go back to the Empire.

The chronicler places Igor's second campaign against the Greeks under the year 944; this time he says that Igor, like Oleg, gathered a lot of troops: the Varangians, Rus, Polyans, Slavs, Krivichi, Tivertsy, hired the Pechenegs, taking hostages from them, and went on a campaign on boats and horses to avenge the previous defeat . The people of Korsun sent a message to Emperor Roman: "Rus is advancing with countless ships, the ships have covered the whole sea." The Bulgarians also sent a message: “Rus is coming; hired and Pechenegs. Then, according to legend, the emperor sent his best boyars to Igor with a request: "Do not go, but take the tribute that Oleg took, I will give it to her." The emperor also sent expensive fabrics and a lot of gold to the Pechenegs. Igor, having reached the Danube, convened a squad and began to think with her about the proposals of the emperor; The squad said: “If the king says so, then why do we need more? Without fighting, let's take gold, silver and curtains! How do you know who wins, us or them? After all, it is impossible to agree with the sea in advance, we do not walk on land, but in the depths of the sea, one death to all. Igor obeyed the squad, ordered the Pechenegs to fight the Bulgarian land, took gold and curtains from the Greeks for himself and for the whole army, and went back to Kyiv. In the next year, 945, an agreement was concluded with the Greeks, also, apparently, to confirm the brief and, perhaps, verbal efforts concluded immediately after the end of the campaign.

Kyiv - CAPITAL, RULE - IGOR

In Igor's agreement with the Greeks, we read, among other things, that the Russian Grand Duke and his boyars can annually send as many ships to the great Greek kings as they want, with ambassadors and guests, that is, with their own clerks and with free Russian merchants. This story of the Byzantine emperor clearly shows us the close connection between the annual turnover of the political and economic life of Russia. The tribute that the Kyiv prince collected as a ruler was at the same time the material of his trade turnover: having become a sovereign, like a koning, he, like a Varangian, did not cease to be an armed merchant. He shared tribute with his retinue, which served him as an instrument of government, constituted the government class. This class acted as the main lever, in both ways, both political and economic: in winter it ruled, walked among people, begged, and in summer it traded in what it collected during the winter. In the same story, Constantine vividly outlines the centralizing significance of Kyiv as the center of the political and economic life of the Russian land. Rus, the government class headed by the prince, with its overseas trade turnover supported the ship trade in the Slavic population of the entire Dnieper basin, which found a market for itself at the spring fair of one-trees near Kyiv, and every spring it pulled merchant boats here from different corners of the country along the Greek-Varangian route. with the goods of forest hunters and beekeepers. Through such a complex economic cycle, a silver Arab dirhem or a gold clasp of Byzantine work fell from Baghdad or Constantinople to the banks of the Oka or Vazuza, where archaeologists find them.

swore by Perun

It is remarkable that the Varangian (Germanic) mythology did not have any influence on the Slavic, despite the political domination of the Varangians; it was so for the reason that the pagan beliefs of the Varangians were neither clearer nor stronger than the Slavic ones: the Varangians very easily changed their paganism to the Slavic cult if they did not accept Greek Christianity. Prince Igor, a Varangian by origin, and his Varangian squad already swore by the Slavic Perun and worshiped his idol.

"DO NOT GO, BUT TAKE A TRIBUTE"

One of the reasons for the catastrophic defeat of "Tsar" Helg and Prince Igor in 941 was that they could not find allies for the war with Byzantium. Khazaria was absorbed in the struggle against the Pechenegs and could not provide effective assistance to the Rus.

In 944 Prince Igor of Kyiv undertook a second campaign against Constantinople. The Kyiv chronicler did not find any mention of this enterprise in Byzantine sources, and in order to describe a new military expedition, he had to "paraphrase" the story of the first campaign.

Igor failed to take the Greeks by surprise. The Korsunians and Bulgarians managed to warn Constantinople of the danger. The emperor sent “the best boyars” to Igor, imploring him: “Don’t go, but take tribute, Oleg had the south, I’ll give it to that tribute.” Taking advantage of this, Igor accepted the tribute and left "in his own way." The chronicler was sure that the Greeks were frightened by the power of the Russian fleet, for Igor's ships covered the entire sea "scissorless". In fact, the Byzantines were worried not so much by the fleet of the Rus, the recent defeat of which they did not forget, but by Igor's alliance with the Pecheneg horde. The pastures of the Pecheneg Horde spread over a vast area from the Lower Don to the Dnieper. The Pechenegs became the dominant force in the Black Sea region. According to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the attacks of the Pechenegs deprived the Rus of the opportunity to fight with Byzantium. The peace between the Pechenegs and the Rus was fraught with a threat to the empire.

