Yaroslav I the Wise

Early years of Yaroslav's life are enshrouded in mystery. He was one of the numerous sons of Vladimir the Great, presumably his second by Rogneda of Polotsk, although his actual age (as stated in the Primary Chronicle and corroborated by the examination of his skeleton in the 1930s) would place him among the youngest children of Vladimir. It was speculated that he was a child begotten out of wedlock after Vladimir's divorce with Rogneda and his marriage to Anna Porphyrogeneta. Yaroslav figures prominently in the Norse Sagas under the name of Jarisleif the Lame; his legendary lameness (probably result of an arrow wound ...

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Yaroslav I the Wise, Yaroslav I the Wise - His way to the throne, Yaroslav I the Wise - His reign, Yaroslav I the Wise - Family life and posterity, Yaroslav I the Wise - Sources

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Constantine IX Monomachos (c. 1000 - January 11, 1055) reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 11, 1042 to January 11, 1055. He had been chosen by Zoë as a husband and co-emperor in 1042, although he had been exiled for conspiring against her previous husband Michael IV. They ruled together until Zoë died in 1050. In 1043 he relieved General George Maniaces from his command in Italy, and Maniaces declared himself emperor. His troops were about to defeat Constantine in battle, but he was wounded and died on the field, ending th ...

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Boris and Gleb, Christian names Roman and David, were the first Russian saints. According to two 11th century Lives of Boris and Gleb (assigned to Nestor the Chronicler and Jacob the Monk), they were children of Vladimir the Great who liked them more than his other children. Both were murdered during the internecine wars of 1015-1019 and glorified by the Russian Orthodox church in 1071. Numerous churches are dedicated to them, e.g., the Borisoglebsky Abbey near Rostov. The Primary Chronicle says that their mother ...

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Närke, is a province in Central Sweden, which historically formed part of Svealand. The name of the province is partly derived from an old name for the people of the province, the Njarar (Njars) or Nerikjar (today Närkingar). The root nari, neri is cognate to English narrow and refers to the narrow inlets that caracterized the geography, a tribe that is also mentioned in the lay of Völund (Weyland the Smith): "When the Lord of the Njars, Nidud, heard That Völund sat i ...

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In the Viking age/late Iron Age, from the 750s and on, Ingria was a bridgehead on the Varangian trade route to Eastern Europe. A Varangian aristocracy developed, that would ultimately rule over Novgorod and Kievan Rus'; allegedly bringing peace between the warring Finnic and Slavic tribes. The ancient Novgorodian land of Vod was called Ingermanland by the Swedes, Latinized to "Ingria". It is said to be named after Ingegerd Olofsdotter, the daughter of the Swedish king Olof Skötkonung (995-1022). Upon her marriage to Yar ...

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Ingria, Ingria - History, Ingria - Swedish Ingria, Ingria - Russian Ingria, Ingria - Demographics

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According to one theory, the Pechenegs originated from the Wusun people of Central Asia, recorded in Chinese chronicles in the early centuries of the modern era. Whatever the truth of this, the Pechenegs emerge in the historical records only in the 8th and 9th centuries, inhabiting the region between the lower Volga, the Don, and the Ural Mountains. By the 9th-10th centuries AD they controlled much of the steppes of southwestern Eurasia and the Crimean Peninsula. Although an important factor in the region at the time, like most nomadic tribes their concept of statecraft failed to go beyond random attacks on neighbour ...

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Pecheneg, Pecheneg - Origins and Area, Pecheneg - Alliance with Byzantium, Pecheneg - History and Decline

Read more here: » Pecheneg: Encyclopedia II - Pecheneg - Origins and Area

Main article: History of Närke The exiled Norwegian King Olaf the Holy, stayed in Närke for some time, 1028-1029, with Sigtrygg, before departing for Russia and its ruler Yaroslav I the Wise. Olaf may have initiated the Christianization of the province (see also Culture of Närke). In the year 1170, Närke was incorporated into the diocese of Strängnäs. In around 1200 A.D., the Castle of Örebro was built to protect the bridge crossing the ford (öre means "sand bank" and bro means "bri ...

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Närke, Närke - County, Närke - History, Närke - Heraldry, Närke - Dukes of Närke, Närke - Geography, Närke - Culture, Närke - Historical subdivisions

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Närke was renowned for its warlike peasants and when coat-of-arms for the province was granted for the funeral of King Gustav Vasa in 1560 two crossbow darts was the central symbol - the crossbow being the favourite weapon of the peasants. In Närke there are also a number of ancient castles. The most important and best preserved one is located in Tarsta at Sköllersta. ...

