In the history of Ancient Russia, the nomadic tribes - the Pechenegs remained as cruel barbarians and destroyers. Consider a brief description of this people.
The Pecheneg tribe, formed in the 8th-9th centuries, was called a nomadic people. The title of the head of the Turkic-speaking tribes to which the Pechenegs belonged (as well as the Khazars, Avars, etc.) was - "Kagan". Their main occupation, like many at that time, was cattle breeding. Initially, the Pechenegs roamed in Central Asia, then at the end of the 9th century, under pressure from neighboring tribes - the Oghuz and Khazars, they headed towards Eastern Europe, drove out the Hungarians and occupied the territory from the Volga to the Danube.
By the 10th century, they were divided into eastern and western branches, consisting of 8 tribes. Around 882, the Pechenegs reached the Crimea. In 915 and 920 conflicts arose between the Pechenegs and Prince Igor of Kiev. In 965, the Pechenegs took possession of the lands of the "Khazar Khaganate" after its collapse. Then, in 968, the Pechenegs laid siege to Kiev, but failed. In 970, on the side of Prince Svyatoslav, they participated in the Russian-Byzantine battle near the fortress "Arkadiopol", but in connection with the conclusion of peace between Russia and Byzantium (971), they again became enemies of Russia.
In 972, Prince Svyatoslav made a campaign against the Pechenegs and was killed by them at the Dnieper rapids. In the 990s, the struggle of Russia with the Pechenegs continued again. Grand Duke Vladimir defeated the Pecheneg troops in 993, but in 996 he himself was defeated near the village of Vasiliev. Approximately in 1010, an internecine war arose among the Pechenegs: one of the tribes adopted a religion - Islam, and the other two, having moved to Byzantine territories - Christianity.
During the battle between Svyatopolk and his brother Yaroslav the Wise, the Pechenegs fought on the side of Svyatopolk. In 1036, they again raided Russia, but Prince Yaroslav the Wise won, finally defeating the Pechenegs near Kiev. By the 14th century, their tribes ceased to be a single people, merging with other tribes (Torks, Cumans, Hungarians, Russians and others).
Khazars and Khazar Khaganate
The Khazars are a Turkic-speaking nomadic tribe that lived on the territory of the Eastern Ciscaucasia (modern Dagestan) and founded their own empire - the Khazar Kaganate. Contemporaries Pechenegs and Polovtsy.
The Khazars became known around the 6th-7th century and were the descendants of the local Iranian-speaking population, mixed with other nomadic Turkic and Ugric tribes. It is not known exactly where this name of the tribe came from, scientists suggest that the Khazars could call themselves that, taking as a basis the word of the Turkic language "khaz", meaning nomadism, movement.
Until the 7th century, the Khazars were a rather small tribe and were part of various larger tribal empires, in particular, the Turkic Khaganate. However, after this Khaganate collapsed, the Khazars created their own state - the Khazar Khaganate, which already had a certain influence on the nearest territories and was quite large.
The culture and customs of this tribe have not been studied enough, but scientists tend to believe that the life and religious rituals of the Khazars differed little from similar other tribes living in the neighborhood. Before the founding of the state, they were nomads, and then they began to lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle, staying in cities for the winter.
In Russian history, they are known primarily due to the mention in the work of A.S. Pushkin "The Song of the Prophetic Oleg", where the Khazars are mentioned as enemies of the Russian prince. The Khazar Khaganate is considered one of the first serious political and military opponents of Ancient Russia ("How Prophetic Oleg is now going to take revenge on the unreasonable Khazars"). Before that, periodic raids of the Pechenegs, Polovtsy and other tribes were made on Russian territories, but they were nomads and did not have statehood.
The Pechenegs are tribes that lived in the 8th-9th centuries. in the Volga steppes. They occupied a particularly large territory in the 9th century between the Volga and Danube rivers, representing a serious enemy for Russia.