Preparing for a war with Byzantium, the Kyiv prince "hired" the Pechenegs, i.e. sent rich gifts to their leaders, and took hostages from them. Having received tribute from the emperor, the Rus sailed to the east, but first Igor "ordered the Pechenegs to fight the Bulgarian land." The Pechenegs were pushed to the war against the Bulgarians, perhaps not only by the Rus, but also by the Greeks. Byzantium did not give up its intention to weaken Bulgaria and again subjugate it to its power. Having completed hostilities, the Russians and Greeks exchanged embassies and concluded a peace treaty. It follows from the agreement that the sphere of special interests of Byzantium and Russia was the Crimea. The situation on the Crimean peninsula was determined by two factors: the long-standing Byzantine-Khazar conflict and the emergence of a Norman principality at the junction of Byzantine and Khazar possessions. Chersonese (Korsun) remained the main stronghold of the empire in the Crimea. It was forbidden for a Russian prince to "have volosts", i.e., to seize the possessions of the Khazars in the Crimea. Moreover, the treaty obliged the Russian prince to fight ("let him fight") with the enemies of Byzantium in the Crimea. If “that country” (the Khazar possessions) did not submit, in this case the emperor promised to send his troops to help the Rus. In fact, Byzantium set the goal of expelling the Khazars from the Crimea with the hands of the Rus, and then dividing them from the possession. The agreement was implemented, albeit with a delay of more than half a century. The Kyiv principality got Tmutarakan with the cities of Tamatarkha and Kerch, and Byzantium conquered the last possessions of the Khazars around Surozh. Direct assistance to the Byzantines was provided by King Sfeng, uncle Kyiv prince…

Peace treaties with the Greeks created favorable conditions to develop trade and diplomatic relations between Kievan Rus and Byzantium. Russ received the right to equip any number of ships and trade in the markets of Constantinople. Oleg had to agree that the Russians, no matter how many of them came to Byzantium, have the right to enter the service in the imperial army without any permission from the Kyiv prince ...

The peace treaties created the conditions for the penetration of Christian ideas into Russia. At the conclusion of the treaty in 911, there was not a single Christian among Oleg's ambassadors. The Rus sealed the “haratya” with an oath to Perun. In 944, in addition to pagan Rus, Christian Rus also participated in negotiations with the Greeks. The Byzantines singled them out, giving them the right to be the first to take the oath and taking them to the "cathedral church" - St. Sophia Cathedral.

The study of the text of the treaty allowed M. D. Priselkov to assume that already under Igor, power in Kyiv actually belonged to the Christian party, to which the prince himself belonged, and that negotiations in Constantinople led to the development of conditions for the establishment of a new faith in Kyiv. This assumption cannot be reconciled with the source. One of the important articles of the treaty of 944 read: “If a Khrestian kills a Rusyn, or a Rusyn Christian,” etc. The article certifies that the Rusyns belong to the pagan faith. Russian ambassadors lived in Constantinople for a long time: they had to sell the goods they brought. The Greeks used this circumstance to convert some of them to Christianity... The agreement of 944 drawn up by experienced Byzantine diplomats provided for the possibility of the adoption of Christianity by the "princes" who remained during the negotiations in Kyiv. The final formula read: “And to transgress this (agreement - R. S.) from our country (Rus. - R. S.), whether it is a prince, whether someone is baptized, whether they are not baptized, but they do not have help from God .. .»; who violated the agreement "let there be an oath from God and from Perun."

Skrynnikov R.G. Old Russian state

THE TOP OF OLD RUSSIAN DIPLOMACY

But what an amazing thing! This time, Russia insisted - and it is difficult to find another word here - for the appearance of Byzantine ambassadors in Kyiv. The period of discrimination against the northern “barbarians” has ended, who, despite their high-profile victories, obediently wandered to Constantinople for negotiations and here, under the vigilant gaze of the Byzantine clerks, formulated their contractual requirements, put their speeches on paper, diligently translated diplomatic stereotypes unfamiliar to them from Greek, and then they gazed in fascination at the magnificence of the temples and palaces of Constantinople.

Now the Byzantine ambassadors had to come to Kyiv for the first talks, and it is difficult to overestimate the importance and prestige of the agreement reached. …

In essence, a tangle of the entire Eastern European policy of those days was unwound here, in which Russia, Byzantium, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Pechenegs and, possibly, Khazaria were involved. Negotiations took place here, new diplomatic stereotypes were developed, the foundation was laid for a new long-term agreement with the empire, which was supposed to regulate relations between countries, reconcile or, at least, smooth out the contradictions between them ...

And then the Russian ambassadors moved to Constantinople.

It was a big embassy. Gone are the days when the five Russian ambassadors opposed the entire Byzantine diplomatic routine. Now a prestigious representation of a powerful state was sent to Constantinople, consisting of 51 people - 25 ambassadors and 26 merchants. They were accompanied by armed guards, shipbuilders ...

The title of the Russian Grand Duke Igor sounded differently in the new treaty. The epithet “bright” was lost and disappeared somewhere, which the Byzantine clerks awarded Oleg with such far from naive calculation. In Kyiv, apparently, they quickly figured out what was happening and realized in what unenviable position he put the Kyiv prince. Now, in the treaty of 944, this title is not present, but Igor is referred to here as in his homeland - "the Grand Duke of Russia." True, sometimes in articles, so to speak, in the working order, the concepts of "grand prince" and "prince" are also used. And yet it is quite obvious that Russia also tried to achieve a change here and insisted on the title that did not infringe on her state dignity, although, of course, he was still far from such heights as "king" and emperor "...

Russia, step by step, slowly and stubbornly won diplomatic positions for itself. But this was most clearly reflected in the procedure for signing and approving the treaty, as stated in the treaty. This text is so remarkable that it is tempting to quote it in its entirety...

For the first time we see that the treaty was signed by the Byzantine emperors, for the first time the Byzantine side was instructed by the treaty to send its representatives back to Kyiv in order to take an oath on the treaty by the Russian Grand Duke and his husbands. For the first time, Russia and Byzantium assume equal obligations regarding the approval of the treaty. Thus, from the beginning of the development of a new diplomatic document until the very end of this work, Russia was on an equal footing with the empire, and this itself was already a remarkable phenomenon in history. of Eastern Europe.