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History of Närke, History of Närke - Prehistory, History of Närke - History

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The region of Kiev dominated the state of Kievan Rus′ for the next two centuries. The grand prince (velikiy kniaz') of Kiev controlled the lands around the city, and his theoretically subordinate relatives ruled in other cities and paid him tribute. The zenith of the state's power came during the reigns of Prince Vladimir (Vladimir the Great, r. 980-1015) and Prince Yaroslav (the Wise; r. 1019-1054). Both rulers continued the steady ...

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Kievan Rus', Kievan Rus' - Early history of Rus′, Kievan Rus' - The Golden Age of Kiev, Kievan Rus' - The Rise of regional centers, Kievan Rus' - Novgorod Republic, Kievan Rus' - North-east, Kievan Rus' - South-west, Kievan Rus' - Influence, Kievan Rus' - Notes

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Kievan Rus′ was not able to maintain its position as a powerful and prosperous state, in part because of the amalgamation of disparate lands under the control of a ruling clan. As the members of that clan became more numerous, they identified themselves with regional interests rather than with the larger patrimony. Thus, the princes fought among themselves, frequently forming alliances with outside groups such as the Polovtsians, Poles, and Hungarians. During the years from 1054 to 1224 no less than 64 principalities had a more or less ephemeral existence, 293 princes put forward ...

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Kievan Rus', Kievan Rus' - Early history of Rus′, Kievan Rus' - The Golden Age of Kiev, Kievan Rus' - The Rise of regional centers, Kievan Rus' - Novgorod Republic, Kievan Rus' - North-east, Kievan Rus' - South-west, Kievan Rus' - Influence, Kievan Rus' - Notes

Read more here: » Kievan Rus': Encyclopedia II - Kievan Rus' - The Rise of regional centers

In the 9th century, the Byzantines became allied with the Pechenegs, using them to fend off other, more dangerous tribes such as the Varangian Rus and the Magyars. This was an old Roman ploy (divide and rule) continued by their Byzantines successors – playing off one enemy tribe against another. The Uzes, another Turkic steppe people, eventually expelled the Pechenegs from their homeland; in the process, they also seized most of their livestock and other goods. An alliance of the Oghuz, Kimeks and Karluks were also pressing t ...

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Pecheneg, Pecheneg - Origins and Area, Pecheneg - Alliance with Byzantium, Pecheneg - History and Decline

Read more here: » Pecheneg: Encyclopedia II - Pecheneg - Alliance with Byzantium

From the 9th century AD, the Pechenegs started an uneasy relationship with Kievan Rus. For more than two centuries they launched random raids into Rus lands, which sometimes escalated into full-scale wars (like the 920 war on the Pechenegs by Igor of Kiev reported in Nestor's Chronicle), but there were also temporary military alliances (e.g. 943 Byzantine campaign by Igor). In 968, the Pechenegs attacked and then besieged the city of Kiev. Part of them joined the Prince of Kiev Sviatoslav I in his Byzantine campaign of 970-971, though eventu ...

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Pecheneg, Pecheneg - Origins and Area, Pecheneg - Alliance with Byzantium, Pecheneg - History and Decline

Read more here: » Pecheneg: Encyclopedia II - Pecheneg - History and Decline

Main article: Swedish Ingria Ingria became a Swedish dominion in the 1580s, was returned to Russia by the Treaty of Teusina (1595), and after the Ingrian War again ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Stolbova (1617). Sweden's interest of the territory was strategic: as a buffer zone against Russian attacks on the Karelian Isthmus and present-day Finland; and Russian trade was to pass through Swedish territory. In addition, Ingria became the destination for Swedish deportees. The townships of Ivangorod, Jama (now Kingisepp), Caporie (now Koporye) and Nöteborg (now Shlisselburg) became centres o ...

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Ingria, Ingria - History, Ingria - Swedish Ingria, Ingria - Russian Ingria, Ingria - Demographics

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According to the Primary Chronicle, the earliest chronicle of Kievan Rus′, a Varangian (Viking) named Rurik first established himself in Novgorod, located in modern Russia (he was selected as common ruler by several Slavic and Finnic tribes) in about 860 before moving south and extending his authority to Kiev. The chronicle cites him as the progenitor of the Rurik Dynasty. The Primary Chronicle says: Upon year 6367 (859): Varangians from over the sea had tribute from Chuds, Slavs, Merias, Veses, Krivichs.... U ...