Who are the Pechenegs, what kind of nomadic people are they? According to the chronicles and, above all, according to Nestor's Tale of Bygone Years, we learn that the Pechenegs were mainly engaged in cattle breeding, as they led a nomadic lifestyle. They lived in a tribal system, at the head of the clans were leaders who were chosen by the clan or tribe. At the head of all the tribes was a khan, or kagan. The power of the khans was not elective, but hereditary.
Russia and the Pechenegs
The history of the Pechenegs is closely connected with Russia. The vast expanses of Russia have always attracted these nomadic tribes. The Pechenegs were a serious danger to Russia for almost 120 years - from 915, when they first invaded Russia, until 1068, when they were decisively rebuffed by Yaroslav the Wise.
Chronology of the struggle of Russia with the Pechenegs
- 915 The first appearance of the Pechenegs on the territory of Russia during the reign of Prince Igor. He managed to sign a peace treaty with them.
- 920 Igor's war with the Pechenegs, as the tribes became a danger to Russia. A period of constant military clashes began, which was characterized by varying success on both sides.
- 968 In the reign of Princess Olga and Svyatoslav, they even reached the walls of Kiev. Olga heroically led the defense of the city until Svyatoslav's squad arrived, which was at that time in the south of the country.
- 1036 Prince Yaroslav the Wise delivered a decisive blow to the Pechenegs. In honor of the victory, the famous St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev was erected. The victory over the Pechenegs glorified the name of the prince in the history of Ancient Russia.
However, the history of the Pechenegs does not end there. For more than three centuries they have been used as a military force. So, Yaroslav the Wise settled many of them in the south of the country, where they began to defend the borders of the state. The emperors of Byzantium made part of the Pechenegs their allies in the fight against Russia and Danube Bulgaria. And only in the 14th century the Pechenegs ceased to exist as a separate people, mixing with numerous peoples of different states: Russia. Byzantium, Western countries.
Such a fatal joke was played with the Pechenegs by history, with the once formidable and strong nomadic people.
Who are the Pechenegs?
PECHEN?EGI, a steppe people with a complex ethnic composition, which included both Turkic and, probably, Ugric tribes in the 8th-9th centuries.
The name "Pechenegs" is found in Russian chronicles; in the work of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus “On the Administration of the Empire” (10th century), they are called “patsinokitai”. The Pechenegs advanced into the Eastern European steppes from the region of the Lower Volga region at the turn of the 8th-9th centuries. However, it is difficult to determine the exact date of this particular fragment of the text of the book: most likely, somewhere around 950.
In the strategic constructions of the rulers of Byzantium, this people, who occupied the steppe space from the Dnieper to the Danube, acquired great importance due to the fact that the Empire, thanks to them, could restrain the military activity of the Varangians-Rus and Slavs, who made frequent attacks on the outlying Byzantine lands, especially within the Balkan peninsulas and the Black Sea.
In order to safely attack Byzantine cities, the Varangian and ancient Russian princely troops usually had to agree with the Pechenegs about the right of passage through the territories occupied by them. Otherwise, there was always the danger of an attack from the rear on moving or fighting armies. So, in 972, the Kiev prince Svyatoslav Igorevich died on the Dnieper rapids, whom the Pechenegs were waiting for in an ambush. The Pecheneg prince Kurya made a cup from the skull of Svyatoslav, from which he later drank at solemn feasts.
The Pecheneg nomadic environment is rather poorly studied in terms of organization and power structure. The boundaries of tribal possessions often shifted depending on the nature of relations with neighboring states and tribes - Torks, Croats, Avars, etc. There were certain principles in the structure of possessions. In particular, the division into four main territorial groups, each of which was subdivided into two more. In linguistic terms, definitely, the Turkic dialect was the predominant one, in particular, in the names of the tribes such a Turkic term as “Irtim” is represented - half, but not all terminology of self-names can be identified as Turkic. Undoubtedly, the presence of Ugric vocabulary. The military organization is associated with the widespread use of cavalry, but it is also obvious that some raids were carried out on the water. Most likely, the use of transport river vessels for conducting military operations was borrowed by the Pechenegs from their closest Slavic neighbors. Until the end of the 10th c. The Pechenegs were a significant force in the steppe and plains of Southeastern Europe. In 1036 they suffered a significant defeat from Yaroslav the Wise. Then they, like the Avars, are washed away by another wave of Turkic invasions. The remnants of the Pechenegs migrated to Hungary.