And the treaty itself, which both sides worked out with such care, became an extraordinary event. The diplomacy of that time does not know a document of a larger scale, more detailed, embracing economic, political, and military-allied relations between countries.

Plan
Introduction
1 Background and role of the Khazar Khaganate
2 Igor's first campaign. 941
2.1 Sources for the campaign of 941
2.2 Defeat at Hieron
2.3 Fighting in Asia Minor

3 Igor's second campaign. 943
4 Russian-Byzantine treaty. 944
Bibliography
Russian-Byzantine war of 941-944

Introduction

The Russian-Byzantine war of 941-944 - the unsuccessful campaign of Prince Igor against Byzantium in 941 and a second campaign in 943, ending with a peace treaty in 944.

On June 11, 941, Igor's fleet was scattered at the entrance to the Bosporus by the Byzantine squadron, which used Greek fire, after which the fighting continued for another 3 months on the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor. On September 15, 941, the Russian fleet was finally defeated off the coast of Thrace while trying to break through to Russia. In 943, Prince Igor gathered a new army with the participation of the Pechenegs and led a campaign on the Danube to the northern borders of the Byzantine Empire. This time, things did not come to military clashes, Byzantium concluded a peace treaty with Igor, paying tribute.

1. Background and role of the Khazar Khaganate

The Cambridge document (a letter from a Khazar Jew of the 2nd half of the 10th century) connects the campaign of Russia against Constantinople with the events that took place in Khazaria not long before. Around the 930s, the Byzantine emperor Romanus launched a campaign against the Jews. In response, the Khazar Khagan, professing Judaism, “ overthrown many uncircumcised". Then Roman, with the help of gifts, persuaded a certain Khalgu called " king of Russia”, to raid the Khazars.

Khalga captured Samkerts (near the Kerch Strait), after which the Khazar commander Pesakh opposed him and Byzantium, who ravaged three Byzantine cities and laid siege to Chersonesos in the Crimea. Then Pesach attacked Khalga, recaptured the spoils of that one from Samkerts and, from the position of the winner, entered into negotiations. Khalga was forced to agree to Pesach's demand to start a war with Byzantium.

The further development of events in the Cambridge document generally coincides with the description of Prince Igor's campaign against Byzantium, known from Byzantine and Old Russian sources, but with an unexpected ending:

“And he went against his will and fought against Kustantina [Constantinople] at sea for four months. And his heroes fell there, because the Macedonians overpowered [him] with fire. And he fled, and was ashamed to return to his own country, but went by sea to Persia, and there he fell and all his camp. Then the Rus became subject to the power of the barracks.

There were attempts to identify Khalga with Oleg Veshchim (S. Shekhter and P.K. Kokovtsov, later D.I. Ilovaisky and M.S. Grushevsky) or Igor himself (Helgi Inger, "Oleg the Younger" by Yu. D. Brutskus). Such identifications, however, led to a contradiction with all other reliable sources on the campaign of 941. According to the Cambridge Document, Russia became dependent on the Khazaria, but the ancient Russian chronicles and Byzantine authors do not even mention the Khazars when describing events.

N. Ya. Polovoi offers the following reconstruction of events: Khalga was one of Igor's governors. While he was fighting Pesach, Igor decided to make peace with the Khazars, recalled Khalga from Tmutarakan and marched on Constantinople. That is why Khalga so firmly holds the word given to Pesach to fight with Roman. Part of the Russian army with the voivode Khalga passed Chersonesos on ships, and the other part with Igor along the coast of Bulgaria. From both places, news came to Constantinople of the approaching enemy, so Igor was not able to take the city by surprise, as happened during the first raid of the Rus in 860.

2. Igor's first campaign. 941

2.1. Sources for the campaign of 941

The raid on Constantinople in 941 and subsequent events of the same year are reflected in the Byzantine Chronicle of Amartol (borrowed from Theophanes Continuer) and the Life of Basil the New, as well as in the historical work of Liutprand of Cremona (Book of Retribution, 5.XV). The messages of the ancient Russian chronicles (XI-XII centuries) are generally based on Byzantine sources with the addition of individual details preserved in Russian legends.

2.2. Defeat at Hieron

Theophan's successor begins the story of the raid like this:

“On the eleventh of June of the fourteenth indiction (941), ten thousand ships sailed to Constantinople, the dews, who are also called dromites, but they come from the tribe of the Franks. Against them, with all the dromons and triremes that just ended up in the city, the patrician [Theophanes] was sent. He equipped and put in order the fleet, strengthened himself with fasting and tears, and prepared to fight against the dews.

The raid did not come as a surprise to Byzantium. The news about him was sent in advance by the Bulgarians and later by the strategist of Kherson. However, the Byzantine fleet fought the Arabs and defended the islands in the Mediterranean, so that, according to Liutprand, only 15 dilapidated helandia (a type of ship) remained in the capital, left because of their dilapidation. The Byzantines estimated the number of Igor's ships at an incredible 10 thousand. Liutprand of Cremona, passing on the story of an eyewitness, his stepfather, named a thousand ships in Igor's fleet. According to The Tale of Bygone Years and the testimony of Liutprand, the Russians first rushed to plunder the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea, so that the defenders of Constantinople had time to prepare a rebuff and meet Igor's fleet at the entrance to the Bosporus, not far from the city of Hieron.