See also:

Kievan Rus', Kievan Rus' - Early history of Rus′, Kievan Rus' - The Golden Age of Kiev, Kievan Rus' - The Rise of regional centers, Kievan Rus' - Novgorod Republic, Kievan Rus' - North-east, Kievan Rus' - South-west, Kievan Rus' - Influence, Kievan Rus' - Notes

Read more here: » Kievan Rus': Encyclopedia II - Kievan Rus' - Early history of Rus′

Unlike many other regions in Scandinavia (Scandza), Närke was not mentioned by the 6th century scholar Jordanes. It has been suggested that this was because the population of Närke, the Njars or Nerikjar, were already counted among the Swedes, the Suehans. Norse mythology mentions three kings of Nericia, Nidud, Olof the Sharp-sighted and Sporsnjall. Nidud was a villainous king in the lay of Wayland the smith, Olaf aided the Norwegian king Vikar in battle, and Sporsnjall was burnt to death by Ingjald ...

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History of Närke, History of Närke - Prehistory, History of Närke - History

Read more here: » History of Närke: Encyclopedia II - History of Närke - Prehistory

According to the Primary Chronicle, the earliest chronicle of Kievan Rus′, a Varangian (Viking) named Rurik first established himself in Novgorod (he was selected as common ruler by several Slavic and Finnic tribes) in about 860 before moving south and extending his authority to Kiev. The chronicle cites him as the progenitor of the Rurik Dynasty. The Primary Chronicle says: Upon year 6367 (859): Varangians from over the sea had tribute from Chuds, Slavs, Merias, Veses, Krivichs.... Upon year 6370 (862): [They ...

See also:

Kievan Rus', Kievan Rus' - Early history of Kievan Rus′, Kievan Rus' - The Golden Age of Kiev, Kievan Rus' - The Rise of regional centers, Kievan Rus' - Novgorod Republic, Kievan Rus' - North-east, Kievan Rus' - South-west, Kievan Rus' - Influence, Kievan Rus' - Notes

Read more here: » Kievan Rus': Encyclopedia II - Kievan Rus' - Early history of Kievan Rus′

In the early 1700s the area was reconquered by Russia in the Great Northern War after about 100 years in Swedish possession. Near the place of the Swedish town Nyen close to the Neva river's estuary at the Gulf of Finland, the new Russian capital Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703. Peter the Great raised Ingria to the status of duchy with Prince Menshikov as its first (and last) duke. Later, in 1710, it was designated the Province of Saint Petersburg. After the Bolshevic revolution in Russia the Republic of North In ...

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Ingria, Ingria - History, Ingria - Swedish Ingria, Ingria - Russian Ingria, Ingria - Demographics

Read more here: » Ingria: Encyclopedia II - Ingria - Russian Ingria

In 1019, Yaroslav married Ingegerd Olofsdotter, daughter of king of Sweden, and gave Ladoga to her as a marriage gift. There are good reasons to believe that before that time he had been married to a woman named Anna, of disputed extraction. In the Saint Sophia Cathedral, one may see a fresco representing the whole family: Yaroslav, Irene (as Ingigerd was known in Rus), their 5 daughters and 5 sons. Yaroslav married three of his daughters to foreign princes who lived in exile at his court: Elizabeth to Harald III of Norway (who had at ...

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Yaroslav I the Wise, Yaroslav I the Wise - His way to the throne, Yaroslav I the Wise - His reign, Yaroslav I the Wise - Family life and posterity, Yaroslav I the Wise - Sources

Read more here: » Yaroslav I the Wise: Encyclopedia II - Yaroslav I the Wise - Family life and posterity

Leaving aside the legitimacy of Yaroslav's claims to the Kievan throne and his postulated guilt in the murder of brothers, Nestor and later Russian historians often represented him as a model of virtue and styled him the Wise. A less appealing side of his personality may be revealed by the fact that he imprisoned his younger brother Sudislav for life. Yet another brother, Mstislav of Tmutarakan, whose distant realm bordered on the Northern Caucasus and the Black Sea, hastened to Kiev and inflicted a heavy defeat on Yaroslav in 1024. T ...

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Yaroslav I the Wise, Yaroslav I the Wise - His way to the throne, Yaroslav I the Wise - His reign, Yaroslav I the Wise - Family life and posterity, Yaroslav I the Wise - Sources

Read more here: » Yaroslav I the Wise: Encyclopedia II - Yaroslav I the Wise - His reign