Pechenegs(old-Slav. pєchenєzi, other Greek. Πατζινάκοι) - a union of Turkic-speaking nomadic tribes, presumably formed in the VIII-IX centuries. The Pecheneg language belonged to the Oguz subgroup of the Turkic language group.
They are mentioned in Byzantine, Arabic, Old Russian and Western European sources.
Exodus from Asia (Khazar period)
According to many scientists, the Pechenegs were part of the Kangly people. Part of the Pechenegs called themselves Kangars. At the end of the 9th century, those of them that were called "pazynak" (Pechenegs), as a result of climatic changes (drought) in the steppe zone of Eurasia, as well as under the pressure of neighboring tribes Kimaks and Oghuz crossed the Volga and ended up in the Eastern European steppes, where they previously roamed ugry. Under them, this land was called Levedia, and under the Pechenegs, it received the name padzinakia(Greek Πατζινακία).
Around 882, the Pechenegs reached the Crimea. At the same time, the Pechenegs come into conflict with the princes of Kiev Askold (875 - this clash is described in later chronicles and is disputed by historians), Igor (915, 920). After the collapse of the Khazar Khaganate (965), power over the steppes west of the Volga passed to the Pecheneg hordes. During this period, the Pechenegs occupied the territories between Kievan Rus, Hungary, Danube Bulgaria, Alania, the territory of modern Mordovia and the Oguzes inhabiting Western Kazakhstan. The hegemony of the Pechenegs led to the decline of the sedentary culture, since the agricultural settlements of the Transnistrian Slavs (Tivertsy: Ekimoutskoe settlement) and the Don Alans (Mayatskoe settlement) were devastated and destroyed.
The nature of the relationship between Russia and nomads
From the very beginning, the Pechenegs and Rus became rivals and enemies. They belonged to different civilizations, there was an abyss of religious differences between them. In addition, both of them were distinguished by a warlike disposition. And if Russia over time acquired the features of a real state that provides for itself, which means that it may not attack its neighbors for the purpose of profit, then its southern neighbors have remained nomads by nature, leading a semi-wild lifestyle.
Pechenegs are another wave splashed out by the Asian steppes. On the territory of Eastern Europe, this scenario has played out cyclically for several hundred years. At first these were Huns who by their migration marked the beginning of the Great Migration of Nations. Arriving in Europe, they terrified the more civilized peoples, but eventually disappeared. On their way in the future went Slavs and Magyars. However, they managed to survive, and even settle down and settle in a certain territory.
The Slavs, among other things, became a kind of "human shield" of Europe. It was they who constantly took the blow of new hordes. Pechenegs in this sense are just one of many. In the future, the Polovtsy will come to their place, and in the XIII century - the Mongols.
Relations with the steppes were determined not only by the two parties themselves, but also in Constantinople. Byzantine emperors sometimes tried to push neighbors. Various methods were used: gold, threats, assurances of friendship.
History of the Pechenegs associated with Russia
By the XI century, pressed by the Polovtsians, the Pechenegs roamed 13 tribes between the Danube and the Dnieper. Some of them professed the so-called Nestorianism. Bruno of Querfurt preached the Catholic faith among them with the help of Vladimir. Al-Bakri reports that around 1009 the Pechenegs converted to Islam.
Around 1010, a strife arose among the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs of Prince Tirakh converted to Islam, while the two western tribes of Prince Kegen (Belemarnids and Pahumanids, totaling 20,000 people) crossed the Danube into Byzantine territory under the scepter of Constantine Monomakh in Dobruja and adopted Byzantine-style Christianity.