The most detailed account of the first naval battle was left by Liutprand:

“Roman [the Byzantine emperor] ordered shipbuilders to come to him, and said to them:“ Now go and immediately equip those helands that are left [at home]. But place a fire-throwing device not only at the bow, but also at the stern and on both sides". So, when helandia were equipped according to his order, he put in them the most experienced men and ordered them to go towards King Igor. They set sail; seeing them at sea, King Igor ordered his army to take them alive and not kill them. But the good and merciful Lord, desiring not only to protect those who honor Him, worship Him, pray to Him, but also to honor them with victory, tamed the winds, thereby calming the sea; for otherwise it would have been difficult for the Greeks to throw fire. So, having taken a position in the middle of the Russian [troop], they [began] throwing fire in all directions. The Russians, seeing this, immediately began to rush from the ships into the sea, preferring to drown in the waves rather than burn in the fire. Some, weighed down with chain mail and helmets, immediately went to the bottom of the sea, and they were no longer seen, while others, having swum, continued to burn even in the water; no one was saved that day if he did not manage to run to the shore. After all, the ships of the Russians, due to their small size, also swim in shallow water, which the Greek Helandia cannot because of their deep draft.

Amartol adds that the defeat of Igor after the attack of the fire-bearing helands was completed by a flotilla of Byzantine warships: dromons and triremes. It is believed that the Russians on June 11, 941 for the first time encountered Greek fire, and the memory of this was preserved for a long time among the Russian soldiers. The Old Russian chronicler of the beginning of the XII century conveyed their words in this way: “ It is as if the Greeks have heavenly lightning and, by releasing it, they set fire to us; that is why they did not overcome them.» According to the PVL, the Russians were first defeated by the Greeks on land, only then there was a brutal defeat at sea, but, probably, the chronicler brought together the battles that took place at different times in different places.

According to the PVL and Liutprand, the war ended there: Igor returned home with the surviving soldiers (according to Leo the Deacon, he had hardly 10 ships left). Emperor Roman ordered the execution of all captured Rus.

2.3. Fighting in Asia Minor

Byzantine sources (Chronicle of Amartol and the life of Basil the New) describe the continuation of the campaign of 941 in Asia Minor, where part of the Russian army retreated after the defeat at Hieron. According to Theophan's Successor, the fighting on the southern coast of the Black Sea developed as follows:

“The survivors swam to the eastern shore, to Sgora. And then he was sent by land to intercept them from the stratigi, the patrician Varda Foka with horsemen and selected soldiers. The dews sent a sizable detachment to Bithynia to stock up on provisions and everything necessary, but Varda Fok overtook this detachment, defeated it utterly, put to flight and killed his soldiers. At the head of the entire eastern army, the most intelligent domestic schol John Kurkuas also came there, who, appearing here and there, killed a lot of those who had broken away from their enemies, and the dews retreated in fear of his onslaught, no longer daring to leave their ships and make sorties.

The dews committed many atrocities before the arrival of the Roman army: they set fire to the coast of the Sten (Bosphorus), and some of the prisoners were crucified on the cross, others were driven into the ground, others were set as targets and shot with bows. Prisoners of the priestly class, they tied their hands behind their backs and drove iron nails into their heads. They also burned many holy temples. However, winter was approaching, the Ross were running out of food, they were afraid of the advancing army of the domestic schol Kurkuas, his mind and ingenuity, they were no less afraid of naval battles and skillful maneuvers of Patrician Theophanes and therefore decided to return home. Trying to pass unnoticed by the fleet, in September of the fifteenth indict (941) they set sail at night to the Thracian coast, but were met by the aforementioned patrician Theophanes and could not hide from his vigilant and valiant soul. A second battle immediately begins, and many ships sink to the bottom, and many Ross are killed by the mentioned husband. Only a few managed to escape on their ships, approach the coast of Kila (Thrace) and flee at nightfall.

Thus, throughout the summer of 941, Russian troops plundered the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea until the main forces of the Byzantine army approached. PVL reports about 40 thousand soldiers in the eastern army of the domestic Kurkuas, in addition to the detachments of Varda Foka (from Macedonia) and the stratilate Theodore (from Thrace). The fighting was carried out by the Rus with raids from boats, which were inaccessible to Byzantine warships in the shallow waters of Asia Minor. When trying to break through to Russia, undertaken on the evening of September 15, 941, the Rus fleet was discovered at sea and destroyed near the city of Kila (Κοιλία) near the entrance to the Bosporus. The fate of the Russian army after the second defeat at sea remained unknown. It is unlikely that many managed to return to Russia, since the Russian chronicles are silent about such a development of events.

The raid on Constantinople in 941 and subsequent events of the same year are reflected in the Byzantine Chronicle of Amartol (borrowed from Theophanes Continuer) and the Life of Basil the New, as well as in the historical work of Liutprand of Cremona (Book of Retribution, 5.XV). The messages of the ancient Russian chronicles (XI-XII centuries) are generally based on Byzantine sources with the addition of individual details preserved in Russian legends.

Defeat at Hieron

Theophan's successor begins the story of the raid like this:

“On the eleventh of June of the fourteenth indiction (941), ten thousand ships sailed to Constantinople, the dews, who are also called dromites, but they come from the tribe of the Franks. Against them, with all the dromons and triremes that just ended up in the city, a patrician (Theophanes) was sent. He equipped and put in order the fleet, strengthened himself with fasting and tears, and prepared to fight against the dews.

The raid did not come as a surprise to Byzantium. The news about him was sent in advance by the Bulgarians and later by the strategist of Kherson. However, the Byzantine fleet fought the Arabs and defended the islands in the Mediterranean, so that, according to Liutprand, only 15 dilapidated helandia (a type of ship) remained in the capital, left because of their dilapidation. The Byzantines estimated the number of Igor's ships at an incredible 10 thousand.

Liutprand of Cremona, passing on the story of an eyewitness, his stepfather, named a thousand ships in Igor's fleet. According to The Tale of Bygone Years and the testimony of Liutprand, the Russians first rushed to plunder the Asia Minor coast of the Black Sea, so that the defenders of Constantinople had time to prepare a rebuff and meet Igor's fleet at the entrance to the Bosporus, not far from the city of Hieron.

The most detailed account of the first naval battle was left by Liutprand:

“Roman (the Byzantine emperor) ordered shipbuilders to come to him, and said to them: “Now go and immediately equip those helands that are left (at home). But place a device for throwing fire not only at the bow, but also at the stern and on both sides. So, when helandia were equipped according to his order, he put in them the most experienced men and ordered them to go towards King Igor. They set sail; seeing them at sea, King Igor ordered his army to take them alive and not kill them. But the good and merciful Lord, desiring not only to protect those who honor Him, worship Him, pray to Him, but also to honor them with victory, tamed the winds, thereby calming the sea; for otherwise it would have been difficult for the Greeks to throw fire. So, having taken a position in the middle of the Russian (troop), they (began) to throw fire in all directions. The Russians, seeing this, immediately began to rush from the ships into the sea, preferring to drown in the waves rather than burn in the fire. Some, weighed down with chain mail and helmets, immediately went to the bottom of the sea, and they were no longer seen, while others, having swum, continued to burn even in the water; no one was saved that day if he did not manage to run to the shore. After all, the ships of the Russians, due to their small size, also swim in shallow water, which the Greek Helandia cannot because of their deep draft.

Amartol adds that the defeat of Igor after the attack of the fire-bearing helands was completed by a flotilla of Byzantine warships: dromons and triremes. It is believed that the Russians on June 11, 941 for the first time encountered Greek fire, and the memory of this was preserved for a long time among the Russian soldiers. The ancient Russian chronicler of the beginning of the 12th century conveyed their words in this way: “It is as if the Greeks have heavenly lightning and, releasing it, burned us; That's why they didn't overcome them." According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Russians were first defeated by the Greeks on land, only then there was a brutal defeat at sea, but, probably, the chronicler brought together the battles that took place at different times in different places.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years and Liutprand, the war ended there: Igor returned home with the surviving soldiers (according to Leo the Deacon, he had hardly 10 ships left).

Emperor Roman ordered the execution of all captured Rus.

Causes of the war between Prince Igor and Byzantium

The reasons for the Constantinople campaign of 941 remained a mystery to the ancient Russian chronicle, which was limited to a simple registration of the fact: "Igor went to the Greeks." This is natural, since the reign of Oleg II remained out of sight of the compilers of The Tale of Bygone Years. Historiography also did not say anything significant about this. Usually the campaign of 941 was simply put on a par with other raids of the Rus on Byzantium and was seen as a continuation of Russian expansion in the Black Sea, originating in the first third of the 9th century. At the same time, they overlooked the fact that the treaty of 911 fully satisfied the political ambitions and trade interests of the Rus, and therefore it was pointless to seek its revision on their part. Indeed, subsequent Russian-Byzantine treaties do not reveal any "progress" in the field of state-trade conditions for "Rus", reproducing, with few exceptions, the text of the agreement of 911.

The opinion was expressed that thirty years (from 911 to 941) is the time period for which the effect of the “eternal peace” was extended in accordance with the traditions of Byzantine diplomacy, after which the Russians had to force the renewal of the trade agreement with an armed hand ( Petrukhin V.Ya. Slavs, Varangians and Khazars in southern Russia. To the problem of formation ancient Russian state // Ancient States Of Eastern Europe. M., 1995. S. 73). But this conjecture is not supported by facts. A simple look at the chronology of the Rus campaigns against Byzantium (860, 904, 911, 941, 944, 970-971, 988/989, 1043) immediately reveals that the thirty-year interval is as random as any other. In addition, the agreement of 911 does not contain even a hint of a definite period of its validity, and the agreement of 944 was concluded "for the whole summer, until the sun shines and the whole world stands still."

The campaign of 941 will look like unreasonable aggression until the Russian land of Prince Igor ceases to be identified with the power of the “bright princes”, and Oleg II is given a place in Russian history. The events of 941 are directly related to the defeat of Oleg in the Crimea in 939 and his subsequent expulsion from Kyiv. Kyiv princely family used an opportune moment to put an end to the formal dependence of the Russian land on the "bright prince". To do this, Igor needed to get international recognition his status as a sovereign ruler - the great Russian prince, "Archon of Russia". The best patent for this title at that time was an agreement with Byzantium, but she, apparently, hesitated to issue it or put forward some conditions that were unacceptable to Kyiv. That is why Igor was going to disturb the borders of the empire. In the same way, Otto I in the second half of the 60s and early 70s. 10th century had to wrest recognition of his imperial title from Byzantium by force.