The Byzantine emperor planned to make border guards out of them. However, in 1048, huge masses of Pechenegs (up to 80,000 people), led by Tirakh, crossed the Danube on ice and invaded the Balkan possessions of Byzantium.
The Pechenegs took part in the internecine war between Yaroslav the Wise and Svyatopolk the Accursed on the side of the latter. In 1016 they participated in the battle of Lyubech, in 1019 in the battle of Alta (both times unsuccessfully).
The last documented Russian-Pecheneg conflict is the siege of Kiev in 1036, when the nomads besieging the city were finally defeated by Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise, who arrived in time with the army. Yaroslav used a formation dissected along the front, placing Kievans and Novgorodians on the flanks. After that, the Pechenegs ceased to play an independent role, but acted as a significant part of the new tribal union of the Berendeys, also called black hoods. The memory of the Pechenegs was still alive much later: for example, in a literary work, the Turkic hero Chelubey, who started the Battle of Kulikovo with a duel, is called a “Pecheneg”.
The battle near Kiev in 1036 was the final one in the history of the Russo-Pecheneg wars.
Subsequently, the main part of the Pechenegs went to the steppes of the North-Western Black Sea region, and in 1046–1047, under the leadership of Khan Tirakh, they crossed the Danube ice and fell on Bulgaria, which at that time was a Byzantine province. Byzantium periodically waged a fierce war with them, then showered them with gifts. Further, the Pechenegs, unable to withstand the onslaught of the Torks, Polovtsy and Guzes, as well as the war with Byzantium, partly entered the Byzantine service as federates, partly were accepted by the Hungarian king to carry out border service, and for the same purpose were partly accepted by the Russian princes.
The other part, immediately after their defeat near Kiev, went to the southeast, where they assimilated among other nomadic peoples.
In 1048 the Western Pechenegs settled in Moesia. In 1071, the Pechenegs played an unclear role in the defeat of the Byzantine army near Manzikert. In 1091, the Byzantine-Polovtsian army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Pechenegs near the walls of Constantinople.
The Arab-Sicilian geographer of the 12th century, Abu Hamid al Garnati, in his essay writes about a large number of Pechenegs south of Kiev and in the city itself (“and there are thousands of Maghrebians in it”).
Descendants of the Pechenegs
In 1036, Prince Yaroslav the Wise (the son of the Baptist of Russia, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich (from the Rurik family) and the Polotsk princess Rogneda Rogvolodovna) defeated the western unification of the Pechenegs. At the end of the 11th century, under pressure from the Polovtsy, they moved to the Balkan Peninsula or to Great Hungary. In accordance with the scientific hypothesis, one part of the Pechenegs formed the basis of the Gagauz and Karakalpak peoples. The other part joined the association of yurmata. The Kirghiz have a large clan Bechen (Bichine), genealogically descending from the Pechenegs.
Nevertheless, the memory of the steppes was alive among the people for a long time. So, already in 1380, in the battle on the Kulikovo field, the hero Chelubey, who began the battle with his own duel, was called the Pecheneg by the chronicler.
Foundations and occupations
The Pechenegs are a community of tribes, in the 10th century there were eight of them, in the 11th - thirteen. Each tribe had a khan, who was chosen, as a rule, from one clan. As a military force, the Pechenegs were a powerful formation. In battle formation, they used the same wedge, which consisted of separate detachments, carts were installed between the detachments, and a reserve stood behind the carts.
However, the researchers write that the main occupation for the Pechenegs was nomadic cattle breeding. They lived in tribal order. But they were not averse to making war as mercenaries.
Appearance
According to available ancient sources, at the time of the appearance of the Pechenegs in the Black Sea region, Caucasoid features prevailed in their appearance. They are characterized as dark-haired, who shaved their beards (according to the description in the travel notes of the Arab author Ahmad ibn Fadlan), had short stature, narrow faces, small eyes.
Lifestyle
The steppes, as one would expect, were mainly engaged in cattle breeding and wandered along with their animals. Fortunately, there were all conditions for this, since the tribal union was located in a vast area. The internal structure was like this. There were two big groups. The first settled between the Dnieper and the Volga, while the second roamed between Russia and Bulgaria. In each of them there were forty genera. The approximate center of the possessions of the tribe was the Dnieper, which divided the steppes into western and eastern.
The head of the tribe was chosen at a general meeting. Despite the tradition of counting votes, fathers were mostly inherited by children.
Pechenegs in art
The siege of Kiev by the Pechenegs is reflected in the poem by A. S. Pushkin "Ruslan and Lyudmila":
In the distance, lifting black dust;
The marching carts are coming,
Bonfires are burning on the hills.
Trouble: the Pechenegs rebelled!
In Sergei Yesenin's poem "Walking Field" there are lines:
Am I sleeping and dreaming
What with spears from all sides,
Are we surrounded by Pechenegs?
In recent years, some data have appeared regarding the close relationship between the Pecheneg nobility and the Russian people. The Arab traveler Ahmed ibn Fadlan at the beginning of the 10th century described in detail the appearance of the Pechenegs. They were Europeans of short stature, dark-haired brunettes and had a clean-shaven narrow face.
Pechenegs were called in Russia the vanguard of the Polovtsian army. Taking into account the occupations of nomads by crafts (dressing and tailoring of clothes and shoes from leather and fur, processing of artistic metal, making butter and cheese, brewing merit - beer infusion) and trade, as well as serving the Russian princes, such a culture of dressing becomes understandable. In some areas, the Pechenegs and Polovtsians were identified, in others they were bred, which is explained by the definition of tribal belonging to a certain tribal clan (kinship) or the absence of such with other kosh (tribal clans) or huts (tribes).
They have signs of belonging to certain clans - they hold a quiver, a horn, a dagger or a sword, a bowl. Medieval Polovtsian counterparts of different sexes were depicted in a sitting or standing position. Male statues were in armor: with bows, quivers, sabers, in helmets or high headdresses of the steppes (in passing, we recall one more of their relatives - black hoods - the Kiev princes; and kovuev - the guard of the Chernigov princes).
Culture of the Pechenegs
Women's statues had their own accessories - mirrors, handbags pressed to the waist, headdresses, richly decorated clothes. Until the 18th century in Ukraine, they were called "women" (from the Turkic vavy - ancestors, parents, in passing we recall the derivative of this babai - the spirit of ancestors), "mamai", "boobs". Researchers associate them with the idols of temples. They were carved from sandstone, limestone, granite or chalk.
The origin of the ethnonym is not entirely clear. The Pechenegs and, like their neighbors, the Alans, were offshoots of the people of the same root. The name of the ethnonym Polovtsy is translated as “steppe”, tracing paper from “pagan” (yazik - niki), Pechenegs - “in-laws” (from padzhanak), Torks - “wife’s relatives” (torkin).
At the beginning of the 10th century, The Tale of Bygone Years reports: “... the first Pechenesi came to the Russian land and made peace with Igor and dosha to the Danube.” For two hundred years, peoples fought, cemented relations with marriage alliances along with the conclusion of peace. In the future, the fate of the Pechenegs and their relatives, the Berendeys, black hoods and Russ intertwined. Svyatopolk of Kiev married the daughter of the Polovtsian Khan Tugorkan.
Life of the Pechenegs
The life activity of the Pecheneg ethnos is best traced by the study of black hoods. Thus, it is known that “military and administrative power was inseparable. Both functions were concentrated in the hands of one person.
In fact, the socio-political organization of the black hoods, like that of other nomadic peoples, was divided into tens, hundreds, thousands, tumens, headed by leaders - military leaders who occupied military and civil power.