The size of the Russian fleet

Most sources greatly exaggerate the size of the Russian fleet that went on a raid on Constantinople. Our chronicles, based on the information of the Successor Theophan and Georgy Amartol, call an unthinkable figure - 10,000 boats. The German ambassador Liutprand, who visited Constantinople a few years after the defeat of the Russian flotilla, learned from conversations with eyewitnesses that the Rus had "a thousand or even more ships." The Byzantine writer Leo Grammatik, who writes about the invasion of 10,000 Russian troops, assesses the strength of the Rus even more modestly. From The Tale of Bygone Years it is known that the Russian boat could accommodate about forty people. The construction of large warships, accommodating up to four dozen soldiers, is what distinguishes Slavic maritime traditions. So, characterizing the armed forces of Croatia, Konstantin Porphyrogenitus writes that in addition to a very large foot army, the Croatian ruler can put up 80 sagen (large boats) and 100 kondura (boats). According to the emperor, about 40 people were placed in each sagen, up to 20 in large konduras, and up to 10 in small ones (“On the Management of the Empire”).

So the 10,000th Russian flotilla is reduced to 250 boats. But here, too, it must be borne in mind that a significant part of the Rus flotilla was made up of allied naval squads of the princes of Tauride Russia. Igor was by no means eager to get involved in a real war with Byzantium. The raid, undertaken by small forces, was supposed to be demonstrative. It was not the intention of the Kievan prince to inflict serious military and material damage, which could prevent the immediate resumption of friendly relations immediately after the end of the campaign.

Defeat at the walls of Tsargrad

The campaign began in the spring of 941.

Around the middle of May, Igor set sail from Kyiv on his boats. Keeping to the coastline, he reached the Bulgarian coast three weeks later, where he was joined by a flotilla of Taurian Rus, who arrived here from the eastern Crimea. The reliability of such a route of the Russian army is confirmed in the Greek Life of Vasily the New. The report of the Kherson strategist, it is said there, "declaring about their [Rus's] invasion and that they had already approached these [Kherson] regions," reached Constantinople a few days after the news of this "spread ... in the palace and between city ​​dwellers." Consequently, the mayor of Kherson was late in warning of the danger, and someone else was the first to raise the alarm in Constantinople.
The Tale of Bygone Years says that the Bulgarians first brought the news of the invasion of Russia to Roman I (Byzantium was then on friendly terms with Bulgaria; the Bulgarian Tsar Peter was the son-in-law of Roman I (after his granddaughter) and received from him the title "Vasileus of the Bulgarians") , and then the Korsunians (Chersonese). These testimonies are especially interesting because the ancient Russian chronicler attributes the raid on Tsargrad to Igor alone. But then what does the Kherson strategist have to do with it? After all, Kherson did not lie on the way from the mouth of the Dnieper to Constantinople, and Igor had absolutely no reason to "approach these areas." The imaginary contradiction, however, is easily eliminated, given that in the campaign of 941 the Rus had not one, but two starting points: Kyiv and the eastern Crimea. The order of notification of the invasion of the Rus testifies that the Kherson strategist was alarmed only when he saw the ships of the Tauride Rus sailing past his city, en route to join the Kyiv flotilla, which, having left the Dnieper in the Black Sea, immediately headed for the coast of Bulgaria. Only with such a development of events could the Bulgarians turn out to be more efficient messengers of trouble than the head of the Byzantine outpost in the Northern Black Sea region.

On June 11, the Russians camped near Constantinople, in full view of the inhabitants of the city. Talking about the beginning of the campaign, the Greek sources are silent about the usual violence of the Rus against the civilian population. Nothing is also said about the plundered goods, while regarding the previous raids of the Rus on Constantinople, there are concordant reports from various sources about wholesale robbery and "huge booty". Apparently, Igor kept his warriors from robberies and murders, so as not to close the way to a speedy, as he hoped, reconciliation with Roman by excessive cruelty.

So a few days went by without action. The Russians remained in their camp, doing nothing. They seemed to offer the Greeks the first to attack them. However, the Greeks had nothing to oppose them from the sea, since Roman I sent the Greek fleet to defend the islands of the Mediterranean from attacks by the Arabs. Of course, Igor was well aware of this, and his slowness is most likely due to the fact that he was waiting for a response from the Greeks to the proposals already transmitted to him "to renew the old world."

However, in Constantinople they were in no hurry to enter into negotiations with the newly-minted "Archon of Russia." According to Liutprand, Emperor Romanus spent many sleepless nights, "tormented by thoughts." Shortly before that, he was not averse to playing the "Russian card" in a game with Khazaria. Since then, his views on the expediency of using the military resources of the Russian land to protect the interests of the empire in the Northern Black Sea region are unlikely to have changed (a number of articles from the treaty of 944 confirm this). But considerations of prestige must have kept Roman from yielding to open pressure. The divine basileus of the Romans could not afford to speak to himself in the language of dictatorship. He frantically searched for funds that would allow him to lift the siege of the city. Finally, he was informed that a dozen and a half helandium(large warships, accommodating about 100 rowers and several dozen soldiers), decommissioned ashore because of their dilapidation. The emperor immediately ordered the ship's carpenters to repair these vessels as quickly as possible and put them in order; in addition, he ordered to put flame-throwing machines (“siphons”) not only on the bow of the ships, as was usually done, but also on the stern and even on the sides. Patrician Theophan was entrusted with the command of the newly minted fleet ( patrician- court title highest rank introduced in the 4th c. Constantine I the Great and existed until the beginning of the 12th century).

Siphon

The half-rotted squadron did not look very impressive after repair. Theophanes decided to take her out to sea no sooner than he “strengthened himself with fasting and tears.”

Seeing the Greek ships, the Russians raised their sails and rushed towards them. Theophanes was waiting for them in the bay of the Golden Horn. When the Rus approached the Faro lighthouse, he gave the order to attack the enemy.

The miserable appearance of the Greek squadron must have amused Igor a lot. It seemed that defeating her was a matter of some half an hour. Filled with contempt for the Greeks, he moved one Kyiv squad against Feofan. The destruction of the Greek flotilla was not part of his intention. Liutprand writes that Igor "ordered his army not to kill them [the Greeks], but to take them alive." This very strange order from a military point of view could only be due to political considerations. Probably, Igor was going to return to Byzantium its captured soldiers at the end of the victorious battle in exchange for the conclusion of an alliance treaty.

The Russians of Igor boldly approached the Greek ships, intending to board them. The Russian boats clung to Theophan's ship, which was ahead of the battle formation of the Greeks. At this moment, the wind suddenly died down, the sea was completely calm. Now the Greeks could use their flamethrowers without interference. The instant change in the weather was perceived by them as help from above. Greek sailors and soldiers perked up. And from the ship of Feofan, surrounded by Russian boats, fiery streams poured in all directions *. Flammable liquid spilled over the water. The sea around the Russian ships seemed to suddenly flare up; several rooks blazed at once.

* The basis of "liquid fire" was natural pure oil. However, his secret “was not so much in the ratio of the ingredients included in the mixture, but in the technology and methods of its use, namely: exact definition the degree of heating of a hermetically sealed boiler and the degree of pressure on the surface of the air mixture pumped with the help of bellows. At the right moment, the valve that closed the exit from the boiler to the siphon opened, a lamp with an open fire was brought to the outlet, and thrown out with force flammable liquid, ignited, erupted on ships or siege engines of the enemy "( Konstantin Porphyrogenitus. On the management of the empire (text, translation, commentary) / Ed. G.G. Litavrin and A.P. Novoseltsev. M., 1989, note. 33, p. 342).

Action "Greek fire". Miniature from the "Chronicle" of John Skylitzes. XII-XIII centuries

The action of the terrible weapon shocked the Igor warriors to the core. In an instant, all their courage disappeared, panic fear seized the Russians. “Seeing this,” writes Liutprand, “the Russians immediately began to rush from the ships into the sea, preferring to drown in the waves rather than burn out in the flames. Others, burdened with shells and helmets, went to the bottom, and were no longer seen, while some that kept afloat burned down even in the midst of sea ​​waves". The Greek ships that arrived in time "completed the rout, sank many ships along with the crew, killed many, and took even more alive" (Theophan's successor). Igor, as Leo the Deacon testifies, escaped with “hardly a dozen rooks” (it is unlikely that these words should be taken literally), which managed to land on the shore.

The rapid death of Igor's troops demoralized the rest of the Rus. The Black Sea princes did not dare to come to his aid and took their boats to the coast of Asia Minor, in shallow water. The heavy Greek Helandias, which had a deep landing, could not pursue them.

Separation of the Russian troops

Contrary to the triumphant tone of the Byzantine chronicles, the Greek victory in the strait was more spectacular than decisive. Defeat - quick, but hardly final - was subjected to only one, Kyiv, part of the Russian fleet, the other, Tauride, survived and did not cease to be a serious threat to the Greeks. No wonder the Life of Basil the New ends the description of the first stage of the Russian campaign with a simple remark that the Rus were not allowed to go to Constantinople. However, the jubilation of the Constantinopolitans was genuine. The general holiday was animated by an exciting spectacle: by order of Roman, all the captured Rus were beheaded - perhaps as violators of oath promises of 911.

Both parts of the divided Russian army lost all contact with each other. Apparently, this explains the strange contradiction that is revealed when comparing the coverage of the events of 941 in ancient Russian and Byzantine sources. According to the latter, the war with the Rus falls into two stages: the first ended with the June defeat of the Russian fleet near Constantinople; the second continued in Asia Minor for another three months and ended in September with the final defeat of the Rus. Old Russian sources that tell about Igor's campaign against the Greeks date back to Byzantine ones (mainly to the Chronicle of George Amartol and the Life of Basil the New). But in this case this is not a simple compilation, so common for ancient Russian chronicles. It turns out that “the compilers of the first Russian chronographs, who used the Chronicle of Amartol and the Life of Vasily the New, not only copied from them information about Igor’s first campaign, but considered it necessary to supplement this information from some Russian source (which partially already took place when translating the Life of Vasily the New into Russian) and make such rearrangements in the text of the Chronicle and Life, which changed them beyond recognition" ( Polovoi N.Ya. On the question of Igor's first campaign against Byzantium ( Comparative analysis Russian and Byzantine sources) // Byzantine temporary. T. XVIII. M., 1961. S. 86). The essence of these changes and rearrangements boils down to the fact that the Byzantine news about the second stage of the campaign of 941 (in Asia Minor) is either completely discarded or explained in its own way. In The Tale of Bygone Years, the second stage of the war is obscured by adding the Asia Minor provinces of Byzantium to the list of those areas that have been devastated from the very beginning of the campaign: Igor “went more often in the Bethynian country, and fought along Pontus to Heraclius and to the Faflogonian land [Paphlagonia], and the whole country of Nicomedia was captivated, and the whole court was burned. The Hellenic Chronicler forces Igor to make two campaigns - first near Constantinople, then to Asia Minor. Thus, the Russian chronicles end the description of Igor's first campaign with a single naval battle near Constantinople and the prince's return to Kyiv. Obviously, the chroniclers, correcting the information of the Greek monuments about the campaign of 941, relied on the stories of its Kyiv participants alone, preserved in oral traditions.