In the future, “the social structure of the black hoods corresponded to the structure of the society of Kievan Rus, because they were vassals of the Russian princes and “citizens” of the state.
The structure was as follows: the top of the nomadic society - "bad men", princes, otherwise beks, who were at the head of the clan.
The supreme owners of the black hoods were the Russian princes whom they served.
The concentration of black hoods was also around Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, the White Tower.
Nomadic peoples gradually took root, their occupations among wealthy representatives were trade and mediation between Khazaria, Russia, Byzantium and the Greek colonies, including the slave trade.
The less wealthy settle on the ground.
tribal system
The state-clan system of the Pechenegs was interesting. It is known that power in each tribe was transferred within the same clan to different families. On an equal footing with this there was a people's assembly, called "komenton". All the above-mentioned ethnic groups and tribal unions were in a post-matriarchal state, the main factor in their diplomatic relations between themselves and their environment (neighbors) were diplomatic marriages. Indeed, in the Turkic environment there was a clear understanding that the heir to the throne was the son and pupil of the mother. Therefore, political dynastic unions were subject to far-reaching goals.
Political system
Old Russian princes, having married cookies, received the title of kagan (sovereign). According to the Tale of Igor's Campaign, it is known that Igor got a white banner on a silver shaft and a red banner. And Svyatoslav also adopted the habits of dressing, wearing herring, and leading a "nomadic" lifestyle. The epithet "violent" appears, "buoy" - from the Turkic - noble, glorious, famous, eminent, respected, which falls into the use of the top, is perceived as part of a respectful ceremony in etiquette.
Old Russian princes adopted the habits, traditions, attitude to the victories of the Pechenegs. Judging by the numerous fragments of the chronicles, the steppe dwellers, who roamed between their "summers" and "winterers", gradually settled in the adobe houses of the Rus.
On the other hand, there was coexistence on an equal footing, where good-neighborly relations were maintained by meetings of Pecheneg, Polovtsian, Tork, Chornoklobuk and other military leaders and the Russian princely elite. By tradition, gifts were presented - fabrics, fur, jewelry, weapons.
The military delegations of the Pechenegs (who worshiped the pagan god of heaven) received the Byzantine Christian emperor Alexei Komnenos with royal luxury and tried to consolidate allied relations with valuable gifts. Already in 1091, with the help of the Polovtsy, he defeated their fellow Pechenegs.
An important part of the relationship was indemnity and ransom (during life in the war, from captivity, for damaged someone else's property or life). In such cases, gold, silver, horses, domestic animals were considered valuable. The world of nomads was bought, that is, everything had its own price, for which it was always possible to agree on the result. An important role of “bargaining currency” in bilateral relations was played by women (the Polovtsy could have several wives and concubines), slaves, “koshchei” - the captured leaders of other kosh (nomad families).
Legislation
On the basis of the customary law of the Rus, significantly supplemented by the customary law of the peoples of the Steppe, until the beginning of the 12th century, the Russkaya Pravda code of laws was formed. The main legal code of the Old Russian community united the norms of civil, procedural, criminal, family, marriage, guardianship and other branches of law. At that time, most of this code was developed with the traditions of customary law of tribal union, enshrined in the blood of descendants.
ruling elites
So, the short neighborhood of the ancient Rus and nomads, primarily with the Pechenegs and Polovtsy, laid the foundation for many dynastic unions. Separate Russian rulers were born in the Polovtsian and Pecheneg camps. They adopted the way of life and cultural traditions of that region from childhood. An important role in relations was played by Polovtsian and Pecheneg women, who brought up future heads of state.
Mixing between nationalities was accompanied by a combination of the titles of the elite (the Pecheneg khans in Russia were called "princes", the prefix "kagau" appeared in the reverse relationship). Meeting the embassies of the Pechenegs, they were presented with rich princely clothes during the conclusion of peace treaties. The peoples also exchanged respectful epithets in appeals, which was reinforced by friendly cultural relations.