So, Igor, with the remnants of his army, barely coming to his senses after the defeat, immediately began to retreat. Not a trace remained of the peace-loving mood of the Rus. They vented their fury from the defeat suffered on the Byzantine village called Stenon *, which was plundered and burned to the ground. However, Igor's army could not cause major destruction to the Greeks due to its small number. The news about Russian robberies on the European coast of Pontus in the Byzantine chronicles is limited to the message about the burning of Stenon.

* In Byzantine sources, Stenon is called: 1) a village on the European shore of the Bosphorus; 2) the entire European coast of the Bosphorus ( Polovoi N.Ya. On the issue of Igor's first campaign against Byzantium. S. 94). In this case, the first value is meant. The attack on Stenon could not have been carried out by the Taurian Rus, who sailed, according to Theophan's Follower, "to Sgora," the area on the Asia Minor coast of the Bosporus - another evidence of the division of the Russian fleet.

In July, Igor, with the remnants of his squad, arrived at the "Cimmerian Bosporus", that is, in the "Russian" Taurica, where he stopped in anticipation of news about his Black Sea comrades-in-arms.

War off the coast of Asia Minor

Meanwhile, the rest of the Russian fleet scurried along the coast of Bithynia, locked in shallow water by Theophan's squadron. To help the Byzantine naval commander in Constantinople, hastily equipped ground army. But before his arrival, the inhabitants of the Asia Minor coast, among whom were many descendants of the Slavs, who formed here in the VIII - IX centuries. numerous Bithynian colony*, were in the power of the Rus. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, the extreme eastern regions subjected to Rus raids were Nicomedia and Paphlagonia. One Byzantine document, dating from about 945, confirms the chronicle information. In a letter from the disgraced Metropolitan Alexander of Nicaea to the new metropolitan of this city, Ignatius, the former bishop recalls his “help to your [Ignatius] Nicomedia people in the name of philanthropy during the invasion…” ( Litavrin G.G. Byzantium, Bulgaria, Ancient Russia(IX - beginning of the XIII century). SPb., 2000. S. 75).

* In the middle of the 7th c. many Slavic tribes, who invaded the Balkans, recognized the supremacy of the Byzantine emperor. Numerous Slavic colony was placed by the imperial authorities in Bithynia as conscripts.

And help to the inhabitants of the local cities and villages in the summer of 941 was absolutely necessary, because the Rus finally gave themselves full rein. Their cruelty, fueled by a thirst for revenge for the burnt and executed comrades, knew no bounds. Feofan's successor writes with horror about their atrocities: the Rus set fire to the entire coast, “and some of the prisoners were crucified on the cross, others were driven into the ground, others were set as targets and shot with bows. Prisoners of the priestly class, they tied their hands behind their backs and drove iron nails into their heads. They also burned many holy temples.”

The blood of civilians flowed like a river until the patrician Varda Foka arrived in the depopulated Bithynia "with horsemen and selected soldiers." The situation immediately changed not in favor of the Rus, who began to suffer defeat after defeat. According to the Continuer Theophanes, “the dews sent a hefty detachment to Bithynia to stock up on provisions and everything necessary, but Varda Fok overtook this detachment, defeated it utterly, put to flight and killed his soldiers.” At the same time, domestik shol * John Kurkuas “came there at the head of the entire eastern army” and, “appearing here and there, killed a lot of those who had lost their enemies, and the dews retreated in fear of his onslaught, not daring to leave their ships anymore and make outings."

* Domestik shol - the title of the governor of the eastern (Asia Minor) provinces of Byzantium.

So another month passed. The Russians could not find a way out of the sea trap. Meanwhile, September was running out, “the Ross were running out of food, they were afraid of the advancing army of domestic schol Kurkuas, his mind and ingenuity, they were no less afraid of naval battles and skillful maneuvers of Patrician Theophanes and therefore decided to return home.” One dark September night, the Russian fleet tried to sneak past the Greek squadron unnoticed to the European shore of the Bosporus. But Feofan was on the alert. A second naval battle ensued. However, to be precise, there was no battle in the true sense of the word: the Greek helandia simply chased the fleeing Russian boats, pouring liquid fire on them, “and the aforementioned husband [Feofan] sank many ships to the bottom, and many Ross were killed.” The life of Vasily Novy asserts: "those who escaped from the hands of our fleet died on the way from a terrible relaxation of the stomach." Although Byzantine sources tell of the almost total extermination of the Rus, some part of the Russian fleet, apparently, still managed to cuddle up to the Thracian coast and hide in the dark.

Defeat of the Russian flotilla. Miniature from the "Chronicle" of John Skylitzes. XII-XIII centuries

"Olyadny" (Olyadiya (Old Russian) - boat, ship) fire, the effect of which the Rus experienced in 941 for the first time, for a long time became a byword in Russia. The Life of Basil says that the Russian soldiers returned to their homeland "to tell what happened to them and what they suffered at the behest of God." The “Tale of Bygone Years” brought the living voices of these people scorched by fire to us: “Those who returned to their land told about what happened; and they said about deer fire that the Greeks have this heavenly lightning at home; and, letting it go, they burned us, and for this reason they did not overcome them. These stories are indelibly etched in the memory of the Rus. Leo the Deacon reports that even thirty years later, the soldiers of Svyatoslav still could not remember the liquid fire without shivering, since “they heard from their elders” that the Greeks turned Igor’s fleet into ashes with this fire.